Kanjori

Chapter 12: Luck?

I'm not new to anxiety. I've been through job interviews, hospital scares, college signings, and for some reason, none of those events come close to what I am currently experiencing.

Though I know it's a game, everything feels so real.

Gideon was still on the ground bleeding, Lily hadn't came out from behind the rocks, and Damian was still clashing with the Reaper. With each moment, the blade of his sword went deeper into his shoulder, and he began to wince.

Before I could even get in position to attack, the Reaper jumped back.

"So you guys managed to make it all the way down here" a familiar voice exclaimed. "Sophia, tend to the 4 weaklings while I finish this up."

It was Krueger.

The air seemed to become even more tense as Krueger slowly approached the Reaper. Each of his footsteps were followed by the rattling sound of his armor, and he wore a confident smile on his face. Before I knew it, he had locked eyes with the Reaper.

"Yoo-hoo, fodder girl who gets carried, your healer is here" Sophia said as she scanned the area.

"What are you two doing here?" Damian asked.

"We're here to steal the stone of course, we noticed you all made a camp, so we decided to let you guys get through the hard stuff so we could swoop in at the end. It seems everything is going just as we planned" Sophia replied while grinning.

I spun around and lunged towards Sophia, but Damian intervened.

"DAMIAN MOVE" I yelled "WE WORKED SO HARD FOR THIS, ARE WE REALLY JUST GOING TO LET THEM WIN?"

Damian looked over at the fight between Krueger and the Reaper, then towards Gideon.

"Rin, we couldn't win in our current state. It's best for us to just accept that fact, and get our party healed up."

"Seeeee, at least one of you has a brain" Sophia said while healing Damian's wounds.

I looked over at Krueger, and realized Damian was right. No matter how smart we are, there's no way we could've beaten that boss.

The Reaper swung his scythe and released a wave of bones that were easily blocked by Krueger. Krueger then seemed to have teleported behind the Reaper and quickly sliced his back.

The intensity of his aura had begun to dwindle as soon as he released a barrage of attacks that seemingly had no effect on Krueger.

Could the boss be admitting defeat?

"If I'm being honest, from what I've seen, Krueger isn't particularly skilled" Damian noted. "His movements are nothing short of basic, and he doesn't really dodge or block anything, so why'd he have to use us to get to this place? He's clearly powerful enough to do this all on his own."

Sophia looked down at Gideon who had begun to wake up and responded. "He sent down members of the guild to try these quests out on his behalf, and none of them were successful. He was probably afraid that the fight would be too hard, and he'd end up losing his streak of having no deaths."

After Lily also got healed, we all sat and watched Krueger in awe. Despite having almost no skill at all, he was fighting the boss we all struggled against with ease.

"Do you all see my awesome power?! I am Krueger, the shining knight of Sunano, and the strongest player in the game!" Krueger screeched as he launched his final attack on the Reaper.

Without a moment's notice, the Reaper fell to the ground and turned to dust, revealing a black stone.

"So that's what we've been looking for Krueger?" Sophia asked while walking towards him.

"Yup, Queen Fiorina will be so proud of me once she finds out I was able to obtain the item before any of Gregorio's goons."

"Honestly Mr. Krueger, I'm in awe by your display of skill and power" Damian said as he slowly approached Krueger. "I never would've thought that anyone in this game could ever reach that level, and if I'm being honest, I wish I could learn from you."

Krueger smiled and replied. "Heh, well you shouldn't be surprised that I am on top, I mean you saw how many girls I had around me, girls always chase after strong and powerful guys like myself."

What on earth could Damian be thinking? Just earlier he was criticizing Krueger's play style, and now all of the sudden he's being a kiss ass?

"I envy you and your power Krueger, and I honestly don't think I want to travel with my original party anymore because they're a hindrance to me. I've always been the strongest person in my party, and I'm honestly tired of having to carry these guys. Will you let me in your guild?" Damian asked while holding his arm out.

"Well I did notice that you were the only one in your petty little group who was able to stand against the Reaper, so you might be a good asset to me in the future... hmm.. you know what, welcome to the gui-" before Krueger could finish his sentence, Damian dashed around him and sliced the arm that was holding onto the stone.

Before the arm could hit the ground, I dove and caught it without thinking.

"LILY, THE CRYSTAL" Damian yelled as he jumped back towards the group.

Before Krueger and Sophia could register what was happening, light flashed through the cave and our party teleported to a dusty room.

"God, I can't believe that actually worked!" Damian exclaimed as he fell down into a chair.

"M-me either, I-I'm surprised Sophia didn't notice us whispering" Lily replied.

"Oh all mighty Lily, my beautiful queen, we couldn't have done this without you. You're so much more than just a sexy archer, you're also super smart, and that makes you even higher on my list" Gideon said while bowing down to Lily.

We all laughed as we watched Lily's face turn bright red.

Our adventure in Sunano was finally over, and if I'm being honest, I didn't expect us to come out on top. Though there were plenty of ups and downs, and we learned quite a bit of information during the time spent here, one thing I realized is that we're not nearly as strong as we need to be in order to truly stand out in this game.

With the addition of Lily to our little group, I honestly believe we have a chance to become the strongest guild in the entire game. I can't wait to see what else the future will throw at us!