New Game Plus: I crave challenges-Chapter 695: Final Fend’s role
“How long do we need to hold out?! Are those guys sleeping in there? Tell them to hurry up!”
Final Fend vented his frustration, his voice already hoarse. Ever since advancing his class to become a [Flaming Warden of Chains], the young man wielded two chainblades burning with deeply orange flames. His black armour reflected the flaming sheen, giving it an extraordinary appearance. Final Fend turned off his helmet in the options, revealing his handsome face, making him the object of worship for countless female fans.
But Silver Blade’s brother didn’t only shine in appearance. His fighting skills were also progressing steadily. He was the member of Dream Avenue with the most dungeon clears under his belt, leading people to gather equipment. Also, his world boss kills were at the top of the server.
Leading the team including Braag, Melodious Edelweiss, and the Zen brothers, Final Fend was by no means a weak player. However, his PvP experience was somewhat lacking. But during this week Liam, Cyclone, and co brutally forced him to make up for it. While Hotpot took the lead in facing the world bosses, Final Fend’s job was it to block opportunistic players.
The week after Hotpot’s fight against GalanTen passed rather quickly. Dream Avenue was incredibly busy. They hunted one world boss every morning while the rest of the time was used to complete quests. And even after logging out of the game, Hotpot had no time to rest. Their sponsors called. Hoping to leverage the current hype they were exceptionally quick to organize ad campaigns, asking the team to lend their faces.
Not everyone was extremely eager. Liam didn’t want to bother much, and Silva didn’t need the money. Dominic, or Radiant Shield, was self-conscious about his appearance. On the other hand, the likes of Rachel and Kel – Fortune and Bloody Edge – didn’t hesitate to agree immediately. Quiana and Adrian – Quickstep and Silent Acacia – saw it as part of their jobs and simply shrugged their shoulders.
Cynthia and Mel as the guild leaders of Dream Avenue felt that this was a great chance to tighten the bond between the sponsors and Dream Avenue. Perhaps they could even negotiate for some additional benefits. Thus, they worked hard to convince their reluctant friends. In the end everyone agreed and even Dominic was dragged along by Kel.
The photoshoots and filming were a novel experience for most people. And with all ten friends present, it turned out to be a lot of fun. Of course, not everyone was equally busy.
For example, during the shoot for Bellissio, the big clothing brand with stores and influence in multiple star systems, the responsible person took a liking to two of the friends, catching the rest by surprise.
“Wow, Rachel looks so awesome up there!”, admired Cynthia.
“Yes! Clutching the rope, with the wind blowing through her hair and the new dress. So envious…”, agreed Mel. Quiana also nodded at the two girls, marvelling at Rachel’s appearance which could rival even some of the most prominent movie stars. Adrian stood next to his girlfriend. Looking at her expression, he felt like he had to say something:
“Rachel looks good, sure, but no one can hold a candle to you in my eyes!”
Cynthia and Mel couldn’t help but snicker as a sweet smile bloomed on Quiana’s face. She gave her boyfriend a peck on the cheek, replying:
“That’s cute. And don’t worry, you also don’t need to be envious of Sam. In my eyes you’re much cooler than him!”
“Envious? I’m not envious… Well, maybe a little…”
Adrian’s sheepish reaction drew laughter from his friends. However, everyone could emphasize with his sentiment. Their expressions when looking at Sam Colville, or Watchful Eye, at this moment were somewhat strange. It was just too unexpected.
The bodyguard who usually quietly followed Silva had become the star of the show. He stood on top of the model of a train, wearing Bellissio’s new summer collection. His taciturn face stared at an imaginary threat in the distance. And with one hand he held a rope from which Rachel was dangling, pretending to enter the train’s unmanned bridge through the window. It was indeed like a scene from an action movie, shot in front of a greenscreen.
