The Raid Begins!

Arcadia, Level–200 Capital- home of the Deity-class guild, [Wuji]

"Hey, boss!" called out a diminutive figure, adorned with golden heavy armor and jewelry.

He brandished a glowing turquoise hammer and was a level 200 [Awakened Dwarf], an expert known for his iconic name, Tall Stature.

A nearby player turned around, a muscular knight with shining full body armor, wielding a large shield filled with fluctuating runic symbols. Known as one of the top [Holy Knight]s within the game, Geass was only second to [Wuji]'s _Knight.

Yes, that peculiar name belonged to the number one [Holy Knight] within Freedom! Even more strange was that the other top-class experts within [Wuji] all had their names starting with _ and ending with the original class name.

[Wuji] and its guild members' unique naming sense had been a hotly discussed topic within Freedom! for a while. Some people even joked about applying to the guild with names such as _CarryMe, _YourWife, and _ILoveFreeSoMuchPlsTakeMe.

Before Geass could reply to the dwarf, a loud, boorish voice boomed out:

"Haha! We'll finally break the legend of Wuji and become legends ourselves! Hurry up, we might miss the VRS announcement that will happen later today!" A level 200 [Berserker] ran up to the two, his stocky red hair swaying in the wind.

Easily identifiable by his fiery and bearish personality, Randall was the third-ranked [Berserker] on the server, the second rank often interchanging between him and the current second-ranked Berserker, Gideon.

He grinned at the two, who returned a curtly nod.

"I have to admire your confidence… and stupidity," spat an illusory figure, the outline of his body shimmering in the air.

Geass's eyes narrowed.

This wasn't good.

"How can you be so sure that you'll be able to defeat [Wuji] when you've never even challenged _Beserker before? Besides, [Wuji] has remained undefeated for all these years for a reason," continued the unknown player, his glistening black armor gradually materializing with the rest of his body.

The figure completely clad in black wielded dual daggers at each side, the sight of which would send chills down one's spine. The second-ranked Assasin in the game, Despair was known to never have failed a single assassination, until the time when he faced [Wuji]'s members. His failed assassinations on the [Wuji] players had become his greatest source of shame. It was time to recover his pride and remove the stain on his record.

"Huh?!" Randall turned around, searching for the source of the voice.

"Despair, you little creep! What did you say to me? You want to fight?!" Randall yelled, recognizing the gaunt and pale-skinned figure.

"Creep... Little?... If you want to fight-"

Despair suddenly vanished.

The temperature dropped a couple degrees, an icy chill encompassing the air.

The hair on Randall's neck stood on end like needles and his heart began to race.

The sound of his heartbeat filled his ears. Thump. Thump-Thump.

Randall began to panic.

Where was that assassin?

F*ck he had better just be messing around!

He wouldn't dare, right?

The respawn timer for max-level characters was an entire day, which meant if he was killed here then-

"-then I'd be glad to," Despair whispered coldly, reappearing behind him like a shadow. Lightning went off within Randall's ears.

"After all, you'd be dead before you could even-"

"Ahh!" Randall roared, swinging his war axe behind him.

"[Divine Rage]! [Zephyr Strike]!"

Cut off by Randall's attack, Despair quickly dashed away to safety. A massive blast of wind instantly formed, destroying many of the buildings nearby. Damage indicators of over 10,000,000 appeared over the surrounding structures.

Unluckily for the [Berserker], Despair had escaped safely from the destruction. Frustration broiled within Randall as he noticed that not a single strand of hair was missing from Despair's head.

"Ha, is all you can do run away and hide, little assassin?" Randall mocked, attempting to regain his pride.

"... I can kill you anytime I want." A cold glint flashed across Despair's eyes. He hated any size jokes.

"Then why didn't you? Probably cause you couldn'-"

"... You're more stupid than I thought. I didn't kill you because that would've been far too easy."

"Huh?" questioned the Berserker, eyebrows furrowed in bewilderment.

"I can make you suffer in a different way. Look around you, idiot."

Randall surveyed the area, finally noticing the disheveled surroundings. Uprooted trees, broken signs, destroyed buildings. Even the statue of the goddess Elena, Randall's favorite in-game Deity, had crumbled into unrecognizable lumps of stone. Miraculously, it seemed as no one had gotten hurt.

Still, Randall's heart was heavy as he immediately regretted his brazen actions.

"Sh*t! You- you played me-" cursed Randall, interrupted by the stone-cold voice of a level 200 [Holy Judicator].

"Please pay for the surrounding damages. The total amount is 40,000 platinum."

"What?! F*ck!" Randall cried out, turning to Despair.

"Why don't you make him pay it? He's the one who started the fight!"

"Furthermore, disrupting the peace of Arcadia and frightening the civilians requires an additional penalty of 20,000 platinum," continued the NPC, as if it was angry that Randall had the audacity to complain.

The added salt to the wound made Randall moan in agony as he lamented provoking Despair in the first place. Disrupting the peace? Scaring civilians? F*ck, there wasn't even a single civilian in sight!

Dejected and feeling wronged, Randall began muttering under his breath. It wasn't his fault at all, that Despair was to blame! Besides, why did he have to pay fines on the last day...

"Please pay within five minutes. Thank you," continued the Judicator mercilessly. Randall's mouth gaped in disbelief.

"Uh... I'm afraid that I..." Randall mumbled, his eyes skittish and voice faltering. His hands began to fidget as he bit his lips.

"That you what?" asked Despair, a mocking light in his eyes.

"I...I don't have enough money right now!" admitted Randall, shame and regret filling his intestines as he cursed at Despair silently.

