- Bronze Knight Order of House Copper: 42 members (all around level 20)

- City guards of Eznor: 210 members (all around level 10)

- Eznor Branch Hunters Union: 100 members (all around 10)

Claire stared at the note in her hand. On it was the list of all man power that rested on the tip of her finger. Unlike her time as a player, now that she was a Countess, she realized that she had more than herself to clear the game. She knew the level of general NPCs in most area, but what she didn't know was how many they were that existed. So she inquired Connor about this matter, and found more information than a mere number.

Initially, she planned to bring the entire bronze knight order as a company to clear a few upper-low difficulty dungeons and ruins nearby. But apparently such a thing was near infeasible. When she asked Connor the possibility of mobilizing large number of man power for her private project, the old butler kindly explained to her that while such a thing was possible, it would left the city vulnerable.

First, despite working twelve hours a day, a knight was still a human. So, just like any other profession that needs to be in service for twenty four hours, they worked in shifts and rotations. What it meant was, at any given time, only one-third of the knights were available, another one-third were on standby (Training routine four hours before clocked in), and the last one-third were simply spent.

Second, half of the available knights had responsibility to oversee the soldiers that guarded the city, and pulling them off from that task meant creating unwanted vulnerability. Of course, there was an option of her calling up the knights that was on standby and off-duty, but on the off chances that they were to be exhausted or worse- heavily injured, it would create some kind of weakness on the next shift. Total deployment of her army should only be done in time of extreme emergency, and considering that the kingdom was still on civil war, pushing for such a move was unwise.

So, after being told all of that, she had no choice but to scrap the idea.

"If you would allow me to express a suggestion, My Lady." Connor brought her back from her thought.

"What is it?" Claire prompted the old butler to continue to talk.

"While utilizing large number of knights and soldiers is infeasible, it doesn't mean you can not using them at all. How about taking small amount from each group, My lady? I believe you can take four out of seven available knights that were not on overseeing duty. You also can take eight soldiers who are on the watch, two people from each wall. After that, if you deem it still not enough, you can hire a number of hunters." Connor suggested.

Claire spared few seconds to think over the butler's words. While what he said was a good idea, the reason why she wanted to bring the entire bronze knight order was because she wanted a sure victory, not one with a mere high probability.

Myth of Mergardals was brutal, players died over and over again every time they stepped into new area and faced a new monsters. Only those who patient enough to memorize dangerous spots and learn monsters attack patterns were able to clear dungeons. Furthermore, although she did remember a large chunk of details about places and the foes within, knowing how to tackle them herself and telling people what to do was completely different thing.

In the first place, the reason why she thought bringing the entire knight order would grand her total victory was that she knew such a thing was possible. She had watched some videos where players tweaked the game with mods to make bosses fight a large number of mobs, and surprisingly the mobs were able to win against low difficulty bosses.

What to do... she mulled the thought over and over again. After some time, she finally arrived at conclusion that she should test out the uncharted water.

"Alright. Gather them. The knights only. No need for soldiers and hunters, I want to keep my private project a secret." Claire decided after some deliberations. Even though it was true that the more the merrier, she still had to consider her position as a Countess. She reminded herself that this world was no longer a game, and there were events that could likely happen outside the story line. For example, if the words got out that House Copper was strengthening themselves by collecting artifacts from dungeons, despite publicly declaring that they had joined the neutral faction in the civil war, she afraid that the warring party would glance her way. Besides, she believed few level ten soldiers wouldn't make much different on raiding upper-low difficulty dungeon.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Indeed, My Lady. Bronze Knights' loyalty to House Copper is undebatable. I will gather the best four of the available knights." Connor bowed and left her office.

Once the door was closed, Claire opened the drawer below her table and took out the three item she had gathered before. I hope these are enough.

#######

Colton and three of his comrades were riding their horses in rectangle formation. Two at the front, and the other two at the back. In the middle was a carriage that they had to protect. The horse-drawn vehicle was driven by the head butler, and it carried their master as the sole passenger.

