After several seconds, Apophis's party arrived.
As instanced zones, dungeons were totally independent micro-spaces that were seen as spatial anomalies by NPCs. Only players could cross the portals safely, in fact. All NPCs who tried to enter were immediately reduced to ash.
System: You've entered the dungeon lvl 5~10 [Gravedigger Tower] on Nightmare difficulty.
The place was very peculiar, a totally dead and icy planet. Some vegetation had once existed, but it had been fossilized for centuries. Some kilometers in the distance, Apophis could see a black stone tower rising up, looking like the Tower of Babel.
Ceasar was shocked.
On the lower difficulty he'd already beaten, the dungeon had taken place on a radiant planet, full of vegetation. In Nightmare mode, that same planet was dead. Its atmosphere was cold and cynical, looking more like a horror movie than anything.
The party began to walk towards the tower, but soon saw huge, faceless, black, and motionless men in the distance.
In Apophis's former life, players had called these unidentifiable figures "Specters." Peculiarly, they appeared in all Nightmare difficulty dungeons, but not in lower difficulties.
Many theories had circulated about the explanation for their mysterious presence. Some claimed that these men had been trapped in the space rift for thousands of years, while others thought they were evil gods simply there to enjoy the show.
No one ever found a concrete answer why the Specters appeared in each dungeon. Apophis wondered if they also appeared in Ironman mode, but only five people in his previous life could have answered that question, and they never did.
As it happened, all players who failed to complete the Ironman difficulty had every memory of the dungeon wiped from their minds.
There was some discussion in the party about what the Specter might be, but of course, no one settled on an explanation, and the party avoided the Specter as they approached the tower.
However, Apophis soon saw a group of monsters they wouldn't simply be able to avoid. They were alien creatures with six legs and two arms like meat cutters. Apophis inspected one of the creatures.
[Zerg] [Elite] [Level: 15] [Rank: E] [Hostile]
Everyone sighed.
Hulk said, "I think our chances are ruined. Not only are they ten levels higher than us, but they're also Elite creatures."
Everyone nodded—except for Apophis and Ceasar.
"They're melee creatures," said Apophis, "So we can manage them with aggro. I'll team up with White to create some heavy ranged DPS. That will draw the creatures in my direction. Once they've almost come into melee range, you and Ceasar can draw away the aggro."
It was a risky plan. If Apophis died before Hulk could divert the aggro back onto himself, the group would be finished.
But everyone trusted Apophis, and he was confident they could succeed.
Apophis moved into position and entered a fighting stance. He drew two lines of flame 30 meters apart, then threw a huge fireball at the Zerg group!
Meanwhile, White took careful aim and began firing her heavy rifle.
The fireball exploded in a huge AoE, hitting all Zergs within five meters of the impact! All the hit enemies immediately suffered a fire DOT that Ceasar knew quite well.
Enraged, the Zergs scurried towards Apophis. They stayed between the two lines of flames, just as Apophis had planned.
He made a hand gesture, summoning hundreds of fireballs from the lines of flame to pelt the Zergs!
Meanwhile, White was focusing one heavy shot after another on a single Zerg, who quickly died.
*Zerg killed. Gain 5,789 EXP.*
Their plan was brutally effective, and more than a dozen Zergs quickly died before they managed to get within a range to threaten Apophis and White with their vicious melee attacks.
At this point, Hulk and Ceasar leaped forward to engage the remaining Zergs and keep them away from the ranged DPS duo.
Ceasar skillfully drew aggro away from Apophis and White but then backed off his skill usage for a few moments, allowing Hulk to pull all the aggro onto himself. Once the tank had a solid grip on the whole party's aggro, the three DPS players brutally slaughtered one Zerg at a time.
And of course, Chocolate was healing them the whole time. Not a single player went down during the encounter.
After two minutes of fighting, the last Zerg was dead.
Apophis received a notification.
*Level 8 achieved*
*Gain 5 skill points for the talent tree.*
Everyone in the party applauded. Reaching this level was quite a feat!
"I never thought your crazy plan had a chance of working," said White, "but you've proved me wrong. Thank you very much."
Chocolate spoke up. "Thank you very much, Big Brother!"
Hulk thanked him, too. Among them, only Ceasar didn't say a word. He knew that Apophis was still hiding some of his power. He hadn't even used the now-famous technique which he'd used to defeat 'him.'
The pathway to the tower was now open, and the party continued on.
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