After properly giving the loot to their rightful owners, they integrated the two new members into their formation. Ryan's skills provided another tank option, given that he was currently the same class as ToraX. As for HazyNova, his abilities added someone else capable of picking off weakened targets.
This severely increased Lumi's work, given that he had to be the main DPS for two separate groups of tank and finisher, but it was worth it. Using Light Shift to teleport between groups, Lumi kept up his necessary DPS, the total mobbing efficiency instantly doubling despite only two more people being added.
He was forced to refine his cooldowns to the millisecond, but it paid off in pure devastation.
The five person party was significantly more complex to coordinate, but also more effective. Experience was reduced just a bit per person, but the killing speed more than made up for it.
Then they received a message.
[VICE: "Guys, something weird just happened. I just got one-shot by some werewolf thing. Level 123?! What's it doing here?!"]
"Why!?" Lumi immediately exclaimed in shock.
What bad luck!
It was rare, but sometimes monsters did roam far from their habitats.
Finding the monsters of one region in another might be rare, but it was nothing to be surprised over. The issue was that any kind of monster resembling a werewolf, especially with that kind of a level, existed in an entirely different continent across the ocean!
[VICE: "Respawning now. It was heading toward Macres. Like, directly toward it."]
"That's not good." Ryan said, reading the messages. "A creature that high level near a starter city?"
"A werewolf." Lumi muttered, pieces clicking together in his mind. "From another continent. But how did it get here?"
"It's from another continent?" HazyNova asked him, looking interested, "Cool! How do you figure that?"
"Lore." Lumi replied.
"...lore?" HazyNova repeated, unsure.
"Lore." Lumi repeated, knowing his answer was a nonanswer. He then added a convenient lie, "I keep receiving messages from friends. Many of them have moved around. Other towns, continents, events, so forth."
"Whoo!" Ryan whistled, impressed, believing it. "That makes sense! You got famous after you made those announcements. Damn, and there's been no others since!"
"Yeah." ToraX nodded. "I would have thought there would be something like. First Warrior! First Magician! First Bowman! So forth. Not just first First Rank Class."
Lumi shrugged. "Hey, who knows what the requirements are. Maybe all that's left is first Second Rank class, Third rank, so forth."
"Guys?" Lena asked, out, confusedly. "Guys? Guys? Guuuuuuys? Guys!" After grabbing everyone's attention, she asked, uncharacteristically seriously. "Are we going to help fight?"
"We're level 17." Lumi replied flatly. "It would one shot our entire party without noticing we existed."
"But the city..." Lena started.
"Has guards. This isn't our fight. The people of this world aren't useless. They can take care of it." But even as Lumi said it, he wondered. In his previous timeline, had this happened? He couldn't remember. Was this a change? A ripple effect from his presence?
"That's right!" Lena suddenly understood. She remembered. It completely left her mind given that she barely talked to any NPCs, but then she remembered Merath. "They aren't useless! They can take care of it! As long as we warn them, right?"
She pointed her finger up and exclaimed, "Then I'll message VICE so he can warn the city!"
"Alright." Lumi nodded. That was what he planned on doing. "Whatever you tell him, also add that he should go to the bowman instructional school to seek out the teacher, and tell them."
"Oh okie!" Lena nodded and promptly spammed her friend chat with VICE.
"Hey wait…" Lumi then noticed a problem. "When did you friend VICE? You haven't even seen him."
"I did it when you first mentioned he'd join us!" Lena replied helpfully.
…
VICE's message screen lit up with a notification from Lena. He hadn't even talked with her properly yet. Just a random friend request. He accepted, of course, that was THE Lena from the achievement. And he got a message that she was with Lumi and his plan. Then she's been silent. Until now.
[LenaMist: "VICE!!!! HEY! HI! Super important mission for you! Like, fate of the world important! Or at least the fate of some NPCs who might be important later! Remember that scary wolf thingy that murdered you? You need to tell the bowman people! The school! They have old people there who can probably do something! Old people are strong in games!]
[LenaMist: PS: Lumi told me to tell you this so you better do it.]
