Past another meter, Ren and the others arrived at a vast hall where a group of players was engaged with half a dozen Arachnids. Vile spawns of the [Dread Widow], the dungeon Boss.
Though they were nothing but hatchlings, they were knees in height and very fast. What's more, they could already shoot webs at unsuspecting players, turning them into nothing but mummies to be feasted on.
Leonel had goosebumps at the sight.
While a sweat rolled on Isolde's cheek.
"Boss! Some other group made it here!" player 2 alerted while fending off another strike from the Arachnid.
"Who are you?!" player 1 asked when they saw Ren and the others, but he was engaged with the Arachnids to do something about them.
The three of them were tasked by Vein to guard the Boss's room while their other members were fighting the Boss inside the enclosed door.
Though the boss room remained locked until the Boss was defeated or the players died, the three of them were making sure that the next group who would challenge the Boss were their members.
While Vein and the others guarded the cave entrance, there might be players who managed to enter like Ren and his group.
Isolde ignored the three players and was ready to take aim at the Arachnids when Ren stopped her.
"Wait." Ren swiped his hand on his screen and kicked Isolde out of the group.
"Wha–?" Isolde was flabbergasted and her eyes rounded.
"You'll earn more EXP this way," Ren cut in before Isolde could finish her sentence.
". . ." It took a moment before Isolde finally understood what Ren meant, and the corner of her lips rose into a wide grin.
"Thanks."
"Leo would be your guard. While Ragnar and I will reduce those Arachnids HP enough for you to finish them off."
He then faced Ragnar. "Is that okay with you? Or do you also want to grind?"
Ragnar merely gave a monotone reply, "My ATP is already in the two digits, and those Arachnids would no longer provide enough EXP and gill. So yes, I'm okay with it." Though he would grind later after Isolde's ATP reached two digits.
Ren nodded, and Isolde beamed at everyone. "Sorry, I'll just make sure to have my ATP in the two digits fast, and you can grind the rest if you want."
"Don't let your guard down, though," Ren warned. "Even though those Arachnids were low level, they could still kill you with two shots of their web at your current ATP."
"Understood. " Isolde licked her lips, and her big eyes glinted ominously at the baby spiders. "I will make this fast."
Angry veins erupted from the players in Poison Viper's group.
"Don't even think of killing–!"
Player 1 hadn't finished his sentence when Isolde fired her revolver, and the Arachnid he was engaged with was turned into particles while its EXP and loots went to Isolde.
Ren knew Isolde was a fair player, but he guessed that pressed with few options, she would also think of herself first.
"FUCK!" Player 1 cursed aloud. He was the one who reduced the spider's HP, but another just stole all his supposed loot. He was used to being the one who KS and not the other way around. "I'll fucking kill you!"
Player 1 roared and stormed at Isolde with his sword.
"Where do you think you're going?" Leonel met the incoming attack and used his skill [Parry] to deflect players A's sword strike.
"Move, asshole!" Player A spat, eyes burning at Isolde.
"Make me!" Leonel hurled his wooden shield, and player A flew meters back.
Upon seeing their leader take a hit, Players 2 and 3 ignored the Arachnids and stormed in Leonel and Isolde's direction with their weapons in hand.
"Ignore them," Ren said, casting [Probe] on the spiders.
‖ A R A C H N I D ‖
Location: Gargantuan Cave
Description:
Vile spawns of the Dread Widow.
These loyal spiders act as guardians, spies, and messengers, spreading their Fiendweb in the name of their dark mistress.
‖ A T T R I B U T E ‖
HP: 240
MP: 40
STRG: 15
DEF: 12
MDF: 10
INT: 7
AGL: 20
LCK: 10
‖ S K I L L ‖
Active Skill:
❶ Web of Doom LV.1
–– shoot multiple webs to incapacitate enemies
–– cool down 2 second
–– cost –5 MP
–– 10% success rate of paralyzing enemy if LCK is higher.
‖ W E A K N E S S ‖
Weakness: Fire, Piercing
‖ E N D ‖
[PROBE successful!]
Ren pressed
Ren's MP was 180 and paired with his passive skill [Mana Conversion], his MP didn't budge even though he launched multiple [Web of Doom] nonstop to incapacitate the spiders while Isolde finished them off.
At the same time, Ragnar and Leonel were dealing with the players from Poison Vipers. Ragnar STR was higher than his players' counterparts thanks to his race bonus, and he could easily overpower the other players and flung them away with his axe.
