Wei's pupils dilated as he watched the wolf get slashed countless times by the lightning attacks of the two elves. After eight seconds of nonstop lightning strikes, the wolf's body burst into flames before collapsing to the ground. Gold coins and other treasures appeared where the wolf's body lay, disintegrating into small pieces of searing fire.
"Yeah!!! We made it!" shouted the archer as he ran hurriedly toward the treasure, eager to see what items he could find.
"Don't get too excited, Francis. Remember, we're only entitled to thirty percent of the items and gold from any special-grade monsters we kill," said Reich, a muscular elf wielding two scythes.
"Thirty percent if you report it to the database," Lance said with a mischievous smile. He carried a single sword and was the team captain.
Francis crouched close to the treasures and gold coins, searching for any rare or valuable items. Meanwhile, the other two elves were busy collecting the gold coins. Their palms glowed as they absorbed the coins, which floated and flowed toward their hands. Wei stood up, his sword materializing in his hand as he walked toward the elves. The gold coins stopped gravitating toward Lance's palm and clattered to the ground as he noticed someone approaching.
"A rogue knight, maybe?" Lance thought, narrowing his eyes at Wei, who emerged from the dim light. Reich followed Lance's gaze, turning to see the same figure.
"So, how's your haul, my friends? Are you earning enough gold?" Wei asked in a calm voice, his gaze shifting to the level indicators hovering above each elf's head.
***************
Lance
Level: 12
Class: Blader
***************
***************
Reich
Level: 12
Class: Blader
***************
***************
Francis
Level: 12
Class: Marksman
***************
Francis turned around, his expression shifting to alertness. Reich dropped the gold coins to the ground and immediately summoned his scythes into his hands upon seeing Wei. Francis stood up, his bow materializing in his hands. He aimed it at Wei, electric currents sparking as he pulled the drawstring, ready to release the crackling lightning arrow at any moment. Lance signaled them to stop with a hand gesture, and they all glanced at the screen above Wei's head to check his level.
***************
Wei
Level: 18
Class: Blader
***************
Using their thoughts, they could send messages to one another, which appeared as text on a screen in their minds. Lance sent a message to Reich and Francis:
"Hold on. If we make a sudden move, we might all end up dead. This rogue is high level."
Immediately, the two lowered their weapons.
Lance then addressed Wei. "Yes, my friend, we are. And we don't mind sharing it with you. In fact, you can take everything."
Wei didn't expect Lance's response and suspected he was just playing games. However, judging by the elves' facial expressions, his intuition told him they weren't trying to fight anymore. Still, he found their behavior a little bizarre. "Hmm, I see. You probably just want to save yourselves. Plus, I assume you're all out of mana, which is why you're avoiding a fight with me," he said.
Lance humbly replied, "Even with full mana, we don't think we stand a chance against you. We're just trying to hone our skills and earn some gold. Maybe you'd like to join forces with us? We could earn more gold and experience with someone like you on our team."
Wei paused, contemplating the situation. Judging by the elves' actions, he was now certain they wouldn't try to hurt him. However, a part of him still felt the need to maintain his distance from them.
"I'm fine on my own, thanks. I'll just walk around and look for more monsters. Sorry to bother you guys," Wei said as he turned and began to leave.
"Hey, wait! Aren't you going to take these gold coins?" Lance called after him.
"No, I won't. They're all yours," Wei replied without looking back.
He continued walking away from the elves, but as soon as he was out of sight, he rushed toward the exit door. Grabbing the doorknob, he pushed it open and stepped out into the courtyard.
"Woah! I thought I'd have to fight another group of elves again. Good thing they weren't aggressive," Wei muttered to himself. "I need to leave this place as soon as possible. It doesn't feel safe to hunt monsters here."
Wei sprinted through the courtyard, heading for the castle's main gate. Just as he thought he was in the clear, he noticed the grassy ground of the courtyard beginning to crack and shift. Moments later, several skeleton warriors in knight armor clawed their way up from the fissures.
Wei stopped abruptly, his eyes widening as he found himself surrounded by the skeleton knights.
"I could fight them, but something about this place feels off. I think I'll just make a run for the gate."
