"Rosebella. Dewrey. This is Fang Raon!"
Tessa introduced Fang Raon to the other two members of their small party.
"…Hello."
Rosabella said.
She was a tall woman, probably in her early thirties, and had red hair like fire that cascaded down her back.
She was Tessa's older sister, and they finally got around to trying Black Online because Tessa turned eighteen a couple of days ago.
Rosabella bought both of them Virtual Reality Pods to try it out because she knew that Tessa had been wanting to play the game for a long time.
"Yo."
Dewrey said with his arms crossed.
He met Tessa and Rosebella only a few days ago, during their first day in the tower, and partied up with them.
This account wasn't Dewrey's first, as actually a week ago, he happened to die on the 12th floor during a failed boss raid.
Thus, he had to start again from the beginning.
It wasn't too hard to tell, but Dewrey had this strange kind of arrogance about him, as if he thought of everyone around him as village pumpkins.
"Why do I need to be around these noobs?" he was probably thinking about.
However, when he looked at Tessa, there was clearly some affection, as if she were the exception to his usual disdain.
"Nice to meet you."
Fang Raon sat down with Tessa.
"…Well, how long have you been playing?"
Dewrey asked while tracing his finger around the edges of a glass of water.
"Half an hour, I think."
Fang Raon said.
"Huh? Are you serious?"
Dewrey's voice turned low with disgust, as he'd prefer teaming up with people that actually knew what they were doing.
He only joined with Tessa and Rosabella because of Tessa and thought about carrying them through the first few floors.
Dewrey believed that would make him look good in Tessa's eyes, and then there would be a possibility of romance budding between them.
"Rosabella and I are also new players."
Tessa said.
She didn't think there was anything wrong with Fang Raon being a completely new player.
"How much do you know about the tower?"
Rosabella asked.
"Decent amount. I used to listen to streamers play the game, and that has helped me so far."
Fang Raon said.
"…Listened, not watched?"
Rosabella wondered with a confused look on her middle-aged face.
"You said that you need a Warrior for your party. What for exactly?"
Fang Raon turned to Tessa.
"Yes, we're gathering a party to eventually attempt the raid on the First Floor's boss, but before that, we thought about heading to the sewers.
"There will be some Angry Rats and Wild Dogs that we can kill and sell to the merchants for money."
Tessa said.
"When are we going?"
Fang Raon asked.
"…Do you even know how to fight? Have you even used your skills yet? Do you even know how to use your sword?"
Dewrey asked with a scoff.
"…I think I will manage."
Fang Raon said with a smile.
He didn't take Dewrey's attitude too seriously, as that was just the culture around the tower from what he had listened to in the streams.
The strong were respected, and the weak were looked down upon.
"Let's go then!"
Tessa said excitedly.
They took off into a walk, left the Adventurer's Guild behind, and walked down under the evening sunlight.
They arrived at a short bridge with an underpass. It was at the western part of the city. The bridge was old and worn, made with red bricks and stone arches, but still structurally sound.
Dewrey led them to under the bridge, and there was a pathway to the sewer system, and the smell was overwhelming.
Tessa and Rosabella pinched their noses to stop the smell.
"…Disgusting."
Dewrey spat under his breath.
'I have smelled worse.'
Fang Raon thought.
"…Go ahead, Fang Raon. We don't have Tank, so Warrior is the closest thing, so you have to take the lead.
"I will be coming behind you, and Rosabella, and Tessa will be at back they are Mage and Helper, whom we need to protect."
Dewrey said.
"Got it."
Fang Raon walked ahead and entered the smelly passageway, and the ground underneath was wet as if there were puddles everywhere.
The passageway was about ten meters long, and after exiting that, they entered the sewage system with a loud rushing sound of water flowing.
It had dim lighting, but there were some lanterns placed strategically along the walls, providing just enough light to navigate through the darkness.
Fang Raon pulled out his wooden broadsword and wooden shield from his inventory. He held them tightly in his hands.
"Angry Rats are deeper in the sewers. Let's move, and be wary of Wild Dogs, they like to jump from dark spots where light does not shine."
Dewrey spoke and pulled out his weapons.
He was wielding a pair of steel daggers.
They were still cheap, but as soon as Dewrey's main account got zeroed, which meant getting the account killed, he spent the first few days just grinding money to purchase better weapons.
Rosabella held a wooden wand with a red gemstone at the tip, and Tessa was holding a staff with a glowing crystal orb at the top.
They were both Mage's and Helper's starting weapons.
They started making their way down deeper into the sewer, and they weren't alone, as there were occasional sightings of other players.
Killing other players was common in the tower, but it wasn't allowed in the cities except with the Mutual Combat Law.
Both players could choose to duel each other to death or until a certain point decided beforehand, such as when one player's health reached a certain level.
"It should be about time we encounter some rats."
Dewrey warned him.
"…Okay."
Fang Raon replied, turned left, and headed towards the dark, musty tunnel, but there was a corner coming up.
The corner slowly revealed three fat rats dining on the corpse of a player who had not been so lucky.
"Ah!"
Tessa accidentally screamed at the shocking death.
She felt like worms were crawling down her back as she thought about dying in such a way and became weak in the legs.
Hearing the scream, the three rats turned around, and their red eyes glowed in the darkness like burning embers.
"HISS!"
Angry Rat hissed and lunged towards her with sharp teeth bared. Tessa's eyes widened in fear.
In that moment, Fang Raon swung his wooden shield, smashed it across the Angry Rat's face, and sent him it flying into a wall.
The Angry Rat smashed into a wall and turned into a meat pancake.
[You killed Angry Rat!]
[Next Level: 0 → 1%]
'What a powerful shield swing! Who the hell is he?'
Dewrey thought with a frown.