Chapter 9: Group of Four
After resting, we ( I ) went to go hunting for some more goblins.
We didn't go any deeper and just grinded our levels here.
Although our line-up was pretty strange, we didn't really encounter any other problems.
And I hope it stays that way.
Hopefully.
Wiping my forehead with my arm, I exhaled after killing another goblin.
“Geez.. I really am getting tired.” I said.
“That's why you need to work out more.” Ruth said as she was tinkering with the drops we had so far and contiued. “Oh and come here for a sec.”
Frowning at her remark, I walked towards her.
Curious as well, both Lucas and Rin walked over too.
“So what do you want to show me?” I asked.
As a response, she showed me an arrow. “This.”
“...”
“What?”
“An arrow?”
To this, she puffed out her chest. “Hmhm. Not just any arrow. Even though it looks like this, the item name says it's a [Bundle of Arrows x10].”
“What?” I said as I widen my eyes. “This? But wait.. how exactly do I use this?” I asked bemused.
“Apparently you need a quiver for it. And lucky for you, I happened to make one just now with the dog skins.” She said with a smile that said 'praise me, praise me'.
“Wow. This is great! You actually did something useful for once!” I said amazed.
*Boink
…
Why was I hit on the head?
“Hey, I complemented you. What was that for?”
“I did many things a while back too you know? Like making some potions as well as an arrow.”
“But that was just one arrow!”
“Yeah, that you wasted.” She said as she threw me both the “bundle” of arrows and the quiver.
Rummaging through her inventory, she brought out a potion with red liquid inside.
“Also, I want to try something out.” She said. “Lucas, c'mere for a sec.”
Looking at Rin and I, he shrugged and stepped forward.
Nodding, Ruth played with the potion her hand and... threw it as hard as she can.
“...!”
And with that, Lucas got a face-full of potion.
“Hey! What was that for?! You could've done that to Adrian!”
“Hey!”
“Okay, okay, stop quarreling.” Ruth intervened. “Lucas, check your status.”
“What? Why?”
While asking, he did so anyway.
“Woah! I have a strength buff! Was that the potion?”
Smiling happily, she replied. “Yeah.”
“But still, that was a minor potion. So it's not much.” Ruth shrugged.
“What are you talking about! These are great!” Lucas.
“Yeah, I think so too.” Rin.
“We could sell them?” Me.
*Boink
“Hey! They would sell really well right?”
“That's not the point.” Rin.
“Well whatever.” Ruth said. “That was the only potion I made anyway and I ran out of materials.”
“...”
“...”
“...”
“What?”
“Wait, ALL of the materials?”
“Well, not all but... most of it? I made some other stuff too though.”
“Like what?”
“Antidotes, minor healing potions, and a dagger.”
“I see, I see... wait, a dagger?”
“Yeah. The goblins dropped some weapon parts. Right now we have a hilt, aaand... a handle thing?”
“Handle thing?”
“Yeah. A handle thing.”
“...”
“...”
“..Okaaay.” I said. “So do we keep grinding or do we go deeper?” I tried to change topics.
“Go deeper I guess.” Lucas shrugged.
“Deeper it is then.”
After that, we ventured forth and we encountered many more goblins.
Some of the new goblins were problematic. They can cast some magic but they weren't too strong.
What was really bothersome though was that they had 'meat shields'.
Since I was the only damage dealer(along with the occasional bomb from Ruth), we had a lot of trouble just getting towards them.
But in the end we sort of managed. But since we were running low on both health and mana, as well as items, we had to go back and restock.
“Sheesh. I had to use some bombs too. Now I have like three left.” Ruth blew her hair from her face.
“Though our levels are like this, we can't really get far can we?” Lucas.
Currently our levels are as follows.
Me at level 9.
Rin at level 8.
Lucas at level 8.
And Ruth at level 7.
Being really stubborn, I put my points into speed.
I don't really know about the others but I know their smart enough.
“So. Do we go at it again?” Lucas.
None of us spoke reason being that we may be wanting to rest.
“How long has it been anyway?” I asked.
Checking our in-game clocks that showed real-world time, we agreed to log out for now.
As for the clock, it moves much slower in-game. So we know what time it is outside.
There's also a separate clock for this world as well.
“So when do we meet up again?”
“Obviously after classes.”
Our conversations went like this as we planned for tomorrow.
“Well anyways. See ya guys later.”
“Yeah.”
“Bye.”
“Bye.”
Logging out at the same time, our bodies dissipated into light particles.
…
…
…
Opening my eyes, my room entered my vision.
What greeted me next was the aroma of breakfast.
Wow, has it really been that long?
