Three weeks later...
During the course of three weeks, many things had happened. Fat and I were living our lives as usual, just like ordinary people in this new world. Every day, we would take on tasks in the guild to sustain our livelihood. Most of the tasks we did were ordinary and easy.
During this period, one of our classmates had disappeared. It was suspected that Razor, a member of the Support group and a loner in our school, was the one who vanished.
We rarely met Sora as well because he was busy with his work alongside the Hero group. They were undertaking various dangerous tasks and returning with great success. They were becoming well-known not only in the Human country but also in other nations.
We also discovered another scheme by Jones, the leader of the Guardian group. His aim was not only to control all the members of the Guardian group but he had also taken a portion of the money given by King Alex to us. King Alex had given 3000 gil to the Heroes and 2500 gil to the members of the Hero group. Meanwhile, the Guardian group was supposed to receive 2000 gil each, and the Support group was supposed to receive 1500 gil. However, Jones only gave us 800 gil after the wolf hunting exam. He had taken a significant amount of money from us, and what was surprising was that none of the Guardian group members knew about it. We only found out through Sora, as if someone was hiding this information.
In the Demon King's palace...
A meeting between the Demon King and all the Demon Lords was about to take place. All the Demon Lords gathered inside the Demon King's palace, waiting for the arrival of the Demon King and the other Demon Lords.
The roundtable meeting was about to begin. In the Demon country, there were five Demon Lords appointed by the Demon King. They were appointed based on their power and influence.
"Arghhh! Why am I always early or are they always late?"
"Why are you shouting like that, Dylas?" Leon entered the meeting room.
"Leon!"
Suddenly, a wall behind Dylas shattered. Dylas was startled by the sight and shouted, "Arghhhhh!"
"Dylas, you never change, always screaming like that! Tehee!"
"You idiot, Pico! Of course, I would scream! And you, don't you know how to enter through a door?" Dylas exclaimed angrily.
"Hahaha! You never change, Dylas." Leon chuckled.
"Tehee! Just enter through the door slowly," Pico replied.
Then a woman entered through the door. "What's all this noise?"
"What's wrong with you, Dylas? How dare you sit on the table!"
"It's not my fault, Dolce. It's all because of this girl who broke the wall," Dylas replied.
"Quickly fix it, Pico!" Dolce said sternly.
"Alright! Alright! Don't be angry, Tehee!"
The broken wall returned to its original state after Pico used his magic.
"Now, only Vishnal and the Demon King haven't arrived yet," Leon said.
"Hey! Why did the Demon King suddenly call us?" Dylas asked.
"I heard rumors that the Hero has appeared," Leon answered.
"What! The Hero! Does Vishnal know about this? If he does!" Dylas was surprised.
"He must be searching for the Hero!" Pico added.
Everyone fell silent, pondering over this. Then Dolce spoke up, "It's not right!"
"What do you mean it's not right?" Dylas asked.
Suddenly, they all bowed, showing respect, as the Demon King arrived. "Sit down!" They all sat down upon hearing the Demon King's command.
"My Lord, why did you summon us here?" Leon asked. The Demon King then showed them pictures of the Heroes who had appeared in this world. "Heroes?"
"So these are the faces of the Heroes? Hahaha! They seem weak," Dylas commented.
"Who knows if they can even fight us later? Tehee!" Pico replied.
"Wait! Does that mean the Heroes have indeed appeared, which means Vishnal now..." Dolce asked.
"Yes! He must have known this news early, and he's probably in the Human country now," Leon answered.
"Arghhhh! How did he know this news before me, that blockhead?" Dylas scratched his head.
"I'm sure he's attacking the Human country. What should we do now, my Lord?" Dolce asked.
The Demon King spoke, "Let it be."
"Yes! That's right! As if Vishnal is so weak that he can be killed by those Heroes," Dylas replied.
"Let's wait for Vishnal's decision," Leon said.
They all smiled with anticipation.
____________________
Yokmir Forest...
Raqnid and Fat had just finished hunting goblins for their latest task. "Do we have enough of the items we need, Raqnid?" Fat asked.
"Yes! Now we can go back," Raqnid replied.
Three weeks had passed, and Jones hadn't called us for any tasks. That was a relief for us. The Hero group was also becoming stronger than before.
I also obtained a new title, 'Normal Archer.' Now, I understood a bit more about the system of 'titles' and 'jobs' in this world.
'Titles' are acquired after someone successfully meets certain criteria. After obtaining a 'title,' a person will gain passive skills or abilities from that 'title.' Only one of the two benefits, or sometimes none at all, may be gained from a 'title.' I'm not sure if a 'title' can provide both benefits because neither Fat nor I have ever received such a 'title.'
