Chapter 11: The True Rain Maker
(A day earlier)
Dan (SlicerDM) POV
It had been two days since the last time we logged into Enigma Online PH. We'd gotten caught up with our schoolwork. Zeke had been especially busy with his duties as a student council member. I could tell he was still shaken up over what happened to Gwydox. Honestly, who wouldn't be? If things had gone just a little differently, we could've lost Gwydox permanently.
Every now and then, I still found time to go online at night—just for a while. Enigma Online PH had become part of my daily life, like brushing my teeth or checking my phone. Even if I wasn't doing quests or dungeon raids, I still liked walking around the towns, chatting with random players, or catching up on the latest in-game gossip.
Last night, I heard the rumors again—ones about the dark matter cloud. People said it was spreading faster. More players were getting hit by it, especially the newbies. It was creepy.
Now I was surfing the internet, checking out the official forums. There, I saw a pinned post—an official statement from none other than GM Aero, who happened to be online at the time.
According to him, the "dark matter cloud" was a genuine anomaly—some kind of game dimension distortion. A bug, yes, but one that was unstable and unpredictable. It wasn't like your typical glitch. This one actually affected players' minds. Those affected experienced mild nervous breakdowns. The tests revealed that the anomaly directly attacked the central nervous system—specifically the areas responsible for emotional processing.
Fortunately, none of the effects were permanent. All of the affected players recovered... but their accounts didn't. Their entire player data had been wiped from the system. If they wanted to play again, they'd have to start from scratch.
That part made my skin crawl.
I also managed to chat with GM Aero himself. We talked about a few things—unusual mobs, weird item drops, and the strange Chaotic Box items I'd heard so much about.
He confirmed they were real—super rare, in fact. They only had a tiny chance of dropping from epic bosses or elite mobs. If you're lucky, there's about a 35% chance it might drop from a Special AI enemy.
But these items weren't just rare. They were considered dangerous—classified as forbidden artifacts. Apparently, they were all prototype cores and weapons that were never perfected during the alpha test phase of EOPH. They were the remnants of old development errors. Because they were composed of hybrid code—part data, part real-world material—none of them could be deleted or destroyed anymore.
That explained a lot.
Some mobs disintegrated into data when they died, while others bled, decomposed, and left behind actual corpses. It made sense now. Not all monsters in EOPH were pure data constructs. Some of them… had more.
The world of Enigma wasn't just a game. It was real—a fully constructed dimension masked as a virtual space. The developers had created an entire alternate realm using modern science and advanced tech. It blew my mind just thinking about it.
I learned so much today… Honestly, I was surprised my brain didn't overload.
GM Aero also mentioned a big update coming next week—a system upgrade that would open the gates for converted player accounts. That meant players from other legendary VRMMORPGs would soon arrive. Games like Another World Online, Gray Burst Online, Eurpodiux, Cyber World Online, Chaos World, Heroes Quest, and so many others.
It was expected that top-tier players from those games—max level elites with unique skills—would soon invade EOPH.
That made me nervous.
I wasn't even level 200 yet. Right now, I was sitting at 104. I wasn't scared of being outshined, but… level defined survival in this game. Whether against monsters or PKers, your level could mean the difference between life and death.
High-level players got respect. They made friends easily. But they also became targets. Especially if they carried powerful unbound items—loot that could be dropped when killed.
I decided to sleep early that night, around 10 PM. Didn't want to wake up late for school.
---
The next day, I caught up with the others—Zeke included. Everyone was buzzing about the news, especially the part about the Rain Maker.
That's what they were calling the anomaly now.
Daniel (Verillion) said the game admins were working on a solution. Jenson (Xavier) mentioned that his dad, who worked at Zeus Technological Corp., had been super busy lately because of it. The guy barely came home these days.
We all had lunch together at the mess hall before returning to our classes. There were still a bunch of projects due, and Mia (Ayana), Zeke, and Daniel had club activities after school. That meant they wouldn't be joining us in-game tonight.
