The Game Before the Fall

Chapter 5: Preparation and Reparation. (Part 2)

In the depths of an earthen cave covered in roots, a weathered tree howled with the sound of a thousand tearing branches. It stomped down fiercely with the large roots that made up its many legs, all to crush the puny man beneath it. The action however was to no avail as I instead plunged my dagger into the bark and let it pull me closer to its chest. Like climbing a mountain, I anchored myself, stabbing my dagger into the wood using my right hand and an icy spear in my left. As I reached its arm the Orchard Treant shuddered. Hundreds of leaves fell from its body and furled by the wind shot at me like knives.

Perfectly poised I faced the oncoming barrage and dismissing my icy spear, summoning a wreath of flame instead. The second stage fire magic unlocked by continuous use. Flame Wreath. Its range was short but the area of effect was much larger and by the times the leaves reached me they were little more than ash.

Without pause, I stood on top the monstrous trees shoulders and from my inventory pulled out an axe. Woodcutter's Lumbering Axe. It was much larger and deadly looking than your usual tool and required more strength than I had. Regardless, against a tree, it was perfect for what I needed. Swing after swing I deftly aimed the axe cutting apart the wood until finally, releasing a painful shriek, the treant's arm fell to the ground.

By the time it retaliated I was already on the move, crossing its body and working on its second arm. It took no small amount of concentration and timing to deal damage, swap equipment and avoid the treant's wrath. This however wasn't my first time and wouldn't be my last. I dodged and cut the vines that whipped at me from the ground, burnt away the cascade of leaves and eventually felled its last arm.

Already weak, it didn't take much more to end the treant as I threw an onslaught of flames across its body. The middle boss of the Ominous Orchard fell dead, bursting into fragments of wood and particles, leaving behind only the loot to be plundered. I shifted through the pile. Various wood related materials, a large Crystal Mana but most importantly, Treant's Arm Staff.

"Nice," I stowed it away. The Orchard Treant could be reached relatively quickly. It was a beginner dungeon and quite hard to beat without the proper tools. Add in reasonable flame magic and a decent axe though and suddenly it took much more damage. It was one of the game's ways to show players proper preparation could make things a lot easier. Hence at level 7 when I first tried it, it wasn't too difficult. Of course the end boss was another story.

I opened the menu and smiling, pressed down on the button to leave the dungeon. Warning: By leaving the dungeon all progress will be lost. Are you sure? I immediately clicked yes and with that was transported to the entrance where several small groups of players were waiting.

"Looking for a flame dps!"

"Selling axes and potions. We have firebombs too!"

"Recruiting a healer or tank. One more spot left."

For the most part I ignored the voices and checked my inventory. A total of one dozen Treant's Arm Staffs. The crooked wooden staff was perfect for players focused on magic between levels 10-20. At the current time, the most popular 'class' were those that used magic. Why I had so many however was the secret. For the 1st time dungeon completion, drop rates on items were increased significantly, in addition breaking off the treant's arms also doubled the chance of the staff appearing. The thing was, I never completed the dungeon and hence was running a very nice increased drop rate. It was a glitch that only applied to early dungeons. Where the drop rate should return to normal after passing through the different stages, some early dungeons only set to normal on the boss's defeat. It was a glitch I only heard of after because of the game's patch notes.