Prisoners of VR

There were five classes among the Monkeys in the Grass-Faced Monkey Dungeon. The lowest class were the regular monkeys, gatherers of food.

Above them were the Elite Monkeys, those with the Leaf Wing Skill. They were in charge of scouting and formed the brunt of their defensive force. Against smaller enemies, the Elite Monkeys used their Leaf Wings-like blades to sever the heads of their opponents. Against big opponents like the Elven Race people, they used it to glide the air and drop stones on their targets. They were expert gliders.

An Elite Monkey could unleash the Leaf Wing Skill three to four times. This meant that in general, its mental stats were ten times the average human. But in the end, their physical bodies weren't as strong as a human, in this case, the Elven Race.

So, the Elven Race people could gang up on the Elite Monkeys and defeat them as long as they came within striking range. Also, the strongest offensive skill of a human being was their ability to launch projectiles.

Gather some stones in the forest and the monkeys in the trees became fair game to the people on the ground. It was why, despite possessing inferior stats, the Elven Race overwhelmed the monkeys. The stats simply projected the mind and not the body.

With better brainpower, the monkeys were smarter and more capable in terms of schemes. But experience played a big part here. Their Dungeon had never been invaded before. So, they didn't have experience facing the Elven Race.

On the other hand, the invaders had plenty of experience dealing with various animals. They had the advantage of information and played cunningly to their forte.

There were plenty of users that successfully obtained a second Invoker Crystal. It seemed it was just a matter of time before they conquered this Dungeon. But that changed when the higher-order monkeys arrived.

Wearing a dress of grass that covered its head and hips was a female monkey that was a head taller than the regular monkeys. The Invoker Crystal on its forehead shone brighter than the Elite Monkeys.

Seeing its slaughtered brethren, it screamed and slammed its hands repeatedly on the ground. Immediately in response, across multiple stretches on the forest ground, the grass wriggled in circular patterns and locked itself, building up elastic energy.

The traps were camouflaged amongst the grass. And only if one saw their initial wriggle would they detect the traps. As the Elven Users fled from the attacks, they set foot upon the traps. Their legs were severed at the ankles, causing them to bleed out.

The one that set the traps was the Female Mid-Boss. It possessed a terrifying Skill to set up traps in the grass that was potent enough to sever even the bones in their legs in a flash.

Accompanying the Female Mid-Boss was the Male Mid-Boss. It was the one that created walls of bamboo to block the Dungeon entrance. The rushing people slammed into the bamboo walls, toppling them with enough effort.

Upon seeing that, the Male Mid-Boss erected multiple walls. And finally, mowing down the Elven Race users like they were cattle was the Dungeon Boss, a monkey donned with grass weaved into cloth. The cloth covered its entire body and affixed on its head was a bamboo crown.

The Dungeon Boss arrived at a halt before an Elite Monkey corpse, staring at its bleeding forehead. It seemed its Invoker Crystal had been violently extracted as a part of the skin on the forehead was missing. The Elite Monkey's eyes were open, expressing despair at the moment of its death.

The Dungeon Boss stared at the Elite Monkey and shed tears. It mourned its fallen brethren.

"That looks to be the Dungeon Boss." An Elven Race user muttered as he dodged the stones and traps. He communicated with three other people that were on good terms with him.

"Can we kill it?"

"We must. Its Skill is damn powerful. Imagine how strong we can grow by training with it."

"The two Mid-Bosses guarding it are strong too. What should we do?"

"We wait and attack after they exhaust themselves. Once they deplete their Brainpower, they are nothing but fragile prey."

"Kieee!" The Dungeon Boss screamed as all the monkeys raged under its command and swarmed the Elven Race users. With the entrance blocked, the users beyond couldn't enter, allowing the people within to be overwhelmed gradually.

"Attack!" The Elven Race users charged at the monkeys, leading to a bloodbath on both sides. It didn't matter when the users couldn't create Grass Sticks anymore. They didn't rely on it in the first place.

With a tug of their hands, they broke off branches from nearby trees and used them to whack the monkeys. Others flung stones. If they failed to find a suitable weapon, they used their primary mode of aggression, a punch.

[Grass-Faced Elite Monkey]

[Brainpower: 100]

[Willpower: 30]

[Empower: 1]

[Skill: Leaf Wing (Inferior/Basic)]

When an Elven Race user tussled with an Elite Monkey, a screen popped up while they were in contact. At that moment, both the user and the Elite Monkey were stunned. After all, while the user was able to see the Elite Monkey's status, the monkey too was able to see his status.

