BOOM!
Kashi grinned as he slid to the right, barely dodging the chain devil's snake-like chains. The sickles smashed into the ground, caving the earth. The daeben paid no attention to the devastation as he skillfully weaved his way through the chains. The daeben, not one to only receive gifts, retaliated with a flurry of arrows whenever he got the chance, but the chains around the devil protected him, swatting most aside.
Whoosh! Bam!
The chain devil roared in rage as an arrow zipped past its defenses and struck its chest. Unfortunately, however, the devil's skin was too thick, and the strike only managed a minor injury. Kashi was not bothered too much, as he knew it wasn't a matter of his strength but his arrows' sharpness. His level 100-120 arrows lacked the bite needed to pierce a monster of this level.
It was like using a plastic knife to cut human skin. No matter how strong the person wielding the knife was, as long as the blade wasn't sharp, the exercise would remain futile. The daeben made a mental note to order a new batch of arrows from the dwarfs the next time he visited Merriheim.
Enraged, the chain devil dashed at the daeben and struck its fist down at him. The chain wrapped around its arm flew ahead to ensnare the daeben and make sure he could not escape.
Kashi watched the incoming fist, and his gaze narrowed. Rather than retreat, the daeben charged toward the chain devil as black ki suffused around his right arm.
Bam! Boom!
Kashi dodged the chains with exquisite footwork, gaze focused until he reached the chain devil. The daeben looked at the fist that seemed to blot out the light and lashed out with a punch.
The chain devil roared in anger when it saw Kashi dared to challenge it in a show of strength and piled even more force into its punch. Whoosh! However, seemingly at the last moment, Kashi suddenly spun in place, sidestepping the fist. The chain devil was already a spent force at this stage, unable to retract its punch.
Kashi, who had been waiting for this very opportunity, suddenly punched out at the devil's arm. The massive force sent the devil's arm flying to the side, forcing the rest of its body to spin with it. The daeben seized this chance and rushed into the chained devil's space. He jumped and then delivered a devastating punch to the devil's gut.
The chained devil groaned in pain and staggered backward, momentarily stunned by the heavy blow. But Kashi was far from done. Ever one to capitalize on a chance, the daeben unleashed [Asura] on the exposed midriff. The chained devil repeatedly coughed up blood as the blows bypassed its tough skin to wreak havoc on its vital organs.
BOOM!
The final blow threw the chained devil off its feet into the air. Most monsters would have needed a few seconds to regain clarity after that beatdown focused on its weakness, but the chained devil was a veteran of torture. It only needed a moment in the air before it regained its senses.
Whoosh!
The chains moved independently of the devil and zipped toward the daeben, who was momentarily locked in the final animation for [Asura]. That animation only lasted half a second, but in the realm of experts, half a second was enough to determine the winner and loser of a battle.
Kashi's gaze narrowed as he watched the chains descend upon him faster than bullets. However, there was no panic in his eyes. He had the best back-up in the world, after all.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Clang!
A dozen arrows suddenly flew past the daeben and smacked the chains to the side, altering their path. Krrr! Unfortunately, however, a single chain zipped past the defenses and slithered toward the exposed daeben. Not even the Archery would be able to release another volley in time to block it. Nothing was stopping it now!
Clang!
However, just as the chain devil was on the cusp of success, something deflected the chain past Kashi. The chain devil, who was still airborne, glared at the white-haired assassin who had suddenly appeared in front of the daeben, daggers drawn.
Blood dripped down Shadow's right arm, but his gaze remained even. This was a fair price to pay for blocking that deathblow. Shadow glared at the airborne chain devil then whispered, "Go."
"Of course," Kashi replied as an unbelievable amount of ki surged around him. With both [Ferulic's Spirit Technique] and [Angel Step's Technique] activated, Kashi's speed peaked.
BOOM!
Shadow swayed in place, blanketed by the sonic boom that erupted after Kashi launched ahead at full speed. The chain devil could barely hold in its shock when the daeben suddenly appeared above it, holding two chains in his hands.
