"Guild Master, you are still as sharp as you were back then," Violent Bear commented, while Stivi worked hard to suppress her gleeful smirk. Samar was in denial, but he was also 100% certain that the mature young man before him was none other than the foul-mouthed Pepico.
"Pepico… You bastard dare to test your Guild Master! Seems like you have forgotten the days I used to wipe your ass!"
Samar put the much larger Violent Bear in a chokehold and ruffled his hair like he used to in the old days.
Pepico laughed good-naturedly and accepted Samar's blame. This was the icebreaker they needed to realize that some ties never grow old. The three of them quickly lost themselves in the memories of the past and chatted like no time had passed in between.
After reminiscing for some time, they ran out of topics to talk about. Samar could no longer ignore the elephant in the room and had to address it.
"Pepico… you have changed so much. What happened? How did you end up in the Grandeur Guild?"
Hearing Samar's question, Violent Bear let out a sigh, reminiscing about the past three years.
"That war made us all heroes, but we were also ostracized by the Top Guilds. The Xi Dynasty, in particular, made our lives hell."
"I could not take the harassment anymore. I started a new account and enrolled in the Grandeur Guild's Talent Training Programme. There I was able to impress the son of the Grandeur Corporation's Chairman and earned his favor."
"Now I am accompanying him to start over in this game."
Pepico recounted his story, but Samar could tell he had skipped many bitter parts from the pain that flashed in his eyes. That experience had changed Pepico, and the kid from back then had matured into a responsible adult, holding a position desired by many.
His presence also unveiled the secret of Stivi's sudden appointment as the Grandeur Guild's Representative in Village #89 despite the presence of older veterans.
Now he was about to offer Samar the same treatment.
"Brother Samar, if you are serious about joining the Grandeur Guild, sign this contract. I have already made as many concessions as possible for a newly joining R1 member."
The contract was the standard exploitative stuff that all guilds used.
The Guild would pay Samar 1000 Musk Salary per month as an R1 player. In exchange, he had to pay 30% of his earnings to the guild and participate in any expeditions as ordered.
In fact, Pepico had indeed made many concessions. He had doubled Samar's salary from 500 to 1000/month and reduced his contributions from 40% to 30%.
There was simply no reason for Samar to refuse.
He signed at the dotted line, and their contract was registered in the Dreamverse's database. It would now be enforced by the Dreamverse's Operating AI.
"Brother Samar, this is for you. Consider this as your joining bonus."
Violent Bear took out a weapon dropped by the boss from his inventory and presented it to Samar. It was exactly what he needed at this stage - a Bronze-Copper Grade Bow!
—
Crimson Shadow
Grade: Bronze-Copper
Equip Requirements: STR 30, AGI 30, Intermediate Bow Mastery
Attack: 20 - 24
Agility: +5
~ Elemental Blessing: Every arrow deals fixed Water Element Damage of 20 points.
—
This was a top-tier Bow even amongst the Lv 15 Bronze-Copper Grade weapons. Moreover, Samar could equip it right now as he satisfied the conditions for equipment.
"Thank You, Violent Bear," Samar said, graciously accepting the bow and keeping it in the inventory. By addressing him as Violent Bear, he had acknowledged the new reality.
Pepico also presented Stivi with the Black-Stone Grade Arm Guards from the Sanguine Armor Set that had dropped in the loot. As for the Sanguine Greaves from the Set, she had to pay 700 GCP to buy them.
"Brother Samar, Sister Stivi, quickly reach Lv 20 within the next two days. Once the Guild Leader has caught up in levels, we will start raiding the Dungeons surrounding the Ruins of Rajni City."
The moment Samar heard the name Ruins of Rajni City, his ears perked. It reminded him of the clue Bowsmith Sangma had revealed about the Shard of Myth.
'In the ruined Elven City, there is a Tree of Night. When its flowers bloom, the Stars are born. Hidden in its hollow is the Shard of Myth, waiting for the marked one.'
Ruined Elven City… Ruins of Rajni City… Tree of Night… Well, Rajni literally meant night in the Elven tongue. As soon as he made the connections, he had a hunch that the clue to the Shard of Myth pointed towards this dungeon.
