Kai turned around to face the two and said, "Quickly, get everything valuable. Give some to me if your inventories are full.." Then he turned in the direction of the dungeon and shot another arrow — this one high and arched — the arrow traveling over 60–70 meters into the green forest ahead.
There was a simple workaround for people with hidden names who killed players. Others just had to pick up the loot once, and then they could get it from them. Of course, it was another thing that most PKers were lone wolves, and even if they formed a group — mostly, they were all greedy people, and trust was not high on the list of their qualities.
Zayden and Bella understood the need for hurry and quickly started to gather all the goodies. Kai's inventory, along with theirs, was also full to the brim. They only took the good items and money, and it was still not enough to get half the things scattered around them. There were even two groups of horses leashed to the trees. Must be the two guilds' beasts. Stealing them was not a good idea — they were all named, plus to old players like Kai, stealing pets was the worst thing a player could do, so Kai just ignored them.
With full inventories, Kai held the other two and quickly used Godstep before the people coming from far could reach them. Then they sprinted in the direction of the dungeon without stopping. It took more time than it should have with the full weight of their inventories, but finally, they arrived at the entrance of the dungeon, where, other than Mimi, Prince, Jor, and Sherry, no one was around.
"What took you so long?" Mimi asked, crossing her arms under her nonexistent chest and narrowing her eyes.
Kai's mother just sighed, smiling, and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Sorry.. There were some people in the way. Let's go.." Kai said and started walking near the dark dungeon cave entrance.
"Wait a second — people? Those Player Killers you warned us about?" his mother asked.
"Yeah," Kai said, "Some people just can't help themselves. One should never be so greedy."
Zayden and Bella stared at Kai, speechless, as he traded half his inventory worth of items with Prince. Then, looking back at them, he told them to make their inventories half, or it would affect their movements heavily. Shaking their heads at the clear show of shamelessness, Zayden and Bella did as Kai instructed, sharing items with Mimi, and even Jor and Sherry.
Kai trusted them enough to know they wouldn't betray him for a few items when he had specifically mentioned he would share some with them.
"I have so much equipment, in here and in the inn's chest too," Jor commented offhandedly. "Maybe I should sell it and get the gold to save some space.."
Kai looked at him and said, "Low-level items you can sell, but wait till the online shop opens this weekend before selling the equipment."
"Hm? You know how that will work? No one on the forums or social media knows much about it.." Bella heard their conversation and joined in.
Kai didn't reveal much but just said with a smile, "Save the equipment, you'll thank me later. Now let's go, we need to see how far we can reach."
"No one has cleared it yet?" Zayden asked.
Kai nodded.
Bella added from the side, "Only a few 10-person dungeons have been cleared, even in the city. All level 15 to 25 ones.. Only the most powerful groups can do it after many tries. A random party can't hope to clear even two mini-bosses."
"That tough, huh?" Zayden said, for the first time, his interest extending from the player to the game itself. Damian knew the guy was pretty good — they had often talked about games and stuff.
Entering inside, with just seven people instead of ten — if any notable guild saw this, they would call it suicide. But Mimi and Prince had full trust in Kai to have any doubts about dying, Jor and Sherry had died for much less, so it was worth it. Bella trusted the OneStepClear, and Zayden was too oblivious to have fears or doubts.
The Grimhorn Den was also a cave; the entrance and pathways were much wider and brighter compared to the Hollow Beast dungeon though. Kai arranged the basic formation with Bella, Prince, and Zayden in front, Mimi and Jor in the middle, and the backline was handled by Kai and Sherry, both with their bows.
Kai had asked Sherry why she had chosen the bow and arrow as a weapon, and she had simply said, "I don't like hitting things with hands, and used to be a decent archer back in school.."
Kai had no answer to that. The cost of arrows was affordable for most players, but it was still a headache to reload and constantly calculate how many arrows they had and would need. If Kai had not received the bow, he too would have chosen to go with his trusty sword.
The first swarm of monsters they faced, after minutes of entering, were the Grimhorn Whelps — small, rabid wolf-like creatures, no bigger than a large dog, with cracked horns jutting from their heads. Their fur was patchy, with glowing red eyes and foam dripping from their jaws.
Their common attacks being,
Swarm Bite: Quick, low-damage bites that stack bleed.
Feral Dash: Sudden leap attack at random players.
Kai had read about them, and they were supposed to have a Pack Instinct: gains bonus speed and attack when near other Whelps.
The other monster which came after they fought the Whelps for 5 minutes were the Cave Bonegnashers — muscular, bear-like beasts with huge, jagged bone plates along their backs and tusk-like fangs. Their skin was tough and covered in scars, with beady yellow eyes.
Their common attacks being,
Bone Crunch: Heavy single-target bite that deals high physical damage.
Charge Gore: Charges in a straight line, dealing AoE knockback.
And a defense skill of sorts called Iron Hide: Temporarily raises defense, reducing physical damage by 30%.