The Bakudan Boys were still grinding away, completely immersed in the game despite the clock ticking past 21:00. Stationed in the 17th Floor gaming room of the ZAGE Tower, Sakaki, Sawada, Kumogi, and Rikki remained glued to their screens, fingers darting over their keyboards and mice. The atmosphere was tense but focused—they were inching toward the end of Act 2, locked into one of the most iconic and challenging segments of the game.

Their current objective was locating Tal Rasha's true tomb among the many deceptive tombs scattered throughout the desert region. The mission wasn't straightforward. Each tomb looked nearly identical, and only by using the Horadric Staff, aligned with the correct runes, could they determine the actual tomb's location. It was like solving a cryptic archaeological puzzle under pressure. So far, they had already explored several tombs that turned out to be decoys, but each detour wasn't wasted—the enemies inside were brutal and the XP valuable.

As they delved deeper into each tomb, they faced increasingly dangerous foes—swarms of undead, poison traps, elite monsters with devastating affixes—and yet, the team pushed on. Every cleared tomb meant more gold, better loot, and the crucial experience points needed to fine-tune their builds. They were not only progressing the main quest but also sharpening their synergy as a party. For the Bakudan Boys, tonight wasn't just about clearing content—it was about becoming an unstoppable Diablo 2 squad.

Rikki grinned and looked at the others, his hand hovering over his keyboard. "Alright, shall we move out? We don't know how strong the boss is, so make sure that if you're about to die, you cast a teleport scroll immediately. Don't be a hero—just get out of there, alright?"

Kumogi huffed and rolled his eyes. "Shut up. I already know that."

Rikki didn't let it slide. He leaned back in his chair and sighed dramatically. "Yeah, yeah, you 'know' it. But knowing and actually doing it are two very different things. You might say you're ready, but when the pressure's on, you hesitate. And that hesitation gets you killed."

Kumogi turned toward him with an annoyed scowl. "I'm not even Sakaki!"

Sakaki, who had been adjusting his inventory, looked up, frowning. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? Are you blaming me now?"

Sawada couldn't help himself—he laughed out loud. "You two always act like an old married couple," he said between chuckles.

Their usual banter filled the room, shaking off the tension and replacing it with familiar energy. It was this dynamic—this chaotic friendship—that kept them going through each dungeon and boss fight.

Rikki, sighed again, but this time with a grin. "Anyway, enough with the jokes and drama. Let's proceed. We've got a boss to fight, and I'd rather not make this our fifth failed attempt tonight."

With a round of head nods and a few smirks exchanged, the Bakudan Boys refocused, ready to throw themselves into whatever challenge the next tomb had waiting.

But then they noticed something unusual—faint footsteps echoing just outside the gaming room. The sound was slow, deliberate, and definitely not part of the usual ambient noise of the ZAGE Tower at night.

"Huh? Who'd be walking around at this hour?" Rikki whispered, glancing nervously at the door.

"Probably security doing their rounds," Kumogi replied, not looking away from his monitor.

Sawada smirked, clearly unable to resist. "Or maybe... a ghost. Oooooh," he teased, wiggling his fingers like a cartoon ghoul.

Rikki shuddered. "Don't mess with me, man! That's not even funny. I'm serious, this building gives off weird vibes at night."

But as they all turned toward the doorway, the footsteps grew louder—closer—and then, to their collective horror, the door slowly creaked open.

And standing there wasn't some janitor. It wasn't a ghost either. It was something much scarier.

It was their bosses.

Zaboru Renkonan stood in the doorway, flanked by another executive, casting long shadows into the room. His expression was unreadable. Sakaki's jaw dropped. "We're F'CKED," he hissed. "Our bosses are actually here!"

Sawada's face went pale, then he forced an awkward smile. "W-Well... I mean, it's nice to work together at ZAGE, even outside of office hours, right guys?"

"Don't say it like that, dumbass!" Rikki and Kumogi barked in unison, panic written all over their faces. "We haven't even been here that long!"

The Bakudan Boys straightened up, trying to look respectable despite the fact that Diablo 2 was still blazing on their screens. Their hands hovered over the keyboards, unsure whether to Alt+F4 or just accept their fate.

Then Zaboru stepped fully into the room, his arms folded, and a knowing smirk curling on his lips.

Whatever they were expecting, it wasn't this.

