Six Years Ago

  “What, another fire mage?” Vasili asked with clear disapproval, his arms crossed. “Why? Who’s this little girl?”

  Annath and her new guild, The Celestial Order, assembled at the entrance of the Soul Dimension, a level 151 S-ranked dungeon that Annath hoped was the final location of Archmage Malan’s questline. Every hint suggested that the final ingredient to transform him into a lich could be found in the fortress in this dungeon.

  She stood atop an obsidian bridge adorned with green torches. Around her was a landscape of starless empty space. A long gauntlet of bridges and platforms floated in space, all lit by more glowing torches.

  Some miles in the distance, at the end of the bridges, was their target. The Fortress Of Lost Souls. Its walls were entirely dark, built of harsh black bricks, but more spectral torches illuminated it clearly for a dark magical atmosphere.

  We’ll have casualties tonight, Annath thought. This wasn’t the hardest dungeon she’d tackled, but it was the hardest of her new guild. In Wonderwind, a beautiful magical landscape rarely meant good.

  Her guild clearly had other concerns. Vasili frowned at Annath. He was a short Thai fire mage with a temper, rank seventy-nine on the global leaderboard, clad in a battle vest. “In my humble opinion,” he said, “now is not the time to be inviting new members. Why do we have three fire mages?”

  Annath faced her guild. Thirteen out of fourteen members were now present, and most seemed to share Vasili’s sentiment.

  The new girl in question stood nervously with her hands closed-in, taking as little space as possible. SevenStrife, in her red robe from the mid-game, looked like she’d flinch if someone snapped their fingers. Most of her items were rare or below—far worse than the average of the guild. She was currently a recruit in the guild, having been invited yesterday.

  “I’ll introduce her when everyone arrives,” Annath said. “Miko just came online.”

  Not ten seconds later, a figure materialized, as their last member finally teleported in. “Hellooo,” DJmikolele said with a grin. “Apologies for the delay. Who’s this cutie?”

  Prancer2 gave him a side-eye. “I thought you were gay, Miko.”

  “Oh, I’m bi,” Miko said. “I love everyone equally. You’re also a cutie.”

  “Keep flirting private,” Annath said. She placed a hand on SevenStrife’s shoulder, making her flinch. “Now that everyone is here, this is Seven. She’ll be trialing for a position as our enkindler.”

  “What?” Vasili blurted out. “You’re replacing me? With this mid-game princess?”

  Seven’s eyes lowered further, avoiding everyone’s eyes.

  “Seven is replacing you as the enkindler for this raid, yes,” Annath said. Vasili’s mouth hung open in disbelief, until Annath continued. “In turn, Vasili is promoted to the second igniter.”

  “Oh,” Vasili said.

  “Hold on,” Sekirra said. He was a tall man from South Africa, their primary fire mage, rank twenty-fourth on the global leaderboard, and currently the best African player. “You’re planning on having two igniters? With just one enkindler?”

  “For this raid, two are necessary,” Annath said.

  Enkindlers and igniters, the two roles of a fire mage. Fire mages in Wonderwind’s end-game had been separated into roles for a while now. It all had to do with a spell called [Enkindle].

  Enkindle: Adds air and mana to target flames. Greatly amplifies natural fires. Casting on a burning target inflames all fire effects, increasing damage.

  It was a simple spell in theory. After a fire mage landed a spell, they could [Enkindle] the target, increasing the burn damage. As a solo fire mage, the spell was great for increasing single-target DPS. Problem was, [Enkindle] had a cast time, which slowed the fire mage’s spell rotation.

  If, however, two fire mages were present, the roles could be separated, because [Enkindle] could be cast on all fires, even on an ally’s magic.

  Thus, the meta of two fire mages working as a team was born. The igniter focused entirely on spellcasting, while the enkindler’s main job was to amplify the igniter’s spells. Generally, igniters had the more difficult job, though [Enkindle] required its own unique mastery to use properly.