Rubbing my eyes and yawning, I got up from bed.
Going through my already-open-door, I walked downstairs and entered the dining room.
On the table were some table ware and some dishes in the center.
This time, I entered the kitchen first.
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“Mornin' sis.” I greeted.
Turning around, my little sister greeted me as well.
“Morning.”
What she wore was a pink apron above her school uniform. She was holding a ladle and in front of her was an oven with a pot in top.
“Mom and dad?”
“Still sleeping.”
“I see.”
Our parents work at the company that made Amaron Online.
And since this game seems to be popular, their workload would increase.
But even so, they seem to be very happy.
“They said they'll play the game with us at some point though.” Maggie said.
“Really?” I said. “Wait, did you start playing already?”
“Duh. Of course I did. I played with some friends who happened to get the game as well.”
“Really now. Say, what level are you?” I asked.
She frowned. “I'm not a hard-cor gamer like you, so my friends and I are at about six ot seven.”
I chuckled. “What are you talking about? That's quite a good start already. And besides, you did really well during beta testing.”
Frowning further, she turned back to her cooking.
After a while, I asked her another question.
“So what are you planning? Same as last time?”
“Hmmm... maybe.” She shrugged.
“You sure? It was kind of... you know?”
“Hmph. Of course I'm sure. It was cute.”
I smiled wryly.
Okay, I know what you're thinking. That my sister's class was something along the lines of being cute and adorable and all that.
NO.
Her class was a necromancer.
A super-rare class.
And although she doesn't want to admit it, she's just as much a gamer as I am.
And also, I hate to admit it but, she could be even better than me.
Going back into the dining room, my sister came back a while after while carrying a pot.
I went to help her carry it and set it on the table.
There, we ate while talking more about the game.
And after finishing, my sister went straight for school while I went back to my room to get ready.
Changing into my school uniform, I packed up my stuff and went out.
Class that day was uneventful.
We had some quizzes, but for Rin and Ruth being who they are, easily aced them.
Lucas and I are one of those who just get decent enough grades.
Isn't it amazing? How Rin and Ruth play games and are still frustratingly smart?
Ahem. Well anyways, by the end of the last class, the four of us were nowhere to be seen on campus...
'Cause we rushed home to do something completely unrelated to school whatsoever!
From there, I logged back in and met up with the others.
“So you guys ready to go in now?” Lucas asked again.
“Don't get too excited.” Ruth answered. “We came back because we ran out of supplies remember?”
“Oh yeah.” Typical Lucas.
There, we entered the forest.
The forest was kind of dense. Thick trees along with a bunch of shrubs scattered everywhere.
It was kind of hard to find what we needed. Mostly because of Ruth's vague descriptions.
'They have long leaves that look like bunny ears.' Like so.
So, I ended up just picking up everything I came by. And yes, most of them are weeds.
After a looong while, we finally reached our 'quota' and prepared to enter the dungeon again.
But first, we had to log back out to eat dinner.
The dungeon was pretty simple. It was a cave system with a few dead-ends here and there.
The roof had those spike things and droplets of water would drop from it from time to time.
After moving for a while and encountering a few goblins, we found tracks.
Railroad tracks. You know, the ones for the carts the miners use?
Those tracks.
And from there we found a few lamps hanging around to keep the place lit.
And since we were moving deeper, the goblins were, of course, getting stronger as well.
“Man, it's getting a bit difficult now.” I complained.
“No, no. Just, carry on. We'll support you.” Ruth.
“...”
I swear, this team.
We continued on and... stopped immediately.
Out of nowhere, goblins on wolves ambushed us. I quickly faced one but several others rounded me and attacked the ones-with-almost-no-combat-potential. I heard the others shouting and screaming but the goblin rider in front of me kept me busy.
And almost as quickly as that happened...
We all died.
-----------------------
Sooo!
Here is the chapter!
Sorry for the delay and if the plotline was like meh.
To me, it sort of feels forced? The jokes and stuff.
But hey! I tried being a bit more'descriptive' of the environment(even if it's only minimal)
and i hope you noticed it.
i'll be updating less 'cause i want to finish my entry for the contest.
'cause i'm kind of scared i won't have enough time because of college.
instructors made it clear that they'll be a bit strict.
of course, i'll write for this too obviously, cause i'm really liking it.
oh! and don't think the instructors are bad though. they're nice.
giving us advice and everything.
As for the drawings............................. not yet. :P
maybe i'll just bring the printer/scanner to my desktop and do it there.
my laptop refuses to scan.
Sooo!
i guess that's it again. i hope you enjoyed 'cause i really really am. really.
and i'll see you next time!