This S.O.B. System - Chapter 120

Ming finally came back on the day of Crystal. She had passed her Hall and could now use Dragon Mana. Though everyone had surpassed her in levels, he walked her through how amazing it was. Dragon was considered the culmination of all elements. It was one of the most powerful mana types, and would only strengthen her skills. The Hall had given her Dragon Blood as a reward in addition to the Xare Key. Thanks to that she was part dragon and wouldn’t receive backlash from using the mana.

Ezarian’s team fought the Crystal boss. The monsters themselves were turtles, and the boss had a giant crystal for a shell. The demons had some hiccups, but they were able to beat it. On the day of Nature they were attacked by tree people. Alfa’s team did a little better on the day of Bone. The monsters had bone protrusions throughout their body and were humanoid, they freaked Asher out a little.

Relations between the 2 teams had gotten better. Prillish snuck away to be with Asher and his girls every other night. She too now enjoyed the extra XP they got at night. Practicing her sex skills she and Asher were able to make Atty and Tiff cumatose. It was a great team building exercise. They hadn’t talked about the future, so they enjoyed one another’s company. Living in the moment. 

Day of Metal they were attacked by small silver flying drakes. The next day was Blood and a bunch of mini-flying demons made of blood attacked. Then on the day of Physical they were attacked by gorilla monsters that didn’t have heads. Simply big arms and lots of muscles. On the day of Sex they got the biggest surprise. 

The monsters of course were tentacle things that reminded Asher of Marlboros from Final Fantasy. Asher promised Tiff they would focus on finding a female tentacle humanoid for her to try. She reluctantly helped kill them all. Having run into them in his Roktai Trial he did let her know that they had aphrodisiac and paralyzing venom sacks. The aphrodisiac was as strong as, if not stronger than what they were dosed with at Club Crest. 

The Paralyzing venom paralyzed of course, but also increased pleasure immensely. She happily dug into them in search of the sacs of pleasure. By the end she had over 50 of each stored away. He still worried what she would use them for, but trusted her. Honestly if they could refine both. They would be good for business and pleasure. They sold for a lot, and Tiff hinted at wanting to try some kinkier roleplays. 

When they were cleaning up Asher got the best surprise. Batman showed up. He passed the Hall of Death. Everyone gathered around him as he walked into camp. A little worse for wear he appeared to have been fighting hard. 

“I swear,” Batman said. “Some god of sex has cursed me. If it’s not being forced to have to watch you do it, then I get attacked by sex monsters.” Asher laughed. He did have to admit that Batman had bad luck when it came to Sex mana. 

With that they started grilling him on his Hall and learning Death Mana. He had been in there for 3 years. It had taken him 2 to figure out Death Mana was all around him. Then another 1 year to figure out how to turn Darkness Mana into it. All in all Asher was happy for him. Death Mana was rare, and powerful. He just hoped it didn’t change him too much. 

“Glad you made it,” Asher said. 

“Of course, I’m Batman,” he said. He looked a little paler than Asher remembered, but being trapped in a room for a few years could do that to you. 

“Let’s catch you up on what's been going on. And levels too, Keera could kick your ass now,” he said and they went back to it. After that they finally were attacked by shadow monsters. Which were literally just shadows. With 2 strong Holy Systems they were easy to beat. Ming and Batman did most of the fighting so they could catch up a little. By the time they were ready to attack the Hall of Collaboration he was happy with everyone’s gains. 

Tiff was now level 42, she hinted at a new sex skill that was groundbreaking, but was still practicing it. His father was 42 and had received new skills. His mother, Abby, and Atty were now level 43. They all had new skills as well, Abby even got her Flight skill. Vincent was 41 and had some new materia. Nadir was 42 and had leveled his new Illusion Manifestation skill well. Keera was level 40 and was doing some real damage with her Sonicboom and new Mana Rifle. Ming was 35 and Batman was 34, but Asher knew they could catch up. Both were doing a lot more damage with their new mana. Asher too had his own gains. 

Powerstrike, Battleshout, Intimidation, Justice, Mesmerizing Gaze, Healing Touch, Mana Sight, Mana Sense, Share the Love, Cleanliness, and of course his new Sex Bomb skill had all raised in levels after weeks of fighting monsters daily. Sex Bomb hardly used any Sex Mana in it, but enough that it actually caused monsters to be hurt and want to attack him. Intimidation still had its many uses, but Sex Bomb was a close second to how often he used it. 

The nice things were the skills he got at level 41 and 43.

Of course he didn’t feel anything different with Orgy Control, just like he didn’t with More to Love, but the last thing he wanted was someone feeling left out. Empower was a little interesting, if he has sex with the girls they have an increase in Strength and Endurance for about 2 hours. The amount of stat increases and the duration appears to go up with each level. He was all for making them stronger. 

The groups stepped into the clearing. It was still early. They had all just finished their fights with that day's darkness monsters. Of course the pop-up appeared when they got close to the 3 huts. 