  “Vasili and Sekirra, you will be stationed on the edges of the bridge as our aerial defence,” Annath said, her voice resonating across the bridge. “You’re in charge of killing whatever flies in the air, and only in the air. I don’t want to see any fire on the bridge. Understood?”

  Vasili and Sekirra both nodded, though their expressions remained disapproving, as if to say, “Why is this little girl going to be our enkindler?”

  Annath ignored them. “Nightrin will help block projectiles with Elemental Barriers as a backup, but with three fire mages, I expect flyers to die before they can cause damage to our front line.” She faced their newcomer. “And Seven. You will stay in the middle and enkindle whichever side of the bridge is under more threat. Any clusters with five or more monsters, or any monsters above level 175, require immediate attention.”

  “Yes, Guild Master!” she said with the stiffest posture Annath had ever seen.

  “No need for titles,” Annath said. “I need you to fulfill your role, not flatter me with formalities.”

  “I will do my best!” Seven said. “Everything will be enkindled!”

  “No, I don’t need everything enkindled,” Annath said. “I need you to assess our threats and focus on what’s most likely to kill you if it doesn’t die first. And since you’re underleveled, there’s a chance you’ll die in one hit. Nightrin will help as best she can, but I expect you to stay alive on your own.”

  “Understood,” Seven said, looking determined enough.

  Annath studied the girl for a moment. SevenStrife was level 121, in a raid where most were above 140. That was a considerable gap in the endgame. Annath herself was level 157, being rank 9 on the global leaderboard. Seven’s equipment was barely fit for the upper mid-game. Annath wasn’t sure how old Seven was either, but there was a chance she was underage. Not a dealbreaker, but younger players were often difficult to deal with.

  “Everyone else,” Annath said, turning to her front-line. Toonten was her lead tank and Pellendrin as her best ranger. “You know the drill. We’re going to clear the way forward with Pelle watching flanks with Nightrin. You two will call if any side needs reinforcements.”

  “Business as always, then,” Pelle said, nodding.

  Everyone looked ready enough, though Vasili’s and Sekirra’s doubtful expressions remained. A system notification came, as Annath was invited into a private chat with the two.

  Sekirra: “So we’re seriously inviting a level 121 enkindler to the raid? She’s not even on the leaderboard.”

  Vasili: “I’m thankful for the promotion, but I agree. I can’t trust this girl to enkindle anything at all.”

  Annath: “She might be the most talented player I’ve seen. You’ll know once you see her casting. She doesn’t play the game like anyone else.”

  Vasili: “And her background? Is she fresh from another guild?”

  Annath: “She is not an insider. She has a long history as an elder member of Ransack.”

  Sekirra: “Wait, that noob guild you wiped out at Malan’s Mansion?”

  Annath: “Yes, they disbanded. Seven was by far their best player, and she’s the reason they were fighting end-game dungeons in the first place. Her casting is a spectacle to behold. If she can replicate what she showcased yesterday, I will not let her go.”

  Both of her fire mages remained doubtful.

  Seven walked up to them with nervous but swift steps, oblivious of the ongoing chat. She bowed. “Thank you for inviting me! I won’t let you down!”

  Sekirra and Vasili looked like they were trying not to frown. “If I cast Funeral Sun, that better be enkindled, girl,” Vasili said.

  “It’ll be the strongest sun you’ve ever cast,” Seven said.

  The two glanced at each other.

  “Just do your best and we’ll get through just fine,” Annath said. “We’ll clear the first segment, and we’ll pause to assess what you’re doing correctly, and what should be done differently. The start of a dungeon is usually not too difficult.”

  Seven looked determined. “Yes.”

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  Vasili sighed. “Can she communicate with anything except agreements?”

  Miko chuckled. “I’d imagine it’s hard to relax with you two glaring at her.”

  “Whatever, it looks like we’re ready.” Vasili stretched, then summoned his casting orb from his inventory. Everyone else was already in formation, impatient to get started.

