Kiaak!
The screams of dozens of goblins echoed through the cavern.
Mack ran with everything he had, trying to get as much distance away from the horde of goblins chasing him. Leo was tucked right under his arm; the little guy had long passed out from exhaustion after fighting dozens of enemies.
The boy cursed under his breath for his our carelessness. If only he had waited until the next day when they were more rested, or when they had achieved higher levels then perhaps things wouldn't have gone like they did. When the notification showing the suggested level appeared before him Mack simply scoffed and entered the Dungeon.
The suggested level was supposed to be the average of the levels from all the monsters inside a Dungeon, and worked as a type of guide to which players should attempt clearing it and who shouldn't, but, as it happens in every game, there were special cases where the suggested level wasn't accurate, or so Mack thought.
Since the Dungeon was so close to the starting Town there was no chance the Dungeon would be so difficult, and to makes matters worse he didn't even stop to check if there was any information on the Dungeon. These small mistakes were what led them to their actual situation.
The layout of the Dungeon was that of a series of narrow tunnels, filled with turns and dead ends. At the walls were many holes that were hidden by the natural darkness of the place, allowing the goblins to ambush their enemies without being seen. Both Mack and Leo had fallen prey to that tactic and fought like maniacs to try and escape, which they did, thankfully, but with the entire nest right behind them.
The boy made a sharp turn and found himself in a long corridor, a small arrow like mark scratched in the wall. Even while being cocky, Mack had been sensible enough to mark part of their path, which meant this tunnel lead to the exit.
A few more meters ahead and the entrance appeared in his sight. Mustering what amount of energy he had left in his legs Mack sprinted forward until he felt his feet crushing grass leaves.
The cold night wind hitting his face was another sign that he had left the cave, but he didn't stop. He kept on running, passing through bushes and branches, only stopping once he was sure he had exited the forest.
He knew monsters couldn't leave Dungeons, at least not under normal circumstances, but the Dungeon he had entered wasn't normal. Wild Dungeons were open in that regard, allowing monsters to come and go as they wished, making said places a large threat if the number of monsters were to rise too much.
Once he was sure that no more monsters were after them Mack lowered Leo in front of him, taking a good look at his body. The small cub's fur was filled with cuts, some deep others shallow, large spots with dirt and dried blood were also visible across his back and sides.
With a small movement of his hand the sleeping cub turned into light and returned to his card, he had fought bravely and deserved to rest. Mack, on the other hand, continued to walk down the grassy plains, the rising moon showering the land with her silver light.
Mack's thoughts were in turmoil during the entire trip back to town. He felt ashamed and angry at himself, but also kind of stupid after thinking things through. This was a game and he should be enjoying it; that was the reason why he entered it in the first place.
Arriving at the Town Gates he was shocked to see dozens of players organized in groups of 4 or 5, some bigger groups had 10 or 12 members, all clad with Items that were different from their starting gear, most of which consisted of either Common or Uncommon graded items, meaning Rare graded ones were either out of reach or being kept hidden.
Curious, Mack strode towards a nearby player, a burly guy wearing a metal chest plate and grieves, a sword being held on his hips. He was probably a Warrior.
"Hey, uh, sorry to interrupt but, what is with all these people?" he pointed behind him while asking.
"We are all getting ready to go the Dungeons. You know, raid a little, get some loot before fights for the raiding rights break out." The said shrugging his shoulders.
"Dungeons?" a confused look appearing in his face as he thought, 'did they find the Dungeon while we were inside?'
"You didn't know?" he asked raising an eyebrow in suspicion with Mack simply shaking his head in response.
"No, I was in the forest gridding for some levels since this morning, so I am kind of out on to what has happened during that time."
Understatement dawning on the Warrior, he laughed a little before resuming "I see. In that case I am going to tell you what happened; two Dungeons appeared near town at afternoon, which led to a lot of players migrating here to challenge them."
'That explains the amount of equipment then', he thought, 'they must have got a lot of money and used it to buy some better gear.'
"Not too long ago word got out that two large guilds are going to fight over for the raiding rights of the two Dungeons, and I don't know if you know it but once the winner is decided they will most probably close the Dungeon so that only members of their guild can enter."
That was one of the sad truths of the current world. Members of large and supper guilds would hoard all the Dungeons and resources so they could rise in power, destroying the game for the other players.
"That's why there are a lot of players here; we are all trying to get inside the Dungeon to get some profit before they are taken from us."
"I see," he looked around before turning to leave, "thanks for the information, and I hope you guys can get some good items in there."
"You are welcome, but if you are thinking of entering then you better find a team and fast." Mack gave a single nod and continued down the street.
The two Dungeons that had appeared were most probably the [Treat's Forest] Dungeon and the [Rabbit Colony] Dungeon. Both were meant for level 2-3 players, an appetizer to what was to come.
At first Mack had thought of entering those dungeons to grind some Exp and some materials to sell, but now that he had found the Goblin Dungeon things became a little different.
