FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Day: 3/50

Player: Lily Relia

Species: Snow Leopard

Class: Aquamancer

Level: 7

Current Location: Emblem Ruins

"Leo! Watch out!" I shout. However, it was obvious that the dumb-ass tiger isn't paying any attention to the Shambling Swordsman right behind him; instead he's focused on fighting the two in front of him. I need to do something fast, in order to prevent him from being stabbed in the back, literally. I flick my arm outward and cast 'Water Rush'. Instantly, a wave of water materializes and shoves the skeleton aside, interrupting its skill 'Cursed Slash'.

However I have no time to watch and ensure the tiger would be alright, since I have three more of the dumb skeletons lumbering towards me. I take my staff, a 4 foot wooden pole with a ragged sapphire on the end, and rapidly spin it above my head before slamming it down to the ground, casting 'Water Boundary'. A circle of water instantly surrounds me at my feet and spreads outward. The water begins churning with increasing force, forcing the skeletons to stumble backwards. The brainless undead let out grunts and growls as the water boundary forces them back even further. While they're being stalled I took the opportunity to cast another spell to deal damage. I hold out my hand and use 'Aqua Bullets'. Hundreds of small sharp drops began to form off of the residue of 'Water Boundry', pointing towards the undead targets. I then point forward, at the three shambling monsters still struggling to get past the barrier of water. Instantly all of the small darts home in on their respective targets, surging forward at blinding speed and barraging the enemies. They howl in pain and annoyance from the rain of small darts. With the combined damage from 'Water Boundry' and 'Aqua Bullets' all of the skeletons crumble into bones, defeated.

I turn back around, prepared to face more of the undead. However I soon realize the threat of this mob group is past. Leo's looting four of the skeletons that he had to dispatch, still oblivious that I had to save his hide just a second ago. I glance over and see Rob doing the same, instead with an enormous heap of bones that I guess used belonged to ten of the Shambling Swordsmen. _Show off..._I think to myself.

After we all finish our respective looting, the three of us gather in the middle of the giant ballroom in the cryptic castle. The walls and floor are made up of old and moldy stone, cracking in multiple places. Any décor that used to be on the walls are faded, replaced instead with cobwebs and mold. Overhead, the ceiling had completely collapsed, giving a clear view to the purplish red sky overhead and leaving multiple piles of debris on the ground.

Leo's arms are behind his head, and is grinning with that goofy charming grin of his, "Now that we've started leveling up, these guys are pretty easy!" He says with pride.

I instantly take my staff in both hands and smack him across the face with a loud WAP!. Since we're both players I know he won't feel any pain, but he would feel the force behind the blow. "You dumb fuck!!" I shout, while tapping him on the head with the pole. Rob smiled at the exchange, revealing the pitch-black wolf's rows of teeth.

"OW, ow, ow, ow! Hey stop that! Gah, what did I do?!" The tiger pouted while playfully trying to bat my staff away from bopping his head. Rob let out a small laugh at the cartoonish scene.

"There was a god damn skeleton right behind you! You would've been totally boned if I hadn't interrupted his skill!" I smacked Leo one final time for emphasis. The dumb tiger only giggled.

"You're quite possibly the only girl I've ever met that says 'You would've been totally boned.'" The tiger breaks out into more giggles. Rob smiled again. I start to blush out of embarrassment. I have been known to curse excessively when I'm annoyed.

"Oh shut up you furry shit..." I mutter under my breath.

After a minute of laughs, Rob's the first one to regain his composure, and pulls up his map menu. "Alright, well we cleared this dungeon's entrance," he points to the opening of 'Emblem Ruins' on the map, "we've come through the main corridor," his finger traces a path, "cleared this courtyard," he circles a small clearing, "and now we're here in this ballroom." He finished listing our accomplishments by pointing at the three small blue arrows, representing us, on the map.

"So where too next?" I asked.

Leo also finally stopped laughing, "Well, what're our options, almighty Mr. Party Leader?" Leo said this while doing an extravagant bow towards Rob. The way Leo looks makes me laugh.

