The scenic beauty of the Virident Forest did not cease to amaze Samar. This map had the potential to become one of the favorite rendezvous spots of the couples in the future, when the average levels of players had risen.
At the moment, however, it was still a forbidden land visited by few.
The bright and cheery forest turned dark and gloomy as Samar neared the nest of Arachnos. A feeling crept over Samar, as if the shadows themselves were watching, ready to pounce at any moment.
"Halt!" Suddenly, two players jumped out of the trees and pointed their weapons at Samar, forcing them to stop in their place.
"You cannot go any further today. Turn back."
The only people arrogant enough to block an entire area were usually the Top Guilds or their affiliated Guilds. Independent Players had to make way for them but as a member of another Top 1000 Guild, Samar did not have to obey their commands.
Samar subtly flashed their Grandeur Guild's membership card and asked, "Who are you to block my way?"
If they were members of a non-ranking affiliated Guild, they would usually back down but if they were the members of a Top Guild, they would have to reveal the name of their Guild to make Samar back off.
The two players looked at each other and lowered their weapons but they still did not make way for Samar. Under Samar's intense glare, the Ranger stepped forward to answer the question.
"We are members of Howling Moon Guild's affiliate guild, New Moon Legion."
Howling Moon Guild was ranked 543rd on the Martian Guild Rankings, a whole 200 ranks higher than Grandeur Guild. It was because of this backing that the two players were not afraid of Samar.
However, New Moon Legion was merely one of the three unranked affiliated guilds of the Howling Moon Guild. It was laughable if they thought they could send Samar, an R1 member of a Top 1000 Guild, back with just their name.
"If it was some other day, I would've respected your authority; but today, I have quests to complete. Move aside."
Hearing the resolute words, the Warblade and the Ranger frowned. Not only did they not move out of the way, but also got ready to attack.
Samar had no experience with PKing in Dreamverse and was not eager to gain some through live combat while without backup. Given his suboptimal motor skills, he was unsure of how it would end.
So, Samar really did not want to escalate the situation but it did not mean he was afraid of a fight.
"Are you sure you want to do things the hard way?"
Readying their bow, Samar asked with confidence in their voice, giving them a last chance to back down.
The Ranger's response was an arrow that zoomed towards Samar's face. Samar moved their head to the left just in time, their movement aided by the 20% dodge rate of the Evasion skill and let the arrow fly past them without leaving a scratch.
The Ranger's eyes widened with shock as he did not expect an R1 member could dodge his arrow at such a close distance. Those who could do so were all R3 or higher ranked members of the Guilds, not R1.
He quickly notched another arrow on his bow while the Warblade by his side charged towards Samar, aiming to pin them down.
"Idiots," Samar muttered as the notification arrived from the system.
[You have been targeted by Lv15 Ranger, BlackX. You have 10 minutes to retaliate.]
Only now did Samar start their retaliation. Locking in on the exposed forehead of the Warblade, Samar launched the Homing Powershot.
Seeing the arrow approaching, the Warblade tried to imitate Samar's movements and dodge but he failed miserably. Even ignoring the fact that Homing Arrow was impossible to dodge, his reaction speed was too slow to even block it.
The arrow pierced through his head and a deep red number emerged above the Warblade, shocking his partner.
-480 (Lethal)
The damage dealt was twice the amount of HP that Warblade had! Even without the Lethal Strike, that Warblade did not stand a chance to survive.
New Moon Legion's Ranger watched his partner disappear in a gray beam of light with horror and despair. When he looked at Samar again his eyes were filled with fear, doubting whether the membership card Samar had flashed before really said 'R1'.
Samar was not in the mood to let him introspect and regret his decision in their presence; he could do so in the 30 minutes of down time after his death.
While he was recovering from shock, Samar launched the newly upgraded, Tier 1 Power Shot at him.
-385
It was neither a critical hit nor a Lethal Strike; Yet, the arrow had completely taken away every last point of the Ranger's HP. The result shocked not only shocked the ranger but it also surprised Samar.
To be able to oneshot an Lv15 Ranger with normal damage meant that the grades of their equipment were in completely different leagues!
Only now did Samar realize how far ahead they were compared to the ordinary players. Now that Samar thought about it, they had always been aware of the fact in the back of their mind.
However, partying with elites of the Grandeur Guild like Stivi, Violent Bear and others had made Samar underestimate their prowess and strive to do better. In a bid to keep up with them, Samar had already set foot on the path of elite without even realizing it!
Samar realized once again how true were the words of their father - Only capable friends and worthy rivals can help you improve, rest would only drag you down.
Shaking their head, Samar picked up the White-Wood grade Vambraces and the Ash-Grey Quiver dropped by the New Moon Legion's members and proceeded on their way into the lair of Arachnos.
The nest of the Sun Blight Spider was a work of art. Dark shadowy tendrils were woven into a huge web that formed a dense canopy over the dead, leafless trees.
As Samar moved deeper into the nest, the surroundings became more and more dark, lowering their visibility. Occasional flashes and bangs echoed from the depths of the nest, revealing the location of the New Moon Legion's members.
They were not Samar's biggest problem right now. No, Samar's problems were the several red dots fast closing in on their location using the webs overhead. These were the Red Venom Spiders Samar had to kill for their first quest, Spider Menace!
As soon as Samar took aim, several strings of sticky white webs shot at them. Most of them landed nearby but a few stuck to Samar's body. They did not harm Samar immediately but Samar decided to be safe and quickly scraped them off their body using the tip of an arrow.
What a wise decision it was!
The sticky strings soon began to sizzle and blister and a smell akin to rotten eggs emerged from the forest floor covered by the strings. Just a look at the condition of the affected forest floor was enough to show how acidic the poison was!
A few Red Venom Spiders had already arrived above Samar's head and were ready to jump down. Having seen the power of their Sticky Strings, Samar was even less eager to experience their Corrosive Bite.
Taking aim at the centermost red dot, Samar launched an Explosive Arrow. Boom! The arrow exploded with a loud sound that echoed through the lair.
-1139 (Crit)
-451 (Crit)
-200
-198
-461 (Crit)
Taking such a huge damage, all five spiders came crashing down along with a piece of web. A bright ray of sunlight shone through the web on the spiders, causing them -30 damage every second.
The spiders scurried to get away from the scorching sunlight, except for the two that had fallen on their backs.
Ignoring the two spiders which were no threat, Samar aimed at the escaping three and activated the Tier 1 Rapid Shot.
Arrows, two at a time, left Samar's bow in the pursuit of those three Red Venom Spiders. Few missed, but the majority of them hit the Spiders and killed two of them.
[You have killed an Lv18 Red Venom Spider. You have received 1000 Exp.]
[You have killed…]
The last Red Venom Spider was the most heavily injured of all five. Yet, all the arrows had somehow missed it. The spider had survived, but not for long. Just a few ordinary attacks took care of it and it disappeared into dust, leaving behind a Poison Sac and a Bone Fang.
Samar quickly took care of the two spiders baskin- er- burning in the sun and added two more kills towards their quest completion.
After collecting the loot these Red Venom Spiders dropped, Samar moved deeper into the Sun Blight Spider's lair.