Sword and Claw

Book One: Chapter 4

"What made you change your outfit?" Sora asked.

Amy shrugged. "I just got tired of it. Plus, it couldn't keep me warm in the cold areas."

"Too bad, but it looked good on you."

Amy giggled.

They approached the doorway outside the Lizard's Head tavern. Sora stopped to let Amy go in first. His character usually behaved like a gentleman for the ladies, only to impress them.

The tavern wasn't full of animal people, but there were about ten visitors, mostly NPCs. At the left corner was a goat girl, sitting on a stool, playing a psaltery. Near the corner was the bar counter where a pig bartender was wiping a mug. On the right side was a fireplace where the fire still burned on a log.

Sora smelled baked beans and hot barbeque from the kitchen doorway behind the bar counter. Smelling it made his mouth water a little. He hasn't eaten since he got home from work. But if he had eaten before logging into the game, he would need to log out later to use the bathroom. And bathroom breaks didn't allow during a dungeon raid.

Anyone could eat and drink inside a virtual game, but it won't give their bodies nurtures. The taste and thirst were only part of the simulation to make the players feel relaxed. Whatever type of food they couldn't taste at home, they could buy it inside the game.

Sora could buy a drink, but first, he wanted to meet Amy's party. If he wasn't sober, he might not pay good attention to their plan.

Amy approached a round table at the center of the tavern. Sitting there were two players, a white jaguar cat girl, and a short boar man.

Villa

Cat

Mage

Female

Level: 21

HP: 210/210

PC

Korsol

Boar

Priest

Male

Level: 19

HP: 190/190

PC

The cat girl wore a dark blue dress with a light blue cape, which has a hood around her neck. The boar wore an armor suit with a white hood. A usual outfit for a priest class.

"Hey gang," said Amy as she sat down at the table. "This is Sora. He will be our warrior for our party."

Korsol waved to him. "Nice to meet you. My real name is Paul. Villa's real name is Susie."

The cat girl glared at the boar. "Hey! You are not supposed to give away our real names!"

"Why does that matter? He is part of our party now."

"I told you my identity is private. I am only in this party to get into the hidden dungeon."

"So what is the hidden dungeon?" Sora asked after he sat down next to Amy.

Susie turned to him. "Before we begin, I need to interview you."

"Oh, come on, Susie," said Amy. "You can trust him."

"What if he is a noob? He will ruin everything."

"But my level is at twenty," said Sora. "I think I am far from being a noob."

"Alright then, I will give you three warrior questions, and then we can start."

"Okay."

Susie crossed her arms and laid back on her chair. "Question one. What is the best weapon to slay an undead monster?"

"Any weapon that contains silver. If you don't have silver, you can dip them in holy water instead."

Susie nodded. "Question two. What skill allows you to attack multiple enemies all at once?"

"Well, I usually use my spinning blade skill to fight crowded enemies. But another similar skill is Raining blades."

"Spinning blade is not the answer, but it can work too."

Amy rubbed her forehead. "Uhhhhh, can we get started now?"

"One more question." Susie sat up. "Question three. Your party is down, but you can only resurrect one of your members. Which one?"

Sora rubbed his chin. "It depends on what classes they are."

"Priest, rogue, and mage."

"Hmmmmmmmm. I guess I would resurrect the priest so he can bring back my other allies in combat."

Paul smiled. "That sounds good to me."

Susie shrugged. "Alright. You passed."

"What if I didn't?" Sora asked.

"Then that would prove you are an unreliable member."

"Okay, that is enough now," said Amy. "Can we get started now? I want to complete this before my time is up."

Susie sighed. "Very well then."

She pulled out a roll of paper and spread it out across the table. It was the map of the area where they were located.

"The hidden dungeon is the Castle of Vax," Susie explained.

"Who is Vax?" Sora asked.

"He is a reptile sorcerer," Amy answered. "The rumored lore said he murdered all the students at the School of Mist to become powerful. After his crime, he escaped to his castle and made it disappeared."

"Once a year, the dungeon reappears in a different area and stays there for a week," Paul added. "Nobody else knows where it is at now."

Susie curled a grin on her lips. "Until now. I left a marker inside the dungeon before it vanished."

Markers were magical stones that reveal a location on the player's map. Players could only buy them from a shop that sold magical items.

"How did you put a marker there?" Sora asked.

"I just happened to be a lucky player who found it last year, but a trap caught me off guard. Before my death, I left a marker in there before I logged out. The dungeon vanished after I went back in. I wasn't sure if my marker would work until it reappeared yesterday."

She tapped her finger on a valley area near a forest, which was ten miles from the town. In the valley was a black star spot where Susie's finger tapped on. "That is where the castle appeared. I didn't check it out there, but it is still there."

"Do you know what is inside the dungeon?" Sora asked.

"The dungeon has six floors with different traps. I only reached the second floor."

"Do you remember the traps?"

Susie sighed. "No....."

"No worries," said Amy. "Together we can navigate through the dungeon and defeat Vax."

Sora nodded to her. "I agree. As long as we can work together, the dungeon will be ours. Ready?"

Susie and Paul nodded their heads.

"Let's do this!" Paul shouted with joy.