Ambush in the Alley

The narrow alley in Eldoria suddenly filled with tension as Lucas and Finn realized they were being ambushed by cult followers. The followers' eyes gleamed with fanaticism, and they prepared to attack with swords and dark magic in hand."Keep your distance! They can use dark magic!" said Lucas, raising his shield and preparing his sword."Let's kick their butts!" shouted Finn enthusiastically. He threw his throwing knife at one of the approaching followers, the knife flew fast and accurately, embedding itself in the enemy's shoulder, causing him to fall to the ground.Two other followers advanced with successive attacks. Lucas parried the sword attack of one enemy with his shield, then retaliated with a powerful slash that knocked his opponent down. Finn, on the other hand, dodged nimbly, avoiding the flying magic attacks and sneaking around the alley."It's too narrow here! We need more room to move!" shouted Finn as he used the alley walls to jump and kick an enemy near him.Lucas nodded quickly. "Alright, pull them to a more open area!" he said as he continued to parry attacks and slowly retreated towards the end of the alley.When they reached a wider intersection, three more cult followers appeared from the other side of the alley, surrounding them."They keep coming!" said Finn with a frown. "We need to reduce their numbers."Lucas silently opened the System Window in his mind, looking for a way to change the situation. He decided to use the Smoke Bomb (Tier C) in his inventory to create confusion.System Window - Use Item| Use Smoke Bomb (Tier C) || [Use Now] |Lucas quickly activated the item and threw it into the midst of the approaching followers. Thick, colorful smoke immediately filled the area, causing the enemies to lose sight."Nice! Now attack!" shouted Finn. He jumped into the smoke and began attacking the confused followers with surprising accuracy. Lucas followed, using his sharper vision to find gaps in the enemy's defense."Luck is on our side!" said Finn as he knocked back one of the followers with a kick to the heel.In the chaos, one of the followers managed to launch a magic attack towards Lucas. He felt a deadly cold approaching, but quickly raised his Celestial Shield (Tier A) to deflect the attack. The shield glowed with a bright blue light, and the energy of the attack bounced back, hitting the enemy who had released it."I didn't know it could be like this, but I like it!" exclaimed Lucas, as he slashed at the staggering enemy."Even their magic can be our weapon," said Finn, laughing. "Keep going!"As the smoke began to clear, the remaining cult followers began to show doubt. One of them, who seemed to be the leader of the group, signaled to retreat. "This is not over! The Night of the Fall will come, and you cannot stop us!" he shouted as he ran away in the opposite direction, followed by the few remaining followers."You want to chase them?" asked Finn, still panting."No, we need to go back to the inn and tell the others. This is too risky," replied Lucas, looking around the area to make sure there were no other threats. "We managed to drive them off, but I'm sure they'll be back."Lucas and Finn hurried back to The Silver Chalice Inn. They found Evelyn and Kael still guarding the bound cult leader, who now looked increasingly agitated."Anything wrong?" asked Evelyn, seeing the serious expressions on Lucas and Finn's faces."We were ambushed on the way. Looks like they know we have this crystal," replied Lucas. "They mentioned something about the Night of the Fall. I think we need to move faster.""Night of the Fall... so they're planning something with the Celestial tree. If they can harness the power of the tree, Eldoria could be in great danger," muttered Kael, his gaze growing darker."We need more information," said Evelyn. "Lucas, do you have any other clues?"Lucas nodded without saying anything about his system. "There's a wizard in the magic market who knows how to activate this crystal. But he's asking for a high price for the ingredients.""Maybe we can find another way to get those ingredients," suggested Finn. "Maybe there's a place around Eldoria where we can find them, or we can try negotiating again."While thinking about these options, Lucas opened the System Window in his mind and checked his Quest and Gacha Points. He considered whether to use his points to try his luck in getting the needed items.System Window - Gacha Points| Gacha Points: 200 || [Use Gacha Points] |"Lucas?" asked Kael, noticing Lucas thinking deeply.Lucas quickly turned his gaze away. "I'm just thinking about our next move," he replied with a small smile.Evelyn sighed. "Alright, let's take a break. Finn and I will go back to the magic market to look for more information. Kael, you guard the cult leader. Lucas, you can try contacting some of your contacts in the city.""Agreed," replied Lucas. He knew he had to act quickly and carefully to complete his quest without drawing unwanted attention.