And to the side stood the director, shouting excitedly:
“Great! Just great! You two… I… I can’t! Ahh, I need some water! Those eyes, incredible! The people will love it! Rachel, darling, try a more nonchalant expression! Yes, like that! Oh, that dress looks so great on you! And Sam, my prince, can you pull your shirt up a bit? Show some abs! Let the ladies go crazy!”
Silva was sitting on a couch together with Liam. She was barely unable to hold in her laughter watching Sam. Although the man was taciturn as always, Silva and Felix were the people knowing him the best. They were able to detect the subtle signs in his expression.
“That’s exactly the face he made back then when I asked to train my make-up skills on him! Cynthia will have to do a lot of convincing if she wants Sam to do another photo shoot like that.”, whispered Silva, a few chuckles mixing into her speech.
“Who knows? Maybe he’ll like it when the final pictures come out!”, answered Liam.
The photoshoot eventually came to an end, but for the friends it would remain a fond memory. They kept teasing Sam about it, talking about how his female fans would surely increase manifold and that he should consider diversifying his career. Perhaps becoming a movie star would be his thing in the future.
Of course, the others also had their time in the limelight. Their sponsor St. Fabre, the company led by Wayne Delaney, brother of Ken Delaney, who was known as Silken in the game, for example, focused their ad around Hotpot as a team, aiming to benefit from their reputation.
Wayne even showed up personally. At the beginning when he stated sponsoring Dream Avenue it was mainly as a jab at his brother, who had always tried to get close to Silva Colville but only achieved the opposite. However, by now Wayne was fully convinced that sponsoring Dream Avenue was one of his best decisions ever. Thanks to the guild the name of St. Fabre even radiated beyond Falva Star. They even had requests from other star sectors. Unfortunately, the company wasn’t in the position to accept those.
Overall, the week was busy, exciting, but also exhausting. Even in the game, hunting multiple world bosses caused a lot of fatigue.
Final Fend was looking left and right at the comrades fighting together with him. They were holding the entrance to a cave, a large abyss in front of them. Today there was no coordinated guild attacking them. Instead, it was a crowd of opportunistic players. Although many admired Dream Avenue, they still tried to snatch food from the jaw of a tiger. Such were the rules of a game. If Dream Avenue wanted to prevent this, they would have to move more secretly.
“Hold a bit longer! I’m sure they will be done soon!”
Trying to raise morale, Final Fend kept shouting. His PvP skills had increased a lot. He could even afford this bit of distraction and still stand stable as a boulder.
A sword came from a tricky angle, but Final Fend reacted instinctively. His right arm, wrapped in a thick black chain, pushed the sword away, the creaking of metal sounding in his ears. The next moment he jerked both of his arms in the direction of the enemy. The warrior who just attacked him had panic in his eyes. He recognized this move. Final Fend had used it multiple times during the siege.
“Think I will let you go?! No way!”
Final Fend let out a shout as his two chainblades wrapped around the enemy. The latter tried to dodge but he was standing too close, and the scene was too crowded. He had nowhere to go.
Final Fend’s chains tightly bound the enemy, honouring the skill’s name [Chain Bound]. It was an advanced version of [Chain Lock]. Now, not only could it stun the enemy, but Final Fend was even able to lunge the bound prey away.
The young man’s muscles roared as he forcefully turned his upper body. The chains followed. The enemy was helpless. His feet left the floor and with a scream he was thrown into the abyss not far away.
“Haha, goodbye!”
“Nice one, Final Fend!”
“Hey, didn’t Mirage say that a dwarven town lies down there? Wouldn’t they be scared if people kept dropping from the sky?”
“Ahh, I’m sure they are used to it by now!”
Dream Avenue’s members joked around to cope with the situation. Not everything was rosy. Fatigue started to spread, and Dream Avenue had already lost more than thirty people. And yet they knew that the fight out here was actually not as brutal as the one going on deep inside the cave where hundreds faced off against a world boss.
Chapter 695: Final Fend’s role
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