"Brutal…"
"I'm glad she never saw us as enemies."
"Is it… over?"
The friends only dared to whisper as an intimidating atmosphere filled the room. For a few seconds there was only silence. The cultist looked at their matriarch with awe in their eyes.
Suddenly a door was pushed open. Cyclone and Fortune rushed in.
"Did you do it?"
"Is the boss dead?"
"We did it…", answered Silver Blade with a smile.
It was as if a barrier had been broken. The pressure instantly dissipated. Cyclone and Fortune rushed towards their friends with big smiles on their faces, erupting into cheers.
"Hahaha, the boss is dead! We did it! First dungeon clear!"
"Finally, finally!"
"Take that, SpireX!"
The players were not the only ones celebrating. The cultist also erupted, embracing each other with tears in their eyes. Filled with joy. Now, they didn't have to leave their home! The temple was safe!
While the friends hugged each other, Cyclone was already scanning the room. Her eyes fell on a small cluster of flames floating where the portal used to be. It had nothing of the intimidating grandeur of the previous flame. Cyclone was drawn to the flame, almost instinctively. She reached out with her hand. The flame erupted in brilliant light and generous loot, enough to compensate for two bosses, flooded her inventory. Cyclone froze on the spot, her pupils reflecting brilliant light.
However, the others naturally saw what was happening. They surrounded Cyclone with knowing smiles on their faces, not allowing the mage to pocket anything.
"Guys, you're giving me the creeps! I didn't plan to keep the good stuff for myself… this time…"
Light chuckles could be heard as Cyclone honestly revealed the loot. She started with the miscellaneous items. Various materials and equipment below unique rarity, not of much importance in the eyes of the group. Soon, however, the first interesting item appeared.
The recipe for advanced health potions! Everyone's eyes lit up. Unfortunately, none of their alchemists had reached the advanced rank yet. But as soon as they did, these potions could be sold in Dream Avenue's shops, becoming a trump card to suppress the competition. After all, at this point many groups had set up shops and the competition was intense. Dream Avenue was far from dominating the market.
However, their Greypine Town was the most popular territory right now, which naturally brought many advantages. With the advanced health potion, they could cement this position.
Whilst everyone was still happy about the potion recipe, Cyclone continued drawing items from her inventory. What followed were three pieces of unique set equipment. Two of those were the upgraded versions of Liam's and Balm's sets. The third was sadly not suitable for anyone and had to be placed in the guild treasure.
"And now… the highlight! Tadaaa!"
Cyclone twirled her body, sitting on her flying mount, and stretched her arm towards the air where a staff appeared out of thin air. On a first glance it appeared quite simple. A brown staff, unadorned. However, the more one looked the more one would gain the sensation that this staff possessed a special nature. Made from unfamiliar material the staff felt as if merging with the world as if it was part of nature. It emitted a peaceful feeling but digging deeper one would feel a hidden might, like a slumbering beast.
Watchful Eye couldn't avert his eyes. There was no surprise, of course the staff would be his to take. Cyclone didn't tease the man. For this battle he thoroughly earned his reward.
"Here!"
Cyclone handed the staff over and Watchful Eye pulled it into a tight grip. He checked its description. Immediately his eyes lit up, and a faint smile formed on his face. Everyone stared at the man in surprise. A moment later Watchful Eye instantly realized what was happening and his expression returned to its usual taciturn look.
"Now I'm really curious…", chuckled Silver Blade, prompting everyone to nod. Watchful Eye knew what his protege was hinting at. He posted the description in the chat.
[Staff of the infinite breath
Category: Unique
Level requirement: 67
Attack Damage: 56-58
Attack Speed: 0,7
Strength: +21
Source: +24
Dexterity: +12
Effect 1: If you use a skill while your Qi is at its maximum increases the skill's damage by 20% and reduce its cooldown by 10%. (cooldown: 300 seconds)
Effect 2: Every time you deal elemental damage to an enemy, gain one stack of Attunement. Increase your Qi recovery by 1 point per second for each stack of Attunement. Stacks decay after twenty seconds.
