No One Left Behind

Under Clay's leadership, while following Exile's plan, the group made steady progress. Most of the time they forced the mobs aside rather than exchange blows until they killed them. And now, they were only a few feet from breaking out of the encirclement!

Since they were almost free, everyone turned their attention to the front. They abandoned the other sides as they focused on breaking through the remaining mobs. The group began to accumulate damage under those conditions. But it was not life-threatening enough to force Exile to heal the group a second time.

The group burst through the crowd and made a mad dash for the cave that led back outside. Arrows rained down on them from behind as they attempted to put as much distance between themselves and the Lost Warriors as possible!

Exile shrugged the arrows off as his health dropped to 36/70. Leggy cried out before his body hit the ground and turned into particles of light that drifted off. Exile cursed under his breath as he raised his shield and dashed back to grab the orb that was left behind. The damage was too severe and came too quickly for him to save Leggy's life.

The mobs were frantic as they tried to close the distance when they saw Exile turn back to retrieve Leggy's orb. The archers amongst the Lost Warriors stopped aiming for the group and focused fire on Exile. Most of them struck the ground, missing him by a narrow margin. While the rest created dull thuds as they embedded themselves in his shield.

When Exile's hand touched Leggy's orb, he stored it in his inventory. He spared a quick glimpse over the rim of his shield to see the Lost Warriors getting closer by the second. Exile cursed as he realised they would catch up before he could rejoin the others. 'Damn! I should have left it!' Exile cursed as he raced back towards the remaining two.

"Run! They're right behind you!" Clay's warning rang in Exile's ears as his feet pounded against the ground.

[-7 HP]

Exile swore as he spun to slash at the mob who had just stabbed him with a short sword, but the Lost Warrior was nimble enough to escape that strike. However, that brief respite gave him the chance to make another break for it. He ran as if his life depended on it, but the mobs were not ready to give up yet. Their weapons and armour made a lot of noise as they continued the chase. Meanwhile, Clay and Old Un had disappeared into the cave ahead.

Just as Exile was about to curse them out for abandoning him, Clay's head suddenly poked out from the cave. When he saw the situation that Exile was in, he did not hesitate to rush to his aid. Exile could only frown as he saw that. Although he was ecstatic about the sudden help, he did not expect that Clay was serious when he said that he had to survive even if it cost the others their lives.

Just as Exile was still coming to grips with Clay's decision, Old Un made his own reappearance to join the fray. Exile felt the mounting pressure ease up a little as the pair passed him to hold off the mobs. He did not know for how much longer he could have endured the bombardment while trying to escape. So he was grateful for the assist.

Once he was clear of the melee, he used Raging Hearth again to prevent the others from dying as they disengaged from the enemies. Before long they had already caught him to him and were voicing their thanks towards him.

'I was right…' Clay thought as he studied the serious expression on Exile's face. 'He'd make an outstanding leader. If we wanted to bring him in permanently, I'd have to step aside.'

Clay shook his head with a sad smile. He had the same thought earlier, but it had become more solidified now. If they did not recruit him into their group, there was a good chance that they would become enemies down the line. Especially when he considered the nature of the game. 'If we can at least part as friends or allies that would be good too…'

The trio entered the mouth of the tunnel, and only after a few minutes of running did they notice they could no longer hear the sound of their pursuers. They slowed to a stop and listened carefully. But it really seemed as if the mobs had given up. They exchanged confused expressions before Exile made a guess as to what was going on.

"Maybe they can't leave that room…" Exile frowned as he thought of the only explanation that made any sense.

"Maybe…" Clay cocked an eyebrow at the tunnel behind them. "Still, I can't believe we made it out of there!"

Old Un shook his head before a burst of soft laughter escaped his mouth, which became increasingly louder. Soon, all three of them were leaning on the wall and laughing at their success. They had raided the tomb and the only thing they had to do now was claim their rewards!

"It was a hell of an experience…" Clay chuckled, as a glint appeared in his eyes. "Plus, we didn't leave anyone behind. So the results aren't half bad. There's just the matter of Leggy losing half of his stats during the trials."

Clay sighed as he realised they came out better than when they went in. The rewards would solve a decent chunk of Leggy's problem and it should not take long to get him back up to full strength. His sights fell on Exile as he wondered if this would be a good chance to broach the subject of future cooperation. However, Exile's mind was already thinking of something else.

'The beta won't last much longer and there's still a lot to do. It'd be good if I can found a Pantheon and check in on Ania soon. There's no telling what will happen if the developers patch the game during the time between the beta's end and general release….'