Carn was back in God's Paradise, his mind still racing from the events of the day. He found himself in the guild's lobby, wondering what his next move would be. Suddenly, he remembered the final requirement for joining the guild - completing a dungeon with other guild members.
He quickly contacted Shaun, who responded with his signature British accent, "Ah, Carn! Good to hear from you, mate. Ready to complete that final requirement, are you?"
Carn responded affirmatively, his heart racing with anticipation. Shaun quickly got to work and grouped him with a team led by Liam, the Australian monk Carn had met before in the forest. A team of mostly familiar faces appeared in front of him but Carn couldn’t really remember most of their names and one person he definitely hadn’t seen before.
As Carn approached the group, Liam's boisterous voice rang out in greeting, "Hey there, Carn! Good to see you again, mate. How about I reintroduce you to everyone so we can get the roles straight, sound good?"
Carn let out a sigh of relief, glad he wouldn't have to pretend like he remembered everyone's name. "Yes, please," he said, eager to avoid any awkwardness.
Liam gestured toward the rest of the team. "Alright, to start, my name is Liam and I am a low-gold monk. I support the front line with buffs, debuffs, and in-battle tactics." He then turned to a tall, imposing woman with dark brown skin and a curvy stature, who was carrying a large shield and a spear. "This big girl right here is Fatima, a high-silver Guardian. She will be in charge of getting aggro."
Next up was a stern-looking spearman with fair skin, short blonde hair, and a muscular build. "This is Leif, a high-iron spearman, he supports Fatima grabbing aggro when needed and dealing damage when not," Liam said, introducing him.
Moving along, Liam stopped in front of a short Mexican boy who carried what looked like a magical rifle. "This is Juan, a high-iron gunner, he is responsible for finishing weakened enemies and picking off strays," he said with a grin as he ruffled the boy's hair.
Carn then turned his attention to an Indian girl with long black hair and a petite stature, who wore a mage's robe and held a staff. "This is Priya, a high-iron mage, her role is area damage, and small enemy clear," Liam introduced her and explained her role.
Finally, Liam introduced an Egyptian girl of slim stature and fair skin who Carn had not seen before. She carried a sword at her side but was dressed like a priest. "Last but not least is Sanaa, a low-silver templar, she is our healer," Liam said. "You didn't meet her last time because she was doing her tier-up ceremony."
Carn shook hands with all the members, taking note of their unique abilities and specialties. "My name is Carn," he introduced himself. "I am a low-copper ranger. I will do my best to learn from all of you and not get in the way."
After introductions, Liam rolled out a map of the area. His eyes gleamed with excitement as he explained the plan for the dungeon. "Alright, mate, listen up. We're going to the Silk Trap Dungeon, a high-iron level dungeon with giant yellow spiders that can shoot webs and a poison that'll knock you out faster than a shot of whiskey. And the boss? Oh, mate, it's a huge frankensteined spider that'll make your skin crawl. It's a nasty piece of work, I tell you that."
Carn gulped, feeling a wave of unease wash over him. "Uh, what can I do to help?"
Liam grinned at him reassuringly. "Don't worry, mate. You'll provide supporting fire before we get to the boss, and during the boss fight, you'll practice weaving in melee attacks with the rest of us. We'll make sure you're safe, Fatima and I will buff you up, and Sanaa will keep you healed. We won't kill the boss until you get the hang of things, so just do your best."
Carn nodded, feeling a bit more at ease. "Okay, I'll do my best."
The walk to the Silk Trap Dungeon was through a dense part of the forest. The trees towered high above, with thick branches blocking most of the sunlight from reaching the forest floor. The ground was covered with a layer of brown leaves, twigs, and branches that crunched underfoot as they walked. The air was thick with the musty smell of decaying leaves and damp earth.
As they walked deeper into the forest, the sounds of wildlife became louder. They heard the rustling of leaves and twigs as small animals ran away from them. The sound of birds chirping high up in the trees echoed through the forest.
Suddenly, Liam stopped and put his hand up, signaling the rest of the team to stop as well. "Alright, we're almost there," Liam whispered, "the Silk Trap spiders usually occupy this area."
