"Alright, everyone gather round." Thomas called and the wary faces from the rest of the group disappeared.
"Since you don't look very experienced or geared, you'll remain on the back line with Denis here and Sophie, and only observe. Denis is the second tank, and Sophie is our support. I'm the main tank and the group leader." Thomas explained while looking at Matthew and pointing at a burly man and the blond girl.
‘That’s not too bad, I’ll see how players work together and I can scout the portal as well, let’s just go with that for now.’ Matthew thought.
Thomas gave a short presentation of what they will find inside the portal and gave the strategy to everyone in the team.
"So. Any questions? Everyone ready?" he asked the group. "Then, let's go."
The 7 of them then proceeded to walk into the gate.
The party system for Perma portals worked automatically. If players mutually agreed that they were in a party and entered close to each other, they would end up in the same instance.
This level 3 Perma portal started at the bottom of a hill. On top was a large orc village made of primitive wooden cabins.
Thomas took the lead, followed by the 3 other melee damage dealers. He was fully geared with armor and had a massive shield and mace. The other 3 had some pieces of thin leather-like equipment.
Matthew felt out of place with only normal clothes and the shortsword he had pulled out.
Sophie realized what he was thinking and started chatting with him as they moved up the hill.
“Don’t worry. Big bro is pretty used to this portal. We often run it with players that haven’t been very active or are inexperienced. All the others here have been players for a while now, but they never actively ran portals. They only decided recently to give it a go and applied at the guild. That's why big bro created Blue Ghost.” she explained.
“Big bro?”
“Oh! Yes, Thomas is my older brother you see. Hehe. I forgot to mention.” she said, scratching the back of her head. “He actually created the guild for people like that, so that they wouldn’t have too much trouble getting started or coming back and have to go through dangerous situations by themselves.”
‘I could have just asked before going on my own when I got the system. That was stupid. I didn’t know there were guilds like that. But I was also concerned because of the new players' disappearances, and I was right to be. I guess it worked out in the end.’ he thought.
“Why didn’t the others run portals before?” Matthew asked, curious.
“It depends. For some, they thought it was too dangerous and wanted to remain with their family, but now they need to earn money and the prospect of earning a lot from the mana crystals is attractive. Others were simply busy and did something else. Everyone has his reason, we don’t pry if they don’t tell us.” she answered.
“Everyone, quiet now. We’re close.” Thomas stopped and ordered. “I’ll go first and you follow me in order as planned.” he continued.
The group had arrived at the top of the hill and was only a dozen meters away from what should be the main street of the village. According to the database, the orcs were located in the heart of the village, with only a few in the cabins.
The group made its way to the street and started going deeper into the village. They passed a couple of houses and then stopped. Sophie cast a spell on the group and Thomas knocked on his shield with his mace.
Ring. Kong.
‘Hm?’ Matthew did not expect the system to react. He opened the status window and noticed a Status was in effect.
[Status: Light of protection]
- Bonus stats -
STR: 15
AGI: 15
END: 15
INT: 15
Duration: 1 hour
‘That’s really good!’ Matthew thought, impressed.
After that, the group could hear the sound of the orcs running. They quickly got into view as they poured out on the street in front of the group from between the houses on the right.
‘It’s just as he explained in the beginning. That’s some accurate strategy.’ Matthew thought, still on the backline next to Sophie. Denis was also with them, on alert.
The orcs pounced on Thomas, who was standing in the lead. He stopped them, seemingly unfazed by their number or strength.
‘Wow, so this is a tank in action? Those orcs look really strong yet he didn’t move an inch.’ Matthew observed.
Thomas swung his mace and obliterated the head of one of the attacking orcs.
The rest of the melee attackers in the group rushed in and started slashing at the orcs' bodies. The orcs remained focused on hitting Thomas, who was protecting himself behind his shield.
The sound of clashing between the orcs’ weapons and Thomas’ shield was resounding in the street.
Little by little, the number of orcs was diminishing.
Ring.
[You have gained a level.]
‘Wow! So I earn experience even when I’m just observing? The group is quite efficient. The damage dealers don’t seem all that strong, but the strategy in place works really well and accounts for the intel on the portal.’ Matthew noted.
There was Thomas keeping the aggro on the orcs, and the 4 melee attackers slowly killing the orcs. Sophie remained in the back and cast spells every now and then. Matthew was a few meters from her, observing the scene, and they would be protected from the orc about to come out behind them by Denis.
‘Huh? Where’s Denis?’ Matthew suddenly realized.
He counted again, there were 5 people in the melee and he was left alone with Sophie in the back. Carried away by the fight, Denis had left them behind and joined the front.
“Shit! Behind!” Matthew yelled.
An orc wielding a butcher knife had come out between the cabins and was rushing at Sophie.
“Kyaaa!” she screamed and fell down.
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