//------------------------------// // Episode 19 - To The Kennel // Story: EQG: Sword Art Online - Aincrad // by Mindrop //------------------------------// Floor 39 October 14 Klein switched with Bladescape and killed the last wolf. He stood up tall and nodded at Bladescape. They looked around, double checking that they were safe. Klein wordlessly shrugged as they looked at the massive stone doors. They were familiar doors to them by now. The doors to a Floor Boss chamber were always recognizable in their shape, but each design had something different on it for each floor. These were scenes of wolf packs, hunting, sleeping, howling at the full moon. They pushed them open and stepped inside, barely. Several others joined them to be safe. Savage barks sounded from inside and the room barely glowed to life as if it was almost twilight. All along the walls were cages and cages of the same wolves they had been fighting, with some being even bigger than those. At the far end of the room a big figure stood up. He was a good 6 meters tall, but a man, not a humanoid or a giant. Just a big man. He had a whip in one hand and a plain estoc in the other. Serigatal The Wolf Master popped up above his head along with only 2 health bars. “Nope!” Klein chimed. “Time to back out.” “Absolutely,” Bladescape gulped as she began to step backwards. They were not turning their back on the boss. “Let’s get back to town,” Klein said. “We need to let them know. It's still early enough, we might be able to get a raid set for the morning.” “I agree,” Bladescape said. “That is assuming we don’t run into any more wolves.” “First time poking your head into a Boss Room?” Klein asked, recognizing the look on Bladescape’s face. “Yeah,” Bladescape chuckled. “Was it that obvious?” “Not really,” Klein shrugged. “I’ve only scouted one before. I mean, you have to find it first. That is the tough part.” “Well, we will have something to celebrate tonight,” Bladescape replied. “If we had a dining room table, I would invite you to our headquarters, but we are still trying to buy furniture. It cost us a whole lot more than planned.” “Where is it at?” Klein asked. “Floor 35, Mishe, right next to the teleport gate.” “Dang,” Klein stammered. “You guys snagged a gnarly spot. That’s better than ours on floor 15! Way better.” “We bit the bullet financially,” Bladescape added. “So we are struggling to recuperate, and with how fast we are currently clearing floors, its not easy to farm Col if we want to stay on top.” “I guess you are right about that. But you guys will spring back soon enough. And then we will have dinner at your place.” “Deal,” Bladescape chuckled with a smile. She would let Klein win that one. It would be nice to have company over. The walk back was that, a walk. They ran into another dozen parties and all of them had found themselves without any enemies, even the wolves. It ended up being a big exodus out of the Labyrinth. They had the map, the way was clear; now they just needed a plan. They rented out a pub and both guilds enjoyed some privacy as they toasted their success. After it had calmed down a little, Bladescape tapped on the table to get their attention. They didn’t hear it over the conversations that were still flowing. Klein, who was sitting next to her, banged his empty mug on the table to get their attention. Bladescape proceeded. “It’s pretty safe to say, that tomorrow’s battle is going to be mostly against those wolves. To get at the Wolf Master won’t be easy. However, we have uncovered a potential weakness.” “What kind of weakness?” Klein asked. “The NPC who told us about the wolves also said the Boss fears a poison plant on this floor.” “Well that’s not much help,” Klein snorted. “Even if we knew yesterday, or even the day before, finding someone who can make enough of that poison for an entire raid party, well I don’t know if we even could. For one, we would spend a lot of time finding that plant.” “Doombunny can,” Bladescape continued. “But its limited to Colorra’s venom.” “Mhm,” Doombunny quietly replied with a nod. “Well, its poison, right? Does it matter what kind? Are there even kinds?” “We don’t have a grip on it yet,” Bladescape replied. “But she should be able to get some of us a poison to coat our blades with.” “Colorra has been saving her venom just for us!” Doombunny replied. “I was getting vials from her all day. She is making it as fast as she can and will be able to donate some more shortly.” “Hold on Sugarcube,” Backbreaker said. “We don’t think that is a good idea.” “What do you mean?” Doombunny asked, completely oblivious to what they were getting at. “Doom,” Knightstar said, and then hesitated. Knightstar stalled out, so Bladescape continued. “Doom, we need you in the battle tomorrow.” Doombunny’s eyes went wide