MilkTeaLover was the piece of charcoal that melted the snow surrounding Lucas. His beloved healer was a man of few words who hardly revealed much about himself. Although they had been conquering dungeons together for a few years, most of their conversations revolved around the game. Lucas was grateful to this silent hero.
[Team Chat Channel]
MilkTeaLover: Still need help with your dungeon?
As usual, his favorite healer preferred to type rather than use voice chat. With MilkTeaLover on his team now, Lucas had to act like a real newbie. It was safer this way. He had misjudged people around him several times - Hubert, Janson, and Snowman taught him precious lessons. Though he sensed that MilkTeaLover was trustworthy, he doubted his judgment.
[Team Chat Channel]
Lucien Cavalier: Milk tea master, thank you for helping me! Should we try and get another three more players?
MilkTeaLover: No need. Bots are fine for a level 10 dungeon. Let's get going.
Success was finally shining on Lucas. His fourth attempt at the Sacred Temples dungeon will be the last and final one. The moment they transported into the dungeon, a familiar announcement greeted them.
[The Crimson Thieves Gang has raided the Sacred Temples for martial arts scrolls. Clear them before they get to the grand library!]
[Team Chat Channel]
Lucien Cavalier: Erm, Milk Tea master, is there anything I should look out for in this dungeon?
MilkTeaLover: Nothing much, just concentrate on clearing the NPCs. If you're dying, just get behind me.
Lucas was a little touched seeing that message. After failing the dungeon three times, someone finally lent him a helping hand. He used to be the one saying such things to his teammates and had always been running in front of them. It felt good to have a change of scenery, to be the weaker one that required the help of a master. Having someone you can depend on was great. He didn't have anyone like that in his life, not after his mother passed away. MilkTeaLover was the second person that made him feel this way.
MilkTeaLover crushed the NPCs of the dungeon effortlessly. Though Healers concentrated on mastering healing skills, they could learn attack skills too. Not to mention he was a Level 130 player whose stats were high enough to help him pass any low-level dungeons.
[Team Chat Channel]
Lucien Cavalier: Wow, Milk Tea master. We've already cleared the three waves of attacks! That was fast! We only need to kill Sabre now.
MilkTeaLover: …you don't have to call me 'master'.
Lucien Cavalier: But you're much stronger than me so you're definitely a master!
MilkTeaLover: There are lots of Level 130 players like me on this server…
Same old MilkTeaLover being humble as usual, Lucas thought. Things were a breeze with him on board. Lucas didn't have to fight much and most of the time he merely dodged attacks. Whenever his HP dropped, MilkTeaLover would cast a healing spell and bring his HP back to full.
"Death awaits those-" before Sabre finished his usual greeting, MilkTeaLover had launched his attacks.
[Team Chat Channel]
Lucien Cavalier: W-wait, Milk Tea master, you're too fast!
Lucas hoped he kept his disguise well. He joined MilkTeaLover in attacking Sabre whose HP had already dropped to 50%.
[Congratulations! You have defeated Sabre!]
[The Sacred Temples Dungeon rewards have been sent to your inventory.]
They had taken out Sabre in less than a minute. Lucas was relieved, it was finally the end of this level 10 dungeon for him.
[Team Chat Channel]
Lucien Cavalier: Thank you Milk Tea master! You don't know how grateful I am to you.
MilkTeaLover: Welcome. I hope you get some great rewards.
Lucien Cavalier: Um, I am curious. Why were you willing to help me? Nobody else applied to my team…
MilkTeaLover: I was free and happened to see your message in the public chat.
"I was free" - that was the best reason Lucas ever heard. MilkTeaLover had no idea who he was but decided to help him anyway. He didn't care if he was a smurf or some weird newbie. He didn't even preach like the other players who told him to go to another server.
Lucas recalled that MilkTeaLover was a rather straightforward and logical person. When he was Ash Knight, MilkTeaLover never turned down his team requests as long as he was available. Lucas sensed that he wasn't like Snowman and those who made use of him as a 'dungeon machine'. Still, it was too risky to tell him about the bizarre incident that he had transmigrated into the game. After all, he didn't know who he was in real life and what if it turns out he was another wolf in sheep's clothing?
An idea struck him - he could try to befriend him as Lucien Cavalier, a newbie seeking to learn from a master, and see how things turn out.
[You have sent MilkTeaLover a friend request.]
[Status: Pending]
[Team Chat Channel]
Lucien Cavalier: Milk Tea master, I'm new to this game. Do you mind if I ask you questions along my journey?
[MilkTeaLover has accepted your friend request. Congratulations on adding your first friend!]
[Team Chat Channel]
MilkTeaLover: I will help you if I can though I can't guarantee I'm always online.
Lucien Cavalier: I appreciate it!
MilkTeaLover: And you can just call me Milk Tea…without the master.
Lucien Cavalier: Okay but you'll still be a master in my heart! So you really like milk tea, I guess?
MilkTeaLover: Mmm, yeah. Gotta go off now, see you.
Lucien Cavalier: Goodbye master MilkTeaLover!
[MilkTeaLover has left your team.]
The Sacred Temples dungeon made Lucas realized not all hope is gone even in the darkest of times. Chivalrous players still existed in the game, like MilkTeaLover. Perhaps there were more of them waiting to be found.
Remembering his award from the dungeon, he looked up his inventory and saw a chest. The Sacred Temple dungeon was the most basic dungeon so Lucas wasn't expecting much.
[You have received Purple Sword x1!]
[You have received Blue potion x10!]
[You have received Purple Belt x1!]
[You have received 3000 Silver Leaves!]
Two purple equipment, what luck for a newbie! The 8% Luck and Chance was working well for him. Equipping his new sword and belt, his stats increased though they were still a far cry from Ash Knight's.
[Lucien Cavalier - Level 10]
Attack - 435
Defense - 350
HP - 1200
There were eight types of equipment a player could equip. The Sword, Ring, Bracelet, Necklace, Shirt, Belt, Pants, and Boots. No one equipment contained the same stats so it really depended on luck. Two players can receive the same Sword or Ring from the dungeon but one of them could be better in terms of stats.
Taking a break from the Sacred Temple dungeons, he walked into a tea house and treated himself to the food.
"Come in and have some nice tea!" Mister Luo, the NPC who owned the place, kept repeating his line although nobody walk past the tea house.
Sipping on a nice cup of tea, Lucas reviewed the events that happened in the days so far. From finding out about Snowman's intentions to getting 'bullied' by bots, he was beginning to see the other side of the game. In DOJ, it was normal if you didn't receive help from anyone because people only minded their own business. But if you meet someone willing to help you without expecting anything in return, remember them.
Admiring the view outside the tea house, he saw a group of NPC children flying kites.
"Brother, I don't know how to get my kite flying. Can you help me?" the shortest kid among them asked.
"Sure, I'll teach you how to do it." the taller one replied.
Lucas watched the NPC brothers repeat the scenario over and over again. They reminded him of his brothers. One was the indirect cause of his death; the other was as cold as steel. His second brother, Mike, never seemed interested in his affairs. He was probably more interested in bringing the company to greater heights.
They were once like these two NPC brothers. No matter how many times the younger brother asked for help, the elder brother would offer it willingly. The innocence on their face was beautiful.
[Lucien Cavalier, you have unlocked new missions and features!]
After passing the Sacred Temple dungeons, the system once again prompted him to check out new features. He could now access pretty much everything except the clan system that was only available when he reached level 20. That would be the next hurdle and milestone he needed to reach and he knew it was going to be much worse than passing a dungeon.