BONUS Chapter 2/5
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Robert?
The name didn’t ring any bells.
[Silvia: Sorry. I was pressed for time, so I had to agree with his demands. Anyway, meet me at Rocky Hill, and I’ll explain everything]
[Ren: On my way]
Ren closed the notification and retraced his steps in Erendia Town so he could teleport to Plain Rock Village and head to Rocky Hill.
Along the way, he couldn’t help but think of what Silvia meant that she wouldn’t be the leader of her own group and that she was pressed of time.
And who was this Robert she was talking about?
Something told Ren that Vulcan’s Cave had just become even more troublesome to clear.
Appearing in the Rocky Plain Village, the scenery was different than in the previous villages they had entered. Like the name, there were little to no trees, and the soil was hard and brownish, with towering Rocky Mountains dotting the skies.
Ren didn’t enter the Rocky Plain Village and proceeded to head into the Rocky Hills. The feel of sand on his boots was soft and rather hot. And if he didn’t watch his footing, he might trip on the protruding stones and boulders scattered everywhere.
Ren looked over at the canyon of rocks and continued to enter the path that was heading towards Vulcan’s Cave. There were many twists and turns inside Rocky Hill, and without the arrows at every fork pointing you to your destination, you’d easily get lost.
The path was a little narrow and not for those who had a phobia of tight spaces. The feeling of being squashed by boulders wasn’t exactly a feeling Ren wanted to feel at the moment, so he hurried onwards.
Ren could only wish that Nikolai was already waiting for him outside of Vulcan’s Cave. He messaged him a while ago to go together, but the kid only replied that he would be waiting in Vulcan’s lair.
Anyway, as long as Nikolai followed the arrows and signs, he wouldn’t get lost in the Rocky Canyon’s many forks and winding paths.
And besides, he wouldn’t be traveling alone. Many players were also traversing the canyon. Usually, players were kind to children, especially women.
But upon seeing Ren and the other competitors, everyone hurried onwards, afraid that they might take their thunder.
There were no beasts nor monsters on the path to the cave unless, of course, if you wanted to explore a different area like the home of the [Scorpion King] or the Cave of [Minishatar the Destroyer] among the many options.
And like every continent, there’s always a home for a [World Boss].
After fifteen minutes of climbing, hopping rocks, and avoiding dead roots and boulders, Ren finally arrived at a spacious sanded area surrounded by giant stones from all sides. And just ahead, a cave was present in one of the towering boulders.
There were a lot of players than Ren had expected. The area of about 500 sq. meters was full of players of different races and classes.
It was kind of nostalgic.
Ren forgot the last time he went on a dungeon raid with these many players who wanted to try their luck and skills at getting firstblood.
He was mostly seated in the office and doing fieldwork for the guild.
“Ren!” Silvia ran over to him soon after she spotted him amidst the crowds.
“Glad you could make it in time.” She beamed, turning her beautiful face into divine.
However, unlike with the majority of players who were admiring Silvia’s beautiful face, Ren was busy admiring her equipment.
Silvia was already equipping a [Silver Breastplate], [Iron Gauntlets], [Brooch of Miracle], and [Speedy Boots]. The Silver Breastplate alone provides +7 DEF and +4 MDF. While [Brooch of Miracles] up her LCK by +4.
It sounded minuscule of a number, but at this point in time, it was a considerable boost.
She was clearly overgeared.
“Where did you get your equipment?” Ren couldn’t help but ask. They were surely unavailable in the Villages’ shops, and Silvia couldn’t access towns yet, so purchasing them in the cities’ shops was out of the question.
She also lacked the skills to defeat bosses, and she couldn’t possibly acquire her equipment by defeating beasts and bosses alone in the short amount of time they had meet at Ironto Village.
Then there’s only one possibility . . . ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀꪶ
“Oh, this.” Silvia grinned and looked at her equipment with pride. “I bought this at an auction shop on the internet. They were loots from players, and they’re auctioning it online.”
Ren thought so.
Those Beta testers and money hunger mongrels like him were sure to act fast.
“Is that so?”
Silvia’s lips formed into a smirk, and she crossed her hands. “Do you want to know how much I acquire them?”
“No.”
Ren then looked over at the players and asked Silvia, “Where’s our group?”
Silvia couldn’t react for a moment before her face turned serious. “Oh right. Before we proceed, I want to tell you in person that I won’t be the leader of our group.”
“You did tell me that.” Ren was starting to worry when Silvis’s expression turned even more serious.
“When I searched for a tank, a friend of mine recommended that guy . . .” Silvia pointed to a man with shoulder brown hair tied neatly behind his back. His bushy brows and long thick lashes looked so good with his striking blue eyes. His Dwarven appearance actually complimented his face, and he looked even more dashing even without the staple beard of the Dwarves.
He made Leonel look like a beggar on the street.
“That’s Robert. He’s a pro player in the game Clash of Gilds if you heard about it. He had a lot of experience as a tank. His DEF and MDF are also nearing +30. And I heard his skills and map awareness are on a higher level compared to the others.”
As Silvia was explaining, Ren studied Robert.
Women of all shapes and sizes surrounded him. And like any male, he was enjoying the attention and company.
Ren expected that Silvia would have a lot of women in her group, but he was still caught off guard because they were beauties that stole all the attention.
They looked like socialites and daughters of the higher class.
Sophisticated, elegant, and unapproachable.
“He is a perfect Tank,” continued Silvia. She paused and bit her lower lip before proceeding with a hesitant voice. “But . . . There’s only one problem.”
“He wanted to be the leader?” Ren chimed in.
Silvia nodded. “That and other . . . things.”
That got Ren’s brows wrinkling at the center. “Other things?”
“As compensation for his help and time, he wanted an equipment for his class and race if there’s any and of course, money . . . ,” Silvia rolled her eyes, “and . . . fifty percent of all the loot in the group’s inventory.”
“. . . I see.” No wonder Silvia was hesitating to tell him.
The distribution of loot was uneven. Robert was going to hug half of it.
“And he gets first pick at the loots,” Silvia added immediately before Ren could open his mouth.
“. . .” That made it even so much worse that Ren was rethinking about the whole dungeon raid.
Upon noticing Ren’s silence, Silvia was beginning to worry while Pii was comfortably lying around his neck with its eyes closed.
“And what did the others say?” Ren asked after a moment.
“They’re cool bout it since all we wanted was to carve our names on the stones and leaderboards. But don’t worry,” Silvia hurriedly added, “I already told him about you and your demands. As long as the equipment fits your race and class, you’ll have it.”
She then bit her lips again. “It’s just that . . . the overall loot distribution . . .”
“It’s fine,” cut in Ren with an edge to his voice. He was here already, and he had already given her his words.
In doing business, integrity plays an important part. How would he attract other clients in the future if he broke their deal?
It was too late to back out now.