Level 5!

Exile grunted as he checked his health after Donna's recent blow! '15/70!' His lips curled into a snarl as he turned to face her. She was using her superior range to keep out of his reach and deal damage wherever she could! 'Her weapon targets my speed so my endurance is worthless here!'

Donna smiled as she continued to dance, just out of reach. Not long ago, she had thought it would be impossible to take him down on her own. 'This wouldn't be possible without this spear Aeri gave me! Once I kill you, I'll be a member of Kaleidoscope!' Donna licked her lips at the thought of the stat points she would gain from Exile's orb when he dropped it.

Exile glared at her as he tried to keep his cool. He had no DP left to cast any divine spells, so he had to rely on his physical capabilities. Any attack of Donna's that slipped past his shield would deal damage which was making him feel pressured. Exile ignored her weapon and kept his eyes trained on her shoulders and legs. Since these body parts would give away her next movement earlier than anything else.

Donna was growing impatient. If the fight carried on much longer, then Aeri's team would join in. Meaning that she would no longer have the sole claim over Exile's orb. That was when she made a mistake. Her impatience got the better of her as she pounced with a quick thrust! Exile reacted to the bend in her legs and pounced forward at almost the same time!

Donna's eyes went wide as her spear slid along Exile's shield before he punched out. Slamming its rim into her face. As she flinched from the attack, he quickly followed up with a blow from his axe! Since Donna had not invested in Authority, his axe dealt a straight ten points of damage to her while his shield had dealt five. In total, his one attack drained fifteen points of her remaining health!

Donna spun with a furious expression on her face! But Exile was one step ahead! Her eyes went wide as Exile tackled her to the ground. Pinning her beneath his shield! She wanted to scream at him, but he hacked at the side of her head with his axe! Her eyes went wide in horror as she felt her HP draining at a rapid pace!

She was about to beg him to stop when her expression froze! The axe was coming at her head again! Before she could say anything, Exile struck savagely with a mad glint in his eyes! Donna sighed as her health bottomed out. Exile dropped to the ground now that her body turned into motes of light and no longer supported him.

He could not help but laugh when he rolled over. A golden orb lay on the snow-covered ground beside him! 'I'll be having that for all the trouble you caused!' As he reached out to absorb it he suddenly felt a sense of danger! 'Oh, shi...' Exile rolled over and grabbed the orb before storing it in his inventory!

Moments later, a spell exploded where he had been. Throwing snow into the air, blinding his vision. 'Aeri!' Exile growled as he took damage from the explosion. A critical warning flashed in his mind that told him his HP had dropped to 7/15! 'One more hit of that and I'm done for!' Exile sighed as he realised that there was no way out for him now. He was certain to die in the next few minutes.

"Just give me what I want and I'll let you go..." Aeri chuckled as the snow settled.

"What would that be?" Exile cocked an eyebrow at her while showing a confused expression.

"You can't fool me. Your little friend already said she was certain that you gained something important in the tomb you guys explored." Aeri covered her mouth with her hand as she chuckled. "Truth be told, I already figured you would gain something for being the first to enter that shop! Now hand it over like a good little boy, it'll do more good in Kaleidoscope's hands than yours!"

"Don't know what you're talking about." Exile shrugged his shoulders. 'Plus, there's no confirmation that she can get it from killing me. It's better to take the death and hope I keep the First Flame Fragment.'

"Don't blame me then. I gave you a way out. If it doesn't drop after one death, I'll just keep killing you until I get what I want!" Aeri snarled as her hands began to glow.

Exile stared at that light and knew his time was up. He heaved a sigh as he prepared his shield in a last act of defiance! He was definitely not fast enough to outrun the explosion that would follow the spell. 'I hope I don't lose the other guy's orbs. Clay and his team were actually decent guys...'

Exile grit his teeth as Aeri pointed her palms towards him. The golden light shot forth as a bolt aimed directly at Exile's chest! Exile closed his eyes as he waited for the death notification. However, several moments passed and nothing happened. In fact, there was nothing but silence to hear when he should be at least hearing the other players fighting the mobs.

His eyes flickered open to see the bolt of light inches from his face! 'What the?' His eyes darted around and noticed that everything in the game had come to a standstill. It was then that he realised that he could not move his body! 'What's going on?' Aeri, who was across from him had a similar look of confusion on her face as she was stuck in the same pose. But they soon got their answer...

[Server Announcement! A player has reached Level 5!]

[Pantheon Online Closed Beta Test will now end.]

[Pantheon Online servers will now shut down.]

[Game will enter Open Beta in three days.]

[Developers will make an announcement regarding the game on its official page in one hour.]

Exile raised his eyebrows at the series of notifications! Right before he was forcefully ejected from the game...