Chapter 27 - Gul'Dan's Citadel Part I

(I've been drunk for 5 days straight since I moved into my frat house. I'm not sorry. Enjoy the chapter. As a heads up, 99% of the races and monsters referenced in this novel are not made up by me. They actually exist either in Star Wars or in other universes. Use Google if you wanna learn more about them. Skipping the flight to the fortress bc I'm lazy. :P)

After landing in front of the fortress, they stepped out and all received a notification.

*Raid Discovered! Gul'dan's Citadel.*

Tyler walked up to the gates of the fortress. An interface popped up.

*You have approached the raid, Gul'dan's Citadel. Please select a difficulty: Normal, Heroic, or Mythic.*

He called over Beowulf. "So this is a raid. I didn't even know that they had these in this game."

Beowulf shrugged. "Me neither. Before getting this game, I heard rumors that there would be a lot of inspiration taken from the old MMORPG game, World of Warcraft. It would kind of make sense since Disney acquired Activision Blizzard after they ran their company into the ground. After hearing that, I read up on how the game worked. The reputation system is taken straight from there."

Tyler nodded. "I've read some of the WoW lore. Isn't Gul'Dan one of the extremely powerful, evil characters?"

Beowulf sighed. "I read that he is considered one of the most powerful warlocks to have ever existed. I don't know how that would work in this game though. I don't believe that there is magic."

Tyler shook his head. "Well there is mana so who knows. Maybe we can find something interesting. There are a lot of unexplored regions within the galaxy with untouched resources. I can't even imagine the money to be made. Hehehe."

Beowulf rolled his eyes. "God, you are such a Jew."

Tyler laughed. "Oh shush, it is in my blood. Anyways, since I am the party leader, it is asking me to select a difficulty."

(In case you couldn't tell from my last name, Newman, I am Jewish. It is okay for me to make that joke. :D)

Beowulf raised his brow. "That is interesting. Haven't seen anything in terms of difficulty selection yet. What are the options?"

Tyler smiled. "We can do Normal, Heroic, or Mythic."

Beowulf scoffed. "Damn, that is ripped straight out of WoW. I presume that the enemies would scale based on the average level of our party, right?"

Tyler nodded. "That is how it has worked in most circumstances thus far. In the open world it is scaled off the mainstream player level but for party encounters, it has been based on party levels."

Beowulf sighed. "I honestly don't know. Maybe we should play it safe and do Normal since this is the first raid? I don't think anyone has done one yet."

Tyler grinned. "I don't know. Harder difficulty means better rewards. In addition, there might be a first clear bonus."

Beowulf grimaced. "You're not about to do what I think you're gonna do, right?"

Tyler laughed. "What do you mean 'about to do', I already did it!"

Beowulf's expression dropped. "What exactly did you do?" At that moment a notification popped up for everyone in the party of 50.

*Mythic Raid Activated: Gul'dan's Citadel. Good Luck!*

Beowulf sighed in defeat. "We are doomed."

Tyler shrugged. "I think we'll be fine. We have 50 of the finest members in our guild right here. Everyone is a veteran MMO player so we got this. In addition, we have 3 Jedi with us. I think we will be just fine."

Kai walked over. "Master, are we going to investigate that place? It feels dark and cold."

Tyler nodded at his padawan who was followed by Obi Wan and Anakin. "Indeed we are. This place seems to be strong with the dark side. I have also heard some stories about the person this citadel is named after."

Obi Wan's eyes lit up. He was always hungry for knowledge. "I have never heard of anything like this. Would you please explain? It is unusual for something like this to not be in the archives."

Tyler laughed. "Something like this would not be in the archives. I would be genuinely surprised if it was. Anyways, there are ancient tales of a system called the Azeroth System. No one knows where it is but it is home to powerful warriors that use magic never seen before in this galaxy."

"I'll give you a brief background on the system. There are many sentient races just like our galaxy. There are two main factions known as the Alliance and the Horde. They have been at war with each other for a long time."

"Gul'dan, the person this citadel was named after, is an extremely powerful warlock that betrayed his people to ȧssist the dark forces trying to invade Azeroth for personal gain."

Obi Wan raised his brow. "What is a warlock?"