VICE blinked at the wall of text. After a moment, he typed back.
[VICE: "On it. I have some familiarity with them, I can do it."]
He sprinted through the streets of Macres. His gear was still bloodied from his latest death. The Bowman Instructional School loomed ahead, consisting of massive wooden halls, fields, and decorations. Most eye catching of all was a giant black bow propped on top of the main hall, standing ten feet tall.
"Master Telwin!" VICE burst through the training yard gates, startling several students mid draw. "Emergency! A very strong werewolf creature thing approaching the city!"
The elderly instructor lowered his bow, his weathered face creasing with concern. "Werewolf? Are you sure? How strong are we talking?"
"I couldn't even track it, it was so fast. Just a blur, I barely took in the features." VICE panted. "It's heading straight for Macres. It instantly- ugh.."
For the first time, VICE triggered the filter. You couldn't let the NPCs know about your true nature.
Telwin's expression grew more concerned. Though he noticed the sudden pause, he assumed it was normal from a panicked man who wasn't thinking right. "Stay here." He turned to another instructor. "Continue the lesson. I must speak with the Founder."
VICE watched as Telwin disappeared into the school's inner sanctum. It didn't take long at all. Soon enough, Telwin was back with her.
Suvi Row, the legendary elven archer who had founded the school centuries ago. With snow white hair and golden eyes, she looked like a goddess in a mortal body. Her body was radiant and spotless.
"You witnessed this creature?" Her voice was soft but carried an invisible pressure.
"Y-yes, Founder," VICE stammered, aware he was speaking to someone who could probably delete him without even moving. "Northwest of the city."
Suvi Row nodded once. "Your warning may have saved many lives. The school will remember this." She turned to Telwin. "I'm going." With that, she disappeared without anyone seeing how she did so.
Telwin looked back at VICE. "You've done well, young archer. Continue your training. The city will need defenders like you. This world will need people like you."
He stood there for a moment, processing what had just happened, before he sent out the message.
[VICE: "Warning delivered. The Founder herself is handling it. Suvi Row. She looked like a goddess. That was... intense. She looked so powerful. And so beautiful too."]
Lumi remembered her.
Suvi Row. She was an existence similar to Merath.
Most players spawned in the continent of Mantel, sometimes referred to as the western continent.
Mantel held six major regions. Each one held an extremely powerful and important person within who served as the regions ruler, whether directly, or indirectly.
Just as Merath was the most powerful mage in Elenora, Suvi Row was the most powerful bowman in Macres.
[Lumi: "Good work. How's your leveling going?"]
VICE's shoulders slumped as he typed his response.
[VICE: "Still level 9. I'm so sorry, guys. My luck has been absolute garbage today. I'm trying, I swear. Almost to 10. Please don't leave me behind."]
[Lumi: "Don't worry about it. We can wait. We're just grinding in the meantime. There's nothing about my plan that needs to happen right this second, just soon enough. Preferably today, if not, tomorrow is fine."]
[Lena: "Yeah! Take your time! We're just committing golem genocide! It's very zen! Very peaceful! Rocks don't scream! Much!"]
[TrueKnightRyan: "Seriously, no pressure. We've all had bad RNG days."]
[ToraX: "The grind spot isn't going anywhere. Do what you need to do."]
VICE felt a wave of relief wash over him. Good teammates were hard to find, and this group seemed genuinely understanding. Not to mention having both Lumi and Lena together in one party! The only people to have been in a system wide announcement! Not only did he feel glad to have the opportunity to be with them, he felt disappointed in himself.
A deep disappointment in himself. Everyone else they invited had gotten to level 10 and joined them. Everyone. Except him. They were grinding, talked about an assassin, and yet there he still was. Level 9.
Useless.
He felt so prideful earlier. He saw other players stumbling about, unable to kill a single monster. Using their weapons like clowns. He picked up a bow and was instantly capable of expertly using it, given his real life experience.
And then he died.
And then he died again.
He closed the message window and headed back out into the field, determined to finally hit level 10.
"Fricken wasps." he muttered, remembering his first death…