While Leonel's DEF was the highest second to Ren. He absorbed most of the damage and skills that were thrown at them by the players from Poison Vipers. He was like an immovable rock that Ren and the others took refuge against their enemies' attacks.
Ren was surprised that Ragnar had good control and felt of his surroundings. He knew where to position to take advantage of the upper ground and could read his opponent's next move to counter their attacks before they could even make one.
Before his enemies could cast their skill, he was one step ahead and tossed his axe towards them, cancelling the activation of their skill.
Ragnar would be a good tank if he were a tank class. But being an Orc with good map awareness was also excellent.
Ragnar looked like a casual player, but Ren thought he was a pro from how he executed his movement.
Moreover, he wasn't even using a single skill the whole time.
He could be a top player if he wanted to. Ren thought to himself, and then he paused for a moment. Stunned.
Wait . . . Ren was hit with an epiphany, and the leaderboard in the past came into his mind. There was a time when a man named Ragnar was dominating the number one spot on the solo ranking before he was entirely forgotten after he vanished out of the blue.
C-could it be . . . Ren looked at Ragnar.
Somehow, Ragnar's green skin, lean but sexy pecks, protruding sharp teeth, and large nostrils became a picture of a hero fighting the bad guys. There were even sparkles of shining rays over him, and Ragnar's ugly Orcish face turned to something cool in Ren's eyes.
Ren shook his head and laughed at himself.
That can't be.
The world wasn't that small that he would actually meet the former top one who just vanished out of thin air before the media could get hold of his real identity.
"T-their strong." Player 3 backed away. Face ashen and eyes wide.
Players 1 and 2 also put distance between them and Ren's group. They had enough of being tossed, flung, and slapped to the side by giant axe and wooden shields.
The players of the Poison Viper guild could do nothing but watch as Isolde farmed all the Arachnids with the help of Ren, Leonel, and Ragnar.
It only took fifteen minutes tops for Isolde's ATP to reach the two digits, all thanks to Ren and the others' help.
"All good?" Ren asked after all the Arachnids in the area were slew by Isolde's bullets and Ragnar's axe. He then accepted Isolde back into the group.
"Yeah." Isolde beamed her brightest as she reloaded her revolver. She twirled her gun in her fingers before tossing it in the holster on her thigh.
"By the way. How is your skill the same as the Arachnids?" asked Isolde.
"It's one of my skills as an Arcanist."
"Is that so?" Isolde shrugged and brushed the matter off. A skill that could copy another skill, perhaps? "I guess rare classes really are more powerful than the normal ones, huh?"
"Do you want to change class? It's not too late, you know."
Isolde readily shook her head. "No. I'm good with my current [Sniper] class. Rather if I can't play as a sniper, might as well not play at all."
"Hm~Hm~," Leonel seconded.
"Your class is also a powerful class once you evolve it. In fact, all the classes are powerful if you know how to use them. The only difference of the rarer class is the added ATP bonus, compensation for the strenuous quest you must do to unlock it," said Ren.
Leonel nodded his head like a chicken picking grains.
"Then how did you acquire your rare class this early?" questioned Ragnar.
". . ." Ren dropped a meaningful smile. "You have to pay for that information."
"Fair enough." Ragnar flipped his hair, but then he realized that his hair was tied high on his bald head. "Anyway, let's add each other as friends. I'll contact you if I need that information."
Everyone exchanged contact information and added each other to their friend list, completely ignoring the three players from the Poison Viper guild.
Ragnar wasn't really interested in Ren's skills or his rare class. He was mainly playing COVENANT to escape his life in the real world. If he couldn't be an Orc, then forget about playing.
"Shouldn't we conserve our mana, though, for the final boss?" asked Ragnar.
Ren was aware that Ragnar was asking him. Out of the four of them, he was the one who relied heavily on mana.
"You don't have to worry about that," Ren said simply and didn't give any more information. He wanted to hide the information about his skills just to be safe. Even he couldn't disclose too much to Leonel since his friend couldn't shut his mouth sometimes.
Ragnar raised his none existent brow. "If you say so."
Ren then changed the topic and stared at the three players from the Poison Viper guild.
----
A/N
BONUS Chapter later for reaching 300PS last week 😁
Thank you everyone!
Help me reach 500PS this week for another BONUS Chapter
CHEERS!
PS
Tunic 01. thank you for the review. but based on ur comments and review, i suggest STOP reading now while u r still ahead 😂 dnt wory i dnt delete review unless they're just hate or spam.
If i still see u comment and reading this story then u r a hypocrite for reading a book that u hate 😂
lav ya 😘