10 10. Entering the [Instance Dungeon] with the Sword Genius's Party.
The [Instance Dungeon] in the village dimension spawns randomly only for 1 hour in a day. If in that time frame there isn't any player or party which enters, then it disappears. Maximum only 10 players can enter in that time frame, together in a party or individually. Once the 10 spots are taken the entrance disappears.
When the [Instance Dungeon] is cleared or time limit to clear is up, then the players are randomly teleported outside in a 300m radius from where the entrance was located. Players of the same party are teleported together. Of course, when the party or players inside die they are spawned in the village's summoning plaza.
~~~~~
Sunny took few deep breadths to calm himself and proceeded to examine the [Instance Dungeon] up close.
The entrance was only a pair of ancient palace doors 3m in height and 1.5m in width. It was surrounded with green colored light screen from 4 sides. 10 white colored balls hovered above the doors. When the balls are green in color it indicates that the spot is taken. If the balls turn red that means the players are either dead or they have cleared the [Instance Dungeon].
{49': 39''} {49': 38''} {49': 37''}
There was a timer above the light balls ticking down. When it will reach zero then the entrance will disappear even if there are players inside or if there are spots left. Except those who are inside no one will know about being there a entrance to [Instance Dungeon].
Sunny noticed that surrounding of the entrance was filled with dense trees reaching 10m in heights. The total forest area is around 330 sq. km. Sunny is around 8km from the entrance of the forest in the north east direction. Other players wouldn't have crossed the 4km mark till now. Only some elite or smart players would have crossed 6km mark. Rarely some players would have travelled this deep.
Affirming his thoughts Sunny marked the location in his map and went back to the area were he met Sword Genius. The map is only filled with areas he visited and will expand as he explores more. He can also exchange map info with other players.
Auxiliary functions like map, VR Forum, Guild Info, Quest Info, etc. can be used just with a mental command from the players.
About 13 min. later Sunny heard sounds of battle and shouts. A moment later he reached the border of a small clearing where one group of five were battling 2 rabbits and 1 wolf.
[Steel Clawed Wolf] (level-1-E)
HP: 115 (48%)
[Single Horned Rabbit] (level-1-E) / (level-1-D)
HP: 100 (74%) / 150 (31%)
The fighter gets 2 beginner skills *Slash* and *Parry*, the rogue gets *Stun* and *Backstab* and the ranger gets *Lock On* and *Quick Hands*.
*Slash* and *Parry* are self-explanatory common moves which can be carried by majority of the weapons. If a fighter player chooses a hammer-type weapon then *Slash* becomes *Smash*.
*Stun* skill effects is to effectively stun the opponent for 1 sec. The probability of successful stun effect depends upon the body part being hit. If any vital area is hit then chances of the opponent being stunned increases. *Backstab* skill damage depends on the rogue class specific stat Stack. If *Backstab* is executed after 2 successful hits the damage done increases by 4%. 3 successful strikes- 16%. 4 successful strikes- 64% and so on.
*Lock On* and *Quick Hands* both uses the ranger class specific Perception. The ranger can also increase the output of Perception stat for better hit rate. *Lock On* skill allows sure-hit on any stationary opponent. If the opponent is moving the sure-hit chances goes down, but it can be increased if one is willing to use more of the Perception stat. Although this causes the cost to use the skill increase exponentially.
*Quick Hands* allows the ranger players to shoot rapidly with low hit rate. This skill is also important in later stages also.
~~~~~
Sword Genius and The young girl Yu'er were stalling the E grade rabbit and wolf. Sword genius would use *Slash* and *Parry* to keep the wolf engaged to her while occasionally dealing normal strikes to the rabbit.
Whenever she was on the cups of getting overwhelmed she would shout "Now". Upon hearing her shout the young girl Yu'er would quickly cast the skill *Mana Shield* on Sword Genius. SG would then allow the rabbit to hit the shield and quickly counter the wolf's claw strike or bite. Since the young girl Yu'er isn't dealing any damage to the rabbit she wasn't targeted by it.
On the other hand, the rogue Xuan Bing was kitting around the D grade rabbit. The ranger Xie Ying was in-charge of dealing damage. While the mage Qin Ming was helping the ranger lady by deploying *Mana Shield* if she wasn't able to dodge or block on time. Occasionally also dealing some damage with *Mana Bolt*.