Kashi did not give the devil a chance to react and instantly flogged the devil with its own chains. His arrows might have lacked the sharpness, but the devil's chains were crafted from Darkgold Steel, a rare metal only found in the hottest regions like the depths of volcanoes. The sickles at the end of the chains were more than sharp enough to pierce the monster's skin.
Coupled with his burst in strength, the sickles left deep gashes in the devil's chest as it crashed to the ground.
Kashi let out a roar as he gathered ki in his right hand and then punched out. A ki dragon shot of his arm and slammed into the downed devil, further compounding its injuries. The daeben, however, was far from through with his attacks.
Kashi spun in place, so his head faced the ground, and then 'kicked' the air. A massive explosion of ki ensued, launching the daeben with the force of a bullet into the devil's midriff. The chained devil spasmed, hands and feet flailing upward as it suffered from the deadly blow.
Kashi prepared a follow-up attack, but a thunderous roar burst his eardrums and stalled him for a second.
Boom!
The chained devil burst to its feet as it unleashed an explosion of ki that sent the daeben flying. The devil's red skin glowed bright, its eyes turning fiery red as it entered an 'enraged' state. In this state, the devil's speed and power grew exponentially. It completely abandoned defense and instead chose an all-out attack. Issuing a loud roar, it chased after the daeben, its chains moving ahead to slice off the pest's head.
Kashi's gaze narrowed as he spotted the incoming chains. He quickly righted himself mid-air and kicked the air, sending him flying in another direction. A chain flew by where he had been, but many more slid in from different directions, seemingly cutting off his escape route.
"Now this is interesting," Kashi praised with an excited grin as he bent backward, letting a sickle fly above him. Another chain sliced up from beneath him, but the daeben grabbed the chain that flew overhead and took advantage of its momentum to launch himself out of the other's path.
Kashi let go of the chain and descended onto another that zoomed underneath. The chain's speed provided enough weight for Kashi to dash across, dodging even more attacks. The daeben laughed as he jumped from one chain to the next, enjoying the reverse game of whack-a-mole.
After a minute or so of nerve-wracking gymnastics, Kashi noticed that the devil's red skin had begun to lose its glow. This was a tell-tale sign that it was about to lose its enraged status. Every gamer knew that the best time to unleash finishers on boss monsters was during the brief respite after a rage attack.
Kashi wielded his bow and glared at the incoming chains. This time, however, he shot to the ground, attracting the chains to follow him.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Kashi whirled around and shot out arrows as the sickles crashed into the ground after failing to crush him. Sharp eyes would have noticed that the number of chains following Kashi reduced over time as the daeben ran circles around the chained devil.
BOOM!
Eventually, the final chain smashed into the ground, and Kashi's aura vanished as he dispelled the techniques. The daeben could not maintain those techniques for too long as they seriously drained his mana and ki when active.
Similarly, the chained devil let out a weak growl as its raged status ended.
"Leila, now!" Kashi roared as he retreated, unwilling to let the opportunity pass.
Whoosh!
Just as Kashi spoke, he spotted a single arrow flying over his head toward the chain devil. Although the arrow wasn't slow by regular human standards, it was extremely slow by the standard of Lv. 150 warriors and monsters.
However, the chained devil's instincts issued loud, terrible warning signs as that arrow flew toward it. It did not know why, but it knew it had to get out of there as soon as possible! The chained devil mustered what strength it had to flee, but its efforts were thwarted by a boisterous clang!
The chain devil stared around it, shocked by the realization that its chains had been pinned to the ground by Kashi's arrows. Furthermore, the chains were pinned around it, preventing it from running in any direction! As stated previously, Kashi's arrows were not of the highest levels, meaning it would only take a bit of effort for the devil to pull out its chains.
Unfortunately, however, the chain devil would not get that chance. The one-second delay caused by realizing it was chained down was enough for the arrow to reach striking range!