  The hunt finally commenced with Toonten at the front. Annath stayed behind to observe how this formation would work. The first minute of walking was clear, and they advanced in silence, ready for ambushes if something were to jump them from under the bridge.

  Seven’s steps remained stiff and she scanned the endless empty space above. The way she walked just looked awkward, as if she didn’t quite understand how to use her legs. She bumped into Nightrin ahead of her. “Sorry!”

  “Please take it slow,” Rin said like a stern older sister. “Nothing will kill us in the first hour of the raid. Vasili and Seki can deal with the first clusters just fine. We don’t need you pushing your limits yet.”

  Seven bowed and agreed, though that didn’t seem to help her nerves.

  I would be nervous as well if I switched from a mid-game guild straight to a top 9 player’s guild, Annath thought. If Seven got the spot as a staple member, her leveling progress would be tripled. Annath just hoped Seven didn’t make clumsy mistakes like that during a fight.

  The first monsters finally came to sight. They were ground monsters with no flyers in sight. A pair of Empty Souls (Level 154). They were humanoid monsters with deep black eyes, as if every bit of life had been sucked out of them, with long claws that inflicted weakness, stealing power from muscles.

  Toon [Shield Bashed] the first Empty Soul. That dazed the monster for half a second, during which Pelle pierced an arrow through its head, killing it. Annath was more than satisfied with how her front line worked together.

  Their fire mages had nothing to do for the first few fights. Vasili was yawning, barely even looking at the skies, while Seven nervously awaited her first battle.

  Finally, a screech came from above as two Wandering Souls (Level 149) flapped their wings, descending down. They looked like ghastly vampires with wings. Two variants came from Sekirra’s side, one equipped with a spectral crossbow, and another with a sword and a shield.

  Vasili channeled a [Fire Bolt], using the cast time of one second to aim his orb at the Wandering Soul with the crossbow. A spear-shaped projectile of fire came out.

  Seven enkindled the bolt immediately as it came out of the orb, and flames engulfed around the spell itself. It collided into the monster’s stomach, piercing through. Vasili then waited for the spell’s cooldown and shot another [Fire Bolt] at the approaching sword variant, conserving mana by casting simple spells. Seven enkindled it as well with perfect accuracy.

  Annath nodded, satisfied so far. There were two ways to use [Enkindle]. The easiest method was to cast the spell on an already burning target, further enhancing the damage over time effect of fire magic. The more precise method was to use [Enkindle] on another fire spell directly before it landed. That enhanced not only the burn, but the impact damage as well. Casting it on projectiles required way more precision and practice, but it was much more effective.

  Seven knew how to use the more difficult method, as she had promised. The question was, would she be able to keep it up when more monsters came and both fire mages fired spells rapidly on cooldown at the same time?

  The raid continued calmly for another thirty minutes, until the first larger aerial attack came. Fifteen Wandering Souls spread to both sides. Annath focused on observing the small details. Show me, how do you do under pressure?

  Vasili and Sekirra initiated the fight with [Infernal Blast], the most powerful non-ultimate fire projectile available. They started the cast times at the same time, leaving Seven with a decision—enkindle Vasili or Sekirra? She’d probably choose Vasili, since his frown was the angriest.

  These three will need to coordinate better, Annath thought with a sigh.

  Seven did indeed enkindle Vasili’s blast the moment it came out. Except, she didn’t stop there, flicking her orb to the opposite end, where she immediately enkindled Sekirra’s spell as well. Annath blinked in surprise. Since when was that possible? Enkindle should have had a longer cast time, right?

  Both [Infernal Blasts] found their targets. Vasili’s spell exploded upon contact, killing the Wandering Soul directly before spreading flames all around, burning the remaining targets.

  Right after, Seven flicked her orb to the burning targets and enkindled them again, this time directly amplifying the burning effects. The AoE from the [Infernal Blast] burned down the remaining monsters. Vasili paused as his next [Fire Bolt] passed right through empty air, the monsters having already been killed.

