Second World

”You said your two guilds have respectively sent your experts to clear this dungeon, I suppose that some of you are amongst those said experts?” Jack asked.

”Thatʼs right,” Silverwing confirmed.

”Then you can leave the dungeon even without clearing it or getting killed? Because your levels are still high enough.” While Silverwing was talking, Jack had made a scan with his monocle of the people inside the room. Warpath had the highest level among them. He was level 14, while Silverwing and Selena were the next highest with level 13, the rest were level 12.

”We did get killed,” Bluedaze answered. ”Except Silverwing as he did not join when we go into the dungeon.”

”Then how are you still level 12? I thought that players who died outside of safe zone will get their level reverted to 1.”

”Because the dungeon is not considered as wilderness,” Silverwing replied. ”The penalty from dying in the dungeon is the same as dying in safe zones, you only get reduced by a single level.”

”I see…” Jack said.

”It is not wise for us to keep throwing our experts to try the dungeon as it will hinder our expertsʼ growth if they kept on dying. However, we also cannot wait for our experts to level up until sufficient strength, as other guilds might find out about the information of this dungeon. If they managed to get the item that we are after, then it will all be for naught. Hence we see no option but to cooperate among our two guilds who have known about this dungeon.”

”You said about the item you two guilds are after. Will you get two of those items after clearing the dungeon?”

”No, there will be only one, and it is a reward for first clear. We wonʼt get it anymore if we clear it another time,” Silverwing answered Jackʼs question.

”Then how do you decide which guild get this item?”

Silverwing glanced at Queen Magenta before answering, ”there is a ranking system inside the dungeon. After it is cleared, the rank will be announced based on the contribution from each member in clearing the dungeon. We have agreed that the item will be given to the guild whose representative has acquired the first rank. Each of our two guilds will send out five members, among which four will be members from our guilds, while we are allowed one helper from outside the guilds. We donʼt want to involve too many people outside of our guilds to prevent information leak”

Jack was getting the picture after these explanations. He would be White Scarfsʼ outside help, while Warpath was Wicked Witchesʼ. Now that he had been told so much, he didnʼt suppose he could reject Silverwingʼs request?

”Now that you are done explaining to that fool, can we start talking about our strategy?” Queen Magenta commented without reserve.

”Fine, letʼs start then,” Silverwing said, he was a bit annoyed with the womanʼs arrogance, but he still kept his calm smile. He had learned to keep a calm exterior under most circumstances after co-leading the guild for quite some time. Jack, on the other hand, kept his indifference to the womanʼs remark. He had also dealt with people like her in his past VR games, it would be a waste of time to quarrel with her type.

The two of them then started sharing their respective experiences when they tried to conquer the dungeon previously. They laid out the routes in the dungeon and which paths they had taken, what monsters they encountered, where they found traps, and how far they had gone before getting killed.

From their information sharing, they found out that the monsters were roughly the same. They were insect-type monsters. The Giant ant and Giant Ant Warrior that were in Jackʼs hunting quests were among the monsters found in the ruin. But they also found out that the floorplan which they had mapped out during their past ventures was different.

”Could it be the map layout changes with each entry?” Sinreaper commented after analyzing the information.

”That could probably be the case,” Jeanny from the Wicked Witches gave her opinion.

”If that is so, then the map we have recorded down is useless,” Selena added. ”We will be facing a new map the next time we enter.”

”Good thing are the monsters and its levels are roughly the same,” Silverwing said. ”they are ranging from level 12 to 13, which was right around our alley. With our line-up, we should still be able to finish the dungeon despite encountering new map. We just need to make sure we take enough restorative potions for entering the dungeon.

”So none of your two guilds have met the boss?” Jack asked.

Silverwing shook his head, while Queen Magenta stayed silent, which Jack took that her situation was the same as Silverwingʼs.

”Then we donʼt know the degree of difficulty for the Boss, then,” Jack said.

”Are you afraid?” Warpath said with disdain. ”You can just run home and drink milk from your mama if so.”

Jack continued to ignore the guy.

”I think the bossʼ level should not be too far from the other monsters in the dungeon,” Silverwing said. ”And since there is no time limit in the dungeon, we can proceed cautiously to preserve our survival and our restorative items for the Boss. I think we should be able to do it as long as we donʼt act recklessly.”

”I agree,” Selena said.

”All right, I think we have laid out what we know. Now we only need to determine the time. When do you propose we should proceed?” Silverwing asked Queen Magenta.

”The sooner the better,” she replied.

”How about tomorrow morning then? We can use this day to prepare. We will meet at the entrance of the ruin tomorrow morning at 8 AM.”

”All right,” Queen Magenta said.

”Then letʼs conclude this meeting on this note,” Silverwing said.

”Wait!” Jack suddenly exclaimed.

”What is it? A nobody shouldnʼt make a sound,” Queen Magenta uttered with disdain.

”Oh, itʼs nothing serious. This nobody was just wondering, previously you mentioned that if we fail this operation because of me, Silverwing will be giving compensation. Whatʼs the compensation?”

”Thatʼs a good question,” Queen Magenta turned to Silverwing.

”All right. If we failed, we will pay you 1 gold,” Silverwing said.

Queen Magenta shook her head. ”If we failed, we are not just wasting everybodyʼs time. Everyone would be losing a level too. You should at least pay 3 gold to show your sincerity.”

Silverwing frowned at the demand. 3 gold is a big sum even for their guildʼs collective savings.

”All right,” Jack answered for Silverwing, which surprised everyone. ”But on one condition.”

Queen Magenta said, ”Iʼm afraid you donʼt have the authority to make a decision here, boy.”

”No, he can. Let him speak,” Silverwing said.

Jack nodded to him, he then turned to Queen Magenta. ”If the failure was due to me, we will pay you 3 gold coins. But if we succeed and my rank is higher than everyone here, then you should pay us 3 gold coins in return.”

Everyone was astounded by Jackʼs proposal. Silverwing was the first to regain his composure. He said, ”Mister Storm Windʼs proposal is good. It will be a fair bet. I agree with that term. What about you?”

Queen Magenta smirked, ”Heh, why should we agree to such a thing? It wonʼt happen anyway.”

Jack smiled, ”Well, if you are afraid and have no confidence in your champion Warpath here. Then just forget about all this compensation then.”

”Who said we are afraid!” Warpath yelled. He then said to Queen Magenta, ”just agreed to it. Even if we succeed, there was no way he would rank better than me. There was nothing to lose!”

Queen Magenta thought for a while, she then said. ”All right, I agree. We will put that condition as a compensation bet between us. Everyone shall be the witness here.”

”Naturally,” Silverwing said with his usual smile.

😉