Coro Ubeus had just finished packing his bag. Today was the day he would make his way to the portal. Guilds went to different worlds daily in order to collect the resources, and train. You needed either a class seal or a raid team in order to raid another world. The worlds ranged in difficulty on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being the easiest. Only top guilds entered the rank 10 worlds. Worlds ranked 1-3 needed a class seal to enter, worlds higher up needed a raid team consisting of anywhere from 2-8 members. There were several rules involving it but Coro knew them all by heart. he had spent the past decade studying for this trip.
"Let's go Mox." he said.
The hellhound laying on the floor next to him lifted its massive body up. He weighed 220 pounds, skin the color of brimstone, with eyes that glowed like lava.
Coro had raised him for the past three years under the tutelage of his master. Demonology was a dangerous class for warlocks to study very few had the heart to do it. the demons one summoned could always rebel, that being said it was the strongest class on earth when mastered. The demons continued to evolve as long as they were allowed feed on the monster cores of their victims. Of course the stronger the demon the more cores required to get it to evolve.
Monster cores were far from cheap. Even the weakest of monster cores cost at least one gold. They were used in the creation of many other items as well, making the evolution of demons quite expensive. The simplest method of getting them was to travel to other worlds and retrieve them, but his family didn't like attention. They preferred their privacy and as such other than his family only a handful of people had ever seen a warlock in action. They were something of a myth among the general population.
The two of them walked out of the room and checked out at the front desk. His father had only given him ten gold coins, and he needed to make every coin last.
Nine coins left. Gonna have to hit the world running he thought with a sigh. He made his was down the street towards the tunnel, with people giving him a wide berth of space due to Mox.
People sure seem skittish, it's just a normal hellhound. They should meet Ceberus. thought Coro with a chuckle.
His father's hellhound was far more fearsome, it had three heads and stood twice as tall as Coro. It had taken a fortune to raise him that far, but he had been worth it. Ceberus was ranked a 5 among demons. Each level they increased was a tenfold increase in strength. Mox was only a level one hellhound, he had just matured in fact.
As Coro approached the tunnel, he began seeing raid members here and there trying to cash in their monster cores. He saw hunters, mages, tanks, swordmasters, all the main classes seemed to be present. But he did not see any secret classes which disappointed him. He had hoped to see a necromancer as they had a lot in common with warlocks like himself.
He made his way inside following the twists and turns, passing by some shops along the way.
"Sir would you like to buy a weapon for your raid today?" called out a blacksmith.
Coro glanced over at the man.
He had a small shop, tucked off to the side. It looked aged like it had been there a century. Coro walked over.
"Do you have any light weight armour?" asked Coro.
"Yessir, but it doesn't offer much protection unfortunately." he said."it's good for up to a level 2 beast but nothing more."
"How much?" asked Coro
"Five gold coins sir." said the smith.
"That's quite expensive!" said Coro
"It's worth it. At least have a look before you decide." said the smith. He hadn't had a customer in two months. His prices were high because he used different materials than the other smiths. His process made the cores bond with the metals much more efficiently, resulting in a more durable metal.
"Very well, although Mox will have to accompany me inside he doesn't like to leave my side." said Coro.
"sir allow me to introduce myself I am Tony" said the smith.
"Coro"
"Mr. Coro I dont allow beasts inside my workshop there is too much risk as they are dumb creatures that knock things over. No matter how good of a hunter you are I cannot allow it." said Tony
Mox snarled at him immediately after he finished. He was no dumb creature, he was just as intelligent as the smith! Bearing his fangs he approached him menacingly.
"Im not a hunter, Mr. Tony. I am a warlock. And Mox is not some wolf, he is a hellhound. I suggest you apologize to him before he eats you alive."
"I apologize!! I apologize!" screamed tony. Looking into the fiery eyes of Mox. He thought he seemed a bit big for a wolf but just assumed it was a higher level beast that a hunter had tamed. Never had he dreamed he would be speaking to an actual warlock and his hellhound.
Mox stopped advancing, and snorted at Tony. Humans were easy to scare he thought. At least his master was fearless.
Coro smiled sensing Mox's thoughts. "Shall we look at the armour or should we leave you to it?" he asked.
Tony stood up shakily, "Of course, of course. This way please." He opened the door allowing them entry. He pulled open the chest that he had and showed them the armour inside.
It was black but had a blood red look when held at a certain angle. It was light, and seemed to match Mox's skin perfectly.
"And as a apology to Mr. Mox,"he said as he pulled out a second chest. " I offer this beast armour I have as an added bonus."
Coro lifted it out of the chest so mox could see it. It had four pieces. Two that wrapped around the neck, and two that protected his chest.
Mox examined it from where he stood. It was acceptable for now.
Coro pulled out five gold coins and gave it to the smith.
"We will take it thank you." said Coro.
Tony bowed and replied "No thank you! And if you run into any interesting lvl 3 creatures, bring me their cores and I will upgrade your armour at a small cost of course!"
"I will as long as this armour proves worth it." he said.
They parted ways after Coro and Mox had their respective gear on.
Coro and Mox made their way out of the tunnel and approached the temple. No one knew why or how long it has existed but it operated very simply. The checkpoint was simply a precaution to make sure the raiders were qualified. Although due to the risk noone would dare enter unless positive they could handle it.
The guard at the entrance held out his hand. "Seal?"
Coro pulled out his new family seal that signified him as an adult warlock, and presented it to the guard. He had recieved it the day that Mox had matured. Though he was far from his peak. In fact in his eyes his journey had just begun.
"Which level world are you raiding today sir?" asked the guard.
"Level 3" said Coro.
He had thought about it for a long time and decided that he needed to start at lvl 3 and find capable people to join him for the higher level raids. Eventually becoming a guild that rivaled the best in the world.
The guard pointed him down a hallway to the right, beneath a number 3.
"Good luck"he said. It was his first time meeting a warlock, he didn't know they actually existed. Most people he would advise against going solo in a level 3 world. yet the young man seemed confident, let alone the hellhound beside him. He terrified the guard.
They walked down the hallway and made their way to the portal. They had to wait in groups as the portal could only be tuned to one world at a time. Coro and Mox made their way into the waiting room where around 20 raiders were present. Several small groups had formed, with solo raiders sprinkled here and there.
All their heads turned when Mox entered. Many thought it was the largest wolf they had ever seen, though very few suspected what Mox truly was.
Only one was brave enough to approach.
"My name is Colby" said the young man as he offered out his hand."I'm a tank class."
"Coro" he replied, shaking his hand." This is Mox. I'm in the warlock class."
"Ah so you really are a hellhound. It's a pleasure to meet you both, I see you don't currently have a partner would you like to group up?"
"Not right now." Coro said. "Mox needs some food so no telling if any cores make it back you see."
"No problem." said colby unperturbed. "The offer stands if you change your mind."
"3 minutes to connect" announced the receptionist near the portal.
All the raiders began preparing to cross over. "Here we go" said Coro to Mox. "Time to make a name for ourselves."
"You may enter." announced the receptionist.
They began crossing the threshold.