Way down we go
The four traversed deeper inside the tomb, remaining in their formation as they marched through a narrow hallway. Although dark and foreboding, the horsemen ventured on in defiance. Mounted on the stonewalls they noticed flags with a strange crest decorating the canvas but they paid it no mind. The party looked around the silent hallway with caution, hoping nothing would jump out and attack them.
Necross reminisce on one of their previous adventures. In an underground fortress in Alfheimr, they encountered Sharlocks. The sharlocks were lithe dark elves who specialize in assassination techniques. These elves had the ability to fade from view, rendering themselves completely invisible. Even perceptive players were unable to detect their presence. They would remain unseen until the right moment to strike. When the opportunity presented themselves the dark elves would leap towards their prey, launching their blades into their victim head scoring a killing blow. Although he was immune to critical hits the thought of an enemy that could one-shot players bothered him dearly.
The horsemen came across a flight of stairs that led further down into the tomb. Right on cue, Romulus gave his companions the sign to halt. Like clockwork, they heed his advice without a second thought. Then he gestured to them in silence telling them to move away from him. The other three slowly backed off, in case an area of effect trap activates. He approached the steps and began to inspect it. The ranger checked very carefully, it was time-consuming but it was better to be safe than sorry. Unlike the rest of the group, he was the type of person to tap a stone bridge to test its integrity before crossing it.
Although he didn't know him too well as he should Caine didn't fully trust the lycanthrope. He was brave and skilled, but there was little kindness in him and questionable loyalty. The ranger once prowled Midgards wilderness and wastelands, making his own luck by bending the rules to suit his interests. A bandit that was willing to kill more or less anyone for the right price, well at least not anymore. When he first met Romulus he was an unscrupulous loner, willing to kill or steal for the right price. They saved him from the clan, the Red Templars. Apparently, he tried to steal their only world class item. When the Red templars cornered him he fended them off but their superior numbers brought him to his knees.
After thoroughly examining the stairs Romulus took the first step. He placed his left foot on the first step on the downward staircase. Then the lycanthrope turned to his companions and gave them a thumbs up. With the tension lifted the four resumed their quest.
"Alright boys, we get in fuck shit up and get out," said the lycanthrope
"Is that a motto or a lifestyle choice?" Necross questioned.
"Both," he replied with a chuckle.
The necromancer let out an audible sigh at the rangers joke. Although he didn't fully mind vulgar language Necross still found Romulus crude sense of humor off-putting. Even though he's no comedian himself, the hooded skeleton preferred witty remarks over lowbrow comments.
The horsemen continued down the spiral staircase. Mephisto was getting a sinking feeling in his gut as they progressed farther. The path was taking them deeper into the tomb itself and he couldn't shake the feeling they were being watched. Their bodies anticipating conflict at any moment. At the forefront of the formation, Romulus cease advancing the second he heard another group of footsteps approaching. Before he could utter a single word, an ax came flying out of the darkness. The weapon was heading straight for him. With his evasion ability, the ranger was capable of dodging the attack but doing so would allow Mephisto to take damage instead of him. Then the rusted ax made contact with the lycanthropes chest. His body was pushed back a few inches closing the gap between him and the sorcerer.
"Oh, Shit!" The fallen angel yelled in surprised.
"Bro, you alright?" asked the vampire warrior.
Before he could reply a horde of undead warriors ran up the stairs towards the horsemen. With Punisher in hand, Romulus knocked the first undead off the stairs and into the abyss. Then he thrust his crossbow into the torso of the next one.[Lancer shot], Romulus fired a powerful shot that ripped through the undead warrior and every enemy along its path, doing bonus damage for each extra target it hit. The ranger looked ahead and saw reinforcements, so he swerved his head and yelled.
"Caine, a little help!"
