The Dragon's Wrath: A Virtual Dream

Chapter 40: The First Floor, Pt. 2

(Sunday, May 23rd Game Day / Wednesday, February 17th Real Day)

With the fight finally over the group sat down to recover their lost stamina, mana, and health. It was a sloppy fight with little coordination but that was expected from pick-up groups with no familiarity. Coordination was typically born from experience… either with those you have worked with, or from having done similar work extensively.

There was none of that here.

Breaking my train of thought as the archer decided to open his mouth again, "That was pretty messy at first, but we recovered. So, let's rest up and I'll bring the next group."

Yeah, no.

His strategy sucked.

Those minors had only slightly less attack power than the regular goblins, but they had significantly less health and almost no defensive capability. Five seconds to kill a minor or twenty for a regular.

There was no reason to let the minors attack me for forty seconds with impunity. Plus, it left me to attempt to guard against four or five targets at a time. I had no interest in being overworked for the benefit of some archer's ego. All he had to do anyways was mindlessly shoot his bow. Not to mention, one of them had hit me with an arrow in the back.

Speaking up, "Mind if we switch it up a little?"

The archer seemed displeased and replied coldly, "What did you have in mind?"

"Since I'm not a Shield-bearer, I don't have the AoE Taunt skill for taking initial aggro. It would work better if you let me pull them."

Silence quickly filled the air as all four members stood still. They were most likely discussing the proposition in their guild chat, where I couldn't see it. I wasn't sure what all they had to discuss though, their tank was telling them that he could tank better if he pulls.

What was there to debate?

After what felt like five minutes, I finally got my reply.

"That's fine. You're familiar with pulling, right?"

"Yup."

With a smile, I immediately got up and ran around the corner with my bow in hand. A moment later I was running back towards the large room where my party had been standing, dumbfounded that I left them.

Turning back around, I readied my axe for the four goblins coming my way.

As the goblins came into sight, the archer quickly stated the obvious, "Ugh, there's only four goblins… did you lose one?"

Yelling back to him as the goblins charged into me, "Already killed one!"

"Wait, what?"

"Focus the Minors first!"

Ignoring the idiocy of the archer-leader as I had no interest in arguing nor sitting around for five minutes while they internally discussed the merits of my proposals, I continued the fight. Once you're in combat, it's best to listen to the tank.

The goblins hit me with their charge as I took 17% of my health in damage from the minors while deflecting the regulars. Corralling all four of the goblins in front of me, I side-stepped and turned so that the archers would have a clear firing line.

Now, we could fight.

As the minor goblin to my right fell almost instantly to the rogue, a smile crept up on my face. Only to turn into a wince as the other minor goblin stabbed me in the thigh.

Swinging my axe down towards the oncoming swords of the regulars, the clang of metal on metal rang out throughout the cave, reverberating off the narrow walls of the passageways. The echoes continued to bounce back and forth as the fight escalated.

As I turned my focus to the two regulars, I noticed a few arrows had landed in their core. The archers had ignored my call to attack the minors. Typical leader-types with too much of an ego to step aside when out-classed.

The rogue felled the other minor goblin in record time though, and with that it was 5 versus 2 in short order.

As the Outcast Goblin in front of me lunged forward attempting to land a thrust, I simply stood my ground and took the blow. The goblin was oblivious of what was to come as I dropped the axe down.

The goblin had nowhere to go and was full of openings; leading to a clean decapitation as the goblin's head rolled in front of me. One look to my left and the other goblin soon fell to the rogue's [Flurry] of stabs and the archer's volleys.

Not interested in any further discussion or commentary from the archer, I quickly left to pull the third group. The priest had only used 30% of her mana this time, opposed to the 80% she used last time.

That's measured progress.

With every pull, we came one step closer until we finally reached the boss. There were seven trash groups and a mini-boss per level, it seemed.

Stopping for a minute to explain the situation, "Next one's the boss, did you guys want to sort the loot before or after we start?"

