The Dungeon (Part 2)

"Whenever the BOSS loses 10% of its hitpoints, it will lay an egg. When that happens, the Rogues must go and steal its eggs and then throw them off the cliff behind the nest. Remember, don't let her see you, or she'll become enraged."

Despite sounding simple, it was Nightmare difficulty. Even when one know of the strategy, it was still hard to pull it off.

The first time the party got annihilated, it was fault of the main healer. He was so focused on healing the tank that he was 2 seconds too slow to reposition. Misfortune struck, and he was blown away to a far far away place.

The second party annihilation came when the party's tank died. The entire party with the exception of 3 Hunters and a Rogue were blown away.

As for the third time, the Rogues were discovered when they tried to steal the eggs. If Ye Ci had not realised it early and activated Feigned Death, she would've died along with the rest of the party.

The fourth time…

The fifth time..

...

The tenth time…

Once again, the party was annihilated. Ye Ci asked around for the lowest death count, and then remained silent.

The players from World Conqueror still had high morale. Even if it was Nightmare difficulty, even if they were still on the pioneering stages of this dungeon, they did not keep quiet. The party members interacted with each other actively, discussing and sharing information.

Flawless Reflection glanced at Ye Ci, "Do we start again?"

Ye Ci stared silently at the party members. A commander is merely someone who lowers the mistakes made by his or her party members. But to totally avoid mistakes, it was up to the members themselves. An obedient party member was the best party member, but a blindly obedient party member was the worst.

Those who were not willing to think were the reason why a party was repeatedly annihilated.

They had died for the 12th time in the hands of the third BOSS.

Ye Ci stood up and said, "This is the last time. I hope that we can clear this dungeon in one go."

Although they'd only known Ye Ci for a few hours, the members of the party seemed to have already figured out her speech patterns and their hidden meanings. They knew that when Ye Ci said "in one go", it meant that it was not a simple statement, it was a must.

With that, the party members were pressured.

But at times, the pressure was just what people needed as a driving force. When pressured, people tend to have extraordinary performance.

The battle began.

Dragonwitch raised his shield and braced himself, standing right in front of the BOSS. Shield Bash, Taunt, Stunning Blow were released on the BOSS, building up its aggro.

"Shift 30 degrees to your 4 o'clock direction." Shouted Ye Ci after observing the BOSS's spell channeling.

Dragonwitch was already moving, and the BOSS moved with him. The ranged players repositioned themselves as well. At the next moment, the spot that they move away from was covered with ice.

The BOSS suddenly flew up, ignoring the players as it flew towards its nest. A Rogue immediately entered Stealth and crept towards the nest.

The BOSS flew back towards the crowd after laying its egg. Dragonwitch immediately pulled the BOSS's aggro back from the Clerics with a Shield Bash. The Rogue immediately climbed into the nest and grabbed the egg. He then ran as fast as he could towards the cliff.

The egg was heavy, reducing his movement speed by 50%. He rushed towards the cliff and dumped the egg just as the BOSS turned its back towards him. The timing was very hard to grasp. They have only figured it out after the sacrifice of several Rogues.

When the BOSS had only 20% of its hitpoints left, a Sorcerer moved too slowly and was frozen. He consumed a Freeze Resistance Potion but was then blown away by the BOSS's Wing Flap. The other ranged players began to feel anxiety, and their resolve faltered.

Ye Ci immediately spoke up, "Keep it up, don't lose heart, it's just 1 person."

Before she could finish speaking, a Cleric and a Druid were also blown away.

The party members became even more distressed. Ye Ci creased her eyebrows, "I want the rest of you to keep attacking. Just make sure that you don't die. Do your part. Be more professional."

Ye Ci's voice was not loud, but it was filled with authority. She managed to calm the faltering party though. Although the damage output of the party was slightly reduced, the members were still doing their best to fulfill their task.

The BOSS began to move faster and faster, killing more and more of the party members and blowing some of them away. The ones who remained, however, carried on Ye Ci's order: As long as you live, fight on.

By the time the BOSS had 5% of its hitpoints left, the only ones remaining in the party were a Rogue, the MT Dragonwitch, the main Cleric, and Ye Ci.

To take pressure off of the Cleric from having to continuously heal the MT up, the Rogue hid behind the BOSS and landed skill after skill on the BOSS. He asked, "Commander, what will happen if I OT now?"

"If you managed to OT, the chances of us defeating this BOSS will be higher."

The Rogue nodded, chugged down a bottle of Rage Potion, and began to attack the BOSS as if there was no tomorrow.

His aggro values began to rise rapidly.

34,47,59,71,88,97.

It was going to overtake the aggro of the MT.

Ye Ci immediately gave out an instruction, "I want the MT and healer to switch positions by my command."

The Rogue's aggro value was still climbing.

103,107,114,126.

OT.

