The boss monster flailed about wildly, roaring wildly in pained anguish as the thin sliver of red color from its last HP bar finally disappeared. As the monster struggled with futile efforts, Athena's heels dug into the ground as she forced her flaming sword deeper into the monster's flesh, sealing its fate as it exploded into countless shards of light. Athena was so intent on ending the monster's existence that she still hadn't moved an inch from her sword-thrusting pose, taking several moments for her mind to fully comprehend the monster's death.

[i][color=a187be]It's over... it's finally over.[/color][/i] Athena thought to herself, not realizing she was breathing heavily until she fully regained her senses. How long had she and the other players been fighting the boss? Half an hour? Several hours? She had been so deeply immersed with the battle that she had lost all sense of the passage of time. 

Returning her sword to its scabbard, Athena looked around the room, it seemed so much larger than she remembered it to be, now that the boss monster that once occupied it had been eliminated, leaving behind the dungeon raid group. While most of the players were now busy manipulating game menus and checking the loot they had gained from the boss, the healers busied themselves by healing everyone who had suffered HP losses during the battle and reviving those who had fallen.

Athena then noticed that a popup window had appeared to her side, notifying her of several character stat increases she had earned from the battle, as well as one single item in the Loot Items window. A single item? Athena's brows furrowed in disappointment. After that intense battle, only a single item was distributed to her? Shaking her head in reluctant acceptance at her reward, Athena moved to tap a finger on the Loot Items window, opening another window to reveal the item that had been awarded to her.

The item description window revealed what appeared to be an [url=http://i.imgur.com/Z0fS1t6.jpg]elegantly-designed silver sword[/url] with intricately arranged curving designs along its length. According to the item description, the sword's name was [i]Wraithslayer[/i]. Judging by the weapon's name, it was possible that this was a "unique" weapon. However, what was most unusual about the sword was that it appeared to have been forged from a single bar of metal, having no seams or joints along its perfectly-smooth surfaces. The numerical statistics of the weapon weren't overly impressive, although it was slightly better than the sword she already had, but one small detail on the item description window caught her eye. 

[i][color=a187be]Item Effect: Invisible Weapon?[/color][/i] Athena thought to herself in puzzlement as she read the text displayed on the window, at the bottom of the weapon's numerical statistics list. Curious, she tapped on the sword's image in the window, causing the ornate silvery sword to materialize in the air before her. Athena could not help but pause in admiration at the sword's utterly beautiful design. No swordsmith, whether it be in the real world or ALfheim Online, could ever have dreamed to create a weapon as beautiful as the one that was before her. Reaching out with her hand to grasp at the sword's grip, the sword by her side vanished and returned to her character's storage as the system registered her possession of a new weapon.

As soon as her hand wrapped around the sword's grip, the sword's blade lightly shimmered, then a wave of distortion washed over the blade from hilt to blade tip, enveloping the weapon with a sheath of the [i]Invisibility[/i] effect. Now, the only proof of the sword's existence was the undeniable weight she felt in her grasp.

[color=a187be]"What a strange effect for a weapon. How on earth can a sword like this be practical in combat?"[/color] Athena wondered out loud to herself as she began to slowly move the invisible weapon in her hands, getting a feel of the weapon's weight as she made careful sweeping motions with the sword's blade. The blade was surprisingly light compared to most swords, which made the balance feel rather strange. Without fully comprehending the dimensions and length of a sword's blade, such a weapon was highly impractical to use in actual sword combat. With only the feeling of the sword's weight, it would be highly difficult to achieve precision strikes with the weapon. However, such a weapon would prove highly difficult to defend against, something that could prove useful in the future. Deciding to keep the peculiar sword, Athena carefully sheathed the weapon into her scabbard. Sheathing a sword that she could not see was something she would have to get used to doing. As soon as her hand lifted up from the sword, the weapon's silvery grip and pommel reappeared. At least drawing out the sword wasn't going to be difficult.

Athena then closed the opened inventory windows before her with broad sweep of her hand. In the distance, the raid group's lead tank and mage players were in a heated argument about the outcome of the boss battle. 

[i]"Did you not see how many players died during that? We almost had to wipe! I don't know about you but I don't stand for wiping. Plus, that Boss was glitched or something!"[/i]

[i]"Do you hear yourself right now? Glitched? No way. Who cares! The players that died are back alive now, everything is good."[/i] 

[i]"Maybe for you. But I'm contacting a GM and reporting what happened. I've fought this boss many times and 'that' has never happened..."[/i]

[color=8882be]"What are you two complaining for? As raid group leaders, you should be more concerned about your failure to lead properly and anticipate unexpected events in a battle situation. You may have fought this boss many times, but that is no excuse to become complacent and lazy as a raid leader. A competent leader should be prepared for whatever happens and accept their own failures."[/color] Athena interjected in annoyance and disapproval at the quarreling elite players, turning away from them as she finished speaking. As she turned, she could hear the two players mutter something back in response, but she ignored their words. They were irrelevant, she wasn't ever planning joining another raid group with those two players.

[color=ed1c24]"So. We did it. What did you guys think about this?"[/color] Asked Arina, one of the Cait Sith players in her party, who seemed somewhat pleased about the loot she had received from the boss battle.

[color=a187be]"That was one intense battle that could have gone either way, I can't say I've ever faced a boss quite like that. We're very fortunate that the battle turned in our favor today."[/color] Athena responded with a sigh of relief, the adrenaline rush from the fierce battle had not yet washed away. 

[color=a187be]"That boss seemed to have a very unusual AI though. I've never encountered any monster that was able to suddenly shift aggro to supporting healers. It was almost as if it was able to break free of its usual programmed patterns and think for itself for a while. I'm sure it's just nothing though. Maybe the game designers added in a bit of behavior randomization to give players a challenge."[/color] Athena commented, deciding abruptly to finish her words by brushing off the strange AI behavior as nothing but a designer's bright idea after realizing how absurd her thoughts must have sounded.