On the other hand, 'jobs' represent a person's main area of expertise. If someone has the 'swordsman' job, the system will display all the skills and passive abilities that can be learned by leveling up in the 'swordsman' job. Each skill and passive ability will be locked until the person reaches the required level for that skill or ability. Not all 'swordsmen' have the same skills and passive abilities. Education and experience influence their skills and abilities. Skills are also divided into several tiers, ranging from 'E' to 'SSS.' The higher the tier, the stronger and more impressive the skill or ability.
'Titles' also influence skills and passive abilities. The more titles a person has, the more skills and passive abilities they possess. Great titles also affect the level of skills and passive abilities acquired. For example, if a Hero obtains the title of Hero, the skills and passive abilities they gain will have high and powerful levels. That's why they are stronger than those without the Hero title.
People like me and Fat who don't have titles only possess low-level skills and passive abilities. Most of them are only at C and D levels. After obtaining more powerful titles, the level of skills and passive abilities we acquire increases. For example, Fat already has a B-level skill after obtaining a new title. I, on the other hand, have a high-level passive ability, which is the A-ranked 'Backstab' that I acquired from the beginning.
Backstab [Passive] [A]
-10x damage
If I successfully perform a backstab, my attack power becomes ten times stronger. It is a powerful passive ability, but it's challenging to execute. I need to attack the enemy from behind. Besides that, I have other skills that I haven't used yet. 'Mana Burst' is a skill I obtained from the "Mana Of Bow," the bow I currently use. The level of this skill is still unknown.
Mana Burst [Skill] [???]
-Using all the mana the user has
This skill will deplete all of my 'mana' or magical energy until it's completely gone. This skill may seem powerful, but it has a severe drawback. If someone runs out of 'mana,' they will faint, and worse, they won't be able to move until their mana is replenished. It complicates the situation during battles. So, I will use this skill at the right time and place.
"Hey, Raqnid, don't we have to go to the castle today?" Fat asked.
"Yes! All the groups have to gather at the castle because there's a visitor from the Elf country. They say we will cooperate with them," Raqnid replied.
"Well, in that case, let's go now! We'll go to the guild later," Fat suggested.
"Okay!"
Both of them headed towards the castle. On their way, they heard a loud explosion. The massive explosion could be seen from afar, startling everyone.
"Hey! What's that?" Fat wondered.
"I don't know! Maybe there's a small skirmish going on. Let's just go," Raqnid replied.
"Small? That doesn't look small at all!"
Boom! One after another, explosions occurred. People scattered, trying to flee from the blasts.
In the area of the explosions...
"Hahaha!" a person laughed amidst the chaos, his face concealed by a hoodie.
"What are you doing?" a guard questioned the person. Then, the hooded figure set fire to all the stalls in the area, causing people to run for their lives.
"Where are you all running, humans?" the person unleashed his magical power towards the fleeing crowd. The magical force caused massive explosions, instantly killing dozens of people.
Many soldiers attempted to attack the figure, but in an instant, they all perished from the subsequent explosions.
The figure randomly shot his magic towards the buildings in the area, one explosion after another, killing people and demolishing the marketplace.
"Heroes! Where are you? I, Demon Lord Vishnal, have come to play with you all."
Then, Vishnal flew into the air, creating a large portal. From within the portal, monsters started emerging one by one, wreaking havoc on the city.
It didn't end there; more portals appeared throughout the city, summoning powerful monsters. The soldiers in the area couldn't withstand the onslaught of the monsters called forth by Vishnal.
"Feel the power of Demon Lord Vishnal, humans! Hahaha!"
_____________
"Hey! Hey! Those round things in the air are releasing monsters!" Fat shouted.
Raqnid was stunned, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
"Raqnid! Look at that little girl!" Fat exclaimed after seeing a crying girl pleading
for help.
Unconsciously, Raqnid's legs moved on their own towards the girl.
"Don't worry, kid! I'll save you."
"Boom!"
"Raqnid, behind you!"
Quickly, Raqnid caught the girl and evaded the attack of a giant spider leaping towards him.
Fat, without hesitation, attacked the giant spider. "Raqnid, run and save the girl first!"
Raqnid ran with the girl to a safer place while Fat continued fighting the giant spider to allow the civilians to escape.
"Ha! I never thought spiders could be so terrifying up close," Fat muttered as he held his ground while waiting for Raqnid.
