Creak!
The stone doors of the Abandoned War Factory groaned as they creaked open, dust swirling in the dim glow of the dungeon exit.
Noah and his teammates stepped out, their armor and weapons still coated in the grim of battle inside the dungeon.
The level 25 dungeon had been brutal, a gauntlet of automated war machines, berserk constructs, and trap-laden corridors that had pushed them to their limits even with their experience and achievents.
And yes, they were level 25 now, weeks after completing the level 20 Demon’s Tower dungeon in Hell mode.
"Finally out," Aria exhaled, stretching her arms. "That dungeon was a nightmare".
"I dunno," Benjamin smirked, wiping imaginary sweat from his forehead. "I thought it was a constructive experience".
Caleb groaned. "Must you talk? Shut up before I construct a grave for you".
Genevieve chuckled, shaking her head. "You were always the calm one, but these days it seems like you get even more irritated by his jokes than I do".
Caleb shook his head. "It’s too much".
Benjamin chuckled. "That would have broken my heart, but it’s tough love I guess, right?"
"Afterall, what are friends for?"
Genevieve shook her head again, ignoring him. "We should move; we’re still in contested territory".
Noah had just opened the map when his sharp gaze caught movent in the distance. Shadows flickered along the canyon ridges, a lot of them.
And then, a notification flashed.
[Warning! Hostile players detected nearby!]
This..., was a notification that only appeared after you’ve engaged in battle multiple tis against a specific group of players, even killing so in the process.
After such encounters, the ga algorithm uses its machine learning technology to update its data, taking the opposing set of players as enemies.
As soon as the notification appeared, Aria’s eyes narrowed. "Don’t tell ..."
A whistling sound cut through the air. A crossbow bolt slamd into the ground inches from Noah’s feet, quivering from the impact.
"Yep," Caleb muttered. "It’s those desperate bastards again".
Across the rocky terrain, a flood of players erged. Cloaked figures, armored warriors, spellcasters with staves crackling with magic.
The insignias of Cyber Crew, Steel Legion, Oblivion Order, and half a dozen other top guilds glead under the sunlight. And now, a wall of hostile players blocked the canyon exit.
"There they are!" Soone shouted.
"We warned you, Lord Doom!" Another voice rang out. "You should’ve joined us when you had the chance!"
"Guess we hit the guild jealousy bingo," Benjamin mused, already stepping back. "What’s next? They spam us with duel requests?"
A fireball ignited in a mage’s hand, while a rogue disappeared into Stealth. Warriors raised their shields, preparing to engage.
Noah sighed. "Tch. Annoying".
Well, this was what they had to deal with for the past week.
It was already 1 week since Shattered Star, the guild leader of the top guild Cyber Crew blocked Noah and his teammates after they left the Arena.
Since then, other top guild leaders in the 11th server secretly ssaged Noah and his teammates, at first showing their modest side and trying to recruit them but later battering for their overpowered weapons and yet, Noah and his teammates never responded positively.
They didn’t give up, trying over and over till they beca frustrated.
Well, in Eastern Fantasy settings, they’d say, don’t refuse a toast only to drink a loss.
Since Noah and his teammates decided to be so unreasonable, all the top guilds combined their forces and decided to teach them a lesson.
They decided to use force. They wanted to show Noah and his teammates the imnsity of heaven and earth.
You think you’re skilled?
Well, what can skill do when you’re outnumbered 10 to 1?
In the ga, top guilds rule.
Pooling their resources together, an information gathering unit was created whose sole purpose was to gather information about Noah’s group and their movent so they could hunt them efficiently.
They stalked them, monitored them when they entered dungeons, waiting to ambush them after they co out.
Since then, they’ve clashed with this group multiple tis already.
But this was where the crazy part cos.
Since they’ve been going after them, not once have they managed to kill one of them, rather multiple players of their guilds dying in the hunt.
Those guys, numbers seed to an nothing before them.
This only riled the guild leaders up even more though.
’These bastards...!’
It was no longer a question of recruitnt, but now pride. How can the top guilds in the ga pool their manpower and resources together and still fail to capture a group of just 5 players?
If casual players hear about it, they’d think they’re weak.
This was why they didn’t give up, tracking them down and hunting them relentlessly for almost a week now.
There were almost a hundred players now blocking the canyon exit.
Aria turned to Noah. "Fight or run?"