with terror and then panic as she froze. Colorra began to nuzzle her head for support. “You were tearing up the wolves today,” Bladescape said. “And you and Colorra would be perfect for the job.” “We all think so,” Backbreaker immediately added. “I think so,” Klein said. “A dagger is a bit unconventional to go into a Boss Battle with, especially this high, but you were killing it out there today. You killed more of them than either Bladescape or I.” “Well...um...I don’t know,” Doombunny finally said. “I mean, I want to say yes. But...um...honestly, I don’t know if I can handle it.” “We don’t want to put you in any place you don’t want to go,” Bladescape immediately replied. “We won’t ever do that to you. We also won’t ask you to do anything we don’t think you can do. However, if we look at today, you were destroying it out there.” "But, I hid behind BB most of the time,” Doombunny meekly said. “So?” Backbreaker asked. “Sugarcube, it’s my job to give you a place to hide behind. But when you were not hiding, you were slicing up those canines like crazy. We couldn’t keep up. You would stay behind me until it is time to strike, and then strike the hardest you ever have. You and Colorra.” “Well...” “Just think on it,” Knightstar said. “But you are not some weakling here. You are an amazing warrior. You just broke Level 50. Not that many players can say that.” “You hit Level 50!” Klein exclaimed. “No wonder you are tearing it up so easily. I don’t know a single member of the Assault Team that uses a dagger as their main weapon, and few can tear it up as fast and well as you can. I just got to Level 53.” “I’ll do it!” Doombunny confidently declared. “You need me so I’ll do it. Then I can say I have done it! FOR THE ANIMALS!” Bladescape raised her glass for a toast and so did the others. They all yelled, “FOR THE ANIMALS!” “Well, we should be getting some sleep,” Klein said standing up. “We rented rooms here in town, but our walk is further than yours.” “We will be staying here as well,” Bladescape said. “I snagged us rooms above us when we rented the pub. Plus, we don't have beds at our HQ yet, only our bedrolls to sleep on.” “Smart move,” Klein said, giving her a thumbs up. “See you in the morning, babe.” Bladescape just snorted a laugh as Fuurinkazan departed in good spirits. “We should turn in too y’all,” Backbreaker added. “We all need to look our best for the boss meeting in the morning.” Bladescape was the only one not sharing a bed. They had rented 6 rooms, and the others paired up for the beds before she could snag a sleeping buddy, so she was on her own. That had been the routine for a few months, though, ever since they started renting more rooms so they all could sleep in a bed. Most of the time she was left alone; because their fearless leader needed a bed to herself. At least, that is what the guild thought. Bladescape did enjoy not having to share a bed, but it got lonely knowing the others had the other half of the bed occupied with a warm body. And that the only reason she didn’t was because she supposedly was above them and, deemed too important. They said it was lonely at the top, and it certainly was at times, but the worst part was knowing that without her, the Wondercolts didn’t have a leader who was aggressive enough to keep them together in a death game like this. She was the driver who got the team where they needed to go. Without her, they would fall off from being on the front lines. Quickly. That fate would be a big blow to the front line's ability to clear the game. Bladescape set the alarm in her menu and laid down. She closed her eyes and found the alarm going off in her head. The hours had passed by in a blink. Bladescape sat up and walked to the table in the room. She opened her menu and pulled out the guide they had traded Argo for last night. She had set up the trade as soon as they left the dungeon and she could share the information about the boss over the message. She wasn’t missed during her quick chat with Argo while the others settled in at the pub to celebrate. Two things were missing from the guide. The first was the rabid bite of the wolves. That was key information and Argo hadn’t dug up. It wasn’t a surprise with the speed that they had cleared the Floor. The second was there was no mention of the boss being afraid of any plants or any poison. No poison plants were listed in the resource section of the guide either. They were not the first ones at the meeting point. The Knights of the Blood Oath were there in their white and red uniforms. They always looked stunning. Heathcliff, their leader, was a master of the sword and battle, but you would never guess under his graying hair and scholarly look. Beside him was Lightning Flash, his second in command. He usually let her lead the boss