Mephisto stepped aside to make way for the hulking brute. The vampire warrior grabbed an undead and threw it off, then ran Sin-eater through another. As he pulled it out the undead fell on its knees, and Caine sliced it in half. The warrior then ran to the incoming group and used his sword as a board to push them off the edge. With only one left, he kicked it off, as the group watched him in amazement. He looked back at them with his sword resting on his shoulder.
"What?" he said to his teammates who were dumbfounded by his performance.
The sorcerer shook his head."Nothing, just remind me not to piss you off."
The group continued to descend the stairs until they reached the next floor. They entered the first floor of the tomb, a subterranean burial chamber. The catacombs walls had closed coffins protruding from them. There was dead silence surrounding the horsemen, not a sign of life they could feel or see.
"Great another graveyard," the necromancer whispered to himself.
"Now that you mention it, I think we should've searched the first graveyard," said the fallen angel.
"Word," Caine uttered in agreement. "We might have missed the chance to discover some loot."
"Granted those enemies weren't high levels, thus collecting the loot would've been trivial," Necross shot back. His nitpicky personality tends to cause the horsemen to miss several chances for gain but Necross would never put them in a dangerous situation he couldn't get them out of. So everyone trusted his judgment even when he came off like an arrogant bastard.
Romulus chimed in."Every little bit helps."
"Didn't you guys notice the graveyard at all, how it was a bit too neat and tidy as if someone is maintaining it?" The Necromancer said as he paced back and forth. "Personally, I don't like this job, things aren't adding up."
After hearing him grumble the fallen angel lightly spoke, "Hudson, stop being paranoid we'll be fine, besides were all voted to come here."
"We're here because, you were able to persuade those two," With his skeletal hand, he motions towards the vampire and lycanthrope. "Appealing to his morals and his sense of adventure."
As if they both rehearsed the routine, Caine and Romulus crossed their arms simultaneously. They glanced at one another before shifting their attention to the necromancer.
"Whoa whoa, whoa are you trying to say?" asked the vampire warrior.
Necross chocked his head back as if he didn't understand the question. "What do you mean, I said it."
"Huh?" Romulus muttered in confusion.
"Come on guys, let's not start this again," Mephisto interjected."This quest should lead us to honor glory and..," at the corner of his eyes he spotted a well-hidden his avatar could emote his real face broke into a smile. "What do we have here."
He retreated from the group to retrieve the treasure chest. With no lock present, he simply opened it up. The contents reflected the light, emitting a blinding sparkle. Inside were various gemstones and hundred of silver coins.
"I'll be taking this," he said as he reached in and pulled out the valuables. Once he stored them in his inventory Mephisto looked up to see the others staring at him. "Don't worry guys all this will go to a good cause."
Suddenly the whole room trembled as though an earthquake was taken place. The earth before them spit open undead showed themselves. That was when the coffins and stone tombs burst opened. What crawled out was Draugrs. Undead warriors used to guard buried treasure.
"Look alive we got Draugrs," Caine warned.
Necross began to assess the batch of enemies, so far they dealt with weaker opponents. Just one horseman could slay scores of them solo. However there was a problem, these Draugrs were different. They were dressed in grand breastplates with elaborate shields, they wielded all manner of weapons in addition to composite longbows on their backs. Undead outfitted with enchanted gear were far from ordinary. To top it off they were all level 70.
"Not your run of the mill undead huh," Mephisto quipped.
The necromancer shot the fallen angel a quick glance. "Shut up, Vincent"
"Alright, boys, this is where it gets serious!" The lycanthrope cried as he loaded fire arrows into his crossbow.
"Draugrs to the left!" Mephisto called out.[chain lighting] he unleashes a blast of lightning that bored straight through the first undead. Then the lighting arced to three nearby Draugrs. All four fell to the ground but the others behind them continued forward as though nothing happened.
Necross turned reaper on the Draugrs and unleashed several slashes from the scythe. Every swipe of the blade found its mark. Caine joined him with sin-eater, tearing through the horde of undead.