"We can either A, go this_way," the black wolf points a thumb behind him towards a hallway with destroyed walls and a crumbled ceiling, "to go to the main hall. There's also a portal in there that will teleport us back to the entrance," using the same hand Rob then pointed to his right where there's a set of battered-looking double doors, "B, we go _that . That'll lead us to a hallway that eventually branches into the castles dungeons," then he points to behind me, making me turn around and see a set of stairs behind a completely obliterated wall. The stairs seem to lead up and out, "and finally C. We go up those stairs which takes us to a courtyard that we can cut across to get to the castles treasury."

My initial instinct is to vote that we go to the treasury. But that seems a little too...I don't know, obvious. In all of the MMO's that I've played with Ryan and Cole, epic loot doesn't come easy, and from what I can tell so far this game's no different. So if there are good items in the treasury, then I don't even want to know what we'll have kill to get them. Oh god, maybe a boss is guarding that stuff. I still remember the first boss I had to fight. I would have been completely screwed if Leo and Rob didn't show up and help me out. So if the treasury is too risky and the dungeon is too blatantly stupid then that just leaves...-

"I say we go to the dungeons," Rob says.

Me and Leo both turn to the wolf, "What?!?"

"Did you get hit in the head?!" Leo asked.

"Or more importantly do you have a death wish?!" I say, raising my hands in a sarcastic, what the fuck?, expression.

Rob just shrugs, "I don't know. I think we'll get the most out of that area, treasure and EXP wise."

"HA! Dude, I can almost _guarantee_you that the treasury will have better stuff then some cruddy dungeon."

"My vote's actually for the main hall." Leo gives me the same look he just gave Rob, and Rob just quirks an eyebrow at me.

"Just think about it. In almost every fairy tale, fantasy story, or whatever there's always like a giant-ass dragon guarding the treasure. And the dungeon's going to be overrun with mobs. So why don't we just take the safe bet and go for the main hall?"

Leo and Rob turn to look at one another for a few seconds. Then they each begin to think, judging by their expressions. At least I had a valid point, it seems.

"Would it be possible for us to visit two of the three?" asks Leo.

I glance up in the left corner of my eye and see the health and mana bars of the three of us in the party. My health bars at 57%, and my mana's at 30%. Unlike other MMO's, in this game your health and mana don't instantly come back after you sit in place for a few seconds. You actually need to return to a town and rest for a period of time. It seems like Leo's and Rob's bars are in similar shape as mine.

Rob shakes his head. "No, we're all running low on resources. There's no way we'll be able to split it between two areas like that." I agree mentally.

"Then do you guys want to...split up?"

I give the tiger a quizzical look, "Really? I don't know, if I hadn't been there to cover you, you would've been done for Leo."

"Oh come on, are you seriously going to get hung up on that?"

"I'm just saying that's the whole point of us sticking together in the first place. To have each other's backs. Splitting up will defeat the entire purpose."

The tiger rolls his eyes, "Alright then what would you suggest Lily?"

"Don't you get short with me! I'm not saying we don't go to the treasury, all I'm saying is that we stick together."

"Guys come on, don't bicker," Rob interjects, "How about this? I'll go to the dungeons and then you two go to the treasury. Then we all meet back up here to regroup. Fair?"

I still don't like the sound of that. Rob's easily the strongest of the three of us, so I have some faith that he can handle whatever's lurking in the dungeon. But if Leo and I encounter a huge threat in the treasury then I don't know how well we can handle it without him. But I decide not to argue further, and just settle for the compromise.

"Yeah that's fine..." I respond.

"Whatever." Leo mutters.

Rob examines both of our stubborn expressions and lets out an exasperated sigh, "Alright, come back here once you two are finished. Don't take too long." Leo and I nod and Rob turns and walks to the double doors, pushes them open, and vanishes behind them once they close.

"Come on then." Leo starts to make his way to the stairs behind the crumbled wall.

It's times like this when I miss Cole and Ryan. I tried to find them, and even Chris and Sarah. But when I made absolutely no progress searching for them in the first day, I gave up. Unless I'm willing to talk to every player I see, it looks like I won't be making contact with them.