raids. They had been the dominant guild since Floor 25 and Kibaou shot himself in the foot by rushing the boss chamber with his guild, the Aincrad Liberation Squad. Heathcliff nodded at them. His voice was smooth and sweet, but it held a cold edge of determination on it. “It is wonderful to see you here. As always, I enjoy the dazzling look of the Wondercolts. As I understand it, one of your members not only fights on the front line, but also makes many of your uniforms.” “Yes,” Bladescape said with a nod. “Diemond is, in real life, an up and coming fashion designer. As much as this is a game, since it works with the mind, her natural talent seems to have spilled over a bit. At least when it comes to her ingenuity and creativity with designs.” “That is the truly fascinating thing about this all,” Heathcliff replied with a wry smile. “The human will’s and mind’s ability to transcend from the real world into the virtual. In both worlds, you have things that you can and can not do, a code that we live by naturally in the real world and rarely see. It is a truly horrible situation we are in, but that doesn't mean we can not find the uniqueness of this world and what it can show us about ourselves.” “It really is a wonder,” Bladescape replied. "And it certainly can show us a lot about ourselves. They say you can only see yourself through a dim mirror, and that image is backwards, but here, the mirror does appear to be clearer, or at least with different lighting." The conversation ended as The Divine Dragon Alliance walked in. Their numbers seemed to grow by the day and they enjoyed taking up as much space as possible. Only 14 members of The KOB were present, the ones who might go into battle. The rest of their guild, while not as big as DDA, had other roles to play and they rotated who went to a Boss Battle and who didn’t. They had squads which only cleared the dungeons and labyrinths, but never fought bosses. Fuurinkazan came in next in their red colors. They were a mix matched guild, but they were efficient. In the end, what you looked like didn’t matter if you could clear the game. They just didn’t have a standardized uniform like the DDA, KOB, or Wondercolts. Other guilds and players filed in. There were still several Beaters fighting solo, like the Black Swordsman Kirito, but most had either died alone, or had joined guilds. Agil was there, ready to fight, as well. When they were all assembled, Heathcliff opened the meeting. “I wanted to open by saying congratulations to the Wondercolts. It was their first time finding the Boss Room and along with our friends in Fuurinkazan, they gave us a good look inside. I understand you are an old guild too, having been there from the start.” “We missed the First Floor Boss,” Bladescape said. “But since then, we haven’t missed a floor boss battle.” “Impressive,” Heathcliff said with a reserved smile. “I missed multiple boss fights on the early floors myself. It is always good to have such dedicated players here. I think that deserves a reward. The Wondercolts shall be Squad A in this Floor Boss Battle! And that dedication stands for most of you as well. You all have put your lives to clearing this game, and it is appreciated by those below, by me, and by all of the Knights of the Blood Oath." “But, as usual, I am handing this over to my second in command, Lighting Flash Asuna.” Asuna moved up to the table. “Now, I assume you all have read the guide?” Every guild chimed in. Bladescape’s stomach dropped. She knew she had to tell them. She felt Backbreaker’s heavy glove settle on her shoulder for support. “Second in Command, Ma’am,” Bladescape interrupted. Asuna raised an eyebrow at her, but allowed her to speak. Bladescape stepped up to the table. “There are two things not mentioned in the guide. The first we know for a fact from experience, the wolves have a heavy hitting, but slow DOT effect to their bite. They are actually rabid. Antidote crystals do work, and probably potions too. The Wondercolts have only gotten bit twice, but it happened both times.” “Duly noted,” Asuna said. “The second?” “We are becoming more and more certain that information given to us by a random event NPC we saved the other day in the forest is correct. She said that the Boss is paranoid of being poisoned by a plant on this Floor, and that is why he sends his wolves; To eliminate anyone with knowledge of his fear. We don’t know what plant and upon reading the guide this morning, no plants with poisonous properties have even been mentioned.” “I see,” Asuna replied, thinking. “How sure are you?” “We couldn’t get in close enough to test it, that was clear,” Bladescape said. “Those wolves will be unleashed well before we could get close. We are sure enough that we have prepared ourselves, but we can’t supply