Chapter 11

Chapter 11

I saw an angel standing alone under the shade of an oak tree a little further away from the entrance of the crowded dungeon. A dungeon cave that leads to the next town with many players camping at the entrance in hopes of finding the same leveled party members to help them defeat the boss. The said boss could be a little bit difficult for newer players since it can be considered an initiation for newbies to earn their right to be called intermediate players of CoA.

I identified the said angel.

Clarissa

Hp: 100%

Mp: 100%Discover new chapters at novelhall.com

Lvl: 28

Guild: none

Duel wr: 0%

wins: 0

matches: 1

Team Rank matches wr: N / A

1v1 Rank matches wr: N / A

id#:**********

Introduction: I'm new to this game so please take care of me. Also, I don't like duels so don't invite me to a PVP match, please!

"Sorry, I'm late! Have you been waiting long? "I asked apologetically.

"No, it's ok, I just got here," Clarissa replied bashfully.

What's with this setting? And what's with that reply, is this some kind of a date?! No no no we're just going to a dungeon to do the main quests and to level up a bit, nothing to be gung-ho about.

Entertaining guests at my apartment took a lot longer than expected especially with Lenna pestering me for a sleepover so I'm a little late at our agreed time. I can't just shoo them away and say I'm going to meet someone especially after they took the trouble to make a trip to our house. That would be downright rude. We had a good time though and watching a match as good as that renewed my motivation to play and improve my skills.

"Then let's go to the entrance. This dungeon will be a little harder than usual so stay close to me at all times." I suggested.

As we approached the hustle and bustle of the entrance to the dungeon, the noise of the players became louder. There are many players today, especially since it's a weekend.

"Need healer please add me".

"Any healer here?"

"Need tank!"

"Need only 1 more support!"

Honestly, all the newbies want to become DPS which is why we always lack healers or other support in this area. Though it would be hypocritical for me to judge them considering I was one of those so-called DPS myself.

As we neared the entrance, 2 men approached us. One was wearing a newbie knight set with a sword on his left plus a round silver shield on his right and a helmet covering his entire face. He has a stoic posture and a serious atmosphere around him.

You could only equip 1 weapon as your main one, giving you the option to use its weapon skill. He probably has a shield weapon skill considering his shield is equipped in his dominant right arm, or I could be wrong and he is just simply left-handed. There are some exceptions though, like dual-handed weapons that are considered as a single main weapon like daggers that also have a single weapon skill. I mentally berated myself for getting a bit off track and went back to sizing up these guys.

The other guy was wearing casual newbie traveler's clothing and a scimitar attached to his belt. He has handsome rugged features and a demeanor full of confidence. I immediately thought that he was too handsome for it to be anything but artificial. He probably fiddled a lot with the character avatar customization, ironically making his overblown appearance less appealing since it lacks the natural charm of simple but detailed character customization. I identified them both.

Hecct

Hp: 100%

Mp: 100%

Lvl: 32

Guild: Round Table

Duel wr: Hidden

Team Rank matches wr: N / A

1v1 Rank matches wr: Hidden

id#:***********

Introduction: This player has no introduction.

Xeno

Hp: 100%

Mp: 100

Lvl: 30

Guild: none

Duel wr: Hidden

Team Rank matches wr: N / A

1v1 Rank matches wr: N /A

id#:***********

Introduction: Any female players can add me anytime ;)

"Hello ladies, looks like you two could use some help. How about you two join our party and we'll carry you? I promise I'll protect you girls from any harm." Xeno stated confidently then transitioned it to a smooth wink.

I might have swooned there and then if he was cute. But he's not really my type. So I crossed my arms and remained unimpressed while Clarissa hid behind me clearly wary of the man's straightforwardness. Good, she should be always on her guard against these kinds of people. She's amazingly cute so a lot of strangers may suddenly approach her with ill intentions.

His friend suddenly butted in when he realized we were cautious of them both.

"Nice shot!" I complimented Clarissa.

Ogre

Hp: 5%

She waited for me to aggro the ogre while she chanted her spell. Then fired her shot at the best possible time she could when the ogre's full attention was on me. A normal newbie won't be able to make a coordinated play like that.

Looks like all the tips and tricks I taught her weren't for naught. She's absorbing everything I'm teaching her like a sponge. She's pretty talented in her own way.

"Th-Thanks!" she replied cheerfully.

The ogre flinched from the headshot and I didn't waste a moment. I hit his body with my staff, any hit would do since he only has 5% hp. The Ogre let out a final death cry and disappeared into blue motes of red light.

"Where is the ogre?" Hecct worriedly asked.

Looks like he just finished taking care of the goblins.

"We already took care of it," I replied.

"That fast?" he said in disbelief.

