Inside Icy Cave, Black Lion had finally reached the Boss’s room after almost two hours of traversing the snow path and defeating beasts along the way.
They were reduced to no less than forty from their seventy armies strong. The monsters have [Freeze] ability that continuously damages their HP if not treated. What’s more, the beasts in the cave weren’t just any typical monsters they found outside. Their tough hide was coated with layers of ice, and no weapons could break their armor, but only the Mages [Fire] damage.
All thanks to the Healers and Mages, they kept more than half of their members alive.
From then on, Gerald and Ed decided that the remaining DPS and Tank would protect the Mages and keep the monsters at bay for the Mages to finish them off as they stormed into the Boss’s Room.
The Tanks weren’t many, which also added to their current predicament. Since not many took the race of the Dwarf and took up the class of a Tank, their Dwarf Defenders were only two, and Ed cursed Gerald in his head when the guy kicked Leonel out of the group just because of a piece of equipment.
Leonel could have been useful at this moment.
Ed sighed and looked over at their members. Their main attacking unit was still full in HP and MP, but that took a lot of [Health Potions] and [Mana Potions] for their bar to remain that way.
They had already requested backup from HQ and were just waiting for them to arrive before they pushed that door into the Boss’s Room.
“Let’s take a moment to rest here while we wait for the reinforcement,” announced Ed the moment that they reached a wide hall before the enormous ice door that could only be the Boss’s room. Good thing that the cave wasn’t long, unlike with Vulcan’s Cave.
Traversing Icy Cave would only take one hour to reach the final Boss or two to three hours, depending on how fast you could clear the beasts in the path..
At the side, Mike was conditioning himself. He was imagining fighting the final Boss inside his head, and he couldn’t help but grin at the image of defeating the Boss with his sword. Maybe with his skill, he could finally become a regular member of Black Lion and Roz’s contract.
While Mike was basking in his glory, Saya was worried about the raid. Since she was a healer, the pressure was intense. The others immediately shouted at her if she made a single mistake.
She wasn’t use to violence, and she was definitely not a fan of games. This was all new to her, and this was her first time in a raid, so making mistakes couldn’t be avoided.
Saya was silently crying on the inside when the head healer shouted at her for healing a player that another White Mage had already healed, wasting her MP in the process.
It was not her fault. Saya thought. It was chaos a while back. She got scared at the real-life beasts that came their way that she panicked and healed anyone who suffered HP reduction no matter how little it was without regards to strategy and orders from above.
In the end, amongst the White Mage, she was one of the healers that needed Mana Potions the most. And this got the others eerie.
However, after another three Mana Potions were wasted on her, the Head Healer didn’t give her any more, and Saya’s MP was depleted, and she was cast to the side.
Saya wanted to leave then and there. Nobody wanted feel useless and a piece of baggage in a group. And that was how the others were looking at her. Like it was better if she logged out.
[0)ᴠʟ Saya gazed over at Mike and was about to say that she didn’t want to play anymore and hoped that Mike would agree with her. But she knew that was wishful thinking on her part. Mike would never leave and stop playing this game. Not when he was finally one step towards becoming a Pro player like Scar.
But even so, Saya found her voice after thirty minutes and implored Mike, hoping that she could change his mind. “I think this game is too violent. And I’m not good at being a healer. Mike . . . do you think we can leave?”
“Huh? Leave. What are you talking about? We are about to face the final Boss.”
“It’s just . . . all of this is too overwhelming for me, and I felt like baggage because I couldn’t heal properly. My timing is always off, and I always stumbled with the others. I couldn’t even find my footing because of the chaos. And I needed constant potions to keep my MP at full,” she complained.
From all Saya’s complaints, Mike didn’t hear anything. His attention was stolen at the sudden arrival of ten Mages accompanied by twenty more DPS. Based from their equipment and the aura they gave off, they looked like experience players.
Could they be core members of the guild?
“Look, Saya! Reinforcement is here! Our names will be carve in the Stone Pillar for sure.” Mike was so excited that he didn’t even notice that Saya’s MP was gone.
Saya could only smile in dismay.
“Alright, gather up,” Gerald said. “The newcomers will replace everyone whose HP and MP are low. The leaders of each division, round up your members and check for anyone who needs replacing. And those who are replaced will be removed from the group. You can do whatever you want after that.”
“Huh? But . . . we already made it this far.”
“What about the tryout to enter the guild?”
The others complained but shut their mouths when Ed spoke in a stern tone.
“This isn’t a casual grinding of monsters. Every effort to win and secure firstblood is a must for us. But don’t worry, all of your names are remembered by your respective leaders. At the end of this raid, they will submit a spreadsheet of your performance. And those who made it will be message accordingly.”
“Isn’t this just free labor? I even had to use my potions.” The others whispered.
Gerald smirked and chuckled. “At the start, we aren’t stingy at giving out potions for all, and all our healers tried their best to keep your health at the maximum. If you even used your potions and still your HP and MP suffer greatly, then it’s your lack of skill that you should complain to. Not the guild.”
Some looked at each other while the others bowed their head in shame and could only shut their mouth tight.
Saya was all red because it seemed like Gerald was talking to her.
In the end, those with low HP and MP could do nothing but be replaced by the newcomers while they logged out with a frown on their faces. They still felt like Black Lion had used them to clear the path for the core members to finish off the Boss.
“Mike,” Saya had tears in her eyes when she talked to her boyfriend. Like what she had expected, she was replaced because of her low MP.
“Mike, can you not go? Even if you don’t go in there, we will still belong in the guild.”
Surely upon knowing that she couldn’t go with him, Mike wouldn’t go as well. They didn’t need the tryouts or the raid anyway. They were already part of Black Lion – though only on special probation.
However, even with all the imploring and begging she did, Saya was left shocked and disappointed when Mike, without a second thought, chose the raid over her.
“Saya, I need this, so the vice commanders will know how skilled I am, and brother Scar would finally give me a regular spot in the guild. And besides, I really need this raid. I have to itch my name on that stone pillar and leader board as one of the players who got firstblood in a cave. That’s one step towards becoming a Pro player. You know how much I wanted to become one, right?”
Saya knew that if she pressed on, Mike would get angry. She was afraid that his patience would run out if she persisted, and he would break up with her because she was annoying and unsupportive.
At this moment, Saya suddenly thought of Ren. In the past, Ren would stop everything he was doing just to help her. She didn’t even have to say anything, and Ren would know exactly what she wanted.
If only Ren were here. Saya said to herself and immediately dispersed the thought.
Her parents were against Ren because he couldn’t provide everything that she wanted. Her family insisted that she get together with Mike. And everyday, they lectured her to hold on to Mike and not let him go. She’d be happy with him, they said.
And they were right.
She was happy because Mike fulfilled all her wants. . . but her needs were empty as a dry well in the middle of a blazing desert.
However, her parent’s voices echoed in her head time and time again. Saying not to let go of Mike and hold on to the man. She was planning to because she really like Mike, and he could give her everything that she wanted.
He could satisfy her wants.
But for now . . . she had to be a supportive girlfriend through and through.
Saya swallowed her indignation and forced a bitter smile. “I see . . . I-I’ll wait for you then.”
Mike patted Saya’s head and beamed. “After this, we’ll buy that Hermes bag you always talked about, okay?”
Saya’s bitterness disappeared and was replaced with excitement at Mike’s promise. “Yes.”
Eventually, Saya could only watch as Mike and the rest opened the massive door made of ice.
Saya waved at Mike goodbye, but the latter didn’t even look back as the darkness swallowed his silhouette beyond the door.