Passage To The Underworld

Amidst a stare down lasting a few minutes, Kary and the raider leader were spinning around in the small clearing. Nala had backed down, accepting her master's wish to face the man down on her own.

" What's wrong, mister? Are you scared of this little girl? " Kary taunted, temptingly touching her chest.

The leader refused to let his guard down. Although the woman before him seemed inoffensive, appearances could often be deceiving. He had already drawn his blade and had his buckler in his other hand. The man was a swashbuckler and he fit the typical archetype. A rapier type sword and a small round shield, often made from wood. He raised his sword upright in front of his face and dashed forward.

This fight was bound to be a flashy one, as his fighting style was one of attack, just as much as defense. On the other hand, Kary's sword style was very straight forward. No flashy moves or unnecessary steps and swings. Every move her body or sword made was done in the intention of striking her enemy down.

This levered the large difference in the two parties' strength. Kary had enough of an advantage to take him down quickly. And so she did. When the raider leader reached 3 feet before Kary and lunged in with his rapier, she simply sidestepped the lunge and slashed upwards with her sword, cutting the man in two at the waist. He didn't die on the spot, but Kary wasn't going to let him have any mercy. She sicked Nala upon the dying man, letting the lioness devour him as he died.

Three orbs of light could be seen, shining under the lower half of the body. Kary walked to the body, kicked it aside and grabbed the loot. As she picked the orbs up, they solidified into the objects true forms. One was a manual, one was the man's rapier and buckler combo, and the last was a key.

On the manual's cover, it was written 'Order and Chaos, Two sides of a coin manual'. Kary opened its description page, curious to know what it taught.

~Order and Chaos, Two sides of a coin manual~

This manual is a swashbuckler fighting technique with two ways of learning it. The player learning this technique through a lawful mind, learning the talent 'Protect thy honor'. For details on the talent, please learn the technique. If learned with a mind for unlawfulness and chaos, player will learn talent 'Steal from the rich, Give to the poor'. For details on the talent, please learn the technique.

Kary was happy. This had just found a solution to Carol's problem. She also still had the ax and manual for a berserker, which she could give to Marc. Now all she needed was to find a manual for guardians, and her trio of friends could start getting stronger with her. She would later be served on that side, as Anthony had found one in the raider camp's treasury. Kary then checked out the equipment she had picked up.

~Bane of the wicked-Protector of justice~(Rapier/shield combo)

Rarity: Rare

Attack: 5-10

Armor: 15

Durability: 30

This sword and shield combo are flamboyant. They are made for swashbucklers wishing to save the weaker people in a flashy manner. Not to be used in stealth operations, since these beauties are too gorgeous to hide.

Kary laughed. This description was so over the top. Typical for swashbuckler gear. This would go perfectly with the manual for Carol. Next was the key. Kary wondered what that key would unlock, maybe it was a secret room in the camp treasury.

~Key to the Underworld~

This key has a specific role, in a specific place. The player has to find its use on his own. Good Luck.

Kary smiled awkwardly. This meant nothing and didn't come close to telling her where to use the key. 'Too bad' Kary thought. 'Maybe I'll find it later in the game, maybe not'. The description led her to believe it wasn't something from the raider camp. It wouldn't make sense to hide its use if it would be used so soon.

With this, Kary started walking back to rejoin her guild. She had been away for long enough and wanted to see their faces again. She walked back towards the raider camp, as they had decided to regroup there, before looting the place dry. It would be a long walk. She had around 20 kilometers to walk. Maybe her friends would be there before her.

After a long 5 hour walk, Kary and Nala made it to the camp. Her friends had reached the camp only minutes before them, and were already at work, emptying the treasury. They would first see what it held, then they would split it up, depending on battle contribution. Of course, this would split the cake pretty evenly, as all of them had slain about the same number of raiders. Only Kary would get a bigger part. She would also get to keep what she had looted on her killing spree, same as all of them.

Most of the members had already looted basic gear, gold, and basic scrap material. Some were luckier and got rare materials. They would pretty much all get 1 gold, just in loot.

Time flew, while all the guild members emptied the treasury. It was well filled, taking more time than planned to get everything out in the camp square. They also took time to free all the salves the raiders had captured. These were young men and women from the village. Bringing them back would greatly boost their prestige with the villagers, making it easier to recruit NPC fighters.

After an hour of ins and outs of the treasury, it was finally out in the open, for all to see. There were many coffers filled to the brim with money and jewels. There were also a few smaller chests, with artifacts on display. Once every item was tabulated, they had gathered a total of 10 large chests of money, with a total of 60 gold. There were also 15 chests with jewels, all with about the same value. Next was the artifacts. All of the artifacts were one-time-use artifacts, with various uses. There were only 6 of them. Those would go straight to the guild treasury, to be used in due time. There was also a big chest, with inside it, a big shield, a small sword, and a book. These were to be given to Anthony, the only guardian in the guild. One chest stood out from the others, in the simple fact that, it was but a simple wooden box. No ornaments adorned it, nor fancy lock closing it. In it, was a scroll, with on it, the words 'Historical Champion Summoning Scroll'.

This scroll was going to be attributed straight to Kary, and she, in turn, would use it for the guild HQ. Having a historical champion guarding the guild headquarters was a good thing for them. It would give the base safety it didn't have before. It would also give the guild members an NPC to train with. Normal villagers would now also be able to be trained into real soldiers. And last but not least, it gave the possibility to all of them to train in new weapon skills. It was an overall buff for all of them.

The gold and jewels were all split equally, and the guild automatically taxed them a 5% fee, bringing the tally of guild funds to 5 gold. The automatic tax fee applied to the gold from sales, as much as the gold from looting, giving the guild a steady stream of income. Now that all this was settled, they all grabbed their stuff, and left for the village, escorting the ex-slaves back to their home.

After a day and a half of walking, cut in by rest and sleep, they all walked back into the village, greeted by all the villagers, screaming in glee, happy to see them come back alive and well. When the villagers finally recognized the people mixed in with the players, a lot of them started crying, running to grab their lost loved ones in their arms. It was a touching reunion for all to see.

Later that day, the village elder met with Kary again, this time, to consolidate their alliance, giving the guild rights to rule the village. This gave them decision rights on laws and such, but it also gave them a tax revenue from the village, making the guild funds even more stable. Now the guild would have a good footing for the future. After this, everything went back to normal, players hunting, villagers farming, and the occasional villager going to take a job at the guild's HQ. Kary's summoning scroll brought out a famous hero from legends, the Macedonian king, Alexander the Great. And as such, the training for all of the guild members kicked up a notch.

A week went by like this. People got stronger on a steady basis, hunting and training together. Camaraderie could be felt between all of them and it felt good to be together with friends. On a normal morning like every other in the game, a group of members, whilst on a hunt, stumbled on a cavern entrance, blocked by a stone door. Only a small keyhole could be seen in the middle of it. They brought the news back to HQ, stating they had made a huge find. Kary wanted to personally see the place, and she asked the players to bring her to it. Once there, a notification rang in her ear.

" System Notification. Player has found a hidden doorway to the underworld. A key is needed to unlock passage. Key is detected within the inventory, would you like to use it? "

" YES! " Kary shouted, without hesitation.

" Key used. Door unlocking, please standby. Door unlocked. Good luck in the Underworld "

Kary was stoked, she was sure she had just found the door to a dungeon. This would be a huge boon to their guild. She couldn't wait to explore it.

" This will be fun! " she said, smiling with all her teeth.