"Hey! Are you coming?" Leo's standing at the top of the stairs, tapping his foot impatiently waiting for me.

I snap myself out of my thoughts. "Yeah."

Day: 3/50

Player: Wesley Robinson

Species: Black Wolf

Class: Weapon Elementalist

Level: 9

Current Location: Emblem Ruins

As I begin to descend down the stairs leading to the dungeon, I can only hope that Lily and Leo won't bicker anymore. No, they're kind people, they'll make up soon enough. Neither of them are the kind of person that would hold a grudge. But the more I think about it, the more I realize how lucky Leo and I are that we found Lily. She's a really nice girl, and she helped us form a nice little 'trio'. Not to mention she's incredibly capable in this game. It's obvious she knows what she's doing.

I reach the final step, and arrive in the dungeon. There's only a single hallway, illuminated by a single torch. The dull grey tiles are all in disarray, some shattered, others torn up, and most of them covered in moss and/or cobwebs. I can't see more than three feet in front of me, and that's only thanks to the torch. Without it I have no doubt it would be pitch black down here. The place gives a very authentic 'abandon and creepy' vibe.

I grab the torch to light my way and begin to trudge forward. Maybe splitting up wasn't the best plan...there may be a mob down here that I can't handle by myself. But what's done is done, there's no turning back at this point.

As I'm walking, I hold up my opposite hand to the flame of the torch. I cast 'Weapon Creation: Fire'. Instantly, the flames of the torch jump to my hand and become significantly more intense. It starts to weave in and out, taking shape and form, and then solidifying. A two foot curved blade became connected to a handle in my hand. The last of the flames are absorbed into the weapon, completing the sword of fire created from my skill. It's solid as metal like a normal sword but still illuminates the cave around me. I discard the stick that used to be a torch as I continue to walk through the dungeon.

From the main path multiple branches form, but from what I can tell they just lead to groups of destroyed prison cells, none of which are worth my time investigating. But as I wander, the only sounds are my breathing and the occasional crackles of flame from my sword. There are no other noises, nor have I seen any mobs of any kind so far. Where is everything exactly?

Unfortunately, my answer came instantly. The narrow hallway I was traversing expanded into a massive chamber, the ceiling about 25 feet high, and the ground formed a circular floor about 100 yards in diameter, "Oh, what the fuck..." I mutter to myself. As I cautiously enter the room, I raise my sword in multiple directions, trying to observe the details. The chamber's in the same condition as the rest of the dungeon. The dark stone walls are cracked in multiple places, a handful of the floor tiles are in some sort of disarray, and debris is scattered along the ground.

If I didn't know any better I would say that this is a... "Boss chamber activated," said the feminine narrator of this game.

An iron gate erupts from behind me, blocking the path that I used to enter. I already know there's no point trying to break it down; I've learned that anything meant to block your path is indestructible. I let out a yell of surprise as my sword simply explodes into a burst of sparks, leaving me in the pitch black. I'm sure that's a good sign.

I'm left in the darkness for only a few seconds before multiple metal torches all around the chamber become alit with vibrant blue-ish green-ish flames. The room becomes completely illuminated, allowing me to see more details, or how much of a shit hole this place has become. It hardly looks any better than a cave, really. The once dull architecture of the dungeon is now disastrous. Pillars are completely crumbled, and debris of rock and earth is scattered everywhere.

"I swear to God..." I mutter. I was expecting some mobs in this hole, not a fucking boss. Great, who knows how long this is going to take. What will happen if Lily and Leo both show back up to our meeting spot and I'm still stuck here? They'll most likely come looking for me, putting them in danger as well. I can't let that happen.

I don't have any more time to reflect however, as the ground a few yards away begins to churn. Nine skeletons all slowly begin to crawl out of the dirt, grunting and gurgling. Once they all emerged they begin shambling towards me at a slow rate. I notice these guys have no armor anywhere on them, except for a pair of loose-fitting handcuffs binding their hands together. The appearance supports their name 'Shambling Prisoner' better than 'Shambling Swordsman' or 'Shambling Bowman', the mobs we've encountered thus far. They don't seem very lethal, but I still need to be cautious of their numbers.

