Virtual Reality : Dystopian Tales Online

010.9 | The Five Grand Bosses of the 200th Floor

There are one hundred participants chosen to beta test the game. Thirty of them joined the 200th boss floor battle. The sixty players remaining are either completing their exploration or following the broadcast.

Not all players went to the dungeon to do beta-testing. Even though the purpose of hiring them is to clean the bugs, they are not forced to consistently stay in the dungeons. Few of the players went to explore the other floors installed on the sixth server.

The floors or world stages represented a certain race. The floor Terrare is the grounds for the Humanoid race. Most of the notable establishments found here are owned by the human race. The second floor, floor Zwene, is Elven and the Beast's territory. This is why the second floor has lush vegetation as compared to the other floors.

The third world stage, Threo, is owned by the Undead race. The whole floor is occupied with gloomy areas. There are many barren lands with darkened hollow trees and marshes containing hideous monsters. Few players would hang around this area, and most of them are from the undead race.

The higher floors, Feower and Pente, can only be accessed by a few players. There are only a handful of individuals that managed to cross the four-hundredth level so these areas are mostly empty. But according to the residents, the fourth area is a combination of mythical places.

Clover, as the only one with more than five hundred levels, commented that the fifth floor is composed of floating islands. It highlighted the dwellings of the so-called dragons that no longer appeared since the first server ended.

[4TH FLOOR, FEOWER WORLD STAGE]

A large redwood forest stood in one of the mountains on the fourth world stage. The area is shrouded with mist and coldness brought by the constant dismal weather. Amid the sacred trees that are more than fifty meters long and ten meters thick are a thousand steps of mossed cobblestones.

The tread of the stairs is uneven - some have narrow steps while some are wide. There are also visible cracks brought by the deep roots invading the pathway. There are no handlebars beside the stairs, but there is a thick makeshift support rope tied on the adjacent trees.

It is designated to help people hold onto something if they slip and also to usher them. The stairs were relatively intact with the soil that also had separated pieces of cobblestones, so someone might enter the woods if they are careless and aren't paying attention.

Since the redwoods have a large trunk circumference, the stout ropes around them look more imposing that bears the sense of blocking the two sides from crossing. It added a strange beauty to the surroundings that naturally made it look more mysterious and appealing.

The area is murky due to understandable reasons thus floating paper lanterns were installed to brighten the pathway. It has a warm orange-red-yellow hue that moves slowly around the terrain. There are no strings attached to the lanterns so they look like floating souls enclosed in a paper lantern.

In this calm environment, only the cries of birds and the hissing of animals can be heard. Two afterimages of individuals can be seen skipping along the stairs. They are covering ten steps in each leap that made them advance upwards quickly.

The lanterns detected the presence of life. They opened the light in succession. The dark lanterns noticed the other lanterns emitting light so they went to lit fire on their burners too. It produced a breathtaking effect where the dark pathway is getting lit by the lanterns brightly.

One of the players wasn't looking at the lantern but had their eyes focused on a broadcast. This person is wearing an eyeless with a grinning smile mask and a jester's hat. Their body is concealed with a fiery red hooded coat.

"What..." A feminine voice snorted. "What is he doing?"

The player with the name [Charm-49] paused. The person accompanying him, named [Yiel-30] noticed Charm stopping, so he turned around and hopped beside the female player. Charm showed Yiel the broadcast. The focus is Clover sitting inside the barrier of the Boss tarantula.

Yiel: ...

"He can also do that?" Yiel feebly asked.

Yiel possesses a muscular type of body printed with many tattoos. On each of his arms has two tigers are printed, one having white fur and black stripes and the other with orange fur and black stripes. On his left chest, a small hummingbird is painted drinking a flower's nectar while on the right chest resides three cute-looking mice.

On his abs have three colored animals that are resting - a panda eating bamboo, two jumping husky dogs, and a monkey climbing to some tree. A grand green-scaled dragon is printed on his back accompanied by a flaming phoenix. While, on his neck, is a golden-eyed black cat cloaking him like a scarf.

He has lesser body clothing, to which most are just covering his private parts. One of his friends commented they are reminded of the strong ancient clothing, people that predominantly live in the wild. The paintings on their bodies are the representation of their status and power. The more tattoos they have, the higher their ability.

Charm could not help but laugh as she watched the broadcast. All the siege of both parties halted. The leaders of both parties are locked in an inescapable area.

The reason for invoking a barrier is to give the invoker time to rest to replenish energy. It is also the most vulnerable state since there is a shifting of energy inside the body. The boss tarantula is the weakest when the barrier appears. Having Clover on its side is not a good thing.

The barrier only lasts about a minute and a half. This brief moment is enough to execute someone.

