"I want to join you, of course."
Ren and Leonel looked at each other.
". . . Huh?"
What was wrong with rich people nowadays? Ren thought. Don't they have friends that they would rather play with?
"Don't you have friends that you would rather play with?" Leonel asked, and Ren looked to the side with a sigh.
"NO," Ragnar said, with a proud tilt of his head. "I'd rather play alone. But then I heard that Gargantuan Cave couldn't be entered solo. And since we have a common acquaintance, I think it's only right that I entered your group."
Ren didn't understand that logic but . . . the more, the merrier, he guessed.
And having an Orc in the group would increase their firepower.
"I'm okay with it, but it's up to Ren and Leonel. I'm just tagging along," Isolde said with a serious expression.
"I'm cool. I'll leave the decision to Ren." Leonel didn't mind another stranger in their group. Rather, he liked that he got to know new people.
On the other hand, Ren was just curious why Ragnar chose to be an Orc. He wasn't against the idea at all that Ragnar was joining them.
"It's fine by me. The more, the better." I guess. Ren mused to himself.
Isolde's tight face loosened.
Leonel jabbed an okay sign.
And Ragnar's stoic face remained impassive even after joining Ren's group. It felt like he didn't know how to smile.
His resting, no care face was worse than Ren's. Leonel thought with a snicker as he eyed Ren and Ragnar.
"I'm Ren, by the way."
"Leonel's the name."
"Ragnar," he said and then pointed at the cave without wasting any more time. "Do you have any idea how we can enter the cave, though?"
"It's fine," said Ren.
"What do you mean fine?" Ragnar questioned.
Ren pointed toward the other players. "Sooner or later, these players will have enough, and riot would ensue. Let's use that chance to enter by then."
"So all we have to do is wait?" asked Isolde.
Ren nodded. "This place attracted a lot of players, and soon another group would emerge and challenge those guys' tyranny."
"But . . . they might get first blood." Leonel bit his thumb, looking worried at the cave.
"Don't worry. Bosses in caves and dungeons couldn't be defeated easily," reassured Ren.
"You seem to be confident with your words." Ragnar faced Ren. "Are you a beta tester?"
"Is that important?" Ren didn't want to be hostile with Ragnar. He might be a customer in the future, after all.
Ragnar shook his head. "No."
Isolde smiled and asked Ragnar, "I'm curious, though. Why did you choose an Orc out of all the races?"
"Yeah," seconded Leonel. "Didn't you regret it that you've ruined your pretty face?"
". . ."
Ragnar didn't answer.
There was silence lingering between the group until Ragnar took in a breath and said with a serious face and voice when Ren and the others looked at him with expectant eyes.
"The only reason I entered this game is because of this race. I wanted to look hideous and escape that hellish life I have in the real world.
"In this appearance, I don't suffer from all sorts of threats and blackmails. I wasn't drowning with gifts and letters every day. NO stalker was following me all around, and I could safely sleep and shower at night. I could finally eat and drink with a peace of mind that I wasn't consuming aphrodisiacs or love potions.
"Being ugly is what I longed for," said Ragnar with a resolute face and voice. "Being an Orc let me experience a new life without being chased, mobbed, and groped! This is the life that I longed!"
Ren was speechless.
Isolde's mouth dropped.
While Leonel just nodded in understanding. He tapped a hand over at Ragnar's shoulder. "I get you. Same thing as me. I chose a dwarf because I was a giant in the real world."
Ren was starting to get dizzy. He guessed that pretty boys have their own problems.
"Who gave you the right to barricade this place?!"
Their attention was stolen by a loud voice that rang deep like a gong. Meters from where they stood, a new group emerged.
It was a player with a Beast class. He had a tiger's ears and tail. A robust hairy body with bulky pecks, paws and sharp claws. He was leading a group of ten more players behind him.
Ren knew him anywhere. It was the guild leader of Roaring Tigers, Tor, and the sworn enemy of Poison Viper.
While Poison Viper was notorious for its vile deeds, Roaring Tigers were famous for their gallant and heroic fits. Although both guilds didn't belong to the top ten, they were strong in their own rights.
Was this the start of the enmity between guilds? Ren wondered.
"Yeah, you seriously think that this is your territory?"
"Everyone, let's trash them!"
As Ren claimed, the already tense situation went out of control very quickly at the appearance of a stronger force while the newbies rallied behind their back.
Though nobody could really kill or hurt the other since it wasn't a PvP fight, they could still push and overpower each other out of the way from the cave's entrance.
Roaring Tigers drew their weapons and charged forward with the newbies rallying behind them. Faced with this threat, Poison Viper couldn't just stand there and watch. At Vein's command, all guild member of Poison Viper met their charging enemies.
The entire area erupted into chaos within seconds.
"This is our chance," Ren said and commanded Leonel, "use your skill [Dash and Slash].
"Right. Everyone stay close behind me. I'll use my overpowered strength and awesome defense to smash our way through."
"Just do it," Ren said with dead eyes and a voice.
"YaArRgh!" Leonel shouted a battle cry before he charged forward. The wooden shield he held that was the size of him glowed golden as he activated his skill [Dash and Slash].
Leonel sprinted five meters forward, and all that was in his way was pushed to the side, creating a path for Ren and the others to move.
When a group of newbies tried to block their way, Leonel swung his hammer, and everyone that attempted to barge his path was flung to the side, stunned for five seconds.
Leonel's ATP was already way ahead of the others who just joined a couple of hours ago. They were no match to him.
Even though no one suffered from HP reduction from the fight, players were still hurled to the side and toppled to the ground, as well as suffered some status effects like stun.
"Good. Keep doing it until we reach the entrance to the cave!" Ren said, and Leonel followed with ears perking up from Ren's compliment.
"Remember, don't touch the save crystal!" Ren warned as they neared the entrance of the cave.
"Stop them!" shouted Vein when he noticed a large chunk of his guild members were tossed in the air by Leonel's skill.
"T-they're too strong!" another member of the Poison Viper shouted with tears in his eyes.
Leonel led the charge with his unstopped skill and shield, while Ragnar protected Ren and Isolde from the backline with his giant axe and incredible strength. At the same time, Ren and Isolde supported the two at the center.
Vein clicked his tongue when he noticed that Ren's group was like him. Players who entered at the very opening of the game and gained enormous advantage over the others who were just starting. Else, Ren's group couldn't possibly manage to defeat all the newbies that were blocking their path.
"Useless bunch of morons! Do I have to do everything by myself?!" Vein charged in Ren's direction, attempting to stop them, when a massive half-beast tiger blocked him.
"And where do you think you're going?" Tor obstructed Vein's path.
"Move bitch!" Vein spat.
Tor just smirked. "Make me."
While Vein was occupied with Tor, no one stopped Ren and the others from entering the cave anymore. The newbies that were guarding the entrance even scurried away at the sight of them, afraid to be flung to the side by Leonel's shield.
As the chaos was still raging outside, Ren and the others had safely entered the cave.
However, they didn't stop running to catch their breath. They run deeper forward, heading straight to the Boss's room.