Afterlife Dream

When the Undead Tree Stump lunged at us with an attack, Greenwood died in one hit. Wolfhound was only able to persevere because I kept healing him. In the end, I told him to stand back so I could attack with DragonTalon.

We went methodically from ground level to the highest level, allowing players to finally come down from the ladders and rest their aching arms. A lot of the girls were crying.

"The highest level that stays here is level 59," DragonTalon observed. "As soon as they hit 60, they all naturally go to Paradise Island for the party quest. That means there is not enough power to defend Fairy Forest."

DragonTalon shook his head in regret.

"Haiz. What to do?"

"Ask the level 60 up to come back and defend Fairy Forest?" I suggested.

"We can try. Not like they can grind in Paradise Island."

I clapped my hands thrice to gain everyone's attention. The girls stopped crying right away and looked at us expectantly.

"Okay, folks. Who wants to come with us to Paradise Island?" I asked.

This time the reaction was the exact opposite of Dai City inhabitants.

"ME!!! PLEASE TAKE ME!!"

"NO PLEASE TAKE ME INSTEAD I HAVE NOWHERE ELSE TO GO!!!"

"CAN YOU TAKE US ALL???"

...

What a question.

"Don't you guys want to finish your second job advancement first? We are only taking one representative to participate in the meeting. The said representative must come back here to share the news with everyone," DragonTalon told them with furrowed brows.

"Who would want to come back here??" A girl shouted out of distress. "What representative? Everyone wants to escape! This said representative will not come back, ever!!!"

...

DragonTalon and I exchanged frustrated looks.

"Okay, then what do you want to do? Does everyone want to come with us?"

"YES!"

"YES PLEASE!!!"

Under the excited cries of the Fairy Forest inhabitants, DragonTalon and I were forced to consult our guild.

"Auren," I wrote in a private message to Aurendiria, "We have the representatives from Dai City and Marsh City with us, but we have a little problem picking a representative from Fairy Forest. All of them want to come with us."

Aurendiria's answer came five minutes later.

"We cannot forbid them to come. If they want to come, they can come. But they must not expect Paradise Island to be a safe area for them. Paradise Island is home to the Paradise Island Party Quest. Antares, you joined the party quest. You know the final bosses from the party quest. They are all spawning without exception every two hours in the safe zone."

I cringed at the mention of Paradise Island Party Quest's bosses. Although my party managed to beat General Aardvark that time, I still got shivers down my spine whenever the same boss appeared later on.

"Look, guys. Come if you want, but..."

The remainder of my sentence was swallowed up by the cheers that came from the elated players. I had to put up my hands to calm everyone down.

"But!"

I then explained the situation on Paradise Island. As soon as I was done with my explanation, I could see that some players started to hesitate. A lot of opinions started to emerge.

"So the players in Dai City and Paradise Island are having the party quest bosses at their necks? I don't think I want that..."

"I also don't want to face the bosses from party quest..."

"When we get stronger we can kill the Undead Tree Stumps. Then we can also somehow live in peace."

"Antares, how do the players in Dai City deal with the Red Bubble boss?"

"The Red Bubble boss is glitched and stuck to the spot. It kept getting gangbanged by players for experience and money."

"Oh..."

"Well, can we not also glitch the Paradise Island Party Quest bosses?"

"It is not that easy," another player answered. "Glitches are found but not created by players. Usually, it happens by coincidence too. Then Game Masters should come to fix it upon receiving reports."

"Exactly," DragonTalon confirmed. "So after hearing all of this, do all of you still want to proceed?"

In the end, the players split into two groups. One group was less ambitious and did not want to live their days fighting and fighting monsters. The idea of living peacefully in Marsh City was appealing to them, so they would like to move back to Marsh City.

Twenty other people in the second group decided to come with us. Needless to say, the ship was cramped. Throughout the trip, the players voiced their fear but also their excitement about heading to a new area. It reminded me of my own very first trip to Paradise Island. I could not help but smile at the memory.