As they moved forward, the forest grew even darker and the temperature dropped slightly. Carn noticed that the trees around them had thin webs covering their trunks and branches. The webs seemed to glow slightly in the dim light, giving off an eerie feeling. Carn could feel his heart beating faster with each step.
The forest path gradually opened up into a large clearing. It was filled with dozens of giant yellow spiders, each the size of a small car. They hung from their webs which were strung between the trees, occasionally moving slightly in the gentle breeze. The spiders looked menacing with their sharp pincers and large, bulbous bodies.
"Stay back and give supporting fire, Carn," Liam ordered, "Fatima and Leif will go in first to aggro the spiders, followed by Juan and Priya to dish out the damage. Sanaa will support us with healing rites."
As they entered the spider's territory, Fatima stepped forward and drew the spiders' attention towards her, standing tall with her shield in hand. The spiders didn't hesitate to charge at her with their massive jaws and sharp claws, but Fatima managed to deflect the attacks with her shield.
Liam and Leif quickly stepped forward and used Fatima as a shield, blocking the spiders' attacks while delivering their own melee attacks. Liam's fists struck the spiders with powerful blows, while Leif's spear found the weak spots in their armor. Fatima took the brunt of the spiders' attacks, deflecting them with her massive shield and striking back with her spear.
Juan took a position in a nearby tree, perched high above the spiders. He aimed carefully with his magic rifle and fired off devastating bullets that hit the spiders with explosive force. Priya used her magic to create mini-tornados and blades of wind that sliced through the spiders' webs and tore into their flesh.
Whenever someone was injured Sanaa would draw her sword across her hand and the blood would flow out of the wound and into the injured person's body curing their wounds.
Carn provided supporting fire from the back, firing his magic arrows with precision and accuracy. His new eyes allowed him to find chinks in the spiders' thick skin. The arrows hit the spiders with a noticeable impact, leaving visible wounds that weakened and slowed them down. Although Carn's arrows did not have the damage potential to kill a spider, they helped wear them down and allowed the rest of the team to finish them off. Every once and a while his arrow would get launched with a random elemental effect that would deal much more damage to the spider’s bodies.
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The team's teamwork was evident as they fought the spiders. They worked seamlessly together, each member providing support for the others. Fatima's aggroing the spiders allowed Liam and Leif to deal out their melee attacks while Juan, Priya, and Sanaa supported them from the back. Carn's arrows provided a constant stream of damage to the spiders, weakening them for the rest of the team to finish off. With their combined efforts, the spiders were no match for the team's prowess.
After the skirmish, the team took a short break to catch their breath and assess their wounds. Liam approached Carn and clapped him on the back.
"Great job out there, mate," Liam said with a grin. "You did some serious damage to those spiders. I'm impressed."
Carn felt a surge of pride and gratitude at Liam's words. "Thanks, Liam. I did my best."
"Your best was more than enough, trust me," Liam said. "But I have a few tips that might help you do even better next time. See, the silk trap spiders have a weak spot on their underbelly. If you can hit them there, you'll do more damage."
Carn nodded, taking mental notes. "Got it. Underbelly."
"And another thing," Liam continued. "When you're in a party like this, your role as a ranged dealer is to injure combatants that we aren’t engaged with and to support anyone who gets overwhelmed.”
Carn nodded again, committing the advice to memory. "Okay, I'll keep that in mind."
Liam gave Carn a hearty slap on the back, grinning widely. "There's the spirit, mate! Let's grab everything we can and push further in." With that, the group set to work on the grisly task of dismembering the giant spiders.
Carn watched in awe as they expertly tore out fangs, claws, and harvested silk from the spiders' abdomens. Fatima took the time to show Carn how to harvest properly, explaining each step in detail. It took a few tries for Carn to get the hang of it, but soon he was working on his own, feeling a sense of accomplishment.
As they worked, the party explained to Carn that this was the main source of income from dungeons, aside from the loot from killing the boss. The work may have been monotonous, but it was necessary to make a profit.
Carn couldn't help but sneak a peek at his notifications during the lull in the action.
