Azimuth: The Elden Throne (New Version)

Chapter 302 A Heroic Tale Part 2

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[Cinquedea of Realmaothur (Half-Luminous)

 Rating: 7-Star

+150 to Dexterity or Reflexes.

Holding the Cinquedea on one's right hand increases their Desterity while holding it in their left hand increases their Reflexes.

While on the right hand, manipulating the dagger with fewer fingers proportionally increases the Dexterity of the wearer.

While on the left hand, the faster the dagger moves the faster its wielder's Reflexes become. 

.…

Gives the temporary Skills, …

(Blocked)

Requirements: Strength: 70; Dexterity: 240; Reflexes: 240

???

Description: 

…

]

[Apomtegus (Half-Fable)]

[Blade of the High Guardians (Epic)]

[North of Eriandele (Epic)]

[Realmer's Perfected String (Half-Fable)]

[Svalinn's Shadow (Luminous)]

[Cross Staff of the Sun (Half-Epic)]

…

"..."

Dale quickly skimmed through their equipment, but they were too numerous for him to take a proper look in that brief moment.

However, what he saw was more than enough to put him on edge, because everyone in front of him was fully clad in High-Grade Gear.

For the average player, they would seek to equip themselves with special-grade weapons and armor, but if they were lucky, Rare equipment would find its way to them also.[1]

Not to say Unique, those were reserved for the truly lucky players, being able to see a weapon of such quality drop during a Hunt was nothing short of a moment of glory to most... Enough to make a team fight each other.

Yet, in front of him, every single player was full of Relic Grade and above equipment, and surprisingly enough, Relics were the least numerous.

Epic weapons, Fables, and even some Luminous pieces of gear…

And lastly, he spotted at least two Legendary pieces in their hands.

Since when did they get so common? 

Is it because of their coverage?

Because while Dale just explored a few parts of the South, they must've been all around the North.

They might even have forces supporting them, helping them in acquiring these pieces.

However, there was one thing Dale refused to believe… The fact they met the requirements to use all of their gear.

It was impossible, because not only was their Level below his, there was no way they could compare to the training he performed in real life, reaching the limit of his Human body.

Even if they trained from birth... Because it's hard to accept others would be able to achieve the same state as his without the help of something like the Green Box.

Still, that didn't change the fact they could wear those pieces, it just meant that they were severely limited.

Nonetheless, it was time to start this fight for good.

[DING]

And just on time.

/BURST!/

Dale's body exploded in both heat and cold!

…

/Pov Change…/

/A minute or so ago…/

/Tap… Tap…/

"We're here, get ready."

'The very final fight... This Quest is finally coming to an end.'

'Either in victory... Or defeat.'

/CRUNK!/

This time, the main Tank did not hesitate, immediately opening the heavy and ominous metal gates of the Fifith Floor before taking a step inside the Boss' Arena.

There was no time to rest, as hesitation could lead to another unexpected situation.

They already lost the race, and the final Boss was released from his restraints, if they waited any longer, who's to say what he would do?

/Shuaa…/

"Huff..."

The moment he did so, a small breeze passed through his body, but despite how weak it was, it caused his body to tense due to how cold it was.

And he wasn't the only one that felt it, everyone seemed to have recoiled at the cold.

However, they kept walking, standing on the platform before the bridge, looking at the center of the room where their enemy now stood.

""...""

Standing at a tall 2.1 Meters tall, an armor-clad man stood amidst a pile of giant chains, surrounding by a circle of half-broken Pillars, and illuminated by faint red runes in the ceiling and ground.

Compared to what they saw before, this was nothing, not scary in the least…

But the pressure they felt coming from this beast was in no way comparable to what they had felt before… Not even close.

Maybe it was because the first three Floor beasts were being suppressed and they had help from the Floor Guardians, and even when they arrived late, the Fourth Floor monster was still trapped despite recovering most of its strength.

Honestly, it was hard to say which Boss was the scarier or stronger one, because each of them was a pain to deal with, having mechanics that threw them to their edge.

To figure out their weakness first, otherwise, there was no way to fully overpower them, not in their current state.

Their 'levels' were too low for that.

Still, despite them barging into its territory, the creature in front of them remained silent, turning only once to stare at them from across the room.

They could feel its gaze coursing through their body, it wasn't a pleasant experience…

Nonetheless, they did the same, because, like the ones before him, they expected the last Boss to have a weakness, or something they could make use of to defeat it.

But… Was there really something like that?

/BLAST!!/

""?!?!""

All of a sudden, their Standstill was broken by a barrage of cold winds and hot ash!

/PULL!!/

/SIZZLE…/

"Ouch!! It got super hot all of a sudden!!!" A girl exclaimed as she felt her body burn

"Tsk! Rush ahead, we can't stay here any longer!" The Tank replied as he ran through the bridge

He was like a bulldozer with his size and shield, pushing the wind aside as he ran with his shield raised.

But despite his muscles, he wasn't a Barbarian, as he ran, his brain operated at full power...

'Cold and Heat all of a sudden? There's also this pulling force… But it's almost gone now.'

'It's getting weaker, and so is the heat… But the cold is getting stronger... Considerably so.' He thought as he ran through the bridge, covering a dozen meters within a second

'... I get it!'

