New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

He looked at the stoney ceiling, reflecting the red hue of the magma falling all around the room, and smiled.

"I'm already stronger than the last time. Let's hope that I keep getting stronger fast enough to change more than just my ranking."

As he talked to himself, he noticed an icon flashing in his interface. When he tapped on it, he saw it was the contract tab.

Since he was part of Paragons, he got the notification of the contract at the same time as the others. His face turned into a frown.

"What kind of terms are those? Did he get himself in trouble?"

He cared little, since it was a problem for NPCs, more than for players, but he wondered what had led there. He swept the interface away, getting to his feet.

"Alright. Time to get my rewards and go to the next place."

'Let's hope that idiot knows what he's doing,' Khalor thought, shaking his head.

*** Back at the Bastion***

Only two members of the party didn't receive the notification, since the system judged the contract was a guild deal, since a guild master had done it, and it had 'Joining the guild' as one of the results.

But when Morticia and Death the Gnome were told what was happening, they directed a deep frown toward Astaroth. They weren't sure whether he was a madman, or just too confident.

Wagering the lives of an entire city, in a fight they weren't sure they could win, was folly. But then again, both players had seen what Astaroth was capable of.

Morticia especially knew that Astaroth was like a surprise bag. One could never guess what trick he would pull out of his ass.

Once everyone was near Astaroth, the beast man roared, causing the air to vibrate.

The beasts all around them backed away, giving them much more room in the battle's event. The party readied up their weapons.

"Now! Let's see how long you can entertain me, my next meal!" the beast-man shouted, before his traits became savage again.

Astaroth knew he and Gulnur were the only ones who could take attacks from this boss. They would catapult anyone else to their deaths.

That wasn't a desirable result, at least not if they wanted to win. The problem was that this wasn't just a monster.

This was a thinking being, and Astaroth wasn't sure they could keep aggro, whether it be with taunt skills or pure damage. He feared the boss would try to get rid of the healers or the mages first.

The possibility was very high, and not just Astaroth thought about it. The entire party was tense and on edge.

Astaroth melded with Luna, expecting the boss to make the first move, and as soon as the meld was done, he was proven right. Only, the target was not the one he had expected.

He had half expected the boss to lunge at Silent Light since he was their healer. But when he saw who Leon was diving to, his heart dropped, and rage filled his head.

His step forward crumbled the earth under his foot as he launched forward like a missile.

"No!"

Leon turned his head as he reached Phoenix, grabbing her throat as she looked in horror. She was taken by surprise, and didn't get time to move.

Now a clawed hand was wrapped around her throat.

The blonde maned beast-man sniffed her like an animal.

"Ahh, yes. I can smell his scent all over you. You must be his mate."

Astaroth reached him as he finished his phrase. Ad Astra was already morphed to cover his hands, like metallic gloves.

The thickness of them was reminiscent of boxer gloves, and when he smashed them into the boss' face, he felt something crack.

But Astaroth didn't care. He wailed his hands into Leon's face like a madman, to make the man drop Phoenix.

It took seven punches before the grip loosened. By then, the rest of the party was already launching attacks on the boss, being careful not to hit the hostage, Phoenix.

Astaroth, seeing his attack was having some effect, tried prying the hand off. But when he stopped hitting Leon, he saw the beast-man grinning at him.

"Here, you can have her back!"

Leon pushed Astaroth back, like pushing a child away, and spun on himself. After a complete turn, he launched Phoenix at Astaroth, with enough speed and force to cause damage to the both of them.

Astaroth caught the woman as best he could, not caring about the damage taken, and they tumbled backward. After rolling for a few feet, Astaroth jumped back to his feet, looking at Phoenix all over.

"Are you alright?!"

"Astaroth, I'm fine. We don't have time for this."

Phoenix pointed at the boss, who was already trying to assault Violette. It was like he was aiming specifically for people close to Astaroth.

Violette was ready for the assault though, and she was already jumping back in retreat, using every ounce of magic she could to push the monster back.

Astaroth nodded his head at Phoenix reluctantly. She smiled at him before she snapped her head back at the boss.

'I'll make sure he can't sniff anything, ever again, dumb beast,' she thought to herself.

The mana in her body started routing toward her hands, as gouts of flame licked off her body. She was angry enough to skip the small play and go directly to her most powerful abilities.

Astaroth backed away from her, as the flames were getting intense. He chuckled and ran back into the fray.

Meanwhile, Phoenix was slowly getting covered in flames, until no skin remained visible.

"Combat Pyromancy: Avatar Of Flames."

As Phoenix opened her eyes, two gouts of blue flame erupted in their place.

"I will burn you into dust!"