"It should not be a problem. I know the place that you're speaking of." Izroth knew that Zi Yi was referring to the Sea Palace Graveyard. He gave Wess his word that he would not spread the word about the Sea Palace Graveyard. Therefore, it would not be going back on his word if he brought along others who already knew about it.
"Even if you know about it, that does not change the fact that Cross Haven is in control of it. While I'm sure we would have no problem getting past anyone to enter inside, I would rather not make enemies of a top guild over a dungeon." Zi Yi said.
"Bah, who said that only one guild can claim a dungeon as their own?" Halls said displeased.
"Well said, brother! What gives them the right to do so?" Guan Yu added on.
"Strength, power, influence- Should I continue?" Zi Yi glared at Guan Yu and Halls which caused them to quiet down and avoid eye contact with her.
"Zi Yi is only taking everything into consideration to make our lives easier. She is simply worried, that's all." Luna reassured Halls and Guan Yu.
"H-hmph! Who would worry about those two fools?" Zi Yi folded her arms and tried to decline Luna's statement.
"It should not be a problem at all, trust me." Izroth stood to his feet. He still had a calm and carefree expression on his face.
Zi Yi let out a deep sigh, "You've brought us all together and so the choice is obviously yours. I just thought I should give you a fair warning."
Izroth nodded. He knew that Zi Yi was just giving him a heads up. In fact, he was impressed by how much knowledge she held about RML itself and even the top guilds. That kind of information did not just happen upon someone by chance. She had obviously done her research.
"Then it's decided. We'll head to the dungeon Sea Palace Graveyard." Izroth said.
...
It did not take long for Izroth and his party to arrive at the entrance into the Sea Palace Graveyard. The group that was waiting there was the one Izroth had run into on his way out of the Sea Palace Graveyard the last time he was here.
The group did not give him any trouble and allowed for him, as well as, his party members to enter into the dungeon. Of course, they sent a message to Lieutenant Wess who was in charge of this area for confirmation purposes. His response was, "It's fine if he's in a party with them."
The four with Izroth was surprised that they let them through so easily without so much as trying to halt their advance. One of them even greeted Izroth as if they had met before.
"You... What connection do you have to Cross Haven?" Zi Yi asked curiously. Luna, Guan Yu, and Halls were curious as well.
"Connection? I don't have any." Izroth then entered into the gateway and into the Sea Palace Dungeon Graveyard.
The four of them had looks of disbelief written on their faces. No connections? Who did he think he was fooling? Would a top guild just allow anyone to stroll into a dungeon they already claimed as their own?
However, if Izroth did not want to talk about it then they would not mention it any further. The four of them followed him into the gateway.
...
Around two hours later...
〈System Alert: Warning! A limited time portal is about to be opened into the «Chaotic Dogma Realm».〉
"Oh? What nice timing." Izroth said as he and his party had just finished up another run of the Sea Palace Graveyard. Fortunately, low-level dungeons like this did not have a limited number of runs to them and so they could be run as many times as players wanted.
'We should head back to Amaharpe before the portal is fully opened.'
The group had completed the dungeon a total of four times. They could have done so even more times, however, the main purpose was to understand each other's skills and learn basic teamwork. Each of them managed to level up at least once.
Luna was already close to reaching level 24 before they began, thus she was able to surpass Guan Yu and was now the highest level member of the group at level 25. Although, Guan Yu was not too far behind her.
Halls and Zi Yi had reached level 23 and were extremely close to level 24. As for Izroth, he was only around 22,000 EXP away from level 23 and so he was able to level up twice, reaching level 24 in the process.
"The portal is about to open soon. We should head back right away." Izroth knew that they must have received the system alert as well.
Within two hours, each of them had a good understanding of their fellow party members strength.
The strongest damage dealer in their party was without a doubt Izroth. Some of the numbers he was hitting for should not even be possible at their level. However, most of his damage came from his ability to locate and precisely strike at his opponent's vital points.
It was extremely rare that he missed a critical hit on his target. His speed was also astonishing when he used his skills to boost it. In conclusion, he was just a total monster when it came to damage.
The member with the highest damage after Izroth was, of course, Zi Yi. Izroth found out that even during the fight against those twenty players, she did not show all of her skills. In fact, if they were fighting a long and drawn out battle, her damage would be enough to surpass even Izroth!
While Guan Yu was able to dish out massive damage strikes, he was not able to keep a constant high DPS as Zi Yi could, therefore, he did not deal as much damage as her. However, he made up for it by being quick, as well as, durable and he was capable of acting as an off-tank if necessary.
There was not much to be said about Halls and Luna's damage numbers. Although Halls dealt top notch damage for a tank, he was still a tank in the end and his damage could not compare to the other damage dealers.
As for Luna, she was a healer and so it was only natural that she dealt the least amount of damage out of everyone present.
Izroth and his party left the Ruins of Kashysh and began their trip back towards Amaharpe.
"I find that we're lacking when it comes to magic damage. If we come across a monster with insanely high physical defense, it will be challenging to overcome it. Even though I have a few armor piercing skills, I doubt it would be enough." Zi Yi decided to bring this to Izroth's attention.