“Everyone ready?” Asher asked. He looked to Alfa and Ezarian. He pulled out 2 of the Xare keys and threw one to each. “Per our agreement. You each get 1. Now everyone has 9 keys, and should only have to fight a 2 asterisk boss. Equal footing.” 

“And after we finish our Bosses?” Ezarian asked. 

“We will see. There are 2 more mana types unaccounted for. Havoc and Destruction. I’m guessing we will have 2 more boss monsters popping up,” he looked around. “After we defeat this hall, my people will not break the peace. But if any of you try to, I will stop holding back.” Alfa sneered at him, Ezarian nodded. He gave Prillish a wink and turned to his group. She had stopped by in the middle of the night for her daily fill of his Healing Touch. The extra HP/Hour would help her in the fight. 

“We good?” Asher asked his team. 

“What do you expect to happen?” Batman asked. 

“A double cross,” he said. “We go down, fight the boss, wait until we are fully healed, then come back up. I think us leaving the Hall is too tempting for them to pass up. With the contribution points from Ming and Batman ours are way ahead of theirs.” Asher pulled up the Contribution Screen. 

His team worked a lot better together. With all of the ones grouping up around boss monsters they were able to beat a lot more as well. There was a huge gap, and he was sure the System would make it so they could catch up easily. 

“Let’s get to it then,” Abby said heading to the left hall. They made their way down the stairs. The white pyramid barrier was back up, and the pedestal for the keys was there. He set all 9 on the pedestal and a pop-up window came up again. 

Asher looked around the cavern. There were some torches next to the pedestal that illuminated the area better than they should have been able to. The stone cave was red/brown. Any noise had a good echo going in the giant space. And of course there was an 80 foot tall dragon inside. He used Identification. 

**Xare Purple Dragon**

Level 44

Asher was now a higher level than the dragon, so he had that going for him at least. The mythical beast was very big. Huge arms and legs stood it up. The belly was larger and scraped along the ground. It’s scales were purple, underbelly was white. Wings laid across it’s side coming from near the shoulders. There were green spikes along the back. Asher was reminded of Reptar from Rugrats a little. 

“Why doesn’t it move?” Batman asked. 

“I’m sure once we go down there it will. We have 9 keys. 4 of them have 1 more use and the other 5 have 2 more uses. If we don’t beat it here we will have another chance, but that’s it. If it looks like we are going to lose, Tiff will give a psychic signal,” he said. They had practiced this before. “I know we can do this. The Crystal Deth on Tiint was a 2 asterisk and level 45, so this is easier than we have done before. We have gained levels and experience. I don’t see why we can’t get this done.” He studied everyone. 

“I’m Main Tank, mom you’re off. If I lose aggro you grab it. Dad, you are heals. Try to stay up here and see if you can’t heal everyone. Everyone with ranged attacks try to stay up here as well. If that doesn’t work, come down. There are no giant spikes on the ceiling, so I don’t think anything should fall on us. But this canyon is huge. That thing can’t fly here, but he will be able to move. Watch out for Dragon Mana. It’s annoying and hurts like all hell. Focus on joints. Bring it down to my level. I will focus on the mouth and claws.” 

Everyone nodded. They were all nervous, but he knew they were ready. Without further ado he pulled Dragon Slayer out, it was time for his sword to earn the title. 

Jogging down the stairs everyone stayed up. At the last step the dragon finally broke out of its trance and let out a bellowing roar. Asher didn’t wait and jumped the 100 feet to the dragon. His sword filled with Physical Mana he used Powerstrike to hit it in the face. The dragon hardly had time to duck and he was sinking into the flesh at the neck. The dragon whipped it’s long neck and threw him off. The fight had begun. 

He found a good spot near the front of the dragon. There was plenty of room in the canyon, but he needed to keep it in one place so they could focus fire. Everyone was able to stay on the platform. His dad did move down to reach him better, but Asher was wearing his Berserker Armor. If he did get hurt he shouldn’t be crippled by the pain. 

Since everyone could stay on the pedestal platform he slowly turned the body of the dragon to the right. This gave them a big enough target to focus on it’s sides. The scales were hard, but no harder than the Crystal Deth. Everyone had new levels and powers they were able to do some serious damage. 

Abby was now able to fly in. Throw some Ki, more punches, then fly out. Tiff used her Pyrokinesis skills to set it aflame. His mother used a new holy beam she got to attack it from afar. It was an evolution to her Holy Channel and would hurt enemies, while healing friends. Atty used her sword and attacked the same area as Abby. The few times the dragon swiped at her she was able to fly away. Nadir used his Illusion Manifestation to make spears that he threw at the dragon. They may not have done a lot of damage, but it was a great way to raise the skill so it eventually would. 

Keera got a new Stage Light skill that she used to blind the dragon now and again, or she hit it’s face with Sonicboom causing it to screech in anger. Batman stuck to mostly darkness mana, but Asher could sense some Death Mana being used as well. Vincent stuck to his materia. Ming used her Dragon mana on the dragon. Asher wasn’t sure if it was like Pokemon where Dragon was weak to Dragon, but it was worth a shot. 