"We just burned through all our potions," Caleb pointed out. "We fight, we’re gonna be fighting exhausted".
Genevieve agreed. "And with this many numbers, they’ll just keep coming even if we drop so of them".
"Running it is, then," Noah decided, already shifting his grip on Aetherforge. "Let’s go".
And then, the chase began.
The mont they bolted, chaos erupted. Arrows, spells, and projectiles rained down, kicking up dirt as they sprinted through the canyon.
Fireballs exploded behind them, and a massive warrior with a two-handed axe charged forward, only for Aria to casually vault off a rock and kick off his helt mid-air.
"Too slow!" She taunted.
Caleb summoned spectral wolves to slow their pursuers while Benjamin, the team’s resident troll, turned his head mid-run and cupped his hands around his mouth.
"Damn, is this all y’all got? This is why y’all keep losing the pro scene!"
In response, a lightning bolt narrowly missed him.
"Woah!" Benjamin yelped, laughing.
"Oi!" Caleb growled. "Maybe don’t antagonize the people trying to kill us?!"
"What? It’s fun!" Benjamin cackled, leaping over a rock. "Also, they deserve it, they already want to kill us".
Well, there was no flaw in his argunt, Caleb was tongue-tied.
Despite their pursuers’ aggression, Noah’s team had better mobility and coordination. They dodged, weaved through terrain, and used environntal obstacles to block attacks.
The ambush that was set by their opponents was aningless in the face of actual skill and combat experience.
10 years of fighting in the English Pro Alliance, fighting against much more skilled and devious opponents made this look like a walk down the park for Noah and his teammates. A minor inconvenience.
As they sprinted through the canyon, expertly dodging spellfire and arrows from their pursuers, Benjamin’s voice continued ringing out, filled with his usual mocking bravado as he left their pursuers incredibly frustrated.
In the history of the English Pro Alliance, Benjamin had the most yellow card record for foul and offensive trash-talking and it wasn’t without basis.
"Damn, y’all need aim training! My grandma dodged better than this, and she’s in a damn wheelchair!"
"..."
A player ssed up his control on hearing that, collapsing into a heap as his teammates stomped over him.
"Oops!" Benjamin laughed.
"Shut up and run!" Aria barked.
"Co on babe, running is for cowards! I prefer the term tactical relocation!"
They turned a sharp corner, only to skid to a sudden halt.
This was because they encountered a lone figure standing in the middle of the dusty, wind-swept canyon, his coat billowing like the reaper’s shroud.
Draped in a tattered black duster, his face obscured by an old-world gunslinger mask, glowing blue eyes burned behind the cracks.
Twin revolvers, their barrels engraved with sinister runes rested at his hips.
A rusted sheriff’s badge, cracked down the middle glead against his chest.
And then, a notification flashed.
~----~
[You have encountered a Level 25 Wild Boss: Phantom Deadeye!]
*Na: Phantom Deadeye
*Level: 25
*Class: Gunner
*Type: Wild Boss
*Affiliation: The Lost Outlaws
*Appearance: A towering spectral gunslinger clad in a tattered black duster, his body flickering between physical and ethereal form like a mirage. A rusted sheriff’s badge, cracked down the middle is pinned to his chest, a cruel mockery of his forr title.
[Lore:]
>Once, he was a legendary gunslinger, a sheriff who protected the frontier. But after death, his soul was twisted into an undead executioner, dood to endlessly hunt those who dare trespass in his territory<
>Now, he does not protect, he punishes. And there is no escape from the gaze of the Phantom Deadeye<
~----~
The Phantom Deadeye stared at the intruders with his eerie glowing blue eyes.
"Draw, partner".
A chilling whisper echoed through the canyon as his fingers twitched.
Caleb exhaled. "Well. Shit".
In that mont, the hundred players who pursued the group of 5 finally rounded the corner, eting their target and the other existence that they didn’t account for.
At first, they were stunned but then one of them recognized him.
"It’s a Wild Boss! The Phantom Deadeye!"
"I can’t believe it; this is the first wild boss encounter since the new server was launched!"
"We’re lucky!"
"We have to kill it; wild boss drop rewards are OP!"
While the players chattered excitedly among themselves, forgetting their original objective, Noah inclined his head to look at them, his eyes flickering as the seed of an idea was conceived in his mind.
He looked at his teammates, smirking. "Are you thinking what I’m thinking?"
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