"Move out of the way," Maya said with a flat, cold expression as she used her specialized class skill, conjuring a Riptide Knife in one hand and a Hailspring Revolver in another.
"Growl!" As if resonating with Maya's action, Chimera Frank growled more dangerously this time, its three heads' mouths opening, sparkling with magical energies.
Marcus grinned ferociously as his Epic-rank equipment set gleamed, using its effect that released a faint geo-brown aura, increasing defenses and resistance to magic for allies.
He crouched slightly while holding a sword and shield as if ready to pounce into their group.
"You sure you want to fight against the twelve of us?" the leader of the group, a dark blond-haired man, said as he narrowed his eyes, his black hammer gleaming with red, cracked patterns.
"You don't know your capabilities, nor ours," Marcus spat on the ground as he spoke. "Move out or die."
"There's really only one outcome if we fight," Maya indifferently said, "You all will die, and the three of us will survive. There's no doubt about this in my mind. What about you all?"
The air around this part was very tense, with Ebonclaw Guild's group having mixed feelings. The leader and a few others had tight expressions, but the others were faltering.
They were mostly scared of Chimera Frank, that massive monster who had higher stats than them.
Adding on to the fact that Marcus and Maya had Epic-rank items that increased their stats above them, and who knows what kind of effects they had, which didn't help boost their confidence even though they outnumbered them vastly.
'Leader, we shouldn't clash.'
'Yeah, it's not worth it if we lose our lives.'
'Even if we win by chance, many of us would die.'
'I won't fight, leader Kareem. Sorry.'
Kareem's eyes glinted, a mixture of greed and hesitation.
'It's goddamn Epic-rank items, you fools!'
A silence descended as the tension still hung in the air.
'If I attack, then they will attack us…and it will eventually lead to a big fight,' Kareem thought, his eyes darting around Maya, Marcus, and Chimera Frank. 'As long as I survive in the end, I'll benefit.'
'I'll make a move and turn defensive.'
He sensed Maya's gaze on himself and grinned ruthlessly as he looked at her and swung his hammer. "Die!"
His aura burst out as he used a skill, causing a black burning stone to conjure in front of him as his swinging hammer struck it and launched it like a bullet toward Chimera Frank.
But right as his hammer struck that stone, Maya's revolver also shot a bullet while her Epic-rank circlet faintly shone. The moment Kareem's hammer struck that stone, he was frozen completely and shattered.
It happened too fast, and what Kareen expected didn't happen.
Chimera Frank simply waved one of its wings and blocked that attack that barely reduced a bit of its vitality.
"We don't want to fight!"
"That's right! We said no to leader Kareem!"
The other people quickly moved out of the way while shouting.
"Well, that was easy," Marcus wryly smiled as he broke his stance and stood properly. "Was that your first kill, Maya?"
"He wanted to kill us, and even his own party members, just to get the Epic-rank items," Maya narrowed her eyes. "I didn't want to spare someone like him."
Marcus and Maya continued.
It took everyone 3 hours to reach the Quartet Plaza. Almond was faster, but he had moved leisurely again without killing any monsters.
The plaza, located directly below the Floor Boss Zone, was an expansive circular area surrounded by four colossal gates, each adorned with symbols of the Four Knights of the Apocalypse: Famine, War, Pestilence, and Death. In the center stood a glowing pedestal indicating where the boss summoning items were to be placed after defeating the Knights.
As the groups converged, they took a moment to catch their breath and rest for ten minutes while admiring the ominous architecture. The air was thick with magically influenced omen hanging in the air, and the faint hum of the labyrinth's energy resonated all around at low frequency, creating a tense vibe.
"I want the spirits of these four bosses, so we'll be killing these bosses one by one with me," Almond said.
"Gotcha, so which one's the first?" Natalia asked.
"Let's start with death," Marcus grinned.
"Any is fine," Lily said.
Maya began walking towards the gate, symbolizing the Knight of Death. "Let's go then."
Then, Almond watched Lily, Natalia, Maya, and Marcus fight the boss for half a minute as they defeated it. After storing the spirit, the group moved to the next boss.
They had to recover a bit, so it took ten minutes for the group to be done with all four knights of the apocalypse.
"I think it would be a good idea to use the spirits of these four bosses to craft an item set," Almond rubbed his chin. "Yep. One of these spirits as an ingredient for each equipment. This would probably push for the items to come out in a set."
"That sounds good and something I can use," Lily blinked.
"True. These four knights of apocalypse bosses had darkness element's attributes, so an equipment set made from them would pair perfectly with you," Maya nodded.
"I agree. And now that we're done with all four bosses and got an item, we should prepare for another Heroic Challenge," Marcus said as he sat down.
The others also sat down, making a circle.
"I've been creating items as soon as I get spirits. So far, I have crafted 58 low-tier super-rank items by sacrificing all items I've crafted," Almond said. "To craft a high-tier Epic-rank set, I'd need 80 super-rank items."
Crafting a low-tier super-rank item only required the sacrifice of 5 rare-rank items, so Almond managed to craft many super-rank items for sacrifice.
"So that's not enough for an epic set," Natalia blinked. "Well, we are sufficiently geared, and you are also overpowered, so we should be able to defeat the Heroic Challenge Boss of this floor, right?"
"We are bettered geared this time, but that doesn't mean there's no risk," Maya said as she looked at Almond and Lily. "Right?"
"The only one who is at no risk of getting killed by one attack aside from me is Marcus," Almond said with a nod. "The epic-rank set he is wearing is highly defensive and matches his Earth elemental mastery."
"Indeed," Lily nodded as she glanced at Natalia and Maya, "The three of us are at risk of being killed with a slight mistake or carelessness."
"What do we do then?" Marcus scratched his head. "Honestly, I think we should prepare more and think ourselves luckier during the second floor's heroic challenge."
"Almond will know," Lily turned to Almond. "It's your decision to make because you are the strongest among us and also the real shot at killing the boss."
Almond nodded, "I have an idea. We have to make a strategy, a foolproof one. An ultimate combo of skills from all of us, so I can use my two ultimate attack moves."
"Two? One is Rising Dragon's Roar, which requires at least 90% of your maximum Mana and Stamina, right? So what is the other one?" Maya asked, her eyes curious.
The others were also curious.