After an hour it got hurt so bad that it couldn’t use one of its claws. Thats when it started breathing Dragon Mana. The Mana was purple like its scales and washed over Asher doing some serious periodic damage. He made the mistake of jumping out of the way and those on the pedestal were hit with the blast. After that Asher stuck to one spot, and his dad was able to heal him through the Dragon Mana attack. 

It took 4 more hours of wearing it down for the beast to run out of mana in the Mana Heart. After that every hit was doing damage. Its sides became a bloody mess as Dragon, Wind, Sound, Fire, Psychic, Holy, Energy, Lightning, and Death Mana tore into it. After a total of 6 hours the dragon dropped to all 4s and Asher was able to give the killing blow by cutting off the head. 

The key fell out of the air into his hand. With a frown Asher noticed that no one else did. “Did anyone else get a key?” Asher asked. 

“No, just Contribution and Experience Points,” Tiff said.

“You mind grabbing the other keys?” Asher yelled over to Vincent who was still up on the platform. 

“Holy hell this thing is big,” Atty said walking up to it. The dragon skull was as tall as she was. “It looked smaller from up there.” 

“Oh my god,” Keera said. “We need a selfie.” No one fought her on it. Soon they were standing in front of the dragon taking poses. She took a picture with her skill, but more than one person had their phone out. 

“What now?” Tiff asked. 

“Not sure. We are all pretty good on health. Let’s take this thing apart, and go from there.” Asher kept the head as a trophy. He was able to find the Mana Heart too, but it took over an hour to get to it.

“I know we didn’t say much,” he said to Ming and Batman. “But we are glad you made it. I know it wasn’t easy. As congratulations I think you deserve the Mana Heart. You can sell it and split the proceeds when we get back. We were all able to come here without worry because you passed your own trials.” Others agreed and it was soon hidden in Ming’s ring. 

Now that everyone was ready to go his wife kept sending him nudes and ideas for what they should do next. Unable to fight her advances any longer he was about to say they should go when the pop-up appeared. 

When he pushed away the notification the cavern wall disappeared. Asher poured mana into his eyes to focus on everything. What appeared were both groups in similarly shaped caverns. In the clones middle cavern was a large copper skinned wrinkly old man that looked like a skinny buddha. That was the Time Boss. On the opposite side of them were the demons. They had a large humanoid blade monster. It reminded Asher of a Hork-Bajir from Animorphs, or a monster version of Edward Scissorhands. That was the Rift boss. 

The 3 groups stared at one another, none saying anything, then the cavern started to rumble. The stairs and platforms for the entrances to the caverns crumbled. The orifice for the exit was still there, but now they would have to jump or climb the rubble to get out. Confused, Asher waited for the other shoe to drop, it didn’t take long. 

A white light appeared near where the clones were, at the center of their cavern section. As the light disappeared a much taller pedestal appeared at the center. There was one tall golden statue, perfect for putting 30 keys on. Asher and his group walked up with the others to the pedestal. They stood around it eyeing one another. 

“This is now the House of Division,” Asher said. “The System wants us to fight for the right to defeat the boss.” He studied Ezarian and Alfa. “Do we fight against one another, or work together? For me, the rewards don’t appear worth it to fight.” 

Others slowly agreed. He sent everyone not in his group a raid invite. Their bodies glowed as they accepted, and for once Asher wasn’t scared that they would backstab him at any second. He dropped his Xare Keys on the pedestal. Now every group had 10. It was the perfect amount. When the 30th dropped in it’s spot a great roar sounded in the room. 

A monster 10 feet tall dropped down from the rock cavern ceiling. It was a gray skinned humanoid. Armored in all black, 2 huge horns stuck out of it’s head pointing straight up. Large claws and feet that were not armored. Asher thought it was one of the demons, but it gave off a darker presence. The beast stared at them breathing heavily, in full plate armor he couldn’t see the face, just the hands and feet. He looked to the demons and clones, they looked much worse than when he saw them last. Asher’s people were already healed and rested. There weren’t many options left.

“I’m tank,” he announced. “Anyone accidentally hits me too often, deal is off. I keep it’s back to you all. It uses Havoc Mana. Any stray attacks that go for you guys, block it Ezarian. Havoc is weak to Havoc. My group, same process as last time. This thing is a lot smaller, and a lot stronger.” He cast Identification. 

***Xare Havorkian***

Level 47

The thing let out another screech and Asher ran at it. Sword in hand he used Powerstrike to slice into it. His blow bounced off the plate. “Fuck!” He spat as he moved around it. Trying to face it away from the others. When he had it in a good spot the boss's helm opened up to reveal a gray mouthed snake maw. It screeched as the red and black Havoc Mana shot from the mouth and hit Asher point blank. 

He was thrown back hard but jumped back to it. They were soon attacking and dodging one another. A few people tried to get attacks in, but it was useless. They were moving too much. Asher using Dragon Slayer was able to knock it back, but then it was shooting a Havoc beam at near instantaneous speed from across the room. Asher really hated the small bosses. 

