“Shh…. Don’t talk,” Alfred whispered, staring at the dozens of NPCs miffed by his appearance. A second later, A large bright arrow of light shot into the room and into the Queen beetle’s back. It instantly caused a massive HP bar to appear as a large splattering of light sparked off the queen’s giant horned body.
The Queen Beetle’s health bar instantly appeared with a small skull next to its name. All the doors shut as Alfred kicked his foot against the bark wall. A hole burst open before the dozens of NPCs ran out into the forest.
Alfred snidely smiled before Vera appeared with her shield and stopped a spear from crashing into his back. She shrieked before she brandished the sword in her hand and cut threw the legs and tibia of the beetle.
More and more beams of light flashed into the Queen Beetle as Lacy shot out more and more arrows to waylay its attention. Its health dropped to zero after 15 blows, and a mission clear prompt appeared in front of Alfred.
[mission complete!]
Time: 25 minutes and 30 seconds
Party Grade: A-
You’ve killed the queen beetle and stopped it from eating twenty nearby villagers. The beetles will not be able to survive without their queen… You’re not a bad group, but there has been a lot better.
You’ve learned the new passive skill: Water Tread, Novice
Skill Level:1
Effect: You will not be as slowed down when you run in the water. Your speed in swamps has increased by 5 percent…
You have acquired 1500 (+765) experience for completing the quest! You’ve leveled up to level 11 and 5 stat points were auto assigned!
‘Great… that experience actually wasn’t that bad,” Alfred mulled over his stats as Lacy and Vera reappeared in the small little bungalow with him. Vera had leveled up to level 16, and seemed to acquire a new shield. Lacy, on the other hand, hadn’t gained a single level and only got 500 experience. She still seemed content, however, a second later her face seemed to infuse a sense of rage.
“Alfred… We really need to talk… You mind taking me over to your house?” She said, looking at Vera… “When we’re back Vera… I promise to do another three missions with you…”
“I don’t mind, but please don’t do anything intimate when I’m not in the room… I don’t want you getting pregnant at such a young age, Lacy…”
Lacy shook her head before she stuck out her tongue. “He may have gotten it in the future, but it’s not going to be so easy for him this time,” Lacy retorted, her mouth scrunching up with disdain. “That was the future Lacy you told me about… She must have drunk too much at Prom.”
“I’m taking it you two already had time to talk about this,” Alfred got up from the table and headed towards the door before Lacy snatched his arm. “I’ll be back in twenty minutes Vera… We still have to talk about what happened earlier…”
“You mean about Grant… I don’t want to talk about tha—”
“That’s not what I mean, Vera…” Alfred looked at Lacy before he shook it off. “Never mind… Be right back…”
Of course you will, Vera thought sarcastically, watching the two of them leave. She could see a halo around those two as their arms touched. She opened up her chat window and found grant and sent him a message.
Chapter 11: Specialist
Alfred took Lacy into his room and slammed the door shut. He made sure Vera wasn’t looking inside as Lacy sat on the bed.
She took off her armor and a dress appeared on her body. A lot of the girls in Heaven’s Gate had invested in other clothes besides armor. In the shop, there was an option to buy from tailors. Lacy had clearly invested in a nice tailor because her black dress had sparkles on it that made it nearly impossible to take his eyes off her. She crossed her leg on his bed as he saddled up next to her.
“So, you wanted to talk to me?” Alfred said looking at Lacy in her glittering attire. Just by sitting down she’d turned the room five degrees hotter. HE tried not to stare at the cleavage that the dress made apparent. It had a v-cut neckline that barely hid her breasts. A smile appeared on her face as Alfred got caught staring down at her beautiful body.
“Yes, I had to talk to you about Green… He’s going to do something really stupid if you don’t knock some sense into him…” Lacy said, pushing her golden hair out of her face. “I… I know you don’t like him but…. you’re the only one that can talk any sense into him!”
“Oh… so that’s what you wanted to talk to me about,” Alfred replied disappointed. “I’ve only been in this game for five hours… and didn’t he try and use you like an object earlier…”
“You did the same thing Alfred,” Lacy tersely replied. She put her hand and locked her fingers between his. He immediately pulled away as he scornfully slammed his hand against the mattress.
“Damn it… you still liked him at seventeen didn’t you,” Alfred cursed under his breath. “What… are you telling me to help him because you secretly like him? You like a guy that treats girls like trash!”
“No… that would be stupid,” Lacy shook her head. She was unclear of how she felt, but she’d known both Green and Alfred since the third grade. She truthfully liked both of them, but her feelings were kind of hard to explain! Everyone was her age a few days ago, and now she was the little kid in the group! Her mind raced with thoughts as she tried to figure it out.
Alfred saw the dilemma on her face, and got up and screamed. “Fine, I’ll do what you want, but I’m only level 11… It’s not like I can get to level 35 overnight… What’s he going to do that’s so bad…”
“He wants to do a dream dungeon… We just found a Temple known as Star Landscape Temple…” Lacy opened up a map she had in her hand. “We literally spent two days getting to the dungeon and even found a few rare monster spawning spots…”
“However, he’s worried about Kin58 getting first clear… The top 5 guilds received a map to the dungeon from the Light Bringers… with five different trails to the dungeon… He would’ve went in already if it wasn’t for you…”
“So… what… you think a single message from me is going to slow him down?”
