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I SPENT MY AFTERNOON enthralled by the illustrations I was creating. The magical cards I’d purchased were beautiful in their colours and style, it was no wonder I felt so compelled to draw. I set my work aside and glanced at the clock, almost time for the new patch to go live. I drew one leg up onto my chair and rested my hand upon my knee, while I turned on my gaming computer. The fans whirled to life, flooding my desk in a hue of pastel pink.
A warmth spread across my chest, bringing me comfort as I signed onto the client for Eden’s Gate Online, but in my eagerness I realised I was too early and still had thirty minutes left to kill before the patch went live, despite the client downloading the patch ready.
I clicked onto the social hub where my online group regularly hung out together. To my surprise one of the other girls was visiting alone in the voice chat and I decided to be brave and join her. Both in the game and on the social hub, we used online pseudos' rather than our real names. I’d chosen to use my middle name as my character name, at the time of character creation I was feeling stumped for inspiration. I slipped on my headset and joined the voice chat.
Nahla’li: Oh hey Diana!
Although I didn’t know these people, except Harley, outside of the game, I still felt a comfort around them and an ease about being my true authentic self with them.
Diana: Hey, you looking forward to the new patch? Have you downloaded the update yet?
Nahla’li: You’re joking. I’ve been ready for the last hour. Have you seen how much the healer spells are getting buffed in this patch? Sorry, here’s me rambling, how was your day? You had an interview, right? How’d it go?
I chewed the bottom of my lip. I’d been honest with Harley, the group were no different, I trusted them.
Diana: I didn’t get it.
Nahla’li: I’m sorry, there’ll be others though, don’t lose faith.
Diana: That’s it, besides I’m less worried about failing the interview and more about how my boyfriend will react.
Nahla’li: What do you mean?
Her tone shifted from a joking manner to something more serious. I shifted in my gaming chair, wondering if I should continue telling the truth. But today was all about being brave, there was no use shying away now.
Diana: He just thinks I’m useless, or at least, that’s what he tells me I am. He thinks I shouldn’t get a job because of my mental health, and that even as a homebody I’m failing.
Nahla’li: Does he always speak to you like that?
I considered her question carefully, muting my microphone so she couldn’t hear me humming as I deliberated.
Diana: Almost daily.
Nahla’li: That doesn’t sound healthy. I’m not trying to suggest to you how to live your life but it sounds toxic. He sounds like he controls you, not just the things you do, but the clothing you wear and the things you’re interested in. Does that sound like a fair assessment?
Diana: He doesn’t like it when I play the game with the group, he thinks it’s childish, that I live in fantasyland or something. We don’t share many common interests either.
Nahla’li: Only you know what’s best for you, but know you can reach out to me anytime, okay?
Diana: Thank you, I do really appreciate that.
Just as we were wrapping up our conversation, the rest of the group trickled into the voice chat, starting with Nahla’li’s partner. His voice was unmistakably bubbly, and the sadness I’d started to feel discussing my problems soon fizzled away.
A’sher: Hello ladies. What are you girls up too?
Nahla’li: Diana and I were just having a little girl chat, keep your nose out.
I erupted in giggles, the dynamic between the two of them was sickly sweet. Their relationship seemed perfect, similar interests, open about everything and had stood the test of time since secondary school. I hoped one day I would find someone like that to share the rest of my life with.
The other couple of the group joined the voice shortly after, greeting each of us in turn, but yet Harley still hadn’t arrived. I went to pick up my phone to text him, but I second guessed my decision, unwilling to bother him if he was busy.
Nahla’li: Where’s Teru?
A’sher: I’ve not long left him, he promised me he would be here!
I sat back in my chair and listened to the couple bickering, I muted myself so they wouldn’t hear me giggling at their antics while helping myself to the snacks I’d bought earlier. I opened the packet of panda-shaped biscuits and tipped them into a small dish to pick at. Together we all readied up and signed into the game client, eagerly counting down the minutes before the servers went live. And just as I went to click on the sign-in, the voice chat notification popped as another member joined. My anxiety melted away the second I heard the familiar voice.
A’sher: Look who finally decided to show up. You’re cutting it fine, have you even got the patch installed?
