End Online: Volume 5 (15 page)

My jaw drops as thousands of icy needles launch at the area
around us, impaling through nearly every monster surrounding us. The weaker
monsters instantly die, including all the locusts and most of the Sahar.

I turn and stare at Fen incredulously for unleashing such an
attack. My stomach clenches as I see her crouching on the ground, panting to
catch her breath. The corner of my vision reveals that not only did that attack
take the rest of her mana, but half of her health points as well.

“Fen, why would you do that if it costs so much?” I mutter
unhappily.

The wolf must have heard me. Fen looks toward me with
unfathomable affection. Looking into her eyes causes a longing in my chest. I
think of all the times I have woken up to find her attached to me, and realize
that I no longer dislike it. Instead, I only want to experience it just once
more.

“Attack!” I roar while charging forward, using the battle to
shake myself free of anxiety’s clutches.

There is a slight pause, but my team still backs me up and
attacks the remaining enemies. Fen’s cluster bomb killed most of them; the
remainder are low on health and are easily killed.

Another thunderclap sounds and the final scorpion dies, only
this time the noise doesn’t come from Fen but CaptainGordon instead. Everyone
turns to look for the source of the noise, only to see the pirate holding a
strange looking pistol in his hand. The tip of the gun is still emitting smoke
from the shot.

‘A gun?’
 My thoughts
must mirror everyone else’s, as they are also staring at the weapon with a
blank look.

“Umm, CaptainGordon, what is that?” I ask the pirate, still
refusing to believe that there is a gun in this game.

“It be a gun. Truly marvelous, ain’t it?” CaptainGordon
responds, awash in pride.

“We can see that. Where did it come from?” Mason is as confused
as everyone else.

“Made it me’self,” The pirate holsters the gun back underneath
his coat and out of sight. “Hrmm, please don’t be spreadin’ rumors ’bout it. I
don’t want unnecessary attention. I be never escapin’ then.”

“Do not worry, your secret is safe with us,” I assure him as the
shock of seeing a gun in a swords and magic game fades.

Various loot litters the area, ready to be collected. As Fen is
my companion, all her kills produce item windows for me, but since I am in a
party, anyone else in the party can pick it up.

“You are all already here and the battle is over?” MoonKite’s
voice comes from just outside our group.

I turn to find Mikhail and his party standing there looking
around. It is convenient that they appeared only as soon as the battle is over.
I wonder whether they were simply waiting for the right moment to appear.

“Your timing is a little convenient, isn’t it? Judging by how
fast you were travelling earlier, you should have arrived a while ago,” Mason
reflects my thoughts to the other group.

“We don’t have a mount to rush here as you do. When we saw that,
we were no longer in such a hurry,” Mikhail states from beneath his helmet as
if it is a matter of fact.

Despite wanting to pursue the topic further, their party’s
concerns are none of mine. Regardless, I still reflect the same expression rest
of our party by looking at them with disdain.

“We had best fill our water skins. I don’t know about you, but
our water supply is starting to become more barren than this desert,” Mikhail
states as he and his party leisurely walk toward the oasis.

We silently follow behind them, but I angrily pray that the
creator of this game spawns more enemies from the sand to attack them. With my
plea unanswered, I begin to fantasize about attacking them and wiping them out.
I only refrain because that isn’t the type of player I am.

Everyone fills all their water skins with enough water to last
several days. CaptainGordon marks our position on a map he has been creating
with his ‘Cartography’ skill so we can return here for more water if we need
to.

A familiar feeling comes over me as I finish filling up my water
skins and I look around expectantly. There are herbs nearby.

Around the base of the trees, nearly hidden out of sight, are
multiple herbs miraculously growing from the sand. Rushing over, I find a large
quantity of ‘Red Medicinal Herbs’ and a new herb a tier higher than the last,
‘Purple Medicinal Herb’. There is an equal amount of both the red and purple
medicinal herbs, giving me a large boost to restoring damage and creating
potions for emergency use.

I find several other herbs with unknown usages, but will most
likely be used in cooking instead of concocting potions. There are more herbs
of all kinds at the trees around other parts of the massive oasis, but the
monsters in those parts have not been cleared yet so I can’t safely collect
them.

A single ‘Purple Recovery Potion’ requires three ‘Purple
Medicinal Herbs’ and a vial of water. It also recovers an enormous amount of
health points. To be exact, it’s 2520 points of health in twenty seconds.

Predictably, the potion is a toxic purple color similar to that
seen on the old cartoons when someone with no cooking skills attempts to make
curry. The taste is just as off-putting. I sincerely feel bad for feeding one
to Fen, but it is the fastest way to recover her lost health points.

After discussing where to go next, we decide we will visit the
pyramid dungeon before travelling further south. Mikhail vaguely implies there
is something to the south, but refuses to confirm whether it is the truth or
not. He claims it is just a rumor he overheard in a crowded street.

Using CaptainGordon’s map as a reference, we begin backtracking
toward the pyramids. I suggest simply following our footsteps in the sand, but
Mikhail and Mason both point out that the wind has erased our tracks.

Fen doesn’t carry us over the dunes since we are travelling with
Mikhail and his party, but nonetheless, it is still relatively easy to head
back in a straight line.

Travelling the opposite direction as before, we easily climb the
gentle slope of the dunes and slide down the opposite side.  Walking back
this way is twice as fast as finding an accessible route to get here.

Night falls as we approach the pyramids, so we decide to camp
for the night before entering in the morning. I cook a dinner using the meat of
a snake-like monster we came across during the day. There are no vegetables to
be found in this desolate land, and my stock is completely empty, but trying a
few new herbs as spices on the snake meat creates a delicious dish regardless.

