Eternity 53

  Ben and Eve looked down upon a massive swamp area from an elevated, hidden vantage point. Ben sighed.

  There was a squad of Eagle players guarding the entrance to the zone. Ben and Eve watched as they turned away a group of players.

  “Maybe we should find somewhere else to quest. You said that fighting with players is a waste of time, even if you can beat them. This just seems like a hassle. Plus, Marcus already beat the dungeon boss, so we wouldn’t get first achiever rewards from here.”

  Ben read Eve’s message and nodded in agreement.

  “You’re right. However, there is something here worth getting. It’s important.”

  Eve looked at Ben curiously.

  “Really? Like what?”

  Ben narrowed his eyes.

  “It won’t matter if we don’t move fast. You trust me, right?”

  Eve squeezed her arms around Ben’s waist and clung to his back.

  “Always.”

  Ben smiled warmly.

  “Good.”

  With that said, Ben directed White Fang forward. White Fang softened his steps and navigated into the brush.

  They moved along the edge of the zone, avoiding the main entrance. The edge of the zone was blocked by high walls of impassable brush. At least, impassable for most.

  White Fang jumped straight over the foliage. They disappeared stealthily into the heart of the swamp.

  Marcus growled as the shadow shrugged off yet another perfectly timed strike. He recognized the technique, one he had mastered over years of training.

  The shadow counterattacked with a punch he barely had time to dodge. They exchanged skilled punches back and forth, deftly weaving between each other’s strikes. It even used the same off-beat feinting techniques.

  When he finally landed a hit, the shadow was engulfed in healing magic from the feminine shadow behind it.

  Marcus took a clean punch. He too was engulfed in healing magic from the woman who stood at his back.

  “You know what they say about the definition of insanity.”

  An elderly, monstrous woman stood atop a raised platform, grinning from ear to ear to reveal rows of razor-sharp teeth.

  [Level 15 Hag]

  Mike dove out of the way of a boulder and cast the same spell back at his shadow clone. The clone raised a wall of stone to block the attack.

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  “That isn’t actually the clinical definition of insanity,” Mike said.

  The hag waved a hand dismissively.

  “Close enough.”

  Marcus growled in annoyance and sent a punch toward the hag. A fist-shaped eruption of fire shot out and collided with a shimmering barrier around her. Marcus was immediately punished for the distraction with a punch to the gut from his clone.

  The hag cackled madly.

  Marcus backed up to regain his composure. The clone followed suit.

  “What are we supposed to do?” the woman asked.

  Marcus looked back at her. She looked exhausted. He wasn’t in much better shape. His gaze shifted toward his brother.

  Mike shook his head in exasperation.

  “This is… unsettling. The difficulty of this quest has increased by at least 75%,” Mike said.

  “Yeah. It’s BS,” Marcus grumbled.

  “You know I can hear you,” the hag said.

  “Will you just shut the hell up!”

  The hag cackled once more. Marcus released a calming breath.

  “We can do this. Just focus.”

  Mike and the woman exchanged glances but did not argue. They waded back into combat with Marcus.

  A while later…

  “It seems our fun has come to an end. Better luck next time, dearies. Hahaha!”

  The trio watched helplessly as the hag finished channeling her escape spell. She escaped through a large portal, leaving the group alone in an empty room.

  Marcus punched a hole into the wall next to him.

  “Motherf—”

  “Marcus, language,” the woman said.

  Marcus stormed off toward the entrance of the dungeon.

  “Maybe we should take a break, Marcus. We have been at it for hours,” the woman said.

  Marcus didn’t bother facing her.

  “If you want to give up, feel free. Do what you want,” Marcus snapped.

  The woman stopped in her tracks and placed a hand on her hip.

  “Excuse you? Who do you think you’re talking to in that tone of voice?”

  Marcus stopped and turned to look at the woman with a wide-eyed expression.

  “I… I didn’t mean—”

  “Ruth, I think what my brother was trying to express—” Mike began.

  Ruth raised a hand toward Mike. Mike immediately quieted and averted his gaze, not wanting to be on the woman’s bad side.

  “You were saying?”

  Ruth stared Marcus down fiercely.

  Marcus closed the distance and wrapped his arms around her waist. She crossed her arms and turned her face away from him.

  “Come on, baby. You know I wasn’t thinking.”

  “And?”

  Marcus gave her a kiss on the cheek.

  “I’m sorry. I promise to make it up to you.”

  Ruth relaxed and finally returned his kiss. She then pulled away and sauntered forward with a confident stride.

  “Oh, I know. I’ll let you off easy this time.”

  Marcus bowed his head and rubbed the back of his neck in frustration. Mike sent him a knowing smile.

  “Shut it,” Marcus said.

  The trio walked together in silence, deep in contemplation. Marcus replayed the quest over and over in his head.

  “We completed this easily during the beta. It shouldn’t be this hard,” he thought.

  He released a deep sigh when the light of the dungeon entrance was revealed. He dreaded the disappointed looks in the faces of his guild when they saw him exit the dungeon in defeat.

  A peculiar sight caused him to narrow his eyes.

  A large crowd of his guild was standing at alert. Strangely, there was no fighting. No weapons drawn, no spells readied. Marcus sensed the tension in the air. They were afraid of something, or someone.

  Marcus moved through the crowd until he saw his captain, Jet, talking with a foreign figure.

  “I’ll give you one more chance to leave. We won’t demand your information this time,” Jet said.

  “Again, the answer is no. You have no real claim over this area or this dungeon. We are going in. It’s your choice if you want to raise your weapons against us. I would prefer peace.”

  Jet’s grip on his axe tightened, but notably, Jet didn’t raise it. He knew that to raise his weapon would make him a Gray Name, someone the stranger could freely attack without system-wide penalties.

  “We’re coming.”

  Jet stiffened.

  “No. Stop!”

  “What the hell is going on here?”

  Marcus’ deep voice boomed throughout the clearing. All eyes fell on him. Marcus’ judgmental gaze fell on Jet.

  “You had one job.”

  “It’s them,” Jet said.

  Marcus frowned in confusion and shifted his attention to the stranger. The giant wolf was the first thing that stood out. Marcus recognized White Fang instantly.

  Marcus’ gaze then fell on Ben. A slow grin spread across his face.

  “Finally.”