Mutated Giant Worm(1)

Cracks appeared all over the field as several Giant Worms emerged from the ground. But at the center of the field, a Giant Worm three times larger than the rest suddenly pierced through the ground, creating a cloud of dust. From one look, one could tell this worm was different. Compared to the other worms, this one was dark blue and had an armor-like shell covering its body.

All the players became excited upon seeing the dark blue worm, but they still stood just outside the field, waiting for the command of their leader.

As for Li Wei, he was watching the scene from under the tree with a few other solo players. When he saw the players, he was surprised to see that some of them were level 9 which meant that these players died somehow.

A few seconds later, a mage named Diamond, the guild leader of the Gem Family walked out of the crowd of players. "Hey Shining! Are you not going to rush in today?"

"F*** you, trying to use us as cannon fodder again!" shouted back a Paladin from the Stone Defenders. The Paladin stood in front of his group, the leader symbol shone brightly next to his name.

At the same time, the players of Stone Defenders started to shout. Yesterday was the first time they attempted the boss and they were the first to engage into battle but as they were tanking the boss, the other guilds launched their own attack. The battle was very chaotic as each side fought each other. In the end, the guild that dealt the killing blow and obtained the most benefits was the Gem Family.

"Haha! Since you are so scared, I shall make the first move! Men! Clear the normal Giant Worms first!" shouted Diamond, while pointing his staff towards the field.

At the same time, the members of the Gem Family all charged forward. Many smaller guilds also joined the fray. It was clear that they were in an alliance with the Gem Family. A total of 80 players entered the field under the command of Diamond.

The guilds only dispatched a small portion of their players. Even if the boss was important, it was better to distribute players over several areas to maximize their efficiency in levelling up and gathering resources. Furthermore, these guilds naturally knew some inside information, like the fact that bosses became stronger as more players were nearby.

The Stone Defenders also made their move but from the opposite side of the field. It would be a waste to give all these exp to their competitors. As for the Fleeting Clouds Sect and their allies, they retreated a few dozens of meters away, calmly observing the situation. They had no other choice since they only had 20 players present. The rest of their players was still on the way.

"Do not attack the boss yet. Focus on clearing the mobs first. We need space to act!" shouted a rogue called Sapphire.

Li Wei observed from his position. He could clearly see the movements of the players. They were quite coordinated, ganging up as a group against one Giant Worm and quickly finishing them. In a few minutes, only the boss was left but they had to act quickly since Giant Worms had a short respawn time.

"Charge!" shouted Diamond while casting a [Mana Burst] towards the Stone Defenders.

The chaotic battle between the players had begun. Melee classes clashed forming a wall while mages and rangers shot as many projectiles as possible. Although they did their best to avoid the boss, the latter was still attracted by the fight and attacked the players.

Shining Blade was charging with his guildmates toward the Gem Family. [Charge] and [Bash] were used and they forcefully broke through the 'wall' set up by the Gem Family. They started attacking the back line, but the Gem Family quickly reacted and showered arrows and spells at them.

At the same time, the Mutated Giant Worm started to spit its saliva everywhere around him. The saliva not only dealt 15 damage but also reduced the armor of players by 20%.

It then followed up by twisting its body and started attacking the closest targets which were the Gem Family.

The players quickly reacted. A few Paladins stepped forward to control the aggro while the rest dealt with the other players. The Gem Family had after all, the highest number of players on the field at the moment. They were basically fighting on two different fronts.

As players used their skills, the boss was inevitably hurt, and its HP decreased quickly. Upon hitting 75%, it let out a loud roar, summoning Giant Worms everywhere on the field.

...

"Hey! Do you think we have a chance of snatching the boss?" Li Wei asked Solitary Eagle while observing the battle.

"Are you crazy? Even if you do kill it, how will you escape from all these players? And even if you succeed, they will make your life miserable! I seriously advise you not to try something crazy," said Solitary Eagle.

"Fine, but I would like to fight against that boss and possibly earn some exp."