the entire boss raid.” “May I ask why you are dealing with poison?” Asuna asked. She wasn’t thrilled at the idea of a front line player dealing with poison. “Colorra,” Bladescape said, pointing with her thumb over her back. “The female Dandarabilla Cobra on my friend’s shoulders. Drug Mixing was just unlocked by her master, Doombunny, to utilize her natural toxins. But it is a brand new skill. The little she can create is weak and has a limited effect or durability.” It was a risk to explain to all of them, but Bladescape decided it was riskier to not let the major guild leader not know, even if that meant the whole game learned Doombunny was mixing poison. It was a tense moment as no one knew what to say. “Your honesty is appreciated,” Heathcliff stated, inserting himself into the boss strategy section of the meeting for once. “Fortunately, from the rest of the information provided, I think we can get away without the need of poison. If we need to back out and figure out this plant lead, we will. I also have no reservations about you using the poison to your advantage in the Boss Battle. In fact, please do.” “We will,” Bladescape nodded. “Thank you.” Heathcliff had a calming effect on most players. If he said something was fine or good, most didn't have a problem with it. Having his approval on Doombunny's skill was a blessing and it balanced the risk of telling them about Doombunny's skill back into their favor. Asuna took back over. They continued with the meeting, plotting out a plan of action. “May I speak?” Bladescape asked. “Sure,” Asuna said, her tone had a bite of frustration to it. “You seem to be the star of things right now." “Along with Fuurinkazan, we dealt with a group of wolves. It was 9 on 10 in a narrow tunnel. We stood in a line to stop from being flanked or surrounded. We advanced as one, but they retreated at the same rate. It might be possible to push them into a position where they can not maneuver and we can create a kill zone. That is assuming we can get all of the cages opened relatively quickly or opened in front of us.” “Interesting,” Asuna replied, thinking. “We need to know how the cages open,” Klein said, joining in from where he stood. “We didn't see any handles, latches, or hinges, only bars. Fuurinkazan can scout ahead and determine that.” “ Okay," Asuna replied. “Group C will scout in to trigger a released of the wolves, supported by Groups A and B. The plan will be to trigger the cages and push the wolves to the far side of the chamber with a strong line. Shields up front with damage dealers behind to switch forward to kill the wolves. We can not break this line.” They finalized the groups and began to move out. Bladescape took Backbreaker and Joltron, for their shields. Their damage dealers would be Doombunny with Colorra, Thunderborne for her speed, and Astro for her spear’s reach. Fast attacks slipping out from behind the shields was the plan. They didn’t need more shields, so Diemond stayed back. Kiefer, Lessa, or Knightstar would be preferable over Doombunny, but that was only for the wolves, and Bladescape had personally witnessed Doombunny’s skill against those. She just needed a strong partner to block her while she recovered. As they made their way to the boss chamber, Doombunny passed around her poison paste. It was low level work, so it only had a short lifespan once applied to the weapon. With each strike, the poison wore off from the blade, injected into the target to do its work. It was useless for Backbreaker to apply any to her blunt weapon. Doombunny stepped over to Klein. Her voice was sweet, kind, and soft, as usual. “Um, Mr. Klein, Sir?” “Yeah?” Klein asked. He was stunned to see her next to him. “Oh, did I scare you? I didn’t mean to.” Klein chuckled. “You did. You didn’t meant to though. Anyway, what’s up?” “Well, I have one last vial of poison paste. And...um...if you want, it’s yours for the battle.” “Sure,” Klein said, taking the vial. “Thanks. This will certainly come in handy.” “It has a short life,” Doombunny explained. “So it really should be saved for the boss.” “I will,” Klein said with a sweet smile. He wasn’t trying to hit on her. He had seen her scary side and he wasn’t going to cross that line and feel her wrath. He was genuine in his appreciation. They got to the door and pushed their way in. Fuurinkazan began to move in slowly while the rest formed up under Asuna’s direction. The Wondercolts were following in to back up Group C, but they were a good 40 feet behind them. The wolves were howling and barking, many foaming at the mouth. Serigatal The Wolf Master stayed waiting in the back, arms crossed but motionless and not even taunting them. Klein stepped out further, ahead of his guild. He inched out another ten feet. The were past the first two