The Stone Guardian's roar shook the arena, a deep rumbling sound that resonated in Sanji's chest. Dust fell from the ceiling as the creature took its first thundering step forward.
"Spread out!" Hana shouted. "Don't cluster that axe has wide area attacks!"
The fifteen players dispersed around the arena's perimeter. Sanji quickly analyzed the battlefield with his Game Master's Eye, calling out his findings.
"Physical damage is reduced by forty percent! Mages, you're our primary DPS! There's a core hidden in its chest that's the weak point! Warriors, focus on the joints knees, elbows, shoulders. That's where it takes full physical damage!"
The Guardian chose its first target one of Koji's warriors who'd gotten too close. The massive axe swept in a horizontal arc, moving faster than something that size should be able to.
The warrior raised his shield. The impact sent him flying across the arena, slamming into the wall. -127 HP. He collapsed, alive but barely conscious.
"Healers!" Hana commanded.
Mei and two other healers began casting, but the Guardian was already moving. It covered the distance to the downed warrior in three massive strides, raising its axe for a killing blow.
"Takeshi, intercept!" Sanji yelled.
Takeshi was already moving, his warrior instincts faster than conscious thought. He slammed into the Guardian's leg with his shield, using a skill called Shield Bash. It barely budged the massive creature, but it drew aggro. The Guardian's attention shifted to Takeshi.
The axe came down. Takeshi blocked, his shield glowing with defensive magic. The impact drove him to one knee, but he held. -89 HP.
"Now! Hit it while it's committed!" Sanji called.
Yuki and the other mages unleashed their spells. Ice Bolts, Fire Blasts, and Lightning Strikes converged on the Guardian's chest where the core was hidden. Even through the stone exterior, the magical damage was significant. -142 HP, -156 HP, -138 HP.
The Guardian's health dropped to 1564/2000.
Akane and the other rangers fired arrows at its joints. Most bounced off harmlessly, but a few found the gaps in the stone armor. -31 HP, -42 HP, -28 HP.
Sanji circled around to the Guardian's blind side, looking for an opening. The creature's movements were ponderous but devastatingly powerful. Every step cracked the stone floor. Every swing axe created wind pressure that could knock a person off balance.
He waited for the right moment. The Guardian raised its axe for another overhead strike at Takeshi. As the weapon rose, the Guardian's armpit a joint with minimal armor was exposed.
Sanji lunged, his steel longsword driving deep into the gap. Critical Hit! -198 HP!
The Guardian bellowed in pain and spun, faster than Sanji expected. Its elbow caught him in the ribs, sending him tumbling across the floor. -67 HP.
Through the Party Link, he felt Yuki's alarm and Akane's concern, but also their continued focus on the fight. That was good they trusted him to recover while maintaining their own positions.
"Sanji, fall back!" Mei called, her healing magic reaching him. +50 HP.
He rolled to his feet, checking the Guardian's status: 1226/2000 HP. They'd taken it down nearly forty percent, but the fight was far from over.
The Guardian suddenly planted its axe in the ground and raised both fists. Sanji's Game Master's Eye flared with warning.
"Ground Slam incoming! Get airborne or get clear!"
The Guardian's fists came down. The entire arena shook with seismic force. Cracks spider-webbed across the floor, and anyone still on the ground took damage and was knocked prone. -53 HP appeared above half the raid party.
But those who'd heeded Sanji's warning including his own party had jumped at the last moment, avoiding the worst of it.
"It has another ability," Sanji warned. "Stone Skin increases its damage reduction. Watch for it activating!"
The Guardian's body began to glow with brown light. Its stone exterior hardened, becoming almost metallic in appearance.
Stone Skin Active: Physical damage reduced by 60%, Magic damage reduced by 20%
"Focus fire with magic!" Hana ordered. "Physical attackers, back off and recover!"
The mages unleashed everything they had. Yuki chained Ice Bolts together, each one striking the chest core with precision. The other mages varied their elements—fire, lightning, even a rare light magic user contributing beams of searing radiance.
The Guardian's health continued to drop: 1100... 950... 800...
But the Stone Skin was absorbing too much damage. At this rate, the mages would run out of MP before the boss died.
"We need to break the buff!" Sanji called. "Heavy physical damage to the head might stun it!"
Koji, the level-nine warrior leading the third party, understood immediately. He was a specialist in two-handed weapons, sacrificing defense for raw damage output. He'd been waiting for an opening like this.
"Cover me!" Koji charged, his massive greatsword glowing with skill-enhanced power.
Takeshi and two other tanks converged on the Guardian, harassing it from multiple angles to divide its attention. The Guardian swung its axe at Takeshi, but the warrior dodged with surprising agility for someone in heavy armor.
That moment of distraction was all Koji needed. He leaped high impossibly high, some kind of warrior skill enhancing his jump and brought his greatsword down on the Guardian's head with both hands.
The impact was tremendous. Critical Hit! -312 HP!
The Guardian staggered. The Stone Skin buff flickered and died.
"Now!" Sanji shouted. "All physical attackers, hit the joints!"
Every warrior, rogue, and ranger in the raid descended on the Guardian like wolves on wounded prey. Swords, axes, spears, and arrows found gaps in the stone armor. Damage numbers flooded the air in a cascade of red: -87, -93, -76, -104, -81...
The Guardian's health plummeted: 488/2000.
But that triggered the next phase. The Guardian's health hit thirty percent, and its eyes flared from red to blazing white.
Rage Mode Activated
Attack speed increased by 50%, Damage increased by 30%, Defense reduced by 20%
"Scatter!" Hana yelled.
The Guardian became a whirlwind of destruction. Its axe moved in blur-fast patterns, creating death zones that forced players to retreat. It caught one of the rangers who wasn't fast enough. -203 HP. The ranger's health hit zero.