I waste no time responding, placing my right hand on a large rock next to me and casting 'Weapon Creation: Earth'. The rock instantly shatters into a hundred small fragments. The pieces hover in the air for a split second before they all surge towards my hands, covering them and hardening. At the end of the process I'm wearing two large gauntlets of pure stone. Now that I'm wielding an elemental weapon, I met the prerequisites in order to cast 'Element Frenzy'. I feel the buff begin to take effect as the stone gauntlets begin to glow a faint brown.

"RAAAAAAHHHHHH" I let out a battle cry mixed with a growl as I sprint towards the enemies. One of the skeletons tries to lash at me with the shackles, but I merely sidestep the attempt of damage. I sidestep in between the slow moving enemies and lash out in every which direction, punching some in the face, others in the torso. Every punch connected with a satisfying crunch. The skeletons try to surround and overwhelm me with numbers, but anytime they got within striking distance they would be punched backwards. I winced as a few of them manage to scratch me, lowering my health bar into the 50% area.

"HAAAHHH" With a final shout I put all of my force behind a punch, and caused the poor prisoner in front of me to be blasted into its individual bones. I turn to face any of the others, but realize that all nine 'Shambling Prisoners' are defeated. I lower my hands to my side, starting to feel the weight of the stone gauntlets. There's no sound other than my heavy breathing.

I wander out to the middle of the chamber, the bony remains now behind me as I look around the room for other threats, "There's no way it was that easy." I whisper to no one. It's too obvious that there's going to be more to a boss chamber then punching some skeletons.

A ghostly male voice shouts out of nowhere, "A vile traitor. Guards, seize him!"

"Holy shit!" I exclaim out of pure shock. The voice came from no visible source, and scared the bejesus out of me. I have no time to investigate the anomaly as large bones began erupting from the ground, and begin to connect with each other in midair.

I take a few cautious steps backwards and raise my gauntlets again. More bones emerge from the earth and add-on to the two large skeletal figures. Finally two skulls fix themselves on top of the monsters completing their formation. Now two eight-foot tall giant skeletons stand over me, clacking their bony teeth menacingly. Unfortunately they weren't quite finished yet. Heavy black armor and weapons also burst from the ground in a cloud of dust. The metal rush to the skeletons immediately attaching themselves. I groan in complaint, as the two giants become fully equipped with armor, swords, and shields. The names 'Shambling Dungeon Guard' appears above both of them.

If I'm going to have to fight something that size, trying to punch them with some rocks won't do anything. This will require a change in tactics. Blunt force will probably be more effective.

The two skeletons begin to make their way towards me as I press my hands together and cast 'Weapon Creation: Earth' for a second time. The rocks of the gauntlets begin shifting off of my fingers and begin to form a long handle with a broad head of rock at the end of it. After a few seconds of formation and solidifying the earth cements itself, leaving me holding a large two-handed hammer of pure rock.

I sprint forward, running towards the two hulking skeletons as they lumber at me at a painfully slow pace. One of them raises their sword that's as large as I am, and swings it forward. I quickly swipe to the right, dodging the pitiful attempt. I hold out my hammer of rock and whirl in place, gaining momentum for my swing. After a couple of spins I slam the hammerhead into the knee of the closest skeleton with immense force, hearing the bone splinter with a reverberating crack. With a deep groan, the large skeleton tumbles to the ground. Its armor makes an echoing clattering noise as it lands on the hard rock floor.

I raise my hammer in order to deliver the finishing blow on the first skeleton-

"Grrrahhhhh..." The low growl alerts me to the fact that the other 'Shambling Dungeon Guard' is standing over me and swinging at me with its enormous sword. I'm barely able to shift my momentum in time in order to bring my hammer up in self-defense. The sharp blade cuts through the stone shards like its paper, disassembling the entire weapon with one swing and pushes me back from the force. I fly through the air until I slam into the shaggy rock walls of the dungeon. I let out a 'GAAH' of pain as I collapse to the floor in a heap.

