New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live



As his party gathered around him, Astaroth pulled the items out, one by one, and handed them out.

To the now awake Galtion, he handed a pair of boots.

"I think these are best used for you. I take it your combat style fits the most with them."

Galtion looked at the boots, unsure he was deserving of them. But seeing as the guild leader wasn't pulling his hands back, he reluctantly took them.

But once they were in his hands, and he scanned them, his eyes went wide.

Galtion's head snapped upward, looking at Astaroth with a bewildered look.

"Sir, these boots are too good… Shouldn't you be taking them?"

Astaroth's eyebrow rose.

"Do you not want them?"

Galtion shook his head furiously.

"That is not what I meant, sir! I will gladly accept them! Thank you so much!"

A soft round of chuckling and giggling spread through the party members.

Astaroth then turned to Chronos. He had hesitated to give this either to the new guy or to the spirit user.

He was sure both of them could use this kind of item to grow stronger, but his gut told him it would be better to give it to Chronos. And Astaroth's gut had never lied to him.

Chronos looked at his guild leader, his eyes back to their cold, uncaring appearance. He looked down at the item in his hand and smiled lightly.

He had to remind himself to smile, as he had noticed his emotions rarely showed anymore. But he gladly took the item, equipping it directly.

"Thank you, Guild Master."

Astaroth looked at all the surrounding players, shaking his head.

"Let us get something straight here. I understand our positions, and won't shun you for being like this normally. But we are in a dungeon. We are brothers in arms, for however long this lasts. So at least call me by my name, please."

SharpTusk's face bloomed. He had been waiting for his guild leader to open up to them all this time.

"Big bro Astaroth! I'm so glad you finally warmed up to us!" he exclaimed.

But as he stepped forward to grab Astaroth in a bear hug, a blazing bolt of fire landed at his feet. A shiver travelled up his spine as he turned his head toward Phoenix, her hand still on fire.

"Don't exaggerate, Lieutenant. He is still your guild leader."

"Y… Yes Ma'am!" Tusk stuttered.

'What a terrifying woman…' he thought, stepping back toward his friends.

Phoenix snickered internally. She knew Astaroth well enough that he wouldn't mind the extra affection.

But she considered he still had his position to keep in mind, even if he wanted them to be on more friendly terms than calling him guild leader all the time.

Astaroth looked at her, a wry smile on his lips.

"Alright, back to it. There was also a book in the loot, but since I can't say what it does yet, I will keep it. As for the hundred thousand gold pieces, each of us will get ten thousand, and the extra twenty will go to the guild coffers."

Everyone was glad they could get their hands on some extra gold, especially a sweet amount like this. Although the gold trade had already gone down to one-for-one, it was still nice to make some extra cash.

As Astaroth finished divvying up the gold, he got another message from Violette.

'Where are you guys? I'm in the town center, and I see your dots on the map. But I can't see you.'

ραndαsnοvεl.cοm Astaroth laughed to himself.

'Down the well. Some kind of subspace down there is where we are.'

A few seconds later, four people came flying out of the ceiling, a Dwarf, two Humans, and an Ash Elf girl. Violette quickly reacted to the sudden lack of a landing zone, wanting to make sure her little group didn't take undue damage.

She conjured a jet of water that curved downward slowly, catching all three of the players and herself, as they slid down the water and landed safely. Of course, the end of the slide was pretty abrupt, and only the cleric caught herself from rolling off into the burning floor.

The two men were not as lucky. As they slid off the water, they tumbled and rolled, getting covered in soot, and suffering a few minor burns. Nothing dramatic, or enough to lose health points, but enough to bruise their ego, as they realized they were being watched by eight other players.

Astaroth looked at the two men, holding a chuckle back, and turned his head toward Violette. He sent her a private message.

'I saw that. You helped the girl up with your magic. Why did you let them crash down like that? Did something happen on the way here?'

Violette smirked at him before responding.

'Nothing that hasn't been taken care of. I was just getting a little payback, that's all.'

Astaroth shrugged his shoulders at her response. Who was he to keep her from getting a bit of revenge?

He wasn't against getting some himself, so it would be hypocritical of him to chastise her for it. He would have probably done the same.

Petty acts of revenge were always the most satisfying ones, after all.

"Since we are all here," Astaroth said, clapping his hands, "Let us proceed further. We have dallied enough here."

Everyone agreed with the sentiment, aside from the new arrivals. But they were also in a hurry to switch attention off of them.

Astaroth opened the march, stepping into the shimmering portal first. The four melee players, SharpTusk, Jaxx, Meat-Shield, and Galtion, followed him. Following behind them, their new cleric, Jeanne d'Arc, followed by the rest of the party, with Phoenix closing the march.

The dungeon was only starting, and it was time to find out what the situation was beyond this point. Almost all the players present were feeling the excitement rise in them.

Only Astaroth felt like something was off.

'A dungeon with no Exp is abnormal. Something feels like we stepped into a trap, more than a dungeon…'

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