The Door

The ornate door leading into the boss room is a lot bigger than I thought it would be. The red doors tower over me, at least double my height.
The plan for the boss is simple. Since we only know what it is when we get in, a general plan is the best way to go.
As a main frontliner, with a sword and shield, and heavy armour, I’ll tank.
Lancer and Ka’el will be our two main DPS. They are both fast, so they’ll easily be able to strike and attack while I take aggro.
Ranger will be a supportive DPS. Since he has ranged attacks and debuffs, as well as a dagger, he can flit between what we need.
And lastly, Priestess. With her heals and buffs, she can stay at a safe distance and just keep us healthy and strong.
There are a couple of downsides to this plan.
We don’t know how combat is going to actually work. We don’t know how health and damage work, nor healing. And since this is now the proper world the game is based on, will it be realistic in combat, will weapons get stuck or deflected?
And if we do get injured, how is healing going to work? Not only magic, but items and potions.
Well, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.

I feel a slight tug on my leg. Looking behind me I see Retainer, holding out a note for me.
“What am I going to do?”
“Nothing.” I gently ruffle her hair. “You’re going to stay in here until we’ve defeated the boss.”
She looks taken aback.
“I said I would protect you, and this is the best way, at least for now.” I tell her. “The door will lock when we enter, and once we defeat it, it’ll reopen.”
She looks like she wants to argue, but in the end she just nods, and slowly pads back over to where Priestess is sitting.

“H-hey man,” Ranger’s small voice is barely audible, even though he’s managed to get right next to me. “How are you so calm about all this? I mean, I know I signed up for it and all, but still, I feel like I’m the only one here worrying.”
“I understand how you feel. Forgive me if I’m wrong, but you're pretty young right?” I decided to just ask him.
“Ah, y-yes. I’m actually only fifteen.” He seems ashamed of this.
“Just focus on doing what you can, okay? I’ve beaten the game many times, and as that Goddess said, just being chosen means we have a good chance. Just let the adults worry about the difficult stuff.”
My reassurances seem to ease his mind. His face lights up and he nods as he walks back to the couch.
Lancer catches me watching Ranger and gives me a friendly wave. I wave back, as he goes back to talking to Ka’el, and I turn back towards Retainer and Priestess.

Priestess hasn’t left Retainer alone since we got here. I don’t know whether she’s happy that someone else also shares the Vow of Silence, or if she’s just glad she can now communicate properly with the notepad they are sharing.
As I sit down next to them Priestess reaches over and hands me a note.
“You must be good at this game. How many times?” She intently stares at me as I read it.
“I’ve beaten it on every character at least once.”
Her eyes widen as her mouth hangs open. She quickly scribbles another note.
“That’s insane. You must have had no life.”
“What the? That’s kind of rude you brat.”
She gives me a silent laugh and a thumbs up. I guess in a way that was her idea of a compliment, and her trying to ease some of the tension.
She hands me one more note, a smug smile across her face.
“I’m in your care Mr Big Strong Paladin.”
This Brat.

“Okay everybody. Do we all remember the plan?” Lancer asks as he paces in front of us, twirling around his spear.
We’ve all gathered at the ornate boss room door, the five minute timer we set had come and gone, it was now time to start our climb.
“I’m ready.” I say as I once again test the weight and feel of my sword and shield in my hands. Balance is key, but the knowledge I’ve gotten from the Paladin’s body I’m borrowing is making everything feel so natural.
“Y-yes. I’ll do m-my best.” Ranger adds. His voice is still quiet, but at least he’s not shaking too much now and his bow is steady in his hands.
Priestess bangs her long metal staff on the ground a few times and gives a thumbs up. We’re getting around the Vow of Silence, but it’ll be much easier when it wears off.
Ka’el just stands by Lancer, nodding along to whatever he says.
Just like in the game, Ka’el will do whatever Lancer says, which earned him the fan nickname of Dog’el.
He is the main reason Lancer is one of the most popular character picks, just because you get an insane stat stick NPC along with a high tier player character.
The good news is that we shouldn’t have any problems with the first boss, since it’s common knowledge that Ka’el can basically solo every First floor boss.

I quickly kneel down to Retainer’s height.
“Remember, stay here until the door opens again.”
She once again looks like she wants to argue, but she ends up nodding before padding back over to the couches.
“Alrighty then.” Lancer claps. “Paladin, as our frontliner, the honour is yours.”
He gestures with his free hand to the door.
Of course, as our frontliner it’s my job to enter rooms first to make sure it’s safe. It also applies to boss rooms just in case the boss instantly aggros upon entry.
I give him a little nod and open the door. Just like in the game a blue light covers the inside from top to bottom, it almost looks like a liquid. While it may look that way, it’s actually a portal. Most boss doors use a portal to teleport you into the room. Only special ones actually connect you directly to their boss.
“Boss Fight, commence.” Lancer states as I step into the shimmering portal.