About two hundred players gathered outside the city’s western wall. They were all eager to complete the main quest and move on to the next floor of the Tower.

“Alright,” Steve said to the crowd, “Organize yourselves into teams of ten and let’s go!”

The Grand Alliance took some time to break into parties of ten, since there were many new people among them. Many larger groups had to be split and many smaller groups had to take on new members. Steve and his girl friends helped distribute the players while Bon, Jim and Aisha watched the fun.

They marched on the road towards the Wicked Witch’s lair. The sound of the crowd chattering and laughing made Bon smile. He had never enjoyed being in a crowd before, but the long centuries of loneliness had changed his mindset. Towards dusk, the players made camp on the fields by the side of the road. Whoever the fields belonged to didn’t mind that the players were there, or perhaps they didn’t dare chase them away. He and the other bards had musical duels, entertaining the players. As night set in, fires were lit and somebody brought out bottles of beer, which were passed around.

They traveled for three days before finding the witch. She had a green face, and looked like a giant bat with wings that were tucked in. She was stirring a big cauldron outside her thatch cottage. There were various animals and birds roaming around – cows, pigs, horses, chickens and ducks.

Bon stared at the witch, and the red smoke coming from her cauldron. “Identify.”

BOSS Akragha, the Wicked Witch of the West HP 20,000/20,000 MP 15,000/15,000 She was once a normal girl who was interested in treating people with natural remedies. Then, a jealous medicine man branded her a witch, and chased her out of the community. She was adopted by three witches in the forest and taught their craft. Wickedness took over her, as she brooded over her past. She roams the land, extorting country folk of their goods and produce, to fuel her evil spells. Powers Double Double 2x casting speed Toil and Trouble Shackles up to three enemy targets for ten seconds Fire burn and Caldron Bubble Bubbles escape the cauldron dealing massive fire damage to anyone it touches Fillet of a Fenny Snake Poisons a designated area In the Caldron Boil and Bake Summons a golem with the poison attribute There’s No Place Like Home Teleports into her House of Horrors, where she is invulnerable Level Playing Field Increase in level depending on the number of foes faced

“It’s Macbeth mixed with the Wizard of Oz,” laughed Bon. “I really like this level designer’s taste.” Luckily, the witch didn’t have a broomstick to fly on, or else it would have been a real pain.

Steve turned to face the players, “Her ‘There’s No Place Like Home’ skill, could be a problem. When the witch goes into the house, we will probably have to damage it until she comes out again. The house is probably very sturdy.”

“Who is that?” one of the players pointed. On the other side of the house was a group of fifty or so players. They were covertly making their way towards the witch.”

“Hey!” Steve ran towards the players and stopped them before they could attract the witch’s attention. Bon followed behind. Steve asked the player in the lead, “What do you think you’re doing? This is our boss. Don’t kill steal.”

“We were here first,” said the man. “We have been scouting this witch out for weaknesses for the past few hours.”

“We all want to go to the next level,” said Bon. “Why don’t we just kill her together? Auction the loot like you did before.”

Steve turned to the man, “I’m willing. Are you?”

“Sure, but who is to lead? My team trusts only me, and I assume that it is the same for your party.”

Steve rubbed his chin as he thought. “We can’t have two leaders. I have the bigger group, so I’ll lead.”

The man laughed and turned to his people, “Let’s attack before this numb skull can steal our boss.”

“What? Stop!” Steve was flustered, not used to being rejected. “What else can we do? If you lead your fifty without coordinating with us, it will be a mess.”

“I was a Major General in the Spetsnaz before coming here. What were you, pretty boy?”

“Why don’t you join together,” said Bon, “And take turns leading the party. Ivan can lead the group on this floor, and Steve, you can lead them in the next floor. After a couple of floors, let everyone vote for who they want to lead them.”

“I’m okay with that,” said the Russian, “And my name is Yuri, not Ivan. It will take me half an hour to organize your big group to fit my tactics. Tell everyone to come quickly,” he ordered Steve, and walked away.

Steve turned to Bon, an angry vein throbbing in his head, “We have the bigger group,” he said through gritted teeth. “It should be me leading. Why did you compromise with him? You should have told me first, before opening your big mouth.”

“Hey,” Bon said, “I was only musing out loud. I didn’t think he would just go without discussing anything. Besides, it’s a good plan. This way, everyone will see how good you are at command. I’m sure you’re much better than an army officer.”

