"I hate the desert." Kira panted as she continued walking. Her face was covered in sweat and she clutched onto her staff for support. "Even with my powers, this is unbearable!"
Amber agreed immediately.
I nodded, drained after hiking up and down the sand dunes under the hot afternoon sun. "We can't fight the Alpha like this. We're all exhausted. We won't last a minute in there."
"Look!" Jace, who had been quiet the entire time, pointed at the front. The double doors could been seen from our position. "We made it!"
The four of us cheered. "And don't forget, after this fight, it's a fresh set of 5 floors! Which means..." I said, grinning.
"No more deserts!" the rest of them yelled, laughing.
We had been sent by Nebula to scout out the Alpha. After one of the scouts came back with the location of the double doors on Floor 15, the four of us had been dispatched to get a quick look at the Alpha and its attacks. Our orders were not to engage, but merely observe and then teleport away with our Teleportation Scrolls.
I didn't hesitate to remind everyone of that instruction. "Remember-"
"Yes, yes. Observe only. Do not engage the target. Use Teleportation Scrolls to escape once enough information has been obtained." Kira interrupted impatiently. "You've drilled it into our heads already."
"She's got a point." Jace shrugged helplessly.
"Well, better safe than sorry." I remarked, drawing my sword. I had gotten a fresh set of equipment after hitting Level 30. Now I wielded a Thunderstorm Broadsword and wore a Dragon-Scale Chestplate. Both were Rare items from the guild armory. What I really wanted, though, was another Ultimate or Legendary item, like my Lightbringer's Platemail.
The rest readied their weapons as well. I slowly pushed the doors open. As usual, the room was pitch-black. "Get your Teleportation Scrolls ready just in case things go awry." I instructed.
We stepped into the room, and the torches on the walls flickered to life. On the other side of the room, a long, huge snake covered in crimson-red scales began slithering towards us, its forked tongue flicking in and out maliciously. Its red eyes glowed with hate.
"It's a Basilisk!" Jace exclaimed. "Don't look straight at it!"
"How the hell are we supposed to fight this Alpha if we can't even look at it?" Kira asked incredulously.
"We don't!" Amber responded, pulling out your Teleportation Scroll.
I nodded in agreement. "This is bad. Let's get out of here!" I pulled out mine as well.
"Teleport, Floor 2!" I called, worriedly glancing at the Alpha Basilisk. It was still hurtling straight for us.
But nothing happened.
"Teleport, Floor 2!" Jace yelled, his voice rising in panic.
But again, nothing happened.
"It's not working!" Amber commented, loading a crossbow bolt.
"No duh." Kira retorted, already shooting fireballs rapidly at the incoming boss.
"But they're supposed to work! The other guild used this trick on the Alpha on Floor 7, and it worked!" Jace cried, still clutching his Teleportation Scroll and frantically shaking it.
I gripped my sword firmly and put away the Teleportation Scroll. "It ain't gonna work." I told everyone.
"W-Why?" Jace stuttered, still holding the item and refusing to put it away.
"And that trick was used how long ago? A month? A month and a half? Has anybody tried this trick recently? Do you honestly think Infinity isn't monitoring us constantly and fixing loopholes to make the game even harder?" Kira answered sarcastically.
"Then...what are we gonna do? We're not at all prepared for this fight!" Jace exclaimed, his eyes darting around wildly, searching for an exit.
"We're gonna do the only thing we can do." I told them determinedly.
"Fight."
A.N.
Cliffhanger!
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