*sigh . . . "Let's go. This part of the map is a dead end. We're wasting time here." Ren said and turned to leave.
Leonel placed his hands on the back of his head. "Too bad. I kinda enjoyed when those players vanished, though." He snickered and followed Ren from behind.
While Isolde took one last look at the two dark elves guarding the only entrance into their lands. Her big eyes were shining and full of admiration. Those two were strong, and they were kinda . . . cool.
She was also an Elf, and she was thinking if she could change her race into a Dark Elf.
"Is it possible to become like them one day?" Isolde asked when she caught up to Ren and Leonel.
"Who? Those two dark elves?" asked Leonel.
Isolde nodded, and Leonel smacked his fist on his palm. "Right, you're an elf too."
He then looked at Ren and asked, "Ren, you know about this stuff. Is it possible for her to change race?"
Ren grumbled under his breath when Isolde and Leonel looked at him with shining, expectant eyes.
". . . Yes."
"Oh!"
Both Leon and Isolde couldn't contain their grin.
"Then how about me? Is there another race for dwarves? Like a dwarf-dwarf?"
Ren raised a brow. "Dwarf-dwarf?
"You know, like a smaller dwarf!"
Ren stifled a laugh. "You still wanted to be small?"
"If there's a chance that I can be smaller still, then I'll take it."
"You should have told me that you wanted to be a bug in the first place. They're the smallest living things in this world."
Isolde laughed, and Leonel whined.
"You know what I'm talking about."
The three chatted their way towards Gargantuan Cave and stopped when they noticed that something was amiss.
Ahead, there were players surrounding the cave entrance, barging other players from taking a step forward.
"What's going on?" Isolde asked a player nearby.
The player's face was dark. "Those bunch wanted to monopolize Gargantuan cave and wouldn't let others inside!" he complained.
Ren looked over at the group that the player was pointing to and recognized some of their faces.
It was the Poison Viper guild — a group of rugged tugs who would do anything to get ahead of the others. Though the guild feature wasn't introduced yet, some players had already formed their guilds and groups to take advantage of their numbers.
Like this for instance where Poison Viper used their numbers to threaten other players and gain dominance over the game.
Their Leader, Vein, was a notorious player. Despite his level in the past, top-tier equipment, and exceptional skills, his questionable character was the stuff of legend.
Such an act of taking over an entire leveling field was only the tip of the iceberg. And even this early, they were already causing trouble for everyone, especially the newbies who couldn't content with their numbers.
Everyone could probably take them on if there were only ten of them. However, they were more than twenty, and more were joining their guild for the reason that some newbies didn't want to make them an enemy. They could finally grind in the area in peace by joining a much stronger force.
If you couldn't defeat them, then join them. Ren thought and shook his head in dismay.
Their numbers surrounded the cave's only entrance, and it was impossible to enter without a confrontation.
"What should we do?" Leonel asked. He was starting to get worried.
"Should we alert the game about this?" said Isolde.
Ren didn't reply. Alerting the developers or customer service about this behavior wouldn't bore any fruit since this was allowed. COVENANT was a guild-driven game, and the developers greatly welcomed anything that would encourage the players, whether good or bad, to join a guild.
Ren thought for a second. This was troublesome since he wanted to avoid PvP battles this early on. But there was another way if they waited . . .
"Hey."
Ren and the others' attention flicked to an Orc who was approaching their direction.
The Orc was the same height as Ren leaning on the leaner side with green skin. His pointy ears were small, his nostrils big, and his sharp teeth below protruded from his lips. And the most eye-catching was his light blue hair that was tied with a bone, drawing his fringe away from his broad head.
Orcs were the most hideous out of the races but they pact a punch like the beast. Not many chose this race because of their appearances, and most players only chose it because their guild asked them to change race so they could have an Orc in their guild. This was to ensure that their guild had all the races if there was a race-related quest.
Ren, Isolde, and Leonel shifted their heads to see if the Orc had a companion beside them. But it seemed like the Orc's business was with them.
Ren juggled his memory if he knew the green-skinned Orc but failed.
Although he had this nagging feeling that the Orc was very familiar, especially with that protruding light blue hair and frosty eyes of his.
"I'm talking to you," the Orc said as soon as he was in front of Ren and the others.
Leonel pointed at himself. "Me?"
The Orc nodded. "We met a while ago. At Gargino Restaurant," he said, eyeing Ren and Leonel.
". . ."
". . ."
Ren took a step back and gasped. "R-Ragnar Axis?"
Ragnar nodded. "Yes. I supposed that everyone knows my name."
"You know him?" Leonel asked Ren.
"He's that blue-haired guy a while ago together with that blonde lady."