“Is that sarcasm?”

“No,” he was being honest. Steve really did have a flair for command. It was a natural talent.

The Grand Alliance joined Yuri’s group over a ridge and Yuri tut tutted, not impressed by them at all. Bon saw three familiar faces among Yuri’s group. Who were they? Could they be – He almost didn’t recognize them. It had been so long.

“Bon!” Bojana shouted, waving her arms in the air.

He ran towards them and laughed so much that lots of people turned to look at him. “Bojana, Phil, Toby,” he hugged each of them in turn. “Thank God you’re okay. Have any of you seen Sarah?”

“No,” Bojana shook her head. “Do you think she’s in the Tower too?”

“I don’t know,” Bon bit his lip. “Anyway, I’m really glad to see you guys. Let’s form our own party after this, and train together.”

There was a woman standing beside Phil, a brunette with a strong jaw and blue eyes. “Can I be a part of your party too?” she asked.

Phil turned to her, “Of course you can, Siobhan. We aren’t going to abandon you. Don’t worry about that.” It was plain to see that Phil was enamored with her, from the way he was blushing and shuffling his feet. The poor guy was so nervous. He was acting like some love sick teenager.

“We’re all back together again,” Toby grinned wildly. “What’s your class, Bon?”

“Oh, I’m a little bit of everything,” he replied. “I’m also really strong.”

“What’s your level?” asked Bojana.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“C’mon. Try us,” she said.

“One hundred and twenty five thousand three hundred and sixty.”

“How the hell did that happen?” asked Phil. “Did you encounter a leveling bug?”

“Yup. This Tower is full of bugs. Don’t tell anyone. It’s supposed to be a secret. Siobhan, you are now sworn to secrecy.”

“I won’t tell,” Siobhan laughed, zipping her lips and throwing away the key. “But, were you serious?”

“Bon’s always serious,” said Bojana. “At least he used to be.” She turned to Bon, and looked at him from all angles, “You seem different somehow.” A woman’s intuition was scary.

“Cut it out,” Bon held Bojana away at arm’s length as she came in for a closer look. “What are all your classes anyway?”

“Rogue,” said Bojana, “Level thirty five.”

“Lancer,” said Phil, “Level thirty seven.”

“Berserker,” said Toby, “Level thirty four.”

“Mage,” said Siobhan, “Level thirty five.”

“I can fill in as a priest,” said Bon. “We’ve got everyone we need to take down all the bosses. I’ll give you some equipment later, when we’re alone.”

“What kind of equipment?” asked Phil.

“Legendary.”

“Get out of here,” Phil tried to push Bon away, but found that he couldn’t. It must have been like trying to push a mountain.

“Shh. The General is talking,” said Bojana.

“I’d better get back to my own party,” Bon waved goodbye and rejoined Steve. Bon listened to Yuri talking with half an ear as he walked.

Steve said when Bon came near, “He’s divided us into five waves. Each wave will send their heavy armored players to the front lines, while the rest support them.”

Bon shrugged. “The simpler the plan is, the better.”

“He’s expecting everybody to coordinate. He’s put five parties on the side lines to take over whenever a weakness appears in the formation. We’re one of those groups. When she goes into the house he wants everyone to attack en masse.”

Bon tried to think from Yuri’s point of view. “If there are less people fighting the witch at the same time, maybe her Level Playing Field skill will not be so bad. While she’s healing up in her house, she might not attack much.”

“That’s what he’s probably thinking,” Steve agreed. “It’s a bad plan. Level Playing Field has a very wide area of effect. It probably encloses everything within half a mile from here. I noticed that when we fought the Cockatrice. I tried telling him, but he just brushed it away.”

Steve was probably right. Bon didn’t think Level Playing Field was as simple as it appeared. He used Mana Sense, and did indeed find a strange sphere covering the entire area.

“What do you think we should do?” he asked.

Steve stared at the area around the witch and said, “We should attack her in boxes of ten, like before. She doesn’t have many area of effect skills so we can be more compact. Her poison can be easily cured. We hit her with everything we’ve got from the get go, and nuke her to oblivion.”

“I like your plan, but Yuri is in charge of this one. Let’s just listen to him. You can prove that you’re the better tactician with the next boss.”

“Alright. Hey Bon,” Steve said. “I apologize for being such a dick earlier. I was expecting too much from you, and I lost my temper.”

