Chapter 122 - Basic Strategies (1/2)

”Wow, that was a rare sight. You don't usually see one bleed out when hiding,” said Nix Maester as Boris died.

”Pay up, folks,” he shouted turning towards Rex and Thunder. ”I should have bet more,” he sighed as they paid up.

”I wouldn't have. 10 gold was a reasonable amount to risk, but after the first few bouts, I wouldn't bet more than that,” said Thunder Ray.

”It wasn't a bad fight. He never got a chance to fight back. The newbee was quite strong too,” said Thunder putting his hand on King Rex's shoulder in an attempt to calm him.

”Yep, he was unexpected. Hope to fight him soon. What did you bet with Merlin for the fight?” asked Nix. His questions irritated Rex and TriStar, but he didn't care.

”We didn't bet anything on the match,” replied King Rex as he turned around and got out of the arena. He was disappointed that Boris failed but it was just a small thing. He knew that Boris and the rest of the members would have better access to resources being in his guild and sooner or later managed to get good equipment at higher levels. It was just the start of the game and it was a completely new kind of game. He just considered it to be a humbling experience for Boris who would most probably try to work harder after this.

Merlin immediately posted the results of the match and also added Shadow to the Fight Club group. There were a few introductions and rules for the being a member of the club which were quickly explained to him by Oceanis. The main one was that every person had to have at the very least 4 matches per year with players of other guilds or teams in the club. If a pair of players had previously fought, the losing side of the last time could choose the arena. If a player lost continuously for 10 matches, he would be kicked out.

Following that there were some greetings and congratulation offered in the group after which Nix Maester and a few others started make fun of Boris Blade again. Balthazar quickly understood that this group was mostly a place of gossip for star players and conducting matches between them.

The rule for compulsory matches made sure that the members couldn't keep most of their skills secret except for a few hidden hands and this forced them to continuously improve themselves. This was just a club to cultivate their competitive spirit and stop them from lazing out for long.

The one thing that Balthazar cared about the most was that it increased his contacts. This was quite important for a new player. There were previous instances when promising independent players first joined the club and later moved into a guild through the contacts they gained through the group.

The group was a source of making friends to Balthazar in the gaming circle. He needed this if he wanted to improve the Crimson Realm to a first-rate guild. The group had many players who were from super guilds and first-rate guilds.

”So, what do you think of Boris Blade?” asked Merlin after he quieted down in the group chat.

”He seemed to be shocked to fight me, even after I fought so many members of his guild,” replied Shadow. He had expected a decent fight but was disappointed. He realized how much the game was responsible in the improvement of skill in the players. The Boris Blade of his past life could have definitely put a lot of pressure on the present Shadow, but the results were far from comparable.

He realized the difference in both skills the players would gain and also how much their equipment differed in his previous life. ”I need to use this time to gain a good fan base and more members for the guild. Else, I never will reach the level of those super guilds,” thought Balthazar.

He asked Merlin to join him in hunting the quingols in the Blackrock town. He knew that this is the best time to gather more recruits for the guild and contacted Slaine informing that he would be joining them in the Blackrock Town. He decided to attack the quingols till he managed to raise his level till he was close to 13. After that, he would rather attempt the hell mode of the Caves of Lukriag.

Dungeons had always been a good source of materials and experience, if played right. He wanted to get the first clear of the Caves of Lukriag and would have done so, if he had the same level and was worried that someone else might already be trying it.

Especially, after fighting Boris Blade, he realized that the super guilds have very good access to resources and equipment just due to the large numbers. Caves of Lukriag wasn't an overly complicated dungeon. With good equipment and a few tools like dynamites which he knew that other super guilds already have, even the hell mode could be cleared.

Even with his equipment, it is hard to clear hell mode without an upgrade in level or the equipment. He knew that he could only obtain first clear, if he was at level 12 or below when he entered the dungeon. He had seen players do it to get best clear time records in his previous life. So, he wanted to increase his experience very close to reaching level 13 before they entered the dungeon.

So, he decided to try out the Quingol Menace as he believed that like all mass quests, it would provide large number of monsters to attack and kill. From the forums, it was clear that the quingols had been constantly attacking any players that stepped into the Canterbury plains.

As he reached the shop in Blackrock Town where they were assembling, he noticed that the gather was being led by Brick and Perennial and the number of players were more than ten times the amount that was there before the upgrade. The 30 minutes he spent in the colosseum gather a large number of players.

”Congratulations!” said both Brick and Perennial Light as soon as they saw him. There were shouts from the other players too congratulating him on the fight.

”What are they so excited about?” wondered Shadow.

”This is expected. Every time a player in a new guild defeats a star player, it usually leads to a new strong guild. New guild implies more fun and better options for professional players and normal players alike. Competition provides good chances for the ones that are interested in games. That is the main reason for fame bringing more players,” said Merlin looking at Shadow as if he had asked an extremely stupid question.

”That is true,” added Brick. ”But it is going to be a nightmare to protect all of these players from the quingols,” said Brick in a tired manner. He had led a small group less than a tenth of the present one before the upgrade and for that little time, he had worked and stressed extremely hard.

”Protect them?” asked Merlin looking at Brick in the same way, he looked at Shadow previously. ”Does stupidity run rampant in your guild?” he mocked.

”With these numbers you don't need to protect them. You have at least a few hundred members here, right? A good coordination is more than enough to mow those bandits,” said Merlin. ”Mob do you remember the Ravager's revenge?” he asked looking towards Mob.

”Wargod's Tempest? Yeah,” said Mob wondering why he was asked about that now.