The party followed the swaying Fregdo out of the tavern. After making their way through a few more winding alleys they reached a small house in a quiet district.
A narrow river ran not far away, forcing the city to build dozens of bridges big and small.
Fregdo fished out an old key from his pocket, opening a greying wooden door with unsteady fingers.
He pushed it open, revealing a dark room. The goblin still seemed grumpy, not inviting the party in, but Liam signaled them to enter anyways.
"Ahh where is it…"
Fregdo talked with a heavy tongue as he touched the wall up and down. Finally, he found a small button, hitting it with his palm.
A light turned on in the ceiling.
"Wow, what's that? Electricity?", marveled Balm.
"It's similar. Goblins are well known for their mechanical prowess. Mixed with a hint of magic they build some of the world's most impressive machineries."
"Hmpf. At least you know how to talk.", grumbled Fregdo as he overheard Liam's explanation.
Meanwhile the party looked around the room. They found disorderly shelves and racks, filled with all kinds of items.
Everything form small bombs to kitchen equipment could be found.
Fregdo didn't bother stepping behind the counter as he turned around and focused on Silver Blade.
"So what do you need from me?"
The young woman glanced at Liam.
"Rope ladders."
Silver Blade blinked, her gaze turning strange.
The others wore puzzled expressions as well.
"Expert, are you sure? What would we use rope ladders for?"
"To save someone.", replied Liam with a grin.
Silver Blade had enough trust in Liam. She turned to Fregdo and asked him for rope ladders.
The goblin wasn't enthusiastic, but he rummaged through his shelves, pulling out rope ladders and metallic hooks.
Liam signaled Silver Blade to pay.
Afterwards the party left the shop, quickly followed by Fregdo who tumbled back in the direction of the tavern.
With the odd equipment in hand Liam brought the party to freshen up on potions before finally leaving the city through an impressively large gate.
They found themselves on a broad dirt road. A lot of people could be seen traveling between cities on foot or horse, an indication of the road's safety.
Life in the Striving Basilisk Empire was prosperous and save. The empire laid within the boundless central plains, filled with lively rivers and sprawling forests.
However, dangers still lurked when leaving the safe roads, waiting for the players to explore them.
Liam and his friends traveled along the main road for a while before reaching a crossing leading them to a small bridge over a river.
[Discovered Wouliph Forest. Reward: 50EXP]
"Guys, from now on let's advance carefully. The monsters here aren't week."
"Heh. With our new classes, what is there to fear?"
Silent Acacia was full of confidence as he began to scout the forest. Running ahead of the party he soon found groups of deer snacking calmly on the foliage.
Let's go. The first prey for our party after level 10.
The young man wore a grin, ready to pull all the deer. Fortunately, his habits as a professional player came through, making him check the opponent's status first.
[Red-Tailed deer
Rank: Common
Level: 17
HP: 1900/1900]
Silent Acacia's body stiffened. Although these deer couldn't be considered powerful, the level difference was not easy to overcome.
Reluctantly the hunter readied his arrow, choosing his angle carefully and fired. He didn't dare to overdo it, drawing the attention of three deer.
A moment later the party spotted Silent Acacia again.
"Hey, what's those three deer? Weren't there more monsters?"
Fortune felt a bit displeased, knowing that a few deer wouldn't grab her viewer's attention.
"Win this fight first before talking about others!
Guys, formation and attack!"
Liam was annoyed as no one took the opponents seriously. Only with his order did the party move, the mages beginning their attacks.
[-99!]
[-76!]
Interestingly Fortune still dealt less damage than Cyclone despite having already switched classes.
This was the case because Liam recommended her the arcane mage class which focused on large, destructive spells which would look good in a video.
But seeing the damage numbers the rest of the party grew alarmed.
"Careful guys, they are level 17."
Silent Acacia warned loudly, finally waking the party up.
"My friends, time to focus!"
Radiant Shield spoke grimly as he welcomed the first deer with his shield.
[Stance -12]
"Don't worry I can block for a while."
