The rattling of chains could be heard as the elevator reached the top of the cave. Liam and his friends got off and looked at General Basset kneeling in the centre of the square looking deceptively peaceful.
The party had spent quite some effort to get back here. The dark basilisk Soar and the siege of the three golems earlier were still troublesome. The party almost suffered a wipe against Soar as the difficulty of fighting in a blinded state remained challenging.
Luckily Bleary Mirage, Balm, Silent Acacia, and Silver Blade pulled through and barely managed to kill the boss.
Now the party appeared rather wary as they stared at General Basset in the distance.
"Rarf!"
Fellfell ran ahead but even the dog was anxious. His nose clearly told him that the smell he was following came from below but instead they were forced to constantly travel upwards.
Thus, the dog ran past the square without caring for the general. He looked back at the party with a gaze which seemed to question their hesitation.
Silver Blade shook her head with a smile as she stepped forward. The rest of the party followed. The old man kneeling in the square seemed to have felt something and slowly stood up.
After a short speech the fight began again. General Basset instantly unleashed his ten swords.
Knowing what to expect everyone got ready to block. Yet it was easier said than done. Fortune and Balm unfortunately missed and even Bloody Edge failed to block in time, be it due to exhaustion or haste.
Other than that, however, the fight went quite well. The party stayed vigilant and suffered less than during the first try.
Working together they steadily reduced the boss's HP.
Suddenly General Basset flashed and reappeared in the centre of the square. Everyone dreaded what was about to come.
"Quick! Try to enter some buildings!"
Liam hastily warned everyone as he turned around to escape. But suddenly the fierce winds whipped everyone's skin. Every single step became difficult.
Liam sighed. He realized that they had begun moving too late. No one would be able to hide from the skill.
And this was indeed the case. As the tornado expanded it slowly crept closer towards the players as if it was playing with its prey.
Liam and his friends were swept up one by one and painfully collided with the surrounding walls. Groans filled the cave. The unlucky Bloody Edge was once again the first to lose all his HP.
Afterwards the situation repeated. One by one the players had to give up their lives. Although they lasted longer this time in the end the boss still stood with four thousand remaining HP.
Back at the entrance the scene was silent. Exhaustion was written on everyone's faces. The party decided to take a break before the next try.
The next run started half an hour later. This time they didn't even reach Soar without casualties. Therefore, seeing that it was getting late, the party stopped for the day in front of the gate to the smithy.
A new day broke, and party entered the game. After a night full of a fulfilling sleep the party started the fight against Soar with great confidence.
It seemed the friends slowly got used to fighting in a blinded state. The battle went well, and Soar fell without taking any lives.
Now it was time to confront General Basset. The party swore to themselves. This time, the general had to die!
Radiant Shield nodded with a determined expression as he initiated the fight. Small swords shot at the friends like homing missiles. For the first time everyone managed to block!
"Let's go!"
"That's it!"
Cyclone and Balm cheered excitedly. By now the news had leaked that the guilds competed for hard mode. The originally waning attention suddenly erupted, spreading among the population like a wildfire.
Some people were disappointed by the cowardly tactics of other guilds to avoid Dream Avenue while others praised the strategic decision.
The keyboard warriors were in full swing, fighting a fierce war online. However, to a certain degree the other guilds definitely succeeded as the prestige of normal mode clearly suffered greatly.
Reading all the comments Cyclone and Balm also felt a renewed pressure. Thus, the two young women were extremely invested in the fight.
Fighting, dodging, healing. Their performance had clearly improved by a notch.
Naturally the others also gave it their all. No one wanted to let their friends down. Thus, General Basset was under more pressure than ever before. Suddenly it was so difficult to hit the young players with his white-as-snow sword arcs or his leap attacks.
It didn't take long for the old man's HP to be reduced by half. Feeling incredibly stifled throughout the fight the general was finally granted a chance to vent. He flashed to the centre and unleashed his signature tornado.
This time the party had anticipated the move for a long time. As soon as General Basset flashed, they scattered in all directions.
A powerful force pulled on everyone's bodies. The further away they got from the boss, the more difficult each step became.
Cyclone gritted her teeth. The roaring wind behind her back made her blood freeze but she persisted. One step at a time. She was almost in reach to touch the building's wall. She could already see the fine cracks in the stone.
But at that moment the storm suddenly picked up. Cyclone didn't need to look back. The familiar feeling told her that the tornado was about to pick her up.
Cyclone gritted her teeth. She heard the cries of her friends. Obviously the tornado had already found its first victims.
Determination shone in Cyclone's eyes. She suddenly attracted a large amount of mana. Ignoring the ferocious tornado behind her back she hurriedly controlled the mana in her body to take a certain path. A thought came to her mind. Flash step!
Suddenly the tornado reached the place where Cyclone stood. But all it managed to grab where a few sparks.
Cyclone appeared somewhere else. The floor below her feet gave way.
"Ah!"
With a startled shout she suddenly landed on her butt. She needed a moment to analyse the situation. A toppled chair laid before her.
Oh, so flash step caused me to land on a chair.
Cyclone nodded to herself but suddenly her eyes shot wide open as she exclaimed in glee:
"A chair!"
Cyclone looked left and right. She had clearly landed within a building! She hastily stood up and turned towards the window behind her. There, she could see a raging tornado engulfing the square, stopping in front of the wall fencing in the building's small courtyard.
Cyclone couldn't help but laugh. She really did it!
A second later the tornado gradually subsided. Cyclone left through the door as if she was living here. Her eyes swiped around searching for her friends.
Suddenly a bright, white arc shot in her direction. Cyclone was shocked. She hastily stepped back and slammed the door shut.
Boom!
Cracks spread through the door as it barely held on. The entire building shook. Causing a loud clamour all kinds of objects fell to the floor.
Cyclone heard an ominous sound. When she slowly raised her head, she noticed fine cracks permeating the floor's ceiling.
Better not stay here!
The young woman was afraid of the house collapsing on her head. She hastily left through the door. Now as she scanned the square Cyclone spotted her friends one after the other. She felt conflicted as it appeared that no one managed to enter a building in time.
At this moment a door at the other side of the square opened and Liam stepped out. His expression was nonchalant as if he did not just escape a painful flight lesson.
[Cyclone: Did no one else escape the skill? Only Mirage and I?]
[Radiant Shield: I fear that is the case...]
[Cyclone: Damn. We already reacted as quickly as possible.]
[Bleary Mirage: We need to prepare beforehand. We have to drag the boss to the edge.]
[Fortune: Makes sense. Let's keep it in mind for next time.]
[Silver Blade: No, we should do so right now.]
[Cyclone: Do you think the boss will use the skill again?]
[Silver Blade: It doesn't hurt to be cautious.]
The party agreed to Silver Blade's logical suggestion. They decided to gather around Liam, forcing Cyclone to jog across the square once.
Unfortunately, their short discussion had delayed them for a few seconds, causing the party to miss a chance to deal damage to the exhausted boss.
Thus, General Basset already darted towards Radiant Shield before Cyclone came into range. But soon everyone was in position and continued the fight in an orderly manner.
Balm used her AOE spells to help everyone recover at least some HP. With her support the boss didn't manage to take down any of the players.
All of the party members felt highly confident as the general's HP decreased slowly but steadily. It was time for the old man to end his service!