Critical Inaccuracy, Chapter 1 of 7 - A Common Goal

It was just another typical, boring, completely ordinary, spring morning. Birds were singing, flowers were blooming, yada yada.

Only, today was not just a typical morning. For Torrain...

"Today's the day.", said Torrain, fresh out of bed, "I've got no time to waste, I've gotta get ready for my interview!".

Torrain hopped out of his bed with a child-like excitement, as he stretched, and got himself ready to get himself ready.

He took a shower, humming the whole way through, followed by a clean shave.

Torrain looked deep into the mirror with a steely determination, "You've got this, Torrain, show 'em what you're made of!".

He dressed himself up in his finest t-shirt-and-shorts combo, and sat down at his desk.

Turning on his desktop, Torrain hurriedly opened a much-used app, 'Chaos Masters Online'.

Once the app had loaded, Torrain entered his username and password at record speeds, with seemingly little effort, bringing him to the 'character select' screen.

One character, Reyan, level 78.

Double-clicking on Reyan, Torrain loaded into the game, revealing a rural town with cobblestone paths, lush green grass, and a massive tree in the center of it all. Lyreal Village.

The village was full of people- some players, and some npc, with new players logging in by the second. It was truly a marvel to behold, yet Torrain seemed unimpressed, having seen it countless times before.

Hurriedly, Torrain checked his system clock; 12:14pm.

"(Phew, I made it. Now it's just a waiting ga-)", Torrain was interrupted by a global announcement, courtesy of the 'Sarcanian Elementals' guild.

"<Global> Sarcanian Elementals: Attention all adventurers- the annual Sarcanian Recruitment Ceremony is about to begin. Being the strongest guild in Ritaria, we only accept the strongest into our ranks. Only those who believe they have what it takes should attend. Those who do wish to attend, the ceremony is being held atop Heaven's Ladder. We look forward to meeting with you.".

The entire town had a reaction to the announcement. Some were excited about participating, others were confused on what it all meant, and most knew they weren't the 'strongest adventurers' the guild was looking for.

Torrain, after taking a deep breath, said to himself, "(Heaven's Ladder; The 10,000 step staircase... It'd be an insult to have their ceremony anywhere else.)".

Despite the challenge, Torriain seemed excited, more than anything, about meeting with the ones he admired so much, in person.

After teleporting to the base of the staircase, Reyan quickly began sprinting up them, not stopping until he reached the very top- After all, there was no running stamina in this game.

Arriving at the summit, Reyan walked up the final steps with a radiant confidence, and a fire in his eyes, as he saw Proche, and what he assumed to be a high-ranking guild member, at the shrine on the other side of a large plateau.

"(Proche, the co-guild master of flames, and widely considered the strongest player in the entire game... Seeing him in person, it's...!)", Torrain simply couldn't put the suspense nor the excitement into words.

As if sensing Reyan's presence, Proche glanced over from his conversation, and with a few final words, walked away, before vanishing into a cloud of black smoke.

"(He's so cool!)", Torrain exclaimed to himself, as he walked ever closer to the shrine.

As he drew closer, Reyan saw the nameplate of the one talking to Proche; Yorik.

Before Reyan could introduce himself, Yorik called out to him.

"Yorik: Hey! You here for the ceremony?".

"Reyan: Yep. Seems I'm a bit early lol".

"Yorik: Yeah. You must've dang-near-sprinted up those steps the moment the announcement went live!".

"Reyan: Heh, I dunno about all that".

"(I totally did.)", said Torrain.

"Yorik: Well either way, seems we're gonna be waiting here a while. The ceremony doesn't actually start until 3".

Torrain checked his clock again, revealing the time to be 1:48pm.

"Reyan: Oh, I figured it'd be sooner. I guess I rushed here for nothing xD".

"Yorik: Haha yeah it would seem so. Guess it's just a matter of waiting for more participants now".

An hour or so passed, leaving the time at about 2:55pm. As the time drew closer, more and more people started flooding in, quickly rising to upward of 30 participants.

