luck

Liam was walking at the front, along with the two tiny beasts near him and the rest followed him, all their eyes fixated on the two beasts rather than Liam.

Now that they had some time to talk to him, they had already noticed the two new pets who were not with him before.

Inside their private chat group:

Kim Hyun (Theif): Guys, did you see those two pets? He didn't have them before, right? Right?

Shin Soo (Tank): Yes. I also didn't see any pets with him before. He should have gotten those somewhere in this area onlyKim Hyun (Theif): Fuck! I knew it! Aren't flying pets supposed to be rare? How the heck does he have one already? And the fox also looks like it's something special! They are so small like babies too. I bet he hatched an egg or something.

Shin Soo (Tank): Yes. I also think so.

Kang Mina (Healer): Hyun, I know what you are thinking! Stop. Don't do anything shady. Don't ruin this!

Chung Hee (Mage 1): Ha Ha. Bang on! I am sure this guy is thinking about something like that. Kim Hyun (Theif): Sheesh. You guys. I was just saying. Sunho, at least you support me, bro!

Goo Sunho (Mage 2): Fuck! Who the hell cares? Why did you kick me out bastard?

Shin Soo (Tank): Guys settle down. Let's not screw this up. His pets don't seem that rare. It's just a bird and a fox. We can come back here and search again for more eggs later. I am sure it will respawn. We can even ask him how to get those. So I am warning again, don't try anything shady.

Kim Hyun (Theif): Alright. Alright. Whatever. Let's first see what he is made of. We just saw him kill a salamander. He might not be all that.

Kang Mina (Healer): I bet he is still better than you!

Kim Hyun (Theif): What the hell Mina? Why are you always against me?! I am only saying that if he is not that strong then we can easily steal his pets. Wait, pets drop right?

Goo Sunho (Mage 2): Kick this guy out and invite me back!Chapter 73 - Heavenly Retribution

Liam could almost feel the burning gaze on his back as he walked ahead. Were things going to get interesting?

Heh. He silently chuckled to himself. It would indeed be simpler to level elsewhere without attracting much attention, but dungeons were the fastest and most efficient method.

Besides, he needed more souls to finish his quest. So he did not mind even if someone wanted to try something.

The 'moon lake' was a dungeon located near the northern part of the forests surrounding Yleka city.

The place was supposed to be a flourishing city, an extension of Yleka city in fact, but instead, it was currently a deserted land, haunted by ghosts and ghouls and all sorts of undead creatures.

This was also one of the reasons why Liam had wanted to run this dungeon several times.

This video game was like a tutorial for everyone to gain the basic knowledge of the class of their choosing.

Thus far he had somewhat grasped using a sword and even a bit of mana control and regulation. However, this was still not even close to what he wanted to accomplish.

Perhaps he can become one of the stronger human beings and manage the chaotic world with just this much but it was not nearly enough to deal with the monsters that also were going to inevitably show up.

When he had fallen, these sort of cunning and cruel creatures were just beginning to show up and even he did not know how much more awaited them.

He would only be a fool to not use this opportunity to gain everything he could so that he would eventually be able to face no matter what came his way.

Not to mention the mysteriously high affinity he had with the undead.

His mana affinity was only S-grade, but his undead affinity was SSS-grade which according to his knowledge was the highest.

Liam wanted to understand more about the undead and the magic that was associated with their power.

In his previous life, there had been a player who had unlocked a hidden class associated with the undead and had brought over with him an army of undead soldiers when the apocalypse started.

Liam was not interested in this hidden class but he wanted to understand everything behind it to gain the same benefits.

In reality, this was even more difficult than if he simply wanted to switch to the particular hidden class, but he was determined to take that risk.

One reason was because he wanted a power that was above what a hidden class could provide but the main reason was because of the affinity testing results that the system had given out when he entered the game.

So he firmly believed that not choosing a specific class and relying on his insight and knowledge to make use of all of his affinities was the best path ahead for him.

And if he was not able to make any progress in the next couple of months, he could always fold and pick up one of the many powerful hidden classes scattered around this world.

