Chapter 429 First Death! The Terror of a Hardcore Raid! (2/2)

”Vice-leader...!” Emberheart called as she furrowed her brows and looked over in Complex a.s.sault's direction. The other supporters—Nidavellir and Plays Two—also turned to look at Complex a.s.sault as if awaiting his decision.

Complex a.s.sault grit his teeth from frustration. However, he was in charge of the supporters, therefore, the unlucky task had fallen on his shoulders.

”Prioritize the tanks and focus your excess heals on the melee users, starting with those who have the most maximum health! As for the ranged users—they will have to find a way to survive on their own!” Complex a.s.sault ordered.

”Understood!” Emberheart, Nidavellir, and Plays Two replied in a serious tone.

False Summit and Tagz were both ranged users who were affected by Aquatic Fever, and so, they became extremely dejected when they heard Complex a.s.sault's order to the supporters. However, even if False Summit and Tagz felt wronged, neither of them could hold a grudge against Complex a.s.sault. Though their darkened facial expressions displayed their true feelings.

But, the two understood that if it were them in that position, they were uncertain whether or not they would have had the guts to forsake two of their guild members—even if it was for the greater good.

There was an eerie moment of silence that filled the boss room after Complex a.s.sault spoke. None of the supporters possessed a rare revival skill, and so, if someone died at this point in the raid, they would be sent back to the beginning. Not only would they become lost in the Sprite Dwellings again, but this time, they would not be marked by Peaceful Chaos' Marked Scent making it impossible to find them in a timely manner.

Therefore, they would be on their own in the dangerous Sprite Dwellings. Of course, this was if they did not come across any unexpected obstacles on their way back and could even return safely to the Sprite Dwellings. After all, the raid had not yet been fully explored and there was no guarantee that they would not run into hidden monsters.

Plus, more important than anything was the time limit they had in place. Cross Haven could not block others from entering the raid forever. In the end, did they have the luxury to wait around for someone to return? The answer was obviously, no. Although losing even one player would severely hurt their raid group's overall strength and further increase the difficulty of the raid many times over, Complex a.s.sault saw no other choice.

Niflheim, the acting commander of the raid group, did not comment on Complex a.s.sault's decision. If he was in the vice guild leader's position, then his orders would have likely been the same.

As the atmosphere became increasingly tense and Ooudamu's nature s.h.i.+fted to that of a wild beast, Izroth fell back from his a.s.sault on Ooudamu. His actions caused the members of Blue Oasis to look on in shock. What was he doing at such an important time? Why did he stop attacking when they were backed up against a wall?!

Izroth closed his eyes and activated his Energy Vision Sense in a large enough range to perceive all of his surroundings in the boss room.

His thoughts were simple. If there was a natural counter for the Phantasmagoria lurking in the same room, as he had encountered earlier, then perhaps the same was also true for the Aquatic Fever.

Though the biggest difference between the two was the fact that the Phantasmagoria seemed to form naturally, while the Aquatic Fever was intentionally invoked by Ooudamu. But, if the smallest chance that he was correct existed, then he had to, at the very least, look into it. Unfortunately, there was no time to explain his actions to the members of the raid group.

'If we continue on this like, then everyone will perish before we can finish off the raid boss. I have an idea, however, if it fails then I may have to resort to my Second Baneful Sword: Kill. Though it is regrettable the Third Baneful Sword is not an option with so many allies nearby since it does not differentiate between friend or foe.'

Izroth fell into a deep state of concentration as he carefully sensed every part of the boss room.

'I can only maintain this level of Energy Vision Sense for a few seconds. I have to act fast.'

At first, the information was chaotic, however, Izroth was able to quickly organize everything as he scanned for anything unusual.

”Is he sleeping or AFK[1]?! Why is he just standing there?!” Tagz shouted angrily. He was already on edge since he had been sentenced to death. So, when he saw Izroth standing there with his eyes closed, how could he hold back his anger?

The other members of Blue Oasis frowned when they noticed Izroth's actions. Had he given up after coming this far?

1...

3...

5...

After five seconds pa.s.sed, Izroth's eyes shot open as he instantly deactivated his Energy Vision Sense.

'Found it.'

In just five seconds, Izroth had consumed almost 100 points of his Essence by using Energy Vision Sense to cover every corner of the boss room! If he had let it stay active for just one or two seconds longer, then there was a good chance that he would have experienced Soul Weakness.

Fortunately, Izroth had tested the limits of his Energy Vision Sense beforehand and knew exactly when to stop before he was in danger of undergoing Soul Weakness. Though if they were not pressed for time, he would have never expended so much Essence just to search with his Energy Vision Sense!

But, just as Izroth had completed his search, out of nowhere, a system alert went off for every member of the raid group.

〈System Alert: Player False Summit has been killed by Raid Boss Ooudamu!〉

A thin stream of drifting particles floating upward could be seen at the spot that False Summit had stood in just moments ago. Although he tried his best to survive, he had succ.u.mbed to the Aquatic Fever and perished under its effects.

As the last of False Summit's particles disappeared, the realization finally set in for the raid group—it was their first death. This was the terror of a hardcore raid!

[1] Away From Keyboard. A term often used in gaming when a player is away from their game.