Terunao: Dude, chill. My internet had it completed in seconds unlike your fossil of a system.
Diana: Hey
Terunao: Hey!
I don’t know why but butterflies began swarming in my chest and my head suddenly all giddy. I picked up my water bottle and drank half the contents wondering how much I’d drunk today, probably not enough.
Terunao: Are we all ready to start the new patch?
Niolivin: Crypt of Refulgence sounds incredible.
A’sher: Let me in, let me in, let me in. Damn, I think I’m stuck in the queue.
Terunao: Unlucky buddy. Don’t worry we’ll wait for you.
A’sher: Damn right, can’t spell fun without your resident melee dps now!
Nahla’li: Actually you can. Now, will you simmer down a bit? We’re waiting for you.
The five of us stood in the game, minus A’sher who was still stuck in the queue and despite Nahla’li asking him nicely to calm down, he hadn’t actually stopped moaning about it. We were outside our shared estate, weapons sheathed and ready to take on the new boss lying in wait in the Crypt.
I looked at my friends in turn, taking in their newest glamoured looks they’d given their characters. Neya, the beautiful rabbit-folk woman who towered over me, with cascading coffee tresses and caramel skin, dressed in a ruby two-piece crop top and flowing skirt. Beside her, her partner, Niolivin, who was equally as tall as an elven male and dressed head to toe in black garments almost hiding his entire identity.
To my left stood Nahla’li, a small cat girl looking strangely fabulous in the colours of the rainbow. Another cat joined us, A’sher had finally made it into the game and was stood battle ready in a pirate-inspired attire. To my other side, a taller creature similar to my own character, except where my dragon-like scales were pearlescent, his were inky black.
Neya: Is everybody ready? I’ve located the quest giver that should be a straight unlock for the trial.
A notification appeared at the bottom corner of my screen. A shared message between the group with the location of the quest given in coordinates. Together, the six of us set off with Terunao leading the way as our resident tank.
The NPC was a timid looking woman, seemingly like she’d just been attacked by a pack of wolves. As we initiated the quest, the dialogue revealed she’d been chased by feral beasts when she ventured too far into the crypt to pay her respects to a fallen friend. It was up to us as the adventurers to investigate the secrets of this crypt. After accepting the quest, a mission flagged up in the corner of my screen, detailing instructions of how to proceed. However, upon reading them all they said was to enter the crypt and a duty unlock popped.
A’sher: Has everybody unlocked it yet?
Diana: I’ve just done it.
Niolivin: What if the big bad is actually the NPC’s friend and we’ve got to return her soul to rest.
Neya: Okay lore-buff, calm down. Let’s just enjoy the content without theory crafting every detail.
Terunao: I think that’s me set, are we waiting on anyone? Or does anyone need to grab potions before we step in?
Harley initiated a ready check, an in-game tool that lets players confirm whether they are ready to begin a duty. If they’re not, it allows time for the group to sort themselves out before they enter the duty. Everyone accepted the check and in the next second we were thrown into the duty.
Terunao: Hold so everyone has a chance to watch the cutscene, okay?
We all agreed, it was new content and with it always came a beautifully designed cutscene. This one was no exception, it showed our characters marching down into the crypt, swarms of bats overhead and dimly like candles in sconces clung to the wall. Sometimes the cutscene showed sneak previews of the enemies we’d be facing, but as this was a trial it was left as a surprise.
A stone statue stood in the centre of the area, feminine in shape with moss and ivy decorating the cracks. The form reminded me like Medusa from Greek mythology, or at least heavily inspired by depictions of her.
Once our characters were positioned in a semi-circle around the statue, the cutscene ended and the duty commenced, giving us full control of our characters. The statue loomed before us, cladded in armour holding a trident in one hand and a circular shield attached to her other arm. Just as Terunao removed the greatsword from his back, the stone statue cracked, revealing our adversary.
A towering fiend with a snake-like body slithered on the spot, hissing and spitting in our direction as the trial music began. Her amber eyes burnt with hatred and her sharp talons were crusted with crimson. Something told me she wouldn’t be an easy foe to beat.