cages and very exposed. “Is he lagging?” Klein called back to the others. Groups A and B were still flanking them 40 feet back. Bladescape looked over at Asuna, but it was Heathcliff that began to move forward. Bladescape also began to walk out to Klein. They skipped Group C and joined up with Klein at the front. "This game has never once lagged," Heathcliff said calmly. “It seems we are being baited in further." "That's what concerns me," Bladescape said as she leaned against her unsheathed sword. "Should we rush him?" Klein proposed. "He only has two health bars." "Tantalizing," Bladescape said. “But let's get in position first. New plan, each group forms up in front of a cage to block it into a kill zone. Then we advance as one." "Solid plan," Heathcliff grunted. "Stay here." Heathcliff fell back and Asuna was back in charge, reorganizing all parties. Fuurinkazan and the Wondercolts were put together in the center of the room while the others were deployed. The two parties circled up to protect themselves in case something happened as the others reorganized. You could not drop your guard in a boss room and expect to live. "I don't like it," Backbreaker said through her teeth. "Just be ready to move," Bladescape said. "Either to block a cage on our flanks or charge forward. As long as we stay circled up, we should be fine." "I agree," Klein added. “Normally, this is where I would say something about how us men in Fuurinkazan would protect you ladies, but something tells me we can’t do that. You guys have yourselves covered.” “We haven’t made it this far on a fluke,” Backbreaker replied. “Most of us are really good friends I.R.L.,” Bladescape said. “No way! Same as us! We camped out together to get a copy.” “We had to snag them online and most of us had to get the hardware then too.” “Same! I hadn’t ‘dived’ before this game,” Klein added. “Looks like our two clans are almost the exact same, except you guys are older than us. Too old.” “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Klein waved off. “I get it.” "Advance one more cage," Asuna ordered them. They followed the orders. Again they advanced after the groups closest to the doors moved forward to cover the cages deeper in. After 20 exhausting minutes, the Wondercolts and the Fuurinkazan guilds were only three quarters of the way through the room. They were at the edge of the cages. The way the floor was, they could see the clear line where the cages ended. That line extended all the way across the room and was at Bladescape's and Klein's feet. They looked at each other, nodded in understanding and stepped across the line. All that was heard was the cages clanging open, but they never opened where a group was blocking them. The bars could disappear wherever they wanted. For the cages near the door, the wolves came streaming out from the ends, not the face, flanking the raid party and blocking the exit. The forward cages on either side of the Wondercolts and Fuurinkazan guild didn't open their faces either, but their ends. The wolves circled out and blocked them off from the boss. Both clans surged forward to try and rush the boss with the few wolves in front of them. "Circle up!" Asuna ordered the rear. They didn't fully seal up and Bladescape heard screams as wolves tore a player or two apart. Group B, the KOB group, was forced to moved to the rear to clear them out and seal the raid party into one giant circle. "Almost there," Klein grunted as he killed a big black wolf. The way to the boss was almost open, but the room shook and the walls opened in the center of the cages. The internal bars separating them shattered and more wolves poured out from deeper kennels. Serigatal The Wolf Master laughed in triumph. They couldn't get to him. Group A and C were cut off from the others, causing them to have to once again circle up to protect themselves. Asuna was leading the bigger circle. Bladescape was certain she had no idea how to win this, and by now, it would be difficult for the main party to retreat without using precious teleport crystals. The exit was blocked by too many wolves. The Wondercolts and Fuurinkazan would have to use crystals if the order was given. Another scream came from behind them as Bladescape gashed open a wolf in front of her. Just after that scream she heard a "Teleport Ta-" as a player Teleported out for safety. "We can't stop advancing!" Bladescape yelled. "Right!" Klein grunted as he unleashed a quadruple sword skill that killed two wolves and advanced him forward quite a bit. Backbreaker was right there to block him as he took the delay penalty. Serigatal The Wolf Master howled in pain and staggered before getting his feet back under him. Bladescape took a quick look. Doombunny was in the middle of their circle. She dashed out to