"The f*ck, Roni! If only your head was not in the clouds, we could have gotten that blade!" Hugo needed someone to take the blame, and that was the cannon fodder and low-status, errand boy, Roni.

Roni pressed his lips tight. He could do nothing but take all of Hugo's insults. One wrong word or action from him, and he was out of his group. His relationship with the group was already delicate enough to show any form of hostility.

While Hugo was berating Roni, the latter's attention flickered to Ren without thought, like his mind was asking for the guy's help. It was unconscious, and even Roni didn't know why that was so.

Ren was just standing like a spectator with a smirk on his face. Pleasure was rolling off him in smug waves, and he wasn't even hiding it. His eyes then briefly went to Draki, and Roni knew what he meant even if he didn't say anything.

At this point, Roni didn't have any choice. It was better to gamble with what Ren said than come out from this ordeal empty-handed.

The blame was already on him, so what was there to lose?

With his knuckled in both hands, Roni wanted to smack them together but realized that he was still paralyzed. Their White Mage cured him last, but it wasn't a big deal since the Night Thing's focus was on Draki and his group.

The Nigh Thing didn't put them in its eyes. They were only collateral damage for the massive creature as it slithered to the Orcs, rampaging and causing havoc in its path.

Draki still hadn't recovered from his fight with the Old Hag, which showed in his movement. His previous wounds weighed him down, and his exhaustion caught up to him in waves.

A murderous stare remained fixed and pressured against Draki and the Night Thing lunged at him with a suicidal disregard for its own safety, wishing only to take him with it.

Exhausted and beaten, Draki could no longer follow the Night Thing's movement. His vision failed him when they blurred at the crucial moment. With a resentful shriek, the Night Thing launched a spite-filled assault full of hatred and rage, wanting to take Draki with it in one full bite.

"Draki!" Sharina's cries were full of dread and fear for her son's life.

But instead of Draki's corpse inside the mouth of the Night Thing, it was Roni's who was bitten to death.

Using [Blink], Roni was transported near Draki while he cast [Taunt], stealing the aggro from the Orc to him. In the last second, he managed to steal the Night Thing's attention and paid the price for his heroic deed.

The Night Things shrieked so loud that it couldn't kill its prey yet again. It went berserk and trampled anyone near it.

Draki was given some time to save himself and retreated as far away from the Night Thing as he could while the remaining Orcs covered him, making sure that he was safe from the rampaging creature.

Sharina also got between the Night Thing and her son. With the Twin Moon Blade in both hands, a solid bash broke through the Night Things guard. The monster howled when Sharina skilfully sliced its wound into a gaping cut.

In the moment of savagery, the battle raged with Sharina and the Orcs while Draki took a moment to catch his breath.

"Draki! Go back to the camp and heal your wounds!" Sharina hollered at the top of her lungs.

"I can still fight!"

"I have lost many warriors today! I can't lose you now! You'll only be a hindrance here!"

Draki was silent. Anger poked the back of his eyes before he gritted his teeth and left the battlefield.

The Night Thing shrieked, wanting to give chase, but Sharina and the other Orcs locked it in combat.

"That idiot! What good is saving that Orc?!" Hugo shouted and wanted to slap Roni left and right if he could.

The other guilds lost their will to fight since Fate Alliance had already claimed the prized. What were they even doing in here and wasting their time?

Black Lion backed away from battle and decided to meet up with half of their group in the forest and pursue that strange beast before.

Sleeping Dragon also made the same decision. Hixel was about to suggest to move out when a cloud of dust settled in the area.

[You've been Paralyzed!]

A series of notifications rang in the players' ears, and it rang nonstop, mostly on Sleeping Dragon and Great Dynasty's screens.

"W-what the?!"

"W-what the hell?!"

"Who did this?!"

"As*holes!"

Came the notifications were curses and the blame game. All eyes shifted to Black Lion, Fate Alliance Guild, and the other guilds that weren't implicated in the [Paralyzing Duds] effect.

Black Lion and the other guilds looked at each other because they really didn't know who threw that [Paralyzing Dud]. They were innocent and stunned as much as anyone else.

"Wait till we move from here. You'll pay for this!" Great Dynasty was eying Fate Alliance Guild as the mastermind. They had done this trick before and they could do it again. Especially since Hugo and Dimitri belonged to the same university and the two didn't get along.

While Sleeping Dragon was gnashing their teeth at Black Lion.

A riot ensued in the area, and they forgot the mammoth centipede that slithered its way towards the players' direction in all haste, jaws with jagged, sharp teeth on display.

"Look out!" Sharina warned the players, but her warning came too late.

Since they couldn't move, Great Dynasty and Sleeping Dragon all met their end under the pointed end of the Night Thing's hundred legs.

Stats Updates

E V I E

S T A TU S

Name: Evie

Age: 19

Race: Sprite

Class: Mage (Blue Mage)

Eye Color: Silver

Hair Color: White

A T T R I B U T E S:

HP (Health Points): 300

MP (Mana Points): 250

STR (Strength): 2

DEF (Defense): 20 + 5 (Mage's Garb)

+20 (Meriyaah's Mask)

MDF (Magical Defence): 20 + 50 (Meriyaah's Mask)

INT (Intelligent): 70 +5 (Silver Staff)

AGL (Agility): 20 +2 (Silver Boots)

LCK (Luck): 30 + 10 (Black Choker)

S K I L L S:

Mobile Casting

a unique skill to all mages that grant its user the ability to move while casting.

S P E L L S:

Fire LV. 4

cost 40 MP

inflict 40% fire damage based on INT

single target

2-sec cooldown

Butterfly of Deceit LV.4

a unique spell for Blue Mages that lets the caster replace a body with illusions while teleporting the real body in a safe distance of around 200 meters from the caster

40 MP cost

can cast 2x a day

Phantasmal Distortion LV. 1

must equip Meriyaah's Mask to activate the spell

a supportive spell that covered a wide area. It distorts reality and causes hallucinations in those who are infected.

last for 5 seconds.

100 MP

activate 1x a day

L I F E S K I L L S

Cooking: Beginner

Fishing: Beginner

Foraging: Beginner

E N D

Estimate Net Worth: Unknown

A/N

Thank you for the 3000 PS last week!

3000 PS = 3 Bonus

NO. BONUS Left = 3