Rise Online: Return of the Legendary Player

The Boss' shadows were like tentacles and swung from side to side, slashing and attacking anything that moved.

Ravastine's blade could not hold off attacks from these shadows for even a second, so she had no choice but to retreat.

'It happened exactly as he warned along the way.' Ravastine thought, startled.

'Jayaa, that's enough... Now, you two, repeat the formation we agreed upon." Kaizen shouted to the bard and the princess.

During the way to the Misty Woods, Kaizen talked a lot with his two companions, both to explain some things and also to understand.

It was crucial that they were aligned and agreed on some important topics before battling a creature as powerful as the Shadow Gatun.

First, Kaizen sought to discover all of Ravastine and Jayaa's abilities. With this, it would be easier for him to coordinate them, to know what each of them was capable of and what they were not capable of.

Secondly, Kaizen told them everything he knew about the Shadow Gatun. It wasn't much information, but he knew the basics so that no one would be seriously injured in a few moments of battle, especially Jayaa. The Shadowcat was not a Mutant Rank creature like the others, its abilities were above any of them and perhaps only slightly below epic creatures. The feline's speed was one of its weapons, its claws were another and the shadows it could summon were, simply put, wordless.

Finally, the Psyker asked Ravastine and Jayaa to try to create a plan. At once they were against this request, but Kaizen said:

"You know each other, you know your enemy. Why do you fear the idea of creating a plan using the information available to you?"

Kaizen's words penetrated deeply into their minds.

The princess knew that she could kill a Mutant Classification creature. That should not be a big problem for her. However, she was afraid because she knew that the Shadow Gatun was a Boss, and fighting a Boss was different from fighting any other type of creature.

In contrast, Jayaa was not afraid of the enemy. In fact, he was afraid of getting in the way of Kaizen and a high level NPC like Ravastine. He hadn't even passed level 30 yet and had less than a week to prepare to fight people much stronger than him. Still, the bard was motivated to fight the Shadow Gatun, because he knew he couldn't be a burden to his companions forever.

So, since Kaizen had already asked them to draw up plans when they talked earlier, when he asked in the middle for them to use the formation they had planned together, they didn't have even a second of doubt.

This formation of theirs was simple. Kaizen and Ravastine stayed in the rear while Jayaa took the lead.

Normally, it is crazy to put the support of the group in the vanguard. However, a Bard Class Skill allowed Jayaa to make this kind of risky move for one purpose only: to stun the enemy with a song.

🎵 "Waiting for the sunrise, me and you. Just me and you~ Maybe on the most beautiful day of the year, I'll play my piano and thank youa~ And if you're thinking, that we have no plans.... Oh, my goodness!" Jayaa began to sing a slow, melancholy song, that each musical note expressed by his fingering on the strings of the lute brought forth a new feeling in the minds of those in front of him.

This was the power of the Class Skill <Mournful Song>, which had the ability to amaze any NPC and also make sleepy any creature that heard it, like a lullaby. It was a virtually useless ability against players, because it took longer to stun them, and only applied such effects if monsters or NPCs were in front of it, so Kaizen and Ravastine stood behind it.

Upon hearing the song, the Shadow Gatun began to feel his limbs tingling. His frightened expression slowly began to grow dull. However, suddenly, the Boss shook his head, quickly awakening from his trance.

Immediately, the feline looked at the bard with fury, but Jayaa smiled confidently, making the Shadowcat realize that the two people on his back were gone.

The mutant creature looked a little closer and saw two figures running quickly towards him. The woman with the sword and the man with the bow.

Ravastine, although she had no experience with Boss battles, was familiar with her own sword, so her sword imbued with purple energy drew a bright line in the air in that split second. At the end of that stroke was the neck of the feline.

The Shadowcat knew that he would not have time to react to Ravastine's attack. She was too close. So he used his shadows to try to get in her way.

However, a huge explosion suddenly happened in the sky above them, illuminating everything within a ten meter radius. The Boss's shadows became much smaller, weaker and slower at that moment.