savagely strike a wolf for another kill. Bladescape blocked a wolf as it pounced on her and Klein killed it in retaliation. A third wave of wolves were unleashed. The boss room was now completely flooded with black wolves. Doombunny went back to back with Bladescape. "This isn't fun!" She cried with a wet sob. "I'm sorry," Bladescape said. "This isn't normal." "Has a boss battle ever been normal?" Klein quipped. "None of them are routine or the same." "Not helping!" Bladescape yelled as she lunged and killed a big wolf. "I'm sorry Fluttershy. I didn't-" "It's not your fault," Doombunny replied with another sob. "I know I'm not weak. But this...this isn't for me. I'll fight just as hard on the front lines, but this is too much stress for my soft heart. Why couldn't it have been ghosts or something." "You are even more terrified of ghosts!" Backbreaker grunted as she held firm against several wolves pounding on her shield. "Oh, right," Doombunny said in her sweet crying voice. She pulled out a blue teleport crystal and gripped it tight as she tried to clear her eyes and see clearly. "It's okay," Bladescape said. "If you need to, do it. We would rather have you safe, than have to worry about protecting you to the point where it endangers us all. I thought this would be different." Bladescape stopped focusing on Doombunny so she could keep them all alive. Doombunny wasn't crying anymore, that was what was important. That and she had given it her all. Bladescape lost track of time as Klein and her took out another few wolves. The wolves knew how to stay back and hunt it a pack. That was what was dragging out each and every minute of this raid. It was a tiring job and the longer it took, the weaker each player got. Each weapon had weight that dragged a player down in these long fights. "DAMN IT!" Doombunny roared from behind them. Bladescape saw a glow in her peripheral vision and then it disappeared. In front of her, several wolves exploded in a blast of polygons, but they were quickly replaced. The boss roared in pain, but he was eclipsed by Doombunny's roar. “YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO INFECT AND HARM ANY MORE OF THESE WOLVES!” Bladescape was knocked to the side into Klein who caught her. Doombunny was just inside their circle, a yellow glow emanating from her. Doombunny finished her proclamated roar with a savage growl. “Ever again.” “What is that glow?” Bladescape gasped. Klein pushed Bladescape up to her feet before answering. “That’s Fighting Spirit being fully pumped through her virtual veins. It’s a hate based skill that boosts your fighting ability.” “A hate skill?” Klein killed a wolf, getting them back on track. “Yeah. I have it. I would know. But for someone like her, what does she have to hate?” Bladescape unleashed a two combo sword skill to finish off another wolf. “She is being kept from her animals,” Bladescape explained. “She reads bedtime stories to a local shelter to put them to sleep. She smuggles in at least one animal a day to school in her backpack because they get lonely. So being stuck here, unable to care for them. That must be what fuels that rage. I knew she had to have been having a hard time, but Doombunny having a hate skill...” All of the wolves pulled back from the attacks and began to circle both groups, trying to find their weaknesses. Their numbers had been thinned drastically. Half of the raid party downed potions while the others protected them before switching out. “Klein, Blade,” Backbreaker whispered. "I’ll jump out and block their circling. You and Blade surge forward to the boss.” “Right,” Bladescape said. "You got it," Klein grinned. Both Klein and Bladescape poured the poison on their blades and then nodded to Backbreaker. She jumped out and used her shield to block the circling wolves. Klein was out first and ran a wolf through. Bladescape finished it as she skipped past. Klein jumped forward and then stopped a bit forward of Bladescape. The boss wasn’t there. “THE BOSS IS DOWN!” Bladescape yelled to the entire chamber. “ATTACK! CUT THEM TO PIECES.” Fuurinkazan and the Wondercolts leaped towards their closest targets. It was a tough battle as they exposed themselves. The wolves retaliated in kind, having the advantage now that the circles were gone. Astro’s back was sliced open by a paw full of razor sharp claws, but Doombunny countered the wolf’s attack before any real damage happened. Joltron was knocked off his feet and only his shield and heavy armor stopped him from being bitten. Several members of Fuurinkazan took bites and had to use antidote crystals. It was what they needed to break the stalemate. Several other horrible screams came out from the main group. They won, but, as whole, they also were bitten and slashed while they secured the