The Eden Crisis
Chapter 9: First Boss

The door opens and on the inside are several players fighting the boss and minions. This isn’t what the normal parameters have in the game. Could this be what this boss is like at such high levels?

Raziel runs past Claire and me. He places one hand on the ground and holds the other up. “Ethereal wave!” A white wave of energy erupts from Raziel and blasts the minions around the room. The wave hits the boss, and its HP drops a little.

Lucien and Cloud both look at us with shock and anger. The boss is strong! I need to figure out how to beat it. I hold a hand up. “Analyze!”

The details of the boss appear before my eyes. This creature is seven levels above Lucien. This beast is a level seventy boss. This is suicide, I think.

Boss’s weakness: The beast has an almost impenetrable physical defense. Only magic can hit it. When its HP hits below twenty-five percent, all magic will be rendered useless. The attack doubles in strength, but physical defense drops significantly.

I have to warn them. “All of you! Get away! Only magic can hurt it!” Lucien and Cloud both back off, but it seems the other players didn’t hear me. Damn! I run toward the players and the boss. As I run, I hold out my hand. “Tidal rift!” A stream of water shoots toward the boss and stuns it.

I yell for the players to back and attack with magic if they can. I take the opportunity and get back with the rest of the group. Lucien uses one of his scrolls and attacks the boss with a strong dark spell.

The boss is coming toward us again. Where are Raziel and the others? I look around: they are standing in some kind of formation. Raziel yells out to us. “Dante, stall for thirty seconds so we can use or guild technique.” What the hell is this guild technique? No time to ask. I give a nod and join the other magic users in the fight.

The boss doesn’t stop, no matter how much magic hits it. With a roar it strikes player after player, causing them to meet their unfortunate end. Now the beast is charging an attack. I have to protect us all. I place my hands on the ground. “Granite wall!” A wall of granite shoots up from the ground.

The boss unleashes the attack and hits the wall. Cracks begin to form in the wall and soon the boss shatters into pieces. It roars, and a ball of energy charges in its mouth. Is this the end?

“Seraphim flame assault!” Five balls of fire shoot from where Raziel and his friends are standing. The beast is bombarded by the attack and it flies backward. The ground surrounding it glows the color of fire. Several white-hot blazing flares shoot from the glowing spot and hit the boss.

Its HP drops to its final bar! Magic will no longer be useful. “Cloud! Lucien! Finish it now!” I shout. They charge the beast and do a duel technique. “Mors percuciat!” they call. They slice through the boss and finish it!

It gives a roar and breaks into pieces. The word Victory appears where the boss had stood. Claire and I walk up to Lucien and Cloud as surviving players and activate the Teleportation Sphere.

Cloud grabs me by the shoulders. “How stupid are you? Why would you come here?” I loosen myself from his grasp. “Are you joking?” I say, dumbfounded. “I just saved you! You were going to die! Then Vergil and I would have been alone! Don’t you for a minute act like I was in the wrong for coming here!” Cloud looks down. “I’m sorry, little brother,” he says, sincerely contrite. “Thank you for helping me.”

Cloud and Lucien teleport from the boss’s chamber and go back to town. Claire and I thank Raziel and his team. He rubs the back of his head. “No problem,” he says. “Anything to help the Crimson Knight. If you ever need assistance, don’t hesitate to call on me or my allies. Our guild headquarters is in the basement of the palace right now, but eventually we will replace a better place. Come there if you ever need us.”

We teleport back to the safety of the city and celebrate our victory. We beat the first boss! The news of the victory soon spreads across the entire continent that this game can be beaten. The night belongs to us, the players! The game will not beat us!

Three days later

With the victory under its belt, SOLDIER is now the leading militant force. Hundreds of players have joined the ranks of SOLDIER in the last few days. I’ve had to move to a new place since I now have fan boys and girls.

I’m going to take it easy for a while. Since Convivium is the city where all the entertainment is, there is no dungeon or boss, so Continent Three is automatically linked to the Teleportation Sphere.

Shadow XIII is scouting the area and giving intel to players. SOLDIER gets the info for free, but players have to pay for it. Fortunately the cost isn’t too high, though Vergil gives me my info for free.

Claire’s guild is also scouting the third continent. She lets me off for the day, so I don’t have to join in the search. I’m relaxing in my new home for now where I can oversee the arena. I love seeing so much of the city. It’s not perfect but it is comfortable.

I think I will take the time to read that book Apollo gave me. I open my inventory and get the book, titled Guilds of Eden. I open it and look at the table of contents to see where Shadow XIII is. I want to know more about it. I open the book to the chapter on Shadow XIII.

Shadow XIII is a guild of merge-class players. It only allows merge-class members into its ranks. There are players who do work for the guild but are not in the guild. Shadow XIII formed in the first week with four members and over the course of a few weeks gained its total of thirteen members. What follows are the members and their stats:

The Director

The creator of Shadow XIII is shrouded in mystery. Not much is known about him other than his gamer tag and that he is the one who founded Shadow XIII.

