A New World, an immersive game experience

Judith grinned, covered in blood and deep wounds, but not bothered about such little details. Yet again, their plan had worked perfectly.

In this one regard, it seemed that the orcs were like mobs of any normal game. After a brief fight gaining their aggression, they would lose sight of all else and chase them to the end of the earth, or right into a trap. Their range of aggression even seemed to have no end, making them even easier to lure.

Even after a few days of repeating this same method, the orcs still had not learned.  Or so they thought.

Suddenly, the guild chat became a flurry of messages.

"Why are they coming here and not—" Elizabeth started shouting orders. They couldn't put up a fight here. It was too close to the inn where the NPCs they had rescued were being hidden. Sure, there weren't that many NPCs currently in the inn since they just started for the day, but that wasn't a good argument.

"Move it! Move it!" Judith shouted. The worst of her wounds healed already. She was still low on most of her stats, but she rushed forward. Taking charge and rushing towards the front. Immediately clashing with the orcs in the narrow alleys of the city block, trying to lead them away from the NPCs.

They were still too close, but not so close that the orcs would stumble upon the NPCs. However, should they know the city, it would be quite easy to connect the dots. There was an inn nearby and a large entrance into the sewage system of the city. The city only had these entrances near the main roads and it was how Phoenix were rescuing the citizens. The first citizens they had saved had helped plan the routes. Above ground was simply too dangerous after a day of fighting.

In the front, Judith clashed swords with the orcs. Thanks to the narrow alleyways, they couldn't surround her, but it also limited how she could fight with Gray. But if all she needed to do was block their path, she could manage.

Help soon followed, and it seemed they would manage to block the orcs here and give enough time for someone to come up with a better plan.

And then the sky turned bright.

"My god!" Therdul stopped in his tracks as a ray of fire rained down upon everyone before him. When the spell disappeared, all that remained before him was ruins. No player or orc was in sight.

Then followed a load cheer filled with over bubbling morale, and orcs started rushing into the ruined city block by the hundreds.

"We can't let them get through here!" Therdul shouted, rushing to the front and finding himself facing an orc nearly three meters tall. As he struggled, Therdul noticed in the corner of his eyes all the players falling like flies. He also noticed that most of the alleyways were blocked by rubble.

Falling back to the one they had come through, he desperately fought to stand his ground. The attacks of his massive foe were heavy, and it ate into his shield and armor. Imaging the repair cost pained Therdul's heart. It might not even be possible to repair as things were going. But he could not back down. For he knew that the NPCs would have no second chance at life.

In his struggle, Therdul saw a rather small orc appearing behind his large foe. It casually waved its staff, and the elements started visibly surrounding the staff. 'No, there must be—'

"Ice nova!" The shout shocked Therdul. He just caught the glimmer of a small crystal flying through the air. Then everything turned white.

The next thing Therdul knew, his foe was frozen mid attack. His blade, bearing down upon Therdul's unprotected shoulder, stopped just centimeters from landing.

"Thank god, it's over." Therdul collapsed to the ground, whilst the pain and all was limited. His body still ached. And too soon after the last time—during the defense of Vlisia.

He collapsed with a smile.

Elizabeth immediately came to check up on him. She only confirmed that he wasn't dying and then left to help the next. Watching her walk away, Therdul grumbled. He would have liked her to show some more care about his well being. But well, this was only an avatar. No matter how battered it was, he would live.

***

"Theas, I hope we can move immediately." Eldrian said after the greetings were done.

Theas was a stout dwarf. He looked young, but experienced. His armor was a mix of adamant and mithril, the dark purplish metal a showcase of his achievements. The metal wasn't so cheap that any captain could afford to implement it into their armor.

"We can, father informed me of the general details. I hope you can give color to the picture."

"Of course..." Eldrian followed Theas, who lead him to the nearest teleportation circle while sharing everything he knew of the fort and the undead inside.

As he explained everything to Theas, Eldrian confirmed the details on his map and also prayed that the difference between a Tier 7 and 6 would be big enough to prevent any troubles from arising. 'If worse comes to worst, I will rely on...'

***

"Has he already found someone who could help?" Vivian asked, shocked by the message Erik had delivered. Eldrian had only left a few days ago, not even a week.

"It seems so. He went to meet with Boran and it sounds like Boran wanted to help. They sent a dwarven captain. He is Tier 7, so things should go smoothly. But just in case, take these and give it to Eldrian."

"This..." Vivian was stunned by the quantity of potions Erik gave Myropsis, who quickly stored them in her dimensional storage.

"He paid for it, but still, be careful. Even with his map and all the planning in the world, something might still go wrong."

Nodding, Vivian turned and together with Myropsis, the two teleported to Kynigo, where they were to meet up with Eldrian.