Many of these were only unlocked later in the game so he had time to take the risk first.

While Liam was engrossed in his own thoughts, his other new friends were busily chatting about the dungeon. He was not paying attention to them until he heard a familiar name.

"Heavenly Retribution guild is still holding the highest record time for the dungeon clear right?" Kim Hyun, the thief, excitedly rubbed his hands. "I wonder if we will be able to beat that?"

"Can you ever open your mouth and say something not stupid?" Kang Minah hit the guy with the staff that she was holding.

"I can't deal with this stupid anymore Shin Soo.I am going to quit this shitty team and join Heavenly Retribution. That girl Alex looks so cool!"

"As if they would take in a shitty healer like you!" Kim Hyun angrily retorted back.

"Haaa. Sure. Always put the blame on the freaking healer! If you literally stand at the mouth of the salamander when it is throwing fire at you, even Jesus can't save you stupid!Just as Kim Hyun was about to say something back, Liam instead stopped in his tracks. "Guilds are already up?"

The world announcements for the guilds would only start when there were fifty or more guilds, directly opening up to the hall of fame, so this information was not announced in-game just yet.

Liam did not really care about this but he admittedly was a little startled to hear an unfamiliar guild name and a familiar person's name linked together.

"Ah... yes. There are a total of 31 guilds so far." The tank Shin Soo quickly replied. Liam had no doubt that this number was going to skyrocket soon.

"And what were you saying about this heavenly retribution guild?"

"Oh that… They are one of the top guilds at the moment. Three of their core members are even on the leaderboard! They have also started setting records for the dungeons." Shin Soo elaborated.

"Eh? Not just started. They hold records for the Level 10, Level 15, and Level 20 dungeons." Kang Minah corrected him.

"Yes. Yes. Aha ha ha. I didn't forget that. Bro, if you follow Alex or Mia Or Rey on Instagram or Twitter you can see all the details. They have been promoting their social presence heavily."

"Their guild also has so many members already. I heard that they already filled their first 50 members quota and now everyone else was on a waitlist."

The tank continued talking about things but Liam was no longer paying attention to him. Things were already starting to change compared to his last timeline.

And this particular change, he had no doubt that he was the sole reason behind it.

After a while, the tank stopped talking and Liam nodded. "Alright. Thanks for the information." He then chuckled and muttered under his breath to himself.

"Heavenly retribution huh? Interesting…"

Chapter 74 - Free Loader?

When the group arrived at the 'Moon Lake' dungeon area of the forest, the entire place was crowded with people. Various players were shouting loudly as if they were selling their wares.

"Open party for moon lake. Looking for Level 20 players and higher."

"Healer Required! Level 18 minimum. Everyone else is Level 20"

"Tank Required! Level 15 and above ok. Must have dragon roar skill!"

Level 15 to Level 22 players were everywhere and many were grouping together to form parties to enter the dungeon.

While the Level 15 ones were looking to be carried, the Level 22 ones were discussing raptly, coming up with various ideas to break records.

Even the group of Korean players currently walking along with Liam were discussing about the same thing.

However, Liam had no such intentions, at least until the Level 50 dungeons opened up.

When a record was set in the higher level dungeons, there would be a sizeable reward that included precious raw materials.

And this could be looted every time a record was broken and set. In the past, this was one of the favorite methods of the top guilds to farm precious materials.

They used these to craft powerful weapons and in turn used the weapons to break the record again.

But below Level 50, the dungeons were pretty much useless. At most, they were a tool of publicity for guilds to establish themselves.

And Liam did not have any such plans at the moment.

Establishing, managing and expanding a guild would take a considerable amount of his time, time that could be better spent on other things.

Moreover, a certain amount of strength and power was required to command a guild. He hadn't obtained that just yet.

"Bro, isn't another mage better for the run?" Goo Sunho scratched his head awkwardly and tried his luck again.

But Liam shook his head. "I am also a mage. So a thief is better."

"Mage ah… weren't you using a sword?" Goo Sunho was left confused and all he could see was the dirty thief grinning back at him.