More Draugrs began to come from the right side Romulus unloaded a volley of fire arrows on the undead. There was a crackle to his left and he jumped back as two arrows cut through the air where he had been standing a moment ago. He looked up and saw a Draugar sniping from an elevated position. The ranger readjusted his aim and fired three arrows into the archer. Romulus turned to see a Draugr sneak up on the fallen angel.
"Mephisto, behind you" he yelled.
The sorcerer turned to see a hammer-wielding Draugr ready to strike. At this range, he was unable to cast a spell in time to defend himself. Just before the Draugrs hammer made contact, a series of arrows were embedded into the undead warrior. Then its body was engulfed in flames before falling to the ground. The spellcaster looked over to see Romulus lowering punisher.
"Caught you slacking huh?" joked the ranger.
"That's why I keep yall around," he replied with a chuckle.
Another deep rumble like before occurred and more Draugrs spawned. The four split up, taking separate positions in the catacomb. Things were only going to get rougher. The horsemen spent close to an hour in the crypt fending off the Draugar while their mana and stamina bars dwindled slowly. The horde of undead was determined to destroy the foreign invaders.
Sin-eater was constantly swung, ending the existence of a Dragur with each hit. Caine could feel himself breaking a sweat as he fought the endless undead army. He hadn't felt like this since the Muspelheim trials, where he fought a plethora of fire giants and a dragon by himself. Although he completed the challenge it wasn't done on his first try. The warrior glared at Necross who was occupied by two Draugr, unbeknownst to the necromancer another Draugr was approaching his flank. The vampire charged at the unsuspecting undead and saw that he built up momentum. He launched off his back foot and slammed his shoulder into the Dragur knocking it down to the floor. After dispatching his foes Necross turned around to see Caine impaling the downed enemy with his sword.
"I got your back bro," said the warrior.
Using his racial ability of flight Mephisto was able to soar through the air. This aerial vantage point allowed him to see multiple enemies, were their spawning as well as land destructive spells from above.
"Everyone get in the middle. they're gonna swarm us again." The fallen angel ordered.
"No need to tell me twice," Romulus called out as he fired punisher into the approaching masses. From the corner of his eye, he spotted a group of Draugrs approaching. The Lycanthrope vault into the air and unleash a volley of fire knives. The blades incinerated every undead it came in contacted with.
Once they all gathered and readied themselves for the oncoming onslaught. The Draugrs began to push harder as the horsemen pushed back even harder. They held their ground, not giving the undead horde the slightest chance of victory.
With his Taunt ability Caine caused all nearby enemies to focus on him. Since he had more hp and physical attack resistance than the others he was more than able to take all the heat. As the parties resident tank, it was his job to control the mob. While Caine is aggroing enemies towards him, Mephisto maintains his distance from the battle while nuking the undead with devastating spells.
Capable of high amounts of damage with minimal defenses, the fallen sorcerer held the role as the glass cannon. This required vincent to play more carefully. Prioritizing on placement and mobility to avoid being hit. Thanks to the angel skill tree he was able to gain enough mobility passives to help dodge incoming attacks once he got used to it. Mephisto would time his spells well, and help his team take out every enemy in sight. After clearing out a group of Draugrs, he spotted Romulus throwing an assortment of elemental flasks at the oncoming undead warriors, littering the battlefield with traps.
Despite being the lowest level, it's easy to dismiss the lycanthrope as the weakest member. Although he lacked overwhelming power, he made up for it with versatility. Being able to quickly adapt to combat situations on the fly allows Romulus to react to what the enemy has to offer. In addition, he excelled at medium range due to his average health, precision, and deep bag of tricks to draw from. Making him a wild card that can complement the team on any quest. After triggering his assortment of traps the surviving Draugrs were swiftly cut down by a scythe.