"From the looks of it, this situation is not planned at all," Yiel said. He found Frass and Aries stalling outside the barrier. "Those two guys are probably shocked."

"Naturally, it isn't," Charm took a screenshot of the event and is planning to edit it for fun."Who would have thought that you could cross the barrier? Then again, nobody said it wasn't possible. This is a discovery."

The two of them had chatted for a bit before they resumed the journey.

Going back to the 200th floor, Clover made a silly reaction as he belatedly perceived his state. He waved his hand to the two both still people in shock.

"Did you just-?" Aries is not quite sure. He wanted to approach the barrier but was anxious that it will react to his touch. "You dared to?"

"I never thought it would work," Clover stated.

"Can you try going out?" Frass suggested.

"What is there to worry? It's not that I am locked here for long."

That is right. Clover is the strongest player here. They shouldn't worry. However, with that thought, they found Clover smiled mischievously. He turned around to look at the tarantula. The boss must have realized the danger because it suddenly stabbed Clover with its sharp legs.

Clover dodged each stab without worry. He took out the large scythe he wielded earlier and used it to deliver slashes to the boss. The tarantula is indeed in its weakest state when the barrier is up, so the attacks given by Clover caused more significant damage.

The feeling of overthrowing the enemy flooded Clover's senses as he hastened his movements. He dared to jump at the head of the spider and planted the tip of the scythe onto its skin. After securing a tight stab, he then dragged the scythe as he ran on the back of the tarantula. The beast received an extensive wound that activated its laser skill.

The barrier has been up until now. Will it pass through or bounce back?

The laser went straight out of the barrier, scorching the aligned pathway with black ash. Four players were eliminated on the spot.

"So it can pass through?" Clover chuckled. "Isn't this a bit unfair?"

The boss tarantula waved its legs to reach Clover, but the player is too nimble to get caught. Clover took out the record book from his satchel and unstrapped it up while swiftly avoiding the attacks. He looked so leisurely as if the one he's confronting wasn't someone with higher strength.

"A semi-permeable barrier and quite good at defending the caster," Clover wrote down in the book. "It includes the feature to rebound the attack twice its power..."

They watched Clover as he busily jotted down notes. He would still strike the monsters but obviously, he wasn't being grave about it. The moment the barrier went away, Clover smartly hopped out and joined Frass and Aries.

"That's a bountiful harvest," Clover commented.

"It is?" Aries scratched his chin. "Are you planning this from the start?"

"Nope." Clover placed the book back in his bag and looked at Aries. "I am just curious, at all."

"That level of curiosity will kill you," Frass reprimanded.

Clover merely shrugged his shoulders. The barrier is lost, but the spider did not teleport or released a laser beam. It simply skidded past the other players while the medium-sized spiders moved to surround the boss. It clearly lost the rhythm because of Clover's disruption.

Will they let the boss reunite with their peers? Of course not!

Since the enemy teamed up, Clover also merged with his team members. There are lesser players at hand, so he has to dispatch them carefully. Fortunately, the guild leaders already know their position, so it didn't take long for Clover to rearrange them. Time is crucial, so after granting his orders, everyone started a full-blast melee.

The backup members were called. The tanks used their swords and whatnots to throw the medium-sized spiders away. They are starting to construct a wall in front of the boss. It would be troublesome if they really made a wall to surround the boss.

"Shin, break it," Clover's clear voice called.

"Roger that!" The warrior ran from his position and went over with a loud entrance.

Shin, the Sora's leading tank, assumed the medial position. His archetype as a warrior allowed him to bear heavy weapons and could utilize them to their maximum potential. Aside from performing massive attacks, he also has the best defense among his party members.

On his hand is a foot-length wooden sword. It might look like a child's toy and seem weak but this is just a facade to its full power. Shin activated his archetype and skill that made him glow golden. A gold outline surrounded the wooden sword that became larger and larger until it had become larger than Shin.

Shin made a swooping motion wielding the wooden sword that eliminated the outline. Seconds later, a violent wave erupted from his position that struck the spiders away. The boss tarantula almost got overturned by the force brought by the air pressure.

The moment a pathway is opened, Clover and Frass immediately stepped in. Frass released the bunny mascot that brought a broadsword taken from somewhere and hacked the head of the spider. Clover made his fair share of hooking the spider's skin then grabbing it with his scythe.

Aries remained on the front to block the medium-sized spider to support the boss. He used the cue stick to play around. The group of the Thunder Beast's guild remained his side as support. There are also the long-ranged archers that keep on the watch to stop sneak attacks. Marcus' machine did not stop banging since earlier.