Seeing that the two of them were about to go at it again, the tank intervened and gave the poor rejected mage a stare preventing him from saying anything any more.

"Kim Hyun. Goo Sunho. That's enough. Group is already settled. Let's start now. Is everybody ready?" His words were like the final nail that sealed the coffin.

The other guy could only sigh and watch everyone walk away disappearing into the crowd.

Multiple groups could enter the dungeon at the same time, but they wouldn't interfere with each other's run.

So after a couple of people walked in before them, this group as well entered the dungeon portal that was a mass of swirling black energy.

As soon as they touched it, they were instantly teleported to the inside of the dungeon and they found themselves standing on the deserted streets of a rickety abandoned village.It was night time and a chilly wind swept past everyone further enhancing the ominous atmosphere that was prevalent.

At first, everyone waited for Liam to give some sort of specific instructions but he was just silently standing as if he was waiting for the run to start.

After hesitating, Shin Soo, the tank, quickly began talking. He was not sure if everyone, particularly Liam was aware of the mechanics of the dungeon.

Just because he was a skilled player, it didn't mean that he had to have prior knowledge of this specific dungeon. So he gave him the benefit of doubt.

"So in this dungeon… there will be several mirages of the moon lake. We need to go to each of these mirages and essentially find out where the real moon lake is."

The complete dungeon guide wasn't available online yet, but there were still some forums and threads talking about the various mobs.

Shin Soo elaborated on whatever was available online adding on his own theories but all throughout it looked like the expert was not paying him any attention.

This clearly defeated the whole purpose of his attempt as except for Liam they had all researched about the place together so there was no point continuing with the explanations.

Smiling helplessly the tank waved his hand, signaling that he was going to start and dashed ahead the next second.

As soon as they took a step forward, a gust of wind blew and three wailing white specters immediately emerged out of thin air.

[Provocate] Shin Soo was a bulky person and he was playing a warrior tank holding a shield in one hand and a hammer in the other hand.

As soon as he attracted the attention of the three ghosts, the mage started casting fireballs and the thief rushed ahead with his dagger.

Even the healer started chanting spells to cover the tank's health, preventing it from plummeting unexpectedly.

Damage numbers began floating atop the specters one after the other. Their shrill wailing was especially hard to hear, so everyone subconsciously tried to finish the fight as soon as possible.

They had almost forgotten about the expert who had come along with them.

Only when the fight was going somewhat slow for the first mob at the entrance of the dungeon, something felt awkward and out of place and the tank realized that a member was missing!

Huh? He turned around to look for Liam and saw that he was still standing at the entrance and doing something in the system interface without having taken a single step forward.

[Block] He yelled out his next skill in anger and continued tanking the remaining two specters with his teeth grinding together indignantly.

It was fine if this person did not do anything exceptional and defy their expectations but the least he could do was come forward and fight?

Did he expect to be carried through the dungeon?! Did they look like fools and buffoons in his eyes?!

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and just when he was about to completely lose it and shout at the other person, irrespective of the consequences… a notification popped up!

Chapter 75 - I Am Ready Now

[Ding. Your overflowing rage has increased your physical defense by 5%]

Shin Soo was dumbfounded. There was something like this for the warrior class?

He stared at the stat boost dazedly for a second before realizing that he had forgotten the main reason why he had been furious in the first place!

Damn it!

He turned around and pointed the hammer at Liam, shouting gruffly. "Hello! Are you planning to join the fight or not?"

Especially with the backdrop of the two specters wailing loudly, his voice sounded very angry and vengeful.

The other members of the team were also equally disgruntled, so everyone nodded, agreeing with him.

But unfortunately… it looked like the other party was still not paying any attention.

Liam only casually raised his hand and showed him his palm, signaling him to be patient.

Shin Soo's eyes twitched. He turned around and first focused on the fight, throwing his shield at the two specters.

The fight had already started so he needed to finish this one first before starting another with this so called expert.

Others as well shot deathly glares at the guy before showing all their anger on the two specters.

And soon… the two stopped wailing and dispersed into specks of light and a couple of copper coins.

