As Elias finished reading the Red Sea Giant quests, a system notification appeared before him. He dismissed it to calm his emotions.
Elias summoned the party notification and sent an invite to everyone present. He wasn't foolish enough to think he could complete the dungeon with his current capabilities.
He had seen the power of the individuals before him and knew they were equally formidable. Especially since this was a multiplayer special dungeon, indicating that the system had already calculated that it would require several individuals to clear it.
So he took the opportunity to send an invite to each of them first, becoming the group leader.
[Sunshine has sent you an invite to join his party.]
The group looked at each other before focusing on Elias.
'Damnit. I should've acted decisively,' Lyrac thought as he saw Elias's group invitation.
He had been stunned by the appearance of the quest list and had hesitated, unsure whether it was a good idea to send a group invite to the others without consulting them first. Now Elias had beaten him to it and sent one to everyone without hesitation.
He gritted his teeth and declined. He wouldn't join a party that he didn't form himself. He hoped that others would do the same and refuse to join Elias' party, especially since he was only Level 13.
[Wolf has declined your party invitation.]
[Silver Knight has declined your party invitation.]
[Night Ninja has accepted your party invitation.]
[Iron Maiden has accepted your party invitation.]
[Please create a name for your party]
Elias read the status alerts of who had declined his group invitation and who had accepted. He was surprised, because not only had he expected two of them to join him, but Lyrac was one of the few to reject his invitation.
'It seems he isn't as outgoing as he portrayed himself to be. I should be wary of him from now on,' Elias thought, glancing at Lyrac. However, Lyrac didn't even glance back. He paid him no attention.
Elias shook his head and turned to the others standing beside him.
Night Ninja responded with a nod.
Iron Maiden scrutinised him from head to toe, then flashed a smile and winked in his direction.
Silver Knight glanced at him briefly before withdrawing his gaze, paying no further attention.
Now that he was aware of where they stood, Elias decided he wouldn't force anyone to join his group.
He refocused on his status screen and named the group.
[Name selected: Sun Crusaders.]
[Group Leader: Sunshine.
Members: Night Ninja. Iron Maiden.]
"What are you doing?" Queen Anna asked.
"I created a group and sent an invitation to them," Elias replied truthfully.
"...Did they accept?" Queen Anna asked.
"Yes. Except for two," Elias replied.
"...I'm surprised that you did something like that so confidently. You're much more decisive than I thought. I'm impressed." Queen Anna said. "Tell me the details of the quest later. For now, you should address the people before you soon. The situation is already getting awkward."
Elias nodded. However, Lyrac had already taken charge and walked forward.
"Since we're here, we'll do our best to help your Empire," Lyrac said.
"Do you speak for every one of you, Hero?" the Knight asked, raising his head.
"Yes. I do," Lyrac nodded with certainty. He stretched his hand back slightly, as though gesturing for the others to show they agreed with his words.
Elias and the others nodded in response.
"We agree to help you out," Iron Maiden spoke out.
"That's great," the Knight said with a sigh. He stretched his hand out and shook Lyrac's, indicating their alliance, before drawing his hand back. "Please follow me. I'll lead you to the current ruler of the Dawn Empire, so you can be briefed about the current situation and discuss how to handle it."
Lyrac nodded in response.
"Hey, there was an old man who welcomed us when we arrived. He appears to be almost dead and needs a healer quickly," Iron Maiden spoke loudly, her voice resonating through the silence just as the knight was about to turn around.
"We've looked into Archpriest Valmir's condition, and our healers are doing their best to stabilise him, along with the other priests whose lives are teetering on the brink. I'm grateful for the concern you've shown the Archpriest, and I'm sure he would also be grateful that a Hero of your calibre worries about his condition," the Knight said, turning to Iron Maiden with a nod.
"I just didn't want to see any more unnecessary deaths," Iron Maiden replied.
The Knight nodded once more, then turned around and escorted them out of the hall. As they walked out, they saw several servants and armoured soldiers, unlike the red armoured knights, rushing with stretchers carrying the bodies of the priests. They were all covered with a white cloth, indicating that a majority of them had died.
The halls were riddled with signs of battle, from the cracked ceiling and floor to the corpses strewn everywhere, mutilated with buds of flowers growing out of them, making it difficult to even tell who they had been.
Elias explained the details of the quest to Queen Anna as he looked away, unable to stare at the grotesque corpses. After he finished the explanation, she became silent. Elias remained silent as well.
He followed behind, passing through a secret passage hidden in the wall, then walked down an underground stairway before arriving at a huge fortified door and stopping.
The knight held a round metallic handle on the door and struck it against the metal surface.
DING!!
A small rectangular slit slid open, revealing two pairs of light brown eyes staring at them through the door.
"Pass code," a deep voice said.
"The giant dies once its nape is cut," the Knight with the feathered plume replied.
The peephole instantly shut, and a series of sounds echoed from the other side as several locks were undone. Suddenly, the metallic door pushed open, its hinges resonating through the dimly lit stairs.
****
Please show your support if you enjoy the story.