The rogue replied to me as the archer had long since gone silent, "We sorted the items when you were pulling, it's all junk."

Well, I didn't doubt her.

I had a good look at those cracked and rusty swords as they pierced my abdomen or sliced at my arms and legs. They were just old, extremely brittle iron swords that were only good for a few hits.

Vendor trash, essentially.

Take it and sell it at the trade post for its scrap cost, or keep it to melt down for resources for yourself. Definitely not worth using in a fight, unless you wanted it to break mid-fight.

Approaching the mini-boss for the first floor, one could easily see the difference between the [Outcast Goblin Guard] and the lower level [Outcast Goblins] and [Outcast Minor Goblins]. The Guard was level 40 while the two Goblins were 37. Those two Minors were only level 27.

Of course, I was only level 30 so, I didn't know if the levels really meant much.

The rogue then explained the situation to me, "The boss is fairly normal, we've fought him twice and only beat him once. He actually has leather armor on in addition to that shield and spear, so he's a bit dangerous."

Leaving the party in the previous room, I went alone to pull the boss.

As soon as I was at the very end of my spell range I stopped and placed my bow down against the rock wall with my axe hanging off my back. Bringing my hands up near my chest and turning slightly to the side, I started my Chanted Verse.

"Through power, darkness turns to light, render all to ash, Lightning Bolt!"

Electrical energy coursing through my hands, the balled up mass of raw power shot straight out of my open palms and instantly traversed the distance between us.

The Minor Goblin that was my intended target was soon convulsing on its knees as an arrow found its mark in the center of his forehead. Drawing once more, I released in the general direction of the [Guard] with a thwack.

Turning around without any further hesitation, I sprinted back down that narrow, damp, and dark passageway. As soon as I reached the open cave section, I quickly turned and drew my bow.

It wouldn't be long now.

Any second now….

And then, there they were as if on cue.

Thwack.

Thwack.

Thwack.

The single remaining minor turned the corner first and soon found itself the victim of multiple arrows to the chest as it collapsed on the ground.

Not even close.

Adrenaline had started to pick up a little as I again drew my bow. That narrow passageway that was only wide enough for one goblin to exit at a time would serve as our gimmick.

The [Outcast Goblin] turned the corner next and with three consecutive thwacks, three arrows found their way into the center of the goblin's chest. Though that was only enough to deal around a quarter of the goblin's health, so I tossed my bow to the ground and drew my axe.

Meeting the goblin's charge but a few steps away, I abandoned my defense and took the thrust in order to bring my axe to bear. With a side swing like cutting into a tree, I cleaved my axe straight through the goblin's arm and deep into the shoulder bone, rendering that arm completely useless.

The goblin shrieked in pain as its health fell to 44% from the continual pelting of the archers. Without time to lose I yanked the axe out as I kicked the disgusting goblin away from me just in time to raise my guard.

The second regular was now in range and I swung with all of my might intending to land a solid blow.

Only to miss my swing completely, as the goblin ducked and rolled on the ground in a feat of nimbleness.

It didn't matter though.

With the temporary opening appearing before me, I had to take it.

Lunging forward with axe high above my head I swung down on the goblin as it rolled on the ground, landing a solid blow into the hip of the goblin now on the floor. Without any mercy I jerked the axe back and with unfettered aggression I slammed that axe-head into the goblin's back. Again, I pulled and repeated, hacking the goblin in front of me to pieces as blood spurted and splattered all over and chunks of goblin flew into the air.

Covered in the goblin's blood, I turned my blood drenched face to see the rogue successfully killing the one-armed goblin with a swift thrust of her sword up and through its throat.

Adrenaline still pumping as I had somehow become quite angry, I attempted to calm down while I looked around the room. The [Outcast Goblin Guard] was nowhere to be seen.

Asking loudly, "Where's the guard? Is this scripted?"