  “Hold on,” Vasili said. “Did you just do that, mid game princess?”

  “There’s more coming,” Seven said.

  Vasili frowned and turned back to the monsters.

  Annath found a smug smile on her face. As she’d thought, there was something different about this girl. Best part was, Seven wasn’t even an enkindler either. She’d been a solo fire mage in her old guild performing both jobs. If this kept up, Annath knew she had to also trial Seven as the guild’s igniter.

  Things can still go wrong, Annath thought. She needed to keep watching.

  Except, they only got better. Seven’s concentration grew as she got more comfortable with her job. She enkindled even spells that Vasili missed, and the man found himself quiet, with no more quippy remarks to offer. It looked like both of her fire mages were more than satisfied with Seven’s work. If anything, they both looked impressed, though they couldn’t bring themselves to compliment the girl.

  “Keep it up, Seven. You’re doing great,” Annath said it out loud herself, only for Seven to still flinch from the sound of her voice.

  An hour of crossing bridges later, the fortress in the distance was finally closer than the entrance portal. The average monster level gradually grew, with level 170 monsters being common in clusters. They still advanced relatively normally.

  Until the first larger ambush came.

  A horde of Haunted Vampyrs climbed up from under the bridge with Empty Souls still attacking from behind. Everyone on the front lines was suddenly occupied, and Annath was forced to defend the backline, when shrieks came from the air.

  Dozens of Wandering Souls appeared, most above level 175. Amongst them was an Unsouled Gargoyle (Level 182). A gigantic version of the smaller Wandering Souls, wielding a spectral spear on both hands. It flew on Vasili’s side of the bridge.

  Toonten and Pelle shouted orders, the ground-level team fully occupied, slowly whittling down the number of Haunted Vampyrs. They just barely held against ground forces alone.

  Spectral arrows rained down from the flyers, hitting the front lines. One landed on Toon’s shoulder, bringing him to 41% health. Nightrin desperately cast [Elemental Barriers] to protect the fire mages.

  “Vasili!” Annath shouted. It was up to her fire mages now.

  Vasili and Sekirra spammed spells, starting with the heaviest spells to get them on cooldown early to hopefully use later. Vasili cast [Infernal Blast] and [Fire Javelin] at the gargoyle, both enkindled by Seven. The spells barely did any damage. He needed to get rid of the gargoyle now.

  A large runic circle appeared under the gargoyle as Vasili started casting [Funeral Sun]. A fire mage’s most destructive ultimate, and the longest cast-time of all spells.

  The gargoyle hefted its spear and threw. The giant spectral spear flew at Vasili’s chest. It crushed straight through the [Elemental Barrier] and pierced his chest. The slash resounded as Vasili was one-shotted, his spell canceled.

  “Retreat!” Annath called immediately. Their aerial defence was broken. Pelle’s bow wouldn’t be able to deal with that, and Sekirra was just barely defending against his side. “Formation C, shields up! Seven, you—”

  Annath couldn’t finish her sentence before Seven was on Vasili’s corpse. She looted his casting orb that dropped on death and switched out her old poor one before casting a spell.

  A betrayal? Annath thought, ready to defend if Seven attacked.

  No, it wasn’t a betrayal—Seven cast [Whirlwind Of Fire] at a Wandering Soul that was about to land on Toon to overwhelm him. The spell knocked the monster back.

  Then Seven turned to the gargoyle. She cast [Infernal Blast].

  The spell came out in under a second, way faster than what the cast time was supposed to be. Seven was quick-casting.

  Immediately as the projectile shot from her staff, Seven enkindled her own projectile. The [Infernal Blast] hit the gargoyle.

  She initiated her next spell, and performed the most mesmerizing spell rotation Annath had ever seen.