Leonel's expression told that his brain was still loading before he finally recognized Ragnar. He then swept Ragnar repeatedly with his eyes from the man's toes up to the tip of his hair.
Leonel's mouth dropped. "T-that pretty boy turned into this! Why?! What?! HOW did that happen?! Why did you choose that race?!"
Ragnar just raised a brow at Leonel's question. "I don't want to hear it from a giant who chose to be a dwarf."
"Ragnar. Is that really you?" Isolde asked, squinting her big eyes at the Orc.
Ragnar nodded. "Yes. It's me, Isolde. Nice meeting you too. I wasn't going to approach them, but I noticed that you're in their group."
"You knew each other?" Leonel asked Isolde.
Ragnar and Isolde both nodded their heads at the same time.
"We're sometimes brought by our parents when they discuss business," Ragnar said simply.
"Anyway," cut in Ren, "How are you inside the game when you were still in the restaurant a while ago?"
Ren thought that Ragnar and Silvia had a date. Shouldn't date at least last the whole night?
"Ah, I guess you're curious about it." Ragnar tilted his hips and crossed his hands. His gestures were elegant and refined, which didn't match his looks and build.
"After my lunch with Silvia, I went home," Ragnar answered without care.
Ren expected that there was no love between the two of them since most rich people married their fellow rich group. Marriage was a business transaction. But still, how could he be so fast?
Like he understood Ren's thoughts, Ragnar added, "I owned multiple apartments in the city. I have one near Highland Mall."
. . . Rich people. Ren thought, slightly shaking his head. The veins on his head had been pounding like crazy ever since he returned in the past. His mind was crammed with all the ideas on how to uplift their life and buy his parents a mansion in Zone A's exclusive neighborhood.
But soon, he would suffer headaches on a different matter entirely –– about where to sleep from his long list of apartments.
The thought put a slight grin on Ren's lips.
"Anyway," Ragnar changed the topic, "Do you want to enter Gargantuan Cave?"
"Yes. Why?" Leonel asked.
For the first time, Ragnar's cold face gave way to a small smile . . . though his smile was terrifying in an Orc's body.
"I want to join you, of course."
Ren and Leonel looked at each other.
". . . Huh?"
"I want to join you, of course."
Ren and Leonel looked at each other.
". . . Huh?"
What was wrong with rich people nowadays? Ren thought. Don't they have friends that they would rather play with?
"Don't you have friends that you would rather play with?" Leonel asked, and Ren looked to the side with a sigh.
"NO," Ragnar said, with a proud tilt of his head. "I'd rather play alone. But then I heard that Gargantuan Cave couldn't be entered solo. And since we have a common acquaintance, I think it's only right that I entered your group."
Ren didn't understand that logic but . . . the more, the merrier, he guessed.
And having an Orc in the group would increase their firepower.
"I'm okay with it, but it's up to Ren and Leonel. I'm just tagging along," Isolde said with a serious expression.
"I'm cool. I'll leave the decision to Ren." Leonel didn't mind another stranger in their group. Rather, he liked that he got to know new people.
On the other hand, Ren was just curious why Ragnar chose to be an Orc. He wasn't against the idea at all that Ragnar was joining them.
"It's fine by me. The more, the better." I guess. Ren mused to himself.
Isolde's tight face loosened.
Leonel jabbed an okay sign.
And Ragnar's stoic face remained impassive even after joining Ren's group. It felt like he didn't know how to smile.
His resting, no care face was worse than Ren's. Leonel thought with a snicker as he eyed Ren and Ragnar.
"I'm Ren, by the way."
"Leonel's the name."
"Ragnar," he said and then pointed at the cave without wasting any more time. "Do you have any idea how we can enter the cave, though?"
"It's fine," said Ren.
"What do you mean fine?" Ragnar questioned.
Ren pointed toward the other players. "Sooner or later, these players will have enough, and riot would ensue. Let's use that chance to enter by then."
"So all we have to do is wait?" asked Isolde.
Ren nodded. "This place attracted a lot of players, and soon another group would emerge and challenge those guys' tyranny."
"But . . . they might get first blood." Leonel bit his thumb, looking worried at the cave.
"Don't worry. Bosses in caves and dungeons couldn't be defeated easily," reassured Ren.
"You seem to be confident with your words." Ragnar faced Ren. "Are you a beta tester?"
"Is that important?" Ren didn't want to be hostile with Ragnar. He might be a customer in the future, after all.
Ragnar shook his head. "No."
Isolde smiled and asked Ragnar, "I'm curious, though. Why did you choose an Orc out of all the races?"
"Yeah," seconded Leonel. "Didn't you regret it that you've ruined your pretty face?"