Well shit, that hadn't gone as planned. Still on the ground I quickly take a glance at my health and mana bars. That last massive hit has reduced my health to around 40% and my mana's in no better shape at 20%. What I've come to learn about Weapon Elementalist is that they have a small mana pool, but their spells don't cost very much. But the thing is you need to be able to hold on to the weapons you create, you can't afford to have them break every second. Which is exactly what's been happening to me.

I lift my head up to see both 'Shambling Dungeon Guard' making their way towards me, their weapons raised. "Damnit.." I mutter. I launch myself forward, flipping upright in mid-air and once again casting 'Weapon Creation: Earth'. A small chunk of the ground shatters into a hundred small shards, and they instantly surge into a long narrow shape. By the time I'm back up on my feet, I'm wielding my javelin of stone with the large skeletons 20 yards away. I swing upward and carry the momentum in order to launch the javelin forward. The heavyweight projectile flies through the air and connects with one of the eight-foot tall monsters. Luckily it was the skeleton I had struck with my hammer beforehand, so its health was already at a low threshold.

A loud BANG resounded in the chamber as the stone spear shoved through the armor plating of the monster and tore through its bones. I see the dungeon guard's health bar drop to zero as the spear erupts on the opposite side of the monster, disassembling all of the bones and causing it to collapse to the floor in a pile. I can't feel too happy about the victory as the other 'Shambling Dungeon Guard' continues to make its way towards me.

I try to raise my hands in an effort to make another weapon; however it's already too late as I have to sidestep out of the way of the skeletons sword, the blade barely missing me. With surprising speed the guard lifts his weapon and swings it downwards towards me again, giving me no time to act on the offensive as I have to dodge and step backwards again. We eventually fall into a pattern.

Lift, swing, dodge, CRASH

Lift, swing, dodge, CRASH

Lift, swing, dodge, CRASH

Lift, swing, dodge, CRASH

"Graaaaahhhhh..." The damn thing just keeps on growling and swinging at me, only giving me time to dodge its immense blade. If only I hadn't been so god damn stubborn and had just gone with Lily and Leo. Now I'm stuck in this mess. I need to take the offensive somehow-

As I step backwards my heel catches on a large chunk of rock, and suddenly I'm falling backwards with no way to stabilize myself. "SHIT!" I shout.

The wind gets knocked out of me as I land in a one-foot deep hole in the earth. Before I can even reach to help push myself upright, the 'Shambling Dungeon Guard' appears over me, looking especially more menacing now that he has me cornered. I lift my hand, attempting to cast 'Weapon Creation: Earth' in time-

SSHHHHRRRRR. I'm paralyzed for a moment as I hear that noise and feel the strange sensation crawl through me. I glance down and gasp, sucking in my breath in terror. The skeletons enormous sword is impaling me at the chest, going straight through it. The feeling was like being suffocated, while my chest weighed a thousand pounds.

There was no blood, stabs and slashes through the body worked differently in 'The Kingdom'. It's not an instant kill; the weapon just cuts through the body, dealing more damage the more severe the injury. That much was obvious since I saw my health bar start to dramatically lower due to being impaled. I place my hands on the giant sword and tried to remove it, but the strength of the skeleton kept the blade pinned effectively. I need to do something, and fast if I want to live.

I reach behind me, feeling around the ground for it. Eventually my fingers curl around it, the javelin I had thrown before. I grasp it desperately and with a 'HAH!' I hurl it with as much force as I can. The spear smashes against the face of the monster, shattering into a thousand shards of rock. The skeleton grunts as it stumbled backwards from the blow, pulling its sword out of me in the process.

While the 'Shambling Dungeon Guard' is recovering from being stunned, I gasp for air, clutching my chest during my ragged breathes. I'll never get used to that shit. I leap back to my feet, but as soon as I catch my balance the skeleton swings its sword downward. I flipped backwards, landing in a hand-stand before launching myself backwards. In this virtual reality, the higher your speed stat is, the easier it is to perform acrobatic maneuvers like this.