"You have to join a guild for that. Solo players would immediately become the target of the players there. If you have no backing, they won't hesitate to attack you. I have seen countless naïve players like you yesterday but in the end, they all perished," warned Solitary Eagle.

"Then it's simple, why don't we just join a guild like the Fleeting Clouds Sect? They are still waiting on the side! It was the one I was considering joining anyway!"

"The Fleeting Clouds Sect? It's true that they are the loosest one, but I don't think that right now is the best time..."

"Won't they be glad to have more players for the boss fight? It costs nothing to try! It will be better than just staying here to watch them fight," answered Li Wei, while stepping forward towards the players.

"You go first, there are still things I need to consider..." said Solitary Eagle.

"Alright."

As Li Wei walked towards the Fleeting Clouds Sect, the players there immediately noticed his arrival and blocked him.

"What do you want!? We are busy right now," roughly said a paladin. His eyes were full of disdain as he assessed the newcomer.

"I would like to participate in this boss battle, but I don't have a guild right now. I would like to ask to join the Fleeting Clouds Sect, will it be possible? I would have asked to join when I get back to the city but then I would miss this boss fight," said Li Wei with an earnest expression.

"Go away! We don't have time for that right now! If you want to join, go talk to the people in charge of recruitment at the Western District," answered a tall warrior that looked like one of the leaders of the group.

"Are you sure? It looks like the more members you have right now the better the situation would be… I have already seen the terms that you offer when I was at the city and…" started Li Wei.

"That is not my business! There are rules that need to be followed! You need to go through the players in charge of recruitment," answered the warrior but at that moment, a soft voice was heard from the crowd of players:

"Zhang Yang! Why are you pushing him away? We are already having enough problems with the recruitment and now that someone wants to join, you reject him like that?"

The players quickly made way for that person, allowing a mage to walk next to the warrior.

"Beibei. That's not it, it's just that we need to focus on the boss fight. We are already late, and he might be a spy sent by the other guilds. Besides, you know how recruitment works. It's more complex than it looks. I don't want to shoulder the blame for any possible mishaps," said Zhang Yang. His expression softened as he spoke to the pretty mage.

"Mmmm. That's true. You need to sign the contract first anyway and I am sure that you won't be signing it blindly since there are many additional clauses. We don't have time right now, I hope you understand. If you want, you can wait until the end of this fight," apologized the mage with a small bow.

Li Wei quickly calmed himself. What the mage just said made sense, but he still wanted to participate in that fight. Before he could say anything, another voice sounded from the crowd, "Is everyone ready? Let's go!"

"Please go talk to the people recruiting. You will understand how complicated the recruiting process can be," said the mage making an apologetic smile before quickly returning to her position.

The warrior let out a dry "Hmmp" and ignored Li Wei.

Hearing the command, the players of the Fleeting Clouds Sect joined the battle for the boss. They had to wait for almost 10 minutes but now, the size of their team had doubled.

Back on the field, the Gem Family still had about 50 players left while the Stone Defenders amounted to 35 players. With the arrival of the 40 players of the Fleeting Clouds Sect, the situation completely changed.

The Mutated Giant Worm still had about 40% of its health but it was visibly in a worse shape than at the beginning.

"Go! We need to capture the aggro!"

"Don't retreat! Focus the Fleeting Clouds Sect! Do not let them near the boss."

"Move to the right. Don't stand that close to the boss' tail! "

Shouts and orders flew all over the field. Several spells showered the different guilds and it was not just the mages casting their [Mana Bolt] and their [Mana Burst]. Several players were also activating their equipment's skills. It was too early for players to be able to afford skills at their respective associations but for being able to reach the open world that quickly, they all managed to obtain decent pieces of equipment.

The battle was very chaotic. Spells flew everywhere, and players would often confuse the orders. The Mutated Giant Worm was not idle either. It was rampaging all over the field and had already taken the life of more than 15 players by itself.