Effect 3: At five stacks of Attunement, you can cast a single non-ultimate skill without cost. (cooldown: 220 seconds)
Effect 4: Spending more than 1000 points of Qi within ten seconds allows you to transform all your elemental damage into an element of your choice. (duration: 10 seconds) (cooldown: 120 seconds)
Restriction: Bound upon wearing; STR over 180, INT over 60
Staff of the Infinite Breath belonged to the famous Enlightened Monk Huang, a hero of the Ancient Xia Dynasty. Huang was known for never tiring in battle, once fighting for more than thirty days before his opponent was exhausted. Eventually Monk Huang found enlightenment, forsaking battle, seeking wisdom. According to legends he hurled his famous staff into the sea, where it waited for a fated person.]
"Another unique weapon!"
"Watchful Eye will be so awesome!"
"His elemental damage is already so strong. Now he received another boost!"
The friends discussed, excited and somewhat envious. A unique weapon with four effects was absolutely top tier, rivalling Fortune's staff. And the level requirement wouldn't be a problem. Everyone knew that once they left the dungeon, they were guaranteed to level up a few times.
"Right! The dungeon! Why hasn't our announcement appeared yet?", asked Cyclone with a hint of worry. The others also perked up. Only Silver Blade stared suspiciously at Cyclone. The mage tried to ignore it but chill running down her spine eventually became too much. Cyclone dramatically slapped her forehead, speaking with a laugh:
"Ah, guys! I almost forgot. We aren't even done with the loot. Haha, there is still this."
Everyone rolled their eyes as their attention as put back on Cyclone. The latter flipped her hand and a small, black crystal appeared. Just looking at it one saw an endless shadow enveloping the world. Ghosts wailed and demons roared. An intense emotion of resentment engulfed everyone. It was as if countless ghosts bemoaned the unfairness of the world.
Cyclone closed her hand, and everyone snapped out of it. Sweat ran down their necks and they huffed laboriously.
"What the…"
"What is this?"
"Such a terrifying sensation!"
The friends trembled, taking a few seconds to recover. Everyone's eyes fell on Cyclone who lightly shook her head.
"See, I knew this thing is evil. I only wanted to protect you, that's why I didn't take it out!", proclaimed the mage self-righteously. Unfortunately, no one believed her. Unable to convince her friends Cyclone gave it up and posted the information into the group chat.
[Mysterious Evil Shard
Category: Unique
Effect: ???
A mysterious shard emitting a suffocating evil sensation. Perhaps you should find someone to help you explore its source. If you dare...]
"Such a strange thing?", asked Balm. A light shone in her eyes. She was puzzled but she enjoyed the feeling. There was a riddle to solve here! Thinking back to the void compass, an item dropped by the hidden boss had to be extraordinary. Balm pestered Cyclone for a bit until the latter agreed to hand the shard to her.
"Don't worry, I will figure it out."
The others shrugged their shoulders. They naturally wouldn't vie for this strange shard. Anyways, if it was connected to a quest, they would certainly finish it together.
The party didn't linger on the strange shard. Their eyes were still on Cyclone. But this time the mage showed her palms, stating:
"I don't have anything left. Really. You already stole all my treasures."
"Ok, ok. We believe you.", said Fortune with a chuckle.
Finally done with distributing the loot, the party could take care of other matters. They looked at the cultists who were still celebrating and slowly approached the matriarch.
Evraina seemingly felt something. She stopped talking to her daughter and turned towards the players.
"Adventurers! Let me offer you my sincerest thanks! Without you we might have left our homes. But now the demons have been driven away. I think we will close the temple now, making sure that not even gods or devils could intrude. Our little family can live in peace. Thank you!"
"Ahh, don't…"
The friends felt somewhat embarrassed. However, this feeling was quickly forgotten as a familiar voice suddenly rang in their heads.
[Congratulations on achieving the first clear of the dungeon >Nexkra'na's Nest< in hell mode!]
[Your accomplishment is worthy of being remembered.]
[You can choose to name your team or stay anonymous.]
[You can add the names of benefactors to the announcement.]