His avatar flickered once, twice, then dissolved into light particles.
Dead. Permanently.
A moment of horrified silence passed through the raid, even as the battle continued. They'd just watched someone die for real. Someone with a name, a life in the real world, hopes of escape gone forever.
"Focus!" Hana's voice cut through the shock. "Don't let him die for nothing! Finish this boss!"
The reminder galvanized the raid. They attacked with renewed desperation, knowing any of them could be next.
Sanji analyzed the Rage Mode pattern with his Game Master's Eye. The Guardian was faster, but also more reckless. Its attacks left bigger openings. They could use that.
"Hit-and-run tactics!" Sanji called. "Strike when it's committed to an attack, then retreat immediately! Don't try to tank it, it hits too hard now!"
The raid adapted. When the Guardian swung at one group, another group would rush in from behind to land hits, then retreat before it could retaliate. It was dangerous and exhausting, but it was working.
385 HP... 290 HP... 187 HP...
"Final push!" Hana shouted. "Everything you've got!"
Yuki cast her most expensive spell, Frost Lance, draining 30 MP. The massive ice spear struck the Guardian's chest core. -124 HP.
Akane fired three arrows in rapid succession, all finding the knee joint. -38, -41, -36 HP.
Takeshi, his HP dangerously low at 87/280, nevertheless charged forward with his shield, bashing the Guardian's leg to keep its attention. His distraction let Koji land another devastating greatsword strike to the head. -156 HP.
Sanji saw his opening. Through the Party Link, he felt Yuki and Akane's positions and intentions. Without words, they coordinated their ultimate attack.
"Frozen Strike!" Sanji called.
Yuki cast Ice Nova, freezing the Guardian's legs. Akane fired an arrow coated in oil from Sanji's blade. Sanji followed with a leaping strike, his sword blazing with combined power.
The synchronized attack hit the chest core simultaneously.
Combination Attack: Frozen Strike
Critical Hit! -423 HP!
The Guardian's health hit zero.
For a moment, the massive creature stood frozen. Then cracks spread across its stone body, golden light bleeding through. With a final groan, it collapsed, shattering into hundreds of pieces.
Boss Defeated: Stone Guardian
+350 EXP
Level Up! Level 10 achieved
The golden light of leveling washed over the surviving raid members. Sanji felt the rush of power as his stats increased, his HP jumping to 240, his MP to 150.
But the celebration was muted. Fourteen players stood in the arena. They'd entered with fifteen.
The raid gathered around the loot that had materialized where the Guardian fell a treasure chest of glowing items and equipment. But eyes kept drifting to the spot where the ranger had died.
"Daichi," Koji said quietly. "His name was Daichi. He had a sister in the real world. He told me about her yesterday."
Silence.
"We honor him by continuing," Hana said, her voice thick with emotion. "By clearing this dungeon, by proving that independent players can survive and thrive. By not letting the guilds turn us into their servants. That's how we remember those we lose."
The raid nodded. Sanji felt the weight of leadership settling heavier on his shoulders. His Game Master's Eye, his tactical abilities they made him valuable, but they also made him responsible. Every call he made could mean life or death.
They opened the treasure chest. Inside were rare items: a legendary-quality staff that made Yuki gasp with desire, enchanted armor pieces, skill books, and a mountain of coins.
The loot distribution was fair Hana made sure of it. The legendary staff went to Yuki as the highest-level mage in the raid. Takeshi received a new shield. Sanji got an accessory that increased his critical hit rate by 15%.
But the best find was a consumable item called "Dungeon Map Crystal." When used, it would reveal the layout of the remaining floors.
"Use it," Hana said, handing it to Sanji. "You're our scout. This will make the rest of the clear safer."
Sanji activated the crystal. Information flooded his vision a complete map of floors two through five, including enemy positions, trap locations, and the final boss chamber.
"Two more floors of standard dungeon crawling," he reported. "Then the final boss on floor five. It's marked as level twelve elite with 3000 HP."
The raid groaned collectively. Another fight like that, but harder.
"We rest here for thirty minutes," Hana decided. "Restore MP, eat, drink, and mentally prepare. Then we continue. We've come too far to turn back now."
As they rested, Sanji opened his status window to distribute his new stat points. Level ten. He'd reached double digits. In the real world, he'd been playing for just over a week. It felt like months.
Status Window:
- Name: Sanji
- Level: 10
- Class: Adventurer
- HP: 240/240
- MP: 150/150
- Strength: 12
- Agility: 13
- Intelligence: 18
- Wisdom: 18
- Luck: 12
He was becoming genuinely powerful. And with the Party Link making his team more effective than the sum of their parts, they were a force to be reckoned with.
But power came with responsibility. Daichi's death proved that. One mistake, one bad call, and people died permanently.
Yuki sat down beside him, her new staff resting across her lap. Through the Party Link, he felt her complex emotions satisfaction at the power upgrade, grief for Daichi, determination to continue.
"You called that fight perfectly," she said quietly. "If you hadn't warned about the Ground Slam, we'd have lost more people."
"But we still lost one."
"In a level-eleven elite boss fight with undergeared players? Losing one person is honestly a miracle. You saved lives today, Sanji. Don't forget that while you're counting the ones you couldn't save."
It was exactly what he needed to hear. He squeezed her hand briefly in thanks, then stood to address the raid.
"Floors two through four are mapped. I'll guide us through the safest route. Everyone stay sharp, stay together, and we'll get through this."
Thirty-two players had entered the Whispering Depths that morning. Now they were down to fourteen at the first mini-boss. But they were level ten now, battle-tested, and unified by shared loss and victory.
The dungeon awaited, and so did the final boss.
But for now, they rested, recovered, and prepared for whatever came next.
To be continued...