Getting to the verdant woods was not too difficult a task for Kaizen. With the speed of the Black Cloud mare and the precision with which Kaizen shot his arrows at the enemies along the way, they were a practically unstoppable duo.
However, the fact that the monsters got even more aggressive and stronger during the night was not something to be trifled with. After all, although Kaizen had the strength equivalent to that of a level 100 player, there were still many creatures in this world that could kill him with two hits or less. Midgard was still a very dangerous world, as Kaizen was not an evolved one.
Kaizen's journey to the place he longed to reach was fraught with danger, but with the help of his skills and determination, he managed to reach his goal.
Kaizen was assailed by a feeling of tranquility when he entered the area of the verdant woods. It took him about an hour to get there even at full speed, but he was not yet discouraged about exploring a new area.
The groves distributed throughout the low grassy woods were not so dense, thus allowing the white rays of moonlight to pass through them easily to reach the ground.
The terrain was a little uncertain in this region, as it lay between a very mountainous area and an area full of canyons.
The sounds of the woods were quiet at night, as there were no wild animals roaming the area, nor monsters, so the rustling of the leaves on the trees was all that could be heard.
After Kaizen climbed down from the Black Cloud, he guided her down the guide rope until she was a few feet from the double stone door in the middle of the clearing in the woods. The glow of the moon made the red stone between the two doors gleam more during the night than during the day.
"I finally came back here. It seems like a year ago now." Kaizen said, looking at the double door a bit from afar.
He did not immediately approach the door. Before that, he guided Black Cloud to a tree, passed the guide rope behind her trunk, and made a simple knot to secure it. He then approached the mare and lovingly ran his hand over her crest, causing her to wag her tail happily.
"Behave yourself until I get back, girl." He had a fond smile on his face.
As he turned and started walking toward the door, he heard a bark and knew immediately what it was about. Kaizen didn't even have to look back, because the little creature, which tormented him at times, squeezed between his legs and appeared under his vision.
The little Hellround puppy was a little different from the last time his owner had seen him. Hellround had grown a little and gained more muscle in his arms and legs. Still, he stuck out his tongue like a goofy, playful puppy.
Kaizen smiled and asked:
"You want to accompany me, don't you? All right, let's go."
Happiness took over Hellround's face. He ran to the door first than Kaizen, his strong little paws kneading the low grass.
As Kaizen and Hellround approached the door, the player took the dog in his lap and then reached out to touch the smooth surface of the crystal. As soon as his hand touched the crystal, he felt himself being pulled to another place.
This new place was a cramped chamber, with yellow bricks covering the walls, ceiling and floor. In some ways, this place closely resembled ancient catacombs or the famous underground crypts of Paris.
In the initial lobby of the Medusa crypt, torches danced on the walls, illuminating three dark, segmented corridors. However, this time, the wide chamber was not silent, as when Kaizen first visited it. On the contrary, he heard human voices as soon as he opened his eyes.
Turning around, Kaizen saw a group of five players - two men and three women - who seemed to be in the midst of a meeting, as they were grouped together and discussing something. However, as soon as Kaizen appeared, they stopped their conversation and stared at him.
Meeting other players was quite common within the cities, but things were different outside the peaceful areas. With thousands of players dying daily at the hands of other players, or PVP for short, it was difficult to know whether a strange player was a friend or an enemy, which created a general feeling of distrust among them.
This particular group was made up of people of similar ages, but of different characteristics. Their leader, Mirthor, caught Kaizen's attention, for it was he who took the first step forward, putting himself in the vanguard of his group. He was a man with green hair and wore black armor. On his face was stamped his watchful gaze.
His most prominent accessories were the large black sword in its sheath and his black armor. Both appeared to be of great quality.
As Mirthor placed himself in the vanguard of his group, he raised his curved sword and inquired:
"Enemy or ally?"
Kaizen raised both hands high before answering, for he did not want to waste his energy on extras this time. "Neither one, nor the other. I am just an adventurous explorer who wishes to explore this place."
"Are you alone?"
"Yes, but not entirely, as you can see." He pointed with his eyes to the Hellround at his feet. The dog was growling as it hid behind Kaizen's legs.
One of the people in Mirthor's group, a Wind Elementalist Class woman named Gear, approached their leader and lowered Mirthor's blade with one hand.
"It's all right. This place is not that far from Holinda. We knew we had to find other players. Besides, you heard him, he's alone."
"You're right." Mirthor couldn't resist the advice to put down his sword. "Hey, stranger, what's your name?"
Kaizen knew he couldn't say his nickname, as there was a chance he would be recognized, so he answered:
"My name is Klaus. And you?"
"I am Mirthor. That woman next to me is Gear, and those are Aulenarca, Gnorlin, and Khaduth."
"It is a pleasure to meet you." Kaizen said and nodded to everyone.
Obviously, he had already used the <Analyzer Eye> and so he already knew not only the nicknames of everyone in this quintet, but also the Classes, Professions, Titles, Skills and Attribute Points of all of them.
Aulenarca was a mage, Gnorlin was a monk, and Khaduth was a Templar. All of them were between level 50 and 60, except for Mirthor, who was a level 75 warrior.
"You and ... your dog were planning to explore this place too?" Mirthor asked.
"Yes, we were." Kaizen replied.
"So were we. Do you want to join us? No problem if you don't want to, but if you come with us, we can help each other. Rest assured, we are not the type to kill other players and to me you seem like a smart man, you wouldn't want to provoke us by killing one of us." Mirthor looked at Kaizen, and the Psyker felt that the leader of that group was being sincere.
"That's fine with me. Have you guys explored this place yet? Or are you on a shared mission?" asked Kaizen. For him it made no difference whether he explored this crypt alone or in company, after all he didn't even know if the place had good loots or if it was dangerous even for him.
"No, we just heard from an NPC that this was a place that most people haven't explored yet and we decided to come here." Said Gear, the Wind Elementalist. She was wearing a brown tunic and a hood, but that wasn't enough to hide her light brown hair. "If we get a lot of information about this dungeon, we can create a map of the place or even a detailed guidebook, and we can sell that for a good price to any informants in town."
Kaizen put his right hand on his chin. "That's very clever of you."
"What about you? How did you find this place?" Khaduth, the Templar, inquired. She had a set of white armor and a large shield on her back. Her hair was like waves of a tropical sea, a mixture of green and beautiful blue.
Since Kaizen didn't need to lie, he was sincere when he told:
"A few weeks ago I helped a woman who was injured and she told me how to get here. So I came down here once, but I didn't feel confident to explore until I was a little stronger."
"So you are a solo player and a pretty brave type from what I can judge." Gear stated.
She couldn't help but analyze him from head to toe at this point, as Kaizen entered a mysterious dungeon and was not carrying any weapons at his waist or back, nor was he wearing armor.
"Considering that you are not properly equipped and that you have a creature at your side, I would say that you are a Summoner, am I right?" Mirthor asked.
"Maybe." Kaizen shrugged with a wry smile.
Mirthor smiled as well. "I have never seen a Summoner in person. It is a pleasure to meet you, and I bet it will be a pleasure to explore this place with you." He said both to Kaizen and also to Hellround.
...
Edited by: DrHitsuji
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