“The turnstile,” both Ren and Sumeri said at the same time. “Snipe it to the left.”
“Huh?”
“Snipe?”
All eyes went to their Sniper, who looked at everyone with a raised brow.
“Can you snipe that turnstile ten times to the left?” asked Ren. “More than ten times is okay, too, before that jelly cube could totally block it with its body.”
Their Sniper flexed his rifle, and without speaking or asking anything, he pulled the trigger and repeatedly hit the turnstile, pushing it to the left. The gunshots were soon followed by a series of crashing waste before the Gelatinous Cube on the left stopped when it noticed that there was more trash on the other side.
It released a gooey sound before its monstrous face switched to the other side and began to move in the opposite direction.
Everyone sighed at the turn of events, and Roxy patted Ren and Sumeri’s shoulders.
“I’m impressed. How did you two figure it out?”
Ren simply went ahead and avoided Roxy’s hand on his shoulder. “It’s very simple since everything is operated by the turnstiles, even the monsters. You just have to keep analyzing things and put the clues together given in the description of the Gelatinous Cube. I’m sure the others already figure it out.”
“Egh . . . I-is that so?” Roxy didn’t figure it out, and she didn’t know what to feel about it.
Rox shook his head while he looked at his sister in disappointment. “And you’re supposed to be the leader of our guild. Now I’m worried for our future.”
“Shut up.”
“Let’s go before that monster comes back. The other one is also gaining at us from the right.”
Sumeri jogged to Ren’s side and beamed at him. “You’re incredible. First with Gorm. Second with the Thieves. And now the Sniper.”
There was a hidden meaning behind Sumeri’s words, and Ren asked, “So what are you implying?”
Sumeri licked her lips and asked. “Are you sure that information regarding the Guild Wars wasn’t leaked? Because I don’t know how you predict all this. Even I don’t have that level of capability.”
Of course, Sumeri and the others wouldn’t know since it was their first Guild Wars. But for Ren, he had already lost count on how many wars he strategized into winning.
Something like this was just the tip of the Ice Berg. In the future, when the Guild Houses were equipped with war machines and walls like a fortress, where dungeons required all manners of classes and races to finish ––something like this was considered child’s play.
“Didn’t you hear what the bunny said? The Guild Wars will remain forever fair.”
Sumeri was taken aback by Ren’s answer. Why was his tone defensive? “It’s not like I was accusing you of cheating.”
“Well, your tone certainly is.” Ren walked ahead, but Sumeri was persistently catching to his side.
“Then tell me why you insisted on bringing the Thieves and the Sniper. They came in handy at a time like this, like you know what’s going to happen. It’s hard not to be suspicious, you know.”
Ren inwardly sighed. Something told him that Sumeri wouldn’t stop asking about it. She was probably irked that she didn’t think about those classes in the first place, and now they were their saving grace.
“Thieves are the only race that can steal items,” Ren started. Except for him, who could copy any skill so he could steal items if he wanted.
“And among the first rules of war is to make sure your supply is enough. But only bringing ten HP and MP potions, you must think of a way to secure your items until the war ends. So came the Thieves.
“As for the Archer class. The Sniper subclass is the only long-range class that could attack even from a hundred-meter distance. Some would think that they’re useless because of their low physical attacks at the starts but that only applied to the type of weapon they used.”
Isolde was the living proof that a Sniper class could pack a punch, especially when the time came that she could mechanize her guns with Hubert.
“In truth, if you know that you’re going into a dungeon, where traps and levers are required to be triggered at a long distance, they’re the only class that can achieve that fit. So they’re very handy to bring in dungeons like this.”
Sumeri was quiet for a moment. Her eyes never left Ren’s face. “You . . . you’re very . . .”
“Intelligent? I know.”
“I’m going to say paranoid, but its close enough.” Sumeri joked and giggled.
Despite the woman’s persistence, Ren managed a small smile. She was likable and her giggles easily lightened any room.
As the group ventured half into the chambers, the Gelatinous Cubes they encountered increased in numbers. Though Ren and the others managed to avoid some of them, they knew that the more they rotated the lever, the more those monsters would fill the place.
It was only a matter of time before they were cornered.
There were also players they bumped against, but as they progressed onwards, those numbers decreased. Most were caught by the Gelatinous Cube, and some already died inside the jelly monster’s belly. And there were those who avoided Ren’s group like the plague.
“This is bad. We’re running for more than hours now, and still no sign of that exit.” Roxy panted and caught her breath when they slowed down a little in front of two turnstiles. One of which could possibly lead to the exit while one would probably lead them into another false path full of Gelatinous Cubes.
“Not as bad as this.” Leonel pointed to the piles of garbage that was just meters from them.
“Shit.”
Everyone knew that if there were garbage, it would only be a matter of time before those Gelatinous Cubes appeared to clean it up.
And right on cue, three appeared, on their left, right, and back. The creepy thing was that one of the monsters still had a fresh player inside it’s stomach, wiggling to break free.
“H-help! Help me!”
Ren ignored that familiar voice and still looked at the two turnstiles. He then faced everyone, not minding Yumi’s frantic calls inside the monster’s stomach.
“Let’s split up and cover more grounds. At this rate, staying together only put us at a disadvantage.”