The next day after his usual routine Liam logged into the game. He was greeted with a large number of messages.
Most of those only asked him about the plan for the day, but Silver Blade's sounded rather urgent.
[Silver Blade: Mirage, cane we meet?]
Liam was still in Lomen Village where he went off yesterday. But since he was a few minutes late, the other party members had already scattered.
[Bleary Mirage: Sure. Now?]
[Silver Blade: Yes. Are you still in the village?]
[Bleary Mirage: Yeah.]
[Silver Blade: Good. I'm coming.]
Liam waited for a few minutes before the tall female warrior with a fair, straight face approached him.
"Morning."
"Morning. Now. What's so urgent today?"
"I want to hire you."
"Hire? For what?"
"To clear the dungeon and get the server announcement in the name of my company."
That's unexpected.
Liam was surprised. Not because someone wanted to hire him – he had taken plenty such jobs in his old life – but because Silver Blade had her own company.
"Sure, I accept."
"What? But I haven't told you any details yet. Furthermore, are you really this confident in getting the first clear?"
"Your timing was perfect. I was just thinking about how to buy my sister a console when you appeared. And for your second question:
If I seriously want to take first clear, no one will be able to take it away from me!"
Silver Blade stared at Liam in a daze. The young man excluded a confidence engraved in his bones, giving off the aura of a person at the top.
A moment later the young woman forcibly coughed.
"Alright. How do we set up a contract?"
"Let me ask.
C? Can we make contracts in the game?"
Silver Blade was taken aback as a mechanical voice sounded from the air around them.
[Yes.]
"Are they legally binding?"
[No. But violation will result in a permanent ban form the game.]
Liam nodded his head. This was somewhat different from his past life.
Silver Blade pondered for a moment before offering:
"Why don't we set up a contract inside and out of the game?"
"Sure. I'll send you my address later."
"Alright. And… thank you."
Liam waved his hand, not taking it to heart.
"Should we gather the party then?"
"Are we preparing for the dungeon?"
"Yes. I want everyone to level up at least once today. On top of that we should get our hands on a healing skill."
"Sure. You know best."
Nodding his head, Liam sent out party invitations.
The others accepted one by one. When it was Radiant Shield's turn, a message appeared instantly.
[Radiant Shield: Guys, Sun's Knight won't be coming.]
[Cyclone: Did something happen? Is he ok?]
[Radiant Shield: Yeah, don't worry. He just prioritizes studying for now.]
[Cyclone: Bummer.]
[Silent Acacia: Can't blame him.]
[Radiant Shield: Yeah. But I have another friend who would like to join us if you guys are ok with it.]
The party chat fell silent for a moment.
[Silver Blade: Mirage, how many people do we need for the dungeon?]
[Bleary Mirage: Ten would be the best case.]
[Cyclone: So many?]
[Bleary Mirage: Yeah. If we want to clear it with our levels, ten will be necessary. So, if you guys know some people you can invite them.]
[Silver Blade: Right, I still need to discuss with you guys. I, as representative of my company, would like to hire you. I hope we can get the first clear server announcement!]
[Radiant Shield: Really?!]
[Silent Acacia: Sure. NP]
[Quickstep: Good idea.]
[Cyclone: Yeah! Nice one, Silver!]
[Balm: Is this appropriate?]
[Silver Blade: Let's discuss it face to face later.]
Radiant Shield stared at the messages before his eyes, not knowing what to do. After a few seconds he decided to log out and inform Sun's Knight.
However, compared to his other dormmates Sun's Knight was rather well off. Earning money wasn't enough to shake off the uncomfortable feeling of dragging others down. Thus, the man declined calmly.
Radiant Shield rejoined the game, where the party already decided to gather in Prento.
It didn't take long for all of them to meet at the town square. Radiant Shield also informed his friend Kelvin, who appeared quickly.
The young man looked just like in real life except for the conveniently short hair hidden under a black hood.
"My valiant companions, this noble thief is going by the name of Bloody Edge! He will be a valuable addition to our party!"
"My blade is ready to slice through the dungeon!"
The others did their best to hold back their laughter. Obviously Bloody Edge's speech was just as bad as Radiant Shield's.
