16. Western Giant Legged Brood Mother

Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a shared vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results." — Andrew Carnegie

After fighting smaller spiders until there were only 30 minutes left in the event, most of the people in the area—around 40 people — had gathered just outside what they believed the boss's aggro range was.

At this point, Claire's ragtag group had grown to 11 people, becoming the second largest of the gathered players. Unfortunately for her, she was still marginally away from level 10, making her the absolute lowest-level player present and the only person without a third ability.

The person who had taken the lead of the players' gathering was a middle-aged man named "Train Tracks." He was a level 15 tank and the only tank in the surrounding area other than Fire Bent, a source of major unease for the players present. 

Out of the total 42 people, there were two tanks, seven healers, and 33 DPS. Although there was a good amount of damage and healing, it is likely that if minions or elites appeared during the fight, they would most likely be left loose by the tanks, rampaging in the DPS stack and healers. 

"Alright, everyone, the boss is level 15 and has a blue health bar, so it will most likely be tough for me to hold even with Flame Bent's help. So, killing any ads that appear during the fight is very important. If one of us is available, we will try to pull them away from the boss to be focused; do not try to pad on the boss for more contributions. Our way to victory is moving slowly and safely while more and more players arrive; since we are here first, we will have more time to stack up damage and place higher anyways; do not get greedy."

Although most of the people were not necessarily skillful players, they all had some experience to get as far as they did on the first day of the game launch. Almost everyone agreed with Train Tracks, and soon, the battle started.

As the group of players charged into the area, the spider tried to break into the central building, no doubt to devour any remaining town people.

Seeing the large group of players, it instantly ignored the building and approached them quickly.

Leading the way, Train Tracks, with a large tower shield, met the charge and braced for the impact, instantly being sent back a few feet and losing almost 20% of his health, which was quickly healed. 

Once he regained his footing, the boss charged at him once again. This time, his shield glowed a bright red, and he again met the charge. 

Although the ability did very little damage, the spider reacted violently and made a strange sound, signifying that the taunt skill had been effective. This meant the boss would only target him for a set amount of time, in this case 15 seconds.

With commendable experience, he pulled the boss to the side so the players could see its side without risking any conal AOE the boss might use. He also kept the group's healers within range.

As they stabilized the situation, the players present were excited. How long could the boss survive with 33 people bombarding it?

As the DPS began casting damage abilities from as far away as possible, large amounts of magical damage landed on the Brood Mother incessantly. 

For her part, Claire was pretty sure she was quite literally on the bottom of the table for DPS, probably losing out to Train Tracks too, only being ahead of Fire Bent, who had not attacked yet, waiting to take over after the duration of the first taunt ability wore off. 

With many non-fatal errors, the group made it to the first swap between the tanks, Fire Bent pulling aggro and Train Tracks backing off to recover mana and stamina.

He ran in with a glowing shield noticeably duller than Train Track's at the right moment, signaling his ability needed to be higher. His taunt only held aggro for 13 seconds. 

Seeing how things were going well, Claire and everyone else felt that something was about to go wrong, not because they were cynical but because the boss had not done anything but charge since the battle started.

It took only a short time before they were proven correct. 

With 4 seconds left on his taunt, the spider suddenly viciously bit at Fire Bent, biting down on his shield and trying to rip it out of his hands. 

Not being at a high enough level or having an active ability to enhance his defense, he was picked off the ground as the spider switched tactics and tried to swallow him whole. Seeing the situation going downhill fast, Train Tracks frantically yelled.

"This should be a channeling attack; we just have to figure out how to interrupt it!"

At this point, Fire Bent was screaming, his entire arm inside the spider's deadly maw.

As the fight started deteriorating quickly, Claire suddenly had an insane idea and decided to try it; it looked like they would wipe anyway if one of their tanks died, with the boss having over 90% HP.

Coming to a quick decision, she broke formation and sprinted toward the building the spider had been trying to attack. 

Upon getting to the door, she frantically started pounding.