Whoosh!
Kashi stared, shocked as the arrow burst into thousands of silver light petals, thick enough to shroud the entire devil from sight. The sight of those light-petals floating around the stunned devil reminded the daeben of a certain anime he once watched.
The daeben turned to look at Leila in the distance, who set down her bow as she whispered, "[Thousand Light Petals.]"
Boom!
A bloodcurdling scream rang out as the light petals engulfed the chain devil, sharp edges ripping it to shreds. A few seconds later, the petals dispersed, revealing the badly mangled chain devil. Its skin had been shredded beyond recognition, rivers of blood pouring out of exposed veins.
The devil collapsed to the ground and burst into light petals, leaving behind its chains and some other loot.
After having a taste of custom-made weaponry and armor, Kashi was no longer interested in random loot drops. He took the chains, which had shrunken to fit into his size, and left the rest. The guild would find someone who could make use of the other stuff. That was more of Leila's field than his.
Kashi also received some good news in the form of a level-up notification. Despite the penalty to his XP gain, clearing a room of cambion generals and killing a chain devil was still worth a few levels, especially when his actual level was so low.
Kashi smiled as he pulled up his stat window. His escapades at Kirkcour Woods, coupled with this dungeon, had increased his level to 132. That was 8 levels gained since he first met Marilith. Many gamers would cry foul if this happened to them. To think that defeating armies, saving an entire civilization, and clearing a room full of Lv.150 cambion generals only netted him 8 levels. However, that was the reality of the heavy debuff the daeben was forced to endure.
Surprisingly, however, Kashi was not discouraged by this. This time, the bulk of his experience came not from the monsters he killed but from the XP given by completing a major story quest, 'Liberating the Centaurs.' Furthermore, gaining their loyalty increased the completion ratio of his main quest, 'The Continent's Unification,' which also netted him many XP.
Kashi could thus see the new path for himself. Rather than focus on killing monsters, the fastest way to level up would be to subjugate more cities or towns to increase his main quest completion percentage. As with all games, story quests always rewarded more XP.
Kashi closed the window with a satisfied nod and then turned to the approaching Leila with a smile as he complimented, "Nice Shot..."
"Thanks." Leila accepted the compliment with a small smile as she gave Kashi a once-over. "You've gotten a lot stronger since our last meeting."
"Haha, it's nothing," Kashi laughed as he waved his hand and reverted to his daeben form. "I've recently had a bout of luck."
"Luck, huh," Leila muttered as she crouched to examine the fallen loot. "If only we were all as 'lucky' as you." The wisben made a mental note of the materials and the best method to distribute them within the guild. She then turned to Kashi with a half teasing smile. "So, have you come to resume your Guildmaster duties? I have kept your office nice and clean, ready for you anytime."
Kashi recalled the mountain of paperwork he saw on Leila's desk and instantly paled. Laughing nervously, he refuted, "Haha... No. Of course, not. As long as our great vice-guildmaster is here, I can rest assured the guild is in guild hands. I'll leave that up to you!"
Leila rolled her eyes as she suppressed her laughter. "Fine then. If you did not come here to relieve my stress, did you come to add to it?"
"Eh..." Kashi hesitated as he scratched his cheeks. "I'm not too sure if it's one or the other." The daeben proceeded to explain everything about his world and Drixlia's evolution in full detail, leaving nothing out. "With your permission, I'd like to move our HQ into my inner world and use it as a hub connected to several places on the continent."
Leila thought about it and nodded, "I think that's a good idea too. Secret attacks against our guild have been escalating recently. We've intercepted numerous spies trying to steal all our secrets, including the blacksmith manuals. We do not have to move the entire Headquarters, but certainly, the more sensitive materials can be safeguarded in your world."
"I agree," Kashi stated. "But aside from that, I was wondering if we could use the world as a hub for adventurers to travel between the major cities. You know, we charge them to use the gateway into my world, from which they can then take the gateway to some city I've painted on the continent."