The thing swiped and clawed at him as he blocked it with his sword. His Berserker Armor did what it could but he was already bleeding profusely. White light coated him as his father healed him. He never let up on the Havorkian, whatever the hell that was. 

Asher was soon in the zone again. Hacking and slashing away at the boss they hit and blocked everything. Havoc blasts came within every 3 to 5 normal attacks from it. Asher was soon able to dodge them as they learned one another’s tricks. Unsure how long this could take he didn’t bother with Judgement. His sword always glowed red with Powerstrike. His muscles moved to the extreme. Since he was able to dodge the Havoc beams now, he wasn’t thrown back. Every ounce of strength went into dodging physical blows or dealing them. His sword wooshed through the air at increased speed. 

When he was in the groove he finally felt confident and yelled, “Attack.” The groups started then. Pounding the back of the monster with everything they had. It stumbled from the onslaught moving closer to Asher. He stepped back to give it room. As all the elements pelted into it’s back they threw more at it. Near 30 people attacked at once. Then the beast yelled and Havoc Mana began pouring out of it in a cloud. Asher jumped back in time before the cloud exploded. The blast was so powerful he felt it from 100 feet away. 

Before the dust could settle the beast was moving toward the party. Asher pushed hard and intercepted it. They began their dance again. Both attacking one another the group positioned themselves to it’s back and pelted it again. A Havoc cloud expelled from the monster. Asher dodged, intercepted, and tanked again. 

It took 5 hours with all 30 raid members to finally kill it. By then the armor on its back had chipped away and deep gashes appeared in its skin. Black blood poured out. After another Havoc cloud attack, instead of intercepting it Asher chugged a mana potion and cast Judgement. His blade lengthened in white light as he dove at the monster before it could hurt anyone. 

His sword arched through the air and slid into it’s back like butter. The glowing white blade split it in half. It gurgled and fell in 2 pieces on both sides of the thick steel. Asher breathed in heavily. As his heart pounded his mind worked. No longer in fight mode he actually had time to process thoughts again. He didn’t think it was over, but he hoped. 

With the additional experience from killing the boss, he was only 30,000 points from leveling. He brought up the contribution board. 

Apparently everyone received the 9,000 contribution points so far in the Hall. The demons were now in second place because they had more people than the clones. Asher walked up to his group. The 3 groups had separated. 

“What-” Tiff was going to say but was interrupted. 

“Holy hell!” “What the fuck” “Gods damn.” More than a few voices exclaimed reading the rewards. Asher too was tempted. That was 3 levels for him. But they had only defeated the Havoc Boss. There was still the Destruction left. He had never seen the System list the rewards before finishing the quest. His heart sank knowing that the reward was proportional to the risk. There was a dark ominous presence in the caverns. He was too tired to play anymore System games. 

“Don’t,” Asher said as a few of his party stepped toward the pedestal with all 30 keys. “It’s a trap, and you know it.” A few eyed him. He could tell Atty, Ming, Vincent, and Batman were more than tempted. Asher let out a long sigh as his armor and sword disappeared. Tired of the games and fighting he announced to the other groups, “Do what you want. I’m done.” 

Atty grabbed his arm. “We can’t. They could win. You know what happens if they do,” she said. She had warned him that he would get a bad sponsor that would try to kill him. He didn’t care. 

“Just like Ming and Batman dying?” He whispered. “We have already changed enough, Atty. I understand the theme of this Trial now.” He walked away to the hole in the wall that they had come down from over 12 hours ago. “It’s Greed. Corruption and Greed go hand in hand.” The rest of his party eventually followed. 