He suppressed the smile threatening to emerge on his lips and added Violent Bear to his friend list in a daze. Only after he left did he let out a wide grin spanning from ear to ear.
Stivi looked at him weirdly but let him have his moment. She assumed that he was smiling because he had become an R1 member.
Foolish Girl! If only she knew…
He did not make any attempts to resolve her misunderstanding.
The sun had already reached its peak, and Samar's stomach was growling with hunger. They decided to take a break to recover stamina and have lunch. While they ate lunch, Samar asked Stivi about her plans for the rest of the day.
"I am going to find a spot to level up. Do you want to form a party?" She offered.
Being in a party meant the Exp Samar received from the monsters would be lesser than if he hunted on his own. On the other hand, his hunting efficiency would be higher in a Party.
As such, he decided to accept her offer.
A few minutes later, after they logged back in, they found their first prey, an Emberwolf Rider.
Stivi charged at the Emberwolf Rider, her confidence and her defense bolstered by her newly acquired pieces of Black-Stone Grade set. The Emberwolf Rider responded to her charge with a Burning Blade of his own.
The two of them met midway and slashed at each other with their Elemental Blade attacks, Stivi using Tempest Blade while the Emberwolf Rider used Burning Blade.
-35
-137
Damage numbers popped up from both of their heads; Stivi dealt -137 damage while the Emberwolf Rider dealt only -35 damage.
After testing her new defensive prowess, Stivi began to dance around the Emberwolf Rider, countering its superior velocity with her flexibility. She dodged its fixed attacks while inflicting a few slashes on the Emberwolf's body, displaying just why she was counted among the Top 1% Players.
Samar let her have fun for a few moments, but his hands were itching to unleash the might of his Crimson Shadow.
He took out the beautiful red bow with black patterns etched on it and notched an ordinary arrow on its bowstring. After ensuring Stivi would not be hit accidentally, he released the arrow.
-155, -20
This was his new base damage after equipping the Crimson Shadow, a combination of his base attack and fixed elemental damage per shot.
Even though he had not used any skill or special arrow, it had exceeded Stivi's damage by far!
Stivi pouted and attacked with even more ferocity to beat his DPS, but Samar was not about to give her that satisfaction. He activated the skill, Rapid Shot and watched as 10 damage numbers floated above the monster's head.
-135, -20
-139, -20
-137, -20
-135, -20
-139, -20
The Emberwolf had already lost more than half of its health and was losing even more as Stivi bled its HP with every slash and cut into its body.
Samar took pity on the poor monster and decided to end its life with his most powerful skill, the Homing Power Shot.
-975 -20
The skill dealt 400 more points of damage than when he had fought the Emberwolf Rider using the Black-Stone Grade Hunter's Pride Bow.
Moreover, the Crimson Shadow Bow had achieved this damage with an ordinary arrow unlike the combination of Flame Ward and Fire Rune Arrow he had to use the previous time.
Unfortunately, the Emberwolf Rider survived the arrow with just 13 HP remaining on its Health bar. Stivi quickly took this chance to stab the monster and claim this kill.
[Congratulations! Your Party has killed Lv14 (Elite) Emberwolf Rider. You have received 310 Exp.]
"These Emberwolf Riders are a treasure trove!" Stivi exclaimed as she watched her Exp bar rise by a significant margin. She then excitedly ran towards the corpse and picked up the three items dropped by the Elite monster, the Sharp Steel Saber, Emberwolf Hide, and a coin pouch.
She had the same reaction as Samar when he had first killed the Emberwolf Rider and could not wait to hunt more of them. Unfortunately, their spawn rate was abysmal.
They only found one after searching for 4- 5 minutes. They quickly took care of it and began to search for another one. Just like that, an hour passed.
They had hunted 8 Emberwolf Riders so far. Combined with the other monsters they hunted in the forest, Stivi had already leveled up to Lv15 while Samar was just a few kills away.
They wandered around in the central area of the Crimson Glade searching for their next target when Samar spotted a tree covered with red vines. What attracted his attention was the bronze glint shining from the dark tree hollow that seemed perfect for hiding treasures.
Stivi and Samar exchanged glances, both of them having the exact same thing in their minds - "Treasure Chest!"