[SD:RtR] Traveling Back To The Ruins - Chapter 4

The morning dawns bright, finding the Guild raid already well on their way towards the ruins. The Lawbound Guild leader hovered ominously above everyone, keeping an eye on the procession, which wasn’t set up how many would have expected.

Instead of the usual blob tactic of surrounding the weak with the strong, the raid is set up with the weakest members along the front and sides. And with such a big group, they run across numerous monsters. None of which escape the Guild leader’s sight.

And it is this that makes their formation work. Those weakest members fight most of the battles. This desert is still a low-level zone for the most part. And when a higher-level threat shows up? The Guild leader sees the threat coming and gives an order. Then, like clockwork, the front line melts into the formation as whatever level of power is needed to face the threat.

The only trouble arises around people like Gem who cause just that little bit of chaos. Though since they are all working towards the same goal, the chaos is contained and if not planned for, at least worked around. Now, some might have tried to plan for the chaos, but the Guild leader hadn’t bothered.

After all, it’s Chaos. Planning for chaos simply means you’re laying down what is expected so it can bring into play something outside of that. The Guild leader had long ago gotten used to this quirk of reality. Even before they were bound, and gave up their name for their position. A proper plan among those who aren’t Lawbound should always be able to adjust to what happens.

Gem doesn’t know this is what is happening. They simply feel that while the formation is a little stuffy, it isn’t something they can’t work with. Besides, Inky is the shot caller for their group and that is causing enough fun for them.

Of course, with this being a system recognized raid each person’s actual contributions are being measured. So things like last hitting aren’t important or even looked down upon. Still, there are ways to swing things in their favor.

In particular, once Inky got a look at Gem’s Wind Blade, especially the distance it can get through their spear? Well, that became their group’s primary method of pulling aggro. Irrespective of those around them, Inky would point out the monsters she felt their group most suited to handle and a spear of wind would fly out to tap said monsters on the shoulder and get their attention.

They weren’t exactly supposed to be doing that. The whole formation was more about plowing into whatever came their way, while shifting around to prevent fatigue. However, Inky has a good eye for this and so can get away with her actions since it doesn’t ever bog them down.

This romp through the desert lasts a good few hours, proving the decision to leave before dawn. Both because they could keep moving that long, the predawn chill preserved their stamina as the heat of day began to make itself known. And because the transitionary time between night and day has over all weaker monsters active in the first place.

Gem noticed this. “So, isn’t dawn and dusk supposed to be when most desert critters are active? Between heat and cold?”

June was going to answer, but Jeff spoke up first. “I did a bit of research on this place and it seems magical deserts in general are weird. Normal stuff does remain more twilight focused. The monsters, though? Well now! That’s where things get downright odd.

“Though it does make sense, I guess? You obviously know that deserts are places of temp extremes. Well, the monsters thereof also dive into that. The strongest being active at the height of their temp range. After all, to a firebird, the hottest part of the day is their preferred conditions!”

June adds on, “Also, even ignoring elemental aspects, extreme conditions will result in more power for having survived there.”

Gem, “Oh! Fair enough. Though I have to ask, Jeff, where did you look that up?”

Jeff shrugs, “The in-game libraries are useful, if wordy. Which I don’t have time for so I got the summary online. Most regions where E ranked players and below can train have been summarized. Especially if it is near a starting town.”

Gem, “That felt like more than a summary. For that, I would expect a simple, ‘Fire creatures love the day and are powerful here’, sort of thing.”

Jeff nods, “True, but it is the job of those who read such things to be able to use their own knowledge and expand upon it.”

Gem shrugs, “Fair.”

Not that this changes much of anything. They were part of the raid so it isn’t like they could go off and find other things to hunt. Besides, such a large gathering of people was like a beacon, calling monsters to them from miles around.

However, soon the types of monsters attacking the raid began to change. As the sun climbed the sky, natural beasts fell off in favor of insects and fire insects. Though even the bugs quickly get the message that this isn’t a group to mess with, despite the Guild leader not blaring their power.

Not that the constant attacks let up. Rather, this big ol’ group of living people all gathered together is the perfect bait to drag out any nearby undead. And some that aren’t too nearby either.

Emrys in particular is impressed. “We must be pulling undead from miles and miles away! Once we’re through, as long as we clear the raid, that is, I bet the undead presence here will be at an all-time low!”

Inky grumbles, “And we aren’t being paid extra for it.”

Bell lets out a deep laugh, “Can’t pinch all the pennies! Some will always get away, better to just grab on to the ones that mean the most to you!”

Inky scoffs, “I’d give you a penny for your thoughts, but I don’t want to overpay.”

Bell shakes her head, “That would be more impactful if I didn’t know you were particularly proud of that one and use it every chance you get.”

Gem, “And she should! If I had thought of that, I’d be sharing it all the time, even if I couldn’t find places to actually use it.”