For the first time in a long while, I wake without Fen in my
sleeping bag. It’s surprising to realize how lonely I feel. Right. Of course,
in her wolf form it is impossible for her to join me. My imagination runs wild
as I picture her returning to her human form and sneaking into my sleeping bag
to hide her nudity. The thought causes a manly reaction. And then I blush.

Of course, Fen still manages to irritate me upon waking. Unable
to join me in the bed, she has curled her body around me in my sleep and
effectively smothered me. Due to the system assisting my sleep, I do not wake
as what she did does not register as an attack, but upon waking I find myself
unable to breath and enter into a violent coughing fit. The rest of the party
arise at the same time, and comically look at my odd display.

After packing up all our belongings and storing them back in our
inventories, we head toward the nearest pyramid. The entrance to the pyramid is
far too small to allow Fen entrance and I am forced to ask her to stand guard
outside. She rampages for a while, trying to prevent me from entering, but
eventually relents. She lies down next the the entrance, emitting a terrifying
aura while glaring at me. I feel pretty guilty for not staying by her, but the
party needs me and Fen will be safe here.

As we enter, my pulse quickens in excitement. I am always eager
to explore a new dungeon, but something about this one has me particularly
enthused.

Small flames burn in pockets carved into the sandstone walls,
providing the passage with flickering light. The air is also arid and stale,
since not a single breeze blows through to alleviate the heat.

The entrance passage abruptly comes to a halt and we enter a
cube-shaped antechamber. The walls are covered with glyphs in a cryptic
pattern.

“Lost? Is everything okay? We are heading on,” Mason’s voice
sounds from somewhere behind me.

I realize I have been staring at the symbols on the wall for a
long time and completely forgot about the passage of time. The others have been
waiting patiently, but even patience has its limit.

“Ah, sorry. I will be right there,” I find it difficult to
remove myself from the wall, eventually having to forcibly shut my eyes and
turn around.

The message appears as I leave the antechamber and head deeper
into the pyramid. The passage widens to about ten meters. Flames still flicker
from the inlets on the sandstone wall, but a black fog dims the light and
prevents us from seeing more than twenty meters in front us.

The dungeon is like a labyrinth, one branch splitting off into
three, then those splitting off into three more. Of the nine eventual paths,
four end up connecting together and causing us to end up back where we started,
two more result in dead ends, and the remaining three split up into even more
passages leading into the dark and decrepit unknown.

CaptainGordon’s impressive mapmaking skills are a beacon of
light, forming an accurate depiction of the passages we have used, and even
showing passages we haven’t yet travelled.

As we go deeper, we discover countless traps set up throughout
the tomb. They are unlike anything I have encountered in other dungeons; three
times as frequent, and twice and deadly. I expect nothing less from an
emperor’s final resting place to fend off graverobbers. Are we actually
conquering a dungeon, or simply hunting for the deceased’s treasures?

The monsters are problematic. Around every corner, just after
escaping a trap, sometimes even during a trap, they appear. Rotted skeletons
and mummies with four arms crawl out of small openings along the base of the
walls, while tens of giant scarabs will skitter down from the ceiling. One of
the traps drops a total of seventeen four-armed mummies around us and nearly
kills Matrix when he is caught by surprise.

I severely berate Mason and ask if his trap detection skill is
even equipped after countless near death experiences, but considering the
monsters in this dungeon range from level 200 to 300, his trap detection skill
isn’t high enough to detect the traps before they are triggered. He still
detects a couple of them, and his skill levels up multiple times as a result.

We all gain between four to seven levels in the dungeon and a
couple of stat point increases before we reach the final boss room.

The final crypt of Emperor Rahad’s tomb is extremely well lit by
roaring flames along the perimeter. The dome shaped walls also have the ancient
symbols chiselled into them, all the way up to the epicenter of the roof where
a carving of the night sky resides.

Mason hits me over the back of the head to bring my attention
back to the boss who rises from a three meter long sarcophagus. Emperor Rahad
clearly never passed on to the next life and decided to become an undead mummy
of giant proportions to eliminate any and all intruders.

The boss towers three meters above me. A dozen cloth bandages
begin to slowly unwrap from his body. Once the bandages reach near the ground,
they stop unravelling. Looking closely, I realize that each bandage is
vibrating at a unique frequency.

‘Hmm, that’s strange.’
 A
hint of danger enters my mind as I focus on Emperor Rahad.

Each and every bandage turns into a weapon that seems to have a mind
of its own. They are as strong as steel and extend to up to five meters in
length. Rahad also uses a sacred art that allows the bandages to penetrate into
the ground and emerge anywhere in the chamber like spears. Each of his dozen
cloth bandages can use the sacred art individually, or they can all use it at
once. Either method is an unexpected attack and nearly impossible to block.

In addition to the independent movement of his bandages, Emperor
Rahad also uses various fire magics to control the battlefield, from homing
fireballs to minor volcanic eruptions on the floor.

The final boss room is only twenty meters in diameter, and
anywhere within five meters of the boss is a danger zone which leaves very
little room for evading him. The only reason we all barely manage to survive is
the fact that Emperor Rahad moves quite slowly. Due to the boss’s insanely
large health pool, killing him is a difficult proposition that could result in
any of us dying at any given moment.

Mason’s arrows do little as the steel-like bandages respond
automatically to block any long ranged attack. It still manages to occupy a few
of the boss’s weapons and slow down its attacks while we attack from close
range. Sir Laurence and Mikhail focus on defense and healing as we slowly whittle
away Emperor Rahad’s health. The process is long but we eventually manage to
bring him down.