Lady Claire was the last of her house, and he couldn't emphasize enough how important her life to him and his comrades was. Right after the former head died, she took all tasks and burdens of a Countess into her arms. Since then she closed her heart and mind to outsiders, and he heard she harbored a great hate towards the warmonger.

Lord Caspian, Lady Claire's father, the former Count and head of House Copper was killed when he was out of Eznor to attend peace conference. Blatant assassination, to press the nobles to side with one of the two warring factions. Thankfully the two marquis and queen regent quickly formed the neutral wing, and small amount of nobles who didn't want to get tangled in the mess of the two princes were able to join and get their protection.

But still, Colton couldn't help himself to wonder what exactly Lady Claire aimed by leaving the safety of her domain. The head butler had confessed that he had no idea either, and reminded him and his comrades that a servant should not question their master's action. But still the dangers towards her were real, and it was his job to ensure her safety, so he was on some kind of a border.

While any attack towards member of neutral faction would be met by retaliation from the combined power of two marquis and queen regent, that wouldn't deter the warring factions to strike his master. Revenge was revenge only after the loved one got killed, so it was best to prevent oneself from getting attacked in the first place. He and his brothers in the order had shamed themselves by failing to protect the former Count, and he could not even imagine the guilt he would bear should they failed to protect their master again.

Before his mind could wander further, the window in the carriage was slid open, and Lady Claire stuck her head out, "There! Go to that cliff!" She shouted the order, her voice competing against the loud sound of horse hooves and the fast moving carriage.

Colton slowed down his horse so he could get close to the window, "At once, My Lady!" He answered and nodded, prompting his master to get her head back inside the carriage. The Countess nodded back, and a moment later the window was shut.

Now that his master was safe, Colton hurried his horse a little so he could ride parallel with the head butler, "I heard it." The old butler said without shouting. If not for his keen hearing, Colton would had missed his words.

Finding that the driver was in tandem with his master's desire, Colton sped up his horse and rode up ahead, breaking the current formation. His three knight companions understood his advance and moved their horses to protect and surround the carriage in the form of triangle, one rode at the front, the other two rode at each side of the carriage.

Colton rode quite ahead of them and out of the formation, guiding their direction.

Before long, they arrived at the foot of the cliff. Colton stopped his horses, and so did the others. They all hopped off from their horses and assembled near the carriage to protect and greet their master. A moment later, the old butler opened the wooden door, and Lady Claire stepped off to the ground without hesitation.

Seeing his master, Colton couldn't help but to frown. Her dress was a bit weird. She wore comfortable-looking black trouser, but also a knee-length grey skirt with black lining. Her grey blouse was long sleeved with black collar and black trimmed at the sleeves. She also wore a long thick black boots with white laces.

Is this a new trend? he monologued.

"Go look around this escarpment and search for the section that has a bone of hand sticking out of it." His master commanded.

Colton sent two of his knight companions to each direction so they could scan this long escarpment without leaving their master too vulnerable. After around twenty minutes, the two of them were back and one reported that he found the cliff section with hand bone sticking out.

Lady Claire ordered the man to lead the way and they moved to the said section. After arrived, Colton saw that his master reached for an ominous-looking knife and slightly cut her palm with it.

"My Lady!" the head butler yelled in surprise, yet Lady Claire didn't even pay him a glance.

Colton watched in silent as their master let some drops of her blood fell into the bone hand. Few seconds later, the ground shook and a large chunk of rocks crumbled. All of them stepped back, Colton and his fellow knights moved to shield their master. yet at the corner of his eyes, he saw that Lady Claire wasn't surprised in the slightest.

As the ground and the dust settled, he saw that the section with bone hand had transformed into what he would only described as an entrance into some kind of cavern. Before he and his fellow knight could think further, their master stepped forward and then looked back at them.

"Gentlemen, welcome to Callous Cavern. It is time to earn your wages."