บท 4: The challenge
"So that's how it is," Tom said to himself, staring at the animation of the dead monsters disappearing. The bodies of wargs, orcs and battle-caterpillars littered the floor of the cave. And one by one, they were diffusing into a mist of particles, before disappearing altogether.
"Well, I should be far ahead," Tom muttered, resting his back against the wall. For others, an invasion type of dungeon was a contest of endurance. The longer one would hold against the monsters, the more points he or she could rack. For Tom, though, this was a race.
'Even with the penalty, I can hardly imagine a brawler like her scoring so much so quickly,' Tom thought. His eyes wandered over the clean floor of the cave, devoid of any corpses.
'It would be dangerous to keep going,' Tom thought before turning around. For the very first time since he entered the dungeon, Tom withdrew.
'Still, I really pushed myself to the limits here,' Tom thought as his lips trembled, creating a small smirk. "It would be too dangerous to keep going. Let's call it a day." Tom said to himself, starting his retreat.
Right now, he already scored all the points he wanted. His challenge now laid in breaking out of the dungeon before the other party would make up by still fighting. 'And then there is the penalty,' Tom whined in his thoughts.
The young man didn't belong to any guild. He didn't have a dedicated class for that very reason. Or, to be more precise, Tom never joined the guild because he couldn't afford to lose the classless status of his avatar.
But in the current scenario, his lack of class forced him to use this specific tactic to win against his opponent.
"I should be near the exit," Tom muttered under his breath, continuing his jog. He saw the system of the caves only once, but that didn't stop him from finding his way back without fail.
Tom reached the third cave he cleared before. It was the first intersection, with over two caves connected by tunnels. And it was here, where Claudia's avatar continued to bash the low-level monsters to their deaths.
"Ha! Get some!" The girl merrily rushed from one monster to another. Her armor-covered gloves wreaked havoc among the invading monsters.
'Huh?' Tom thought mindlessly, standing in the entrance's shadow. 'She cleared the caves ahead? Or?' Tom thought before a wave of surprise and relief shook his body.
'Or is this where she was going to complete the entire challenge?' Tom posed the daring question. His hand involuntary traveled upwards. His body knew before Tom accepted the reality with his mind.
Tom's palm covered his face. 'And that's what I was worried about?' Tom thought with disappointment. 'With how much I heard about her,' Tom recounted before his lips pursed.
"Oh, hey!" Claudia suddenly shouted. "What are you doing here?" She asked, burying her fist into yet another monster.
"Eh?" Tom sighed in response, before making his way towards the tunnel in the back of the cave. "I'm finishing the challenge?" Tom answered the girl's question, not bothering to stop in his tracks.
Tom sank into the passage. It seemed like the girl attempted to say something back, but the thick stone of the tunnel didn't allow the sound to spread properly.
'Well, even if she wanted to say something,' Tom thought while turning his head around and shaking it, 'it doesn't matter at all.'
Soon, the young man reached the entrance of the cave. Then he stood right in the middle, stretching his hands as he went.
"Recover," Tom said lightly. And in a flash, the surrounding caves disappeared, replaced by the familiar whiteness of the lobby. And right beside Tom, Claudia stood in her fighting stance.
"Huh?" This time, it was Claudia's turn to breathe in and out in an attempt to control her reaction. "So you didn't joke back then," she said, staring daggers at Tom.
"And why would I joke?" Tom asked, shrugging his arms. He rolled his eyes before raising his head. "See you on the other side." Tom bid his farewells, not waiting for the response of the girl at all.
"This guy," Claudia muttered in a soft voice, as strange energy manifested in her eyes. She then tightened her knuckles in an empty attempt at letting her rage out.
"Well, there is no point in getting angry," Claudia said, releasing all the air from her lungs. "Recover." Claudia used the standard command to log out of the game. According to the lore, a godly force was recovering their avatars and bringing them back to the heavens where they resided while the players were offline.
Flush.
The sound of the liquid escaping the container was the first thing Claudia heard. She pushed her eyelids open before shaking her head to get rid of the liquid remaining on her face.
She slid out of the coffin, quickly dressing her outer clothes up. Even though she had a morally proper suit for the playing, she never got used to it, opting for the typical pajamas approach.
"Let's see the results!" Claudia encouraged herself, pulling her secondary card from the machine. Once the connection between the two was lost, the entire connecting station went offline.
By the time Claudia reached the counter, her opponent was already there. His face looked bored as if he already knew the outcome. But that was impossible, as both their cards still rested on the counter!
"Please, take your cards. The funds are already added to your accounts." The metallic voice of the AI said.
Claudia quickly grabbed her card before silently watching the counter. When compared to her, Tom didn't appear to be in a hurry at all. Lazily picking his card, he then smiled at Claudia.
"User five-five-four has won." The AI announced as soon as both of the cards disappeared from the counter.
"Huh?!" Claudia couldn't hold her shout of surprise. As if expecting it, the young man who she challenged turned his card in his fingers, tapping at the number engraved at its bottom.
554.
The exact serial number of his card.
The five hundred fifty-fourth player to ever enter Dungeons Online.
"I will bring you to the raid tomorrow. Be here at eleven in the morning." The man hid his card before walking away.
For a few more moments, Claudia stood still by the counter.
'He is a beta?' The girl forced herself to accept this reality. Because with such a low number, there was no way he wasn't one of them. It was better to leave it at that.
Because Claudia wasn't prepared to accept the possibility that she dared to challenge a damned alpha-version tester!
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