The three exited the tunnel into an enormous black stone cavern with walls reaching many times even Drahma's great height.

The ceiling was open! Dave could see the night sky hanging above them.

The 'cavern' formed a natural arena that had been further sculpted and added to by unnatural hands. In the center of the cavern floor was an ominous looking pit, with fumes rising from it. Though he didn't see a bottom to the pit there was a dim red-orange glow coming from it.

Oh snap! We're in the crater of a volcano. Which means the 'pit' is the volcano's vent, from which massive amounts of liquid-hot rock explode with the force of an atomic-bomb at random intervals.

Yeah, not comfortable with this at all. Lone doesn't need to know about it, no sense adding to her worries.

The arena, the volcano's caldera, was another raid-zone. A battleground intended to challenge hundreds of cooperating high-level players. Raid-zones usually had a boss, sometimes accompanied by lieutenants, as the finale of the challenge.

Monsters, gathered in hordes and then charged them in a solid wave of fangs, claws and viciousness.

Drahma swung his iron pillar in a sweeping strike that felled a large swathe of the monster wave, killing hundreds instantly and injuring even more. This feat increased his threat level explosively, which left Dave and Lone Arrow completely ignored as the demonic horde focused their killing intent solely on the giant.

Dave determinedly cast his new, evolved [Spectral Skull], just to earn Support Exp.

A party receives EXP whenever a member kills a monster. Most of the EXP goes to the player who deals the fatal blow. The rest of the EXP is divided according to the threat numbers each player generates during the fight.

The mechanic is meant to force players to increase their aggro in order to accumulate more EXP by playing and engaging aggressively with the enemy. Some classes, support classes such as Bards and Healers, are not optimal for dealing damage directly, they usually stay in the rear echelons with the ranged damage dealers...if they don't want to be sent for respawn.

The EXP system manages their lack of aggro generation in fights and rewards them for their contribution via the Support EXP.

So even though Drahma was killing all the monsters, the attacks Dave and Lone made on the mobs garnered them a small percentage of Support EXP.

But even a measly percentage of an enormous total is not insignificant, and shortly a sweet familiar tone rang in Dave's ears:

Level Up!

"Finally! I dinged! Yes, now I can use it!" Dave cackled and capered like a madman.

He stored his battered starter-cutlass in his inventory and drew a long sword in its place.

Dave looted the sword from the guardian of the Ice Palace Dungeon after the Lich Du'Razha killed it.

He inspected the glowing sword as he equipped it.

Category: Weapon

Swords of Mercy

A trick weapon created in the workshop of an ancient hunter cult.

The sword can divide into two smaller blades when the need arises.

Base Damage: 320-400

Attack Cost: 50 stamina (75 when sword is split)

Requirements

100 STR 100 AGI 100 DEX 100 WIS

Level 80

Bonus Abilities/

[Double Slash] 200% Damage. A slashing 'X' AOE attack. Damage is applied to all enemies in a straight line for a distance of three meters.

[Soul-burn] Consumes a portion of the user's soul (-100 HP/sec) to increase the sword's total damage by 50%.

Scaling/Class

S: STR Damage Modifier ( In single sword Form)

A: DEX Damage Modifier (In dual sword Form)

Class. Unique

Lone shot at a demonic-gargoyle then asked, "You look happy. What's the deal?"

"I leveled up. Now I can use this." He raised the sword, showing her his 'precious.'

The golden light given off by the sword gave it a 'holy relic vibe,' in the hand of the Undead draugr it was a contradiction.

A demonic Ram charged at Drahma head lowered, it staggered back as if it had hit a reinforced concrete wall, shaking its head. ,

Seeing a chance to try out his newest toy, Dave charged at the ram. Behind him Lone gaped at his apparent loss of sanity.

As he closed with the ram the two-handed long-sword disappeared and Dave was suddenly carrying a short sword in each hand.

The weapon's Damage modifier was now based on his DEX stat instead of STR.

As soon as he was in range Dave wasted no time testing the efficacy of the [Double Slash] Skill.

He swung once, twice, and a blastwave of X-shaped fire shot out striking the still-groggy demon-Ram.

"[-220]" appeared in red.

"That was pitiful," Lone Arrow laughed.

"I'm surprised I damaged it at all given its Damage Nullification and damage reduction from the level difference."

"You wouldn't have managed even that papercut if the demon wasn't still 'Staggered' from Drahma's Defense stats, the effect added 50% to your Damage score," said Lone.

