25

Name: Vindictus

Race: Human

Class: Ranger

Sub-class: Archer

Level: 10 EXP: 4500/4500

EXP Pot: 1820

Health: 229/229

Mana: 195/195

Strength 25

Vitality 24

Agility 26 [Bracers +1]

Dexterity 18 [Bracers +1]

Intelligence 27

Speed 25 [Boots +1]

Luck 30 [Ring +5]

Charisma 15

Points available: 0

Skill Points: 1

[Lifestyle Skills - Harvester Skill – 6; Alchemy – 1; Smithing – 3; Leatherworking – 6]

[Class Skills - Eagle Eye – 1; Power Shot – Level 3; Boost Summon – 2; Ambidextrous – Max; Two weapon fighting – Max; Cross Cut – Level 4; Off Hand Block – Level 4; Off Hand Parry – Level 3]

[New Skills]

Brick was quickly intrigued. "What is different in the hard mode?"

"The main thing is that there are a few more of the base creatures and they are about half a level stronger. So if a normal skeleton has 200 health then the ones on the next level have 300 health."

"But you took care of almost all of them last time. We had it easy."

"Well this time I think that we should go for the speed record. So we are going to ignore the stuff on the sides and charge towards the skeleton general. I will put Ursi with Wall Flower and Frigid so that when the skeletons try to come at us from behind he will deal with them. And I will be attacking a lot more this time. I will lead the way and deal with anything that is in the path between us and the general. Then once we hit the edge Brick will charge forward and Knocking Heads and I will follow. Frigid you and Ursi will make sure that we don't get swamped from behind and Wall Flower you are going to need to keep healing practically nonstop."

Knocking Heads looked at him. "Vindictus do you really thing that we can take the speed record from the Wolf Moon guild without any complaints?"

"Well, what is going to happen when we clear it is that when we are sent to the dungeon start I will immediately accept the next run on hell mode before anyone can stop us. And I have a plan on what to do after we get finished with Hell mode. They are going to be annoyed if we beat their time but they are going to be furious when we beat them to the first clear of hell mode. And Wall Flower is going to be our trump card. And if we are lucky we will also get a shot or two at the hidden dungeon at the end. Luckily it will not affect our time if we do. The time stops when we kill the boss."

Brick kind of shook his head. "If you think that we can do it I am willing to give it a shot. I am positive on us being able to kill the bosses, I am not on us being faster than Wolf Moon. But what the hell it will be worth a gold coin if we can get the record."

The other three quickly agreed and with that Vindictus triggered the return option of the room and the five of them faded from view and appeared at the crypt opening. There was no one there except the few guys that were here to take care of the huge skeleton guardian. Immediately Vindictus hit the enter dungeon and then selected the hard mode. When he did is showed that the last few times that time had been broken it was only by a few minutes. This was done so that the Wolf Moon guild could use this place to mine gold. It was a widely known technique to get as much gold for a guild as they could. There were announcement every couple of hours about a different group breaking the record. Vindictus was about to really upset them.

The current record was still an hour and fifteen minutes and if Vindictus remembered right the record after the first couple of weeks was within a few minutes of an hour. His goal was to set the record so that no one could break it any time soon. As they discovered later there was also a bonus for cutting the system required time by a third. That was his true goal. It was bonus skill points, and that was something that no one could turn down.

The best part was that they time was no longer announced when it was set. The only way that someone could find out was to enter the dungeon and check the wall. Or go to the official server that tracked all the records and had stats for all of the walls and look there. That is another option that would be available after this update.

The five of them gathered on the step that triggered the time to start and got ready to move into the dungeon. "Okay follow me."

Wall Flower quickly called out. "Don't forget Ursi." Vindictus smiled and gave them a wink as he started running forward. The bear suddenly appeared just to the side of the opening and after receiving its mental instructions it stayed right beside Frigid and Wall Flower. The group was stunned by Vindictus' speed since they had never seen him go all out. He had cut down half a dozen skeletons before the rest of them would have been in range. Since they were trying for speed the rest of them jogged as quickly as possible while still paying attention to everything around them.

Suddenly Ursi pounced off the path and crushed a few skeletons that were closing on the casters. Once they quit moving he jogged up to casters and then kept their pace. "Thank you Ursi." Wall Flower could not help but talk to the bear.

After about twenty minutes they came to the edge of the area where the general was waiting on them. "Okay everyone we are slightly ahead of the schedule. Are you ready?"

Brick did not even wait for an answer he simply charged at the boss and used his skill as soon as he was in range. As soon as he saw that Brick had the agro Vindictus took off after him, with Knocking Heads right on his heels. Frigid saw them sprint forward and turned to face behind them but nothing was even visible yet. Once they realized that they took the time to send a few spells towards the boss. When they heard the bear give a growl they turned around and got ready to fight. They used a ground cover spell and the skeletons were quickly on the ground. Ursi then jumped on them as they slid closer to him. He really enjoyed this style of fighting.

Vindictus never let up and even used his cross-cut skill twice and took a large bite out of his mana. But it was worth it when the general dropped before the thirty minute mark. The path on the first floor was longer and so it took longer even with fewer enemies. Distance is a factor. So it would not take them as long to get to the boss on the second level but it would take them longer to beat it. Vindictus quickly harvested the boss while the others moved to the stairs and already moved to the second floor. Since it would not stop the time Brick and Knocking Heads were already facing a few of the zombies.

Vindictus finished up without even looking to see what they got and then he took off running down the stairs to meet up with the others. Ursi was still at the back guarding the casters and Vindictus gave him a pat as he ran by. He quickly caught up with the lead fighters and killed one of the zombies with one attack. The head shots were pretty effective.

The group moved smoothly through the floor and in fifteen minutes they were at the edge of the bosses range. Without waiting for confirmation Brick started moving towards the boss. There were fewer zombies on this floor compared to the skeletons so Ursi had an easier time keeping them in check and Frigid was able to attack the zombie general a few more times. They all went all out but with the higher defense Vindictus was not sure if they were going to make it or not. Finally the general went into berserk mode and he knew that the fight was close to over.

"Wall Flower hit it with holy aura." Wall Flower did not question the order and quickly cast the spell and the zombie yelled out in pain as the aura countered the effects of the berserk. Finally the general dropped to the floor and the time stopped. They still had four minutes until they hit the one hour mark. He stood there in silence for a few seconds but the voice from down the stairs never came so there was no hidden boss this time. He knew that he would get one on the next level but he wanted his team to be able to practice on hard mode.

"Well unfortunately the hidden boss did not trigger this time. I wanted you guys to see them since it will trigger on the hell mode no matter what." He put his hand on the zombie and harvested from it while he talked. "Now remember that once I hit the button for us to leave the system is going to announce it. We are immediately coming right back here as soon as I can select the dungeon, so be ready for it."

About that time the harvest finished and there were a few blue glows this time. Brick blew out a long whistle. "Now I see what you were talking about. There is a different feeling when you are looking at blue gear."

"Yep and one of the pieces that I need is in the mix this time. Yeah this was a great trip."