"That's a good idea, but wouldn't it prematurely kill the train and skyboat business?" Leila's brows furrowed in thought. "Miote will kill you if he finds out."
"Don't worry, I already considered that possibility," Kashi assured her. "I have two solutions. First, I intend to have the public gateways only access a couple of major cities. The trains will remain the main mode of transportation within a country. Also, the gateways will only take individuals, not luggage. Like this, merchants will choose to use either the skyboat and train for travel. Second, we make the gateway price much higher than the train. Most people should choose to take the train then, leaving only the insanely rich or adventurers. The skyboats will specialize in long-distance travel, ferrying goods and people between countries. I don't think it'll be affected much."
"Miote did say our main target should be the poor and middle-class Residents," Leila muttered as she absorbed the details of Kashi's plan. "Your plan does exactly that while also accommodating the rich. Miote would be proud of you."
Kashi nervously scratched the back of his head. "Haha, like you said, if I did not come up with a good plan, Miote would kill me for destroying the train business before it even started." The daeben patted his chest and released a nervous breath he was not aware he was holding. "So, what do you think? I can present this proposal to Miote, right?"
"It could use some polish here and there," Leila replied with a thoughtful gaze. "But the groundwork is solid. You can leave the rest to Miote. He'll make sure to squeeze out the highest possible profit."
"Ah, okay, that's good then," Kashi said with a smile. "Next, to the real reason I'm here."
Leila's brow rose. "Oh? There's more?"
Kashi nodded and then said, "I want to visit Serisis. I'll need you to be the bridge."
"The battle's just around the corner," Leila replied with a raised brow. "I don't think you have time for a round trip to Serisis. You still have a lot of work that needs wrapping up in Merriheim."
Kashi grinned as he procured a scroll with a painting of Rine's Bar. "Did you forget who I am? Getting back to Merrriheim will only take me a second."
Leila rubbed her forehead as she issued a frustrated smile. "Ah, yes. I forgot about your ability to teleport." The wisben shook her head as she thought of another problem. "Is it just us two?"
"No," Kashi replied. "It's been a while since I've seen the king. He'll have to accompany us. Of course, with as many aides or ministers as the trip requires."
"The King? You mean Paris?" Leila questioned in shock. "This trip. It's not just to save the orc and dwarf, is it?"
"No, it isn't," Kashi replied. "It's about the upcoming battle. That prophecy... So many people heard it, which means many armies will be heading there to prevent it from happening." The daeben's eyes narrowed. "I'm no expert on game design, but if they felt sending out the prophecy worldwide was the only way to stop it, don't you think that means that the force trying to carry out the prophecy is that strong? Strong enough to contend against the entire continent?"
Kashi thought about the cult he kept encountering. The Chaos order. Who knew just how deep their forces were. If they had a hand in the battle, then Kashi could not afford to take it easy, "I hate to admit it, but I do not think our guild's army will be enough. We need the combined forces of the three countries to stand a chance."
"Three?" Leila's brow rose in shock. "You're adding Merriheim to the mix?"
"Yes," Kashi replied. "I will fetch the dwarven king after we clear this dungeon. We will then get Rosendun's King before heading for Serisis. There, we'll have the first real summit of the three powers. We can also use the chance to plan our path ahead."
"It's a good plan," Leila praised, but then added with furrowed brows, "but then, why do I feel so uneasy?" The wisben's eyes narrowed as she glared at Kashi. "I'm probably overthinking things here, but you would not possibly be thinking of gathering everyone, then leaving all the talking to me, will you?"
Kashi's eyes widened, his panicked expression akin to a deer caught in headlights. "Uh... *cough* *cough*." Kashi cleared his throat as he stuttered and began to take a newfound interest in the ceiling lamps. "Wow... those lamps look so good. We should consider—"
"Kashi."