Ming finally came back on the day of Crystal. She had passed her Hall and could now use Dragon Mana. Though everyone had surpassed her in levels, he walked her through how amazing it was. Dragon was considered the culmination of all elements. It was one of the most powerful mana types, and would only strengthen her skills. The Hall had given her Dragon Blood as a reward in addition to the Xare Key. Thanks to that she was part dragon and wouldn't receive backlash from using the mana. Ezarian's team fought the Crystal boss. The monsters themselves were turtles, and the boss had a giant crystal for a shell. The demons had some hiccups, but they were able to beat it. On the day of Nature they were attacked by tree people. Alfa's team did a little better on the day of Bone. The monsters had bone protrusions throughout their body and were humanoid, they freaked Asher out a little. Relations between the 2 teams had gotten better. Prillish snuck away to be with Asher and his girls every other night. She too now enjoyed the extra XP they got at night. Practicing her sex skills she and Asher were able to make Atty and Tiff cumatose. It was a great team building exercise. They hadn't talked about the future, so they enjoyed one another's company. Living in the moment. Day of Metal they were attacked by small silver flying drakes. The next day was Blood and a bunch of mini-flying demons made of blood attacked. Then on the day of Physical they were attacked by gorilla monsters that didn't have heads. Simply big arms and lots of muscles. On the day of Sex they got the biggest surprise. The monsters of course were tentacle things that reminded Asher of Marlboros from Final Fantasy. Asher promised Tiff they would focus on finding a female tentacle humanoid for her to try. She reluctantly helped kill them all. Having run into them in his Roktai Trial he did let her know that they had aphrodisiac and paralyzing venom sacks. The aphrodisiac was as strong as, if not stronger than what they were dosed with at Club Crest. The Paralyzing venom paralyzed of course, but also increased pleasure immensely. She happily dug into them in search of the sacs of pleasure. By the end she had over 50 of each stored away. He still worried what she would use them for, but trusted her. Honestly if they could refine both. They would be good for business and pleasure. They sold for a lot, and Tiff hinted at wanting to try some kinkier roleplays. When they were cleaning up Asher got the best surprise. Batman showed up. He passed the Hall of Death. Everyone gathered around him as he walked into camp. A little worse for wear he appeared to have been fighting hard. I swear, Batman said. Some god of sex has cursed me. If it's not being forced to have to watch you do it, then I get attacked by sex monsters. Asher laughed. He did have to admit that Batman had bad luck when it came to Sex mana. With that they started grilling him on his Hall and learning Death Mana. He had been in there for 3 years. It had taken him 2 to figure out Death Mana was all around him. Then another 1 year to figure out how to turn Darkness Mana into it. All in all Asher was happy for him. Death Mana was rare, and powerful. He just hoped it didn't change him too much. Glad you made it, Asher said. Of course, I'm Batman, he said. He looked a little paler than Asher remembered, but being trapped in a room for a few years could do that to you. Let's catch you up on what's been going on. And levels too, Keera could kick your ass now, he said and they went back to it. After that they finally were attacked by shadow monsters. Which were literally just shadows. With 2 strong Holy Systems they were easy to beat. Ming and Batman did most of the fighting so they could catch up a little. By the time they were ready to attack the Hall of Collaboration he was happy with everyone's gains. Tiff was now level 42, she hinted at a new sex skill that was groundbreaking, but was still practicing it. His father was 42 and had received new skills. His mother, Abby, and Atty were now level 43. They all had new skills as well, Abby even got her Flight skill. Vincent was 41 and had some new materia. Nadir was 42 and had leveled his new Illusion Manifestation skill well. Keera was level 40 and was doing some real damage with her Sonicboom and new Mana Rifle. Ming was 35 and Batman was 34, but Asher knew they could catch up. Both were doing a lot more damage with their new mana. Asher too had his own gains. Name: Asher Whitmore Skills: Alias: Quinten Hardly Acting LVL MAX System: PORN STAR STD Immunity LVL MAX Level: 45 Roleplaying LVL MAX Experience 142,330/305,000 0+% Prop Manifestation LVL MAX Title: Lawful Good 10 Relationship Screen LVL 12 Guild: Community Ahegao LVL 9 Syscos: 18,844 Survival LVL 19 Tracking LVL 20 HP: 186 /182 9 Brawling LVL 18 MP: 135 /135 Policing LVL 10 Battleshout LVL 18 Stats: 0 Intimidation LVL 23 Strength: 62 Powerstrike LVL 22 Dexterity: 55 Justice LVL 16 Endurance: 62 Regal Presence LVL 9 Agility: 55 Battle Instincts LVL 20 Wisdom: 45 Weapon Throw LVL 19 Intelligence: 45 Gun Fighting LVL 9 Luck: 45 Full Body Control LVL MAX Charm: 40 Mesmerizing Gaze LVL 14 Healing Touch LVL 15 Custom Stats: Smooth Talker LVL 5 Dick Length 9 Inches Mana Sight LVL 28 Dick Diameter 2 Inches Revenge LVL 26 Fertility Off Role Immersion LVL MAX Pheromones 20 Mana Sense LVL 20 Libido 10 Share the Love LVL 5 Height 6'-5" Cleanliness LVL 9 Dragon Palm LVL 10 Sex Bomb LVL 8 Coupling Mana LVL 2 Orgy Control LVL MAX Empower LVL 2 Powerstrike, Battleshout, Intimidation, Justice, Mesmerizing Gaze, Healing Touch, Mana Sight, Mana Sense, Share the Love, Cleanliness, and of course his new Sex Bomb skill had all raised in levels after weeks of fighting monsters daily. Sex Bomb hardly used any Sex Mana in it, but enough that it actually caused monsters to be hurt and want to attack him. Intimidation still had its many uses, but