Lacy nodded her head as she put his hand on her lap. She grasped it between her fingers as tears starting to come out of her eyes. “I… I like both of you right now… and I Know this is selfish, but…. Just tell him you’ll let him power level you… If you do that, he’ll invest the time in you instead of killing himself….”
“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Alfred opened up his communication tab and typed in Green… He sent him a request as Lacy carefully let go of his hand. She wiped off the tears before Green appeared in the communication window. He appeared to be in the market in Larimar City. Green frowned as he saw Lacy sitting by his side, however, he blew out a stomach full of hot air before he said “What?”
“I’d like for you to power level me…” Alfred said, crossing his arms as he sat back on the bed. “However, that’s only if you accept Vera into your guild…I’m afraid that this guy Grant has a thing for her…”
“You’re asking for a lot, but I’ll give her a slot… However, I don’t plan on doing Normal missions to power level you… The only way to get you to my level quickly is to do level 30 dungeons… You good at sneaking?”
Alfred nodded his head as Lacy piped up. “Wait, I thought you said you wouldn’t take any risks with Alfred joining the guild… If you make him do level 30 missions, he’ll get one shot… Even if we give him the best armor… and give him blessings… he’ll last perhaps two attacks!”
“Lacy… this is his decision… I can’t risk losing the first Dream Dungeon… the lands outside of the cities are nearly endless… without a map… it would’ve taken years to find a dream dungeon! The Light Bringers didn’t exactly want to make them easy to find…”
“Just send me the request and don’t tell Vera…” Alfred said, “However, the only way that’s going to work is if we have a good cover… She made me promise I’d only do party missions w
ith her, and I don’t think she’s changing her mind anytime soon..”
“She’s already leaving,” Lacy pointed at the window… “I guess this works out perfectly… She’s probably not to happy that you took me to your—”
“Enough… things worked out great then,” GREen said, a smile appearing on his face. “I was already going to power level the guild, however, with you in tow things will be much easier… We’ll do the dream dungeon tomorrow regardless of it you can make it to level 25 or not…”
Alfred nodded as Green closed the message. He received a message from Vera a second later saying she was going to go meet Grant in the city. He still felt the feeling from her lips tingling on his face as Lacy switched out into her armor. She tossed an item out of her inventory as Alfred stared up at the ceiling while touching his lips.
“That’s the best level 10 armor you’re ever going to wear,” Lacy said, “One of the blacksmiths in Green Everest maxed out its upgrades with an extra 50 defense… It’s a lightweight set that includes gloves, and has an extra +15 vitality… Put it on…”
Alfred sighed before Green sent him a message telling him to quit his guild. There was a direct chat box that appeared on the bottom of his vision. He opened the guild window and left Chaos Road. A second later, he got another message from Green.
Green: Good… I’m glad you quit… However, what’s gotten into your head… did Lacy force you to join?
Alfred: Turns out you’re an idiot… Just send me the guild request to Green Everest…
Green: so Lacy complained to you… Don’t think this means we’re friends… I just need your abilities… After we complete the Dream dungeon… you can quit…
Alfred: Invite me already!
You have been invited to join Green Everest!
Guild rank 4th
There is 158 / 160 people in the guild… Would you like to enter into the peak of the world and stop living in the shadows?
‘That’s even more corny than the last message… I can’t believe I’m accepting this.’
You’ve joined Green Everest!
You’ve been promoted to specialist!
“Welcome to the guild…” Lacy said, slapping him on the leg… “Thank you for doing this… however, you’re going to stay behind me at all times or Vera’s going to kill me…”
“You’re acting like I don’t have anyone I want to bring back to life… Tell me a little bit more about Dream dungeons… I thought they’d be easier to get too…”
Lacy shook her head before she began to explain the truth of Dream Dungeons. Hard dungeons and even Hell Dungeons could be accessed through the menu. However, Dream Dungeons were out of the cities in various ruins in the planet.
The first City Alfred had seen when he joined the game was probably a Dream Dungeon. There were only five Dream dungeons that had been hinted out in missions on the forum, and only one that had actually been truly found. That meant that even if they found all the dream dungeons, they could only bring 40 people to life in Heaven’s Gate.
Alfred took this information in and tried to parc it in its head. He knew Green always regretted his sister dying in a car crash, and he most likely wanted to bring her back. However, he imagined that the survival rate in these dungeons wasn’t very high. It was almost like the Light Bringers were dangling a carrot in front of their heads just to whack them with it later.
“So… is there any news about the other four guilds… Have any of them tried it yet?”
“Not yet… We’re the first ones to get to the Temple… we took quite a few risks to get their first…’ Lacy said, “However, are you really not mad at me… You know what… I shouldn’t be making you do this… It’s crazy that you’re going to do hard dungeons with Green.”
“I also have someone I Want to bring back to life…” Alfred cracked his knuckles and got up… “So… how do I do a level 30 dungeon?”
