57 Swords And Mistrus (1/2)

The blue and green points in the minimap were still as far as ever from the shining gold one.

”This is taking so long! At first, I thought we were making progress, but now, it's as if we're stuck in the same place. We're not getting any closer to that damn golden thing and we've been running for an hour already!”

Kazumi's outburst wasn't without reason. For half an hour already, their feet kept pushing forward but the minimap didn't acknowledge such effort.

”Shh”

Shesmu put his finger on his lips. A voice in the background became clearer by the second.

”Awoo!”

”It's the hounds. Everyone, get in position! Monsters are coming! Arthur, hold the left flank. Big guy, hold the right!”

”It's Hector, and leave it to me! Ha!”

”Everyone, Everlast will not be outclassed by the Apollyon party! Whoever gets the most kill, I will pay dinner for later. Be it Le Chaudron or Lucky Cat, just fuck up my wallet!”

”You heard him, guys. I'm gonna get that dub and order everything on the menu! Dear little Arthur will be much lighter. I'm sure that he can finally get on a date after this one.”

”Hahaha!”

”Hey, you little shits. Keep talking crap and you'll see if your girlfriend doesn't break up with you tomorrow. Next thing you know, you'll get a video of us in Hawai pop up in your feed.”

”Haha, Owl, you really have balls. Last time you pissed off captain, he got a hobo to stalk for a week!”

”He paid a hobo to stalk?!”

”Hahaha! Dude, that was the funniest thing I have ever seen! You guys are new so you don't know, but the captain is really one crazy dude!”

While the men were laughing boorishly between themselves, Julia took small steps towards Arthur while fidgeting with her hands.

”Arthur, are you going to have dinner with the winner too?”

”Sure, I'll do that. It's not as if I have anything to do today.”

Julia's eyes brightened up, and her fidgeting hands finally calmed down at Arthur's response.

”Hmm, okay, then it's decided!”

The whole platoon of thirty-five players unsheathed their sword and readied their stance. Shesmu heard the rapid barking of the hounds and dashed towards it. One of the beasts lunged at him and he clashed with its claws.

Shesmu then kicked the hounds back legs, throwing it off balance. With a single swing, Shesmu cut its neck and ended the beast's life.

”Everyone, these monsters are weak. One shot and they die!”

The moral of the group improved drastically. The gloomy atmosphere that surrounded the players throughout the whole journey faded away. These players already suffered multiple losses on the previous floors due to their devious and cunning nature. A straightforward battle like this one was all they needed to relieve the stress that they had accumulated.

While Shesmu kept fighting off the horde of hounds, his eyes darted left and right. He was scanning the battlefield for any sign of suspicious activity. Hector's team that was holding the right flank did a marvelous job at fighting off the beasts. Hector would hold off the monsters with his giant ax, while his teammate would focus down one hound at a time. This way, they were able to lessen the pressure on Hector.

Arthur's party, on the other hand, was much more aggressive. They would fight one on one against the hounds, or at max two on one. None of their fighters took more than half a minute to dispatch of his enemy.

Mechanically, they're decent. Well other than the six on the back that struggles even with a two on one.

Arthur's group was separated into two, four were leading the charge while six took care of any monster that managed to slip in.

Their chemistry is also nothing to brag about.

While Arthur and his closest friends didn't show exactly a marvelous feat of synchronization, they at the very least didn't stand in the way of each other. The six in the back had trouble just swinging the sword correctly. When they tried to help each, they would need to tell the person holding the aggro to get out of the way in fear of hitting them.

Seems like newbies. I guess that those four were part of the same group for a long time now, while the six in the back just joined them today.

However, the most astounding spectacle was performed by Julia. Rapier in hand, she skewered the enemies in front of her like swiss cheese. Her movements had a grace not seen in your random average player.

Interesting, her steps are purposeful. Good footwork.

Julia was on constant movement, her feet never stopped. Whether it be a side step into a counter or a back step to dodge the hounds' swipes, Julia's feet never betrayed her.

”Hey, Leo, Kazumi, Amaterasu, come here.”

At this point, Hector and Arthur's parties already took care of most of the hounds coming their way. There wasn't much to do for Shesmu's party, so he took the liberty of calling them back.

”What's going on, Shesmu? Did you find something weird? Nyarlathotep perhaps?” asked Leo.

”No, I'm still not sure about that. What I wanted you to look at are Julia's movements.”

”Ohh? Don't tell me? Are you interested in her?” teased Amaterasu.

”No way! Shesmu would never do that!”

Kazumi's outburst surprised the party.

”Wait, don't tell me, is Kazumi perhaps still shy about the birds and the bees?”