MMORPG : Rise of the Interstellar God
chapter-20

By this point, many of the players who were present recognized Apophis's name, and of course Ceasar was already a celebrity.

So it was unsurprising that the altercation between Apophis and Ceasar immediately drew a crowd of onlookers. Some even postponed their own dungeon attempts to watch the duel! Even White, the huntress from the earlier duel, looked on with uncharacteristic intensity as the timer counted down.

Ceasar drew his hundred-pound warhammer and waved it around like a piece of light wood while Apophis got into position 100 meters away.

Then the timer hit zero.

Apophis launched a dozen balls of fire!

Ceasar immediately realized the danger of the purple fireballs and used his skill, ~Light Push.~ This allowed him to ready his hammer and lunge forward at the speed of sound!

A deafening sonic boom filled the air and Ceasar covered the 100-meter gap in less than two seconds!

Apophis had almost no time to defend himself.

He took the hammer blow right in the face, a cataclysmic strike which propelled him over 300 meters backwards. This was a critical blow, dealing 85% of his HP at once.

This attack also inflicted Apophis with the [Stoned] debuff, slowing all his movements by 90% for the duration. That wasn't good!

Yet, thanks to his ~Lord of Flames~ technique, the fireballs which Ceasar had initially dodged now chased him around the battlefield. They slammed into him only a few seconds after his successful hit on Apophis!

Ceasar burst into flames, receiving a Damage Over Time effect that dealt 6% of his maximum HP in fire damage every three seconds.

Ceasar ran with all his might, his hammer towards the still-paralyzed Apophis. Ceasar entered melee range in about seven seconds, then activated his skill ~Unstoppable,~ preparing to deal the final blow.

A huge spirit skeleton blocked his strike!

For of course, Apophis had just used ~Susanoo.~

Ceasar retreated several paces, but it was too late. The spirit skeleton threw a lightning-fast, powerful punch at Ceasar, which took out 50% of his HP!

Desperate, Ceasar used ~Light Push~ again. His hammer slammed with full force against the skeleton, creating a shock wave that bent the few trees nearby…

But it was all useless.

~Chaos Flame~ burned away the last of his HP.

Ceasar had lost.

Notification: Congratulations to the player "Apophis" for defeating the player "Ceasar!"

A long silence fell over everyone watching.

.

Then, some began to mumble among themselves. "Are these guys really at the same stage of the game as us?" people wondered. "That was so much more powerful than the stuff we can do right now…"

But then, all at once, everyone applauded and began chanting, "Apophis! Apophis! Apophis!"

Several players had recorded this fight, and the videos were quickly watched all around the world.

Some commentators called the event a "Duel of the Titans," a term which in the MMORPG community meant the confrontation between two of the top players in an MMO. The claim that Apophis and Ceasar qualified for this went completely uncontested, and soon everyone was casually referring to their duel as such.

On the forums, everyone had already been hyped beyond belief about the spawning of the Gravedigger Tower dungeon, but conversations about the duel quickly sent the forums into a complete frenzy.

In the moments after his victory, Apophis rushed to Ceasar's side and held out his hand to Ceasar, who was still lying on the ground.

"GG," said Apophis. "Good duel!"

Ceasar still couldn't believe what had just happened. He'd lost very few 1v1 fights in his life. Nonetheless, Ceasar grabbed Apophis's hand. "Good duel," he said, "but I hope you'll give me the opportunity of a rematch later!"

Now it was finally time to challenge the dungeon itself.

Yet, Apophis decided that, while he was happy to have a skilled player like Ceasar along, someone who could be trusted to keep to his word and fight effectively as a team, Apophis wasn't sure about the Renovatio Imperii members who had already gone with Ceasar through the dungeon.

They might be bitter at Apophis for beating Ceasar, and even the slightest challenge to his authority would be disastrous. On Nightmare difficulty, a single mistake would be heavily punished.

So Apophis put out a call for one Esper healer, one Boxer tank, and one DPS Warrior.

However, he already had a player in mind. Apophis sent a PM to the Huntress named, who was impressed enough by the duel that she accepted.

Then Apophis adjusted his Looking For Group message, announcing that was still looking for an Esper healer and a Boxer tank.

He received about twenty proposals, including two people who he recognized from his former life. Knowing he could rely on these people, Apophis accepted their requests and invited them into his party.

The Boxer, "Hulk," had excelled in PVP arena fights in Apophis's previous life. He took the unorthodox character-building route of focusing on his endurance, which won him many fights.

Apophis knew less about the Esper healer, "Chocolate," only recalling that she had been pretty active in his former Superguild, "The Fnatic War"

Once the party was ready, Apophis queued up an instance of the dungeon on Nightmare difficulty. The portal, originally green, became red. The onlookers stared on in awe, wondering if even this party could succeed. No one else would even think about trying it on Nightmare difficulty.

Then Apophis led his party into the dungeon.