Escapia: A VRMMO

Chapter 5: Shards

Lockheart and Daemon battled against small cactus hybrids in the scorching heat of Desertium. Despite the intense fight, Daemon's stomach growled, a clear indication of hunger. Lockheart, too, had lost focus on the battle and was rubbing her stomach, displaying her own hunger. She occasionally granted Daemon a buff to help him in the fight. Their eyes met briefly, but Daemon quickly turned away, breaking the silence that hung between them.

Lockheart broke the silence by sarcastically congratulating Daemon, "Oh, congratulations, Daemon! I'm so glad we had that sandwich earlier!"

Daemon retorted, "Ah, shut up! At least it gave us extra HP!"

Lockheart gestured toward the caption above Daemon Lockheart's name and applauded ironically, "Yeah, it also gave us a brand new status effect. Look above my head..."

Daemon read the caption, "Nausea."

Lockheart pushed Daemon lightly and said, "Congratulations! You're so annoying!"

Daemon responded by lightly slapping Lockheart's hand away, saying, "Don't touch me!"

Lockheart looked at Daemon in shock and exclaimed, "Did you just hit me?"

Daemon shrugged, "Equal rights, equal fights. You know I'm something of a 'yearner of gender equality' myself."

Rolling her eyes, Lockheart clenched her fist and snapped, "Stop with these weird anime references, you degenerate weeb!"

A steely red glow appeared in Daemon's eyes as he proudly declared, "I take this as praise!"

Daemon pointed his sword at Lockheart and warned, "And unfortunately, I'm strong in this world. So I think you better not push your luck."

Lockheart gritted her teeth in anger but couldn't help but laugh. "D-Daemon! I think you're the one pushing your luck here. It was only yesterday when you and I slept under the same tree because you were afraid of being alone. If you don't want me to tell the other players, shut up!"

Interrupting their brewing conflict, a message popped up in the game. "Wait a second, Lockheart! Before I tear you apart, I need to check the game's messages!" Daemon exclaimed.

Daemon clicked on the menu and navigated to the "events" section, where he read the message: "[Floor 3: Caveland]'s boss is unlocked! Join the fight ASAP! (People above level 35+ can join)"

Daemon looked at Lockheart helplessly and said, "I suppose you know how to teleport now!"

Lockheart rolled her eyes and responded, "Of course I do, Daemon! Do you think I'm stupid?"

Lockheart took out the crystal from her pocket and shouted, "[Floor 3: Caveland]!"

She anxiously waited for the crystal to activate, but nothing happened. "Why is it still not working?" Lockheart exclaimed in frustration.

Daemon pointed above Lockheart's head and explained, "You're still level 34, dumbass."

Lockheart sighed and muttered, "Oh great, then we have to grind even more—"

Before Lockheart could finish, Daemon swiftly activated his teleport crystal, leaving Lockheart behind. Lockheart shouted after him, "Are you going to leave me here again? I swear I'll kill you when you come back!"

Daemon teleported to the boss area, which had an icy cave theme. The frozen walls were adorned with swaying ice shards, and the ground was covered in snow. As Daemon stepped onto the ground, his footprints left behind blue and turquoise particles, quickly filling with snow.

The boss was a massive minotaur wielding two axes, causing ice shards to fall from the cave's ceiling.

Suddenly, the boss started spinning like a valkyrie, unleashing an AOE attack. Daemon recognized it as the boss's special move and realized that people were attacking without any strategy, unable to avoid the boss's attacks.

Many players were cowardly waiting at the entrance of the ice cave, hoping the boss's HP would decrease before they engaged.

Daemon clenched his fists and shouted, "Hey, you cowards! Stop being pussies and fight like everyone else!"

The other attackers of the boss joined Daemon in reprimanding the cowards. Some shouted, "What the hell are you waiting for?!" and "Fight properly or get out of here!"

Feeling proud, Daemon continued, "Archers and hunters, stay at the back and focus on high-range basic attacks! Melee fighters, be cautious and avoid the ice shards. Engage the boss at the front until your HP is low, then retreat near the entrance! Healers, spam area heal spells near the boss and prioritize healing the melee fighters! Buffers and soulmages, use buff and debuff skills instead of weak AOE attacks! This is a single boss, and area damage is useless! As for petmasters... well, your pets should know how to attack on their own, so let them do their thing."

Some of the warriors listened to Daemon's instructions, but the majority continued fighting without a proper strategy. Daemon sighed and drew his sword.

He dashed towards the boss with his usual speed, but this time he wasn't fast enough. When the boss struck the ground with its ax, an ice shard fell upon Daemon. He cried out in pain as his HP bar shifted from green to yellow.

Angered by the attack, Daemon spat on the ground, stood up, and charged at the boss once again. He leaped towards its height, intending to strike it down as he had done before. However, the boss blocked Daemon's sword with its ax, forcing him to land and start circling around the boss. When the boss slammed its ax into the ground, Daemon jumped again, aiming to strike its back while it was distracted by other players.

The steely red glow reappeared in Daemon's eyes, a testament to his determination to defeat the boss.

Unbeknownst to Daemon, he was about to face a traumatic experience. With confidence and hope, he thought, "What could go wrong? I've already defeated the previous boss. If I defeat this one too, I'll prove my strength to the others." However, it wouldn't be long before he would be reminded of the true purpose of survival in this virtual world.