Sex Bomb was a close second to how often he used it. The nice things were the skills he got at level 41 and 43. Orgy Control LVL MAX The skill allows you to better control the flow of multiple partners at once. Make sure everyone is involved and satisfied. This is an evolution to the skill More to Love. Empower Level 2 You've put too much into strength and endurance. You might hurt your women. Empower will help solve that. Of course he didn't feel anything different with Orgy Control, just like he didn't with More to Love, but the last thing he wanted was someone feeling left out. Empower was a little interesting, if he has sex with the girls they have an increase in Strength and Endurance for about 2 hours. The amount of stat increases and the duration appears to go up with each level. He was all for making them stronger. The groups stepped into the clearing. It was still early. They had all just finished their fights with that day's darkness monsters. Of course the pop-up appeared when they got close to the 3 huts. HALL OF COLLABORATION Quest Objective: Defeat 0/3 Bosses Rewards: Contribution Points Experience Points ???????? Everyone ready? Asher asked. He looked to Alfa and Ezarian. He pulled out 2 of the Xare keys and threw one to each. Per our agreement. You each get 1. Now everyone has 9 keys, and should only have to fight a 2 asterisk boss. Equal footing. And after we finish our Bosses? Ezarian asked. We will see. There are 2 more mana types unaccounted for. Havoc and Destruction. I'm guessing we will have 2 more boss monsters popping up, he looked around. After we defeat this hall, my people will not break the peace. But if any of you try to, I will stop holding back. Alfa sneered at him, Ezarian nodded. He gave Prillish a wink and turned to his group. She had stopped by in the middle of the night for her daily fill of his Healing Touch. The extra HP/Hour would help her in the fight. We good? Asher asked his team. What do you expect to happen? Batman asked. A double cross, he said. We go down, fight the boss, wait until we are fully healed, then come back up. I think us leaving the Hall is too tempting for them to pass up. With the contribution points from Ming and Batman ours are way ahead of theirs. Asher pulled up the Contribution Screen. CONTRIBUTION BOARD : TEAMS 1 Lawful Good 18922 2 Chaotic Evil 11295 3 True Neutral 11254 His team worked a lot better together. With all of the ones grouping up around boss monsters they were able to beat a lot more as well. There was a huge gap, and he was sure the System would make it so they could catch up easily. Let's get to it then, Abby said heading to the left hall. They made their way down the stairs. The white pyramid barrier was back up, and the pedestal for the keys was there. He set all 9 on the pedestal and a pop-up window came up again. DRAGON BOSS Keys Used: 9/5 Xare Keys Rewards: Contribution Points Experience Points ???????? Asher looked around the cavern. There were some torches next to the pedestal that illuminated the area better than they should have been able to. The stone cave was red/brown. Any noise had a good echo going in the giant space. And of course there was an 80 foot tall dragon inside. He used Identification. **Xare Purple Dragon** Level 44 Asher was now a higher level than the dragon, so he had that going for him at least. The mythical beast was very big. Huge arms and legs stood it up. The belly was larger and scraped along the ground. It's scales were purple, underbelly was white. Wings laid across it's side coming from near the shoulders. There were green spikes along the back. Asher was reminded of Reptar from Rugrats a little. Why doesn't it move? Batman asked. I'm sure once we go down there it will. We have 9 keys. 4 of them have 1 more use and the other 5 have 2 more uses. If we don't beat it here we will have another chance, but that's it. If it looks like we are going to lose, Tiff will give a psychic signal, he said. They had practiced this before. I know we can do this. The Crystal Deth on Tiint was a 2 asterisk and level 45, so this is easier than we have done before. We have gained levels and experience. I don't see why we can't get this done. He studied everyone. I'm Main Tank, mom you're off. If I lose aggro you grab it. Dad, you are heals. Try to stay up here and see if you can't heal everyone. Everyone with ranged attacks try to stay up here as well. If that doesn't work, come down. There are no giant spikes on the ceiling, so I don't think anything should fall on us. But this canyon is huge. That thing can't fly here, but he will be able to move. Watch out for Dragon Mana. It's annoying and hurts like all hell. Focus on joints. Bring it down to my level. I will focus on the mouth and claws. Everyone nodded. They were all nervous, but he knew they were ready. Without further ado he pulled Dragon Slayer out, it was time for his sword to earn the title. Jogging down the stairs everyone stayed up. At the last step the dragon finally broke out of its trance and let out a bellowing roar. Asher didn't wait and jumped the 100 feet to the dragon. His sword filled with Physical Mana he used Powerstrike to hit it in the face. The dragon hardly had time to duck and he was sinking into the flesh at the neck. The dragon whipped it's long neck and threw him off. The fight had begun. He found a good spot near the front of the dragon. There was plenty of room in the canyon, but he needed to keep it in one place so they could focus fire. Everyone was able to stay on the platform. His dad did move down to reach him better, but Asher was wearing his Berserker Armor. If he did get hurt he shouldn't be crippled by the pain. Since everyone could stay on the pedestal platform he slowly turned the body of the dragon to the right. This gave them a big enough target to focus on it's sides. The scales were hard, but no harder than the Crystal Deth. Everyone