As the final participants arrived, Reyan and Yorik finished their game of Cardstones.

"Yorik: I win again! That makes 9 in a row, 100% winrate!".

"Reyan: Seems we've got pretty similar decks. I can't draw what I need for the life of me though".

"Yorik: Yep, that's how it is sometimes. Say la ve".

"Reyan: C'est la vie, but I get the point".

Before they even had a chance to check the time, a flash of lightning struck the ground beside the shrine, shaking the very earth to its core with a thundering shockwave (puns intended) and then appeared-

"(Elaine! I was wondering when he'd show up.)", thought Torrain.

"Elaine: The first day of the ceremony is about to begin. Those who aren't ready, should get ready, or get out.".

Everyone stayed, unshakable in will, causing Elaine to adapt a malicious smirk in response.

"Elaine: Good, it looks like this year's got some grit, then. We'll see how far it takes you."

Elaine disappeared with another flash of lightning, and the roar of thunder.

"(He's super cool too!)", thought Torrain, as he began to stretch, preparing for the trial ahead.

"Cobin: If that was just their entrance, I can't imagine what the challenge'll be like!"

A moment later, a pool of water appeared beside the shrine, quickly erupting into a powerful geyser, revealing Drane from within its depths, adjusting his glove, seemingly for a dramatic pose.

"Drane: Now then, before we begin, I'll explain the rules of the challenge;"

Drane looked into the crowd before explaining.

"Drane: Well actually, it seems we've got some unfamiliar faces. Perhaps I should just explain the ceremony as a whole. The Recruitment Ceremony is one held roughly every year, in which we challenge the strongest adventurers to complete one of seven trials. The ceremony lasts a week, with each day having a different challenge. If you complete a challenge, you'll be invited into the guild with semi-open arms. That being said, if you later prove yourself to be... below our expectations, well... Sayonara".

Drane continued.

"Drane: Now, as far as today's challenge, you'll be pitted against a powerful 'creature', one on one. If you 'defeat' said creature, you'll complete the challenge. Please note that if you fail a challenge during the ceremony, you only get one more shot to prove yourself. For the best of you, that shouldn't be a problem, but for the rest of you, just make sure you keep it in mind. Now, I take it you are all ready to face the beast? Good, then we shall begin...".

Drane sunk into the ground through a pool of water, and reappeared a bit farther away, alongside Elaine with a flash of lightning, and a large magical circle between them.

Drane surrounded the circle with his water and plant magic, and Elaine did the same with his lightning and ice magic. Soon enough, something started to emerge from the circle...

A tan and bulky hand, seemingly that of a strong human, reached out of the circle, and clawed itself into the ground, soon followed by the other.

The 'creature' then pulled itself up through the circle, to the awe and terror of the participants. It was none other than-

"(Proche, 'The Devil In Black'...)", thought Torrain, as adrenaline filled his veins, while a chill crept down his spine.

Proche, complete with devil horns and his signature crimson greatsword, knowingly struck fear into the hearts of all who were to oppose him.

Upon perceiving their fear, he confirmed their greatest worries.

"Proche: I, The Devil In Black, am the 'creature' you must face. So, who's first up to the chopping block?".

Proche then spit a tiny fireball onto the pavement, singeing it, as if to further stamp out the weaklings among them.

Though many adventures were quaking in their boots, none let it get to them, and they all stood strong before certain death.

That being said, they all stood back, waiting for someone else to test the boiling waters before them.

"Drane: He is not going to get any weaker, you know. No point in hiding out until the end".

"Proche: Ha, if anything, I'll be even tougher after a good warmup!".

With that, people nervously started stepping up to the plate, as Elaine selected one of them randomly, and Drane warped them to the magic circle.

"Drane: Oh, and before we begin. 'Defeating' the creature only entails you drawing blood. Obviously you can't kill a monster like him".

When the challenger was ready, Elaine flipped a coin into the center of the arena, and once it hit the ground, Proche dashed forward with such incredible speed, he left a trail of flames in his wake.

The opposed swordsman tried to block Proche's punch instinctually, but his fist cracked the sword, leaving it on the verge of shattering, and throwing the wielder back.