Upon realising it, he shouted, "We can check their status if we touch their bodies. But the reverse is also possible if they touch us!"

"Perfect!" The team of four gamers grinned at the information as they sneaked upon the Female Mid-Boss and hurled rocks at it. The Male Mid-Boss erected a bamboo wall between the two before suddenly collapsing in exhaustion. It had exhausted all its Willpower as the people had been bombarding his walls.

"Got you!" One of the four rushed while crouching toward the ground. He condensed his Grass Stick, intentionally slowing down the process, as he rushed past. By now, he figured out that grass already in use for another Skill wouldn't be included in the creation of a Grass Stick. Meaning, it was the fastest way to figure out where the traps had been placed.

His long hair fluttered as he evaded all traps and leaped onto an exhausted monkey, staring at its status once he grabbed it.

[Grass-Faced Female Mid-Boss]

[Brainpower: 380]

[Willpower: 82]

[Empower: 3]

[Skill: Leaf Clutch (Moderate/Basic)]

"Thank you for the Skill." Saying so, he yanked out its Invoker Crystal and equipped it on his Leaf Guard immediately.

[User: Trot]

[Brainpower: 92]

[Willpower: 88]

[Empower: 2]

[Skills: Grass Stick (Inferior/Basic), Leaf Clutch (Moderate/Basic)]

The last the Female Mid-Boss observed was his status, thinking about his overly high Willpower as compared to his Brainpower. It opened its mouth and muttered in human language before biting its tongue to kill itself.

"What?" The user named Trot stared in shock, unable to believe himself as he stared at the Female Mid-Boss's corpse, "Was I imagining things? Did I hear it correctly?"

"Trot! Help us!" Two of his friends screamed for help as they failed their ambush on the Dungeon Boss and were instead skewered by its bamboo spikes. The last of their group, named Lace succeeded in grabbing the Invoker Crystal from the unconscious Male Mid-Boss.

"Damn, we didn't succeed." Trot stared at Lace in a hurry and shouted, "We'll drop our Skills if we are killed. Let's leave..."

A Bamboo Spike jutted out of the ground and pierced Trot in the stomach, stopping partway.

The Dungeon Boss's anger morphed into surprise, noticing how by creating a Grass Stick at the location where he stood, Trot reduced the material available for the creation of a Bamboo Spike. Thereby, he avoided death and only suffered an injury.

"Trot!" Lace pulled him back and erected a Bamboo Wall between them and the Dungeon Boss, panting as she asked, "Why isn't the Dungeon Boss running out of energy?"

"It has monstrous reserves of Brainpower. Let's leave." Trot was just about to log out when he noticed an individual walk out from behind a tree. The individual calmly tracked the arcs made by the falling stones and avoided them, his gaze focused on the Dungeon Boss. "Wait, who is that guy?"

"He seems familiar." Lace muttered, putting aside her plan to log out. She intended to see what this mysterious user was up to.

Rahu finally arrived at a conclusion, seeing the corpses of people being held up in Bamboo Spikes. Even though the corpses disappeared upon their deaths, those on the spikes were still alive. They were dying a slow death.

It seemed the Dungeon Boss had purposefully harmed them in such a way as to display its power and avenge its fallen brethren. Upon seeing that, Rahu's mind was made up, "You know, I now understand that even if they're killed here, only their Brainpower and Willpower becomes zero. Once they rest and recuperate in reality, within a day or two, they can return here. I understand that. But,"

He calmly stared at the Dungeon Boss as veins popped on his forehead, "Why torture them? It would have been karma if you tortured those that did the same to your brethren, but why torture the rest too?"

"War is fine since we brought it to your home. But why focus on torturing the innocent...never mind."

By this time, the Dungeon Boss stopped targeting the other Elven Race users. Its hairs stood on end as it swerved its gaze at a lone Elven Race man walking towards it. Even it became nervous, feeling a mild sense of oppression from the other party, as if he were a natural predator.

His uVR Earth in reality shone jade as Rahu swapped his senses with that of his Liger's. As the change was inherently in his physical body, Worldcraft read it and manifested it in his Woof character. Oozing out bloodlust, Rahu crouched low on all fours, like a beast, "There's a lot for me to think about. But for the time being,"

"I hate those that torture others, irrespective of their race. So," With a spring, he bolted towards the Dungeon Boss, "I'll kill you."