Chapter 231

Embers and Ashes (II)

Getting through the gates was surprisingly easy, Emma mused as the group stood in front of the winding, garden path. All they had to do was waiting for everyone to fall asleep, use tents as the covers and... sneak in over the wall. They had decided to go with everyone, even if only ten people at a time could participate in the battle; after all, even if they wouldn’t get the full rundown of boss’ abilities, as the ‘hint’ said, they’d still be able to infer from the boss’ general appearance. Unless they were forced to immediately engage with them, they’d be able to mull over who would fit the best for the fight at hand.

There were some permanent lock-ins, however, such as Emma and Kramer, since the two of them were, essentially, the only tankers. While Elypso could also fill the role, he was much more like Sigmund and Jamal rather than Emma or Kramer. Furthermore, Yuki and Senna would also always participate, latter for her damage, and former since he was the only support besides Taima, and Taima’s strengths were in smithing over fighting. He was only there if the battle seemed like it would require two supports at minimum.

In essence, there was not a lot of place to maneuver; Emma, Senna, Kramer, Daniel, Jamal, Sigmund, Yuki, Elypso, Lek, and Sebas would front almost every battle, with the only possible switch being Taima as Sera, Anna, Izirdul, and Mina weren’t nowhere near strong enough to fight at this stage.

They slowly made their way forward, following the garden path with Sera and others acting as guides. Surprisingly, there weren’t any guards, as though there was a temporary lull in the entire Palace. Emma suspected it had something to do with the ‘Tower’, as though it was a game, where the seemingly impossible mission looking from the outside becomes doable through the changes while on a quest. Fewer guards, weaker enemies, and generally easier time.

Making their way through the garden path, whose walls heaved in shrubs up to ten feet, creating a maze-like sensation even if it had a straight road and no branches, they quickly reached the other end, the main courtyard of the outer ring. The peculiar point of the courtyard was the wide, round plaza with a carved-in design of the Kingdom’s royal house, a signet in the shape of a cracked orb with a sun-like crystal in the center.

Hovering above it, glazed in a golden sheen, was a thunderously-armored man. His legs were crossed, arms resting over his knees, his face hidden behind a massive helmet, spiked thrice -- upfront and on the sides -- an exaggerated spear hovering just next to him. It was surrounded by the shimmering bolts of lightning, good seven-eight feet long, three-tipped like a trident, but with the side blades cut at an angle so they almost meld into the central one toward the tip.

Emma pulled up the status window and sighed, realizing that there was barely anything there to go off on.

//Spearborne Lord Ayteer

Ante-Human

Level: 70

Vitality: 8,400(840,000 Health)

Traits: Loyal (SSS), Honorable(SS+), Aging(?), Undefeated(?)

Skills: ???

Stats: ???

Story: First recruited into the army as a young, eleven year old boy, Ayteer swiftly rose through the ranks by using his immense, innate talent for spearmanship. By the age of 14, he had become a Colonel, and by 17 a General. At the age of 25, he officially became the highest-ranked Commander, overseeing the entire Kingdom’s army. He retired at the age of 78, becoming one of the Kingdom’s last resorts.//

“Retired at 78? Just how old is that fucker?!” Sigmund commented as everyone else sucked in a cold breath. Though they understood that ‘age’ here, within the Tower, was slightly different in concept than the outside, the man in front of them certainly didn’t seem to be likely pushing a hundred, if he hadn’t already reached it.

“He looks like the standard, physical-damage-oriented boss,” Kramer began to break him down rather than admire him. “Since he’s wielding a spear, his reach will be larger than normal. There’s also that thunder, so he likely has some long-range nukes, so we’ll have to be on our guard constantly.”

“He’s wearing heavy armor,” Senna pointed out. “It’ll probably be a pain in the ass for most of us to deal damage to him.”

“Jamal and Daniel will just have to put chinks in the armor,” Emma said. “At the expense of their damage. We’ll fight slowly; save all your big cooldowns, especially defensive ones. Yuki, are you confident in going at it alone?”

