Virtual Reality : Dystopian Tales Online

010.2 | The Five Grand Bosses of the 200th Floor

The minute the twins arrived at the game, they directly received the automated coordinates telling a summon from a specific individual. The twins promptly settled the entrance's preparation and departed using the whistles given to them. 

Marcus used his whistle and called a creature through the soundless object. A few moments later, a magnificent mid-size Pegasus with golden hair swooped down from the sky to report on its caller. Since the twins are still kids, they merely use one ride alternating whose pet should be called.

"Let's go with these coordinates," Marlene said, pressing the coordinates provided. The Pegasus neighed as it warmed up the front for takeoff, galloping up as if treading on invisible stairs.

The drive is only brief. It only took them five minutes to complete the ride. The Pegasus landed on its landing spot on the second floor, only a few feet away from Hal's Great Dungeon. 

Other players are also just taking off on their rides, coddling the beasts first before discharging them. Marcus drew a golden apple from his pouch and stuffed it into the creature before it withdrew.

Marlene was lingering outside on the landing docks. Sitting on a hack-down tree trunk, she was scrolling through the feeds of the system, searching for new announcements before transferring to the world chat. 

Since the concept of Party and Guild was not yet enforced, most people could only inquire on the world chat or privately send a message. She was reading some troll greetings and whatnot. The main discussion in the world chat is still about the events that transpired last night.

[Player-vsb]: Isn't it the second day? I looked at the records in the dungeon, and the floors of the Zwene are roughly completed.

[Player-wqa]: What did you expect? They besieged the skies last night with announcements. I almost wanted to cover my ears. I felt so worthless!

[Player-ppq]: I feel you, upstairs ah. It's like you're watching the top students in the class receiving awards! So amazing, yet I'm filled with envy.

[Player-fgn]: How about Clover? He didn't make any name last night.

[Player-plo]: Hey upstairs, what do you mean by that? As if you made a name last night, ah.

[Player-fgn]: What's wrong with you? I am just asking some questions, alright? There are already rumors circulating around. I want some answers. 

It was just a silly query, but it intensified the conversation to a more bitter one. Marlene wanted to give some remarks and share the ordeal she had with the dungeon fight last night. She nibbled her lip, recalling the helpless expression of Clover watching the guild leaders become psychopaths. 

She is about to tell something when a phrase interrupted the argument. The words that she had written are then deleted as she spectated to the gossip.

[Player-nxw]: The gods are on the two hundredth floor. It seems like they're plotting to conquer the last floor of the Zwene. 

[Player-nnn]: I've seen them too. The guild leaders are discussing something when we are passing by. 

[Player-yuy]: Wait, did you say the 200th floor? How could I forget? That's the most challenging floor coming from the first string patch. 

[Player-bnm]: I agree! It cannot be compared to the last boss on the Terrare Grounds! 

[Player-qoq]: Seriously? I'm from the third server, so I didn't know it. What's up with that place?

[Player-www]: Right, the Terrare Dungeon was cleared on the second patch, so nobody knows about the events. You see, it was known to have the greatest...

Marcus finished doing his task and left the landing area. He found his twin sitting on the corner while reading the world chat. Since the two of them are twins, they already merged their information, allowing each to see the contents of the other. 

Unlike the other players that seem to stare at midair while clicking on air, Marcus can clearly see the translucent slate where activities never cease to stop. Marlene noticed his presence and turned around.

"It seems like we are joining a raid," she said. "Clover is summoning us to the 24th floor."

The twins are from the third server, so they don't know the ruckus about the 200th floor. They can guess from how people react that the 200th floor is difficult. Marcus only nodded, responding to whatever his sister is saying. Using a teleportation talisman, the two quickly traveled to the coordinates after entering the dungeon door.

A cluster of people welcomed the newly arrived players. These people are gathering before the door, but none of them dared to enter. Marcus and Marlene came in front and saw a group of familiar people on the doorstep. Clover recognized the twins and called them over.