"Looks like the saying to not judge a book by its cover is true. Never thought both of you could kill the ogre this quickly," he added.

"Looks like I did my part in creating a distraction for you girls to handle the ogre. All according to plan."

Xeno explained his tactically inspiring strategic battle plan as he cooly walked towards us like an action movie protagonist ready for the female lead's affection after a hard-won boss fight. He didn't do anything though.

"You didn't even do anything." Hecct read my thoughts.

"S-shut up! Want me to beat you again in PVP?" Xeno admonished.

"You won 1 out of 10 times, and it is only because you convinced me to fight you without any weapon." Hecct rebuked.

"Reasons! A win is still a win no matter your disadvantages. It just meant that I mentally outplayed you into giving me an advantage!" Xeno made a point.

"More like I took pity on you since you wanted a single win so badly." Hecct countered.

They continued to bicker until we arrived at a large locked door akin to a castle gate with 2 large keyholes. On its left and right are 2 paths. If I remember correctly, these two paths would lead to 2 different keys needed to open the door for the boss fight.

"The two paths would lead to 2 keys needed to open this door," Hecct explained.

"I would've proposed that we stick together and acquire the keys one by one, but seeing that you girls are pretty skilled, I think we can split up here for a faster run," Hecct suggested.

"I completely agree, would you come with me, my Lady? I promise to not let any harm befall upon you and to protect you with my life." Xeno winked at me seductively.

"No, you come with me, these two have great synergy, and I wouldn't want you to mess up their combos if you went with them. Besides you're the weakest link to this party." Hecct instantly denied him.

"Tsk! I just got unlucky all because of a rock! Let me at least redeem myself and show my cool side to these girls!"

"You can do that at the boss fight later. Let's go. The faster we finish the dungeon the better the rewards."

He pulled his friend away from us and went straight to the left path. If I remember correctly, that path is annoyingly full of traps. I guess he's still helping us in any way he can, what a kind-hearted guy.

"Looks like we're on our own again. The cave is dark so there might be other ambushes from monsters. Keep your cool and don't be scared of enemies that might get close to you." I coached her.

"I'll be fine. I won't be scared if I'm with you 'cause I know you'll always protect me." She smiled at me innocently.

What the hell?! Honestly, is she doing this on purpose? At this rate, I will die of a heart attack before we even arrive at the boss fight. Is she secretly the last boss of this dungeon or something? I swear she's more dangerous than the monsters were about to face in here.

After a brief moment of calming down and recovering from the critical hit I just received, we headed straight to the right path. As expected, the path was straightforwardly easy, only monsters like goblins, wolves, and hobgoblins were there. Our synergy is also constantly improving since we have been playing together for the past week, resulting in an easy monster genocide. The only thing that poses a little bit of a challenge is the gargoyle at the end of the path that holds the key. It was tanky and my dagger was not able to pierce its stone hide. We were able to beat it quite handily though with Clarissa's spells and me aggroing it and acting as a dodge tank while doing some chip damage with my staff.

"Good work, you're improving quite fast." I praised Clarissa.

"It's all thanks to you for teaching me. But I think it's still not enough. I'm still nowhere as good as you right?"

"You're advancing at a good pace. No one starts off good at something, you just need time and experience playing the game, and I'm sure you could catch up to me in no time." I gave her an encouraging smile.

"R-right! I'll do my best to not let you down." She replied resolutely.

We backtracked to the large locked door from where we came. When we arrived, there was no one there quite yet. After waiting for a short minute or two, our other 2 party members arrive.

Hecct

Hp: 84%

Xeno (poisoned)

Hp: 12%

Xeno's health is very low probably due to the poison. He likely was hit by some traps. He's a bit slow and inattentive so it's more than plausible. Good thing we finished early or he might have died in a couple of minutes. This is one of the main reasons why having a healer is very crucial at parties.

"Oh, good timing! I thought we would have to wait for a bit. Can you cure Xeno? He's been badly poisoned." Hecct requested.

"What happened?" Clarissa asked worriedly.

"I told him earlier before the dungeon run to bring a temporary buckler for him to be able to block the poison arrow traps but he didn't listen."

"'The Lightning Demon Slasher' doesn't need any shield! Shields will only slow down my lightning-fast moves and reflexes! I only rely on my dodging skills. I was just a bit distracted so I got hit that's all." Xeno reasoned.

Hecct sighed

After casting a cure spell on him,(wherein he thanked me rather flirtatiously at that) I healed the team to full health in preparation for the boss. We then proceeded to use our respective keys to unlock the door.

"Are you guys ready?" Hecct asked in confirmation.

"Y-yes!"

"I'm always ready."

"...Ready."

Creeeaaaaaak*

The giant door to the boss room opened.