On Paradise Island, a lot of players gathered and spoke to each other with grim expressions on their faces. After the twenty people arrived at Paradise Island, they went to stand with other players to wait for the next ambush by party quest bosses. The four of us went inside Oakstone Tavern to partake in the meeting.

Inside, representatives from all around the Afterlife Dream already gathered. The area representatives came from Dai City, Marsh City, Paradise Island, Chinatown, and Frozen Tundra Land. We also had people who represented raid areas such as Lava County, Summer Rainforest, Cursed Temple, and Ice Dragon Cave. BlackPuma represented all the 120+ raid areas. He also chaired the meeting.

The tavern's dining area has been modified into a makeshift meeting room. All tables were pushed to the side and chairs were laid in circular rows, facing the center of the room.

BlackPuma looked up when we entered.

"Alright. The last representatives from Dai City and Marsh City have arrived. Fairy Forest?"

"No representatives from Fairy Forest because the players have divided themselves to move to other maps," I answered.

"Ah. Then let's begin, everyone."

BlackPuma, "Maybe we should talk about what is happening in each area first? Representatives of each area please speak up. Start from Dai City."

Greenwood was jolted from his seat by BlackPuma's words. He was so nervous to be sitting in the tavern with so many high-level players, himself only a level 8 axe warrior. Aurendiria approached him with a smile.

"Don't be afraid. Please tell us what is happening. We will all help."

By the look on Greenwood's face, I knew that Aurendiria already got herself a new fan. Greenwood then gave a brief report on what was happening at Dai City.

"In Dai City, the Red Bubble boss from Dai City Party Quest spawns every 15 minutes. It is glitched and cannot move, so all players kill it together repeatedly for fast experience and money."

Ingenious, "Glitched?"

"Yes, I mean stuck at the center of the waiting area. It can not go up the stairs."

"Aaah..."

A murmur of understanding went through the crowd.

BlackPuma, "Marsh City?"

Wolfhound raised his hand and spoke, "Marsh City has a lot of residents at higher level than the minimum level requirement, so we are able to defend our area from the Giant Mushroom so far. It spawns every 30 minutes. Besides, as I understand, half of those who stay at Fairy Forest are moving to Marsh City so they will strengthen the defense in Marsh City further."

BlackPuma praised, "Very good, both Dai City and Marsh City."

He turned to me and DragonTalon.

"Can we get an account about what is happening in Fairy Forest?"

DragonTalon spoke on our behalf, "Fairy Forest layout consisted of four ground levels that were stretched between two trees. All levels were infested by the Undead Tree Stumps by the time we arrived. The inhabitants were not strong enough to kill. They resorted to hanging on ladders just to avoid getting killed."

ArrowRain, "Yikes. No wonder no one wants to stay there."

BlackPuma, "They have all stayed back at Marsh City or moved forward to Paradise Island. Should we leave Fairy Forest empty for the time being?"

A murmur of agreement rose from the crowd.

"Yeah..."

"Yes, that's for the best."

"Ok, next?"

Cecilia cleared her throat and gave her report, "Just like Marsh City, there are a lot of high-level residents in Paradise Island. This area is well-protected. Bosses from the party quest spawn every two hours, and we can kill them between three to five minutes.

I exchanged looks with DragonTalon. Did that also apply to General Aardvark? But Cecilia was not wrong. There were a lot of level 110+ players going back and forth between Paradise Island and other areas. Paradise Island was the hub to connect to other areas.

The representative from Chinatown was Ninja from guild Domination. He had meanwhile leveled up to 115. If you forgot, he was one of the people that DragonTalon and I went to our first Love Dungeon with. Dislike flashed through DragonTalon's eyes immediately when Ninja spoke up.

"Chinatown also has a few high-level residents. Our guild base is in there and also a lot of level 90+ raiders wandered around daily."