“That’s okay. I never took it personally. Hey, I’ll be leaving the party after this boss fight. I found some of my old friends and want to join up with them.”

“They can just join us,” said Steve. “We’ve got two hundred and twenty three players in our group now. There’s safety in numbers.”

Safety in numbers – that would be true for most other people, but not Bon. He wouldn’t be able to train his friends to their optimal levels if they stayed within a large group. “We’d prefer going off on our own, but thanks for the offer.”

Steve looked disappointed. “Alright. I can’t stop you from leaving. If you ever need help, just use the ring.”

“I will,” he promised.

“He’s too much trouble to babysit. Maybe this is for the best,” Steve murmured to himself. This did not escape Bon with his keen hearing. He had never asked for Steve to babysit him. The whole thing had been a misunderstanding, but it had also been a lot of fun to play the dummy they thought him to be. He had been able to have a carefree experience with them.

The group got into their formations and prepared to attack the boss.

“Double double,” the witch said, as soon as they came within range. A green glow enveloped her and text in white saying 2x appeared above her black pointy hat.

“Fillet of a fenny snake,” a green vapor swirled around the party in front of her, but their priest used mass cure, after they had passed by the area. The players attacked the witch from all directions. Colorful spells were cast by the mages, blinding everyone during that initial burst. The sidelines watched frantically as the witch fought back, casting whorls of darkness as her normal attack. Her attacks probably held the ‘evil’ attribute, in which case the holy armor of a paladin would prove most useful.

“Toil and trouble,” flaming bolas wrapped around the legs of three players, draining their HP as it held them in place.

The witch smiled at the immobile players with a nasty smile, “Fire burn and caldron bubble.” Bubbles escaped the witch’s cauldron, and floated towards the shackled players. They hit the players one after another. The mobile players quickly escaped the area. It was instant death. The damage of this skill was too much. If the other players hadn’t left the area, the damage would have been distributed equally, and they may have had a chance of surviving.

“Idiots,” Bon heard Steve saying. He must have been thinking the same thing. Yuri must have been having a hard time. He was used to commanding elite soldiers, not a rabble of players.

One of the five standby teams took the place of the broken party, while the witch concentrated elsewhere. They were doing some heavy damage, but the witch was dishing out as much as she was receiving. Then all of a sudden she stopped. Her HP was just over 50%

“Double double toil and trouble, fire burn and caldron bubble. Fillet of a fenny snake, in the caldron boil and bake.”

“She’s used the full combo,” gasped Steve.

Three mages who had somehow wandered close to each other, got shackled. A poisonous cloud wafted over the players and a green golem fell from the sky, stunning everyone it landed upon. Bubbles burst out from the witch’s cauldron, killing everyone who had not been able to leave the area. They would immediately run back here from the resurrection shrine Yuri had set up earlier, but their fighting power would be much reduced.

The golem had messed up the formations. It took some time for Yuri to restore some semblance of order. Meanwhile, the witch and the golem were going on a rampage.

“Let’s go,” said Steve. “We’ll aim for the golem.”

Bon and Lucy buffed everyone as they ran towards the golem. It was big, thrice Steve’s height, which made it easier to hit. The ground trembled whenever it took a step, and it roared like a war-horn. Its eyes were a layer of red crystal and its fists were layered with a green liquid that hissed whenever it dripped onto the ground.

Steve, Nia and Kara surrounded it and began attacking, while Elizabeth channeled a long and very destructive spell. Blue and yellow lights shot out from her hands after ten seconds and hit the golem’s head, making parts of it crumble. The golem moved to go after Elizabeth, but Steve was always in front of it, taunting it to attack him. Bon struck it with musical attacks, not in the mood to fool around with his sickle and chain. They lured the golem away from the witch and the rest of the players as they attacked, and within five minutes the golem crumbled to the ground.

The witch, in the meantime, had her HP drop to 20%. “There’s no place like home,” she chanted, sadness in her voice. “There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home.” She disappeared from the midst of the players and her house suddenly grew chicken legs and began to walk towards the mass of players.

“Baba Yaga,” shouted Yuri. “Everyone go in. Let’s hit it with everything we’ve got. Everyone who’s just resurrected, come too. We need all the damage we can give.”

“Finally,” said Steve. “The man begins to make some sense.”

“He’s used to fighting people,” said Bon, “Not bosses. He’ll learn soon enough.”