had new levels and powers they were able to do some serious damage. Abby was now able to fly in. Throw some Ki, more punches, then fly out. Tiff used her Pyrokinesis skills to set it aflame. His mother used a new holy beam she got to attack it from afar. It was an evolution to her Holy Channel and would hurt enemies, while healing friends. Atty used her sword and attacked the same area as Abby. The few times the dragon swiped at her she was able to fly away. Nadir used his Illusion Manifestation to make spears that he threw at the dragon. They may not have done a lot of damage, but it was a great way to raise the skill so it eventually would. Keera got a new Stage Light skill that she used to blind the dragon now and again, or she hit it's face with Sonicboom causing it to screech in anger. Batman stuck to mostly darkness mana, but Asher could sense some Death Mana being used as well. Vincent stuck to his materia. Ming used her Dragon mana on the dragon. Asher wasn't sure if it was like Pokemon where Dragon was weak to Dragon, but it was worth a shot. After an hour it got hurt so bad that it couldn't use one of its claws. Thats when it started breathing Dragon Mana. The Mana was purple like its scales and washed over Asher doing some serious periodic damage. He made the mistake of jumping out of the way and those on the pedestal were hit with the blast. After that Asher stuck to one spot, and his dad was able to heal him through the Dragon Mana attack. It took 4 more hours of wearing it down for the beast to run out of mana in the Mana Heart. After that every hit was doing damage. Its sides became a bloody mess as Dragon, Wind, Sound, Fire, Psychic, Holy, Energy, Lightning, and Death Mana tore into it. After a total of 6 hours the dragon dropped to all 4s and Asher was able to give the killing blow by cutting off the head. DRAGON BOSS DEFEATED Keys Used: 9/5 Xare Keys Rewards: Contribution Points Experience Points Xare Key Rewards Contribution Points x 1,000 Experience Points x 20,000 Xare Key x 1 The key fell out of the air into his hand. With a frown Asher noticed that no one else did. Did anyone else get a key? Asher asked. No, just Contribution and Experience Points, Tiff said. You mind grabbing the other keys? Asher yelled over to Vincent who was still up on the platform. Holy hell this thing is big, Atty said walking up to it. The dragon skull was as tall as she was. It looked smaller from up there. Oh my god, Keera said. We need a selfie. No one fought her on it. Soon they were standing in front of the dragon taking poses. She took a picture with her skill, but more than one person had their phone out. What now? Tiff asked. Not sure. We are all pretty good on health. Let's take this thing apart, and go from there. Asher kept the head as a trophy. He was able to find the Mana Heart too, but it took over an hour to get to it. I know we didn't say much, he said to Ming and Batman. But we are glad you made it. I know it wasn't easy. As congratulations I think you deserve the Mana Heart. You can sell it and split the proceeds when we get back. We were all able to come here without worry because you passed your own trials. Others agreed and it was soon hidden in Ming's ring. Now that everyone was ready to go his wife kept sending him nudes and ideas for what they should do next. Unable to fight her advances any longer he was about to say they should go when the pop-up appeared. HALL OF COLLABORATION Quest Objective: Defeat 3/3 Bosses Rewards: Contribution Points Experience Points Hall Evolution Rewards Contribution Points x 3,000 Experience Points x 30,000 HALL OF COLLABORATION UPDATING... HALL OF COLLABORATION NOW - HALL OF DIVISION Quest Objective: Defeat Bosses: 3/4 Bosses Complete Rewards: Contribution Points Experience Points Hall Evolution When he pushed away the notification the cavern wall disappeared. Asher poured mana into his eyes to focus on everything. What appeared were both groups in similarly shaped caverns. In the clones middle cavern was a large copper skinned wrinkly old man that looked like a skinny buddha. That was the Time Boss. On the opposite side of them were the demons. They had a large humanoid blade monster. It reminded Asher of a Hork-Bajir from Animorphs, or a monster version of Edward Scissorhands. That was the Rift boss. The 3 groups stared at one another, none saying anything, then the cavern started to rumble. The stairs and platforms for the entrances to the caverns crumbled. The orifice for the exit was still there, but now they would have to jump or climb the rubble to get out. Confused, Asher waited for the other shoe to drop, it didn't take long. HAVOC BOSS Keys Used: 0/30 Xare Keys Rewards: Contribution Points Experience Points A white light appeared near where the clones were, at the center of their cavern section. As the light disappeared a much taller pedestal appeared at the center. There was one tall golden statue, perfect for putting 30 keys on. Asher and his group walked up with the others to the pedestal. They stood around it eyeing one another. This is now the House of Division, Asher said. The System wants us to fight for the right to defeat the boss. He studied Ezarian and Alfa. Do we fight against one another, or work together? For me, the rewards don't appear worth it to fight. Others slowly agreed. He sent everyone not in his group a raid invite. Their bodies glowed as they accepted, and for once Asher wasn't scared that they would backstab him at any second. He dropped his Xare Keys on the pedestal. Now every group had 10. It was the perfect amount. When the 30th dropped in it's spot a great roar sounded in the room. A monster 10 feet tall dropped down from the rock cavern ceiling. It was a gray skinned humanoid. Armored in all black, 2 huge horns stuck out of it's head pointing straight up. Large claws and feet that were not armored. Asher thought it was one of