Chapter 119: Radiant Lumina Crystal As Lord Schrodinger and the rest of the group departed, Midnight Duchess found herself standing alone, facing a coalition of foes.
She harbored no regrets for her decision, grateful that Lord Schrodinger possessed a level-headedness she valued. She had no desire to involve him in her problems.
Yet, despite her rationality, a simmering disappointment swelled within her, as well as anger.
These players had disrupted what she considered her own form of entertainment, and there were only so little that entertained her.
Her gaze narrowed upon her adversaries, and even in the face of their numerical advantage and high levels, she knew they were underestimating their foe gravely.
The opposing players took a step back, for they stood before Midnight Duchess. Her reputation as a fearsome player was well-earned.
With her, the line between life and death blurred to near invisibility, and the swiftness of her actions left her victims bewildered. She was a master of acquiring treasures without her victims even realizing their loss.
"GrRrR! Thinking about what you did makes me so angry!"
"It’s time to pay for what you did!"
The group was vocal about their grievances. They accused her of theft, of pilfering their coveted possessions. Their voices, brimming with resentment, were like fuel to her amusement.
Midnight Duchess chuckled softly, a melody that sent shivers down their spines. They knew not the depths of her capabilities.
To them, she was an enigma capable of vanishing without a trace, striking from the shadows, and disappearing like a phantom.
"You’re welcome to try," she purred, her voice laced with honeyed menace before melding seamlessly into the inky darkness around her.
Onlookers from nearby groups, momentarily disinterested in their own quests, watched with curious fascination as the confrontation unfolded.
"Hah! She won’t get away that easily now. We’ve prepared a special item just for her!" one of her pursuers declared, a gleam of vindication in their eyes.
The item that the group had unveiled was nothing short of extraordinary, a relic rumored to be crafted by the legendary Artificer of Eternal Light, a master craftsman whose creations transcended the boundaries of magic and invention.
It cost a fortune, but the reward was worth every penny. Taking down Midnight Duchess, claiming the substantial bounty on her head, and seizing her valuable loot, all added up to an opportunity too tempting to resist.
In Guildbane, the game’s mechanics made bounty hunts straightforward. If you had a bounty on your head and met your demise, the system automatically recognized it as a mission accomplished, and your prize money would be deposited in your account.
At this point, the combined bounty on Midnight Duchess had skyrocketed to an unprecedented sum, hitting a staggering 100 million dollars.
This exorbitant figure was a testament to the sheer frustration and headaches she had inflicted upon various guilds and players over the past four years.
The hunt for her had become a legend in its own right, with countless players now eager to cash in on her elusive notoriety.
While the item gleamed brilliantly in the dimly lit room, it radiated an ethereal luminescence that sent soft, golden rays dispersing through the shadows, casting a warm and almost divine aura.
It was a crystal, size of a palm, forged from a material unlike any other. Its core appeared to be crystalline, refracting the ambient light into countless rainbows that danced upon the walls.
But this was no ordinary crystal; it pulsed with an internal energy, one that seemed to channel the very essence of light itself.
At its tip, a complex array of delicate, interlocking gears and filigree spun in harmonious motion. The crystal emitted a gentle hum, a soothing, almost hymn-like resonance as if it were singing praises to the eternal light.
This intricate mechanism hinted at the incredible craftsmanship that had birthed this extraordinary object.
Upon closer inspection, one could discern intricate sigils etched along the crystal’s length, forming patterns that pulsed in rhythmic synchronization with its faint hum.
Each sigil seemed to channel light, focusing it into an intense beam that could rival the brilliance of the sun itself.
[Radiant Lumina Crystal]
As the group held the [Radiant Lumina Crystal] aloft, the very air responded. Shadows, those enigmatic tendrils that usually clung to corners and crevices, were banished by the radiance of the crystal’s golden light.
It exuded an aura of pure, unadulterated brilliance so intense that it consumed the darkness with an insatiable hunger.
And as the crystal’s light enveloped the room, the shadows, once obstinate and persistent, dissolved into oblivion.
Not a single trace of darkness lingered; it was as if Midnight Duchess’s realm of concealment had been irrevocably shattered.
It was a relic of overwhelming power, capable of piercing the very heart of darkness and dispelling it with righteous fury.
A weapon of the light, designed to expose secrets, lay bare the concealed, and obliterate all that sought refuge in the obscurity of shadows.
A weapon that could turn Midnight Duchess’s once-invincible skill into naught but a memory.
"I see that you’ve come prepared," Midnight Duchess uttered, not one bit bothered that the darkness was gone and she had no place to hide. "I’m flattered that you’ve spent so much just to defeat me."
"It’s necessary. But once we kill you, your bounty will be more than enough to make up for it!"
Midnight Duchess chuckled. "But if you lose . . . then that’s quadruple the loss."
"GrRr! We will not lose! This time, you’ll meet your end!"
"We won’t be caught like the first time! Err . . . the second time!"
"There’s also a third time," someone whispered.
"Actually, there have been so many times that I lost count," another chimed in.
"Enough! Let’s just finish her!"
Cornered and with the crystal bearing down on her, Midnight Duchess was feeling the pressure. The relentless, warm golden light pressed against her concealment like a vise, her usually impenetrable veil of shadows unraveling at its touch.
Looks like I have to spend some cash. Midnight Duchess mused and was about to use one of her life-saving items when an unexpected event unfolded, triggering gasps of astonishment from both her pursuers and the onlookers.
All at once, from every faucet and spigot in the dilapidated kitchen, a furious explosion of water erupted.