"Whoever is inside, you need to run! We are fighting the Brood Mother but will probably be wiped out any minute. Now is your chance to run!"

It didn't take long for the door to open, and whatever magical protections protected the building faded.

As the door opened, Claire saw the face of a teenage boy who resembled the middle-aged man she initially saw fighting the boss monster.

When the boy saw the group of players fighting the Brood Mother, he was stunned and silent.

"Why are all the people fighting the Brood Mother so weak? You are all getting yourselves killed!"

Seeing the panicked youth, Claire tried to act mature and put on a somber face.

"We saw a village in need and decided to risk our lives for your safety! Hurry and run, or else we will all die together!"

Looking lost momentarily, the boy with the name tag Johanious quickly gathered himself.

"We will never forget your sacrifice."

He instantly turned back inside and began yelling for the people inside to grab what they could hold and prepare to leave.

By the time the first person exited the door, Fire Bent had been swallowed whole and assumed dead.

As the civilian NPCs began leaving the building, the boss spider suddenly turned and looked at them with a bloodthirsty look while chewing the last of what could be assumed to be the former tank.

Pulling back to make some move, Train Tracks suddenly shouted in surprise.

"It broke taunt!"

Claire didn't know how many people were inside the building, but over two dozen had made it out when the Brood Mother released a large glob of liquid toward the villagers. 

Sensing an impending death, she closed her eyes, hoping not to see a gruesome scene of herself dying.

Contrary to her expectations, a warmth overtook her senses before it became hotter and hotter.

Taking her chances, she opened her eyes and saw the young man. Johanious breathed a pale blue fire out of his mouth, incinerating whatever the spider had sent their way.

As the breath was dying out, it reached the Brood Mother, setting it on fire and causing an even more unholy screech. 

As the flame died down, the spider had lost almost no health, but it was still covered in a light flame, doing a small amount of damage over time.

The young man was kneeling, breathing deeply, when an empty flask fell to the ground.

Somewhat understanding what happened, Claire turned and screamed at the villagers.

"Run!" 

It did not take long before the boss was again affected by the taunt, and the villagers began fleeing in a chaotic stampede. 

Not sure what to do, Claire went to the boy's side to see what was up with him; he seemed to be the main NPC in this situation.

"Help me up; I can help you guys fight."

Seeing the boy who looked out of breath and covered in sweat, she doubted his claim.

"Isn't it better to flee and help the village rebuild?"

It's not that she cared for the NPC's life; it was more like she felt that if this guy died, it would negatively impact any potential event rewards.

With Train Track solo tanking, the situation deteriorated quickly; four DPS and a healer had already died as the group began dripping strength like a leaky faucet. Granted, a few random people had arrived and joined the fight, but they were losing more people than they were gaining.

As if to assuage her doubts, the boy took out another flask with bright liquid before drinking it and rising to his feet without any issue. 

He suddenly appeared under his name tag as he rose to his nonexistent health bar.

He was a level 15 with a green health bar, which supposedly meant he was a mini-boss.

As the rest of the villagers retreated out of sight, he turned to Claire and spoke with determination.

"If you guys can come here without hope of winning to save our lives, I can stay and help, even if the battle is hopeless."

Claire suddenly got the feeling that this NPC was the main character. 

As he charged into the battle, the entire area was suddenly filled with a deep drumming sound, and everyone, including the boss, became confused. 

Looking to one side, Claire saw a large group of players making their way to the area of the boss fight.

Compared to the players who had been here for most of the event, these new ones appeared like professional soldiers, some with matching armor sets and walking in an actual formation. The group looked intimidating. When they got into range, almost everyone was shocked that all the players were at least level 15, the highest being 17.

As they filtered into the fighting area, it became clear that they numbered nearly 100, dwarfing the entire scale of the previous battle. 

As they approached, a middle-aged woman spoke in a commanding tone.

"Advance! Tanks turn the boss around, DPS focuses on immobilization, and healers make sure nobody dies."

The battle began anew without hesitation; this time, it escalated to an entirely different level.