". . ."
Ragnar didn't answer.
There was silence lingering between the group until Ragnar took in a breath and said with a serious face and voice when Ren and the others looked at him with expectant eyes.
"The only reason I entered this game is because of this race. I wanted to look hideous and escape that hellish life I have in the real world.
"In this appearance, I don't suffer from all sorts of threats and blackmails. I wasn't drowning with gifts and letters every day. NO stalker was following me all around, and I could safely sleep and shower at night. I could finally eat and drink with a peace of mind that I wasn't consuming aphrodisiacs or love potions.
"Being ugly is what I longed for," said Ragnar with a resolute face and voice. "Being an Orc let me experience a new life without being chased, mobbed, and groped! This is the life that I longed!"
Ren was speechless.
Isolde's mouth dropped.
While Leonel just nodded in understanding. He tapped a hand over at Ragnar's shoulder. "I get you. Same thing as me. I chose a dwarf because I was a giant in the real world."
Ren was starting to get dizzy. He guessed that pretty boys have their own problems.
"Who gave you the right to barricade this place?!"
Their attention was stolen by a loud voice that rang deep like a gong. Meters from where they stood, a new group emerged.
It was a player with a Beast class. He had a tiger's ears and tail. A robust hairy body with bulky pecks, paws and sharp claws. He was leading a group of ten more players behind him.
Ren knew him anywhere. It was the guild leader of Roaring Tigers, Tor, and the sworn enemy of Poison Viper.
While Poison Viper was notorious for its vile deeds, Roaring Tigers were famous for their gallant and heroic fits. Although both guilds didn't belong to the top ten, they were strong in their own rights.
Was this the start of the enmity between guilds? Ren wondered.
"Yeah, you seriously think that this is your territory?"
"Everyone, let's trash them!"
As Ren claimed, the already tense situation went out of control very quickly at the appearance of a stronger force while the newbies rallied behind their back.
Though nobody could really kill or hurt the other since it wasn't a PvP fight, they could still push and overpower each other out of the way from the cave's entrance.
Roaring Tigers drew their weapons and charged forward with the newbies rallying behind them. Faced with this threat, Poison Viper couldn't just stand there and watch. At Vein's command, all guild member of Poison Viper met their charging enemies.
The entire area erupted into chaos within seconds.
"This is our chance," Ren said and commanded Leonel, "use your skill [Dash and Slash].
"Right. Everyone stay close behind me. I'll use my overpowered strength and awesome defense to smash our way through."
"Just do it," Ren said with dead eyes and a voice.
"YaArRgh!" Leonel shouted a battle cry before he charged forward. The wooden shield he held that was the size of him glowed golden as he activated his skill [Dash and Slash].
Leonel sprinted five meters forward, and all that was in his way was pushed to the side, creating a path for Ren and the others to move.
When a group of newbies tried to block their way, Leonel swung his hammer, and everyone that attempted to barge his path was flung to the side, stunned for five seconds.
Leonel's ATP was already way ahead of the others who just joined a couple of hours ago. They were no match to him.
Even though no one suffered from HP reduction from the fight, players were still hurled to the side and toppled to the ground, as well as suffered some status effects like stun.
"Good. Keep doing it until we reach the entrance to the cave!" Ren said, and Leonel followed with ears perking up from Ren's compliment.
"Remember, don't touch the save crystal!" Ren warned as they neared the entrance of the cave.
"Stop them!" shouted Vein when he noticed a large chunk of his guild members were tossed in the air by Leonel's skill.
"T-they're too strong!" another member of the Poison Viper shouted with tears in his eyes.
Leonel led the charge with his unstopped skill and shield, while Ragnar protected Ren and Isolde from the backline with his giant axe and incredible strength. At the same time, Ren and Isolde supported the two at the center.
Vein clicked his tongue when he noticed that Ren's group was like him. Players who entered at the very opening of the game and gained enormous advantage over the others who were just starting. Else, Ren's group couldn't possibly manage to defeat all the newbies that were blocking their path.
"Useless bunch of morons! Do I have to do everything by myself?!" Vein charged in Ren's direction, attempting to stop them, when a massive half-beast tiger blocked him.
"And where do you think you're going?" Tor obstructed Vein's path.
"Move bitch!" Vein spat.
Tor just smirked. "Make me."
While Vein was occupied with Tor, no one stopped Ren and the others from entering the cave anymore. The newbies that were guarding the entrance even scurried away at the sight of them, afraid to be flung to the side by Leonel's shield.
As the chaos was still raging outside, Ren and the others had safely entered the cave.
However, they didn't stop running to catch their breath. They run deeper forward, heading straight to the Boss's room.
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