“Sorry you got stuck being the AFK bot,” Nick snickered, flashing his teeth at Lucas. “AFK bot” was a throwback term for useless Healers who had been rendered worthless as a result of their team never needing them or because their role was so mindlessly repetitive.

Lucas just shrugged.

“Stop messing with Negative,” Valerie chided. “He gets picked on enough as it is, so if you keep teasing him, I’m going to beat you so much he’ll have to use all of his Holy Energy just to keep you alive.”

Malik and Lucas just watching on in silence as the two bickered back and forth.

The door leading into Lady Xun Guan’s dungeon then opened to reveal a stone staircase leading downward. Torches were affixed to the walls on either side, providing light.

The bonus for having a full party of players with no NPC assistance has been activated. All experience has been increased by 10%. Loot has been adjusted for a full party, and additional loot has a chance of dropping.

Lucas was slightly curious as to how this quest would turn out, but he was by no means in a rush to reach the end.

Malik, however, impatiently pushed the group forward after smacking Nick on the shoulder and pointing at the staircase. “Let’s go, brother.”

The two stopped arguing, and the group made their way down into the dungeon. About halfway down the three-person-wide stairwell, Lucas noticed a group of Human guards at the bottom dressed in chainmail. They all had their heads tilted back against the wall. They were sound asleep, and one of them was even snoring.

“Let’s kill them,” Malik said excitedly, nocking an arrow and preparing to fire.

“Psh! Let me show you how it’s done!” Nick insisted. He hefted the two swords in front of him and charged down the stairs.

Malik let loose an arrow that struck one right in the lung, but Lucas’s eyes were drawn to Valerie. She was obviously casting a rather large spell and had already spent several seconds channeling it by the time the others even started forward.

What is she doing? he wondered, and then his eyes opened wide as he remembered what spell most likely came with the starter staff: Firebolt. Its area of effect was limited to a five-foot circle around the target, but in tight, enclosed spaces, it was an incredibly useful skill—and likely a painful one for Nick, who had rushed ahead to engage in melee combat.

Lucas felt a little panic pass through him as he realized that Valerie was probably just casting away without considering her ally’s safety at all. He held his scepter up in front of him and began channeling Holy Energy into it. The process wasn’t difficult at all, and the game’s mechanics made it more or less intuitive. All he had to do was focus on channeling his Holy Energy through the scepter and then into the circuit for Restore Health. He just hoped that Valerie wouldn’t turn Nick into a fried corpse before the end of the two seconds.