Only Accel and I would be online. Jenson had a date, and the others—like Aryus and the bar regulars—were caught up with real-life duties.
---
By six in the evening, I was back home. I ate dinner with my parents and my younger brother, then rushed upstairs. I called Accel to sync up for login.
---
In-Game
I spawned at the last place I logged out—the village where we'd previously fought that Special AI. My heart skipped a beat, thinking it might've respawned. Thankfully, I remembered AI mobs didn't respawn once defeated.
Whew… close call.
Accel arrived moments later, and I instantly felt more at ease. He was strong—just like Zaphro. Both of them were Fallen Angels now. Coolest class ever, in my opinion.
"Kuya, where we headed today?" Accel asked with a grin.
"Dunno. Guess we'll just hang around here?" I shrugged.
"Dude, there are no mobs here," he pointed out. "Oh! Let's head to that cave near the west sector. This village has three zones, remember?"
"Y-Yeah… but..." I hesitated. Last time I entered a cave, we got chased by a boss monster. It didn't end well.
Accel didn't wait. He took off walking toward the cave. I summoned Arcanus, my trusty mount, and caught up quickly.
"You think there'll be mobs in there?" I asked.
"Probably."
The cave entrance came into view. Two torches burned on either side, with strange glyphs etched around the arch. I couldn't read them, but they gave off an eerie vibe.
Without hesitating, we stepped inside.
A few meters in, we were ambushed by mobs—Level 100 Ancient Cavemen. They were melee types, unarmed but tanky and fast at regenerating health.
"Sword Explosion!" I blasted four in front of me. Accel handled the rest, using a binding skill called "Shadow Grip" that drained 1500 HP per second.
Then he switched to his long-range cards—sniping each caveman in the head with perfect aim. They dropped like flies.
"Vanishing Strike!" I finished off the ones near me with a flash combo.
Deeper inside, we entered a dome-shaped cavern. This time, we encountered Level 110 Malevolent Spirits—ghost-like beings with misty forms and horrifying, mask-like faces.
I slashed the closest one—and gasped. My sword phased right through it.
"What the hell?!"
Arcanus growled, sensing the threat. Two spirits lunged at us with spears. Accel cast a spell, but it passed through them as well.
"Nothing's hitting!" he growled.
"They've got some passive effect," I muttered.
We tried everything—skills, spells, even pet attacks. Nothing worked… until Arcanus's flame vortex hit one and sent it flying.
"Wait. That connected!" I said.
Accel launched another spell—"Dark Void." It missed again. But the pattern was clear. They weren't immune. They were timed.
We tested our theory—trial and error, like solving a puzzle. Eventually, we figured it out: their passive made them intangible for three seconds after getting hit. After that, they became vulnerable again—for just a brief window.
"Accel, now!" I shouted.
He threw five cards—just decoys to trigger their passive. Once the ghosts became tangible again—
"Vanishing Strike!"
I dashed in and took them all out with a single chain attack.
We high-fived, grinning like idiots.
The loot wasn't bad—map scrolls, basic gear, and 150,000 gold each. Plus a bit of XP, though it wasn't much since we were in a party.
Further ahead, we found a smaller cave. At the far end was a wide clearing—this time, monster-free. In the center was a small glowing lake… and something even stranger.
"Whoa. What's that?" I asked.
A stone platform stood by the water's edge, with a glowing magic circle and three jutting posts. It looked like a portal—one eerily similar to the Helliopolis map's warp gate, only… blue instead of dark purple.
"A portal, maybe?" Accel said, peering closer.
"A portal to where?" I whispered.
"We'll never know unless we step in." He grabbed my wrist and pulled.
"H-Hey wait—what if that leads to a boss area again?!"
Too late.
We stepped onto the platform. Within seconds, light engulfed us. It was blinding.
By the time the glow faded, we could see our new surroundings.
"What is this place…?"
And that's when we saw it.
A single silhouette standing across the new map—waiting for us.
To be continued.