Lacy smiled and clicked on her inventory. She quickly put back on her armor. Her florid bra appeared in Alfred’s vision for just a second as he blushed seeing her pearl skin shimmer as the new armor appeared. Lacy saw him blushing and leaned in and stopped right in front of his lips. Turning her head to the side, she closed her eyes and slowly stopped an inch from his face.
Alfred pulled her into and locked his lips against hers. His hand slid into her hair as her surprisingly heavy body dropped with her cuirass pressed against his skin. Her two bangled arms fell back as a heat traveled between the two of them. At this time, A knock came at the door.
Chapter 12: Carnage MOuntain
Alfred opened the door as Green strolled in with Six men. Five of them he recognized, including Berk, but one them was a lady clad in silver armor. She happened to be level 34, and he recognized her name from the rankings. She was ranked 10 and was three spots underneath Green. The top 10 seemed to be fighting for the first rank. Alfred welcomed them in before they all stood awkwardly in the small, cramped space.
“This place looks like a dump,” The girl in silver armor said, “is this the one that really beat Green in a fight?”
“Yup, he took him out, but it was a good fight!” Berk entered the conversation… “So what… we invite him to the party, and then we do a guild Dungeon?”
“You okay with that, Alfred?” Green said, sitting on the bed and crossing his arms. “I promise with the seven of us… you’ll be completely safe… However, you’re the one who wanted to join, correct?”
“I’m only doing this because I’m an idiot, and Lacy convinced me you are too,” Alfred said in response, “Now… send the invite already…”
You’ve been invited to go on a guild mission, Carnage Mountain (Hell dungeon)
A large city was found underneath Hermia Kingdom and thousands of fossils have come to life… If you’re brave enough to enter into the old city, your reward will be as big as their teeth…
Reward: Steel Saw Cape (Middle rare), Shadow construct, lvl 1
It is not recommended to join this mission… are you stupid enough to accept?
Alfred clicked accept… The snide remark didn’t stop him, nor did the image he saw of Vera’s face when she heard what he did. He reappeared in a deep crevice with thousands of corpses inlaid in the rocks. He immediately jumped to the side as a set of blades burst past him. Green retaliated and sent his blade towards Alfred’s side as he brandished out with his spear. He instantly destroyed the warrior lurking in their shadows.
“He’s really not bad,” The silver garbed lady commented, holding up her hands and making a triangle. A second later, a strange barrier appeared around Alfred on all sides.
The lady in silver cast [Triple Shield]. She was a higher level Defender that Green brought to protect Alfred. Sweat dripped down Alfred’s forehead as he regained his balance. Lacy immediately looked sick as she stared forward at Green. A look of confusion appeared over her glazed eyes.
“I thought you promised a safe dungeon…” Lacy said, “I’ve never seen a monster appear in the beginning of a dungeon before… What was that Green!”
“This is the safest Hell dungeon I’ve heard of! I spent an entire thirty minutes on the forum looking for information on this… All we have to do is clear out all the monsters and the boss will immediately lock onto the highest leveled player in our group…”
“It was either this dungeon or a boss dungeon where they specialize in AOE attacks…”
Alfred held up his hand to indicate he was fine. Lacy calmed down but grabbed at Alfred’s wrist and dragged him by her side. The six men split up with Berk and Green each going in a separate direction. Lacy stayed with the Guardian as beams of light started spreading out into the field. There job was to keep Alfred safe while they cleared the zombie bandits, and warriors that had appeared from within a tomb.
The three of them sat down by the entranceway as Alfred began to shiver. The idea that one hit from that monster would’ve taken his life contaminated him with a lingering fear. If he hadn’t instantly reacted becaus
e of his training, his life would’ve vanished into thin air. Lacy held his hand before she turned to stare at Green.
The guardian sighed before she introduced herself. “ugh, you two are cute… I’m Wanda by the way… not the most exciting name, but you don’t need one to be a guardian.”
“He knows already… He can see it hovering above your head,” Lacy replied, gripping his hands harder… “Make sure you take a good look at her Alfred… She’s Green’s girlfriend…”
“Oh, well… he did a good job… What did you find to like about him?” Alfred said sarcastically. “I’m having trouble believing its really him… What happened to him between twenty and twenty-three.”
“Maturity,” Wanda replied, turning to Green as he tore through two zombie bandits with a single swipe. A prompt came up saying 85 / 100 foes remained. “He’s four years older than you now… and six years older than you Lacy…”
“He still seems the same… just a little bit nicer,” Alfred got up and stretched. “Well… I hope he treats you better than he treated his other 100 girlfriends… I swore… Lacy was the one he ever stayed with for more than a day….”
“He has more than enough to satisfy him,” Wanda dragged her hands against her body… “However, I’d like you to know how much he talked about you before you arrived. He kept saying if only Alfred was here… we’d be the top guild!”
Lacy leaned her head against his shoulder and said, “It’s true.” Alfred couldn’t grasp what he was looking at. Green took out nearly fifty of the hundred Zombie Bandits while his other two guild mates cleared the other half.
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