Chapter 70: A Minute to Midnight
Earlier, Ath3na had read the server-wide notification just like everyone else had. A smirk appeared on her lips afterward.
"So that's why he wasn't around for DCC…" Ath3na tapped on her [MENU] and selected [WHISPER]. "Guess I should congratulate him too."
She hadn't meant to invite him out to afternoon tea but one whisper led to another and there she was hours after that first [Whisper] waiting for Black Howler inside Dante's Drip which was not a place she'd normally frequented.
While she waited for her… companion, Ath3na recalled the rest of the day's events and how things hadn't gone exactly how she'd hoped they would.
She and Lyghtning had checked most of their shopping list off, from healing potions and poisons to tents and torches and even all manner of arcane bombs they might need. However, they'd only managed to buy one [Phoenix Feather], a brand new item in the market that allowed players to resurrect allies in the field as long as the dead player hadn't been dead for more than thirty seconds.
The reason they could only buy one was that they could only afford that one. [Phoenix Feather] was an incredibly expensive item. More than four times the value of a normal level two resurrection, but that's just how good of an item they were. Sadly for Ath3na, most of the soul stones she'd earned in DCC she'd given to her raid mates.
No, she wasn't being altruistic for altruism's sake. She simply realized that achieving success in the raid would net her more real money returns if things went smoothly. And nothing would have made things go more smoothly than if her raid mates were as powerful as she was now.
Ath3na wrapped her hand into a fist and felt power brimming inside it — power enough to punch a hole in the tavern's stone wall without her even having to break a sweat.
This was what a level three could do, and it was most definitely a whole different league from level two. There was quite a big gap between them, making Ath3na wonder just how much more powerful she could become at higher levels.
"If only it were that easy to level up," she sighed.
That was most definitely a loaded sigh, one born out of frustration from her raid team's failed efforts to level up.
None of the other nine raid members managed to achieve this rarest of achievements in the day that they were given to prepare. Not even with the number of stones Ath3na had distributed among them, although Argonaut, Lyghtning, Narukami, and Don Coyote had come pretty close to reaching that pinnacle. They might even have unlocked this milestone if they had an extra day and more soul stones to do it. Sadly, they were all out of time.
Speaking of being out of time, Ath3na checked the time on her [MENU] window. It was half-past four in the Abyss. Black Howler was thirty minutes late.
"So much for being a gentleman," she sighed again.
She'd just about decided to get up and leave when the front door to Dante's Drip opened and Black Howler walked in.
His face was half-covered in soot but the smile plastered on it when he waved a hand toward her made Ath3na decide not to stand up after all.
"So… when are you leaving?" Black Howler asked as soon as he sat down.
Ath3na rolled her eyes at him.
She should have known he was here to talk shop. Why else would he have asked to meet? And it wasn't like she was expecting anything from him. Of course not, they were just really good friends now that they'd survived so much virtual danger. Well, at least that's what she told herself.
"The team's meeting at five," she answered in a more curt tone than she would have liked. "Apparently, they're teleporting us straight to the entrance of Deathman's Wonderland."
Black Howler checked the time. He frowned.
"Sorry… I wanted to get here sooner but I had to finish this first," he said.
He pulled out a small box from his bag of holding and slid it across the table to her.
"Um, what is it?" she asked surprised.
"Open it," he said right before he called a waiter over and ordered them each a flagon of Salamander Whiskey and a plate of Houndogs to enjoy.
Oh my god, she thought. He'd brought her a gift. This was definitely not what she expected, although Ath3na couldn't help but feel her cheeks get hot.
Gingerly, she pulled open the top off the box. Inside it was a fel iron bangle that was fashioned to resemble a thick looping rope. It was capped on both ends by silver.
The sight of it made Ath3na's cheeks feel even hotter.
To her utmost dread, Black Howler noticed. She could tell for she could see the laughter in his eyes. However, he didn't gloat. Instead, he picked up the bangle from its box and wrapped it around her left wrist. He hadn't even bothered to ask her permission. He just did it.
This left Ath3na quite speechless, and it would be a minute before she'd recovered her voice.
"Um, thanks," she said uncertainly.
"Tap on it," he said.
She did as instructed and a status window appeared in front of her.
[[ITEM: HOWLER'S BRACELET OF ARCANE PROTECTION] [ITEM CLASS: C] [TYPE: ACCESSORY] Forged by Apprentice Blacksmith Black Howler. This bangle provides the wearer with +1 to MAG DEF. It also doubles as a fashion accessory.]
"Earned myself some artistry points for crafting it," Black Howler admitted. "I didn't even know what those are for… yet."
"Um, not that I don't appreciate this, but why'd you make it for me?" Ath3na asked.
Black Howler was silent for a few moments with his brow furrowed. Ath3na guessed that he was thinking of what to say.
"Because I won't be there to watch your back," he admitted after a while. "And I don't do team play as well as you do but I've gotten used to playing alongside you and Thorminator and Lyghtning. I made her one too actually."
"Oh, okay, sure… of course, you did…" Ath3na didn't know why but the weird elation she'd been feeling at the sight of the gift deflated somewhat. "Give it to me… I'll give it to her."