With that, Wei dashed toward the skeleton knights blocking his path. His sword materialized in his hand, and he unleashed his Liquid Slash skill. His blade transformed into a liquid state, extending into a massive arc with jagged spikes as he swung it. The attack ripped through the skeleton knights, shattering them into pieces. Heads, arms, and torsos flew into the air, while glowing gold coins burst from their broken bodies and flowed directly into Wei, absorbed by his body.
With a flick of his sword, the liquid blade condensed back into its normal form.
Without hesitation, Wei resumed his sprint toward the castle gate. The remaining skeleton knights tried to chase him, but thanks to his Level 3 Dash skill with a one-second cooldown, Wei moved too quickly for them to keep up, leaving them far behind.
When Wei reached the gate, he tried pushing it open, but it wouldn't budge. Suddenly, a glowing screen appeared before him.
****************************
Kill all the fiends in this castle
and you will be allowed to exit.
****************************
"Sheesh, looks like I'll have to fight until all these monsters are dead," Wei muttered. Turning around, he saw the skeleton knights approaching, not far from where he stood.
He readied himself, his right fist glowing with a boiling, flame-like aura of blue water as he prepared to unleash his Water Shots skill. However, before he could attack, he noticed a lightning arrow streaking through the air, heading straight for the skeleton knights.
Wei canceled his skill just in time. The arrow struck its target, erupting in a massive electric explosion that shattered the skeleton knights into pieces. Smoke billowed across the courtyard, obscuring the view. Using his Dash skill, Wei sprinted back toward the courtyard. As the smoke cleared, he spotted the elves standing at the castle's main entrance. Wei came to a halt, watching them closely.
"I think it would be much easier if we joined forces," Lance suggested, his tone calm but serious.
Suddenly, the ground beneath them began to shake violently. The courtyard's surface cracked and split as a new wave of skeleton knights clawed their way up. This time, some were taller, bulkier, and far more menacing.
Wei scanned the growing horde surrounding the courtyard. "If you guys think you can't handle all these hordes, neither can I. But I wouldn't mind getting some help," he said with a smirk.
As the skeleton knights closed in, A glowing screen appeared in front of Wei, displaying the following message:
**************************
Lance (Level 12 Blader)
is inviting you to his party.
ACCEPT?
[Y] / [N]
*************************
Wei hesitated, glancing back at the elves who stood ready, their weapons glowing with energy. The skeleton knights were advancing quickly, their glowing eyes and clanking armor creating an eerie rhythm.
He sighed. "I guess it's better than being overrun alone," he muttered, reaching out to tap [Y] on the screen
The moment he accepted, another notification popped up:
You have joined Lance's party. Party bonus activated!
Wei felt a slight surge of energy flow through him. His stats were boosted, and a faint glow surrounded him, indicating the party's shared buffs.
"Welcome to the team!" Lance called out with a grin, his sword sparking with electricity. "Let's clean up this mess together!
Another screen appeared in front of Wei:
********************************************
Every monster this party kills,
you will receive 60% of the gold,
and the rest of the team will share 10% each.
********************************************
"What? I'm going to get more gold than you guys?" Wei asked, confused.
"Yes, because you're the leader now. It's only fair for the leader to earn the largest share," Francis replied with a smile.
Wei wanted to discuss the gold-sharing arrangement further, but the approaching skeleton knights left no time for debate. The fiends were drawing closer, their weapons glinting menacingly in the faint light. He quickly assumed a battle stance, pointing his clenched right fist toward the oncoming horde while gripping his wrist with his left hand.
"WATER GUN!"
Wei activated his Water Gun skill. A powerful torrent of glowing blue energy erupted from his fist, rapidly firing a total of twenty water shots like a high-speed machine gun. Each shot hit its mark, smashing skeleton knights to the ground one after another. However, their numbers were overwhelming, and even Wei's skill wasn't enough to take them all down.
The remaining skeleton knights charged at Wei.
Francis stepped beside him, his bow at the ready. Pulling the drawstring, an arrow made of radiant light energy materialized on the bowstring.
"MYRIAD ARROWS!"
With a single release, Francis unleashed a storm of countless glowing arrows, each streaking toward the skeleton knights. The barrage rained down on the horde, piercing through armor and shattering bones as the arrows found their targets.