Tyler sighed. "They are powerful spell casters. They also summon demonic minions for various purposes. If you aren't careful, they can kill you instantaneously."

Obi Wan grimaced. "Are they somewhat like the Nightsisters?"

Tyler chuckled. "I guess you can compare them to a Nightsister on steroids. They definitely use similar magic."

Obi Wan nodded. "Then they must use the force in some way we haven't discovered. It sounds like something a user of the dark side can do."

Tyler raised his brow. "That is actually an interesting theory. I would not have thought of it like that."

Obi Wan smiled. "Draco, there are many things we do not know. Knowledge is the key to unlocking the secrets of the galaxy."

Tyler nodded. "Thank you for the wise words. Anyways, shall we proceed?"

Obi Wan nodded. "That would be wise. We don't want to keep the people of this planet waiting."

Tyle turned to the group. "Alright everyone, form up. We are going to do an arrow formation. One Jedi on each side of the arrow with me at the front. Tanks and melee capable people on the outsides. Ranged people behind them and healers in the middle. Beowulf, you take command since you have more experience with this kind of stuff than I do. Let's move out!"

Everyone fell into formation quickly. Tyler walked up to the gates and used the force to push them open. They ġrȯȧnėd and creaked as they moved. It took a few seconds but the gigantic gates opened fully.

As they revealed the courtyard, several guards became visible and turned to look at the group of players. One quickly turned and ran inside presumably to inform his allies of the intruders.

*Felguard, Warrior, Elite*

*Level 65*

Tyler's expression dropped. "Shit…" He unsheathed one of his lightsabers and ignited it quickly. He then threw it through the air straight towards the retreating felguard.

Tyler called out to his group. "Group up and take on one felguard per group. Jedi come with me!"

With Beowulf commanding the remaining 48 players, they split into 8 groups of 6 with one healer and 2 tanks for each of them.

Tyler led Kai, Anakin, and Obi Wan towards the entrance of the citadel. As they approached the entrance, a deep, booming voice screamed. "WHO DARES INTRUDE ON THESE SACRED GROUNDS?"

A monstrosity of a creature dropped down into the courtyard from a platform up above. As it landed, the stone cracked around it like an anvil had been dropped from an airplane.

*Rogmon the Terrible, Mo'arg Brute, Elite*

*Level 67*

Rogmon snickered. "FOOLISH MORTALS! THIS MISTAKE WILL BE YOUR LAST!" It unsheathed a sword with a skull charm hanging off the bottom. The sword was glowing with a strange energy.

Obi Wan shivered. "This one is strong with the dark side. I don't know if we will be able to cut through his sword."

Tyler shrugged as he unsheathed his twin purple sabers. "Nonetheless, it wouldn't seem that he is open to negotiations."

Kai chuckled as he pulled out his green saber. "Master, isn't this what you call aggressive negotiations?"

Tyler laughed. "Yes, Kai. You are right. You and Anakin will take the flanks. Do NOT take this demon head on. Obi Wan, you and I will take this fuċker on."

Obi Wan nodded as he unsheathed his blue lightsaber. "That would be wise, Draco."

Anakin unsheathed his lightsaber. Him and Kai ran to either side of the brute.

Tyler and Obi Wan fell into their ready stances. Tyler smiled at the demon. "COME!"

Rogmon laughed demonically. "If death is your wish, I will happily grant it!"

Rogmon charged forward, raising his sword in the air.

Tyler's eyes widened. "DODGE!"

He and Obi Wan rolled out of the way as the brute swung his sword into the ground where they just stood. The stone shattered as if an explosion went off and bricks flew through the air.

Sweat rolled down Obi Wan's face. "So uncivilized."

Tyler rolled his eyes. "It is literally a demon. Did you think it would invite you in for tea and ask you nicely for your soul?"

Obi Wan scoffed. "I never thought I'd meet a demon other than you, Draco." Anakin and Kai giggled.

Tyler's jaw dropped. He had never seen this side of Obi Wan. "Good one. Can we get back to the task at hand?" He pointed one of his sabers out. In that direction, the brute had just pulled its sword from the ground and looked angry.

Obi Wan shrugged. "It would seem it is not giving us a choice." He ran forward with his lightsaber held downwards lagging behind him. It looked pretty damn cool.

