Rising Fantasy: Online

[You have entered a High Aura zone!]

[Your aura is boosted somewhat, while your Strength, Endurance and Stamina are slightly weakened.]

Max's squad found themselves in a meadow of pristine white grass, trees with pink, purple or white leaves and colored aura flowing above with occasional shining particles passing by.

"This place is weird. Either people passed through unscathed or they disappeared. Many of the search parties sent here disappeared as well, while others reported nothing and got out clean. Now people just avoid this place." Said Eliyah.

"This is the quickest way to Virtonis. I'm willing to fight a boss if I have to." Said Max. Others agreed with his suggestion to pass through this place.

Flowers glowed by their feet in the white grass. It was a bright, colorful place. But there were no life forms visible. No friendly or hostile monsters anywhere as they walked for a dozen minutes.

"This place is definitely weird." Said Manuel. "Let's just get out of here quickly." The spear knight clenched his weapon and took a deep breath.

The squad flew a good distance before this. They didn't intend to spend anymore aura for their safety.

Max washed his face with water in the small stream on the cliff they were climbing.

Above them were glowing colorful clouds that had aura polluting them.

"We should probably think about how we are going to meet up on the second floor, since we're all going?" Max said while sitting down to catch his breath. The squad walked the whole day.

"The big guilds like Priam's had a way. But I can't really think of anything." Said Eliyah.

"We're probably getting spawned somewhere random...I don't know man, I don't think we can find a way, unless we get a lot of notoriety up there. It's probably some stupidly rare item that we need." Manuel said.

"Man did we really have to climb this cliff? My arms are burning." Thomas interjected with a tired expression as he crouched to drink water.

"What do you think Thomas?" Max asked the verdant archer.

"Me? I think we're fucked but let's see how far we can go."

"Fuck you bro." Manuel said. "Our best bet is just forming a party with NPCs or some players if we can find 'em. But it's probably unlikely. I'd bet even there, there are more settlers than active players."

"I think we're just gonna have to thug it out bros. No way around it. Maybe on the floor after." The purple mage added.

A short silence ensued as the squad sat with their heads down.

"If...when we reach the fourth floor, are you guys joining Priam?"

"I will." Said Manuel.

"Hm, even if we don't get accepted by the guy, I think he'll let us linger at his headquarters until we meet up with each other there." Thomas said.

"Huh...how many days should the first guy wait? If it comes to that. Wait, when should we even go to the fourth floor? Is there a plan?" The archer asked stupidly.

"So we all go to Priam once we decide to get there? We'll need to level up to at least Elevated rank first." Said Manuel while ignoring the archer.

"It'll probably be a long time before I go to Priam." Max got up. He then switched the topic.

"Glad we're almost out of this place. It gave me the creeps." He said while looking on from the cliff. At the silent, lifeless field of white grass and feminine colors.

"Almost." Manuel added.

"I sensed around and didn't notice anything. Just natural aura flow." Max added.

The players crossed the calm stream of water and went into the rocky region ahead.

Stone ridges and pillars around the players with irregular shapes, created by nature, bore numerous scars. Some were shattered, blasted out sections where someone or something probably fought.

Tiny craters in the stone were frequent below their feet.

It was a worrying sight. Max kept his Aura Sense active as they traversed this region that led out of the High Aura zone.

Minutes later, they encountered pieces of bone, partial and whole skeletons and weapons. Some skeletons had armor on them.

Shattered skulls, detached limbs and disfigured jaws of the face were found on their path.

"So many...This is where they all perished? All the missing?" Thomas said with a look of worry.

"We might be close to the threat. I'll keep the sense active so we avoid it." Said Max.

Tension rose among the players. Max had his two swords out. He tried to remain calm and not tighten the grip on his swords.

The skeletons with weapons and armor were probably the old search groups who looked for the missing people and adventurers.

Several villages circled this whole region, so it was possible that in the not so distant past, people traversed this place.

"It seems the boss monster kills them for sport. It doesn't even eat them like most monsters do." Manuel said. His face calm and collected. Devoid of emotion.

Even the armorless bodies were left lying. Monsters of the boss caliber that ate humans consumed them whole. Bones and meat.

Max on the other hand had a consistent frown on his face.

"Maybe we should infuse our weapons and ourselves just in case." He said.

Blue aura enveloped his dark posion sword, while a peculiar, colorful smoke enveloped his Virtonia. The purple outer edge firmly contained the ever fluctuating rainbow storm of colors inside it.

The others listened.

Infusion of weapons, armor and the body with aura did not expend it. It was a boost without costs.

Helmets of the decapitated were seen as well.

But none of these really made Max feel much.

Until he stumbled upon three skeletons lying next to each other. One skeleton seem to be a woman's, while the others were small, toddlers.

The mother's skeleton had an arm over the kids. Max looked at it, and his mouth quivered. His heartbeat quickened and he felt something bad in his guts.

He gripped his swords tightly and he took a deep breath.

"Shit." Said Eliyah, looking upon the two victims.

Max looked away. He glanced at the blue sprouts rising from stone that resembled trees without leaves.

He looked at the final cliff they would have to scale or fly over to leave this weird place, half a kilometer away.

Then he made a decision.

"I'm fighting the boss."

"What? Why?" Said Eliyah.

"I just...We are going to a higher floor anyway, risking our lives. What's another monster to slay?" Max answered.

"I have a bad feeling about this Max. Let's just go man." Thomas said.

"No!" He yelled. " I'm not going to sit and pray that others will save me anymore. I...we need every kill that we can get to prepare for the next floor. If you want to avoid it, go and split from me, but I don't think it's a good idea. The boss might pick us off."

"Okay...relax man." Eliyah replied. "We're not going anywhere."

Max met Manuel's gaze and they both nodded.

"Alright, alright." Thomas said with a sigh.

Max focused his Aura Sense and began the search.

For ten minutes the squad walked around the rocky region of weird formations, craters, bodies and colored trunk-like plants. Max kept his sense active constantly, losing a few percentages of aura.

"Anything even slightly unordinary?" Asked Eliyah.

"Right now...I'm not sensing a big moving bundle of aura, but..."

"But what?" The mage asked.

"But there is a flow of aura nearby, converging and going in the same direction."

Very soon, the players stumbled upon a clear, isolated body of water and a large rock formation with a spherical open space inside.

Aura flowed inside and converged in one spot. It was slightly elevated, like a bed, and a man laid on it.

He had thick, long hair and a face without any facial hair. His robe was white with some yellow and red glyphs Max couldn't read.

The squad froze. The stranger was just lying there, unconscious.

Max whispered to Manuel.

"Uh, do you think..."

"Yes. Why would any person lay here, alone, amidst this death zone?"

"But...you sure? Should I just kill him?"

Manuel nodded.

Max sighed quietly. His swords and body were infused and ready. The player bent his knees...

And bolted towards the unarmored, unconscious young looking man, intending to decapitate him.