Chapter 16: The Eyes Of The Admirer And The Back Of His Hero 3
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“Ugh, I think I’m gonna throw up.” Deidre frowned, covering her mouth and nose with her hand. “What is this place?”
At her question, a message window suddenly appeared in front of them.
Ding!
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You have entered the Swamps of Decay
An area of rotten swamps created through the power of malice of the Emissary of Darkness, Amradias to serve as the birthing place of the living dead.
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You have entered a special area with an applied environmental effect.
Life and Concentration related Stats are reduced by 30% due to the stench.
Stamina decreases 20% faster. If Stamina drops below 30%, Attack, Defense and Movement Speed will be decreased by 50%. Cancelled if Stamina is replenished.
Movement Speed reduced by 15%.
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“Damn it!” Brother Grimm cursed. “To think that Amradias will build this swamp here of all the places.”
“What do you mean by that?” Gambit asked. “Is there something important about this place?”
Brother Grimm nodded. “Yes, this is the territory of the Midnight Tigers, the last region before the valley of the Garurus and the Final Glade.”
He explained as he looked at the expanse of the swamp stretched out in front of them. And as what the notification indicated, it’s the birthing place of the living dead. So it means that this is the place where all the Ghouls scattered throughout the forest had originated. Which also means that as their place of origin, this area is also the most infested with undead.
However, as bad as that already sound, Brother Grimm had confirmed something else about the swamps that could be far more troublesome than the Ghouls. “Deidre, look out!”
“Huh? Hey, what the…?” Deidre let out a cry of distress when her foot made contact with the swamp and it instantly melted away a huge chunk from her footgear’s durability.
With that small incident, Brother Grimm explained that the combinations of toxins from the swamps are highly lethal. The scent alone is enough to reduce their stats and a direct contact can cause an incurable flesh decaying that will eventually leads the infected to death.
Determining that, their predicaments had now doubled. Aside from dealing against the Ghouls that might jump out unexpectedly, they also need to caution their selves against the deadly toxins of the swamps.
‘There are fields between the swamps that we can use.’ Basche thought.
However, those paths are too narrow and bumpy and when they stepped on them, they also discovered that those grounds no longer have any foundation. At first glance they might look stable but in reality what’s underneath them is already the moldy water of the swamp. And if a heavy impact is placed on it, it will surely collapse and drag them to their deaths. So taking them was literally a walk in thin ice which will just get more hazardous if they Ghouls decided to show up. Unfortunately, they have no other option. Taking those paths and crossing the swamps is the only passageway towards the Final Glade.
“Stop!” Brother Grimm and Deidre which both have their Life Trace activated simultaneously commanded.
“What is it?”
“INCOMING!” They both alerted at the same time draw out their weapons.
Despite not seeing any threat nearby, their asses had been saved by that skill for several times that it is now engraved into them to never question it. They immediately readied their weapons and not a second passes by after that, several Ghouls jumped out from the swamps and lunges towards them.
A fight broke off in an instant.
“Magnum Impact!”
Clack! Clack! Clack!
Clack! Clack! Clack!
“Earth Splitter!”
“Double Strafe!”
During the halfway on their travel before reaching the swamps, despite their best efforts to solidify their strategy and teamwork, the Stat Penalty of the Black Mist and the huge level gap between Ghouls and them had increasingly puts a heavier weight towards Basche, Deidre, Trevol, Kylo, Louie, and Gambit that they eventually finds themselves gradually getting overwhelmed by the hordes of Ghouls during each battle.
This problem had of course didn’t escape the notice of Brother Grimm. So in order to free them from this dilemma, he began teaching them a fighting method which allow them to effectively read and avoid the attacks of the Ghouls and at the same time, enabling them to strike where it can deal heavier damage.
Thanks to this, aside from the standard group strategy that they usually use where they compensate their individual shortcomings through teamwork, they can now also utilize the greater extent of their separate strengths which further increases their effectivity in battle.
This then resulted into easier battles and faster EXP and Level gain which escalated their overall average from Level 34-36 to Level 45-47 in just a short period of time.