The exchange of blows continued for a long time. The spectators had no time to chat as all of them focused on the events happening. Nobody dared to blink, afraid they will overlook something. There was no clapping or cheering as they solemnly waited for the results of the game.

The boss is about to cross the red rage. They have been fighting with the boss for half an hour but it is only now that they attain half of their life. Clover hastened his attacks more while Frass assisted him from the side. The boss had been locked in a combination of attacks once again, so it could not erect a barrier to restore itself.

The number of medium-sized spiders had decreased until there were only a handful of them. The focus of the attack slowly moved towards the boss tarantula. Just in time for the last spider to fall is also the moment the Boss reached the red rage stage.

The berserk state arrived exceptionally.

Clover ordered everyone to back up. The black spider gradually shifted its color from black to crimson. It started from the tip of its severed limbs, where the hairy structure changed to a metal scaly skin. The fluff hair that surrounded its body transformed and became a metal stick.

As a welcoming present, the Crimson Tarantula spitted buckets of sticky poisonous fluid towards the players. Frass opened up a wide barrier to obstruct it. But it didn't stop there. As it is spitting fluids, it also sends out laser beams at every twenty seconds interval. This made the players scattered as they don't dare to stay in one place or the boss will laser beam them.

There is now one enemy left.

The stage has been created.

Clover no longer issues any commands since everyone knows that it will be only him fighting the boss. The other players will support him at some point, but it would be minimal. The game intends to have Clover defeat the five bosses after all.

The movement of the spider becomes quicker over time. It would send laser beams at some point, then would spit fluids right after. The barrier is also controlled by will. Clover did not hesitate to come over and engaged the boss enthusiastically. The exceedingly stronger offenses of the boss didn't seem a worry to him.

The pace is steadier at first but as time goes on the motion of the game became hurried. Clover no longer avoided the boss' advances as he confronted the attacks straight on. The number of attacks increased as the contact goes closer that made the decrease of the HP gauge of the boss decrease visibly.

The precise jumps and leaps, while leaving the utmost damage to the boss made the spectators review their combat skills. None of Clover's movements are excessive. Everything is so spot on.

One step to the left, one step to the right. If it becomes impossible, he will use the other directions for movement. He is a warrior dancing, and the boss could not help but follow. If his movements. It attained the point where the boss looks almost like being... bullied.

They suddenly felt pity.

It is a thousand-level monster that could wipe them up in one swoop but Clover is barely playing it around like a toy. They remembered that Clover never seriously attended the guild wars. His members are participative, but it wasn't to the extent of wanting to win.

If ever Clover would one day, decide to join in; they decided to just back down and offer the crown. They don't want to suffer like what happened to the boss. They even wonder if they could last standing for a second.

Everyone harbors their thoughts, but it did not matter with whatever Clover is doing. The ones that thought his actions were weird were Leon. He looked at the time and saw that there was still enough time left. Why does it look like Clover is hurrying over?

"Don't you think he is getting too fast?" Leon asked Shin.

"He is?" Shin watched for a while. "Yes, I see it. What? Is there something wrong?"

"What is he planning to do?" Leon pondered.

The numbers that he is seeing are vaguely familiar. Leon mulled over the situation as he observed Clover's number getting more accurate. It had come to the point where Clover could ascertain the direction of the boss even with his eyes close. This kind of critical accuracy surpassed Leon's ability to calculate.

He is at present a few steps behind.

Thus, he could not tell what Clover is trying to do.

Leon almost wished that he had Shin's ability to recall things very quickly. Shin checked his interface to aid Leon understand the events happening around when a notification popped out. He nudged Leon on his side and presented the message.

"This must be the reason why it is familiar. We once performed this move before!"

The moment Leon understood the message was also the time when Clover reached the desired combo hits. In an amazingly dazzling light, Clover's body is engulfed with concentrated power that one finger snap is enough to kill all the players in the game.

He had reached the desired combo that could hit the boss in one strike!

The combo hit provides the player the chance to hit the boss three times with the strength twice of the player's maximum output. With the boss' current state, one strike will lower its life gauge to half, which is three-fourths of the boss' maximum health. The second strike...

Clover will be left with an excess attack strength!

The combo hit of the higher boss isn't small. If Clover wanted to get the full hit points at his constant pace, it will take him a long time to finish. This must be the reason why he hastened his attacks. The quicker he moves, the faster he could reach the finish line.

In the case where he wouldn't be able to get the combo needed, he could still employ the remaining time to conceive of another strategy.

"He's showing off," Leon said. Understanding the way Clover thinks, this move must be his message of notifying everyone to piss off. It made him laugh.

Clover is not proving anything at all. Everything from the start is just a foolish joke to him.

He is merely playing a game.