"Heh, still lively in here, huh? I guess you guys are working overtime? Such dedication—Sakaki, Rikki, Kumogi, and Sawada," Zaboru said with a teasing tone, chuckling as he stepped further into the room, arms folded like a teacher catching his students goofing off. He clearly wasn't angry, but the mischievous gleam in his eyes put everyone on edge.

Sakaki, always the fastest to speak, nervously fumbled for an excuse. "Umm, Boss... well, we're not exactly working overtime, per se. We're just... uh... testing! Yes! Testing the multiplayer features in Diablo 2. Making sure it's... optimized for latency, and, uh, team synergy."

The other Bakudan Boys stared at him in disbelief, internally giving up all hope. This dumbass was actually trying to lie to Zaboru with the worst excuse imaginable. Rikki looked like he wanted to melt into his chair. Kumogi facepalmed. Sawada stared at the floor in silence, pretending to be invisible.

But instead of calling them out, Zaboru simply burst into laughter. "Hahaha, unbelievable," he said, shaking his head. Then, to everyone's surprise, he placed down a small tray filled with hot gyoza and canned drinks on the nearby table.

The room went silent, their tension morphing into cautious confusion. Zaboru grinned. "Don't worry. I'm not here to fire anyone , Go on, eat this—my treat. And don't worry about me, I'm just curious, you know? I don't mind if you guys play into the night, as long as it doesn't interfere with your work tomorrow. That's the only thing I care about. But aside from that, I'm genuinely curious about how you all play," Zaboru said, his tone warm and casual, like a mentor more than a boss.

He walked over to their monitors, arms behind his back, observing with growing interest. The Bakudan Boys had just returned to town in Act 2 after clearing another tomb. On the screens, their characters stood ready, shimmering in the desert heat. Zaboru narrowed his eyes, analyzing each setup in detail.

'Skeleton-focused Necromancer, Dual Swing Barbarian with axes, Frost Sorceress, and a Flame Aura Paladin, huh?' he thought, eyebrows raised with surprise. 'That's actually a balanced and thematic comp. Not just some random skill mashups.'

His curiosity now piqued even more, he leaned in. "Well, this clearly isn't bad at all. Actually, it's quite solid. Can I take a look at your skill trees and equipment?"

The boys all nodded in unison—it would've been insane to say no. There was something surreal about their boss showing genuine interest in their builds. It wasn't just a passive glance either—Zaboru was clearly knowledgeable and looking at the fine details. It added a whole new level of validation to what they were doing. Their hobby had just earned an unexpected stamp of approval.

Zaboru leaned in to inspect each of their characters more closely, expecting to see chaotic, unoptimized builds. To his surprise, what he found was quite the opposite. Each character had a focused skill tree with only a few key abilities leveled, and their stat distributions were purposeful and clean. It wasn't the kind of scattered mess he had anticipated from relatively new players.

His eyebrows rose, clearly impressed, and a smile crept across his face. "Whoa, you guys actually know your stuff. Honestly, I thought since you were just getting started with the game, your builds would be all over the place. But this... these are proper builds. Seriously impressive."

Zaboru nodded with genuine approval, clearly pleased by what he saw.

Then Rikki spoke up, glancing toward Sawada. "It's all thanks to Sawada, really. He analyzed your demo characters during onboarding and noticed that they didn't have a lot of scattered skills. Instead, they each followed a specific path. So he brought that insight to us early on, explained how focusing our builds could make a huge difference, and we just went with it."

Sawada rubbed the back of his neck, his cheeks tinged red. "I just thought it'd help us progress more smoothly if we stuck to roles," he mumbled.

Zaboru nodded slowly, clearly impressed. "Impressive. That's exactly right. Builds can't be all-rounders in this game. You've got to make a decision about what kind of character you want to be and commit to it. The earlier you understand that, the more efficient and powerful your team becomes. And for players still in Act 2, what I'm seeing here is quite solid. You've got a good sense of direction."

The Bakudan Boys couldn't help but grin. There was something deeply rewarding about being recognized like this—especially by someone like Zaboru. It wasn't just about playing a game anymore; it was about applying strategy, learning systems, and getting validation from someone they respected. The moment felt like a milestone in more ways than one.

