Chapter 1 End of the Legend (1/2)
Dark clouds shrouded the sky, followed by the darkness and chaos that descended upon the earth. The spiral stone stairwell, bloody corpses, armories, weapons — everything was so chaotic and bleak, carrying the scent of death and danger.
Rhode took a deep breath, but he wasn't able to taste the cold and bloody air. After all, it was just a game. He shook his head and turned to look at his comrades who were sitting on the ground not far from him. Right now, they were resting quietly, restoring their own strength and repairing their own weapons. On the surface, it was no different from the usual day, but Rhode knew that this fight was clearly not as easy as before.
”How many survived?”
He asked in a low voice.
Hearing this question, his comrades looked at each other. Then a thin mage stood up.
”Guild leader, reporting! There are ninety-six people left. The Void Dragon Dungeon is even more dangerous than we imagined. A lot of our brothers are still left behind in the previous trap. Luckily we still have a diverse number of classes left.”
”That's good.”
Rhode nodded. He did not say anything else, so the others also went silent.
If it were an ordinary guild, they would have lost their courage long ago and would have fallen into disorder. After all, what they were about to face was the most powerful, most terrible, and one of the game's most elite bosses, the unconquered Void Dragon. It was the final boss of the Third Chapter in Dragon Soul Continent Online. At the moment, it was known as the most terrible existence. Facing such a fight, ordinary guilds needed to organize at least ten parties to challenge it. But now, Rhode's guild was only left with ninety-six people, which was clearly not enough. Still, there was not even the slightest panic in their eyes, only calmness, confidence, and trust.
The person that they trusted with their avatars' lives was currently standing not far from the stairwell in front of them. He looked up to the sky with a face full of fortitude. A cold scar could be found on his brow, which left people awestruck. A shining magical armor covered his mighty body as if it was a mighty bulwark that would never fall.
Of course, it was not because of his dignified outward appearance that had made others trust the man in front of them. No matter how strong he looked, it was only an avatar design, and the scar on his brow was just a cosmetic item.
The real factors were the countless achievements and prestigious titles behind him.
First player to rank top of all professional players.
First player to be acknowledged as the top player of the most difficult playable class, 'Spirit Swordsman.'
Since the First Chapter of 'Dragon Soul Continent Online: The Coming Darkness', he had led the guild by solely relying on his own ability. His frightening degree of familiarity towards other classes had helped him sweep three quarterly leaderboards and defeat all the bosses in the first kill as the leader of the guild. All of his dungeon videos would be reproduced by numerous players. He was worshiped as the holy teacher, and he was the Dragon Soul Continent's No. 1 guild leader — Rhode.
He had personally conquered 'The Coming Darkness', and paved the way to the Second Chapter, 'The Turbulent Era'. Then, he conquered the 'The Turbulent Era', and had arrived to 'The Void Trial'. And now, he would once again use his own hands to end 'The Void Trial'. However, the new era would no longer be opened by him alone.
How many years has it been?
Rhode shifted his gaze from the distant shining thunderbolts in the sea of clouds and asked himself.
Since the death of his sister, he had been in the Dragon Soul Continent for seven years, and in the past seven years, in order to force himself to forget the pain of the past, he repeatedly set many impossible goals for himself and had reached it again and again. At that time, it had brought him great excitement and glory, which slowly lessened the deep pain in his heart.
However, it was going to stop here.
A month ago, Rhode's parents had traveled abroad. Unfortunately, their plane flew into a hurricane and crashed, killing both of them instantly. Rhode had been unable to remember what the call he received was about, and how he had felt back then when he heard the news. Now, he had made the decision to leave the game and return to real life. This was not just for his own parents, but also for his own sake. He himself was very clear that it was time for him to change.
”Lea... leader?”
A timid voice sounded, interrupting his flashback. He looked up and saw that there was a timid female mage that had raised her hand from the crowd, her eyes were shining towards him.
”Are...are you really going to leave?”
”Yes.”
Rhode nodded. Then he began to control his own complicated emotions. He shook his head and looked at his companions; these were all his memories and achievements for seven years, they were comrades that had been fighting with him for the past seven years. However, soon, he would eventually leave them. Although it was only in the game, even with a small hand gesture, he could feel what others wanted to do to some extent. After removing the game helmet and going back to reality, it seemed like he would not be able to recognize them.
”My resume was sent yesterday. I hope that I can find a company that will take me in.”
”If I received the guild leader's resume, I will arrange you directly as a manager of the department, just rest assured!”
A knight waved the sword in his hand. His words had also livened up the previous dull atmosphere and made everyone laugh.
”Thank you for your kindness. Unfortunately, I did not write my game experience on my resume. As you know, our guild has many enemies. If my resume were to be received by people from another guild, then my life would be over.”
Rhode also smiled and answered. After that, he coughed with a serious expression.
”I think we all know just how we have overcome these past years.”
Hearing him, the people that had laughed just now closed their mouths and began to listen to his words.
”We also know that in the forums, there are a lot of people who accuse us and say that we undermine the balance of the game, monopolize all the boss first kills, and made the word 'competition' lose its meaning… Frankly, they're not wrong, but…”
Rhode suddenly clenched his fist and swung it forcefully.
”But this is what we do! We are the strongest guild, we are the strongest party! We have the strength! Then we have to do it, to rob it! The other guilds are not strong enough, therefore it's their own problem for being defeated. If their strength was enough, they should've been able to contend with us. Us monopolizing the boss first kill is not by relying on orthodox methods, position or the flattery from the game company. What we rely on is our own strength! We never give up, we never admit defeat, we will never slack, so what we have now is what we deserve. It is just that simple.”
Rhode paused and then continued.
”I love this guild. I will also miss the time we have spent the past the seven years together, but in this world, all good things will come to an end. I need to go to find my purpose in life, but I will never forget everyone, neither will I forget the guild, which carries my most painful memories, but also my happiest ones. I will always remember Starlight forever.”
Rhode said while pointing on his head.
”A lot of people said that if I left the guild, the guild will not be able to persist on. I know that there are a lot of guilds that heard about me leaving and are now busy sharpening their weapon to break our guild after I leave. However, they have underestimated us. Dragon Soul Continent Online is not a game with only me in it. I cannot establish the guild myself. I cannot create a party myself, and it is impossible for me to take the boss first kill by myself. That is why I hope that after I leave, all of you can give those people the reason why this guild is so strong...”
”Because we have the ability — the ability to take our guild to the first rank with our own strength!”
”Yes!”
”No problem, leader!”
”Leave it to us. When the time calls for it, we will give those idiots a perfect answer!”