A plan on how to challenge the Dungeon started to take form on his mind, but he pushed it back. First he needed to sell the items in his Inventory, then he would search for an in to log out.
Snaking his way through the crowd of people he went straight to the town center, passing through many stands that were now lit with candles and lanterns, items of different shapes and designs were on display alongside with other things like food, spices, camping gear and even raw materials being sold by players.
It was one of the most iconic features of the game, or was going to become in the future, Mack just knew it.
The Night Bazar, a small event organized by the Merchant Guild to bring more customers and increase their profit while giving the people a very enjoyable experience. Here you could sell and buy anything, as long as they had it in stock. But this wasn't Mack's destination; his goal was after the center.
He took a turn at one of the streets and continued for a few more minutes until he arrived at a four storey building, the Adventurer's Guild.
The place was made of both wood and stone with each floor being used for something different. Entering he was greeted with a rather simple looking lobby, a large counter being on the far wall with some tables at the far right where adventures would meet to talk and boast, on the left was a Mission Board, filled with requests and notices for the willing adventurers.
Two staff members were waiting at the reception desk, one being a male who wore a rough looking leather apron while the other was a woman clad in a type of uniform. Both had noticed Mack the moment he had entered, the entire floor being deserted offered a huge contrast to a lonely figure.
The first one to speak was the woman. "Hello, how may we help you?"
"I would like to sell some monster materials" he answered while walking towards the counter. The woman motioned towards the man besides her, "then you just need to talk with Roark here."
"I will have to take a look at the materials first before we can settle a price," the man, Roark, said as he walked to a lowered part of the counter that resembled a working table.
"No problem," Mack followed him before opening his Inventory and taking the stacks of pelts, teeth and claws, placing them on top of the table in a neatly fashion. Each stack was composed of 20 or less items to help save space in the Inventory or in any other holding space.
The eyes of both members widened in surprise, though not as much as one would expect. The entire day had been filled with players coming and going to receive their classes, get missions or sell materials, so they were bound to see some of them doing this kind of thing.
Roark shook the surprise off and swiftly scanned the pelts noticing some burnt marks; the same marks were visible on the leather, making some of them more rigid and less likely to be used. The teeth and claws, on the other hand, weren't so damaged and could still be used.
After pondering their value he looked at Mack, "from all the materials the leather and pelt are the most valuable, but since they are damaged that will unfortunately affect the price; the teeth and claws are very cheap due to the large amount you can find in the market so I won't be able to offer too high of a price for them."
He took another look at the materials then back at Mack. "Overall I can offer you 5 to 4 coppers per pelt/piece of leather, and 1 copper per teeth/claw, totaling 260 coppers or 2 silver and 60 copper."
Mack looked at Roark with a small spark of surprise and a big smile on his face. The amount of money wasn't small, silver was the third most valuable coin, standing above copper and following behind gold and platinum. Having those 2 coins, while looking meaningless, was a great achievement for a noob like Mack.
"If the leather and the pelts weren't damaged, for how much do you think they could sell?"
"Hmm," Roark scratched his chin while pondering, "I think, if they were in a better state, I could buy them for 10 coppers each. If you went to the Merchant Guild then, maybe, 12 or 13 copper depending on the buyer."
That was a lot of money!
Mack's eyes drifted to the open window of his Inventory, showing that he still had 3 pieces of leather inside, all of which weren't as burned as the others he had brought out. If he sold them he would be able to receive even more profit but he soon refused the idea. Those materials were for the new armor he was going to order, he couldn't sell them.
After making the deal Mack asked the employees if they knew of any good blacksmith and leather worker in town, alongside with any good inn for him to pass the night.
"If you are looking for a good Blacksmith then old Ur's place is where you will want to go, as for leather worker I think Roark here is the best in Town," the woman, Lina, pointed to her co-worker who had a small blush on his face.
"He-Hey, I am not the best," he protested before mumbling, "I am just a little better than the others."
Lina smiled at her friend's reaction before turning back to Mack who had an awkward smile on his face. Ordering a new armor was going to be tricky.
Lina didn't seem to notice that and continued to speak, "If you want I can give you a map to old Ur's place, but you might want to go there tomorrow, he is probably closing the shop now." Mack nodded and waited as she told him about the nearby inns.
After receiving the map his money he bid farewell to the two workers and moved towards one of the best inns in town according to Lina, The Silver Sparrow.
The inn was exactly like what you would expect to see in a fantasy movie, a 2 storey building with the ground floor being a mix of the reception and a bar whilst the upper floor was used for lodging.
The innkeeper, a large woman in her forties, rented Mack a room for 5 coppers a day. The food would need to be bought separately but that was fine for him.
Going straight to the second floor he entered his room, a single bedroom with nothing but a bed and a night stand. He climbed on top of the bed without even bothering with the sheets before lying down and saying
"Log Off"