"Welcome."
"Nice to meet you."
After a round of introduction everyone looked at Liam, waiting for him to take the lead.
The veteran gathered everyone, leaving through the western gate. They followed the path through the outer forest for a while before diving deeper into the foliage.
The light was dim, and the leaves rustled. From time to time some wolves attacked, but they posed no challenge to the party.
Soon, a shabby village came into view. Mounds of dirt served as its walls, protected by a single flimsy gate.
Two figures stood in front of it. With hairy bodies, sharp claws and a thin tail behind them.
"Huh? What are they?"
"Those are Ratkin, a branch of the beastkin. They can be found everywhere in Crunaboul."
Suddenly Bloody Edge's body trembled.
"Beastkin? Are you talking about a mix of humans and beasts? Doesn't this mean… catgirls?"
Silver Blade scoffed at the smaller man.
"Tzz. Men… You even fell out of your role."
"Maiden, you won't understand. Catgirls are a man's greatest pursuit.
Am I right?"
Bloody Edge turned to the other men. But while Radiant Shield nodded embarrassedly, Bleary Mirage and Silent Acacia looked away, cleverly avoiding involving themselves in the discussion.
Fortunately, before Bloody Edge could continue, a squeaky but cold voice rang out.
"Who goes there?!"
Two pairs of narrow eyes stared at the party, the guards raising their spears dangerously.
"We are only adventurers searching for work. Do have something for us to do?"
The two guards looked at each other. But before they could give an answer, a small hatch opened within the gate and an envelope was thrown out.
One of the guards read it quickly, eying Liam's group.
"To the west of this place is a small fort occupied by the Lame Locust bandits. Kill them and bring us their tokens. We will reward you."
Cyclone looked strangely at the village before them.
"What an odd quest. Why are they so hostile?"
"Because we first need to farm reputation.", explained Liam.
"Oh! And with enough reputation we will be able to enter the village?"
"Yes. And we can take more quests."
The party naturally understood quickly as they followed Liam towards the west.
Suddenly Cyclone grinned.
"Mirage, do we need to clear the bandit lair? Is there a boss and lots of loot?"
The quest they received only asked them to gather at least 20 tokens, not going into detail.
But Liam only shook his head.
"You can try."
Cyclone didn't understand until the first bandits came into view. They were a pair, clad in light black clothes and with scarred faces.
[Lame Locust Scout
Rank: Common
Level: 9
HP: 650/650]
Cyclone looked at the area ahead, a notification reminding them that they discovered the Lame Locust Fortress.
The forest thinned, revealing dozens of bandit groups roaming around. The scouts were obviously only the weakest among them.
"Ok guys. Standard procedures. Acacia pulls and we kill. We should be able to do this easily."
With a sign from Liam, Silver Blade took the lead, ordering the party calmly.
Everyone accepted as they began their fight. Two bandits sprinted towards them, daggers glinting under the sun.
Silver Blade and Radiant Shield stood like an insurmountable wall, their shields welcoming the attacks.
[Stance -10]
The tanks lost a considerable amount of stance, but in a fight against normal mobs this wasn't of much concern, as they were susceptible to stuns and similar crowd control.
Thus, the two bandits fell quickly under the group's assault. They dropped a few coins, a token, and gave 24EXP each, a solid amount.
Next the group trained in this place for most of the day, leveling up quickly. The old party members all reached level 6, making it halfway towards level 7.
Bloody Edge was somewhat behind, not yet reaching level 6.
Satisfied with the day's accomplishments, the group returned to the Ratkin village.
Immediately the two guards' tiny eyes lit up, their faces showing kindness.
Cyclone cocked her head, glancing at them strangely:
"Why are they so happy? They don't know if we killed the bandits yet!"
Liam chuckled while one of the guards spoke up.
"Honored adventurers, please enter. The village leader wants to see you."
The guards quickly opened the gates, letting Liam and his friends in.
A small village with houses made from mud and clay appeared before them. A few Ratkin scurried about, most of them working on some farmland close to the dirt walls.
However, the group didn't continue further as time was running out. They agreed to meet at the same place tomorrow, logging out.