Tyler smirked and put his sabers away. He then nodded to the padawans.

As Obi Wan approached the brute, he jumped into the air using the force and raised his saber.

The demon grinned and pulled back its sword. Tyler raised his hands and used the force to lock the demon's arm in place. The demon then tried to swing at Obi Wan who was recklessly flying at him through the air but found that its arm couldn't move.

It immediately looked towards Tyler. "So I guess you have a few tricks, mortal."

Along with Obi Wan, Kai and Anakin were charging in from behind. They jumped as well and raised their sabers over their heads. In unison, they struck downwards, leaving large gashes in the demon's back.

Obi Wan arrived in the air in front of the demon and slashed downwards. He left a gash in the ċhėst of the demon before rotating his body and moving his saber with him. He swung his saber upwards and sliced off the demon's free hand.

The demon shrieked in pain. "HOW DARE YOU! YOU WILL SUFFER MY WRATH!"

Its muscles started to bulge and dark energies began pouring out of its skin.

Obi Wan's expression dropped. "SCATTER!" As he said this, a wave of dark force energy exploded from the demon and sent the three Jedi tumbling.

Tyler felt the shockwave but was not knocked down. However, his control on the demon was eliminated. He scoffed. "This is going to be a challenge." He took his sabers back out and ran forward to prevent the demon from attacking his allies while they were down.

Rogmon noticed this but ignored him, choosing to charge towards Obi Wan instead. It was furious with the Jedi.

Tyler raised his hands as he ran and used the force to stagger the demon. "I'll be your opponent."

He continued towards the demon as it snickered and shifted its attention to Tyler. "Very well, mortal."

It turned and started charging towards him. It pulled its sword back and swung as Tyler approached.

Tyler dropped down to his knees and slid under the sword. As he slid under the arm that was flying over his head, he raised his sabers like a pair of scissors and sliced off its other hand.

Rogmon screamed. "YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!"

Ignoring the cry, Tyler rolled behind the demon. He then swung his sabers horizontally, slashing the back of the demon's ankles. It screamed as it fell to its knees. He then jumped over the demon in a flipping motion. Using his sabers, he slashed through its shoulders, crippling what was left of its arms.

He then landed on his feet in front of the demon as it looked on helplessly. Its eyes were blank and glazed over.

Tyler scoffed. "I'll put you out of your misery. It would be cruel to leave you alive."

The demon closed its eyes and Tyler took his sabers and stabbed them through its eye sockets. Its lifeless body fell to the ground.

Its body disintegrated leaving a singular spherical item atop a small mound of credits. The credits amounted to 10k but the item was more interesting.

*Item Obtained: Rogmon the Terrible's Demonic Eye*

*Rank: Keystone*

*Description: Obtained by defeating Rogmon the Terrible. This eye was transplanted into him. He is the gatekeeper of Gul'dan's Citadel and this eye is the key to entering the facility. It holds no other purpose and can only be used once.*

Beowulf walked over followed by the remainder of the group. "Things looked rough over here."

Tyler shrugged. "Just another day's work."

Beowulf rolled his eyes. "So did you find a way in? That door doesn't look like it will open via brute force."

Tyler smiled and held up the eye. "I know we need to use this but I don't know how."

As he said this, a panel slid open on the wall next to the door. Behind it was a circular stone. In the middle of it was a spherical orb that was glowing neon green like a Fel flame.

Tyler walked up to the panel and held up the eye. The orb flared up as the eye was presented to it. It seemed to accept it as the panel slid shut and the doors slowly creeped open.

As they opened it was revealed just how fortified they were. They were 8 feet thick and made of solid metal. It also appeared that they were shielded by force energy so they were virtually impenetrable.

Inside was a dark hall. Once the doors were fully opened, green flames ignited in lamps lining the hall. They slowly flickered into existence, illuminating the hall. As the lights reached the end of the hall, a large chandelier ignited up in the air. It appeared to be floating and it was massive.

Tyler walked into the hall and a notification popped up.

*You have entered Gul'dan's Citadel. 0 of 9 bosses defeated.*

Tyler rolled his eyes. "Fuck, this is gonna be a long day."