The rogue shrugged her shoulders as she replied, "No… the guard always follows the others."

Putting my axe on my shoulder while not bothering to wipe off any of the blood that was drenched on my face and body, I started to walk down that narrow, damp, and dark passageway.

I didn’t know what that goblin guard was up to, but the executioner was coming.

Turning the corner, I couldn't help but laugh.

The almighty mini-boss of the first floor, the [Goblin Guard], stood hunched over in pain with hands grasping its face. That one wayward arrow I carelessly shot had gone through the right eye socket, effectively blinding one eye.

I continued to laugh as I started a Chanted Verse, "Through power, darkness turns to light, render all to ash, Lightning Bolt!"

Watching that beautiful bolt of lightning fly forth from my palms with its lingering tail of electricity that connected with my fingertips was always a pleasure.

Watching that goblin convulse in sudden pain as it shook uncontrollably and without a sound was even more pleasurable. The paralyze-effect had rendered the goblin mute.

Raising my right hand only, I started to use [Arc Lightning].

With a solid tether of electricity shooting forth and connecting the victim and me, the goblin continued to shake as its health slowly deteriorated. That pulsating beam of raw power that fluctuated and jumped in the air was steadily stripping the guard's health away.

And then the channel ceased.

I had run out of mana.

The [Guard] shrieked and screamed at me with the most anger I've ever seen in a creature as spit visibly flew at least ten feet out in front. It cursed at me in barely decipherable English, but it didn't matter.

It was safe to say that this goblin hated me.

That was just fine with me.

Turning my back to the raging goblin, I walked into the darkness that was the passageway, disappearing from sight.

A few steps later, I turned around the corner and stopped.

Drawing my axe back and keeping a batter's stance, I patiently waited for the guard that was soon to come.

The sounds of the goblin could be heard echoing through the chamber, high-pitched grunts and the occasional scream of anger as it cursed my existence.

Those noises soon grew louder as the echoes grew shorter.

Closing my eyes and listening to the noise that was getting ever closer, I started to count the steps that could now be heard.

One… two….

Three.

Stepping forward and swinging my axe like I was aiming for a homerun, the momentum of the axe carried me around the corner just as the shadow of the goblin appeared in front of me.

The power of the swing crashing into the weight of the goblin charging head-first caused my elbow to buckle in such a way that I was unnerved. If this was my real body, that would have been a torn ligament.

But this wasn't my real body.

Recoiling from the force of the collision I soon found myself dragged down with the goblin as my axe remained stuck in its chest. A quick glance showed that the goblin had 53% health remaining.

Yeah, he was tough.

Pulling my axe with all of my strength, I was barely able to dislodge it before a spear was thrust in my direction.

Dodging it with a quick leap backwards, I stood out of the line of sight of the archers and let them pelt the goblin that was on the floor. Three arrows found their mark before the goblin raised its large circular shield that nearly protected its entire body.

Standing up, the goblin was barely five-feet tall but with an overly-large hoplon and spear it looked like a deformed Spartan hoplite.

Well, now the real fight would begin.

The goblin's eyes burned with rage as it used a [Lunge] which was incredibly quick as I barely managed to deflect it from the center of my chest to my side.

Glancing at my health bar I had lost 18% of my health from that glancing blow. This creature could use abilities and skills. He wasn't a chump like the others that only feigned knowledge of such skills.

I immediately brought my axe to a mid-guard, intending to deflect the next blow while aiming for counter swings. The archers and rogue would have to whittle him down.

Not to be disappointed, the goblin followed up his [Lunge] with a [Heavy Thrust] that I was unable to properly deflect yet again. Running counter to the speed of the [Lunge], the extreme force of the [Heavy Thrust] made it nearly unstoppable.

Taking the hit into my left abdomen, 24% of my health vanished without a trace.

A golden light soon engulfed me and brought me back nearly to full health as the pain had dissipated as well. Without a moment to lose, I turned my focus back to the goblin in front of me.

