Before stepping forward, Ye Ao Nai He had imagined all sorts of things. He thought he might slash the boss once in a fierce battle, get sent flying, hit the ground and cough up blood, then deliver a couple of cool parting lines before dying.
That way, Ye Ao Nai He could record an awesome short video to show off to the other players after the event ended.
With a little luck, he might even land the final blow and kill Alanka. Even if he then died to the boss's last desperate attack, he would have even more bragging rights.
But Ye Ao Nai He had never imagined his death would be this unceremonious.
A green light flashed, and Ye Ao Nai He pitched forward mid-charge, falling flat on his face like a dog lunging for scraps. He slammed into the bloodstained stone steps, twitched twice, then lay still.
"What the fuck?"
A charging player passed Ye Ao Nai He and gave him a kick on the way, but he failed to get him moving.
"Ye Ao just died like that?"
"There weren't even any fucking special effects!"
Another player on the wall stared wide-eyed as he spoke to the others.
"After that big, impassioned speech, I thought he'd go three hundred rounds with the boss!"
"Who cares? He's dead, so he's dead. Kill the boss first!!!"
That was how most of the other players reacted. One player had died. What was the big deal?
And so the others kept charging Alanka, swarming him from every direction. Alanka barely managed to swing his scepter to block them, but every collision widened the cracks in his face.
Before long, the cracks in Alanka's stone face spread rapidly. Fragments began peeling away, exposing blood-red muscle beneath. As the cracks spread, his movements