From Li Wei's point of view, it was actually a beautiful scene. Not because players were dying left and right but because of the skills. They all had different animations and as they were all activated together, it looked like a giant Firework.

The battle continued. The boss was attacking all sides without taking favorites. Compared to the other Giant Worms, the mutated Giant Worm could take its whole body out of the ground and move above the surface.

It would swing its tail left and right at the players while spitting its saliva or trying to bite the players. Occasionally, it would bury its tail into the ground and then make a quick swipe around the hole with the rest of its body, pushing all players in that zone away.

It had a total of 1500 HP, but its hide was especially hard and would only take 4-6 damage from sword strikes. However, it was more vulnerable towards magic attacks. Its HP dropped quickly at first as all mages used their skills, but then stabilized as they had to wait for cooldowns.

"Roarrr". As its HP hit the 25% mark, the Mutated Giant Worm went on a rampage, rolling onto itself, killing some players in the process. After its roll, it dug a hole and went back underground. The remaining players all grabbed their weapons, looking around themselves.

A few seconds later, the ground shook, and the Mutated Giant Worm emerged from under a Paladin, biting him to death. At the same time, several Giant Worms appeared to protect it.

Once again, players dispersed to clear the annoying Giant Worms. The process was even faster since the Fleeting Clouds Sect was also fighting.

"Go take back the aggro! " shouted a warrior from the Fleeting Clouds Sect. At the same time, his spear seemed to glow, and wind gathered around the spear. He then jumped, avoided the spit of the Mutated Giant Work and stabbed onto its head, "-21".

That move immediately attracted Li Wei's attention who was still standing just outside the field. 21 damage could be considered excellent especially when normal attacks only dealt 5 damage. But what really attracted Li Wei, was that this move was clearly not a skill given by the game.

All that time, Li Wei was actually observing the Stone Defenders and the Fleeting Clouds Sect. As he wanted to improve his footwork, the best way to do so was naturally to observe the soldiers and the martial artists who trained in them.

The Mutated Giant Worm roared as it was hurt. It swung its tail all over the place, but the warrior safely landed on the side and stabbed it again.

The warrior who roughly spoke to Li Wei charged at the Giant Worm, but he did not grab his sword. Instead, he grabbed his right hand with his left and shifted his body to stab the Giant Worm with his elbow while flexing his knees.

He wasn't the only one who made his move. All the Fleeting Clouds Sect's members seemed to wake up and launched their skills at the Mutated Giant Worm.

The boss loss another chunk of HP and was left with only 14%. The Fleeting Clouds Sect successfully took the aggro.

The Stone defenders also reacted, but they did not attack the boss. Instead, they turned against the Gem Family.

Shining Blade jumped in front of Diamond, raising his shield and using [Bash]. Diamond frowned and jumped to the side before casting [Mana Bind] at the Paladin. The latter could no longer move his feet.

A ranger from the Gem Family quickly reacted and charged his [Power shot] aiming at Shining Blade but he was immediately interrupted by a [Mana Bolt].

"Stop! Look at the boss' HP!" shouted a voice. Another loud roar was heard coming from the Mutated Giant Worm. This roar was different from the others, it had a much higher pitch; it signified that the boss had entered its final phase with only 10% of HP.

It did not summon any Giant Worms this time. Its shell started to crack and within seconds, the boss completely destroyed its own dark blue shell, revealing its dark grey skin. Without his protective shell, the boss once again went on a rampage, but this time, it was twice as fast.

A paladin from the Fleeting Cloud Sect who just used [Taunt] to grab the aggro was immediately snared by the Mutated Giant Worm. The move was similar to that of a snake. The boss then contracted its body and squashed the paladin to death.

...

The roar of the boss immediately attracted the attention of the two other guilds. They stopped fighting each other and turned towards the boss.

"This time we must not lose the boss! Brothers and sisters! Charge!"

....

"Finally! Only 10% HP! Sapphire! It's your time to shine," murmured Diamond while retreating away from Shining Blade with a cold smile.