Proche quickly followed up by leaping at them, though they were able to get out of the way in time, as Proche's impact blasted flames all around him.

Determined to finish things quickly, Proche ran at the enemy with plans to grab to deliver the final blow, but the enemy sidestepped, dropping their sword as they did.

With a grin on their face, they grabbed a serrated dagger from their belt, and jabbed it straight toward Proche's stomach.

Before anyone could even blink, Proche slammed his fist into the enemy's head, knocking him out instantly.

Drane revived the participant, and warped him back to the shrine, as Elaine selected another challenger- this time a young tamer girl, with an oversized white robe.

Torrain was so focused on analyzing Proche's movement, that all he could make out of the tamer by the end of the battle was her Kitsune familiar's name, Kibé, and that's only because the tamer screamed it out when they dematerialized.

A few disinteresting battles later, it was Reyan's turn.

Armed with his sword alone, he was confident that he could win this, even if it was against the strongest player alive.

From a spectator's standpoint, Reyan was winning by a longshot mere minutes into the battle. He evaded all incoming attacks, and landed several hits of his own during blindspots. Only thing was...

("My weapon's too weak, I can't even so much as scratch the guy!?)", thought Torrain in a panic.

Reyan's mana got lower with each passing skill, and he was basically running on empty by now.

("A critical hit, it's all I need... A 15% chance...)", thought Torrain.

Knowing he couldn't keep going like this, Reyan got more and more aggressive, so he could land more hits, even without skills.

Eventually...

"Proche: Knockout. I'll admit, with a little more strength, you coulda had me there!".

With that, his chance at his dream... it was gone. If he couldn't take him out today, what was the point in trying tomorrow? Not only that, but if he failed twice, he'd have to wait a whole 'nother year, just to try again... just to fail again.

Reyan retreated back to town, in a depression which overshadowed even his burning desire to become stronger. That is, until he saw an ad on a signpost in town.

"Farik Dragon's Lair, Raid Party - 'Come join up with me, and I'm sure we can all take him out, together!' -Grante (Lvl 74) [1/6]", read the ad.

"(Farik raid... of course! If I can just complete that, I can do a lot more than scratch him, even without a critical hit!)", thought Torrain, as he hastily snatched the poster, which would respawn shortly after.

Torrain had a name, so he did what anyone in his situation would.

"<Whisper> Reyan: Hey Grante, I saw your ad, and I'm totally in!".

"Grante: Really?? That's great! Still, we'll need 4 more people just to enter...".

"Reyan: Pfft, that'll be easy. I'll have us 4 new party members by 6!".

It was currently 3:20.

"Grante: That'd be great, but... can you really do it?".

"Reyan: Please, watch and learn! Let's meet up at the tree in Lyreal Village at 6.".

"Grante: Sure, sounds like a plan!".

Reyan made haste with his promise, and quickly recruited some new members, who were... certainly unique.

At the agreed upon rendezvous location and time, Reyan spotted a platinum-clad knight, with dark red hair, and a big shiny broadsword. Given the description Grante gave, it was surely him.

"Reyan: Hey! Grante I take it?".

"Grante: Sure am, though you could have just looked at my nameplate...".

"Reyan: Eh, don't sweat the small stuff. I've got your party! Well... most of them anyway".

Grante looked and saw a shady guy with a buttoned cloak and short, silky black hair, a tall man wearing a red crop top and shorts, with a weirdly sharp staff, and finally, a woman wearing breathable bandit clothing, with a crossbow and satchel.

"Reyan: I'd like you to meet, Llucien: The Thief, Walrot: The Warlock, and Lorelei: The Huntress!"

"Llucien: I'm Llucien, aka Cobalt Shadow! It's okay, you can applaud".

"Walrot: I am Walrot, putting the 'War' in 'Warlock', with my custom-made BLADED STAFF!"

"Lorelei: Hey, I'm Lorelei. I may just be a traditional huntress, but I'm the best dang huntress in Ritari!"