"Pay attention, the further away you get from the center, the stronger the Heat and Pull you'll feel." He said deeply without turning his head around

"And the closer to the center you get, the stronger the Cold!" He said as he bit his teeth

"We can't let this… COUGH!... Keep going, we'll fall to the terrain before we figure out its weakness!" The Archer said as coughed badly 

'My body is getting heavy... Is this the cold?... Or something else...' He thought as he looked at his trembling fingers

Albeit his words were a bit exaggerated, they were founded in reality.

Cold Air kept bombarding them and the surroundings, freezing the ground and their equipment with a faint layer of ice, while hot Ash fell from the skies, causing them to cough continuously…

Until one of them…

"COUGH… Cough cough… S-Shit! This Ash! It isn't just… Cough!"

Barely had ten seconds passed since they rushed into the bridge and one of them had already started to cough violently… There was blood amidst his coughs.

If they could access their Status, they would've immediately realized he was poisoned, but there was nothing they could do about that...

Albeit, different from Dale, they could still open their inventories.

"Don't tell me… Poisoning? Huff… I knew this wouldn't be easy…" The Tank said as his eyes grew sharp

'Even with my Constitution, I'm getting affected... This is bad.'

'But the problem is not the poisoning itself, it's not knowing what the poison does.'

'It could deal damage over time... Or it could be a counter.'

'At any moment now our bodies could stop moving and become paralyzed, and if I assume the weaker ones to go first, that'll include our Priest, the only one with the ability to actively detoxify it...'

'I didn't want to do this so soon, but I have to.'

/SLAM!/

He slammed his shield against the bridge, getting into position.

[Activating Skill, Protection against the Skies 7.5-Star]

/SHUA…/

The strange runes in front of his Tower Shield slowly ignited, forming a protective dome that cleaved the cold wind and blocked the ash, allowing them to breathe calmly amidst the chaos.

"Good work, but don't let your guard down."

"Let's get to the main platform, we can continue from there." The Archer said as he looked to the edge of the bridge

'We can't start fighting here, right now it seems the creature is testing us or maybe even just playing around.'

'The bridge isn't very narrow but it's not enough to fight on it effectively, if we're pushed around too much someone is bound to fall.'

'The Boss is holding those chains, and they don't make me feel good, a single swipe would be enough to throw us off our feet.'

'And I can't see the end of this abyss…'

/SHUAAA!/

As they got closer to the beast in the center, the wind kept growing stronger, and strangely enough, they also felt that each step they took was getting hazardous. 

Their bodies were feeling heavy, as if Gravity was growing stronger, pushing them back.

It wasn't hard for them to realize what was going on…

This was the Set effect of Dale's Rings, the Red and Blue Rock Rings, Eclipsing Ashes, and Still Ocean.[2]

The Red Rock will slowly release Volcanic ash while the Blue rock will slowly release cold air into it's surroundings as long as they're being supplied with Mana.[3] 

The ash and cold will slowly accumulate within a given area; the longer it does, the stronger their debilitating effects become. 

Just like his set armor, there are Tiers of effects based on how long they're activated.

Knowing his enemies would eventually arrive, Dale had long activated his Rings, holding back on their effects to preserve Mana.

But now that his opponents arrived, he let it all ravage his surroundings.

This was his first time using his Rings this way because usually in a fight, Dale wouldn't be able to stand still and wait, but this time, he could.

And he was witnessing their power firsthand.

/Creak… FWOOSH!/

Still, that didn't mean he was going to stay still.

Dale raised his right hand, and the chains around him moved…

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Notes

In the end, it seems I had to divide the chapter again, but it'll definitely end in the next one.

I wanted to add more weapons but I ran out of ideas because I tried to keep them faithfully to the Lore of the world as well.

There is a map I'm working on but I got fed up with it and stopped working and that was what I got, there's no point in trying to make something so intricate when it'll only affect my own well being.

Things should be developed over time, perfection will only worsen my Mood, but the idea hopefully went through to you.

Thanks for reading, until later.

[1] Normal is the first Grade, and Special is the second Grade, so its pretty mediocre

[2] Set Effect -> Eclipsing Ashes

The Red Rock will slowly release Volcanic ash into it's surroundings as long as it's being supplied with Mana.

The ash will slowly accumulate within a given area, and the longer it does, the stronger its debilitating effects become.

10 seconds -> The ash will cause mild poisoning to all being within 15M radius of the user.

100 seconds -> The ash will cause grave poisoning to all being within 30M radius of the user and a thick ash fog will form with the user at the center, interfearing with most forms of sensory observation.

1000 seconds -> The ash will cause massive poisoning to all being within 60M radius of the user, the ash fog will become so thick that those that move within it will see their movements slow down due to it's heaviness.

10000 seconds -> All previous effects are maintained, but their coverage area is increased to 120M, and the special property, Molten ground will be in effect.

[3] Set Effect -> Still Ocean

The Blue Rock will slowly release cold air into it's surroundings as long as it's being supplied with Mana.

The cold air will slowly accumulate within a given area, and the longer it does, the stronger its debilitating effects become.

10 seconds -> The cold air will form into faint mist within 15M radius of the user.

100 seconds -> The faint mist will now affect a greater area of 30M and it'll gather into small clouds that when touched, will deal heavy freezing damage,

1000 seconds -> The cold clouds will rise into the sky and cover a greater area of 60M, freezing the water in the atmosphere and turning it into sharp hail!

10000 seconds -> All previous effects are maintained, but their coverage area is increased to 120M, and the special property, Ground Zero will be in effect.