Like the usual greeting, the two Elven twins ran towards the player. Clover opened his arms to receive the twins and whirled around. The two happily laughed in glee as they clutch tightly to Clover. They only stopped playing when Frass arrived in a foul mood. 

As kids, they also ran towards Frass and hugged him around his waist. The man does not react as he walked towards Clover, with the twins being dragged on a happy ride.

"So, who bullied you today?" Frass asked Clover directly.

Allen, Melon, and Aries flinched on the sidelines. They kept their distance subconsciously by hiding behind Xavier. Clover only shook his head, dismissing the idea. He wasn't bullied. Who said that they bullied him?

"We will play for a raid today. You're up to it?" Clover asked.

"Let me know the plan," Frass said. Though, he will still follow his nephew whenever he goes.

Clover explained the details to Frass. All his words are from what they discussed earlier. Moving back in time, Clover is still not convinced by the idea. The two people who cleared the 200th floor are asking for his assistance. What kind of play are they doing?

"As what I can remember, there is only one boss on the 200th floor," Leon said. 

He had already joined the Cassaianne Guild this time, but the guild did not care about clearing any floors like usual. Because of this, he did not care about memorizing which floor has this boss. He only remembered the 200th floor because of its unusual setting. 

But Shin is different. As if opening a document from a computer file, Shin supplemented the necessary information. 

"The last boss of the first string players is on the 200th floor. That floor recorded the largest death toll," Shin said. 

"The largest?" Leon wondered. "Is the boss on that dungeon floor is strong?"

"Not only strong, ah," Allen interjected. "It is very strong."

Leon looked at him. How strong is very strong?

Nobody seems to supplement any clue, so Aud commented, "There is one boss, but it can resurrect for five times. It is equal to having five bosses. But here's the catch, every time the boss dies, its level increases twice the level of the highest leveled player within the area." 

"The boss adapts the player to the highest level. The first boss will have the level the same as the player. The next boss will have the level double the number. This is the reason it took a few weeks before the bosses were defeated many years ago," Shin added. "But isn't Clover have the highest level amongst us?"

This means that the first boss will have the same level as Clover, the game's top player. 

"That's why I am asking why am I needed in this raid," Clover pointed out. "There might be new rules implemented for the boss since this is the ultimate boss for the first string patch."

"Rules like what?" Allen is not convinced. 

"You know, like erasing the level cap restriction."

"How is that possible?" Melon asked. "The cap raise wasn't implemented yet."

"Are you sure?" Rios sighed. "Weren't we on the sixth server already? It could've been a beta, but still."

The group silenced. Melon and Allen looked at Rios as if treating him like a traitor. Didn't they come here to convince Clover? Why is this guy siding with Clover instead of helping them, ah?

"Clover didn't take part at that time, but it still caused trouble." Xavier frowned. 

If Clover joined on that expedition, there would be a lesser chance of clearing the floor. This is the reason when he asked if Clover is interested in the 200th floor. He rejected the idea. It's not because he is afraid. It's because he has no chance of winning the game. 

Seeing that nobody is talking, Marlene chimed in. "Then, we are not playing?"

Allen and Melon looked at the kid. They thought of an idea and quickly implemented it with no discussion. Allen started crying as if someone cheated him on something. Melon did not cry, but the sadness in him gave the idea, obviously. He patted the back of Allen as if reassuring the other person. 

"How could we continue playing? Of course, this is the end." Allen looked at Marlene with an aggrieved expression. "No, your older brother Clover will not play."

"We understand, don't worry," Melon added, giving Allen a pitiful glance. "There are things we cannot control. The only thing that we could do is give up."

Marlene wasn't stupid. She could clearly see their ugly acting. Yet, the pitiful appearance of the two grown adults crying made her heartache. She wondered how they could recover their dignity now that Clover rejected their idea. Such an idea...