"What?! The- the great and almighty Randall is actually, actually dirt poor?" laughed Despair, making Randall shrivel like a raisin, his head hung down in shame.

Freedom! had lost its popularity and was soon closing, so Randall had sold most of his in-game currency a while ago to some rich buyers who wanted to extravagantly play their last days of Freedom!

His face a deep shade of red, Randall wished that he could dig a hole for himself to crawl into. With his strength value, it was possible, but it would probably increase his already ludicrous fines...

"Stop it, you two! We came here to fight [Wuji], not each other," reprimanded Geass, saving Randall from any further humiliation.

Despair merely snorted, coldly looking at the two. He couldn't have any more fun with this killjoy here.

Randall looked up, sending a grateful look towards Geass.

"And Randall, I'll pay for the damages, but you had better perform well later," Geass continued. After all, there was no free lunch in the world.

"Oh, boss! No, grandpa! Ancestor! Thank you, thank you... I'll make sure not to let you down! On a man's word!" Randall prostrated on the ground, solemnly pounding his chest.

A fine in real cash would be applied to one's account if they couldn't pay the penalties with in-game currency. Although the game was closing, 60,000 platinum was still quite a hefty sum.

"It's fine, just... don't call me grandpa or ancestor ever again," said Geass, his eye twitching in annoyance. He wasn't even thirty yet...

"Yes, boss!"

Turning to Despair, Geass lectured, "Don't be mad at Randall for his confidence and...enthusiasm. We need that same kind of energy if we want to even have a sliver of a chance of defeating [Wuji]. Besides, I too have been waiting to fight _Knight ever since-"

"Ever since he defeated you for the 39th time, yes, yes I already know." Despair interrupted, rolling his eyes.

Geass's face contorted and his eye began to twitch even more violently. Swallowing his anger, he cleared his throat, trying to maintain a composed front.

"Well, then I'll be expecting a good performance from you."

"Don't worry, I'm not an incompetent idiot like Randall. I didn't come here to die- I came here to win." Despair's eyes were filled with self-confidence.

Turning away, Despair said, "The only player's performance you should be mindful of is that [Berserker] with muscles for a brain. Message me when the raid begins."

He began slinking away back into the darkness, leaving Geass behind to stare at his disappearing figure.

The paladin sighed, his hand rubbing his forehead. Despair's arrogance would be a problem. It would be fine if he made his enemies despair, but his allies as well? Alas, his strength did speak for itself. Geass couldn't deny that. After all, in that fight, Despair could've ended Randall's life the second he reappeared.

Thankfully, he still had some respect for Geass; respawn timers were quite long, and it would've ruined the guild raid.

But thank God this was only a temporary situation. If he had to manage those two on a regular basis, Geass probably would've been driven crazy.

. . .

Sometime later, at the entrance to [Wuji]'s courtyard.

A party of twenty appeared, a rather small-sized party for such an important raid as this, but it was a force comprised of the elite of the elites: Geass, Randall, Despair and Tall Stature, along with the second-ranked [Divine Cleric], [Archmage], [Awakened Shaman], [God Paladin], [Demon Blade], [Elemental Summoner], [Soul Reaper] and so on. Besides two exceptions, these were the top second-ranked experts of Freedom! and they were gathered here, on the last day of the server, to finally challenge the great <Guild Hall> of [Wuji].

Never before in the history of Freedom! had there been such a powerful lineup, consisting of over ten Super Guilds' highest tier experts, allied together for a single raid. But of course, [Wuji] required such preparation; even with this lineup, victory wasn't guaranteed. The sudden disappearance of [Wuji]'s members was the only reason why these experts had any confidence at all of winning. Attempting to fight all of [Wuji]'s renowned experts would just be suicidal. Against one person though, they had a chance.

At least, they thought they did.

Little did they know just how impossible this raid would really be.

"Is everyone ready? Make sure to consume the [Miracle Fruit] we distributed out to everyone." reminded Geass, his bated breath and random fidgeting not helping with his anxiety.

Deep breaths, he reminded himself. Deep breaths.

The party's members had finished consuming the [Miracle Fruits], but there were a few players that felt their hearts ache as they activated the Ultra-Rare items they had obtained throughout their years of playing Freedom! The group did a final check on their equipment and status, making sure everything was perfect.

They advanced towards the towering gate, feeling the pressure as they gawked at its grandeur stature and intricate design.

The words "[Wuji] Guild Hall" were plastered on the top, a remnant of the glory that it once held.

Geass lead the group, his hand making contact with the gate.

A confirmation screen popped up with a high-pitched beep.

[{ Begin the raid on [Wuji]'s <Guild Hall>? }]

[Confirm] [Decline]

Geass stared at the screen, his eyes becoming glossy. This was it. He took a deep breath and hit confirm.

[Confirm?]

[This action cannot be reversed] blinked in red text.

"Confirm!"

[[Raid on [Wuji]'s <Guild Hall> commencing]]

A deep voice boomed out:

[Unauthorized intruders! Alert! Unauthorized intruders! Alert! ...]

The party shook as the message continued to resound in their minds, something that would haunt them for the rest of their lives. Still, determined and resolute, the party advanced forward, their eyes glowing with a light that would soon be snuffed out of existence.

"This'll be fun… I wonder how long they'll last?" a mischievous voice giggled. A petite figure could be seen trailing away from the party.

This had gone completely unnoticed by the rest of the group, something that should've been impossible to miss with their keen instincts. Not even Despair, known for his godlike perception, had perceived this.

Whether or not anyone noticed, the raid had finally begun!