The time moved forward, waiting for no one. And with each tick and tack, everyone felt that death's grip on their necks tightened.

"Are you sure it's going to work?" Roxy asked for the nth time.

It was Sumeri who answered. "It might." Frankly, she wasn't confident that Ren's plan was going to work since they didn't know Gorm's stat. But like he said, there were loopholes that even she noticed that they could exploit.

"Only one way to find out . . ." Tor's voice contained dread as one guild after another went to challenge Gorm and no one came back alive.

No one knew if the others passed or not. All they knew was . . . no players were present after the dome disappeared.

"I-I think those players advance to the second stage," Nikolai said and squeezed in his sister's arms when some of the members gave him a look.

Rox bit his lip while repeatedly tapping his finger on his arm before bursting out, "Agh! I can't stand the suspense."

He then went back and forth like Leonel.

Among the group, only Ren remained calm. He was studying the rules and replaying what the voice said inside his mind.

Ren knew that the Guild Wars were full of loopholes that could be exploited even in the past. That was why they weren't specifics. And often, these loopholes were the key to victories.

"Damn . . . it's almost our turn!" Roxy grabbed her head and paced back and forth like the others.

"I told you that it would be us in a matter of time." Panic rose in Rox's heart, and he paced left and right even faster.

"You don't look nervous. Are you confident that your plan will work?" Sumeri said as she stood beside Ren.

Ren gave Sumeri a quick glance and said, "You're not nervous yourself."

"I am. I'm just good at hiding it. In a game like this, being nervous wouldn't do us any good, as well as being overconfident. It's important to remain cool and level-headed, so the others won't feel anxious."

"I guess it's not working then." Ren nodded to Leonel and the others. They were kicking pebbles and clouds of dust as they went back and forth.

Sumeri giggled, and Ren got to admit that her laughter was pleasant to the ears.

"I guess not. It's because the leader is also nervous, that's why," she blamed Tor, whose sharp nails were about to be chipped off from how he was nipping at it.

Eventually, the once hundred guilds were reduced to half in a matter of less than two hours until Ren's group took the stage.

"Let's go." Ren led the front since Tor didn't seem like he wanted to go anymore.

"This is worse than reporting a project in front of the whole class," Leonel muttered as he followed Ren.

"Like when it's your turn to introduce yourself to everyone," Roxy added.

"Or your teacher picked you, and you didn't know the answer," Rox said.

Sumeri laughed a bit. "I think you guys have enough about school."

Nikolai flexed his newly bought Knuckles and punched them together. "I'm getting excited and nervous."

Ren took a deep breath and slowly released it through his nose as the notification flashed on his screen.

[You have ENGAGED GORM the Destroyer!]

Following the voice was the appearance of the dome barrier, and Ren immediately used [Probe].

G O R M

T H E D E S T R O Y E R

Description:

"A creature created for battle."

Humans created Gorm after the culmination of centuries worth of research and experiment. He was the perfect soldier for battle and the champion of humanity.

Its strength is unrivaled, and its might is well known. Its body is made of steel that no weapon can penetrate, and its armor deflects any magical attacks.

Unbeatable and unkillable, can you defeat the pinnacle of human research and destruction?

A T T R I B U T E

HP: 1 000 000

MP: 500 000

STR: 100 000

DEF: 500 000

MDF: 100 000

INT: 100

AGL: 50

LCK: 20

D A M A G E

R E S I S T A N C E S

All Magical Damage

All Physical Attacks

D A M A G E

I M M U N I T I E S

Poison

Burn

C O N D I T I O N

I M M U N I T I E S

Sleep

Necrotic

Paralyze

Dizziness

Charm

Frightened

W E A K N E S S

None

S K I L L S & S P E L L S

Passive Skill:

Payback

Gorm will launch an attack of its own once it takes damage.

Counter Attack

Before its enemy can attack it, Gorm will counter it with an attack of its own.

Full Might

Gorm's attack can knock its opponents back and cause Dizziness if its STR is higher than its enemies' DEF.

Active Skill:

Hurricane Sword (MAX)

Gorm unleash a series of unpredictable slash against its enemies

100% hit if LCK is higher

Cost 1000 MP

Critical Strike (MAX)

a powerful strike with the intent to kill

100% Critical hit if STR is higher than the enemy's DEF

Cost 5 000 MP

Titanic Assault (MAX)

an AoE attack dealing massive damage in a straight line

Cost 10 000 MP

E N D

. . .

. . .

Leonel and the other's faces turned white. There was no way that they could kill that thing!

No wonder no one was left from the previous guild.

They had all been eliminated!

"We're dead." Leonel lamented. He was about to turn back and flee when Ren held him by the collar.

Despite Gorm's very high ATP, Ren was grinning. No, in fact, his shoulders were shaking from laughter.

"Everyone! Get into position, and remember, don't attack it! No matter what." Ren instructed.

The others could do nothing, seeing that they didn't have any choice but to trust Ren's plan. They went meters apart from each other, as far away from Gorm as much as possible, forming a circle at the edge of the barrier.

"Is this going to work?"

"I don't know."

"Can we defeat that thing?"

"We don't have a choice."

Murmurs resounded in Ren's ear, but he didn't mind any of those as Gorm wielded his sword in one hand, swinging it forward before hammering it down, creating a fissure on the ground as it did.

Its eyes glowed red, and it locked on Ren as the highest damage dealer amongst the group while the latter only smirked when Gorm began to charge forward in his direction.

But before it could move another meter, one of the members threw a [Smoke Dud] on the ground, and the area was enveloped with thick fog.

It was not [Potions] and [Monocles] they brought as their special item . . . it was the different [Status Effect Duds] that everyone managed to buy by practicing their strategy and formation with the monsters and beasts in the past few days.

Ren laughed when Gorm stopped in his tracks. It hovered left and right. It couldn't see amidst the greyish hues. It didn't have any skill that let him see beyond the fog and darkness, so all it could do was unleash its skill blindly.

It worked! The others thought!

Who knew that Ren's idea would work?

Now the only problem was . . . the ending.

How could they defeat Gorm?