‘So that’s how Brother Grimm gains a lot of Levels while hunting alone.’ Basche thought back then.
However, due also to this newfound knowledge, they unconsciously grow overconfident that they literally start underestimating the Ghouls. Therefore, in this current battle of theirs, they blindly used their skills and rampage the Ghouls that are emerging from the swamps while failing to notice that there’s something unusual about them.
‘Huh? What’s going on?’ Basche wonder when after he inflicted his supposedly last attack, the Ghoul is still standing. ‘I’m sure that the total of my damage had already surpassed 7,000 and yet, this guy is still standing.’
And that was just the start of it.
“Agh! My armor!” Kylo exclaimed as his armor began melting right after it was clawed by a Ghoul.
“Everyone!” Brother Grimm at that point called out to them. “These undead are not Ghouls,” he informed them. “They’re called Decayed Zombies. Their Health points are above 10,000, they have high defense and their attacks are imbued with the toxins of the swamp.”
“Ehhhh!?” Their faces paled.
“Regardless of, don’t let them wound you. It’ll be all over once they land even a small scratch on you.”
Afterwards, he then conveyed the proper tactics to deal against the Decayed Zombies. And though they are not accustomed to impromptu combat adjustments, over the course of the battle, they progressively got the hang of it and enable to produce the same result as to when they were battling the Ghouls.
Still, despite the smooth sailing again, Basche was still experiencing unease especially when one gets defeated. Whenever that happen, their lifeless bodies releases a black smoke that disperses in the air. It’s not poison or anything harmful to them. He had already been caught up to it for several times, but no negative status or damage was ever inflicted. However, his several battle experiences along with the mentorship of both Bart and Brother Grimm had taught him to be mindful of even such small detail for it might end up into something big afterwards.
Even so, Basche must set aside it for now as whenever the fight is settled against these Decayed Zombies, a new one will immediately arise.
“Trevol, Basche, another 10 are gonna jump behind you!”
Deidre confirmed through her Life Trace.
When they turned around, they saw that more zombies had crawled out from the swamps. They only discovered this after they were able to get the upper hand, but the Decayed Zombies either have a fast respawning time or thousands of them are lurking underneath. Regardless which, this gradual increase numbers is a huge threat especially if it turned out to be the latter as dozens or even hundreds more could jumped out later on.
“Damn it! There’s no end to them!”
“Gambit and you, Three Amigos, try luring them into one place far from the swamps.” Brother Grimm instructed.
“Who you calling Three Amigos!?” The Trio complained but complied anyhow.
The four of them had then gathered together the zombies, and once all were in one place, Basche was instructed next by his Brother Grimm. “Basche, come over here.”
“Aye,” he replied and joined him.
“You remember the stuffs I asked you guys to bring?”
Basche nodded.
“Time to use it now,” he said and told him what to do.
“I understand.”
Similar to all the other games before it, Eternal Empire still follows the original Inventory System that ultimately defies the law of mass and space. Which means that as long as the items being stored is still within the carrying capacity of the players, regardless of its size and quantity, it will still fit inside the bottomless inventory bag.
With that explained, they then both pulled out from their Inventory the wooden statues that they took from the training ground. Then while it was still suspended in the air, they simultaneously hit it with Magnum Impact.
Plakkk Tgang!
The statues bounced off from them like arrows and flew towards the undead that Gambit and the Trio had herded.
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+Magnum Impact shattered your target.
+Magnum Impact hits Secondary Targets.
+You dealt a Heavy Damage.
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The Decayed Zombies were knocked down to the ground like bowling pins and the wreckages of the destroyed statues formed a pile of woods above their bodies.
“Deidre! Fire Arrow!”
“Already on it.” She fired the fire tipped arrow towards the huge pile of woods mixed with rotten fleshes and set it ablaze.
“Everyone! Knock them towards the fire.”
“AYE!”
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When the last Decayed Zombie was defeated followed by the confirmation from both Brother Grimm and Deidre that no more zombies are emerging from the swamps, Basche and the rest finally exhaled a relieved sigh as their tired bodies sat on the ground.