Then Zaboru noticed something that made him raise an eyebrow. While the Bakudan Boys had managed to create solid builds, they were still woefully unprepared for what awaited them: Duriel, the merciless Act 2 boss. Their builds, while clean and well-structured, didn't seem optimized for the tight, punishing fight that was about to unfold. Still, Zaboru didn't say a word. He smirked inwardly, respecting their effort even if the outcome was inevitable.

"Anyway, enjoy yourselves, guys. Just don't overdo it, alright? And dig in—those gyoza won't eat themselves," Zaboru said, waving as he turned and left the room.

The door shut gently behind him. The moment he was gone, the tension evaporated.

"Damn, our boss is really on another level! He's so chill and actually gets us," Rikki said, wide-eyed.

"He's always been that way," Sakaki replied with a grin. "Hehehe, anyway, let's keep going—and let's dig into that gyoza first!"

With their energy refueled and morale boosted, the team devoured the food. Plates were emptied, drinks cracked open, and spirits lifted. Once they were full, they turned back to the screens, re-entering the world of Diablo 2 with renewed focus.

They made their way through the desert tomb's final corridors, step by step, until they reached the boss chamber. As expected by Zaboru—and soon confirmed by the Bakudan Boys—they were about to be absolutely f*cked by Duriel.

"DAMN! How can this be?!" Kumogi shouted in frustration as his skeleton minions crumbled into dust almost instantly. They were completely ineffective against Duriel. The cramped tomb offered barely any space to maneuver, and the tight quarters made it impossible to summon or reposition his undead forces properly.

Duriel himself was a monstrous tank, plowing through them with brute force. Three hits, and Kumogi's Necromancer was toast. Thankfully, Kumogi had quick reflexes and managed to activate his teleportation scroll just in time, escaping death by a split second. Still, this was already their fourth attempt at taking down the monstrous boss, and they were running out of morale.

Rikki wiped sweat from his brow. "It's really a nightmare," he muttered under his breath. Only his Frost Nova spell and Sawada's Barbarian attacks were making any real dent in Duriel's health bar. But even then, Sawada was being constantly slowed by Duriel's Holy Freeze aura, making his swings sluggish and predictable.

"Damn!" Sakaki exclaimed. "I didn't know Holy Freeze was this good! If I'd known, I probably would've picked that aura myself."

Rikki exhaled through his teeth. "Kumogi's basically useless in this fight because he can't summon enough minions in time to matter. But if he entered later with a full squad of skeletons already summoned, it might be a completely different battle. We need to rethink our approach."

Everyone nodded in agreement, the frustration turning into focused determination. It was clear their current tactics weren't cutting it. They huddled quickly to formulate a new strategy, each player fully engaged, ready to make their next attempt count.

After refining their strategies and fine-tuning each of their roles, the team launched into yet another attempt—this time with tighter coordination and stronger resolve. Sakaki's Paladin and Sawada's Barbarian stood at the frontlines, absorbing Duriel's crushing blows with timed potions and carefully spaced movements. Meanwhile, Rikki's Sorceress constantly applied pressure, freezing Duriel repeatedly with well-timed casts of Frost Nova to slow his advance.

Then, right on cue, Kumogi entered the chamber mid-battle with a fully summoned army of skeletal warriors. This adjustment turned out to be a game-changer. His undead minions weren't just cannon fodder—they were shields that absorbed critical hits, giving the frontliners a precious few extra seconds to reposition and heal. The skeletons could take a hit or two before collapsing, and those few moments of delay helped break the boss's rhythm.

With everyone playing their role to perfection, the damage finally started to add up. Even as Duriel thrashed and roared, hammering them with Holy Freeze and brutal melee strikes, the Bakudan Boys refused to give in. It was their seventh attempt, and it had all come down to this—focus, timing, and teamwork.

When Duriel finally fell, letting out a monstrous death cry and collapsing into a pile of gore and loot, the room erupted.

"YEAH!" they all shouted in unison, leaping from their chairs and throwing high-fives across the room. The sense of triumph was electric—it wasn't just about beating a boss. It was the payoff of grit, adaptation, and persistence. For a few seconds, the world outside disappeared, and all that mattered was the victory they'd earned together.

Zaboru had also tweaked Duriel's difficulty in this version of the game, making the boss far more aggressive and unpredictable. Duriel now moved at alarming speed, frequently rushing players and delivering devastating blows. These changes made the encounter significantly more intense, transforming the battle into one of the toughest challenges in this Diablo 2 playthrough.

To be continue

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