"Grante: ... This is a real... mixed bag you've picked here".

"Reyan: They may seem a bit weird at first, but you heard 'em! We've got the Cobalt Shadow, the War-lock, and the best huntress in all of Ritari!".

"Grante: Even so, we're still down one member. We can't enter the Faris raid without 6...".

"Allium: E-excuse me for eavesdropping, but... You are looking for a 6th member for the Faris Dragon raid, r-right?".

"Reyan: This is text chat, why are you stuttering...?"

Reyan looked back at the girl, feeling as if he'd seen her name before.

"(An orange-haired summoner girl, with an oversized white robe, and a branch wand?)", thought Torrain.

Suddenly, A kitsune appeared on her shoulder.

"Rayen: Hey, I remember you! You were at the ceremony, right?".

Allium, confused, took a moment of looking at him before saying,

"Allium: Oh, yeah! You were that weak guy!".

"(That... weak... guy...)", thought Torrain.

"Reyan:...".

"Allium: S-sorry, sorry, that's really not how I meant it!".

"Grante: *Ahem* anywaaay, you wanna join our raid party, right?".

Her eyes lit up (Probably).

"Allium: Really? I would love to!".

"(Isn't that why she came here in the first place...?)", thought Torrain.

"Grante: Then it looks like we're all set, then, right?".

"Reyan: Hold up a second, why do you wanna beat the raid?".

"Grante: Silly question. She wants the raid weapon, obviously :P".

"Lorelei: I mean yeah, why else would you wanna do it?".

"Allium: Well... yeah. If I get stronger, I can go out and tame even more familiars, right?".

"Llucien: I guess that's as good a reason as any...".

"Grante: Alright, I'm all down for getting to know each other, but first let's make sure everyone's cued up on how the raid works, right?".

"Reyan: Sounds good to me. I know the basics, but it couldn't hurt".

"Grante: Than no objections? Cool. That being said, we should probably form a party, so we can just use party chat to talk privately, yeah?".

With that, Grante invited them all to the party, which also granted new information about everyone, such as level, stats, gear, etc.

"Grante: Okay... Now, with that settled, let's begin! The raid is split into 3 segments. The first starts with...".

They continued to talk about the raid for a while, to make sure everyone understood what they were getting themselves into beforehand.

"Grante: ...and in the third segment, we fight Faris. He's pretty simple as long as you pay attention to his attacks, so I don't think I need to get into all that. Last but not least, for each segment, we each have 1 life and 1 life only, meaning if you die...".

"Walrot: ...I'll revive you.".

"Llucien: Wait, you've got healing magic in that thing?".

"Lorelei: Not only that, but a full-on revival spell?".

"Walrot: I take life... but I can also give it back. Such is the way of the bladed staff".

"Grante: Well that's convenient. Or, it would be, though I imagine you'll be sticking with the front line most of the time, right?".

"Walrot: Correct. I'll be careful though, don't worry".

"Allium: I would hope so...".

"Reyan: 'Careful' doesn't cut it when you have the defensive stats of a mage...".

"Grante: Agreed, but I trust he knows what he's doing. He's made it this far, after all".

"Walrot: Still, it costs a considerable amount of mana, so even if I do stay alive, I can't use it very many times, especially alongside my offensive spells, if I do fight at a range".

"Lorelei: I'm sure things will work out ;p".

"Grante: One other thing...".

"Reyan: What is it...?".

"Grante: If we all die at once, and fail the raid... we get set back to the first segment...".

"Reyan: What!? Isn't this raid already supposed to take like two hours a segment?".

"Grante: Yep. And since our schedules only allow us like 6 hours a day, it might be kinda tight for getting it done this week.

"Reyan: Then it looks like we'll just have to get it done first try! Well that, or speedrun it".

"Llucien: Why not both?".

"Grante: Oh shoot, it's already 9? I should probably go. Remember our time; Be on 2 to 8, 'kay guys?".

And with that, everyone logged off, after adding each other as friends, of course.

Torrain, excited and nervous for the following day, fell slowly asleep.

To be continued...