Kashi felt a hand clamp on his shoulder, and he winced as he knew what was coming. The daeben looked down and met Leila's gaze, which was drained of all emotions. 'Crap! She's mad!'
A vein popped on Leila's forehead as she squeezed the daeben's shoulder. "Hey Kashi, are you the Guildmaster, or am I the Guildmaster?"
Kashi winced in pain as he shamefully replied, "I am the Guildmaster."
"Do you think it makes sense, that in a summit of three kings, organized by the Guildmaster, that said Guildmaster ducks the summit and leaves it in the hands of the Vice-Guildmaster?" Leila scolded, each of her words whip striking the daeben. "Is such conduct disrespectful or not?
"It's disrespectful." Kashi obediently replied like a schoolboy caught in a lie. "I was wrong. I'll do it myself."
"Well, that's enough," Leila said as her lips curled up in a teasing smile. She patted Kashi's shoulder and assured him. "Do not worry. I will assist you. Ah, no, I must assist you. Who knows what nonsense you'll end up agreeing to if I let you go alone."
Kashi grinned as he looked at Leila with a knowing smirk. "I knew you would help. You were never good at being mean." To which Leila replied with a frosty smile that immediately drained the mocking in the daeben's eyes. "I'm sorry. I won't do it again," Kashi apologized with a formal bow.
"Woah! Check this out!" A voice shouted, drawing Kashi and Leila's attention to the room's entrance. The Maggots had finally finished with the cambions in the hallway and had just reached the room where a field of loot awaited them. It was no wonder someone shouted in shock.
However, it only remained as shock. Even faced with the mass of loot, the Maggots did not lose their cool. They briskly got into formation as they systematically logged and stored every piece of loot, no matter how invaluable or valuable it appeared.
Kashi watched the Maggots' systematic sweep with praise in his eyes. A true test of a guild's strength was not in the battles they fought but their behavior in the presence of loot. Any guild could gather and train warriors to defeat bosses and conduct successful raids. But the yardstick that determined if the guild would last long was the guildmembers' reactions when they had to decided who got which loot.
A terrible guild's members would fight and squabble over every piece of loot. A good guild's members might rush for the loot, but they would not harbor ill-will in their hearts in the event they missed out. A great guild, however, had a fair and just system for distributing loot that every member could easily point to and reference when the time came for a decision.
The Hopeful Maggots used the tried and tested Guild Merit Point system. Each member got merit points based on their contribution to the guild. Whether it be through helping in raids, crafting items, or joining the army. There were clear, distinct rewards for each activity. These merit points could then be exchanged for items or equipment stored in the guild's vault.
The guild's vault, meanwhile, was filled by members of the guild through three methods.
First, every loot gained during a raid was stored in the guild vault, except if someone exchanged merit points for the item during the raid.
Secondly, guildmembers who stumbled upon loot during their own adventures could sell it to the guild for merit points or cash. However, most guildmembers chose merit points, as items in the guild vault could only be purchased with merit points.
Finally, the third and most important method was through their in-house craftsmen. After Kashi transcribed the blacksmith manual, many guildmembers switched to the blacksmith profession for a chance to view the manual themselves.
Beginner craftsmen got a few introductory blueprints to start with. After seeing the options on these equipment and realizing how much profit they could make through sales, the craftsmen would request higher-level blueprints.
However, the only way to acquire these blueprints were with the use of merit points. The merit cost for blueprints was very high, so the craftsmen needed to craft and then turn in a good number of products before earning merit points for the next tier.
Maggot-crafted weaponry options were superior to anything found on the market, and this was the main reason why its guildmembers fought so hard to contribute to the guild. Who needed to search outside for better equipment when the Maggots had the best right at home?
Kashi revealed a proud smile as he turned to look at Leila. There was no need for any complicated speech. He only said, "Thank you..."
"No, thank you," Leila replied.
Neither needed to explain what they were thanking the other for. Such was the history between the leaders of the Hopeful Maggots.