At last Necross, with most of his necromancer abilities unless he had to rely on getting up close and personal with enemies. Using skills from his underdeveloped Harbinger skill tree, which focused on enhancing his physical capabilities. With the higher level adds, the output value of enemy damage increased to the point that engaging them in close combat like Caine would be ill-advised. Since he was it a tight situation he had to make do with what he has. At his full potential, the necromancer was both incredibly self-reliant and an excellent supporting teammate.
The four were piling up experience points as more and more Draugrs were destroyed by them. From his vantage point, Mephisto briefly scanned around for a way out. In the back of the room, he saw a gate that glowed with energy.
"Guys I see an exit, but it a bit far thou," he muttered.
"It would do," Necross replied as he slated another Dragur.
"Is it time for the crazy train?" the vampire questioned.
"Its time," answered the spellcaster.
Caine giggled with excitement. "Alright, let's do this."
"Wait, what's a crazy train?" the lycanthrope asked.
"Don't worry just keep up," responded the hooded skeleton.
Mephisto nodded his head and faced the approaching undead horde. light began to illuminate from his avatar. It then focused into his hand as he slightly drew the arm back. [Smite] a powerful wave of holy energy that radiates out his body in a 360-degree arc. The spell disintegrated every Draugar in its path.
From his inventory, Caine deployed a massive shield. " All aboard!"
Ruination was a riot shield with a demon face engraved on its surface. With Ruination equipped the vampire made a mad dash for the gate. Any Draugrs that got in the way were knocked out of the way clearing a path for others to follow. Necross and Romulus tailed the charging juggernaut avoiding the stragglers he left behind in his wake. Mephisto remained the air, sniping any enemies that would attack the others from behind.
Like a freight train, Caine was an unstoppable force with no opposition. In less than a minute four made it from point A to point B. As soon as they were within range of the gate they broke off from one another and ran to in. Romulus arrived first, followed by Necross, then Mephisto and finally Caine. With their feet on the gate, they were taken away by a flash of light. The horsemen escaped the enemies of the first floor.
Deep inside the tomb, Several television monitors like objects floated before a group of heteromorph players. The monitors showed scenes of the four horsemen, scenes which their controller wanted the rest to see. In control of the monitors was Tabula Smaragdina, A humanoid creature with an octopus for a head.
"In order for this training exercises to be conducive, we need to learn something using from them to verify the effectiveness of our defense systems."
Punitto Moe, the guild's strategist. A huge plant creature that wore a white priest robe over his frame. "Impressive," he muttered out loud. "They made it through the first floor quicker than I expected."
"I've seen better," said Nishikienrai, the guilds resident ninja. He was half golem adorned in stereotypical black ninja outfit paired with a weird mask and two swords at his waist.
"A formable group players they are, especially that Caine guy," said Warrior Takemikazuchi.A Nephilim warrior wearing dark red samurai armor. "I wonder how far they will make it."
"They do work well together but it seems that they lack a healer amongst them," said Yamaiko, the guilds resident healer. A Nephilim spellcaster wearing yellow robes with red gauntlets. " I say they won't make it past the third floor.
"Dam right, they won't make it past Shalltear," said Peroroncino, The foremost archer in the guild. A white birdman with a head, wings, and talons of a bird.
"I don't know brother, they're tougher than they look," replied Bukubukuchagama, a large grotesque pink flesh monster.
"What do you think Mommunga?" askedHerohero, an Elder Black Ooze, a mass of a black, sticky substance.
"They`re all going to die," Mommunga answered in gloomy tones. He was deeply displeased to see these lowlifes enter Nazarick. The tomb their home, staining it with their presence.
"I agree Momo let's kill them," said Ulbert Alain Odle, strongest offensive spellcaster in the guild. His game avatar was a humanoid gray goat, dressed in a black suit with a velvet cape. "no, wait we can't just kill them normally, we must make them suffer."
"Alright alright, said gaining the attention of his fellow players. Touch Me, an insectoid paladin shining white armor He is also adorned with a reddish cape attached around his left shoulder. let us continue to monitor their progress. Besides, in the end, they will get what they deserve.