"Oh, another group… a pretty small one," A confident light-brown-haired man in his twenties carrying a bow said. "Hello… can we approach?"
The man seemed to be in his twenties, and his smile broke to a forced one when he saw the look in Jake's eyes. Jake had a weird feeling while he was looking at that group. He used Appraisal and saw their names and status, and they had at least fifty percent more points in health, mana, and stamina. So, it was fair to say that they were guys who just arrived in that part as well. Still, that didn't explain why Jake had a weird feeling regarding them… Was it because they had two priests, two archers, and two mages? The lack of a front liner seemed pretty weird…
"Sure… why not?" Jake replied.
"Hey, don't be rude, okay?" Lana whispered. "Like you said, we need to gather more Intel and won't obtain it if you're too edgy."
Jake felt troubled that Lana was trying to teach him common sense. Still, he didn't have time to complain right now. Nevertheless, the group was quite diverse, having three men and women between twenty and forty years old.
"My name is Clark, and I am the leader of this party," The light-brown-haired archer said. "May I ask your names?"
Jake wondered why he was asking. Shouldn't it be easier to just use Appraisal? Still, some people would be annoyed to have to deal with that. That certainly would be a violation of privacy…
"My name is Jake, and she is the leader of this party?" Jake said and then pointed to Lana.
"… What?" Lana asked, visibly confused. "You are always giving orders, and you tell me that I am the leader?"
"A semi-useless leader," Jake said. "You were the one who decided to create this party. Therefore, you are the leader."
"Since that is the case, then go buy some juice for me. That is an order from your leader," Lana said.
"I refuse," Jake replied. "You are the leader of this party, but that doesn't actually give you any real power over me."
"Then, what is the point?" Lana asked, visibly pissed.
"… You guys have an interesting party there…" Clark said. "Anyway, let's work together if you are here to stop the dungeon break. It will be easier this way."
Things really ended like that… Jake had imagined it. While refusing would be simple, they wouldn't gain any Intel. Not to mention, they perhaps could tell them where Jake and the others could find another humans or a settlement to buy and trade items.
"Sure, why not?" Jake asked.
"You really like to say that, huh," Lana frowned.
Lana didn't notice it, but Louise couldn't help but wonder why Jake so readily accepted that offer when he clearly was wary of them. Not to mention, with their bugged skills, they would draw a lot of attention, and rumors would spread… while Appraisal could show status and skills, Jake imagined that newbies like them wouldn't be able to see all of their skills. Still, that raised a question, did Luke see those skills when he used Appraisal on them? If the answer was yes, did he help them because of that?
"We don't have many skills, so go easy on us if we don't show anything decent while fighting," Jake said as he looked toward the girls.
Louise had understood the message, don't show their special skills, but he couldn't quite be sure if Lana had it. Hopefully, Louise will have the answer to whisper that to her at some point during the mission.
It didn't take long for a group of eight Reptilians to appear coming from the North side of the abandoned city. As usual, Jake dashed toward them, but then he frowned when several fireballs and arrows killed six of those creatures. Clark's group sure had a lot of firepower. Regardless, when Jake got close enough, he swung his sword downward, and when one of the monsters blocked it, he made the creature lose its weapon. The other tried to stab Jake, but then he used Mana Blade on the creature's head. As for the other creature, it tried to jump into Jake's neck, but he stabbed the monster in the heart.
You obtained 03 coins.
You obtained 03 coins.
You obtained 03 coins.
…
Jake thought that his party was pretty offensively oriented since they had two members focused only on that, but it looks like there were people out there even more brutal. He didn't know if he could trust on that party, but Jake could trust in their power to complete the mission.
"Impressive, that much physical strength really turns you into a fearsome front liner," Clark said. "When did you guys come to this site?"
"A few days ago," Jake replied. "What about you?"
"We have been here for two weeks. I suppose you didn't hear of a small party disappearing within the game. We weren't that famous, after all."
"So, is this really some kind of reality?" Jake asked. "What you guys did that sent you here?"
"Ah… we must be the first ones you had met. No wonder you know so little," Clark said. "You are right. This is real. If you die here, you are a goner. As for the requirements to be able to reach this place, you have to clear the first maps and all missions without suffering a game over. Whoever created that game, it didn't want to bring weaklings or stupid people to this site."
"You are well-informed," Jake furrowed his eyebrows.
"Well, that is because we found a guild, and we joined them," Clark replied. "Our veterans explained everything we know about this so far. If you want to join us to learn more, our guild master is always welcoming new members."
"Is that so… where is your base?" Jake asked.
"It is in the neutral planet, that place where all newcomers are teleported to after reaching the requirements necessary to come to this side," Clark replied.
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