"Meh, whatevs!" Dave turned away from the archer muttering "Game System-Nazi" to himself. He looked around for more disabled prey to use his 'precious' new toy on.

"Don't go too far, you'll pull agro we can't handle," Lone yelled after him.

"Don't worry, I got this!" he yelled over his shoulder.

He continued his mission trying to damage as many enemies as he could.

The hulking Drahma was swatting monsters like flies, most of the mobs he one-shotted. In groups. The snake-headed turtles did take a little extra effort to kill because of their high defenses and HP.

Dave was running around like a mad man, trying to hitas many mobs as possible with any damage, and looting already fallen enemies at the same time. He collected numerous exoskeleton fragments, runes, demon-pelts and more.

"The look on your face is just creepy, guy," Lone eyed him warily, like someone looking at days old fish at the market.

"Loot is the dream of men!" he beamed back at her, eyes glazed in ecstasy.

"Yes, I like Shinies too, but not enough to risk death just for a few handfuls," said Lone Arrow.

"I wish the boyz were here, they would do all the loot'n and I could stay back and get my Support EXP...I miss those guyz." But his hands never stopped picking up the loot.

"Yeah, what happened to the undead-boyz anyways,?"

"I ordered them to slow down the two players at the Underworld entrance when I pulled you through the portal."

"Their sacrifice was not in vain. I will pray for their souls," said Lone Arrow in mock piety.

"I think that would do them more harm than good; remember, they are the wholly and entirely unholy-Undead," he laughed.

Dave continued to dash around the battleground, picking up more loot from Drahma's killing spree. His inventory was getting heavy.

Seeing movement out of the corner of his eye he turned, and stopped, frozen in the act of picking up a piece of Demon Pelt.

"Hey, Lone you remember that biiiig baddy?" he asked

"The four-armed demon?"

"Yeah, that's the one," he said

"Of course I remember, it was I-need-a-fresh-pair-of-panties scary."

"Well, you better break out a fresh pack of Hanes." He pointed..

"Oh sh…"

The arch-demon rose from the pit, magma pouring down itsobsidian skin.

"It seems I underestimated you, Drahma," the demon bellowed.

The remaining hundred or so monsters screamed and dispersed, leaving Drahma standing in the center of the arena floor.

Dalmadoth

Level 500

Ancient Great Demon

Mythic Tiered Monster

Danger Level: ☠ ☠ ☠ ☠

HP 1 000 000

DN 60 000

MA 50 000

60 000-80 000DMG

Skills

[Magma-Throw] hurls a ball of fiery magma at a target area, Causes 50% base damage on impact in a 5 meter radius. The magma continues to deal damage over time (10 seconds).

[Demon's Call] Summons an ancient Demon Maw that deals 10% of target's Max HP in flat damage value.

[Call To Arms] periodically summons random demonic minions equal to the number of players currently on the field.

[Berserk Mode] for every 10% loss of HP Dalmadoth's base Damage gains 10%.

Guardian of the first Raid-Zone in the Underworld.

Dalmadoth was an old demon who took the lead in ancient times to invade the world of the surface. After having been driven back to the depth of the underworld, the armies of the underworld have reorganized themselves once again to try and invade the surface once again.

"Day-ummm bruhhh."

"Those stats...just broken," Lone whimpered.

The boss's skills were absurd. Along with the Super High HP… this was a Party-Wiper.

"Not even the final boss in the Pits of Despair dungeon had that much HP!"

"Dalmadoth!" thundered Drahma "You should have never laid hands on her! Today is the day you die!" Hoisting up his pole and charging forward.

Dave understood from the Dialogue that it had something to do with Zola's imprisonment.

The boss's skin brightened up for a second, and three monsters appeared in the middle of the arena.

The boss used [Call To Arms] but it was not much of a threat to the group. Drahma ignored the gargoyle and the ram, they were too low a level to deal any damage to him.

Headed past the turtle, he smacked it taking more than a third of its HP, then crushed it with a backward stomp, it didn't even have a chance to cast a skill before it died.

Dave ignored the Ram and gargoyle and rushed to collect an item he spotted shining on the black stone where the snake-headed turtle had died.

"Where are you going!" Lone Arrow was shooting at the gargoyle, trying to get the Support EXP.

Dave was all smiles as he looted yet another exoskeleton fragment, then he saw a flaming meteor rocketing straight for him.

That was the boss's skill; [Magma-Throw].

"Aw crap!"