Radiant Shield felt confident. With his new class he didn't fear a few attacks.
The two tanks quickly secured aggro, allowing the others to attack.
Quickstep was the most eager to show off her new class. Similarly to Liam she fought with two swords, her damage relying on strength and agility.
The young woman danced around the three deer during her attacks. Her movement built up a special resource called Storm which was able to boost her attacks and skills.
[Storm: 19/99… 20/99]
Quickstep grinned as she accumulated 20 points. She swung both her swords through the air, activating a skill called [Whirlwind Slash].
A small whirlwind suddenly formed, engulfing the three opponents. As it turned quicker and quicker, the wind became razor sharp, constantly dealing damage.
A single blade of wind dealt a solid 30 points of damage. Considering all three deer, the whirlwind hit twenty-seven times, instantly shaving off a large amount of HP.
Cyclone looked on with a gaping mouth, grumbling unhappily.
"Stupid magic defense! Just wait until I get my class! I will show you what damage is!"
Balm was the only one hearing her, smiling wryly. After going down the path of a healer her damage couldn't be considered impressive. But she was content with her standing in the group.
Liam fought calmly, watching how his party controlled their new classes. Although he spotted some space for improvement he was satisfied overall.
Under the combined firepower of the party those three deer soon fell.
Silver Blade and Radiant Shield had taken some damage, but it wasn't threatening.
Thus, the party recovered for a while before moving on.
Luckily there was no need to fight all the deer. They only needed to open a path deeper into the forest.
Silent Acacia though pulled a few more opponents than necessary, aiming for the party to advance in level quickly.
The others were concerned as well. The feeling of being on the ranking list was novel for most of the party members.
Even now their names were still occasionally discussed in the global chat.
This was a feeling most of them didn't want to miss.
However, under Liam's urging the party soon advanced rather swiftly, arriving below a short cliff.
All kinds of plants stubbornly clung to the stone. Following them with one's eyes, one would notice the foliage growing thin towards the top as white steam rose towards the air.
"Mirage, that's a dead end."
Cyclone snickered, amused as even Mirage could get lost sometimes.
But Liam didn't show a change in expression.
"Remember what we bought earlier?"
Cyclone looked puzzled for a seconds before the color drained from her face.
But the young woman wasn't the only one. Radiant Shield suddenly shivered as well.
"Mirage… you don't expect us to climb up there?"
"Of course. Don't worry, it's not difficult."
"Oh nonono… isn't this way too high?"
The others were surprised by Radiant Shield's strong reaction.
"Could it be that you're afraid of heights?", asked Silent Acacia curiously.
"Of course!"
Radiant Shield didn't feel embarrassed. In his mind others were crazy for not respecting heights. Wasn't it normal to be afraid of something which would kill you with a single slip up?
Suddenly Radiant Shield flinched. He was staring at the cliff intently, not even realizing when Liam approached him and patted his shoulder.
Radiant Shield felt a warmth going through his body, thinking that Mirage came to back him up. But the next words threw him in an icy cellar:
"Don't worry. The game is the perfect place to get rid of a fear of heights."
Liam smiled encouragingly while the others had to hold back their laughter.
Next, he turned around, not wanting to delay the matter unnecessarily.
Liam got the bought equipment from Silver Blade before taking out a small sphere.
It was Refresnim's orb of flight. With a thought from Liam the item activated. Resplendent wings appeared behind his back.
With a heavy swing the veteran swiftly shot into the air, traveling along the cliff face.
He tried his best to estimate the distance before taking out a rope latter and a few metal hooks. Assisted by the game he attached them to a gap between boulders, creating a path up the cliff.
The others stood on the solid ground, looking at the swaying ropes with trepidation. No one made fun of Radiant Shield anymore as they imagined themselves climbing up the ladder.
"Ehm, Mirage? Do you even need us up there. Otherwise…"
Up in the air Liam barely understood the voices. He nodded with a reassuring smile:
"Yes, the rope is safe. Don't worry!"