victory. Bladescape saw Commander Heathcliff stand there confidently as he finished the last two wolves. They came at him from opposite sides. He slashed the first wolf while blocking the other, which jumped at him, with his shield. Before it’s feet touched the ground, Heathcliff cleanly stabbed his long sword through the wolf with ease and an air of sophistication. Only then did the congratulation music sound and banner fly. Heathcliff turned to look at Bladescape and Klein. He was looking for an explanation. So was Asuna beside him, her gaze was piercing, mad. His was questioning, firm, but kind. “It was just gone,” Klein said. “We were surrounded, finally broke through, and he wasn’t there. I never saw him fall, burst, or anything.” “Who got the LAB?” another player asked. “I didn’t,” Heathcliff announced. “But whoever did, they don’t have to answer. That is the courteous thing to do.” “How many did we lose?” Bladescape asked. “I couldn’t see you guys.” The tally was made. Two had teleported out with heavy injuries and eight had died. At least half of the raiders had used one or more antidote crystals or antipoison potions. “This was a nightmare,” Heathcliff declared. “But we will prevail. The next Floor is 40. We need to push our levels to keep this from happening again. Ever again.” The Wondercolts walked to the stairs. The KOB squad was leading the way. The Boss’ disappearance mystery had every player on edge. “Well,” Klein said as they got the teleport gate. “Let us know when you get that dining room table.” “Ha!” Bladescape laughed. “I will. It was a good two days fighting besides you guys, as equals. You are a strong clan. We haven’t cleared with another clan before. It was enjoyable, but don’t get any ideas-” “Yeah, yeah,” Klein said, waving it off. The Wondercolts teleported back to Mishe and breathed a sigh of relief as they got back to safety. The rest were inside, waiting for them. They got a rousing cheer from the others as they entered the meeting hall, the only place with chairs for them all. “Well, how did it go?” Diemond asked, begging for news. Being left out had been hard, but understandable, for her. “Not good,” Bladescape said, taking her seat at the table. “Two had to teleport out and eight died. The wolves were tough. That’s basically all we fought. We don’t even know who got the LAB.” “Um, excuse me?” Doombunny asked. “Yes?” Backbreaker said. “Well, Colorra got one strike in, and then I got in a strong combination attack, but that was it. He still had over half his health when I got back. Sorry for bumping into you by the way.” “Did you use poison on your blade?” Bladescape asked. “Mhm,” Doombunny nodded. “Well, did you get the last attack bonus?” “Um...maybe? I just clicked past what my screens said. I was still angry and I was petting Colorra to calm down. I don't know what popped up.” Thunderborne groaned at Doombunny being Fluttershy and missing information because of it. Doombunny began to scroll through her menu. “Wow, I didn’t know I got all this from the boss battle. I see why so many players want to go.” “Anything impressive?” Knightstar asked. “Um...well...some...I guess. I don’t really know what I am looking at. That is your specialty. I barely know the stats of my own dagger.” “Can you identify what you got?” Knightstar asked. “Of course,” Doombunny nodded. “I keep a clean inventory.” After a few clicks, all the gear popped out into the open. Doombunny didn’t catch most of it and it clattered onto the ground. The others helped pick it up and get it all on the table in front of Knightstar. There were weapons of all kinds and different miscellaneous items. Knightstar sorted through it all and eventually picked up a small box. Inside was the real prize. It was a pair of earrings and a single ring. They were called the Beast Tamer’s Charms. Each earring was a wolf’s canine tooth and the ring was a silver band with a ruby wolf’s paw. One earring was +10 Agility, the other earring was Night Vision, and the ring was identified as “Familiar Mirror.” Doombunny put the agility earring on and giggled. “Oh, I feel that. It made me tingle.” She stumbled as the night visions flashed over her eyes and then ended because she was in solid lighting. The ring made her feel nothing. “I don’t feel any, or see anything different,” Doombunny said. “Do I look different? Like a snake?” “Check your skills,” Knightstar said. “Colorra has poison abilities, does anything pop up.” “Mhm,” Doombunny said a moment later. “Several new Sword Skills come up. Bite, Inject, Viper, Sidewinder, and Constriction are the ones I am seeing now.” “Interesting,” Knightstar said. “That is a good list to add to what you already have.” Knightstar picked up a mace and clicked on it. “This is significantly better than what Diemond