'This is it. This is the moment. I can't go wrong.' Ravastine thought, gripping the handle of her sword more firmly.

The princess's confident thoughts caused the amount of the energy that was surrounding the blade of her sword to increase. And when the line the sword was supposed to draw became straight, the movement Ravastine made was clean and straight.

*Tchof!*

In a second, the Shadowcat was decapitated and his head fell to the ground, separated from his neck.

[Congratulations! The Optional Boss of the Misty Woods has been killed!]

[You have gained +25,000 XP].

[Congratulations! You have just risen to level 35!]

[You have gained 'Ancient mbar stone' (1x).]

[You have gained 'Shadow Crystal' (1x).]

[You have gained 'Essence of Shadows' (1x).]

[The level of your group mate, Jayaa, increased to 26.]

[The level of NPC Ravastine increased to 76.]

Hearing all these notifications, Kaizen breathed a sigh of relief. It was comforting not to have to be the person who kills the Boss every time.

With the death of the Shadow Gatun, the area they were in was illuminated by a dim light, but it was coming from the sky. This was the light from the clouds in the sky opening up, something that happened every time the Shadow Gatun was killed.

"I knew you guys could do it!" Kaizen said, smiling at the princess and the bard.

Ravastine was elated and shivered looking at her sword, while Jayaa jumped up and down with joy.

"Wow, wow, wow, I did it! I did it!" The bard shouted, happy that he was able to help his companions and also for the rewards.

"I knew you were strong, Jayaa!" Ravastine said, smiling at him.

"I know, I know!" Jayaa said, a little shyly.

After the Boss died, Kaizen, Ravastine and Jayaa took a brief rest right there at the fight site.

Just then, Hellround suddenly appeared, forcing his way out of Kaizen's inventory and barked, scaring everyone. Kaizen quickly calmed Ravastine and Jayaa down, but even the Psyker's words weren't enough to keep them from freaking out after the little dog started tearing chunks out of the Shadow Gatuno.

"I guess I need to feed him and I had completely forgotten about that!" Kaizen thought, laughing and looking at the dog voraciously attacking the feline's skin, which was slowly disappearing.

The princess and the bard were exhausted, as this was the first battle against a Boss they had ever had, so they rested while watching Hellround eat and then they returned to the Royal City. The road was long, but the time passed quickly.

Of the three items Kaizen gained when he defeated the Shadow Gatun, two of them were very special. These two were Shadow Crystal and Shadow Essence. The ancient mbar stone, on the other hand, was just an item that some NPCs were looking for, but nothing very special.

Getting to the point, the Shadow Crystal was a very rare ore found only in very deep caves, dungeon chests or mage houses, and the only creature players knew that dropped this item was the Shadowcat. With a Shadow Crystal it was possible to provide a special factor to a sword or something, described Wen Chiu in his book. Unfortunately, such a special factor was described on the torn page of the book, so Kaizen didn't know what it was. Still, this created enough curiosity in Kaizen for him to search for such an item.

The second special item Kaizen received was something he did not expect to get. The drop of the Essence of Shadows was very difficult and was a highly sought after item on the market. Its characteristic was the same as the Scarlet Essence, meaning that it had the potential to create a weapon as beautiful as it was deadly.

*

*

[Item: Shadow Crystal

A very rare ore with a mysterious origin. Trying to unlock the secrets of this ore with a blacksmith's hammer is like facing the void of the densest pitch.

Class: Mutant

Item Level: 1

Attack: 0

Defense: 0

Physical Fitness Level Required: 30.]

+

[Item: Essence of Shadows

The essence of that which will endure even after the end of all that exists. The weapon of some, the shield of others. The fear of children and the shelter of adults. The power of darkness within the reach of the palm of a hand.

Class: Epic.

Item Level: 1

Attack: 0

Defense: 0

Physical Fitness Level Required: 80.]

...

Edited by: DrHitsuji

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