A’sher: What’s the plan, big man?
Terunao: I’ll draw her north, the rest of you stack south and focus on damage.
As our group healer, Nahla’li dropped a protection and health generation spell just as Terunao’s greatsword made purchase with the fiend’s trident. The edge of his blade burnt with a deep violet hue, forcing the venomous creature to slither back.
I hung back behind the fiend, firing off rapid spells of ice and fire bolts. Together with the rest of the damage dealers, we were slowly making a dent in her health bar. A’sher was a fraction behind Terunao, using his glaives to slice into the enemy’s tail. Neya was using complex dance techniques to run circles around the foe, throwing her chakrams at each turn and cutting through the snake’s flesh. Niolivin, Nahla’li and I were at the rear of the pack, using all the magic we could muster to aid the group.
Once a fraction of her health bar dwindled, Medusa bellowed for the minions. Giant spider with piercing claws spewed toxic webs over the area. Just as A’sher finished his combo move, his toe dipped into the acid and I saw a debuff appear over his head.
A’sher: Watch out for those webs, that’s some nasty poison. Doesn’t look like the debuff is removable.
Nahla’li: Don’t worry about it, I’ve got your back.
Our healer added a new regeneration spell on her partner to combat the damage the poison was causing. Despite the debuff A’sher continued moving, slicing through the fiend like she was nothing.
Diana: I think we need to focus on the adds.
The group adjusted our tactics, allowing Terunao to continue focusing on the boss and for the rest of us to burn down the additional enemies. The spiders themselves were easy to deal with, and we made little work of them and turned our focus back to Medusa. Unsatisfied that we were still on her case, the fiend roared, causing the area to shake and debris to fall from the ceiling.
Neya: Watch out!
The dancer used her shield combo, casting a crystallised barrier around us and preventing any damage being done to the party. The fallen debris crashed all around us, mounds of broken stone clustered all over the area, granting us safety from Medusa’s next attack, an area-of-effect burst.
Niolivin: Everyone behind the rumble before she strikes.
But just before we could follow his suggestion, the fiend screeched, piercing our ears. Another debuff fell over the entire party, a confusion spell that would swap around the movement controls, making it more difficult to get to safety. Thankfully, we all made it behind the debris mounds in time before she cast her raid wide.
Terunao: I don’t think she has left to give, if we band together we should be able to finish her off quickly.
We must have been fighting this boss for at least forty minutes and only now was her health bar dwindling down to the last ten percent. But as the bar ticked over into dangerous territory, Medusa’s snake-like eyes glowed ruby red, her body disengaged from battle slithering back as she twitched and shifted into a new form. She shed her skin, flakes breaking off like torn pages from a book and dissipated into dust. In all my time, playing this game we’d never seen anything quite like this.
Diana: What’s happening?
Niolivin: Looks like she’s transforming.
Neya: A possible phrase transition?
Terunao: Everyone get behind me now. Nahla’li stay vigilant, and ready your spells.
Nahla’li: You got it.
The entire party huddled behind the tank, just as he cast a dark bubble around us. There was a chance, like most transitions, that there would be a raid wide damage when her new form was shown. Mitigating the damage was a good strategy from Harley.
A bright light erupted from the heavens through a crack in the crypt ceiling. The rest of the walls crumbled away and the main platform rose, but still Medusa was nowhere to be seen. We reached the top of a tower, perfect white marble columns decorated with gold filigree ivy. It seemed as if we’d ascended to Mount Olympus.
Medusa descended from the clouds, her snake-like hair cascading down her back with a golden halo around her crown. Her serpent body had shed into two human legs draped in layers of sheer skirts. From her back sprouts beautiful feathered wings, spanning the width of the gilded area.
Once her cutscene was finalised, a blinding golden light exploded from an orb within her palm. Luckily Nahla’li had used a protection spell before it was released, nulling some of the damage, and when we finally had the option to free move our characters again, Medusa’s health bar was full once more.
Medusa: Come warrior, let us see who is mightier. If you can make it past me you shall be rewarded by the Gods. But if you fail, you shall feel their wrath tenfold.
ns 15.158.61.54da2