Bon identified the cottage, now that it had become a living thing.

The Witch’s House of Horrors HP 100,000/100,000 MP 50,000/50,000 The walking house of the Wicked Witch of the West. In times of trouble it gives the witch a safe place to recuperate. Its defense system makes even the bravest witch hunters pale in fear. Powers Chimney Burst Fires a stream of smoke and ashes at everyone within the AOE. Smash Jumps into the air and lands on the ground dealing damage to everyone close by Home Sweet Home Increases HP regeneration by 100%

Bon could see the witch through the window, staring out at them with an evil smile. Her health was regenerating quickly.

The players surrounded the house and gave it all they had. A black smoke surrounded the house and sparks of fire glittered within it. Everyone ignored it, too focused on damaging the house. Priests healed the front liners as fast as they could, while the smoke drained their HP. The priests were able to keep the balance.

The house then jumped into the air and landed near the support players. A single Smash was enough to kill many of the priests. The players switched their formation, and began whittling away at the house’s HP once more. It cast its last skill, Home Sweet Home, and its HP was able to rise a little despite all the damage they were dealing. Bon wanted to end this quickly. He was getting tired of this battle. Sure, it was good training for everyone, probably an invaluable experience, but at the moment he didn’t care. He wanted to chat with his friends. He picked up a large rock from the ground, wrapped it in a layer of protective qi, and threw it with such force that the air particles around the rock began to burn and break out in little explosions.

“What’s that?” shouted Steve. It was too fast for him to be able to see properly, but he had managed to get a brief glimpse of the rock’s fiery wake.

The rock hit the house and its HP immediately dropped to zero. The witch screamed as she ran out of the house.

“Focus your fire on the witch,” shouted Yuri. The witch had only managed to heal up 5% of her health pool in the time it took to destroy her house. After a few minutes and about thirty deaths later, the witch was killed.

You have killed (BOSS) Wicked Witch of the West

Quest ‘Kill the Wicked Witch of the West’ completed Reward: 1xLute of Annihilation, 500 Gold, 20,000EXP

A blue portal appeared near where the witch’s house had been.

“What did she drop?” asked Steve, while Yuri picked up two golden spheres.

“Mythical earrings,” said Yuri, “And mythical wand. A thousand gold coins as well. The earrings increase all basic resistances by 10%. They also grant a thousand mana, no level restrictions. The wand increases intelligence by 5% and wisdom by 3%. Allows the use of the Fire Bubble skill, which is a downgraded version of what the witch was using. Who wants to bid? We’ll start with the earrings.”

“I guess this is goodbye then,” Bon said to his party.

“You’re leaving?” asked Kara.

“Yeah, I found some old friends of mine. I’m joining their party.”

“It’s really great that you found them,” she said, “But we will miss you.”

“Yup. It’s been fun with all of you,” Bon shook hands with them, though Kara pulled him in for a hug. “I’m sure we’ll see each other again. Take care.”

“Remember to use your ring if you’re in trouble,” said Steve.

“Will do.” Bon left them to find his friends while the players bid for the witch’s dropped items.

Bojana looked at him suspiciously as soon as he came near. “Did you kill the house?” she whispered.

Bon smiled and nodded.

“You should have been more bad ass about it,” she rebuked him.

“Can’t show off. Someone warned me not to reveal my power until the appropriate time.”

“Yeah,” grinned Bojana. “I know how much you dislike trouble. Lots of people are going to bother you if they find out about it, but they will find out eventually. You can’t hide it forever.”

“All I want to do is live with my Sarah in peace,” Bon sighed. “Get a stable job in a laboratory, become someone who always complains about how boring his work is, and have a blessed time with his family during his holidays.”

“That’s what you think you want,” said Bojana, “But the Tower has changed us all. I don’t think any of us will be satisfied with desk jobs anymore.”

“Speak for yourself,” said Bon. He’d had enough adventure for a lifetime.

“We’ll see,” Bojana laughed. “I know you better than you do yourself.”

“What are you two whispering about?” Toby asked. “What’s the plan now, Bon?”

“Hmm,” said Bon, “When we enter the next floor, let’s immediately meet in front of the tallest building in the city.”

“Sounds good,” said Toby, and everyone else nodded.

After collecting their share of the gold, Bon and his friends entered the portal, and stepped into their waiting rooms on the thirty second floor.