I land on my feet, about 10 yards away as I glance up at my health bar. Jesus, from being stabbed that long it's dropped from 40% to 22%...I can't afford to take a hit like that again. I need to finish this and get the hell out of here. The dungeon guard begins charging at me once again, lifting its sword and shield and clacking its teeth.

I hold one hand out at waist-height, and the other above my head, casting 'Weapon Creation: Earth' with both of them. Above my head, shards of stone started to form the long javelin-shape that they made before. At my feet, large chunks of stone begin to shift and churn, emerging from the earth. The structure began to elongate, a curve supported by rock gears forming at the farther end, and a launching contraption forming at my feet. Sections of rock continued to connect and solidify, completing my weapon. After a few seconds, a full-fledged ballista sat in front, ready to fire. In addition, my javelin completed as well.

"Fuck off..." I mutter to the skeleton rampaging closer. I sidestep my ballista and slam the javelin into its slot, then snap my fingers.

Normally a contraption like this wouldn't operate, simply because its components are made of stone. But with a touch of magic that can be fixed. With a deafening SNAP! the ballista shoots the javelin with the speed of a bullet. As soon as the projectile collides with the skeleton it twists its armor as if it's paper, and tears the entire poor thing apart. Finally, both 'Shambling Dungeon Guard's health bars dropped to zero.

I stand there panting for a few seconds as the dust and rubble began to settle, appreciating the new found silence of the dungeon. My knees begin to shake trying to hold myself upright, so I grunt as I sit myself down on my ass.

22% health and 9% mana. Shit...Coming down here by myself was definitely a mistake. While I definitely have independent strength, it's obvious I can't handle anything on this scale yet. Hell, I don't even know what happens when your health drops to zero. I assume you simply spawn at a graveyard-like location, but that would still separate me from Lily and Leo. God knows how long it would take for us to find each other again. Speaking of which, I probably need to get going back to our meeting spot.

I slowly stand back up, wincing from the soreness that comes with getting your ass kicked. I start walking back the way I came, but as I draw closer to the entrance of this chamber I see the iron bars, sealing me off from leaving.

My eyes go wide in horror, "Wait...fuck...that means...there's still something to fight?-"

"TRAITOR! You have soiled the honor of my dungeon for the last time! I will dispose of your carcass myself!" The sudden voice startles me again, the same as before. Shit...don't tell me...

A loud villainous laugh erupts from behind me, and I turn around to see the boss of this chamber.

'Gron, Shambling Dungeon Imperator' reads his nametag. The boss is easily 10 feet tall, and levitates another 2 feet off the ground. His skeleton face is flipped upside-down and his mouth is twisted in a disgusting grin, a fragment of a rusty crown resting on his head. Gron wears a long dusty cowl, with faded purples and greys. The sheer size and appeal of the monster makes him a horrifying sight. Especially the enormous ragged edged sword he holds in his hand. Gron raises the weapon and begins casting 'Wither's Approach'.

....fuck...

Day: 3/50

Player: Leo Raymen

Species: Tiger

Class: Ki-User

Level: 7

Current Location: Emblem Ruins

"KAH!" I cry out as my 'Infused Jab' connects successfully with the 'Shambling Bowman' in front of me, reducing its health bar to zero and sending its individual bones flying, finishing the last mob.

I stand there for a couple of seconds, catching my breathe. I turn back around to look at Lily. She's currently looting the bodies of a couple of skeletons, her back turned to me. Luckily the tension from our disagreement from earlier has subsided.

While she wraps up her collecting, I decide to look up where we are. I snap my fingers, bringing up the menu and select 'Map'. The holographic panel appears in front of me, and I zoom in on our location. I also try to find the blue arrow that represents Rob, but ever since he went underground his marker vanished. It looks like Lily and I are getting pretty close to the treasury. We've been following a dirt path ever since we split up with Rob, and it's been weaving its way through all sorts of crumbled stone rooms and walls. According to my map if we just keep on treading it, we'll make it to the treasury. I snap my fingers, closing the window.