the demons, but it gave off a darker presence. The beast stared at them breathing heavily, in full plate armor he couldn't see the face, just the hands and feet. He looked to the demons and clones, they looked much worse than when he saw them last. Asher's people were already healed and rested. There weren't many options left. I'm tank, he announced. Anyone accidentally hits me too often, deal is off. I keep it's back to you all. It uses Havoc Mana. Any stray attacks that go for you guys, block it Ezarian. Havoc is weak to Havoc. My group, same process as last time. This thing is a lot smaller, and a lot stronger. He cast Identification. ***Xare Havorkian*** Level 47 The thing let out another screech and Asher ran at it. Sword in hand he used Powerstrike to slice into it. His blow bounced off the plate. Fuck! He spat as he moved around it. Trying to face it away from the others. When he had it in a good spot the boss's helm opened up to reveal a gray mouthed snake maw. It screeched as the red and black Havoc Mana shot from the mouth and hit Asher point blank. He was thrown back hard but jumped back to it. They were soon attacking and dodging one another. A few people tried to get attacks in, but it was useless. They were moving too much. Asher using Dragon Slayer was able to knock it back, but then it was shooting a Havoc beam at near instantaneous speed from across the room. Asher really hated the small bosses. The thing swiped and clawed at him as he blocked it with his sword. His Berserker Armor did what it could but he was already bleeding profusely. White light coated him as his father healed him. He never let up on the Havorkian, whatever the hell that was. Asher was soon in the zone again. Hacking and slashing away at the boss they hit and blocked everything. Havoc blasts came within every 3 to 5 normal attacks from it. Asher was soon able to dodge them as they learned one another's tricks. Unsure how long this could take he didn't bother with Judgement. His sword always glowed red with Powerstrike. His muscles moved to the extreme. Since he was able to dodge the Havoc beams now, he wasn't thrown back. Every ounce of strength went into dodging physical blows or dealing them. His sword wooshed through the air at increased speed. When he was in the groove he finally felt confident and yelled, Attack. The groups started then. Pounding the back of the monster with everything they had. It stumbled from the onslaught moving closer to Asher. He stepped back to give it room. As all the elements pelted into it's back they threw more at it. Near 30 people attacked at once. Then the beast yelled and Havoc Mana began pouring out of it in a cloud. Asher jumped back in time before the cloud exploded. The blast was so powerful he felt it from 100 feet away. Before the dust could settle the beast was moving toward the party. Asher pushed hard and intercepted it. They began their dance again. Both attacking one another the group positioned themselves to it's back and pelted it again. A Havoc cloud expelled from the monster. Asher dodged, intercepted, and tanked again. It took 5 hours with all 30 raid members to finally kill it. By then the armor on its back had chipped away and deep gashes appeared in its skin. Black blood poured out. After another Havoc cloud attack, instead of intercepting it Asher chugged a mana potion and cast Judgement. His blade lengthened in white light as he dove at the monster before it could hurt anyone. His sword arched through the air and slid into it's back like butter. The glowing white blade split it in half. It gurgled and fell in 2 pieces on both sides of the thick steel. Asher breathed in heavily. As his heart pounded his mind worked. No longer in fight mode he actually had time to process thoughts again. He didn't think it was over, but he hoped. HAVOC BOSS DEFEATED Keys Used: 30/30 Xare Keys Rewards: Contribution Points Experience Points Rewards Contribution Points x 5,000 Experience Points x 50,000 With the additional experience from killing the boss, he was only 30,000 points from leveling. He brought up the contribution board. CONTRIBUTION BOARD : TEAMS 1 Lawful Good 117922 2 True Neutral 101295 3 Chaotic Evil 92295 Apparently everyone received the 9,000 contribution points so far in the Hall. The demons were now in second place because they had more people than the clones. Asher walked up to his group. The 3 groups had separated. What- Tiff was going to say but was interrupted. HALL OF DIVISION New Objective: Escape with 1 Xare Key Rewards: 100,000 Contribution Points 1,000,000 Experience Points 100,000 Syscos Holy hell! What the fuck Gods damn. More than a few voices exclaimed reading the rewards. Asher too was tempted. That was 3 levels for him. But they had only defeated the Havoc Boss. There was still the Destruction left. He had never seen the System list the rewards before finishing the quest. His heart sank knowing that the reward was proportional to the risk. There was a dark ominous presence in the caverns. He was too tired to play anymore System games. Don't, Asher said as a few of his party stepped toward the pedestal with all 30 keys. It's a trap, and you know it. A few eyed him. He could tell Atty, Ming, Vincent, and Batman were more than tempted. Asher let out a long sigh as his armor and sword disappeared. Tired of the games and fighting he announced to the other groups, Do what you want. I'm done. Atty grabbed his arm. We can't. They could win. You know what happens if they do, she said. She had warned him that he would get a bad sponsor that would try to kill him. He didn't care. Just like Ming and Batman dying? He whispered. We have already changed enough, Atty. I understand the theme of this Trial now. He walked away to the hole in the wall that they had come down from over 12 hours ago. It's Greed. Corruption and Greed go hand in hand. The rest of his party eventually followed.