R aven wasn’t the only one who was quick on the uptake and good at prioritizing. But few could simply jump off the platform and stay alive. Still, many participants already had skills, items, or pets that could reduce or eliminate fall damage — and some even had a skill similar to Raven’s Wings.
The rest of the message described the death penalties. Those who died during the event wouldn’t lose their gear or XP, but their character attributes would be reduced by half for the next five hours.
Everything else (including how to come back up to the statues) they had to figure out on their own.
While falling, Raven gazed at the landscape that opened before him. The mask prevented the wind from blinding him, so he could take a good look and mark places of interest on his map. He could only roughly estimate their coordinates from this distance, but at least he knew in which direction to go.
Turning his head to the hissing sound on the right, he saw a pet serpent. Its four wings were ringing with speed like helicopter blades. This mount was ridden by a girl in chainmail and flapping white cloak. But the most unusual thing about her was the casual expression on her face. It was as if she was taking a stroll.
Using Identification, he realized that she had some skill or item that concealed all her information except for the nickname.
Name: Radiant Dawn
Wasting no more time on her, he got back to studying the map. He estimated its size at about one-fifth of the entire second Floor.
That’s fucking huge!
Sprawled among the five closest mountains was a colossal lake with two dozen islands floating above it. Hanging from each island was a large chain, its other end disappearing into the lake’s turbid waters.
To the east was a tall tower surrounded by a wall of flames. About thirty miles to the right from it was a hole in the ground, with a glassy half-sphere hovering over it. Considering that this crater was visible at such a great distance, its actual size had to be gigantic.
The map was full of strange objects like these. Marking about thirty of them, Raven spread his Wings, heading for the nearest one: the ruins of a castle or palace, now slowly sinking into the muddy swamp and patrolled by small groups of flying monsters. The large, scattered blocks of stone were cracked all over and covered with moss. They emitted a residual magic aura that seemed to be telling the story of the disaster that had struck this place a long time ago.
Nestled amidst this sad picture of rot and despair was a strange creature that looked like a lean dog. Its body was about fifteen feet long with dirty-green hair that was matted in places and bud-like bumps all over it. Resting its head on its front paws, it glanced up at the flying creatures with its three big, round eyes.
To avoid unwanted attention, Raven landed not far from the ruin and hid himself with Stealth, nearly stumbling over a stone. Once he was sure that he hadn’t been spotted, he took out his Binoculars to scout the ruins.
Name: Swamp Whip
Unsure if he had read it correctly, he removed the Binoculars and took another look at the creature.
Name: Swamp Whip
Fucking fuck, he cursed as he realized that the option to identify both players and mobs had probably been disabled by the system, leaving all participants equally blind and groping in the dark.
So that’s why I could only see her name. I doubt she was using a skill or an item to conceal her information... It’d be a waste of resources.
“Shit,” he cursed through gritted teeth, putting away the Binoculars.
A loud splash came from the side, and then something barely visible dashed toward him at incredible speed.
Activating Twilight Walker to hide in the shadows, he felt the ground shake violently where he had just stood. The quaking was followed by a deafening crash.
Staying in the shadow, he waited for the mysterious attacker to show up, but nothing happened. As his skill was nearing expiration, he hurried to come up with a plan.
No one knew that he was extremely vulnerable during the first second of reappearing from shadows after Twilight Walker expired. Once his figure began to take shape, his opponent attacked again, but this time, he was ready. Rolling over, he used Stealth and Double Jump, changing his trajectory.
His disappearance confused his attacker. It was silent, but Raven still couldn’t detect his opponent. Even by approaching the tree where he had suspected an ambush and using the Revelation Sphere, he accomplished nothing.
I’ve planned for that, too. Clone.
The space around him shuddered and was filled with smoke. The next second, Raven’s double ran out to play bait.
In the meantime, Raven used the smoky veil to climb a nearby tree and activated Ambush, waiting for his opponent’s next move.
Luckily, he didn’t have to wait long.
The new attack, like the two last ones, came from where he least expected it. Staying above the fight, Raven smirked as he spotted his attacker.
Who would’ve guessed?
Attacking his clone was a cluster of mudded vines topped with small flowers. Emerging from the pits filled with swamp water, the plant opened its flowers to shoot a volley of sharp needles and immediately disappear.
The volley that hit the clone brought his HP down to thirty percent, so Raven dismissed him.
It was clear now why the flying menaces wouldn’t attack the lounging monster. What held them back wasn’t even its strength but its sudden and rapid attacks.