"Alright," Black Howler's eyes narrowed. "Are you… okay?"
Ath3na nodded. "Uhuh…"
Black Howler raised an eyebrow at her but he let it go. Well, she wouldn't have been able to answer him even if he hadn't. She didn't understand it herself, this irritated feeling rising out from her chest.
"You have a plan to win, right?" Black Howler asked while he rummaged through his bag of holding for Lyghtning's bangle.
"Yes," Ath3na replied a little too curtly.
Black Howler pulled out the second box and slid it toward her.
"You're accounting for Don Coyote and the probable problems he'll present?" he pressed.
"I've accounted for everything," she replied coolly.
Out of interest, Ath3na pulled open Lyghtning's box. Inside was another iron bangle but it was different from Ath3na's. It was certainly not as nice or as well made. And for some reason, this made Ath3na smile again.
"Yeah, if any one's got a plan… it would be the goddess of gaming wisdom," Black Howler laughed. "Good luck… give them hell!"
She looked up, gazed into his eyes, and said, "I don't need luck."
Ath3na raised her left arm up so the bracelet around her wrist was at their eye-level.
"I've got this to protect me," she said warmly.
---
Shadow travel was not one of Ath3na's favorite modes of travel in the Abyss. Not just because she couldn't keep her teeth chattering from the blistering cold, but also because shadow travel had caused her heart to jump into her throat.
The cold and nausea were the least of her worries, however, as most of her team were doubled over on the ground in different stages of queasiness. Only Argonaut and Oh!siris seemed to have weathered the journey as well as she did, and that wasn't saying much as she was desperately trying not to let her arms freeze over.
"The immersion in this game's—"
"We know…" several of them interrupted Oh!siris before he could say what they all felt.
"Look alive, people," Argonaut insisted. "We're here…"
Ath3na faced forward and saw the towering structure looming over them. The sight of it caused her brow to furrow.
"It's a freaking Castlevania," Bully the Kid said as he got up from the ground.
His was an apt description as the foreboding castle from the famous Capcom videogame and TV show with its numerous black towers with their pointed tips and precarious arched bridges were very similar to this monument of death in front of the Deathly Challengers.
"Seriously… this is something, ain't it?" Liberty Belle commented. "We're in the thick of it now…"
"And we only get one chance to win this, right?" Iceheart asked uncertainly. "To conquer all of that…"
"Yes," Narukami answered flatly. "If we fail… another group will be given a chance to complete the raid."
"Talk about do or die," Liberty Belle commented.
They all spent several moments just looking up at the massive structure and Ath3na couldn't help but wonder just how long they'd need to conquer the Abyss' first raid.
"Don't worry, loves," Lyghtning said, breaking the silence, "We're here to save the day!"
Ath3na didn't understand it herself, but Lyghtning's catchphrase actually worked to dissolve the unease that had come over her team after they saw the daunting task set before them. Now, only determination filled their faces.
"Alright, people… it's a minute to midnight," Ath3na said while pointing toward the massive wooden double doors that served as the castle's entrance. "Let's go knock on those doors."
"And if no one answers?" Argonaut asked wryly.
"Then Bell has the all-clear to smash," Ath3na answered just as wryly.
They were all grinning now as they began to realize just how awesome this next stage was going to be.
"You know… this is the kind of moment that deserves a battle cry," Iceheart said.
"You mean like… Avengers Assemble?" Wunderkid asked.
"Exactly like that," Iceheart agreed enthusiastically. "Hey, leader, how come we don't have a battle cry?"
"Well, how about… Challengers attack," Ath3na asked.
There were several shaking of heads. Don Coyote even laughed out loud.
"Pathetic," he spat.
"Fine, you guys workshop it then," Ath3na replied a little heatedly.
"I've got this," Wunderkid answered in a way that suggested he was ready for this exact scenario. "I've got a few phrases in mind… Let me workshop it."
He brought out his lute and began to play a tune that was all heart and fire, the perfect kind of rock song for storming into enemy territory.
With his tune as their cue, the group began walking toward the entrance of Deathman's Wonderland. They strode forward all confident-like — and the audience who watched from their seats in the arena would later describe these ten warriors as looking very heroic indeed.
If only they were warned of the horrors within. Perhaps then they wouldn't have looked so smug. Perhaps then they wouldn't have all fallen into an even darker pit than the Abyss they were already in.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
GD_Cruz
GD_Cruz Greetings, fellow reapers!
Hope you enjoyed that second chapter of the day which is also the end of this second volume! ;P
What a cliffhanger though, right? I mean... The raid's just about to begin and then, the END. No more GMofS? What, no? hahaha Next Volume: Raiding Wunderland and the Losers Rising will start... tomorrow! Woot Woot.
That said, I hope you guys can support the book some more by offering up stones to the altar of Morgana. :D
Also, next month, the book is finally going PREMIUM with the next chapter, 71! :D But it'll be free for the rest of July. Premium starts in August. Now, I do want to be as supportive of the fans as I can be but making a bit of money from GMofS will help in ensuring I never stop writing... ever! :D
Cheers, y'all!
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone