Eternity 50
The giant skeleton surged forward, swinging its sword in wide arcs. A crew of players attempted to surround it, but its shield made it extremely difficult to penetrate its defenses.
Fireballs, arrows, bolts, lightning, and other ranged attacks were hurled toward the monster. It shrugged off the attacks and wreaked havoc on the attacking army.
The skeleton was massive—at least 15 feet tall. A billowing red cape ruffled behind it. It led a skeletal army that harassed the raid group.
“This is too much,” someone said.
“They got to our backline!”
“Why are they so high level? This is just a dungeon in a level 7 zone.”
“Where is Marcus?”
When the battle seemed hopeless, a man made himself known. He dashed forward into the graveyard with a squad at his back.
“Marcus!”
There was a chorus of cheers from the group.
Marcus ran to the front and looked around at the battle with a sneer.
“I told you all to wait for me to finish the side quest before aggroing the boss.”
Marcus’ deep voice boomed over the noise. His figure was imposing. He towered over everyone, a giant of a man. Marcus’ eyes settled on a man covered from head to toe in full plate armor.
[Eagle Jet]
“Jet, I left you in charge and this is what happens?” Marcus accused.
Marcus wasn’t idle. He barreled through a group of enemies like a truck, heading to intercept the boss.
“It’s not my fault you let a member named Leeroy Jenkins into the guild. With all due respect, sir,” Jet replied.
Marcus glanced at his interface window. He saw several notifications from his live chat. Someone left a large donation, along with a comment.
“I mean, he isn’t wrong,” the comment said.
Marcus sighed as his chat took the side of his captain.
“Let’s just get this done,” Marcus said.
Marcus’ body was engulfed in a series of flashing lights.
[Minor Haste]
[Minor Holy Weapon]
[Minor Bulwark]
[Minor Elemental Resistance]
Several more buffs engulfed him, sent from his squad members. Most of those buffs came from a woman in white robes next to Marcus. She smiled at him.
“Ready, my love,” she said.
Marcus flashed her a charismatic smirk.
“Thank you, my love.”
Another man adjusted his glasses next to the pair. His robes were dark brown. He bore a striking resemblance to Marcus, but his stature was far thinner.
“At the boss’ current health, I calculate this should take roughly seventeen minutes if you use the optimal engagement strategy,” the man said.
Marcus nodded.
“Get the raid group in proper formation. I’ll take the boss.”
The thin man nodded.
“Of course.”
Marcus charged forward while his squad stayed back. The woman in white cast mass healing spells that drew several comments from the rest of the raid group and the live chat that watched her. She smiled contently while glancing at her live chat.
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“Woah! Her healing is ridiculous. She already has mass heal?”
“What do you expect? She is Marcus’ wife. Obviously he’s going to give her the hookup.”
The thin man was not idle. He cast a series of spells that caused pillars of earth and stone to split the battlefield into neat sections that isolated the enemies against optimal squad compositions.
The battle became much easier from that point forward. Another series of praising comments erupted in the live chat.
Marcus ignored the comments as he finally approached the giant skeleton. He released a loud bellow. The boss immediately turned toward him and charged.
Marcus raised his fists.
Several of the raid group focused on Marcus. Many had never seen him fight up close.
“Can he really take the boss by himself?”
“We are going to find out.”
The thin man overheard the chatter and adjusted his glasses once more.
“Fresh blood. They’ll learn never to underestimate my brother again.”
When the skeleton threw its first strike, Marcus dodged cleanly and delivered a powerful punch to the boss’ knee. The boss trembled but did not fall.
A shield bash came next. Marcus jumped back just enough to dodge that bash and the next sword strike that followed. He closed the distance on the boss faster than most people could track. He delivered a series of quick jabs.
Electricity sparked from his fists as the strikes landed. The boss was engulfed in crackling blue light with every hit.
They fell into that rhythm. The boss couldn’t so much as touch Marcus. Everyone looked at him in awe.
“Woah. He’s actually doing it.”
“How is he so fast?”
“I mean, he was a championship boxer for a reason, but man, this is ridiculous.”
Marcus’ live stream exploded with chatter. Marcus still paid it no mind. He was too focused.
Given that Marcus occupied the boss’ attention all by himself, the rest of his raid group was able to clean up the minions. They then gathered to help Marcus. The boss’ health dwindled rapidly.
When its health was at a sliver, Marcus slammed his fists together. One of his fists was engulfed in fire. The other in lightning. He charged forward and delivered a series of rapid, devastating punches that left the boss collapsing into a pile of bones.
The raid group was engulfed by golden light.
[Level Up!]
[Congratulations. You have reached level 9.]
Cheers resounded through the arena. Marcus’ live stream was flooded with donations and comments. He finally allowed himself a charismatic smile.
He’d skipped church for moments like this.
“Worth it,” he thought.
The woman in white approached and leaned up to plant a kiss on his cheek.
“That was very impressive, my love,” she said.
He wrapped his arms around her waist, embracing her intimately.
“Thanks, love.”
Before their celebrations went further, the thin man approached. He cleared his throat. Marcus looked over to him with a raise of his brow.
“What’s up, Mike?”
Marcus immediately noticed the subtle look of concern on his brother’s face. Mike sent an invitation to Marcus’ system window.
“You should see this,” Mike said.
Marcus read the notification with narrowed eyes.
[First kill of the Level 10 Orc Dungeon boss! Including all side bosses! Full Strategy Guide!]
[Would you like to pay 5 silver to view the video?]
Marcus’ eyes widened.
“Is this real?” he asked.
“As a heart attack,” Mike replied.
Marcus picked up on how uncharacteristically concerned his brother was. He quickly paid the fee and watched the video.
He watched as Eve silently set up the recording and showed the entire battle from her elevated vantage point. Marcus’ entire raid group paid the fee and watched in shock. Marcus’ live stream erupted in amazement.
They watched as Ben and his angels decimated not only the side bosses, but even Kaun in his empowered state.
“What? They did that with just two people?”
“Woah, even that support mage is able to dodge the boss’ attacks.”
“This guide is OP!”
“We need to get to the Orc Valley ASAP!”
“Marcus, you’re going to the Orc Valley, right?”
“Yeah, Marcus. You’ve got to go.”
Marcus was stunned as he watched the video. He watched it twice.
“This is impossible,” he thought.
Marcus was a beta player, one of the top in the world. He knew the game inside and out. He knew the limits of power and progression. Watching Ben shattered what he thought he knew.
He looked at his brother for confirmation of what he was seeing. Mike’s expression sharpened.
“This…shouldn’t be possible. They did what an entire raid group should be able to do. High likelihood of fabrication. Perhaps a trick by another guild to bait us into taking on an impossible challenge. Like US tactics during the Cold War, against the Soviets,” Mike said.
“It’s not fake.”
Jet approached. He took off his helmet to reveal a grim expression.
“What do you know about this?” Marcus asked.
“That’s the guy I told you about. The reason we were wiped out.”
Marcus’ eyes widened in realization.
“The angel summoner?”
Jet nodded with a sneer.
“Even if we can’t see his face in the video, I would recognize him anywhere. Even the woman. It’s just the two of them. They are…impossibly strong. That guy especially. His skill is on another level.”
Marcus returned his eyes to the video. It was a freeze frame on Ben, standing triumphantly over the fallen boss.
All eyes looked at Marcus. He narrowed his gaze. An excited grin spread across his lips.
“Bet.”