[Ding. 20 Experience points have been rewarded]

[Ding. 20 Experience points have been rewarded]

Shin Soo bent down and picked up the copper coins. He wore a solemn expression and walked in long strides towards Liam.

"Liam, we pulled a mob and you didn't join. Isn't that a bit careless? What if there were more specters?"

"We would have been wiped out in the beginning itself without ever stepping into the dungeon! Were you serious or not? We only came here together because you requested us."

"Ya. If you are not interested, then why ask us in the first place?"

One by one the accusations and complaints started popping up and unfortunately, this was all that they could do.

This was no longer a beginner's dungeon. One cannot simply exit at will, otherwise, they could have just walked out the same way they had walked in.

Now they either had to finish the run or die inside the dungeon in order to exit. This was what infuriated everybody even more.

Since the person had been so skilled and powerful they did not expect him to troll them all like this.

"What a waste!" Shin Soo grunted. They were going to probably lose a fraction of their level and if they were unlucky some pieces of equipment also.

He glared at the man who was still standing like a stone and spat out in anger. "Let's just go continue. If we die, we die. Whatever."

The others as well nodded and followed him. They walked on the deserted streets of the village, amidst the worn out huts and the half demolished houses and soon another mob popped up.

Aaaaeeeeee! Aaaaeeeeee!

The specters wailed loudly and this time five of them showed up.

Shin Soo quickly stepped forward, trying to hold them back, but five specters were a bit too much for him to handle. He started taking heavy damage and the healer's mana quickly drained.

The damage from the thief and the mage was simply not enough to bring them down fast and their movements were all over the place.Fuck it. Looks like this is going to be a fast party wipe." Shin Soo sighed and gave up. He could already see where this was going. What was the point in trying any longer?

This was a difficult dungeon and that was why they had continued leveling without attempting it, so how could possibly handle it with just 4 members?

What a complete and utter waste of time!

His health was about to fully bottom out when unexpectedly, a scorching ball of flame landed on the specter that was going to scratch him.

-200

A huge and insane damage number floated atop the specter's head.

"Chung Hee, what skill is this? How is your fireball doing this much damage all of a sudden?" Shin Soo muttered in puzzlement.

But instead of Chung Hee, another voice sounded. "I am ready now."

Liam was calm and composed as he immediately diffused the bomb that was about to explode. He tossed a health potion to the tank and Shin Soo caught it with a surprised look on his face.

Health potions were expensive commodities! Was it really okay to use one just like that?

"Fuck! What am I thinking?" He quickly downed it as he was just a breath short of dying. "You know we wouldn't even be in this mess if you hadn't been simply standing like a rock."

"Mmmm. Stop talking and focus on the fight." Liam's words made the four of them want to stab him instead of the specters but they did not have time to be angry right now.

The wailing specters continued waving their huge sharp claws or rather overgrown nails in a frenzy and the tank and the thief were having a hard time trying to dodge their attacks and fight back at the same time.

The mage alone was not pulling enough damage to settle this situation, but all of it changed when Liam joined the fray.

He did not take out his sword this time. He wanted to rely on mana more and fine-tune his mana control and understand more about casting spells.

[Fire Ball] [Fire Ball] [Fire Ball] Liam cast the same spell over and over again, each time picturing a ball of energy gathering and shooting out forward.

He tried to increase it and decrease it at his will without worrying about the actual damage numbers he was dealing.

And standing right beside him were his two pets, who were yet to do anything.

The three of them looked quite relaxed and carefree when compared to the rest of the team who were barely breathing, and struggling to get a grip on the fight.

Chapter 76 - Weren't You In A Hurry?

[Ding. 20 Experience points have been rewarded]

[Ding. 20 Experience points have been rewarded]

[Ding. 20 Experience points have been rewarded]

…

…

…

After Liam started sending out fireballs one after the other, the fight did not last long and the five specters burst into specks of astral light one by one.

Shin Soo and the rest of the team were too stunned to see this sight that they began to doubt if the specters were a mirage in the first place.

But the string of experience points that popped out was undeniable so they could only accept the harsh reality.

This was the difference between their skills and the skill level of a person that was above and beyond their imagination.