“Whoa! Glad that was over.” Louie said, pulling out a refreshment from his bag.
Indeed. Glad that that was over. With the exemption of their fight against Amradias, that confrontation with the Decayed Zombies was in no doubt, the hardest battle they’d ever encountered.
The chances for survival were slim, the situation was tricky, and even a split second of delay and hesitation was a matter of life and death. Surely, it was a battle that thoroughly pushed them all to their limits.
“Hey Grimm,” called Trevol.
“Yeah?”
“Back when you were hunting on your own, do you always fight like this?”
“This is one way, yeah. Why’d you asked?”
“Nothing in particular,” he said. “But I think I sort of understand now how you got those big digits under your name.”
‘True.’ Basche agreed. On that fight alone, they had gained levels that would normally take them a week of hunting to attain. So truly, if Brother Grimm had been doing things this way from the very beginning, then it’s no surprise that he’d actually levelled up that much.
“I mean, fighting like that and actually winning. Man, I was awed how unbelievably rewarding it was.”
“It’s nothing extraordinary,” Brother Grimm said. “It was simply a matter of adapting and improvising base on the situation.”
“Is that really all?” Gambit adjoined. “I mean, don’t we do that all the time?”
“In the real world, yeah. But here in Eternal Empire, I noticed that due to the additional factors such as special abilities and magic, that kind of thinking is often overlooked.”
They all pondered and realize that they are guilty regarding that.
But as Basche was having those thoughts, he was interrupted when the trees westward from their position started shaking and a huge stomping sound was heard. Alerted by this, they all tensed and readied their weapons. There were successive sounds of trees being knocked down by a blunt object. A situation repeated several times before a huge presence finally emerged from the woods.
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The Emissary of Darkness, Many Eyed Demon [Amradias] has appeared.
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“What the?!”
“Amradias!?”
“We’ve meet again, hairless apes!” Amradias shouted and raised his fist. “And looks like you’ve prepared your own graves yourself.”
He opened his fist and the entire swamp shook. A warning message floated in front of Basche.
Ding!
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Amradias has used ‘Malice Manipulation’
All Malice Energy within the 50 meter radius will be absorbed by Amradias.
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And after that message appear, the black smokes that Basche saw earlier began to surface again, not just from the defeated zombies but even from the swamps and underneath the ground, those blacks smokes emerged and flew to fuse with Amradias.
Shukshukshuk!
His injuries then from their first battle started healing. Even the eyes that he’d lost during his fight against Brother Grimm were also restored. And that’s not all, his body also began to swell, his deer horns along with his claws and fangs sprouted longer and sharper.
And when the malice energies were all absorbed, Amradias growled in a pleased voice that shook the entire area.
Ting!
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QUEST UPDATE: FIND THE LAST PHANTASMAL MASTER
The Seal that imprisons The Emissary of Darkness, Amradias had been broken. Now, he walks freely to the world once again, bringing terror and destruction.
However, all hopes are not lost yet. The Last Phantasmal Master, Stellio, Amradias former brother in arm and the only person that has the power to defeat him still resides within the Forest of Illusion.
New Quest Difficulty: C++
Quest Requirement: Find Master Stellio and gain the knowledge needed to end Amradias.
Reward: The Sacred Art of the Cult of Illusion
Warning: Amradias is also targeting Stellio. If Stellio dies, the quest will result to failure.
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“What the hell!?” They all exclaimed when their Quest Window also appeared with an update notification that changes the Quest Difficulty of the Find the Last Phantasmal Master from C+ to C++.
“What is going on?” Deidre asked with great bewilderment. “Why did the difficulty got up?”
“An Event Quest,” Gambit mumbled.
“What?”
“This is an Event Quest,” he repeated.
“Ehhhh!?”
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What is an [Event Quest]?
An Event Quests is a special type of quest that does not just affect the players involved but the entire Avelot as a whole. And unlike normal quests which difficulties are fixed regardless of how long it remains incomplete, Event Quests’ escalates the longer it stays unaccomplished.