Inky nods, “It has a certain verve to it. Works best though if you have an actual penny you can hold up as if about to offer it to them.”

Gem solemnly nods in return, “A good prop is always useful to have around. They can add so much.”

Off to the side, June shakes her head and sighs.

And then they stopped having the time to chatter idly . With how far out the undead are being pulled from, what was an occasional fight became a never-ending flow of undead. This was mostly the withered zombies, though mixed in was the occasional skeletal abomination.

They were almost to the start of the ruins when the Guild leader calmly called back the low D rank and below, while ordering the top end of D and the few low C ranks forward. This stirred things up quite a bit, but that was to be expected and the Guild leader had provided more than enough time to get things sorted out.

So it was with their strongest front line that the raid faced an honestly disappointing fight. Not to say that the undead that came upon them weren’t strong. They were firmly green threats. It is just that everyone at the front is deep into D at the lowest.

Then the undead revealed their surprise. The high-level withered zombies had parasite-like skeletal things burst out of their bodies.

Bony spine tentacles ripped free from the back of a few, flailing around, reducing their carrier to shreds as they vigorously attacked the living. Other zombies had their stomachs peel open like a meaty flower, revealing blocks of bone, tightly fit together and capable of firing bone pellets at great speed. Then there were the zombies that simply sloughed off of what had seemed to be their skeleton, but was revealed to not be. Those withered nothing more than a flesh suit for the skeleton beneath.

Too bad for the undead that the Guild leader had also sent forward the few C ranks. Those in D were suffering, but could hold the line, giving those at C the chance to clean house. From behind the Guild leader calmly gave order after order, making sure the most threatening specimens were targeted down first.

Still, this fight, despite being composed of the raid’s strongest members, was where they suffered the most injuries so far. Healing magic flashes across the entire front of the formation as the raid’s healers work to keep everyone standing while the last of this undead wave were brought down.

Then the order went out. There would be a fifteen-minute rest for the healers to recover their Mana.

“I’m bored!”

June looks over at Gem, who is sitting on one of the rocks being used for shade, swinging their feet. “We’re only here for fifteen minutes, it hasn’t even been five.”

Gem looks down from their perch, “But I’m not allowed to Do anything! Like, no wandering around, no scouting, no playing with my magic. I’ve tried meditation before and I won’t say I can’t, but definitely not in this situation.

“We’re just low white ranks right now. Even with all the fights, that hasn’t changed because there isn’t any danger here! We’re getting some experience, but mostly towards skills. And so, being so low on the totem pole, there’s multiple someones here who can do what we do, but better. Especially during a temporary rest!”

Emrys laughs, “Welcome to raids! Don’t worry, once we get back to that pyramid, things will pick up for us and we should be close. We’re probably only resting 15 because of how close we are. This is simply to make sure the healers are topped up, you know, like the leader said.”

Inky nods, “I’ve actually been in another raid before. Well, it didn’t have to be a raid. More like a raid experience put on by the guild where I was. Some grey mob figured out leadership and gathered some mooks! So yeah, instead of getting a team of E ranks to go clean up the mess for little to no rewards, they organized an F rank raid with said E rank team herding them through it.”

Cris, “Man, that sounds fun! Sad to have missed it. That must have happened right after you joined, because our little group joined up pretty quick.”

Inky shrugs, “I got invited to it right after joining.”

Cris, “How’d you rate such a good time? I barely even got my first spell at that point. Let alone being invited out to raid!”

Inky, “Eh, as the roguish sort, I didn’t need much to get up and running. Of course there was more to it than that, but honestly, I bet the biggest thing was I asked.”

Samuel raises an eyebrow, “Even so, they don’t just let anyone who asks in to stuff like that.”

Inky smirks, “Well, they do when knowing it was happening at all was most of the challenge. They wanted to keep it under wraps so their own people could monopolize it. At that point? It was easier to let me in than jeopardize things. After all, they know we can share some information, even while dead and waiting to respawn. One of the big leg ups we have over them.”

June, “Don’t be too sure of that. They might not be as free while dead, but they aren’t helpless. Some do end up not experiencing anything until they respawn. Others have their after lives to spend time in. But in the end, while harder, they can get a message to the world of the living as long as they still have respawns left or it was recent enough.”

Percy frowns, “I know that academically, but I haven’t heard of anyone being burned by that sort of thing.”

Emrys, “Well, if I had to guess, anytime something happens because a person receives a divine revelation, there’s a chance that comes from some dead guy trying to spread the word.”

June, “Or more common, anytime someone receives and suddenly has some insight into what is going on? Well, the dead talk, player or not, and they were just dead and talking to others. That is part of the reason the various after lives are split between the more temporary and the long term.”

So You Want To Learn Healing - Chapter 3

Scouts Scouting - Chapter 5