Chapter 28: Dangerous Journey
"Someone's POV"
That group… they're not bad at all.
Their composition is practically perfect—two shielders for frontline defense, a dual swordsman, a blade master for critical DPS, and a solid lineup of mystic classes: a summoner, a wizard, and an elementalist. On top of that, they've got a warlock who's a force user… and the strongest of them all? That irregular Demon Class player. His stats don't make sense. Straight-up broken.
Honestly, watching them fight is pretty entertaining. But they shouldn't pose a problem to my plan. Not yet, anyway.
"You!" came a voice behind me. "I almost got killed back there."
It was Amaymon.
"You're welcome," I replied, not even bothering to look at him. "I saved your sorry ass. You should be thanking me."
"You dared to use me?" he growled. "You insolent—"
"I was testing them. You're the one who slipped up, not me," I cut him off. "Don't blame me for your incompetence."
The Demon growled, raising his scythe as if to strike, but I raised a hand and activated a command—one only accessible to game moderators.
He froze.
"Careful, Amaymon. I think you're forgetting your place. You're not a player. You're a puppet. A tool. Just another piece of code I control in this world," I said coldly. "I could delete you with a flick of my fingers."
I turned my back to him and began walking.
"Tch… damn GM…" I heard him mutter under his breath.
"I heard that!" I shouted back with a smirk, not slowing down. I let it go—for now.
I activated the player tracking interface, a GM-exclusive GPS tool that let me follow every move that party made. I couldn't stay hidden from them forever—especially from him. That Demon Class player had sensory abilities far beyond what his level should allow.
Why the hell did they head toward the eastern sector? That place's crawling with high-level monsters, and Amaymon had already wiped out the previous teams who tried going there. Those poor players didn't even make it past the first canyon.
What if they reach the same area? If they see what's waiting there…
No, they wouldn't. Probably. But just in case, I'll keep watching.
---
"Zaphro's POV"
We were moving a lot more cautiously now. I extended my sensory field as far as I could, trying to catch any movement, any hint of danger. The mobs in this region were everywhere, and they weren't weak either. But for now, we were avoiding fights. Grinding was done. This was full-on map exploration mode—important preparation for future players so they wouldn't wander blind like we did.
"Hey, check the map. It's starting to clear up in the north," Verillion pointed out. "Andromeda's team is sweeping fast."
"She's Rank 1, right?" I asked, surprised.
"You didn't know?" Shion frowned. "Don't you check the rankings?"
"Well, after beating Shion, you're at Rank 20 now," Verillion explained. "Shion dropped to Rank 21, and I'm up to 13. All of us are in the top 100 now, thanks to the hunting, leveling, and that crazy PvP back at the outpost."
"Dude, we're busted!" Jin said with a grin.
"Yeah! I bet the girls are already lining up to join our party!" Slicer added smugly.
"Shut up, the both of you!" Ayana snapped. "You two aren't even cute!"
"Aw, c'mon, Mom!" Jin and Slicer chorused like schoolboys teasing their teacher.
Slicer smirked. "You sure you're a girl? The way you act, you're more violent than any guy here."
Ayana's expression darkened. She looked seconds away from committing digital murder.
"Easy, Ayana," Erik said. "Let it go. We're almost at the village anyway."
"Yeah, well, where is that stupid village?!" Ayana snapped, clearly frustrated.
We had flown a long way and now found ourselves in a mountainous area. No signs of civilization—only rock and fog. I started wondering if we'd gone the wrong way. No village, just danger.
"Papa… something's coming. A lot of them," Gwydox warned suddenly.
I felt it too. A group of flying mobs—thirty, maybe more.
"Everyone, hide. Now!" I ordered.
We dove for cover, landing behind a rocky outcrop on the mountainside.
"Over here!" Ayana called out. She had spotted a cave entrance, small but usable.
We rushed in and ducked into the shadows.
I peeked outside. Winged shadows soared past us—Hell Gargoyles, level 160. Fortunately, they didn't notice us.
"Clear," I whispered after a minute.
We started crawling back out when something lashed out and wrapped around our legs—tentacles.
"What the hell is this?!" Ayana shouted in panic.
Before we could react, a massive force exploded across the ground—a wide-range AoE attack.
The impact flung us in every direction. I crashed against a jagged rock wall. The pain was excruciating—this game ran at 60% pain realism, and it hurt. My HP dropped to 55%.
"Gwydox! What was that?!" I coughed, trying to stand.
The little black fairy was recovering too, visibly bruised. "Papa, we've got a Boss here! I couldn't dodge it… it's strong."
"Did you see it?" I asked, glancing around.
"No. I can't even sense it. It's using a hiding mechanic. Sorry," he growled.
"It's fine. Would clairvoyance work here?"
"Dunno. Not unless I see the damn thing first," he replied.
I scanned the area for the others—no sign of Verillion or the rest. My heart pounded as I checked my VS (Virtual Stats) and party info. My blood ran cold.
Erik, Erenir, Jin, and Ayana… all grayed out.
They'd been PK'd—respawned at the main village.
"What… the hell happened?" I whispered. "Where's the Boss…?"
Suddenly, a scream—then an explosion nearby. Aryus's icon went gray. Shion was down to 15% HP.
I tried to stand, but dizziness overwhelmed me.
"I've got you, Papa!" Gwydox yelled, glowing bright white as he circled me.
My stats recovered instantly—HP, MP, SP surging back up.
"Thanks, buddy," I muttered and launched into the air, scanning for the others.
There—Shion and Slicer, together but barely hanging on. Slicer looked half-dead.
I shot forward. "Slicer! Get down!"
"Ice Wall!" I yelled as I landed, summoning a thick barrier in front of us.
"Zaphro!" they called out.
"You two okay?" I asked quickly.
Something slammed into the ice wall, causing it to crack.
I jumped into the air again. "Engulfing Flame!"
The fire exploded outward, lighting up the area—and finally revealed our attacker.
Tentacles burned in the blaze. And from the smoke emerged a grotesque chimera—a massive beast with octopus tentacles, a dragon's head, a lizard-like torso, and skeletal wings.
Above its health bar, its name appeared:
Level 200 BOSS – BAAL
I grit my teeth. "Well… shit."