Generously, the party wasn't sent back to the dungeon entrance after their wipe. They appeared within the square room guarded by a bunch of gargoyle statues. There was a large hole in front of them. Jumping down, they would land in the water below.
"Great…"
Radiant Shield let out an annoyed sigh. However, the others didn't pay him much attention. They were already discussing how to overcome the two bosses.
"Is there any other way to pass through these walls? Those continuous flash steps are really difficult.", murmured Cyclone, somewhat embarrassed after her failure. Balm patted her shoulder with an encouraging expression:
"No need to feel bad about it. It would have been surprising if we succeeded at first try. We just have to grind now. Isn't this how it should be?"
"Balm is right.", agreed Fortune. "I remember two years ago when I cooperated with Gorocom Gaming. At that time, they were one of the most promising gaming clubs in RR. Yet they were stuck on this one boss for a long time, trying over and over, until they had practiced the boss's move sets to perfection. It was quite inspiring to watch!"
"Not bad. That's the correct mentality to have.", nodded Liam, which immediately earned him strange gazes from Cyclone and Balm.
"What?"
"Eh, if I recall correctly, Fortune is talking about Gorocom Gaming versus Gerv the Slayer. That battle became quite infamous. Gorocom failed to overcome the boss for so long that they were overtaken by the competition…", began Cyclone.
"… and this led to arguments within the club, which eventually caused them to dissolve about four weeks later. It was quite tragic to see. One of the most promising teams rising outside the Central Star System disbanded just like that.", finished Balm. Fortune pondered for a second before slapping her forehead.
"Riiiight. Now that you say it, that did happen. I might remember the time more fondly simply because the video did really, really well. Like, really, well!"
The three women quickly got sidetracked, talking about Fortune's best videos. The others either chimed in, sat down and closed their eyes, logged off to relief themselves, or started their own conversations. For a while it was almost as if the party forgot about the dungeon. After a good rest Silver Blade gathered everyone to continue.
"Ok, let's go! We have a boss to kill!"
"Don't be discouraged if we wipe again!"
"Don't worry guys, after a few more tries I will definitely succeed!"
Everyone was in high spirits, their minds refreshed. They stood around the hole in the ground, staring at the daunting abyss. While Radiant Shield averted his eyes, gathering his courage, Cyclone and Balm were the first to jump in, their bright giggles echoing from the walls.
The others quickly followed one by one. Silver Blade and Radiant Shield smartly changed their clothes. The former wore the dress of a leisurely noblewoman while the latter donned the clothes of a travelling hero. Finally, the two tanks were the last to jump. The water continued to splash, the sound quite conspicuous, as the party slammed into the deep pond below.
Everyone pulled themselves out of the water at the edge of the pond, shaking their bodies like dogs to get rid of the water. Silver Blade and Radiant Shield changed back into their heavy armour and the group was ready to continue. But at this moment Liam unexpectedly held them back:
"Why are you in such a hurry?"
"What do you mean expert? You know that we are basically in a race."
"Sure, that's why I don't understand your hurry. Doesn't it waste more time to fight through the cave, battle the bosses, and eventually suffer another wipe?"
The others furrowed their brows. Looking at Liam's light smile Cyclone didn't feel like asking what he was hinting at. She pondered for a moment, and a lightbulb flashed above her head:
"Do you want us to train before entering the boss room?"
"Nice, 100 points for Cyclone."
Everyone's eyes lit up as Liam explained his plan. After a short discussion Fortune, Cyclone, Liam, Silver Blade, and Watchful Eye remained behind while the others cleared the cave, searched for the teleportation platform, and fought the monsters in the cells.
Liam quickly got his group into position. For now, he and Silver Blade would stand a few meters apart, stretching out their swords to the side, mimicking the walls of blades. Fortune and Cyclone were to use flash step to enter the area between the two swords and quickly flash out again.
"Good idea! Let me!"
Cyclone didn't show any haughtiness knowing that Fortune did better than her during the boss fight. She focused on her body, stirring the mana within. With a shower of sparks, she flashed into the open area. After a brief delay of three and a half seconds she flashed again, appearing a short distance away.
"Not bad. However, you were still somewhat slow. Furthermore, you should try to arrive closer to my sword. The closer the better."
"Mhm."
After Cyclone it was Fortune's turn. She performed at a similar level, but her delay was slightly shorter, approaching the three second mark.
Yet the arduous training had just begun. Liam had Cyclone and Fortune use flash step over and over until they got proficient in using two flash steps in quick succession. This went on for more than half an hour. Silver Blade felt her arm holding the sword growing tired but watching her two friends training diligently she didn't complain. The training continued until Liam nodded his head. However, this was only the first step.
Next, Watchful Eye joined Liam and Silver Blade in representing the three walls of blades. Due to his addition the distance Cyclone and Fortune had to bridge with their flash step widened, slightly increasing the difficulty.
The group of five continued for another half an hour. Cyclone and Fortune already felt much more comfortable. Meanwhile the rest of the party had already cleared the cave and were ready to activate the teleportation platform.
However, the day was nearing its end. There was no time for the party to try their hands on the boss again. They continued their training for a while before returning to the real world.
That evening the mood in the guild house was tense. An interview with Henragon caught a lot of attention. The man boasted about GalanTen's quick advancement through the dungeon. Due to time constraints they barely failed to defeat Chratyo but tomorrow morning the sub-boss was doomed to die.
Thanks to Henragon's vivid boasts everyone could feel the difficulty of the dungeon. Even if you were able to secure a good flying mount, without solid skills there was no need to even attempt clearing the dungeon on hell difficulty. Furthermore, the threshold for equipment was even more brutal. Asked about it Henragon sneered, stating:
"If you still think rare equipment is precious, you are not made for competing with us. Don't even bother trying your hands on hell difficulty. Stick to normal!"
The man's words were extremely provocative. Some people despised him for being too arrogant, others respected him for daring to speak his mind without beautifying his words.
Cyclone and Balm couldn't help frowning as they listened to the interview. Henragon's words were an insult to at least half of Dream Avenue. How dare this guy be so arrogant? According to the most prominent assumption Henragon, GalanTen, and the other suddenly rising players were most likely trained by companies and clubs. They probably never even worked to get their hands on top equipment. It must have been either bought or farmed by others. How dare someone like that look down on people?
"Calm down. He's only provoking us. Let's focus on the dungeon, finish first, and shut that guy up."
Silver Blade patted the shoulders of her friends who responded with heavy nods. The group went to the gym, only opting for a light workout. After a few months of working out everyone could slowly see the first changes to their bodies, which was a great motivation. Going to the gym became a routine and some people would even feel uneasy if they were to skip a day.
It could be seen that even the friends were still improving. After an evening of watching movies together the friends went to bed early. The next day everyone was in a great condition as they entered the game again.
As soon as the party appeared in the cave, they split into two groups. Fortune and Cyclone already knew that their training wasn't finished yet. They didn't voice a single word of complaint as they listened to Liam's instructions.
Liam, Silver Blade, and Watchful Eye once again took position, mimicking the three walls of blades. But this time they slowly moved towards Cyclone and Fortune. The two mages narrowed their eyes, calculating in their heads as they used flash step to arrive between Liam and Silver Blade.
"Woah!"
Cyclone was startled as she appeared right in front of Silver Blade's sword. The gleaming edge touched her, and the first try was counted as a failure. However, Cyclone wasn't disheartened. She tried over and over again, improving with each attempt. Soon, Cyclone and Fortune looked at each other, their gazes confident and determined.