From Player To Npc

'This was a close call, but it worked better than I thought.' [Shingi] 

Shingi and the rest of his companions had all gone through the portal to the next floor. He cast INVISIBILITY to himself, while at the same time creating the ashes and particles with MAJOR ILLUSION.

He planned at first to kill all the Players by having the rest of his companions ambush them. But after getting the cure for his MinoR Spirit Madness, his Mana Detection Passive Skill had also received a boost, and he noticed the female mage hiding in the shadows.

He sent her a message using some Air Element, which was somewhat similar to what Dark Shadow did to speak. It didn't create a new spell out of it, but it was a helpful tool.

He told her his plan, and she sent a response similarly as Shingi did.

Shingi had the chance to speak with Quick Thunder through the chat function since he had a contract with him, and he admitted that the woman was one of theirs. However, he still hadn't mentioned all about her to the others, mainly because Quick Thunder told him to keep it a secret as much as he could.

He could mention it to White Biscuit, who was part of the Storm Guild, but Shingi decided not to take the chance of others overhearing them.

Everybody was surprised by the attack and why Shingi had changed the plan at the last second, but everything worked out.

All of them were still under the effect of INVISIBILITY. Shingi knew the exact location of the ones under the effect of his Spell, and he could barely detect the rest.

They didn't plan to stay on this floor for long, as even if the Players currently presume that they were dead, they could send people to investigate just in case.

Fortunately, this floor was relatively easy to find the stairs, and with their stealthy approach, they could use them facing no monsters.

The same happened for the next three floors, and since Shingi had detected no Players on any of the floors, he decided that they didn't need to keep the spells active.

Little Phoenix was glad for it to be the case as she didn't have the massive Mana Pool like Shingi, and she had to use some of their Mana Regeneration Potions. However, she didn't enjoy using them, not because it was hard to make them, but because their taste was getting worse the more you had in a small time.

Shingi had his Minor Mana Regeneration working back in full power, so he didn't need to take any. During the trip, he had Price under the effects of INVISIBILITY, as he was confident he could handle one more person.

As for Syra could easily detect them and follow them, as her vision of the Element worked differently. That was why she could see when Mikhail was scrying them.

She had mentioned to Shingi that Mikhail hadn't scried them while he was away, but he did a few times when he returned. That was why Shingi kept the stone hidden, and when he did any tests on it, he had Syra pay extra attention if any Scry eyes appeared.

He made little progress on it, but he had a few ideas he wanted to try when they got to the next hideout or be in a safe area.

The current floor was one that Shingi wanted for them to face the Boss. The Boss dropped nothing valuable for him, but it was one of the trickiest and most annoying bosses.

It didn't have any powerful abilities, but its speed was terrifying, and it used it to escape when the battle wasn't going well for it. It was also a powerful shaman, and would keep summoning Spirits to help it keep its enemies occupied for it to leave.

If one wanted to kill it, they had to have great teamwork, as one misstep meant the escape of the Boss. But, of course, most people ignored this Boss, since after its first death they could pass it to the next floor, to face enemies that actually would give them a fight.

It was an excellent chance to test their teamwork and work on new tactics, as the floors to come would get trickier as they progressed. Even with Shingi commanding them, if they didn't follow his commands perfectly, it would mean certain death, while there was still space for error.

Shingi explained the tactics he had for this Boss to all of them. Since it was a teamwork exercise, Syra wouldn't join them, but if things went to hell and someone needed healing, and there was no other way, she would provide help.

In the way searching for the Boss, they faced many beasts, which when they got killed they turned into white smoke and completely disappeared. Those were some of the Spirits that the Boss let go around and would inform it if anyone was getting near.

Shingi knew that the moment they killed those Spirits, they weren't completely gone, just losing their current physical form. At that point, they would return to the Boss and report, and after some time, would form a new body to join the action once more.

If Shingi and the rest ignored them, the beasts would go back to the Boss to report, but if they were followed they would fight if they couldn't miss their pursuers or they while within some range of the Boss.

Shingi didn't mind facing those monsters as it was a good warmup for his party. He tried not to join as much as possible to keep his exp earnings low. He couldn't afford to level up.

Their teamwork was above the average party, since most of them had gotten used to fighting next to each other after all that time. White Biscuit had some trouble since it was his first time fighting among them, but he was adjusting incredibly fast.

Still, Shingi calculated that they couldn't defeat the Boss in their current state. In reality, if he used his Golems and with his speed while under double HASTE, there was a grand chance he could deal with the Boss by himself. But this wasn't the point of staying on this floor, and he needed the rest of them to improve as a whole, since there were foes he couldn't face by himself.

After an hour of moving around, Shingi decided they needed a break.

"How did we do? "[White Biscuit]

Shingi didn't let them know that this was a training exercise, as he wanted to see if they could understand it themselves.

"You all seem to get used to facing those enemies. But remember not to get too used to a tactic, as foes in the not-so-far future will keep changing them." [Shingi]

White Biscuit nodded at that.

"I must admit that those foes were annoying, but it is an educated experience." [Wild Tycoon]

That last sentence confused Shingi for a few seconds, but then he noticed something.

"You…you upgraded your spirit?" [Shingi]

Wild Tycoon let out a grin as she raised her left hand up to her chest level while she was sitting.

Greenish smoke started coming out of her hand, forming a small figure at the space between her open palm and the ground.

It was a baby bear, which started moving naturally when its form was complete. It was still green, like the smoke that formed it, but its body seemed solid.

It was a sign of Wild Tycoon's improvement in her class. As a Spirit Barbarian, she used the Spirits to borrow their power to improve herself, but if she improved her knowledge and relationship with the spirits, she could summon them to fight with her.

It wasn't something one would get by just leveling up their skills, and among the Spirit Barbarians, only one out of one hundred developed that ability.

Still, hers was still at early power since the bear was that small, but it was a start.

"Facing those beasts gave me a few ideas and understanding of the spirits. I had a feeling that I was missing something for some time, but it just clicked on me just a few moments ago." [Wild Tycoon]

It impressed Shingi, as this was a sign of Wild Tycoon's talent. Even if she had resources a beginner wouldn't have, developing her class like that was something no resources could help her do.

Shingi had tried to teach them what he could, but he let them develop as they wanted, as even if they learned the most potent ability, if they couldn't use its full potential, it could be proved useless. So they had to develop at their speed, and he only gave them a boost and helped when needed.

"Try to keep it out as much as possible, especially during combat. It shouldn't need to face any enemies, but you need to learn to keep your focus on keeping it summoned. But if you get any chances, let it give a few hits. Even if it doesn't have a level, the spirits still earn battle experience. "[Shingi]

Wild Tycoon's grin became wider, as she seemed very proud of her new ability, and that Shingi approved. Even if she didn't have many chances to train with him because of the difference between their class, she respected him as her teacher and a close friend. She knew she couldn't become this strong without him.

Then a sigh was heard by Little Phoenix, who had a look of great sadness.

"Ëverything good?" [Shingi]

Little Phoenix turned towards Shingi but didn't look him in his eyes.

"I… I need to leave." [Little Pheonix]

"LEAVE?"[Hineko & Wild Tycoon]

Little Phoenix lowered her head as tears started leaving her eyes.

"We can make a camp here, no problem. How long are you going to be away?" [Shingi]

Shingi had a feeling that something wasn't right as he made this question.

"I… I won't return." [Little Phoenix]

And at that moment, the body of Little Phoenix turned into particles.

She had logged out of the game.