Izroth nodded in agreement. He had already thought about this, however, he did not know any mages personally and so it was impossible to do anything about it. "I, also, would like a magic caster to join us, but finding one on such short notice is a little too much."
"Finding a good magic caster is quite difficult. They are one of the most played classes in RML and so it is not challenging to find a magic caster, however, finding one with skill is..." Luna furrowed her brows.
"There's also the question of if they would be willing to risk the loss of their character." Izroth reminded Luna.
Luna could have tried to invite one of her friends who was a mage, but her friend was not all that skilled and mostly played for fun. Also, there was no way that her friend would risk losing her character on a quest.
Guan Yu and Halls were at the front of the group fooling around as usual. When it came to conversations like this, the two of them usually distanced themselves and left it to Izroth, Zi Yi, and Luna. After all, they were not good with the technical stuff and their answer to almost everything was to charge forward.
Zi Yi appeared to be in deep thought as she rested her thumb and index finger on her chin.
Izroth noticed Zi Yi's thoughtful expression. By now, he had discovered that whenever Zi Yi was skeptical about something or speculating, she would often keep it to herself until she felt as if everything was sorted out. She was definitely the perfectionist type.
Luna had also realized this about Zi Yi and could not help but to shake her head and give a slight smile. Zi Yi reminded Luna of someone she knew a long time ago and so Luna often, unknowingly, revealed a much softer side of herself when dealing with Zi Yi.
"Zi Yi, you should not be afraid to speak your mind around us. Ever since we've met, I have yet to hear a terrible idea or plan leave your mouth." Luna said as she tried to encourage Zi Yi to speak her mind.
"I may have someone to fill our magic caster spot but... They're a little... Eccentric is the best way to describe them." Zi Yi instantly regretted her words once she spoke them and her face turned slightly gloomy. In a way, this person was even more unfiltered than Guan Yu and Halls.
While they did not have Guan Yu and Halls headstrong attitude, that person was quite the "unique" individual.
"Why did you wait until we finished our dungeon runs to mention it?" Izroth was curious as to why Zi Yi seemed so dispirited once she mentioned the magic caster. Eccentric? Didn't they already have a few eccentric people in this group? What harm was there in adding one more to the mix?
Zi Yi rubbed the temples on her forehead as she tried to soothe her mind. But, when she heard Izroth's words, she immediately looked down and was constantly pushing her index fingers up against one another. She appeared as if she was a child who just got caught redhanded and was trying to think of an excuse.
"I thought maybe we'd get lucky and find a magic caster before we entered..." Zi Yi spoke softly and mumbled underneath her breath, hoping that no one would be able to hear her. However, thanks to the Five Cycles Pill, everyone heard her quite clearly.
Izroth and Luna blinked a few times before they glanced at each other. They then looked back towards Zi Yi with inquiring expressions on their faces.
Guan Yu and Halls halted their steps when they overheard Zi Yi. Although they distanced themselves from the conversation and were fooling around, it did not mean they ignored it altogether.
"Brother, it has to be her boyfriend that she's embarrassed about, right?" Guan Yu turned to Halls and said.
Halls shook his head, "My brother, you're talking about Zi Yi here. Who could possibly be capable of surviving one of her famous torture jokes? He would be a true man amongst men!" Halls and Guan Yu looked as if they were having a debate about a serious topic.
Zi Yi's facial expression darkened and she immediately drew her bow and notched two arrows, aiming them at Guan Yu and Halls. "Do you two always have to use your mind and tongues for such ridiculous things?!"
Guan Yu and Halls had personally seen Zi Yi's scary accuracy with those arrows. They quickly made a 180-degree turn with their statements.
"Joke, we were just joking big sis Zi Yi! My brother is willing to hand you his life as forgiveness for both of us!" Guan Yu was the first who responded.
"Tch... I've been betrayed by my own brother...!" Halls pretended to be distraught.
"You two...!" Zi Yi was clearly agitated by their little performance.
"Alright both of you, those who pick on Zi Yi will not receive any of my heals." Luna spoke in a cold tone of voice.
"Forgive us, big sis Luna!" Both Halls and Guan Yu bowed to apologize.
Zi Yi calmed down and put her bow away and let out a long sigh.
Izroth only gave a small carefree smile at the way everyone behaved. While it may not seem like it on the surface, he knew that all of them got along quite well. Even though none of them had known each other for that long, it was already like they had known each other for months or even years from the way they interacted.
"You were saying something about eccentric?" Izroth reminded Zi Yi.
Zi Yi cleared her throat, "It's difficult to put into words. You would have to meet him to understand. He's extremely skilled and would not mind the risk but... You must be prepared." Zi Yi's expression darkened.
Izroth was even more curious to meet the person who could make Zi Yi act and talk that way. He had already decided how to respond.
"I'd like to meet him. Is it possible?" Izroth asked.
Zi Yi nodded, "I'll tell him to meet us in front of the palace gates..." Zi Yi was reluctant, but since she had already mentioned it she could not take it back.
...
It took Izroth and his party around twenty minutes to return back to Amaharpe.
'Good, the gate is still listed as closed so we haven't wasted any time. It should be opening soon since we've already received a system alert.'
Izroth and his party headed straight towards the Amaharpe palace.
