"Your command, Mr. Shaw?"
Shaw's heart thumped against his chest. It was so damn loud that he couldn't properly focus on what was ahead of him. The chances were supposed to be zero, yet he was staring at the tower!
It was like a silver pole.
It wasn't as intimidating as he thought it would be, though.
"Don't call me with honorifics, bastard! I'm thinking!" Shaw said.
Arthur lent him a hand, "The tower looks different."
"You right! It means we can tell how many people are inside!" Shaw nodded. He recalled that the statue and floor would cease to exist upon a player's death. It should make conspicuous changes to the tower!
By looking into the windows and their light, Shaw and his friends counted the number of enemies dwelling within the tower before them.
Jake whispered, "I think it's a team that lost three people in the records battle."
"I think so, too," Arthur nodded.
"Same, same," Shaw added.
If Casual Clowns' calculations were right, it'd mean two things. The enemy team had no records, and their numbers were only one higher than theirs.
The chances of them succeeding in their surprise assault were getting higher with every second.
The temptation to go for it was also turning into a devil's whisper.
Worse, there was no angel to counterargument!
"Mr. Shaw?" Jake and Arthur asked like devils.
Shaw gulped down. "We stormin' in, brothers!"
-
Though Casual Clowns ventured for an hour, their stamina and other stats had actually regenerated to full.
It was because they had received potions for their two kills and walked beneath the forest's canopy. It was darker, as the sun was no longer at its zenith.
The circumstances were on their side.
In the forest surrounding the tower, a constant rustle, followed by two others, was heard. A few smaller branches often cracked beneath the unexpected visitors. Their shadows continuously flashed within the breaks of the forest's carpet as they rapidly stomped their way toward their destination.
Finally, the forest spat those three uninvited guests!
They flew toward the tower's gates!
It was tightly shut and unwelcoming, sculpted to be naturally repulsive.
That said, when three clowns touched the gates' cold surface, the system message promptly appeared on their retinas.
[Would you like to enter the unknown tower?]
The reason it was unknown was simple. Casual Clowns hadn't raided anyone, let alone this tower.
If their raid team had been inside before, the game system would have told them about it, including the names of the tower's owners.
Jake and his friends were ready for anyone.
They also knew which team had lost all three players, meaning they could narrow their potential opponents!
[It's either Ogun or Kangaroo.]
[If it's Ogun, we must go for their shamans.]
[Yeah.]
[Indeed.]
[If it's Kangaroo, we must take down the tank's rear. Rolling Thunder has six taunts, remember? We can't waste our precious advantage of the surprise attack on him!]
[Yeah!]
[Understood.]
[Let's return to our tower with tons of records!]
His friends had it worse.
The other clowns were in their wake. These two couldn't conjure so much power as Jake could at the start, but their skills allowed them to continuously grow stronger!
Arthur's The Enemy made him stronger the more stamina he lost.
Shaw's Living Weapon was increasing his main stats as he fought.
This meant that despite their surprise attack not being as good as Jake's, these two's potential to take down Ajed's shamans was high now that they had closed up distance.
During their surprise attack, Shaw and Arthur won the gamble by shrinking so much distance.
The third thunder resounded in the tower.
'Their first floor has a tank! Their defenses must be higher, but it's nothing compared to Odin's might!' Jake thought as he teleported to Ajed Black's side.
He stared down at him as he stood over him.
His emerald eyes contrasted so well with Ajed Black's Green Zone.
For most of his career, this color always ensured Ajed's safety.
But now, in Jake's hues, he saw an obliteration.
This man could defeat him... with a few arrows!
BANG!
The fourth thunder echoed in Ajed Black's heart! He didn't even have time to turn off the defensive formation or turn it into other types.
Jake was relentless and rapid.
He didn't give him any chance.
Thunders deafened everything around Ajed Black. It even seemed like little sparks devoured the blood he had spilled because of Jake's callous assault! Only the trembling vision of an archer standing over him took place in Ajed's eyes and heart.
His health points reached zero, then...
Jake narrowed his eyes at Ajed's corpse... for it didn't disperse.
It turned into a huge straw doll.
Ajed Black rose away from Jake, replacing one of his totems.
He said, "Down to six..."
Ogun's tank stood before him, protecting the core member of his team like a tank should. His shield was up, and his broad sword close to it. He scowled at Jake and his friends.
Ajed raised his hand again.
He used a different skill, now changing the location of his friends with his totems. These two quickly ran the remaining distance to him. Once close, the other shamans summoned their totems around Ajed Black.
Their formation was now much more impressive.
Jake smiled. "How many times can you resurrect?"
"Just once per hour," Ajed reciprocated Jake's smile. "You can believe me, Joker. I find no use in those lies. You're the cautious type anyway, am I right?"
"Do you respect me?" Jake asked.
It was an odd question.
Ajed nodded. "I do."
"So it's Archer, not Joker," Jake said. He curtly glanced at his teammates. These two flanked him and stood at his helm, ready to return to the battle.
It annoyed them that their opponents could shift their location like that, but that was probably the measure against melee and crazy players like them. Without that, it would have been too easy.
Ajed laughed aloud, "My apologies. I see where you're coming from. Indeed, Archer. Your presence here means that our records team must have been beaten. We really need to catch up to others. Are you ready for the second round?
We'll dictate the rules of the second round, just so you know."
Jake smiled. "I love going against the mainstream. Don't mind me ignoring a few of your rules, if not every single one."
"Can you do that, though?" Ajed smiled.
The second round between Casual Clowns and Ogun began!