Cassandra McConnell's Perspective
Once again, Cassandra was tempted.Her fingers itched around her staff, and the ice spear hovering above her head begged to be hurled into the broad back of the brute called Aslan.
Before they'd entered the chamber, he had said—no, ordered—that everyone attack the sub-boss with everything they had.He was giving orders again, as if he owned the party.
Normally, that would've been enough for Cassandra to spit back a sharp retort, maybe even refuse just to annoy him. But after his stellar performance against the previous waves, she had been willing to forgive him.
Or at least, she had been.
The moment the sub-boss appeared, Cassandra had summoned her strongest single-target spell.An ice spear, translucent and lethal, crafted with such care it seemed to pulse with life.As a mage, she believed it was her moral duty to deal the most damage in the group.That was her role, the obligation she carried like a brand.
But it didn't take long for an uncomfortable question to creep into her mind:
How the hell am I supposed to do that?
The spear still hovered, suspended, draining her mana drop by drop just to stay aloft.And yet Cassandra couldn't release it.
Because the scene before her eyes was… unsettling.
The brute was smiling.
While trading blows with the goblin warrior—a level 20 monster capable of shredding any of them in a single strike—he smiled.Not a confident smile. Not bravado.But a wide, insane, almost maniacal grin.
Cassandra swallowed hard, watching the fight.Aslan fought like a possessed beast, deflecting impossible strikes, dodging with abnormal precision for someone clad in iron, and returning every hit with sheer brute force.
To her, it no longer looked like a player facing a monster.It was a monster facing another monster.
And maybe she was being too harsh on the sub-boss in that comparison…Because at moments, even the goblin itself looked tired of it.
The creature roared, lunged, withdrew—and for an instant, Cassandra swore she saw in its eyes the desire to abandon that madman and charge straight at them instead.
That was when she almost launched her ice spear.The perfect opportunity, the open flank, the chance to fulfill her role as destroyer.
But the brute roared.A grotesque, primal sound that reverberated through the chamber like the howl of a deranged beast.
And the goblin warrior… turned back to him.Back into their inevitable duel.
Cassandra gripped her staff tighter, the frozen spear trembling in the air.Honestly, the longer they fought, the more Aslan's broad back looked like the perfect target.Too tempting a target.
It didn't take Cassandra long to realize she wasn't the only one.
Her staff shook under the weight of the ice spear draining her mana mercilessly. But when she glanced around, she saw the same dilemma written on the others' faces.
Matteo, the so-called engineer, lifted his hand, summoned a magic missile… and let it fizzle.
The sphere of energy dissipated midair before release.Seconds later, he repeated the cycle. Summoned, hesitated, abandoned again.Maybe he was spending less mana than she was in her pathetic loop, but it was still waste.
Hana wasn't much different.The archer kept her bowstring drawn to the limit, her eyes locked on the battlefield.She shifted for angles, adjusted her breathing… but the arrow never left the string.The taut vibration threatened to snap, but no shot came.
Cassandra sighed, half irritated, half resigned.
It was natural.After all, the Black Tower wasn't just any game.
In a traditional MMO, it would've been easy.She'd just click the target, cast the spell, and the algorithm would do the rest.Instant hit. Guaranteed. Clean.
But here, no.Here, reality was different.It wasn't enough to cast—you had to hit.Aim. Account for obstacles. Predict dodges. Control the magic's trajectory until impact.
And if you missed?If the path veered just slightly and struck an ally?Too bad—they'd take the damage all the same.Friendly fire was constant.And in the chaos of a fight like this, aiming became nearly impossible.
Cassandra bit her lip, frustrated, before turning her gaze aside.
That was when her eyes landed on Eleanor.
And there it was.The difference.The only one actually playing.
While everyone else hesitated, fumbled, held back, Eleanor didn't stop.Her healing spells poured steadily over the brute's broad back.Every flicker of blue light fused into his body, mending flesh, restoring mana, sustaining that smiling aberration like a war machine.
Her target wasn't the sub-boss.Her target was Aslan's back.And ironically, that was what made him the abomination still standing, laughing amid the carnage.
Honestly, Cassandra was close to giving up.
A single gesture would be enough to dispel her ice spear and end the agony.
But then came the chorus of screams.
First, the sub-boss, roaring so loud the cavern walls shook.Then Aslan—the brute—bellowed even louder:
"Now, everyone!"
For a moment, Cassandra froze.Now what?
Then memory struck her like lightning.The event.
The cursed event he had predicted before the fight began.
When the boss was about to fall, he would summon reinforcements.And there they were: dozens of goblins spilling out of holes along the chamber walls, screaming, brandishing rusty blades, charging straight at the party.
Finally, her spear had a target.
She raised her staff and unleashed the spell with all the power she'd held back.The ice shot through the air like a silver dart, cutting the gloom before slamming into a goblin's chest.The creature was hurled back into the hole it had crawled from, crushed against the stone with a sickening crack.
Cassandra almost cheered.Almost.
But there was no time.
More goblins rushed in, and she felt the pressure surge.Her heart pounded, and instinct forced her to obey the order she despised.
She summoned earth magic.Her staff struck the floor, and a stone wall rose before her and Eleanor, blocking three charging creatures at once.Claws and blades scraped against the solid surface, screeching like nails on metal.
It was his plan.His orders.
And Cassandra, though she hated to admit it, was following them.
But as she watched the barrier hold against the assault, frustration boiled inside her.She wasn't happy obeying that brute.Not one bit.