Game’s Dogma

Cold sweat was dripping down Drako Yau’s back.

If the giant monster didn’t have the weakness of being slow, its strike just now would’ve smashed him into minced meat already. His eyes beneath the mask turned grave.

‘Watch out and try not to get hit. This guy’s not very fast.’

‘Garhhh!’ Nin only became even more enraged after failing to land a single hit. It reversed the tree in its hand and threw it like a javelin the next moment.

Zephyrwolf scurried away and dropped to the ground, sweat drenching his forehead. The tree landed less than a metre away from him and sent a rippling crack through the ground.

At Nin’s rear, a magic formation flashed into existence in the air. Danting emerged from the formation and hacked his greatsword, shrouded in a black aura, at Nin’s skull.

The black aura was a passive skill, Mana Charge. By infusing mana into the wielder’s sword, every attack would deal additional magic damage and create a burst of mana at a short distance.

Even though it was just a basic attack, it could deal a good amount of damage thanks to Danting’s decent swordsmanship and Mana Charge.

Danting descended to the ground after striking. Nin slowly turned around and glared at him with its ferocious eyes; his attack just now failed to deal any damage.

‘Damn! Boss! This guy’s got a tough head!’ Danting yelled as he ran. Behind him was the terrifying Nin which shook the ground with every step.

As mist shrouded Drako Yau’s legs, he quickly dashed around Nin which was focused solely on Danting. He pointed his spear at a particular spot and shamelessly thrusted his weapon with all his might.

‘Ouuuuu!’ Nin’s face twisted as it let out a weird shriek and covered its butt with its three-fingered palm, yelping in pain as it jumped around.

Idyllic Poet made a tsk and uttered, ‘How shameless, attacking such a spot…’

Wiping his sweat, Drako Yau said, ‘Thank god it worked…’ He also ignored Danting who was sending him an admiring gaze.

The boss is truly worthy of his title. He can even use the infamous ‘Thousand Years of Pain’ in such a spectacular way.

‘Hm?’ Dakki showed a whisk of suspicion. Her expression was alluring enough to draw away the breaths of her guild members; it was also the reason why they were willing to give her their all.

‘What’s that sound…’ Dakki murmured. She could feel it—the trembling ground and occasional howls from the distance.

‘Finish off the monsters at hand, then follow me.’ Dakki said and led several members away. Quality had greater worth than quantity in regions which had yet to be opened to the public. Fewer members meant higher mobility, and casualties could be kept at a minimum even if they encountered some sort of danger.

The group of Allurers players approached the source of trembling and howls. As they got closer, the sounds and vibrations gradually intensified. They then saw an unbelievable scene: there were just five players.

A gigantic monster stood before the five of them. Every one of its strikes shattered the ground, but the five players skillfully evaded the devastating attacks. No matter how loud the monster howled, it couldn’t land a single hit.

‘Chance! Poet!’ Drako Yau leapt as he dodged the organic mace which was literally a tree.

Idyllic Poet shut her eyes and chanted, ‘Rain of Fire!’

A magic formation appeared above Nin. Fist-sized fireballs poured over its head like raindrops, making it yelp in pain. Danting also joined the fray and used his only fire-element skill, Array of Pyroblast.

After 15 minutes of trial and error, they finally deduced that Nin was immune to all attacks apart from fire attacks. Thousand Years of Pain also worked, probably because it was right up its butt…

It was true to the legends—Nin was afraid of fire.

‘Guild… guild master…’ The guild members standing behind Dakki were all awe-struck at the sight of five people challenging a boss meant to be fought by a hundred people. 

Dakki had a complex look; she wanted to know more. Regardless of whether they could defeat Nin or not, the main issue was how they managed to spawn it in the first place. Killing a thousand new year bogeys with just five of them? It was outrageous!

It wasn’t her fault that she felt surprised. The region spawned monsters frequently, plus they had Danting and Idyllic Poet.

Idyllic Poet was donned in extravagant gear. Just her Phoenix Ring and epic-grade staff were enough to make her a frightening damage dealer. Drako Yau and the rest also played their part by drawing aggro and gathering groups of monsters, as well as protecting her so she could attack freely.

After chaining up every bit and piece, it wasn’t that surprising that they could slay a thousand monsters, though only a handful of squads could probably reproduce their feat.

‘It’s impossible. We’ve been fighting it for 15 minutes already. Not much damage done aye?’ Zephyrwolf said dejectedly, which earned him Idyllic Poet’s cold glare. He quickly added, ‘Poet’s doing her best, but we’re short on attacking options.’

‘Perhaps you could use some help?’ Dakki made her presence known as she approached the five of them while her guild members kept their distance to show that she meant no harm.

Even so, Drako Yau’s group sent fairly unfriendly gazes at her. The incident with Sky Dominion had made them wary of outsiders; they never knew if she was here to get their hands on Nin.

Dakki knew their hostile looks were only to be expected; she’d have done the same if she was in their spot. She acted as if she was surrendering by lifting her hands up, then stuck her tongue out playfully.

‘Don’t be so tense. I just happened to see that you guys are having a tough time, so I was wondering if you need our help. There’s two elementalists in my squad and the other players can help keep the boss occupied.’

Drako Yau stared at Dakki without uttering a single word. She stared back at him, but a wave of chilliness engulfed her.

Even though their faces were separated by his mask, she could feel his cold gaze locked onto her. She would’ve thought that she was facing an ancient animal known as ‘lions’ if she closed her eyes. The king of all beasts—that was the feeling he gave off. The atmosphere surrounded her, everywhere and anywhere…

Too scary… Too…

Too sexy.

Dakki’s face flushed red.

‘What do you want in return?’ Drako Yau wasn’t dumb either; she wouldn’t offer help for free.

Dakki swept the weird thought from her mind and quickly came up with an answer. ‘We don’t need the firecrackers. All we want is the title.’

Drako Yau realised what she had in mind. By equipping the title, players had a higher chance of getting rare items from the firecracker lottery. In that case, her offer was reasonable enough.

‘Deal. Disband your squad, I’ll add all of you to mine.’ Drako Yau was also quick to make his decision.

The event was going to end in less than 45 minutes. Even if they could defeat Nin, they certainly couldn’t do it within the remaining time. Idyllic Poet was just a single person no matter how high her damage output was. Danting’s attacks were supplementary at best and couldn’t do a lot of damage.