The rogue had just snuck behind the goblin and unleashed a [Backstab] and then followed it with a [Flurry], rapidly stabbing the guard in the back with a swarm of quick thrusts. Watching as the goblin threw its shield back to break the rogue's onslaught, I noticed an arrow sneak through and land squarely in center mass.

That hoplon had deflected nearly every arrow… if we were to win this fight smoothly, I would need to break the goblin's guard.

Raising my axe to a high-guard with the intent to deflect the next blow, I was caught unaware as the Goblin Guard used a [Shield Bash] that sent me careening backwards. He followed it up with a [Heavy Thrust] while I was still staggered, landing the blow cleanly in the center of my chest.

Staring down at the spear that went completely through me, my vision started to blur as I was dazed. I had fallen to a critical level of 17% remaining health. That blow took almost 64% of my health in one hit.

My legs locked up and then started to buckle as I struggled to stay on my feet. Leaning my weight onto the spear, I grasped it lightly with both hands as I started to lose consciousness.

The goblin looked as if he was about to pull the spear out and I tried to grasp the spear as tightly as I could but without any real strength, it was futile.

And then I was engulfed in that glorious golden light that relieved my tension, cleared my vision, and restored strength to my body.

I gripped the spear tightly.

It yanked on the spear as hard as it could, but with only one hand compared to my two, I didn't budge. Instead, I ended up pulling the goblin closer. Without a weapon, this goblin was useless.

I had no intention of giving the spear up, and as we wrestled back and forth the goblin lowered its shield in desperation.

This was what I was waiting for.

Having already finagled my way to the side to give the archer's a clear path, I held steady as I watched the goblin take arrow after arrow to the arms, chest, and eventually the head.

The goblin was worked up into a stupor, frantically trying to pull the spear out of my chest. Fear had completely set in as the goblin's horizontal hourglass pupils had completely dilated. Without ever taking its eyes off the spear's shaft embedded in my chest, the Goblin Guard finally slumped backwards and onto the ground.

It was over.

Casually pulling the spear out of my chest, I inspected it to see what it was.

An [Old Dory]… I guess it was a Greek goblin after all.

Sitting down, I grabbed some rabbit jerky to appease my virtual body's hunger while contemplating my future affairs. We had cleared the first floor and there were a lot of options going forward.

But before I could continue I was alerted by a system message that I had completed the two quests, [Outing the Outcasts, Part 1] and [Bringing down the Guard]. Well, I could always get the second part and continue this another day I suppose.

There were five levels in total to this place after all.

Yeah, there was plenty of time anyways.

* * *

The overcast clouds had blocked the sun's rays as I sat by the riverbank enjoying the sounds nature had provided. The soothing sound of the river water flowing by and off the rocks was accompanied by the melody of the singing birds. Alone in nature except for the creatures that inhabited the forest, these were the things that I believed in… these scenes were what made the North beautiful.

"Ah."

Raindrops had started to fall on my shoulder, interrupting the daydream I had been having. Sitting in the drizzle along the riverbank, I had no intention of moving. A light rain wouldn't force me to seek shelter.

Looking at the time, she was running late again per usual. She was always running late with her nature of work, but I still had no intention of waiting for her in the crowded town. The peace and quiet of nature suited me better than the bustle and noise of civilization.

A familiar voice finally called out, "Sorry I'm late!"

With a faint smile and a nod, I softly replied, "Mm. Yeah."

She waved enthusiastically like she always did, while her male companion followed silently behind. I didn't understand the appeal to having your own personal NPC follower, but since she was an employee she was able to create one specifically to her tastes. We certainly had different tastes, but mine were still developing.

"Ready Val? That Outcast Goblin Dungeon isn't going to wait forever you know!"

Shaking my head while laughing at that typical eagerness she always showcased, I could only be infected by it.

"Mm. Yeah, let's go Em."

* * *