Game’s Dogma

​​​​​​​‘The monsters in this quest are strong’, Zephyrwolf said with a bitter look. ‘And there’s a ton of them. The monster spawn points are also quite packed. Not like the quest is absolutely impossible to clear though. We’ll have to handle around three monsters at a time.’

Drako Yau nodded and asked, ‘How strong are they? Tell me about your first two attempts.’

Zephyrwolf grimaced. ‘The quest location is a cave with two floors. We… didn’t even make it past the first floor. Blazing Cave, you’ve cleared it before yea? On the first floor, every monster was roughly like the fire crystal giant elder in Normal difficulty.’

Hearing his words, even Drako Yau started frowning.

That degree of strength was still somewhat manageable for him, but the reason why he felt hesitant was because that was just the first level. What if the monsters on the second level…

As if Zephyrwolf could sense his hesitation, he quickly added, ‘Don’t worry, failing the quest won’t result in death. We can immediately give up the quest and quit the dungeon.’

Only with those words could Drako Yau feel relieved. By the time they finished their chat, they had already arrived at their destination. It was a tall hill, and at the bottom of it was a cave.

Zephyrwolf said, ‘If you haven’t received the quest, this cave’s only a few metres deep. But once you do…’

The two approached the cave. Zephyrwolf stopped in front of the cave, so Drako Yau followed suit.

‘Brave hero, you’re back.’ A young lady emerged from within the cave, the name ‘Lelei’ floating above her.

Zephyrwolf nodded in response. ‘I’m here, together with my partner.’

Being referred to as a partner by Zephyrwolf was somewhat disturbing for Drako Yau.

Lelei glanced at Drako Yau, then dipped her head and coughed. ‘Then I’ll be troubling you…’

Lelei repeated the quest lore. It turned out that Lelei was gravely ill, and her husband named Huth heard from somewhere that the demon wolf king hid itself in this cave. The demon wolf king’s heart was said to be a cure for all sicknesses. As a man who loved his wife dearly, Huth would do everything to cure her, so he snuck out one night after Lelei was sound asleep and entered the cave. 

Just like that… he never came out.

Having heard about the news, Lelei invited brave heroes to save Huth who delved deep into the Demon Wolf Cave.

Ting! 

‘Quest received: Perishing Demon Wolf. Accompany Lelei into the Demon Wolf Cave and search for Huth.’

‘You got the quest notification?’ Zephyrwolf shot Drako Yau a look, to which he nodded.

At that moment, Lelei said with her fragile yet gentle voice, ‘Brave hero… This is the final chance. If we can’t find him this time… Then it must be fate that bars us from one another…’ Tears silently trickled out of her eyes.

The two accompanied Lelei to the cave entrance. Suddenly, a bright glow shrouded the cave, and it turned into a teleportation array. If they didn’t receive the quest, it would be impossible to enter the Demon Wolf Cave.

Drako Yau furrowed his brows and asked, ‘Lelei… will she become a burden?’

Zephyrwolf shook his head and answered, ‘She’s an NPC, and the monsters don’t attack her, so it’s alright. Also, we only have to tell her that we give up the quest and we’ll get teleported outside immediately, so it’s pretty safe. But… I can’t accept such a thing! It’s my first encounter quest!’

‘Encounter quest aside, just give up if we’re not good enough to clear it. It’s not worth it to lose your equipment and level.’

Zephyrwolf felt bitter on the inside, but he acted like he was calm as he said, ‘Follow me, I’ve been through this level twice. I know how to get to the second level.’

Drako Yau stayed behind him and observed the cave. There were plenty of twists and forks, and he was sure that he had never designed such a map and quest lore, which meant it was a completely new one. In that case, he couldn’t lead the way, nor did he know anything about the quest story itself. They could only play it by ear right now.

After walking for a while, three howls could be heard. Zephyrwolf tensed up and said, ‘They’re here!’

Not sparing any time to reply, Drako Yau simply took Dawnlight off from his back and readied himself.

Three brown shadows flickered in the darkness, and three giant wolves that were two metres tall surrounded the three humans (including Lelei).

Zephyrwolf didn’t look back as he murmured, ‘I can hold off two of them, kill one quickly and help me out…’

Before he could finish, sounds of battle already emerged from behind him. Drako Yau, with spear in hand, had a sharp gaze as he danced between two giant wolves and handled them with ease.

Zephyrwolf turned to look, and he was filled with delight. The man was truly reliable as a teammate.

‘Ouuuu!’

The remaining giant wolf wasn’t going to hold back just because Zephyrwolf was standing there like a dummy. It howled and quickly lunged at him. Noticing the approaching monster, he could no longer care about Drako Yau and unsheathed his sword to fight.

Meanwhile, the two giant wolves were ganging up on Drako Yau, who kept analysing their movement patterns. 

As a game designer, he glared at the giant wolves with cold eyes and analysed the monsters, breaking them down into mere lumps of data in his head.

The most annoying part… is the wind blades they spit out.

He moved his body aside and avoided a wind blade spat by a giant wolf. The blade, missing its original target, smashed into the cave wall behind him, sending chunks of rock everywhere.

This one used the skill… The cooldown is around five… no, six seconds. A giant wolf after casting its wind blade… Drako Yau smirked. ‘Is nothing to be feared!’

After his previous battle with the Fire Crystal Master, he only gained a level and the Fire Crystal Master Bracelet on the surface, but in truth, it wasn’t just that. His combat awareness had heightened greatly, and it was most apparent in his proficiency with the old geezer’s Empyreal Dragon Step.

Even while sandwiched between two giant wolves, his legs were almost dancing. Every time he shifted his foot, a thin layer of mist and clouds could be seen vaguely, though it was only visible when focusing one’s mind solely on observing him.

Zephyrwolf was no ordinary player either. After playing countless games, he could get the hang of new games very quickly.

Dash, basic attack, Charging Fist, then two basic attacks chained with Crescent Slash and another two basic attacks.

He could already use the basic warrior combo skillfully. Losing just a fifth of his health, he managed to kill the giant wolf. He was feeling smug as he witnessed the giant wolf tumble to the ground. After all, the giant wolf was comparable to the fire crystal giant elder in Normal difficulty, and it was a commendable feat to kill it alone even if he was Level 13.

Just when he was about to head over to support Drako Yau, all he saw was him standing beside Lelei, with two dead giant wolves lying behind him on the ground.