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“How could that be?”
“How could it not be?” Gambit countered. “We all saw the Legend. He was sealed because he’s capable of mass destruction. So it’s only reasonable that he’s an element of an Event Quest.”
Brother Grimm nodded. “Gambit is right. And if I had comprehended the situation correctly, our current tasks here serve as the Turning Point for it. If he will be free to spread his terror to the world or not, it will all depend on us.”
“Alright, point taken,” Deidre said. “But I believe we better start running now.”
“I was just about to say that,” Brother Grimm said. “Anyhow, the exit isn’t that far. RUN!”
They raced with their top speed and headed towards the direction of the valley. They had no reason to fight Amradias. And even if they does, they’re not gonna fight in such disadvantageous ground.
“Kekekeke, you foolish bastards! You think I’m going to let you go!”
He smacked hammer into the ground and the whole place quake and ground began collapsing.
“Aaaak!” “Whoaaa!” Those that were almost eaten by the growing fissures burst into screaming as they jump and run desperately.
But that was just the beginning.
Ding!
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Amradias has used ‘Stronghold of the Tainted Souls’
All the Ghouls within the 200 meter radius will be instantly transported towards Amdarias’ location.
Number of Ghouls: 625
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An enormous number of Ghouls emerged from the darkness and immediately filled the narrow fields between the swamps. They numbered in the hundreds and they all simultaneously began to lunge towards them. Basche’s face paled. It was the first time that they had experienced being surrounded by this many monsters
Graack! Graack! Graack! Graack! Graack!
Graack! Graack! Graack! Graack! Graack!
Their group immediately turned into ragged rags against the horde of so many undead. There was no time for them to stop and defend properly, just run, attack, and ensure survival. And to accomplish that, they drank and eat recovery items like crazy. However, despite these best efforts, their situation still remains bleak.
One problem then lead onto another after that. The Ghouls had completely blocked their paths and the ground they’re standing at had ultimately lost its attachments and began to set afloat above the pool of swamp toxins.
Now, they’re completely stuck. Both surrounded by toxins and Ghouls while Amradias is slowly approaching to them.
‘Oh my God! There’s no way out.’
“Damn! We’re screwed!”
“We’re done, it’s all finished now!”
“Hey, don’t give up yet!” Brother Grimm shouted. “We’re almost there, we can still make it!”
“But how? We’re completely trapped!”
With that question, Brother Grimm focused his gaze in front of them, towards the swamp, the Ghouls, and then to the distant valley beyond them before moving towards the very back and stabbing his swords to the ground. “Magnum Impact!”
Their piece of land had then shook and split, creating two separate floating grounds, one for them and one for Brother Grimm.
“What the!?”
“Hey Grimm! What do you think you’re doing?” Gambit shouted to him as he slowly drifts away.
But Brother Grimm just smiled as they all stare at him with astonishment. Basche shook his head fiercely, horrified as he understood what he’s intending to do.
“Brother Grimm, NO!”
“Go now,” he said, clutching his swords tighter. “I’ll see you guys in the future.”
“NOOO!”
“Magnum Impact!”
Brother Grimm stabbed the edge of their ground, blasting them to the air and forward.
“KYAAAAHHHH!!!” “WHAAAHHHH!”
And though the knockback effect of the Magnum Impact was only 5 meters or 10 meters at the most depending on the circumstances, the way that he throws them was similar onto how to execute the skipping stone. Therefore, they skipped against the swamp and the Ghouls several times until they finally crashes against the trees outside the swamp’s area.
Basche experience a peculiar sense of floating before hitting into the ground along with his fellow disciples.
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-You receive a Heavy Damage from falling, [Health (-150)]
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But Basche didn’t care about that. The moment that he recovered, he immediately run back towards the swamp where the last thing he witnessed was the back of his Brother Grimm as he clash against Amradias before his sense of sight was taken by a blinding light followed by a deafening force that blows him away once again.
BOOOOM!
- ผู้เขียน