It is believed he is a sword sorcerer like Cain, but this is speculation as no one outside the group has seen him fight.

Helios

He was the second player to join Shadow XIII and is a sorcerer/archer merge. He usually fights from a distance. He is one of the faster members of the group. When fighting him, it is best to avoid long-range combat.

Damon

Third to join, Damon is a strong sorcerer/lancer. He often pairs up with number five, Lyken. His magic is strong, and physically he is not easy to match up with. His weakness lies in his lack of speed.

Vayne

Number four is a sorcerer/diviner. Vayne is one of the weakest of the Shadow XIII, but he has a powerful defensive ability that the director loves. He can create a mirror clone of his enemy that copies every move the enemy makes. It is one of the hardest spells to overcome.

Lyken

A strong knight/lancer merge, Lyken is one of the strongest players. He is faster than his appearance suggests. Lyken primarily guards Cain and does many things for him.

Cain

Known as the Weaver of all Schemes by other players, Cain has a vast amount of intelligence. He is one of the most powerful players in the game and has never been beaten.

Loki

The joker of the group is known as Loki. He is a strong sorcerer/ninja-class merge. He uses throwing daggers as his weapon but primarily sticks to magic. Loki is a master of illusions and electric-based magic.

Asher

Asher is a mellow player. He is often seen with his friend Vergil doing quests with him. He only joined the group as a favor to his friend Sion, who joined with him.

Sion

The greatest of the Siren class, Sion was the ninth player to join. His ability to manipulate sound or music as his weapon is unrivaled. He joined Shadow XIII as a favor to Cain, who saved him from being PKed in the early days of the game.

Samson

Samson is the brother of Sion and joined Shadow XIII to keep an eye on his sibling. He has little care for the guild and only seeks to make sure Sion is happy.

Noel

Eleventh to join, Noel is a strong player. He is a ninja/knight merge. Noel joined Shadow XIII to be with the person closest to him, Cain. His loyalty is only to Cain, and he cares nothing for the rest of the guild, whose members are simply a means to an end for him.

Sarabi

Number twelve is the sister of Sion and Samson and like Samson only joined Shadow XIII for her Sion’s sake. Sarabi has no forgiveness for anyone who would do either of her brothers harm. She also hates Cain due to his influence over Sion.

Vergil

The last member to join, Vergil is one of the more talented members. He is a ninja/night merge. Vergil is no longer a main member, given his history with Cain. Vergil, Asher and Cain used to do quests all the time but when Vergil believed Cain betrayed the guild and wiped it out, he challenged Cain to a fight and lost. Vergil now has an overwhelming hatred for the Weaver of all Schemes.

So Vergil had been friends with Cain! That explains a lot of his animosity toward the Weaver. However, according to Claire, it is unlikely Cain betrayed the guild. My brother is a hot-head, and he may have jumped the gun and attacked before replaceing out what actually happened.

I don’t need to raise the matter with Vergil. He will talk about it eventually. Speaking of Vergil, I think Cloud wants us all to meet up for dinner at the pub owned by Zack in Indagatus. I check my messages in my menu to make sure and there it is: the message from Cloud. I shoot him a quick reply, letting him know I will be joining him at the pub.

I make my way over to Indagatus to meet up with my brothers. I continue to think about the book I read about Shadow XIII. The information as to its origins is limited, but I think Apollo is the one who wrote it. I imagine he updates his other copies as time goes on.

I wonder about the director. What is his game? Why did he get Shadow XIII back? The timing is just odd. I decide to think more about it later. I see Cloud ahead; he is talking with Vergil, who is in ordinary clothing. That’s the one of the great things about being in the city: it is a safety zone unless a duel crystal is active.

I go to them and they each give me a hug. We go into the pub and order. Zack says the meal is on the house. We catch up, as it’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve seen them. Cloud and Vergil are always busy with their respective guilds.

Vergil has been doing a lot of scouting on different continents with Asher, looking for new members and fighting monsters in regions near the dungeon to clear the area. If monsters are wiped out in an area, the area can be claimed, and a small settlement can be created. Archers are the only ones who can start settlements, though, so one of them has to be present.

“God, Lucien is driving me crazy with all this work,” Cloud says. “I’m taking a vacation for a week in a few days.”

“I hear ya,” Vergil says. “The director has us working overtime, and Asher and I are tired of it. All we get are crappy missions.”

I let out a sigh. “I don’t have to deal with that kind of stuff, thank God. Claire isn’t too bossy.” Vergil teases me. “Yea, because she likes you.” I feel the heat rise to my cheeks. I shake my head. “You’re seeing things. She doesn’t like me. We’re just friends.”

Cloud and Vergil smile at one another and in unison say, “You’re in denial, Dante.” I roll my eyes. They laugh at me. We continue to hang out for the night and just be brothers.