Chapter 72 Get In Here!

August and Sophia laughed together and enjoyed the lighthearted moment. Once dinner was done and the dishes were put away, Sophia yawned and stretched, retreating to her room. "Goodnight, August! Don't stay up too late gaming!""No promises," he called after her with a grin.

---

August headed to his room, already focused on the game. He flopped onto his bed and pulled out his phone, opening the group chat with Lilo, Boris, and Ezran.

August: Hey, you guys hear about the Swordking Dungeon in No Man's Wasteland?

He waited for a response, but nothing came. Checking the timestamps, he realized they were all already in the game. He scrolled up and saw a series of messages from earlier in the day.

Boris: Let's grind tonight. Aleman, you better join us!

Ezran: You owe us for bailing last time.*

Lilo: You're not escaping us this time, mister.

August sighed upon reading all of these messages.

"Figures."

He debated joining them, but then he remembered his commitment to Aria and the others for the Swordking Dungeon. "Guess I'll have to make it up to them later."

He tossed his phone onto the nightstand and leaned back, staring at the ceiling.

'A day of changes,' he thought to himself. New beginnings.

With a deep breath, he got up, ready to dive back into Enders Light.

...

...

The moment August's vision adjusted to the game's interface, he realized something was wrong.

He had just reappeared in No Man's Wasteland when a giant blazing blue flame, the size of a car, came hurtling toward him from the sky.

"What the—?!" August barely had time to react.

With a swift flick of his wrist, he activated Arcane Shield.

[ System Notification: Arcane Shield Activated! ]

The magical barrier materialized just in time, absorbing the brunt of the impact.

The force of the explosion, however, was immense, and cracks spiderwebbed across the translucent shield. Moments later, it shattered like glass.

[ System Notification: Arcane Shield Integrity Compromised. Cooldown: 20 seconds. ]

The residual blast flung August several feet through the air.

His body flipped twice in mid-air over the rocky terrain as his HP bar dipped by 7%.

[ -705 HP ]

[ System Notification: HP: 93%. ]

Grunting in pain, August quickly got to his feet as his eyes darted around.

The chaos unfolding before him was unlike anything he'd seen before.

Spells of all colors streaked through the air, swords clashed with metallic echoes, and arrows rained down like hailstones. Searᴄh the NôᴠeFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Dust and debris churned in the air, obscuring his vision, but the sound of players yelling and fighting was deafening.

The once desolate expanse of No Man's Wasteland had become a battleground.

Over two hundred players had gathered. Many of whom were drawn by the promise of the Swordking Dungeon's rewards... Especially rumors of the fruit of sin.

The timer for the dungeon's activation ticked down in the corner of his interface.

[ System Notification: Time Until Dungeon Opens: 5 minutes. ]

"This is insane," August muttered while ducking as a stray arrow whizzed past his ear.

He pressed his back against a nearby rock for cover, scanning the battlefield. 'Where the hell are Aria and the others?'

Suddenly, his party interface flashed, and a message from Aria appeared. She seemed to have noticed that he just came online and swiftly sent him a message.

[ Party Chat - Aria ]

<[ "We're behind the big rock to the east of the monolith. Head here, quick! It's too chaotic to stay exposed." ]>

August cursed under his breath. The "big rock to the east" wasn't visible through the dust cloud, and navigating this war zone wouldn't be easy.

But he had no choice.

He slipped into stealth mode and began making his way toward the east.

As he crept through the battlefield, August saw the carnage up close.

Players were locked in deadly skirmishes, and the ground was littered with bodies of those who had lost their lives and been forced to respawn elsewhere.

He spotted a group of mages casting area-of-effect spells. Their hands glowed ominously as they hurled fireballs and frost shards into the fray.

Nearby, a ranger let a barrage of magical arrows loose. Their trajectories glowed faintly in the air before striking their targets with explosive force.

[ Stealth Mode Deactivated: Cool down 20 seconds ]

August began making his way through the battlefield while waiting for the cooldown to end quickly.

Time seemed fleeting and slow in this moment. August wished nothing more than to be capable of speeding up time but he couldn't.

Suddenly, a notification appeared above his stealth interface.

[ Caution: Nearby Player Detected. Level 32 Berserker. ]

A hulking figure stepped into his path.

The Level 32 Berserker was wiping blood off his massive axe and his HP bar was still over 80%.

His eyes zeroed in on August, who had just emerged from the shadows.

"Well, what do we have here?" the Berserker sneered with a deep tone. "A little rat trying to scurry through the chaos."

August quickly drew his Enhanced Daggers, holding it defensively. "I don't have time for this," he muttered before readying himself for a fight.

The Berserker charged without hesitation with his axe raised high.

[ System Notification: Berserker Skill: Cleave Activated. ]

August sidestepped the first swing causing the axe to embed itself into the ground with a thunderous crash. Dust and debris exploded outward, obscuring the Berserker's vision momentarily.

Using this opening, August countered with Hidden Strike aimed for the Berserker's side.

[ System Notification: Hidden Strike: Critical Hit! Berserker HP -700. ]

The Berserker roared in pain but quickly retaliated, swinging his axe in a wide arc. August barely managed to block with Arcane Shield, but the force sent him sliding backward across the rocky ground.

[ System Notification: Arcane Shield Integrity: 60%. ]

More players joined the fray, targeting both August and the Berserker.

A ranger fired arrows in rapid succession, and a mage hurled a fireball toward the melee.

"Great. Just great," August muttered while activating Dash to evade the incoming attacks.

He reappeared a few feet away, his HP bar ticking down by another 10% from residual damage.

He needed to act fast. With a quick gesture, he unleashed the Lightning Bolt spell, amplified by his custom staff.

[ System Notification: Lightning Bolt Activated! Effect: 2x Gravitational Pull Applied. ]

The bolt struck the Berserker directly, pulling him to the ground as a sudden surge of gravity pinned him in place.

Taking advantage of the opening, August hurled a Fireball, which exploded on impact, dealing additional damage to nearby players.

[ System Notification: Berserker HP: -3200 ]

[ System Notification: Nearby Players Affected: HP -2000, -1500, -1700... ]

August used the momentary chaos to push eastward, slipping into stealth mode again to avoid being seen. The dust cloud swirled around him as he made his way toward Aria's location.

---

After a couple of seconds, August arrived behind the massive boulder at the eastern location. He scanned his surroundings cautiously before deactivating Stealth.

His brow furrowed in confusion. 'Where is everyone?'

There was no sign of Aria or the rest of the group.

He was about to open the party chat to send a message when a thin, shimmering line appeared in midair before him.

The line widened into a slit of glowing light, and moments later, a familiar head popped out. It was Aria.

"Quick, get in here!" she whispered urgently.