A New World, An Immersive Game Experience



Two kilometers was too far a distance to throw what was essentially a palm-sized stone. Even with Judith's enhanced stats focused on pure melee combat. 

However, the temporary runes Ilmadia had added to it eliminated drag while decreasing the effect of gravity on the mana crystal.  This allowed it to fly far. As far, in fact, as Ilmadia's connection to the temporary runes held. 

Still, two kilometers was a great distance. Accuracy was naturally low. 

The Nova Missile had landed close to the enemy castle, but not close enough to do any damage. However, it had been a massive shock to the players of Dragons. 

They had decided to play defensive against Phoenix, and as such no one had left the castle as of yet. A few scouts were about to set out when the explosion occurred. 

The shock of it had sent them stumbling back into safety. Warrily, they tried to figure out what had happened. 

Cannons could achieve a similar range, but only if they were up high and had a clear line of sight.

While the castle each guild got was a sound defensive structure, it wasn't tall. With the forest set between the two castles, firing a cannon from so far should be impossible. 

Their delayed action due to this preemptive attack, allowed Phoenix to get the advantage. They took the forest, and by the time Dragon's scouts left the castle, they were quickly cut down by Judith and her group. 

The notifications of their friend's deaths made everyone panic. The guild leader quickly calmed the players, ordering them to prepare for a siege. 

It was a sound option, but not against Phoenix. 

Judith's group stopped just out of range of the defenders. Dragons had a few cannons installed but were hesitant to use them. Each shot of a cannon was expensive, and these were the preliminaries. Wasting money here would cripple their options later on. 

This hesitation allowed Phoenix to set up their next attack. Zyviss and the other archers hid in the forests, ready to act if needed. While Ilmadia and the mages took up a position a little further out.

There, deep in the forest, they were constructing consumable magic items. 

Indeed, they were constructing it. 

Each mage took part in this, drawing their usual mine runes onto random objects. They then fastened these 'mines' to ballistae bolts that the guild had ordered from the crafting guild Artis. 

Each bolt was a simple thing, as cheap as possible while allowing it to travel a good distance when fired. Adding these 'mines' to the top allowed them to change each bolt into a magical item. At the cost of the mages' time and mana. But a little more. 

Sadly, these 'mines' couldn't be stored in inventories. They were too unstable. The mages weren't masters of runesmithing, heck, they didn't even know how to properly engrave runes. And they were doing their work in the forest, with crude tools each mage had on hand. 

Still, they had plenty of experience with this method of applying runic magic.  They used it often for the defense of the forts the guild was managing.

It didn't matter to them of their creations ended up being duds, as long as half worked as intended, that was a good result. 

Silence settled on the battlefield, and as the lack of an attack drew on, the leader of Dragons wondered if Phoenix was aiming to claim a victory by numbers. They had only killed six players, but that still meant they would win once an hour passed. 

One minute passed, then two, then three. When five passed, the commander of Dragons grew impatient. He ordered the firing of their cannons at Judith—who was standing out in the open.

Up until this point, her group had been moving closer and closer. Deflecting the arrows fired at them. And the spells sent their way were somehow disrupted halfway. Often, an arrow would be seen flying through the spells. 

That other mages weren't canceling their spells, incest the mages of Dragons. Like their honor was being walked over. But they were helpless to this intervention nonetheless. 

It was as if—no, it was certain that Judith was mocking them. Telling them they couldn't hurt her even if they tried. Naturally, this drained the morale of Dragons' players. 

Realizing the situation, the order to fire the cannons came naturally. And the players were delighted to show Judith and her group what mocking them would cost. 

They loaded their cannons—a total of five—and took aim. But that was a dumb thing to do. They were all but announcing their intent to fire their cannons. 

When they did, things did not go to plan. 

Their cannons' didn't obliterate Judith and her party. No, instead, they exploded right in their faces. 

—

"Good shot!" Nikki cheered. 

"These arrows really are something," Zyviss mumbled. Eldrian might have considered the Elemental Quiver a bust, but it wasn't a Tier 6 item for no reason. The wind arrows were especially useful for sniping and penetrating defensive barriers. 

Zyviss still felt his class was lacking compared to a mage's, but perhaps that was only because he was comparing himself to Eldrian. With these arrows, and his trusty bow, he felt much more powerful. He would likely be able to beat Ilmadia so long as they had the same amount of time to prepare for their fight. 

Most important, he no longer had to grit his teeth and endure the pain of firing off his arrows. No longer did each shot cost him precious silvers. No, instead, it only cost him a few points of mana. 

Heck, Zyviss had gone so far as to use all his spare mana to summon arrows. Which he then gave to the other archers in the guild. How he wished he could give it to Ilmadia or another mage—Eldrian especially—who had so much more mana than him. Sadly, the quiver's abilities only worked when equipped.

The item didn't need to be soulbound to work. But it was too precious to risk losing it. Sadly, soulbinding it meant only he could use it. 

—

The explosion of their cannons hit the defenders extremely hard. Not only had eight more players died, but their cannons... were gone. 

Unlike in the individual and party categories, broken items weren't repaired and returned on the battle's end in the guild category. The guild battles were as much a battle of skill and tactics as it was one of resources. 

This loss... was going to cost their guild dearly. Worst of all, they had no idea how it had happened. They had a magical barrier up, meant to protect them from enemy attacks. 

The barrier would cancel enemy spells, and deflect enemy arrows. This was why, they had assumed, Phoenix had relied on taunting them. Yet...

"Damn them!" The guild leader of Dragons shouted, veins bursting on his forehead. His race was of the draconian, hence the name of his guild. The man hadn't been in the previous tournaments, while he was the guild leader, he wasn't a great fighter. 

The guild category, however, allowed him to finally show himself. He had hoped to make a name for himself and his guild in the tournament. Yet... he had just lost all the cannons his guild owned in the first preliminary match. 

Seething in anger, and seeing Judith and her team still taunting him, he very nearly told his members to charge. He only managed to hold back because he knew that Judith was a beast of a player. 

Eldrian was the biggest bigshot, but excluding him, the guild had two other 'elites'. Judith, who had plenty of fans due to her provocative clothing, and Ilmadia. The iced beauty, a master of magic—but more on the level of other players. 

Charging Judith, who was clearly acting as bait, would be his biggest regret. The guild master knew this, yet... 

Before he could fix his emotions, the next attack came. Ballistae were summoned from a few players' inventories, and the bolts loaded. 

Immediately, everyone took cover. Their barriers were still in place, and the mages controlling them were still alive inside the middle of the castle. 

Yet, every player in the castle realised their barrier didn't mean squat. 

When the walls of their castle shook, they knew they had done the right thing to dive for cover.