The group chemistry was good, proper co-ordination, timely assistance, etc. Within a min. Sunny reached there the rogue, ranger and mage had finished the D grade rabbit. They then went to assist and finished both the E grade monsters within 3 min.
*ahem* As the group of 5 were picking the drops, Sunny walked towards them and coughed lightly to gain their attention.
The group turned left and vigilantly examined the source of the sound. "Oh! Isn't this Mr. Aloof Face from earlier. What are you doing here? Are you following us? huh?" The young girl Yu'er quipped just as Sunny was going to speak.
"Don't cause trouble Yu'er." Sword Genius lightly reprimanded the girl Yu'er without shifting her attention from Sunny. She nodded towards Sunny and said "Mr. Chaos, is there anything you wish to speak with us?"
"Yes. I found an entrance to an [Instance Dungeon] 15min. from here in that direction. It only has 10 spots with 49 min. time ticking down about 15 min. ago. I don't have any companion in village #273 and your group is the only party nearby." Sunny said and stood calmly watching the other party's reaction.
"So, you want to enter the [Instance Dungeon] together with our party?" Sword Genius asked and seeing Sunny nod to indicate his agreement she again asked "What do you want in return?"
"30% of the total drops." Sunny stated and watched as Sword Genius discussed with her party about it. After a moment she turned to Sunny and negotiate to give him 20%. He offered the ultimatum of 25% to which Sword Genius agreed and started fiddling in mid air.
_Player Sword Genius 224 has invited you to the party.
Type- Adventure
-Accept- ; -Decline-
_
Sunny accepted the invitation and another panel containing information about the party up in front of him. The party members level, race, class, HP, Fatigue and Exp are the basic information shared in the panel.
____Status
_Name: Sword Genius 224_
_Race: Human_
_Level: 0 / Exp: 71.2%_
_Class: Fighter_
_HP: 86% / Fatigue: 45_
____
____Status
_Name: Chaos 273_
_Race: Human_
_Level: 0 / Exp: 89%_
_Class: Mage_
_HP: 100% / Fatigue: 49_
____
____Status
_Name: Young Lady Yu'er_
_Race: Human_
_Level: 0 / Exp: 71.2%_
_Class: Mage_
_HP: 100% / Fatigue: 33_
____
____Status
_Name: Xuan Bing 8987_
_Race: Human_
_Level: 0 / Exp: 71.2%_
_Class: Rogue_
_HP: 79% / Fatigue: 47_
____
____Status
_Name: Xie Ying 1657_
_Race: Human_
_Level: 0 / Exp: 71.2%_
_Class: Ranger_
_HP: 100% / Fatigue: 37_
____
____Status
_Name: Qin Ming 5799_
_Race: Human_
_Level: 0 / Exp: 71.2%_
_Class: Mage_
_HP: 100% / Fatigue: 39_
____
After giving the panel a once over Sunny waved his hand and dispersed the panel. While the 5 females were somewhat stunned upon seeing his 89% Exp bar Sunny turned to Sword Genius and said "The information about the type of [Instance Dungeon] you can better understood if you see it for yourself. Please follow me, we can get some rest once we reached the entrance." After saying his piece Sunny started jog running towards the direction of [Instance Dungeon].
"Let's go too." Sword Genius said to her companions and followed after Sunny. Yu'er being the chatter box started speculating about his Exp with the others along the journey.
The party took 20 min. to reach the entrance doors. Along the way they encounter some monsters which were easily dispatched. When the 5 females saw the entrance they couldn't help but marvel at the sight for a moment. There was a question mark icon in front of the entrance. Sword Genius clicked the icon and a panel explaining rules of the [Instance Dungeon] appeared mid-air.
____Rules
_1. Only 10 players can enter either in party or individually.
_2. Once 10 slots are occupied the entrance will disappear.
_3. Once inside one can only exit by dying, clearing the trials or if the time limit is up.
_4. Trials are 9 waves of monsters in different environment. The type of monsters and environment depends upon where the [Instance Dungeon] is summoned.
_5. Rewards are given after a wave is cleared, which is calculated by time taken to clear the wave, player levels, ..., etc.
_6. After the 1st wave is cleared 15 min. time to rest is given. Subsequent waves cleared increases the rest time by 15 min. each.
____
{12' : 46''}
The party of 6 read the rules and rested for 10 min. then came in front of the ancient door. Together they reached their hands toward the green screens surrounding the door. As they touched it their bodies started to disappear into motes of light as the party members vision blacked out.