"Older brother, will you not help them?" Marlene asked. 

Marcus is on the other side. He looked up at Clover. He didn't say anything, but based on his action, he would agree with his twin sister. Clover could not endure such cute expectations, so he reluctantly nodded. Seeing him nod, the shameless actors immediately gathered their spirits back. 

And so, Clover will be the one clearing the boss on the 200th floor. 

"Then, who will play inside? You know that once the battle begins, nobody can enter the room again," Frass asked.

One problem with this boss' battle is the restoration of the venue. Once the game starts, the program will only record the people who came inside. This is to account for the player that has the highest level and so on. If new people enter the gameplay, the program will force evict the current game, restoring the boss's state to default.

That is to say, if Clover started playing with his group, no one could enter or leave the cave. Any mishaps will restart the game erasing the current gameplay. This was once tested on the second server. Since the boss will copy the player with the highest level, the players inside will have a hard time defeating them. That's why they prepared a backup to come. To their surprise, the moment the backup came, they suddenly were ejected out.

They don't want this thing to happen, so they have to think about the players who will come in.

"We already agreed with the players. We will choose our group. Since Sora is here, I will bring our group inside. They will also bring their own best players," Clover said.

"Then we will also come in?" Marlene and Marcus beamed. They are suggesting earlier. They never thought that they would be included in the group, too. Frass ruffled the hair of the boy and patted the girl.

"En, both of you are qualified. I won't hesitate to let you come in," Clover reassured.

The other guild leaders came to confirm their group members. Clover will bring Sora. Xavier and Aries, who did not belong to any group, will also go in there. The other guild leaders have their respective groups. All in all, thirty players are entering the raid. The number is not too much nor small for the ultimate boss.

When the list of players was released, Clover formed a temporary group. This is to let him see the personal information about the players. Since he will play as the first aggro, he has the authority to become the leader. The plan is to have Clover defeat the first boss by himself. This will determine the boss's strength and give Clover the chance to air on TV on his own.

This is the group's real objective. Defeating the bosses is just the second point.

The team already set the front door with a barrier. The players who are not part of the team know that entering would do no good, so they volunteered to watch the entrance. A few people requested to have live footage to which one of the guild leaders allowed. Well, they only needed the system setting anyway, so asking for permission is just for formality.

Things are all set. Clover scanned the group once again before turning around. Opening his bag, he equipped his usual weapon spear and twirled it around to check its condition. This one was dismantled from a battle a few days ago and only got repaired by a blacksmith. Seeing that it was working well, Clover nodded in satisfaction and stepped up.

His palm touched the surface of the door. When the player's hand connected to the surface, a worm-like spreading light was injected into the position, going outwards. It filled the empty spaces between the ruins, lighting the large door in blue light. It only lasted for a few seconds before the light reached the edges of the door, unlocking it from the inside.

Like how the main characters do it in a movie, Clover pushed the large door open, letting the light enter the darkroom, forming a straight vertical light. His shadow can be seen in the middle part, where it stretched out up to the ends of the light. His eyes scanned around for a while before walking inside with light steps.

The room was still dark. To summon the boss, a player must reach a requirement to activate the sequence. Most of the time, the activation will happen when a certain player steps on the aggro range that will light up at the moment of contact. 

The same condition applies to this room. 

Clover looked above and down the center, so he did not notice the rather perfectly made circle on the ground. The moment his foot touched the line, the glowing color of the blue suddenly ignited, surprising the player on the spot.

Like what happened on the door, this time when his foot touched the aggro range, the blue light immediately filled the hollow space forming the circle. This circle was connected to the wall where more complicated lines are carved. The blue light filled the spaces, running through them like water in a stream. The lines have reached the walls, where they ignited the surrounding torches lighting up the darkroom.

The system recognized the entrance of the players and announced the situation.

[TWO HUNDREDTH FLOOR BATTLE ROYAL, ULTIMATE BOSS BATTLE BEGINS!]