NOVEL NEXT Chapter 53: Limit
...ROOAAARRRRR!!!...
At the end of her roar, SilverPup's Devour Moonlight Beast form starts to disintegrate. In just a minute, SilverPup returned to her original Half-Beast avatar, standing proud and victorious on top of Garmr for Luel and BlueHeroine to see.
"Whose the weakling now, BlueB*?!"
SilverPup turns around to look at Luel and BlueHeroine's direction with a proud and smug smile on her face.
Her injuries, along with her broken left arm and leg, have been healed to some degree which allow her to stand on her own and raise her left hand to strike a victory post.
"PoodlePup!"
BlueHeroine still hates SilverPup, but with the bliss of their first victory as the Guardian Beast team against a high-ranking Unique Rank C Ragnarok Beast, BlueHeroine was able to set aside her annoyance to SilverPup.
She spread her wings and flew mid-air to the top of Garmr's headless and lifeless body. BlueHeroine then embraces SilverPup as if like they're best friends.
"Gyaaahhh!... Stop hugging me, BlueB*! You're getting lewd!... Lucent, help!"
Luel, on the other hand, just sat on the ground and heaved a sigh of relief while looking at BlueHeroine and SilverPup embracing each other.
"It's not like she's gonna break your neck. So just let her be, SilverPup."
.
.
.
The dark aura coming out of Garmr's body slowly dispersed, disappearing like a mist in the air. Yet it didn't exactly banish into nothingness as all of those dark aura were devoured by Luel, BlueHeroine, and SilverPup.
When the dark aura has completely disappeared from Garmr's lifeless body and from the surroundings, a holographic screen appears in front of each of them along with the notification sound that echoes around their group that was sitting on top of Garmr's decapitated head.
...DING!!!...
[Notification: Your Avatar's Link Force has increased.]
The Guardian Beast defeated and devoured a high-ranking Unique Rank C Ragnarok Beast with just three members. That is why Luel, BlueHeroine, and SilverPup are expecting a significant increase in their Link Force.
Each of them has their Link Force above 45 percent before they begin their Raid against Garmr, so it won't be impossible for the three of them to break through to the 50 percent Link Force boundary.
After checking the status of their avatar, Luel and BlueHeroine confirm that their Link Force indeed broke through the 50 percent Link Force boundary.
[Devour BlueHeroine: 52 percent Link Force.]
BlueHeroine wasn't surprised since she had already broken through the 50 percent Link Force boundary before and increased her Link Force as much as 65 percent.
[Devour Lucent: 54 percent Link Force.]
Luel is just happy to see his Link Force increasing past his starting Link Force without any idea about how important the 50 percent Link Force boundary is.
SilverPup, on the other hand, just gave a solemn smile after looking at her status on the holographic screen.
"PoodlePup..."
BlueHeroine notices SilverPup's blank reaction and calls out to her to confirm her suspicion.
"It's too bad that we wasted our efforts, BlueB*."
SilverPup didn't need to explain further for Luel and BlueHeroine to understand what she meant. All she has to do is show them her current Link Force displayed in her status on the holographic screen.
[Devour SilverPup: 49 percent Link Force.]
"Wait... How is that possible?"
SilverPup was the one who took down Garmr, so she should have devoured more of its dark aura and had her Link Force increase much higher. Or so Luel thought.
Even if Garmr's dark aura was divided into three equal portions for the three of them, SilverPup should have been able to break through the 50 percent Link Force boundary like Luel and BlueHeroine. However...
"Didn't I say that you should continue your study about RAIDS ONLINE, Lucent?... Sheesh! Come on, lovely wife. How about you spoon-feed your dearest husband about what he didn't know."
Upon hearing SilverPup's remark, BlueHeroine's sympathy for SilverPup disappears, only to be replaced by annoyance. But still, she managed to restrain herself from beating up SilverPup and then explain to Luel what SilverPup was asking for.
"Lucent, haven't you wondered why RAIDS ONLINE hasn't been completed yet even though it started more than three years ago?"
One or two years should be long enough for a VRMMORPG to be completed by its players, yet RAIDS ONLINE has remained uncompleted or unbeatable for the past three years. And it was because of two main reasons.
The first main reason is that RAIDS ONLINE players have limits.
The most unfortunate players never make it past the 25 percent Link Force boundary.
Average players can only get as far as the 50 percent Link Force boundary but never breakthrough.
Players with high-starting Link Force surely make it past the 50 percent Link Force boundary, but none has managed to reach the 75 percent Link Force boundary yet. After all, to break through at that point means defeating and devouring Rank B Ragnarok Beasts.
The second main reason is that even though RAIDS ONLINE has millions of players, only less than 5 percent are seriously playing to complete the game.
"Most of the players are only playing and doing simple Raids because it is easy to earn money by live streaming in RAIDS ONLINE."
"Others just quit playing because they are afraid and can't tolerate the pain simulation within the game."
"But that's not actually what I'm asking."
Luel stops BlueHeroine and SilverPup's explanation, which has diverted from the thing he wanted to know.
"How come SilverPup didn't make it past the 50 percent Link Force boundary?"
"Sheesh!... Do you really want me to say it, Lucent?!"
SilverPup heaved a heavy sigh before talking to Luel with a frustrated tone in her voice.
"It's because I'm weak, okay?! I started with an average Link Force of 10 percent. And no matter what I do, no matter how many Ragnarok Beasts I defeated and devoured, I never make it past the 50 percent Link Force boundary!"
SilverPup has already accepted the fact that she won't be able to make it past the 50 percent Link Force boundary. Yet she still gives it one last try with their fight against Garmr.
That's why the Guardian Beast team challenges the Unique Rank C Ragnarok Beast with the least amount of players. So that SilverPup would have a greater chance to devour Garmr's dark aura and break through the 50 percent Link Force boundary.
"Yet nothing has changed. I'm just a weak player..."
"Sheesh... Enough with your drama, PoodlePup."
"What did you say, BlueB*?!"
SilverPup glared at BlueHeroine, thinking that BlueHeroine was making fun of her weakness. But it wasn't what BlueHeroine meant to say.
"You're the first and only RAIDS ONLINE player who could use the Devour Beast's ultimate skill without the need to reach past the 50 percent Link Force boundary. Even Lucent and I weren't capable of it yet. So don't you ever say that you're weak!"
"BlueB*..."
For the first time, SilverPup felt BlueHeroine's sincerity and concern for her. That makes SilverPup delighted and, at the same time, proud of herself after hearing BlueHeroine's words.
"I guess you're right..."
SilverPup usual cheerful smile returns, which makes Luel and BlueHeroine less worried for her. However...
"You and Lucent are definitely much weaker than me, BlueB*."
"What the faq did you say?!"
...WARGHHHH!!!...
"Wait!... Don't fight while we're still on top of Garmr's head!"