The party found themselves back at the entrance of the dungeon. For the fourth time.
Each time Silent Acacia failed to discover a trap it sadly ended in his death. After two deaths he wouldn't be revived, which prompted the party to directly restart the dungeon.
Not everyone was happy about Liam's decision, secretly hoping for him to take over the pathfinding.
Liam however didn't get anxious. They were not without gains after all. Since Silent Acacia gradually figured out the placement of those traps, he also succeeded in disabling some.
The party made it further into the labyrinth with every try and Silent Acacia was accumulating experience. Liam was sure that the hunter would soon reach level 2, upon which he would clear the obstacles in their way.
Conversing with his friends Liam gladly noticed that no one really blamed Silent Acacia, but they were fraught with frustration caused by the pressure.
Since evening was drawing near Liam decided to log off for the day, telling his friends to relax.
"You see the problems we're facing. Do you think others are faring better?"
With this sentence he managed to relief some of the anxiousness before everyone left.
Leaving the game Liam found himself in the park moving his numb limbs. Watching the fluttering snowflakes which were held back by the towering red oak he shivered telling himself to urge the others towards the establishment of their guild house.
Fortunately, Liam was at the marrow strengthening stage of martial arts and was impervious to ordinary cold.
He got up and returned home where Serena welcomed him anxiously. Liam spent some time to reassure her before spending a relaxed evening and going to sleep.
The next day the snow had picked up. Liam struggled for a while before deciding to stay at home.
He waited until Merida and Serena were awake before he dared to do some extremely careful training in the apartment. His thoughts drifted to Trey and the others.
When Liam logged back into the game the first thing he did was to discuss the gaming house. Only when everyone agreed to elevate its priority was he satisfied.
The party continued their dungeon run. By now they could fight the beginning blindfolded, their battle against Uratnim highly efficient.
They were back in the labyrinth in no time at all. Silent Acacia continued with the tedious task of finding traps.
Just as everyone prepared mentally to waste a lot of time here, Silent Acacia suddenly let out a loud shout startling everyone:
"YES!"
The hunter usually wouldn't be this happy upon improving a single skill, but he needed to vent his frustration. Only Quickstep and Silent Acacia knew how much pressure the young man had to endure.
He wasn't only afraid of letting down his party but also his own expectations.
Watching Acacia's behaviour, the others didn't need to ask. They shared his joy upon realizing that his [Pathfinding] must have leveled up.
After a short celebration Silent Acacia immediately put his new skill to the test. He suddenly found it much easier to discover those hidden traps. He was confident that he wouldn't die again as long as he stayed careful.
Thus, the party finally advanced smoothly like a river breaking through a dam, coming close to the yellow room.
But after searching for a while they realized in frustration that there was no entrance to be found.
The party ran in circles before finding themselves in a vast empty room. Even Liam appeared confused until a demon suddenly stepped out of the wall.
It was tall, wearing a red armor only protecting the most important spots, revealing black leathery skin. Unkempt red hair hung from its head, giving it a daunting appearance.
A quick check revealed its name to be 'Blood', a demon of elite rank.
The party was glad to find at least some clue in the seemingly empty labyrinth. Silver Blade and Radiant Shield didn't hesitate and immediately initiated the fight.
The demon had a few tricks up his sleeves. Just as the demons on normal difficulty it was possessed by a ghost, granting it the ability to make its attacks intangible.
On top of that it liked to inflict the bleed status, forcing Radiant Shield and Silver Blade to switch places a few times.
But overall, Blood didn't pose much of a threat to the party. A hair-raising ghostly wail announced its death as a figure left its body and escaped through the walls.
Cyclone was just about to step forward when Blood's body disappeared, leaving the young woman in shock.
"Stop! Let me loot you!"
While Cyclone was thinking about the possible equipment, Balm focused on something else:
"It didn't leave a clue behind..."
"Could it be that we need to search blindly?", asked Silent Acacia, frowning.
"Maybe the demon itself was the clue."
Silver Blade nodded upon hearing Watchful Eye's suggestion:
"I think so to. It was called blood, wearing red armor. Let's check out the red room."
"Sure. Not like we have much else to go off.", agreed Liam.
Having finally found a direction the party breezed through the labyrinth. Turning one last corner, they peeked into a long hallway which was connected to a room decorated with red banners, a red button sticking to the wall.
Everyone sighed in relief as they entered the room and pressed the button.
A rumbling noise shook the labyrinth. When the party looked outside, they saw the walls moving, changing the layout.
"Great...", sighed Cyclone with an exasperated expression.
"Well, nothing we can do about it.", said Liam, signalling Silent Acacia to lead the way. The party had no clear direction. They advanced slowly, entering multiple dead ends until they found another spacious room. A demon named 'Leaf' was waiting for them.
Finally, a certain pattern became apparent. The party killed Leaf before searching for the green room.
Successfully pressing the green button, the mood improved as everyone knew they were on the right track. The party didn't encounter any obstacles while killing five more demons and finally solving the labyrinth.
The world shook sending shockwaves through the floor accompanied by a grating noise. When the commotion subsided, the labyrinth formed a straight path leading to a large, ominous door.
Onrabell passed over the party's heads, her words boastful but her face embarrassed:
"Well done, adventurers. I see you figured out the mechanism at the same time as I did. Commendable."
Cyclone snickered while following the cute fairy. Reaching the gate the party rested for a few minutes before entering the next room. It was still a dark hall tinged in ominous lighting. The seven ghosts were waiting within a formation, ready to initiate the boss fight.
The only difference compared to normal difficulty were the spots of light moving through the room caused whenever the dark river in the sky split.
The gate closed with a bang and a familiar raspy voice echoed through the dungeon. Cyclone couldn't help but be surprised.
"Now that I think about it. How could Kelsnim's voice reach us here when that guy stays in hell?"
"Maybe he's just outside the door but always runs away when we come.", answered Balm with a chuckle.
The party joked some more while the seven ghosts activated their formation, fusing into one being. With four arms and three faces the ghost servant was ugly as ever. Silver Blade was the first to check the boss.
[Seven-Element Ghost Servant
Rank: Sub-Boss
Level: 25
HP: 8200/8200]
As expected, the boss's HP were comparatively low, a trade-off for its high physical resistance.
After the appearance of the fierce monster Onrabell rose to the sky, cutting off its connection to the black river.
The ghost servant roared angrily, its voice causing the illusion of an army of vengeful ghosts, signalling the start of the fight.
Immediately waving its claws the boss struck first, spreading a fan of flashing ice spikes leaving behind trails of frozen air.
Cyclone stared closely at the boss, her eyes filled with resentment. She detested the ghost servant who once possessed her body. Noticing its movements she paid close attention.
When one of the ice spikes was about to hit Silver Blade, it turned illusionary, phasing through the tank.
"Hmpf. Can't even come up with new tricks.", said Cyclone disdainfully, stepping to the side. The ice spike barely missed her waist while the young woman looked haughtily at the boss.
"Die! Intruders!"
Speaking in its ugly voice the boss unexpectedly swung another claw. Leaves sharp as a razor's edge shot at the party, also containing the ability to turn illusionary.
Bloody Edge, Fortune, and Silent Acacia were all caught off guard receiving up to 1700 points of damage. Bloody Edge was shocked as his HP bar decreased by more than half.
When the boss prepared for another attack, the party knew they couldn't stay idle.
Balm hastily spread some heals while Silver Blade and Radiant Shield engaged the ghost servant.
Bloody Edge gritted his teeth, attacking from behind. But his physical damage was greatly diminished. In this fight it was Cyclone, Fortune, and Watchful Eye who stood out.