Raven had to deal with the Sky Flyers first before he could move on to it. He’d rather not have them buzzing around while he was fighting the Swamp Whip.
The rest of the participants were in the same situation as him. While the large clans could take the risk of sending out a scout and rewarding them if they fell in battle, the smaller groups, let alone the loners, would rather stay clear of any trouble.
Luckily for Raven, he had a trump card for an occasion like this one. As much as he hated spending it on the very first day, the alternative was dying and getting nothing. So he took the potion out of his inventory and, uncorking the vial, poured its contents on the tree’s roots.
In an hour of need, I am calling to you, Great Spirit.
The Great Forest Spirit Potion
Rank: Unique
Description: Summons the Great Forest Spirit.
Duration: 15 minutes
The Great Forest Spirit
HP: 30,000
Mana: 20,000
Agility: 1,300
Defense: 1,500
Attack: 2,000-2,500
Skills: Qi Wood Armor, Whirlwind of Leaves, Spiritual Fire of the Forest, Rooting, Swarming
Qi Wood Armor: Increases Defense and Resistance by 20% for 2 minutes.
Whirlwind of Leaves: A series of three sweeping blows drags the enemies within range into a whirlwind, slicing them with dagger-sharp leaves.
Spiritual Fire of the Forest: An АoЕ skill that envelops the Great Forest Spirit’s body in flames woven from pure spirit energy and drains the opponent’s mana with a single touch, transferring it to the Great Forest Spirit.
Rooting: A forward dash that paralyzes all enemies within range for 2 seconds, tying them with thick roots.
Swarming: Summons a swarm of fireflies that drain the enemy’s HP. The swarm explodes at the skill’s expiration, dealing even more damage.
The witches had only managed to create two such potions, but if the Great Spirit managed to kill all the flying monsters, he wouldn’t regret having summoned it.
I hope each of them has a Sphere. Or at least each second one.
Since the description didn’t mention the probability (if there was any) of mobs dropping the Spheres, the players had to find that out by killing them.
The potion took effect the moment it was absorbed into the ground, summoning the Great Spirit in a cluster of lights. Unleashing it at the flying mobs as a distraction, Raven prepared for a new fight.
As the Spirit made its way across the glade, the Swamp Whip shot at it twice, but once the summoned assistant was out of its aggro range, it stopped attacking.
Waiting for the three flying groups (each counting from ten to thirteen monsters) to concentrate on the Great Spirit, Raven exited Ambush and activated Stealth. Using Wings, he soared into the air.
As far as he could see, the Swamp Whip wasn’t only sharp-sighted but also sensitive to sound and motion. When he had been far away from the monster, it had still detected him by sound only and attacked.
Now that the sky over the Swamp Whip’s den was free, nothing could prevent Raven from attacking. Once he approached the mob, its eyes darted in all directions, looking for the cause of its sudden anxiety, but it couldn’t see anyone.
Getting more and more unnerved, the monster squirmed on its belly until Raven shot a series of crossbow bolts at the ground not far from it. Reacting to the sound, the creature opened its mouth and spat a ball of green-and-yellow saliva at the spot, flooding it.
Putting away the crossbow and canceling Wings, Raven activated Lightning Copy, placing all five target marks on the creature.
Time stopped. A flash of lightning seemed to come from the heavens to punish the abominable beast, disappearing into its body.
An agonizing squeal spread over the swamps as the whole length of the Heart Dagger went into the Swamp Whip’s throat, oozing dark, viscous blood.
Raven’s choice of this position was anything but random. After using Lightning Copy, his body would return to the activation spot, which was now in the air over the monster.
Falling onto the creature, he could play the trick he had tried on Abenkhriar’s Winged Servants. Holding the Mirage blade with both hands, he sank it into the Swamp Whip’s head with tremendous force, piercing it through.
The Swamp Whip trashed and cried. Its eyes seemed to be cursing Raven for such a dishonest and treacherous attack.
Once the creature breathed its last, its body dissolved immediately, leaving in its place three Influence Spheres: a black, a yellow, and an orange one.
Three at once? Raven thought, surprised, and collected the loot.
Collected: Sak’Harel’s Influence Sphere
Collected: Czars’s Influence Sphere
Collected: Pandora’s Influence Sphere
Bring the Influence Spheres to the statues to get your reward.
He wasn’t going to run up there and back for as little as a handful of Spheres. Leaving the search of the Swamp Whip’s den for later, he rushed to the Great Spirit’s aid.
So much work to do.