"Now!" Ye Ci shouted out when the Rogue's aggro was at 114, and the MT and the main healer immediately moved to each other's location.

The BOSS chomped down on the Rogue, killing him instantly. His sacrifice bought the party another 20 seconds.

The main healer died when the BOSS's hitpoints was at 3%.

Dragonwitch took in a deep breath and chugged a health potion. He died after holding on for 6 more seconds.

At that moment, all eyes were on Ye Ci. The entire party's hope lay on Ye Ci's shoulders. She took in a deep breath and summoned Ol' Three while leaping 25 yards away from the BOSS.

Ol' Three could stand it ground against the BOSS for approximately 15 seconds. But the 15 seconds was enough.

The BOSS had a ranged attack just like Ye Ci, which was very unfavourable for her. Despite the odds, Ye Ci knew that she had to fight on.

Ye Ci expended all her skills within 8.5 seconds, which meant she had 6.5 seconds left before Ol' Three was killed by the BOSS. A few lucky critical hits reduced the BOSS's hitpoints to 1%.

But the BOSS's attention had shifted towards Ye Ci. It ignored Ol' Three and flew straight at Ye Ci. Ye Ci immediately darted at the cliff wall that the bird's nest was leaning against, and leapt into the air. She used the cliff wall as a springboard and launched herself at the BOSS.

Ye Ci brushed past the BOSS at high speed. She drew her Venomous Scorpion Stinger and stabbed the BOSS' wing.

Poisoned.

Ol' Three finally caught up with the BOSS and reacquired its aggro with Taunt.

4 seconds remaining, and the BOSS had only 0.8% of its hitpoints left.

Ye Ci cast a Pet Heal on Ol' Three and launched herself 25 yards away from the BOSS while firing at the BOSS nonstop.

She had already equipped Liepi's Hasty Crossbow. Although having a high firing speed, the crossbow lacked crowd control as it does not slow down its target upon hitting it.

The BOSS let out a mighty cry and chomped down on Ol' Three. The strike was fast and ferocious, and Ol' Three was instantly killed.

Ye Ci was slightly shocked. The situation had taken a bad turn. She ran as fast as she could, keeping a 25 yards distance between the BOSS and herself while continuously casting skill after skill at the BOSS.

With each passing moment, Ye Ci's Stamina dropped. If her Stamina dropped below 10%, her movement speed would be reduced.

She had only 12% of her Stamina left.

Ye Ci analysed the situation calmly. As long as she avoided making mistakes, she would be able to defeat the BOSS.

Although Ye Ci was calm, the party members who were lying dead on the ground were extremely anxious. They did not even dare to breath. It was as if they have died along with their in-game characters.

The BOSS let out a roar and flapped its wings frantically when it had only 0.5% of its hitpoints left.

Empowered Wing Flap.

Even Ye Ci couldn't resist the urge to curse under her breath.

She was lifted up by the strong gust and was blown towards a cliff wall.

Ye Ci raised her crossbow and fired her last skill at the BOSS before her death.

Bang!

She was slammed into the cliff wall, and her hitpoints plunged. She had only 100+ hitpoints left.

The entire party sighed. It was over.

As Ye Ci's body fell, her hitpoints bar was suddenly filled. She was shocked when a tremendous amount of experience points flooded her experience gauge, raising her level to lvl 20 with 89% progress.

Plop.

Before Ye Ci could recover, she fell into the BOSS's nest. The thick interior of the nest cushioned her fall, but she still lost half her hitpoints.

A system announcement immediately chimed in.

"Congratulations 'World Conqueror' for being the first guild to clear the Nightmare difficulty Frosty Wasteland. Rewards: 800 Guild Prestige Points , 10000 Global City Prestige Points , 5000 gold coins. Let us remember the name of these heroes."

"Congratulations Gongzi You for leading the party of World Conqueror to be the first to clear Frosty Wasteland Nightmare difficulty. Rewards: 300 Black Rock City Prestige Points , 5 Talent Points . Achievement: [Nightmare Frosty Wasteland First Five]. Her name shall forever be remembered in the history of Fate."

"Congratulations Flawless Reflection for achieving First Blood on Frosty Wasteland Nightmare difficulty. Rewards: 300 Black Rock City Prestige Points , 5 Talent Points . Achievement: [Nightmare Frosty Wasteland First Five]. His name shall forever be remembered in the history of Fate."

"Congratulations Dragonwitch for achieving First Blood on Frosty Wasteland Nightmare difficulty. Rewards: 300 Black Rock City Prestige Points , 5 Talent Points . Achievement: [Nightmare Frosty Wasteland First Five]. His name shall forever be remembered in the history of Fate."

...

The world channel was flooded by the system's messages.

At this moment, the world chat belonged to only one guild: World Conqueror. At this moment, the attention of the world was focused on one player: Gongzi You.