  The sky lit up in flames as she cast and enkindled [Hellstorm], followed immediately by a [Fire Bolt] and [Elder Flames]. A Wandering Soul (Level 176) was getting close, and Seven threw freehanded fire magic at it, burning its face. Her individual spells barely did any damage, but her DPS was still higher than Vasili’s.

  She dodged an arrow and said, “Barrier!”

  Nightrin panicked and gave her an [Elemental Barrier], and Seven began the cast time for [Funeral Sun].

  The runic circle under the gargoyle’s feet grew at double the speed it normally should have, and the five second cast time was done in two and a half. The spell erupted like a geyser of fire bursting open underneath the gargoyle.

  And of course, Seven also enkindled that, as if separating the roles was just a joke. The gargoyle died, and with it, many of the lesser monsters had already died to the AoE of Seven’s spells.

  Seven didn’t even flinch. Her level rose to 125. She began casting another spell.

  A slash suddenly resounded as SevenStrife died.

  What? Annath thought. Nothing had hit her. She died seemingly into thin air.

  Well, Seven had done her job. Or rather, she’d done her and Vasili’s job combined. Most of the monsters on Vasili’s side were dead. Sekirra, being the more experienced mage, and without a gargoyle, kept his side clean.

  The cleanup was stressful, with everyone fighting at their limit, but in the end, the bridge filled up with monster corpses. There were no more casualties.

  Everyone caught their breaths. “Holy shit,” was the first thing Annath heard, coming from Pelle.

  Toon began collecting drops right away like the loot goblin he was. Sekirra turned to Annath. “Where’s Seven? She stopped enkindling midway through.”

  “Holy shit,” Pelle repeated, mouth hanging open. “Did you not see that?”

  “See what?”

  “Seven’s casting!?” Pelle blurted out. “Oh my fucking god, that was insane. I think I got some of it recorded.”

  Sekirra raised an eyebrow, while Pelle turned to Annath. “You saw that, right?” he asked. “What the fuck was that?”

  Annath couldn’t come up with a response, but her answer must have shown on her expression. “How did she die?” she asked.

  “Log-out?” Sekirra said. “Look at the chat.”

  Annath did. In the guild chat was the following message.

  [Player SevenStrife has logged out in combat.]

  [Player SevenStrife has died.]

  Simultaneously, Annath’s inbox was being spammed with messages.

  SevenStrife: “I’m so sorry!”

  SevenStrife: “It was a forced log-out, I’m so sorry!”

  SevenStrife: “Is everyone okay?”

  Annath blinked, her mouth hanging open. Everyone was looking at the chat over Annath’s shoulder.

  Annath: “We’re okay. Can I call you? I need you to explain something.”

  SevenStrife: “Yes, I can explain. I’m so sorry!”

  Annath called her with the speakers on for everyone to hear and called her through the system menu.

  “Hello?” Seven’s teary voice came through.

  “Seven?” Annath said. “What happened?”

  “I’m so sorry, it was a forced log-out.” She sniffled, as if trying really hard not to cry. “I didn’t do it on purpose. My, um, game-pod has problems.”

  “It’s okay,” Annath said, trying to keep her voice calm. “It wasn’t on purpose. Nobody is dead. More importantly, how did you do that? You killed the gargoyle?”

  “Was it enough?” Seven asked. “I didn’t ruin the raid, did I?”

  Everyone just looked at each other in utter bewilderment.

  “We’ll try the raid later,” Annath said. “You can rest. I’ve got your gear piece.”

  “What was it? I can buy it back.”

  “No, I’m returning it for free,” Annath said. She considered her offer for a moment, until she said, “And Seven?”

  “Yes?” she asked through another nervous sniffle.

  “How did you do that?”

  “Do what?”

  “You enkindled your own spells?”

  “Um… Should I not have? It costs more mana, but it does much more damage.”

  Annath glanced at Sekirra, who shared the expression. Who was this girl?

  “One more question,” Annath said. “Seven? Would you like to join the guild as my igniter?”

  20 chapters ahead on !