- Level 87 Silk Trap Spider Killed -
Your contribution was 8%
Bonus experience is given for defeating a foe of a greater level
+678 experience
+710 Skill experience
- Level 82 Silk Trap Spider Killed -
Your contribution was 17%
Bonus experience is given for defeating a foe of a greater level
+743 experience
+801 Skill experience
…
A large amount of these kill notifications followed and Carn noticed that the spiders gave more experience the more he contributed to the kill. More notifications followed.
- You have leveled up! -
- You have leveled up! -
- Skills have leveled up! -
Hunter’s Accuracy x2
Magic Arrow x2
Carn put the ten stat points he acquired from the levels into will. He wanted a larger pool of aura to work with and he hadn’t really been putting anything into the stat before. Magic Arrow now did 2.2x damage and Hunter’s Accuracy now increased his ranged accuracy by 22%.
As the group finished harvesting the giant spider corpses, Carn felt the effects of Nature's Child coursing through his body, fully rejuvenating him. His Mana and Aura were completely restored, leaving him at his peak condition.
"Alrighty, what's everyone's condition?" Liam asked, gathering the party together.
Priya, the mage, responded confidently, "I have about two-thirds of my mana left. I should be good to go."
Sanaa, the templar, wiped the blood off her blade as she replied, "I have about three-fifths of my aura remaining. Give me another 20 minutes, and I should be back to full power."
"How about you, Carn? You were slinging magic arrows the whole fight. How long do you need to recover?" Liam inquired.
"I'm good to go now. Both my Aura and Mana are full," Carn responded matter-of-factly.
Liam found a tree stump to sit on and chuckled. "That's a good joke, mate. No need to be shy. Just let us know, and we'll work around you. The guild pays us big for teaching new members the ropes, so you don't have to worry about wasting our time."
Carn shook his head. "No, really. I'm full on everything due to my Latent Talent."
Liam raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Suuuuure, mate. Just show me your stat sheet."
- Allow Liam to view your stat sheet? -
-Yes- -No-
“Alright no problem,” Carn responded, clicking the yes option.
- Notice -
Species, class, and latent talent won’t be shown unless otherwise specified for your protection.
[https://i.imgur.com/Z5PVQqO.jpg]
“Damn kid you weren’t lying, full hp, aura, and mana. If not for seeing it with my own eyes I would’ve thought you were holding back on us,” Liam said with a look of shock and admiration.
The rest of the party looked at Carn in surprise, their curiosity piqued by this revelation.
Liam kept looking through the page. “‘Top 5 Tutorial clearer’ as well. Was that world notification a couple of weeks ago about you?” he asked, clearly impressed.
Carn nodded modestly, “Yeah, that was me. That’s why I was invited to the guild, I think.”
Juan looked slightly dejected and fiddled with his rifle before speaking, “I only could get 25 before those goblins got me…” he muttered.
“Getting 25 is still impressive,” Fatima tried to console him. “I only managed to kill 17 before they got me.”
Leif stuck his spear in the dirt and sat beside Liam joining the conversation, “Most people don’t kill even 5 before they go down. It is how the tutorial is designed after all, it wants you to not be too afraid of death while inside the game so it is made to be practically impossible. I heard a stat once that only about 5% of the world's population cleared the tutorial at all. Getting top 5… no wonder you were invited to the guild.”
The spearman stretched and a question came to his mind, “What are his base stats anyway that allowed him to do such a feat?”
Liam looked at Carn for approval to share. Carn shrugged, not caring if the party knew.
Getting approval, Liam responded to Leif’s question, “Carn has two tens, two nines, two eights, a six, a five, and a zero.”
“Two tens?! Were you a professional athlete or something before joining God’s Paradise?” The normally quiet Sanaa blurted out as the rest of the group looked at Liam and then at Carn as if they couldn’t believe it.
Carn chuckled awkwardly before responding, “No nothing like that I just liked to exercise. Are my base stats not normal?”
Sanaa gathered herself, “I am the only one in this party with a base 10 stat and I am considered a talent worth fighting over. It would be hard to find 1 person in a group of 100,000 people with a 10 stat, but 2? I mean… an average person’s base stats hover from 2-5 so your stats are most certainly not normal.”
“Thanks, I guess,” Carn said, unsure how to respond.
“Enough gawking, we are here to teach the boy not to be fanboys,” Liam said, “It’s been about 20 minutes let's get back to hunting.”