"How much farther?" Lily asks, as she walks up beside me.

I gesture towards the winding trail, "There's going to be a lake of some kind up ahead, but right behind that is the treasury."

She smiles at me enthusiastically, "Alright, then let's get going slow-poke."

A couple of minutes later, Lily and I arrive at the 'lake' if it could be called that. It's about 500 feet in diameter, but its liquid is far from being water. The purple muck gurgles and slushes around, bubbles erupting on the surface of the liquid. I wrinkle my snout at the pungent smell coming from the polluted substance. The path Lily and I are on continues to wind down and around the lake of purple water and travels behind it, leading to a small run-down brick structure. The treasury of Emblem Ruins. I scan the landscape, but can't find a single monster.

"Sweet, we're almost there!" I exclaim as I begin to make my way towards the lake, my tail lazily swinging behind me.

"Wait!" I turn around to face Lily with a quirked eyebrow. She stands there pointing forward at something.

I spin around to see what the problem was. On the other side of the lake is a single skeleton that hadn't been there before. The 'Shambling Swordsman' makes a couple of grunts as it walks forward, its rusty sword trailing behind it.

"What's the problem?" I ask.

"I don't know...it just seems odd that there's only one of them."

"Well then let's just hurry up and finish it so we can go get some treas-"

During Lily and I's exchange, we had failed to notice that the skeleton wasn't moving around the lake. It walked straight forward, the purple gunk beginning to sink the skeleton. After a few more seconds, the monster was completely submerged.

"Boss chamber activated." Said a soft feminine voice.

The lake instantly lights up a violent purple, its gurgling and bubbling becoming significantly more intense. Waves of the stuff slosh back and forth violently.

But as soon as it started, it stopped. The light dies down, and the lake's bubbling stopped.

"...what do you think that was?" Lily asks hesitantly.

"No idea, but whatever it was let's hope it stays down there." I reply, looking at the ominous tar.

Of course I had to open my big mouth.

With a deafening SPLOOSH!!_an _enormous figure erupts from the lake, launching itself a couple of hundred feet into the air. Lily and I tilt our heads and watch in awe as the monster soars through the air.

With a _CRASH!!!!!_the thing lands behind us and we turn to face the new threat.

'Basika, Corrupted Shambling Wither Manifest' said its name tag. The skeleton had grown 12 feet easily, now towering over the two of us. Multiple layers of bones were added to its frame, giving it a strange sort of armor. In addition, the entire thing is now black compared to the ghostly white it had been before entering the lake. The most horrifying feature however is the light coating of flesh Basika received from his transformation, giving him a very morbid appearance. The large monster screams a hideous roar.

As Basika swiftly lifts both arms to prepare for an attack, I quickly turn to look at Lily. She's just stands there wide-eyed with fear as she clutches her staff. She needs to dodge, and now.

"LILY! MOVE!" As the monster starts his swing she just remains there.

I cast 'Swift Dash' and lunge towards the scared leopard. I collide with her just in time, shoving Lily out of harm's way. However, I wish the same could be said for me. Right as I push her away, Basika's attack lands directly on my back, shoving me into the earth with enough force to make a two-foot indentation underneath me, and I scream in agony.

I can hardly see or move, the pain binding me from making any movement. A large chunk of my health bar vanishes, leaving me at 18%.

Day: 3/50

Player: Lily Relia

Species: Snow Leopard

Class: Aquamancer

Level: 7

Current Location: Emblem Ruins

I try to make myself move, but it's no use. The appearance and aura of that monster freezes me in place with fear. I just lay there sprawled out on the ground and watch in terror as events unfold for poor Leo.

"Leo..." I whisper, unable to do anything else.

Basika raises and throws his head back, and begins to make a horrible gurgling noise. After a few seconds black mist begins to pour out of his skeletal mouth and the skill tag 'Wither's Breathe' appears over his head. Leo struggles to get up, but the last blow the tiger took just stunned him too much.

