When it came to curses in RML, Izroth did not know much about them outside of what he learned within the Amaharpe Palace Library and the curse he received the Envoy of the Netherworld.
A large variety of curses existed—some more powerful than others. For example, the Curse of The Netherworld was a very bold curse where the caster had absolute confidence in their ability. It was one of the reasons why the curse could take effect so fast and even took the form of a skill that bound itself to Izroth. This was not like other curses that were typically executed in secret and required a greater length of time to exhibit their actual influence.
Unlike the Curse of The Netherworld, most curses were hidden away from one's eyes to avoid suspicion. It was to the point that someone would not know they were even affected by a curse until it was already too late!
Izroth suspected that whatever was behind this blood mist was also the source of this unknown curse. But, for a curse to cover such a vast range and affect multiple people simultaneously—there was no doubt in Izroth's mind that it was the work of someone or something in the legendary realm, or at the very least, close to it. If that was the case, then even he could not afford to lower his guard in this chasm.
Swoosh!
"Incoming!" One of the Sacred Beasts players yelled.
One of the Scarlet Phantoms that was untouched by One Shot Brick's and Passive Shield's taunt skills had broken through the party's wave of ranged attacks and was headed right for the center of the raid group!
"I got it!" A warrior named Falcon shouted as he moved to intercept the attack with his battle axe. He was not a tank-type warrior class but a hybrid that specialized in self-sustain and consistent damage. Therefore, while he could not absorb nearly as much damage as the party's main tankers, Falcon was still able to take some punishment.
Chiiii!!!!
As the Scarlet Phantom closed in, Falcon held his battle axe up to guard against the incoming attack. Usually, trying to defend against an attack from a specter-type monster using physical means was useless; however, Falcon's battle axe was a rare quality weapon that possessed the holy attribute! The holy attribute was one of the few things that made physical attacks effective against specter-type monsters—at least; this was typically the case.
Wooooosh!
Against Falcon's expectations, the Scarlet Phantom phased right through his battle axe and through his body! This caused Falcon to shiver as a breath of frost could be seen escaping from his mouth.
After the Scarlet Phantom passed through Falcon, it immediately disappeared into thin air as an alert sounded off.
〈Battle Alert: Player Falcon has been affected by «Scarlet Death Touch»!〉
〈Battle Alert: Player Falcon will receive 100% of their HP as damage over 10 seconds!〉
〈Battle Alert: All active buffs have been removed from Player Falcon!〉
"?!" Falcon was in a momentary state of shock. Not only was the Scarlet Phantom unaffected by the holy attribute of his battle axe, but the skill he became inflicted with as a result of coming into contact with the creature was too ruthless!
"My grade three holy attribute didn't work against these things! Don't let them touch you no matter what!" Falcon warned without hesitation as he quickly consumed a high-grade HP potion.
Due to the Scarlet Death Touch, Falcon was losing 10% of his HP every second on top of the blood mist's constant damage. Fortunately, the healers of his Sacred Beasts were attentive and kept his HP stable; however, if such a thing was to happen to multiple members of the party… Forget their current amount of healers; even if their numbers were doubled, it would not be possible to provide sustained support for that kind of damage!
"Isn't that skill a bit absurd? Even the holy attribute isn't effective against them! Not to mention their numbers… At this rate, the healers will have to start prioritizing, and we'll lose people before we can even reach the other side!" Passive Shield stated as a flash of golden light appeared around his shield that forced one of the nearby Scarlet Phantoms back and turned them to a cloud of smoke.
Meanwhile, Izroth observed the Sacred Beasts players as they repelled the Scarlet Phantoms. In terms of overall teamwork and organization, they had a slight edge over Blue Oasis. However, compared to Blue Oasis, Sacred Beasts lacked a wide range of decisive firepower. But, more importantly…
"Are you sure they do not require our help, guild leader Meng Jiang?" Izroth asked as he glanced in Meng Jiang's direction.
Izroth did not remain idle just to casually spectate those from Sacred Beasts. He was prepared to take action the moment the Scarlet Phantoms made their appearance. However, Meng Jiang surprisingly requested that Izroth only worry about protecting himself and let those from her guild handle the rest.
Even Meng Jiang herself was not lifting a finger to help those from her own guild! Since that was the case…
"I'm sure." Meng Jiang replied with a gentle smile.
She then continued, "I do not doubt that with our combined assistance, we can overcome these phantoms without much difficulty. However, as a top guild, we must use these rare opportunities that force us to adapt to improve our rate of development. Of course, if the situation becomes too out of hand, I will be counting on you, Mr. First Place."
A carefree smile found its way onto Izroth's face as he inwardly nodded.
'It's no wonder Sacred Beasts was able to solidify their position as a top guild despite having one of the lowest starting points. With this type of person leading the way, it would be challenging not to improve.'
Most people would think that Meng Jiang was crazy using a situation like this to temper her guild members, especially during an event where each life was precious. But, in actuality, there was no better time or place as the stakes were higher than normal. In the long run, the players of Sacred Beasts would gain invaluable experience that all the training and exercises in the world could never grant!
"Besides… They may not compare to you, Mr. First Place, but—they are still the pride of my Sacred Beasts." Meng Jiang stated confidently.
Chiiiii!!! Chiiii!!!
One Shot Brick furrowed his brows as he worked on fending off several of the Scarlet Phantoms he attracted with his Anchor of Deluge. Indeed, these things only took one hit to kill, but their numbers were endless. At this rate, his Sacred Beasts only had everything to lose and nothing to gain by staying in this chasm!
After a brief moment of contemplation, a look of clarity appeared in One Shot Brick's eyes.
"If you have a movement skill, get ready to activate it! Supporters—cast your AOE heals and get everyone to full HP! If you have movement speed buffs or HP regen skills, use them on those with the lowest HP or lowest mobility! If you haven't already consumed a potion, save it!" One Shot Brick commanded.
Not too long after he did so, a new wave of Scarlet Phantoms descended from the darkness above the blood mist. The creatures were immediately bombarded with offensive magic from the Sacred Beasts players; however, it was clear that the attacks this time were not as widespread due to many of their AOE skills being on cooldown.
"Now!" One Shot Brick roared as he slammed his shield into the ground.
Rmmmmble..!!!
The earth began to tremble as the sound of ocean waves filled the chasm.
At the same time, the players from Sacred Beasts executed their movement skills and buffs.
In the blink of an eye, One Shot Brick, who was just next to the group, traveled nearly fifty meters forward! But that was not all.
A gentle water trail was left behind on the route One Shot Brick took to advance. When other players came into contact with this water trail, they felt their steps became lighter as their movement speed almost doubled! This was the result of One Shot Brick's class skill, Rapid Currents. As long as his allies followed the trail, they would receive a movement speed boost.
However, the water trail's length was only as far as One Shot Brick could move in a couple of seconds. This is why he utilized the skill Unimpeded Charge along with the movement speed buffs from the supporters to create a path that was as long as possible!
As One Shot Brick faced the small staggered backlash of Unimpeded Charge not hitting a target, he noticed that the blood mist in this area was thinner than his previous location. Right as he realized this, One Shot Brick saw a faint light in the near distance.
"That's…. The exit..!" One Shot Brick uttered.
