Screams and cries percolated in the air as dozens of players burst into particles.

"Quick, at least one of you!" Hugo didn't finish his sentence when he disappeared into nothingness. Even all his members weren't spared.

The same could be said about Sleeping Dragon, where Hixel murdered Black Lion with his piercing glares.

"You'll pay for this!" he hissed before turning to clouds of dust.

Some guilds were not spared either, while some who weren't affected by the [Paralyzing Dud] all escaped.

Nobody knew who threw those duds since everyone was downhearted that they didn't get the Twin Moon Blade, while Fate Alliance who got it were basked with their own euphoria to notice anything.

The next thing that happened was thick smoke, followed by the massacre of two guilds.

The players who survived all took to the forums and World Chat that there would be a war and fight between Black Lion and Sleeping Dragon as well as Great Dynasty and Fate Alliance Guild.

But could there really be war if Great Dynasty and Sleeping Dragon suffered major losses? For sure, the EXP penalty for getting wiped out while fighting the Night Thing would surely be enough to start all over again.

Unless they grinded without rest for weeks, they wouldn't be able to catch up with the rest.

While everyone was still digesting what had happened, Ren was satisfied with the outcome. Who said that he would let Roni and Hixel off the hook? They were right in front of him. Only a martyr and a good-hearted person wouldn't extract his revenge, given the opportunity.

Ren was neither. He threw those duds when everyone was occupied including Evie and Ragnar. And since everyone believed that he didn't have any history with Sleeping Dragon and Great Dynasty to do those stuff, no one suspected him. And what would he get from it? Nothing.

Another thing, the system only displayed a player's name, like [Player Ren attacked you] once his enemies suffered HP reduction. And since a [Paralyzing Dud] only caused status effect, it didn't display his name. So no one knew who did that.

Before it was obvious that it was Fate Alliance Guild since they were the only group who could move and saved Sharina in the neck of time. But now . . . no one could say for sure who did it.

It would have been better if it was a PvP fight. Ren mused to himself. So Roni and Hixel could choose to revive on the spot so he could kill them again and again. Too bad for the other members of Great Dynasty and Sleeping Dragon, though. They became collateral damage.

In a PvP fight, players were given the option to revive on their death spot after a given time. But since Great Dynasty and Sleeping Dragon died in the hands of the Night Thing, they could choose to revive in the town they've been to before.

However, dying on a quest like this one or dying while engaging in a World Boss or Hidden Boss, reviving was impossible until a certain time. Depending on the gravity of the quest or difficulty of the World and Hidden Boss, the time to respawn again sometimes took 1 hour to a day.

And if it's the Night Thing, Ren was sure that it would take six hours of game time for every one to revive. Just in time for tomorrow morning, when they could claim their price from Sharina's quest.

The night continued its course, and the Night Thing left destruction in its wake. A good thing that trees, bushes, and every natural resources that got destroyed would respawn the next day, or there was nothing left to forage.

The battle was reaching its height, and the finale came at Zukulum's might in the form of a giant toad with a body of greenish stars. The God Fugtar was summoned, and a cloud of dusts of neon green-light shot forth from its mouth.

[Fugtar's Breath]

The Night Thing couldn't evade from its wide range, and it was hit head-on with a series of critical damage and a status effect of [Poison] flashing on its head. But since it was immune, the [Poison] effect immediately disappeared from the top of its HP and MP Bar.

With just a single hit from Zukulum and adding Sharina and the Orcs' previous damage to it, the Night Thing's HP was reduced to half.

They could really kill it if it wasn't for the fact that Zukulum's casting time was longer than most. Five minutes or ten minutes could already decide the outcome of a fast pace battle. Before Zukulum could cast another one of her spell, the Night Thing might have wiped them all out.

Every player was amazed at a Shaman's might in Divine Magic. Orcs and Sprites were welcomed to become one. However, as enticing as the power, the requirement to get one spell was tedious. These include days or even months of serving a God or even possibly doing chains of quests or series of quests until the God was satisfied and granted them their power to use.

None wanted the hardship, but all wanted the magic.

The major guilds were already considering of having their new recruits to change race and class so they could have a Shaman and a Spellskin in their ranks. Having Divine Magic on their team would greatly benefit them even if the casting time took ages to complete.

A White Mage could also use Divine Magic, but the Gods' magic was greatly coveted. No greater Divine Magic than that of the Gods, after all.

As the players retreated, so was the Night Thing. Suffering serious injuries and with its prey out of sight and reach, the Night Thing slithered into the forest.

"Don't give chase!" Sharina instructed. Anyone chasing the Night Thing into the woods in the middle of the night was a fool. There was no bravery in the act of recklessness.

"Tend to the wounded and prepare for the Night Crawlers!"

Everyone did as Sharina said. The trauma from the battle had taken its toll, each ache lingering like the spectre of a fallen foe.

There were some nights that the Night Thing didn't appear, while there were those where the Night Crawlers were absent too. And on this night, the Night Crawlers weren't present, giving the Twin Moon Axe Clan a short rest.

Some believed that the Night Crawlers avoided the Night Thing, for the latter ate them to regain its strength. Though both were working under a Fiendish God, none sought one another as a comrade in arms.

The night came to a close and a new morning broke the sky.

The Orcs were weary while Draki was resting in his tent. Sharina was tired from keeping watch the whole night and the previous nights before that, but the players didn't care about their feelings.

They came to collect their prize!

Stats Updates

L E O N E L

S T A TU S

Name: Leonel

Age: 19

Race: Dwarf

Class: Guard (Defender)

Eye Color: Blue

Hair Color: Gold

A T T R I B U T E S:

HP (Health Points): 400 +5 (Black Carapace Shield)

MP (Mana Points): 200

STR (Strength): 20

DEF (Defense): 90 +3 (Black Carapace Shield)

MDF (Magical Defence): 70 +2 (Black Carapace Shield)

INT (Intelligent): 5

AGL (Agility): 30 +5 (Tough Boots)

LCK (Luck): 20 +3 (Lucky Charm)

S K I L L S:

Aggro on Me

activating this skill will draw aggro upon you. The aggro will remain fixed upon you regardless of the damage inflicted to your foes by your team. As long as no aggro-related skill is used to steal the aggro from you, and as long as you're not dead, this skill will not break.

Cost 20 MP

Dash and Slash LV. 4

you can perform a dashing maneuver towards your opponent and slash them for damage. Guaranteed to cause Knock Back.

40% success of causing dizziness for 4 seconds.

damage is equal to STR

cost 40 MP

Side Step LV. 2

a simple skill to evade an incoming attack by sidestepping to the side.

cost 20 MP

can perform 2x a day

Blink LV.2

can teleport within a 1000 m radius

cost 100 MP

can perform 2x a day

Last Stance Mode LV. 2

a unique skill to Defenders. Can resist a death blow with one percent HP.

cost 200 MP

can perform 2x a day

Aegis Strike LV. 1

a unique skill to Defenders that reduced all damage to half and returned 5% of that damage back to your enemies.

must equip a shield to activate

cost 100 MP

can perform 1x a day

S P E L L S:

Heal LV. 1

cost 10 MP

can heal 10% of HP

single target

2-sec cooldown

L I F E S K I L L S:

Cooking: Beginner

Fishing: Beginner

Foraging: Intermediate

E N D

Estimate Net Worth: $ 700 000. 00

A/N (Doesn't consume coins)

Regular chapters is back +

NOVEMBER GOALS:

1000 PS = 1 chapter

500 GT = 1 chapter

Every Super Gift = 1 chapter

Thank you very much to Darted_Table for the Super Gifts and everyone who supported the book

NO. of left = 5