has. Doom, you got a good haul. All Wondercolt raiders, leave anything you want me to check in front of your room, like always, and I will give you quotes back by the morning.” “Here, Rarity,” Doombunny said picking up the mace. It was a lot heavier than she expected. She grunted as she continued. “You can have this. I don’t need it. Or any money.” “Are you sure?” Diemond asked, taking it easily in one hand. “Of course,” Doombunny smiled. “You need it and I don’t. I’d just sell it.” “Darling,” Diemond wryly grinned. “You survived your first boss raid.” “And only one,” Doombunny replied. “It’s not for me. I don’t think I could handle the stress again. I almost teleported out. I am going to bed. Wake me up when Pinkie has breakfast ready.” They watched a physically and emotionally exhausted Doombunny go off to bed. Most of the others left as well, leaving only the raid party and Knightstar. It wasn’t too late, so the appraisals happened right then. If an item was useful for a party member, they were informed. Private trades did happen. After, it was just the three leaders. Knightstar had a point she needed to make. “I know you have a ring BB, and Blade, you have two as well, but after seeing Doom's Beast Tamer's Charms, I see now that we need to make specific moves to secure more jewelry to boost us. I think that it is the edge we are lacking.” “I’ll go to Agil’s in the morning,” Bladescape said. “I will find out where we can get jewelry. I am sure other players make it, including the special properties.” “How are you holding up?” Backbreaker asked Bladescape. “Well,” Bladescape sighed. “It’s not bad because no one saw the boss fall. It looks like the LAB went to Doom because she, or Colorra, knocked off the last of the Boss' HP with poison. An unexpected circumstance. The minions not counting was interesting, and I am certain Doom and Colorra were the only ones who landed attacks on the Boss proper. Which is impressive. I never had a chance, and that takes the pain away. Also, we took her knowing she was the best suited for knocking off his HP. Plus, it’s Fluttershy. How mad can you get at her?” “She got pretty mad in the raid,” Backbreaker chuckled. “She was glowing all yellow like." "Klein said Fighting Spirit is a hate based skill," Bladescape explained. “I know,” Knightstar said. “I did some digging as she leveled it up. She must be extremely mad about not being able to take care of her animals.” Backbreaker chuckled. “She yelled ‘damn it.’ She almost teleported out. Instead, she yelled that and charged with a glowing aggression I have never seen out of her.” All three of them chuckled about Doombunny going off like that. It wasn’t all bad. It was exactly what they needed, sort of. They were concerned about how she was doing mentally. As long as they didn’t put her in situations that tough again, they were guessing she would be fine. Fluttershy popped out from under Doombunny at least once a day. Still it was a gamble, but they didn't know of any better options. Bladescape (SS): Lvl 55 – Two-Handed Sword – Search – Weapon Defense – Leather Armor – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Sprint – Acrobatics Knightstar (TS): Lvl 49 – One-Handed Sword – Shield – Equipment Appraisal – Parry – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Light Metal Armor Thunderborne (RBD): Lvl 50 – Rapier – Sprint – Acrobatics – Armor Pierce – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Leather Armor – Weapon Defense Backbreaker (AJ): Lvl 53 – Heavy Shield – One-Handed War Hammer – Extended Weight Carry – Heavy Metal Armor – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Fishing – Search AFCK (PP): Lvl 49 – Two-Handed Axe – Parry – Cooking – Weapon Defense – Martial Arts – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Light Metal Armor Diemond (R): Lvl 50 – Shield – Mace – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Heavy Metal Armor – Tailoring – Light Metal Armor Forging – Heavy Metal Armor Forging Doombunny (FS): Lvl 50 – One-Handed Dagger – First Aid – Hide – Search – Listening – Battle Regeneration – Fighting Spirit – Familiar Communication (Colorra) – Drug Mixing Astro (PS): Lvl 50 – Two-Handed Spear - Purchase Negotiation – Armor Pierce – Acrobatics – First Aid – Light Metal Armor – Battle Regeneration – Weapon Defense Kiefer: Lvl 46 – One-Handed Curved Blade – Parry – Weapon Defense – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Light Metal Armor – Slash Weapon Forging Lessa: Lvl 46 – One-Handed Sword – Shield – Light Metal Armor – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Equipment Repair – Metal Equipment Repairing Joltron: Lvl 48 – One handed Axe – Shield – Heavy Metal Armor – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Metal Refining – Blunt Weapon Forging