"Leo...please...no..." I say with tears beginning to well up in my eyes.

With one fell swoop the monster lowers his head and let out a roar so loud I had to cover my ears. Black essence poured out of his mouth with the force of a raging waterfall, and crashed down on Leo. My friend vanished instantly underneath the black breathe. The stuff just keeps on pouring and pouring out.

I glance upwards and watch Leo's health bar through teary eyes as it depletes.

18%...14%...10%....5%....1%....

0%...

"Player Defeated," says the same narrative female voice.

Basika slowly finished his skill and the black mist begins to fade away. I lift my head hopefully trying to see past the rubble. Maybe if you lose all your health you just become incapacitated or you just can't interact with anything until you recover...

I choke on a sob of terror as the last of the magic dissipates and Leo is nowhere to be found. No body, nothing. He's just completely gone.

The enormous skeleton slowly turns around and its beating fleshy red eyes lock right on me. A jolt of fear instantly locks me in place. The monster bellows and begins to advance towards me, each of its footsteps causing an enormous THUD!

Oh god...it just keeps on getting closer...What do I do? There's no way I can fight an entire boss by myself! I don't even have a team to help me...wait, Rob...Rob! Rob's still somewhere around here!

I try to see past my tears as I get up, not even picking up my staff, and running away as fast as I can.

"ROB!!" I scream at the top of my lungs.

"ROOOBB!!"

Day: 3/50

Player: Wesley Robinson

Species: Black Wolf

Class: Weapon Elementalist

Level: 9

Current Location: Emblem Ruins

With a weak gah I manage to throw the dungeon doors open, reemerging on the surface. I try to move forward but don't make it more than two steps before I collapse in a heap panting, and I just lie there for a little bit.

Damnit...I shouldn't have been that careless and gone down there by myself. I made it out of there with just 2% health and 0% mana. Note to self, trust Lily's intuition next time. She was right, we shouldn't have split up like this.

That's when I come to my realization. If I found a boss like that down there, then what kind of crazy shit did they find at the treasury? I need to find my friends.

As I shakily bring myself back to my feet I hear off in the distance, "oooooobbb. Ooooob." I look around trying to find the source of the noise. Then it becomes much more prominent.

"Rooooooooobbb!!"

"ROOOOOBBB!!"

My blood turns cold as I realize that the noise is Lily screaming bloody murder. As I begin to panic I whip around in all sorts of directions trying to look for her. Shit, what could have gone so wrong?

"LILY?! LILY WHERE ARE YOU?" I start calling back.

"ROOOOBBB!!"

"LILY! OVER HERE!"

I just manage to turn around before she rams straight into me. Lily instantly locks her arms around me in a death grip and buries her face into my robe. I stand there temporarily stunned as she chokes out sobs and mutters repeatedly 'ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod..."

I blush a little bit at the sudden act of connection but none the less slowly wrap my arms around the lean crying leopard. I press my muzzle to the top of her head and just wait for a few moments for her to calm down. What could have gotten her so worked up?

Eventually her sobs die down to sniffles, "Lily, what's the matter?" That's when I look around and realize there's a certain tiger that's missing. Shit...what happened?

"W-we were walking towards the treasury and th-then...there was this lake an-an-and then a boss came out of nowhere-" she lost her voice in another sob as she just buried her face deeper into my clothe.

If there was a boss that had the element of surprise, it could have easily taken out Leo with just one move. Bosses are meant to be fought with a full party of eight, therefore their difficulty and power is far above normal. So it came out of nowhere and killed off Leo, so Lily just decided to run. I wanted to get angry at her for not being able to protect our friend, but I couldn't bring myself to get mad at the distressed girl.

"Don't worry about it Lily. I'm sure Leo's already resurrected at a graveyard or something like that. Once we get out of here we'll use our friends list to see where he is. Does that sound like a plan?" I pat her head reassuringly.

Her panicked sobs finally die down altogether, "Yeah I guess. Let's just get the fuck out of here."

I smile a little bit, "Let's get the fuck out of here."