After bringing the girl to safety, Raqnid swiftly returned to help Fat. Fat appeared to be in a difficult situation, struggling against the giant spider.
As the spider launched an attack on Fat, he was nearly hit due to his slowing movements caused by exhaustion. Just in time, Raqnid shot an arrow towards the spider, causing its attack to miss.
"Fat, are you okay?" Raqnid shouted.
"Yeah, I'm okay."
Raqnid released as many fiery arrows as possible towards the spider, but his attacks had no effect.
"Hey, Raqnid, these spiders aren't as weak as we thought," Fat said.
Raqnid contemplated how to kill the monster spider. "What can I do?" Suddenly, an idea popped into his mind.
"Fire!"
Raqnid's eyes scanned the surroundings.
"Fat, grab that barrel from the nearby shop and throw it at the spider!"
"Huh?"
"Just do what I say!"
Without further questioning, Fat picked up the barrel and hurled it towards the spider. The barrel shattered upon impact.
"Alcohol!"
The barrel Fat threw was filled with alcohol. The alcohol soaked the spider.
"Die!"
Raqnid shot a flaming arrow towards the spider. The fire engulfed the spider, causing it to writhe in pain.
"It stopped moving!" Fat exclaimed.
"It's dead?"
"I think after this, I won't play MMORPG anymore."
You have leveled up!
You have leveled up!
You have leveled up!
You have leveled up!
You have leveled up! x5
"I leveled up!" Raqnid and Fat were surprised to see their levels increase so much. This had never happened to them before.
"Hey, what level were those spiders? I leveled up a lot," Fat said.
Although they had managed to defeat the giant spiders earlier, they were not happy because they were shocked to realize that the monster they had just killed was incredibly powerful. If they had made a slight mistake, their lives would have been in danger.
They looked at the chaotic city, still filled with powerful monsters. Both of them swallowed nervously.
"Hey, Raqnid, what should we do now? We were lucky with those spiders! How are we going to fight against other monsters?"
"Well, I miss home," Fat began to realize that this world was more challenging than their original world.
"It's better if we go to the guild first. There are many strong hunters there," Raqnid replied.
"Yeah, okay!"
They both hurried to the guild. When they arrived, they saw other hunters struggling to fight against the monsters.
______________
In the palace...
"Where are Raqnid and Fat? They haven't arrived yet!" Goug said.
"I don't know! Jones is about to lose it," Kiel replied.
"Did they forget?" Nancy asked.
All the Hero and Support groups had already gathered in the palace. Only Fat and Raqnid were still missing. Jones was starting to lose patience, not wanting to be seen as incapable of taking care of his team members.
"Why did they call us here?"
"I heard there's a special guest from the Elf country."
The Hero group was surrounded by many curious onlookers. Ray, as usual, had a crowd of women around him.
"Oh, those are the newly recruited heroes," Carlos said.
"Pfft! They look weak. I think I can easily defeat them," Rusk commented.
"Haha! Are you jealous? Because you're not as popular as them," Carlos replied.
"ARGGHH! You better shut your mouth, Carlos, before I strangle you."
"Where's that mage with the four elements?" Monica asked.
"The one wearing glasses and a blue robe," Carlos answered.
"What? That scheming kid! Why is it always the powerful mages who never seem to be handsome?" Monica complained.
"Why haven't the representatives from the Elf country arrived yet? It's been almost an hour!" Blaise questioned.
Suddenly, a soldier rushed towards them in a hurry.
"What's happening? Where are the representatives from the Elf country?" Blaise asked.
"The c...city...is...under...attack..."
The soldier struggled to answer.
"Relax! Relax!" Carlos said.
The soldier took a breath and then said, "Our city...it's under attack!"
"Attacked? By whom?" Rusk shouted.
"A man destroyed the marketplace, then he summoned monsters from a large circle. He claimed to be Demon Lord Vishnal," the soldier explained.
"Vishnal!" Monica bit her lip.
"Now the entire city is filled with A-level monsters."
"A-level," many were surprised to hear that news.
"Summoning monsters...that's definitely Demon Lord Vishnal's forbidden power," Blaise spoke up.
Most of Raqnid's classmates felt uneasy. They had never fought against monsters above C-level before.
They all ran towards the palace exit. From a distance, they could see that the country's city had been severely attacked. It looked like a nest of monsters.
"Hey! Hey! Is this for real
?"
Ray stepped forward and questioned Blaise and his group.
"What do we do now?"
"Alright! Everyone, calm down!" I will explain what we need to do," Blaise replied.
"We are going to confront the Demon Lord!" Blaise said with a serious expression.