Instantly, all the prior grievances they had about the person completely disappeared as if it had never existed before and they could only hope that Liam did not hold any grudges.

"Ahem… Sir…" Shin Shoo awkwardly scratched his head and was about to say something when Liam smiled calmly and all of a sudden, sent out another fireball, pulling in more specters that were roaming inside of the run down huts.

He had already begun the attack on the next wave of specters!

Usually, it was the tank who first approached the mob and pulled the aggro but Liam casually stepped forward and started bombarding the group of specters with fireballs ceaselessly.

Shin Soo snapped out of his trance and scurried forward to salvage the situation and correct the aggro distribution. The others also panicked and quickly began attacking.

"Ahhhh! Hyung! Wait!!!"

Liam calmly chuckled. "Hmmm? Didn't you guys tell me earlier that you were in a hurry?" He ignored their pitiful looks and continued to blast the specters.

This was something that would have typically earned instant hate from everyone as a tank was always supposed to initiate a fight for the purpose of stability except for special situations that needed some other strategy.

But in this case… no one dared think that way!

After all, with the high damage numbers he was pulling the fights suddenly became easier and even if the tank hadn't started the fight, there was no OT and messy mass damage.

This was even more impressive especially considering the dungeon they were currently in. Moon Lake's main difficulty laid in the wailing sounds of the specters.

If one were to hear this sort of wailing sound for a long period of time, then they would fall into confusion, their brain completely muddled and unable to think clearly.

Adding in the realistic feature of the game, the effect would even prevent the players from doing anything else for the next hour. Such was the heavy impact of the wailing cries on the mind.

So in this type of dungeon speed was the top priority and Liam was focusing on just that.

He set the pace of their progress as he continued pulling in more and more specters towards the group, just as the last one died.

"Brother…" Shi Soo wanted to say something but he swallowed the words. He didn't even know if Liam was doing this on purpose or because the dungeon called for it.

So what could he possibly tell? Slow down?

[Shield Impact] [Block] He shook his head helplessly and quickly tried to balance the fight. Only he looked busy, as the healer suddenly found herself with nothing else to do.

The other two players were also in a similar boat as the thief's attacks were like tickling the specters and the other mage's attack was like a mosquito bite.

Liam alone was single-handedly pulling more damage than their dps combined together. The specters were getting utterly slaughtered by him.

In the blink of an eye, they had gone from complaining about a party wipeout to clearing the first haunted street of the moon lake village.

"Look! There is the lake!" Minah suddenly shouted and pointed her finger to the eastern side. Everyone immediately turned to look in that direction.

Just as she had said, there was a huge lake in the distance and at the center of the lake, there was an altar that was mysteriously floating and atop this was a bright shining necklace.

The necklace triggered a quest that gave decent experience points.

"Oh my gosh! We are totally going to break the record!" The thief and the healer exclaimed together and the group hurriedly ran toward the lake, with Liam casually walking at the back in silence.

He was calmly checking out his special quest progress. He had obliterated a lot of souls in the dungeon so far but it looked like these specter souls did not count toward the quest completion.

"Well, it was worth a try." He shrugged and checked the experience bars of the two tiny beings stalking him.He had asked both of them not to interfere in any fights as they were too weak at the moment. This was because of Liam's own conjecture.

Dying in this tutorial game too often affected the souls of human beings so he couldn't help but come to the conclusion that the same applied to the companion beasts as well.

So at least until they reached Level 5, he had forbidden the two to fight. Their infant status would disappear at this time only.

Moreover, this was also when a companion beast's unique skills would begin to get unlocked as right now, they were only able to scratch and claw.

Liam gazed at the status of both the pets and it looked like the bird was already close to leveling up once but the fox still had a lot left to fill.

"Hmm.. so a spirit beast needs a lot more experience points to upgrade compared to the common beast. I guess this is to be expected."

Liam patted the two who looked up at him with their big eager eyes and then proceeded to follow the group.

Shin Soo and the others had already reached the lake, but as soon as they neared it, the lake completely disappeared and standing in front of them was a huge mob of wailing specters.