“... uh, sure?” Yuki replied, seemingly startled out of his stupor. “Uh, I mean... I don’t know, honestly.” the group had never fought against a boss with him at the helm of the healers.

“Give us a quick rundown of how your healing works,” Emma said. “But in high-intensity situations when you can’t just sit behind everyone and spam the same skills over and over again.”

“Hmm... a good chunk of it is preventive,” Yuki said. “But most of it is still reactive. I have three group-wide totems: one will increase our movement speed by 40% for a few seconds, one will link all our health pools together and heal us for 2% of that shared pool every second for 10 seconds. It’s probably my highest healing skill in terms of raw output, but it also has like 8min baseline cooldown. The last one puts a shield onto three people with lowest health; the amount is twice their current health pool, so it’s not a ‘oh fuck’ sort of a skill, and more of a reactive one.

“Besides that,” Yuki continued. “It’s mostly how you saw me heal before. Spirit links, constant, but not overly powerful streams, mainly aimed at tanks. I can, however, equip an item that sort of changes how I heal, making it so that about 20% of healing that’s supposed to go to you is spread over 5 other people with the lowest health.”

“Yeah, go with that one,” Emma said immediately. “It’s better to be safe than sorry. Our damage is likely beyond good enough for this fight, but since we have absolutely no idea what skills he has, we just have to play it safe.”

“Alright,” Yuki nodded. “So, we’ll go with Yuki as a solo support, even if it’s a bit risky. Lek, you’ll always stand by Yuki’s side, and have at least two of your soldiers guarding you two.”

“Okay, Master,” Lek nodded excitedly. This would, after all, be his first truly regal battle, a breakthrough of sorts onto the scene.

“Kramer, you act like the main tank, while I’ll try to cover for others. Elypso, while damaging, if you see a chance, don’t be shy about turning up your defenses and soaking some. I predict there’s gonna be a good chunk of constant, group-wide damage, but no truly uber-damaging skills. Still, always be ready to use your defensives at a moment’s notice. Since you guys will have be the broadest view of things,” she added, looking at Lek and Yuki. “Call out if you see something strange and keep an eye on everything else. Senna, assist them when you see fit, but otherwise just do your average DPS. No need to use any cooldowns.”

“H-huh?” Senna nearly toppled over at the suggestion.

“Save them in case there’s a burn phase,” Emma elaborated. “The rest will also rotate. Opener will be up on Daniel; after he’s done, it will be Jamal’s turn, then Sigmund’s, then Sebas, then Lek, and then Elypso. Kramer and I will just spam whenever we have them. By the time Elypso is done, half of Daniel’s cooldowns should be back up, and we start the same rotation. However, in case there’s a burn phase, you’ll be the one burning through it on your own.”

“... alright.” Senna sighed, unable to retort to Emma’s stern gaze.

“Okay, everyone buff up,” Emma said. “Take a deep breath, and let’s do this.”

A few moments later, the group stepped up and onto the signet-infused platform, with only Taima staying back, practically a cheerleader. He’d sharpened all their weapons, strengthened their armor pieces, and done all in his power to make them as strong as they could be at this stage in terms of items. However, he still felt bitter sitting out. He also wanted to help, much more than he was currently helping.

The moment they stepped onto the platform, a low hum blurred out, akin to annoying sound of droning, prompting them to halt. The man’s head turned to the side, eyes in the slits of the helmet opening and inspecting them for a moment.

The man reached out and grabbed the spear, the golden sheen surrounding him vanishing as he landed, holding the spear tightly in front of him.

“You have committed an unforgivable transgression against the Crown,” the man said in an aged, raspy voice. “Taking the place of the Heavens, I shall doll out the judgment and the punishment. Prepare to die.”

The ground trembled for a moment as the circular platform was suddenly adorned by a golden dome, covering the entirety of it. The stage was set at last, and the borders made unbroken. The only way to leave this place, they knew, was either to kill the man in front of him who was preparing to attack, or to die themselves. And the latter... simply was not an option.