Ryu and his team passed through the portal and found themselves in a large meadow that led up to a rocky slope where they would find Harlin Heights. "Alright, we will first make our way around the town before actually entering it. From what I read, the dungeon does not start until you enter the town."
Ryu's main goal was to take a trip around the dungeon to see if there were any hidden secrets. By finding something new, they may have a chance at a rare item. This was especially so since they were in hell mode.
The group did not rush into anything. They made sure to take things slow so that they did not end up getting wiped by a surprise trap or some other kind of raid wipe mechanic. But they saw nothing. The entire area was clear of any kind of ruins or other quest areas. This meant that these areas were inaccessible before the quest actually started. "Ryu, what now?"
"Well, since we can not scout out the areas like what I heard in the other modes, we can only start the quest." Ryu felt it was a shame, but they had no other choice. Without any of the play areas, they couldn't see what they were getting themselves into.
The group made their way to town. The town itself was an early medieval style town that was surrounded by a tall wooden fortress style wall made of logs. At the entrance were two guards with huge health bars showing that they were not so simple. This was to keep players from trying to wipe out the whole town.
They walked up to the gates, the two guards walked forward and stopped in front of them. "Halt! What brings you to our fair town of Harlin?"
"We are adventurers who were seeking to find an inn for the night and happened to come across this town. If we are unwelcomed, we can move along." Ryu answered politely. They heard that based on how you treat these guards, they would either be good to you or bad to you. There were instances where the guards wiped out an entire team because they were rude.
"Haha! Why wouldn't we welcome you? It is always good to have some travelers in town. It makes things more lively with new people around. But I do ask that you refrain from causing any trouble, or you will end up in prison." The guard replied with a smile.
"Thank you," Ryu replied with a smile and then turned to his group. "Remember, do not cause trouble for the people here. We do not want any of you going to jail."
This was another aspect of this town. Those who have caused trouble for the townsfolk would be put into prison and would stay there until either the dungeon was completed or their whole team was wiped. If the team was wiped, the player or players in jail would then be executed. The whole dungeon was very strange, but it had a certain appeal. It punished those who were bad and was good to those who were good. It all had a kind of meaning to it.
The guards parted and allowed Ryu and his group to pass through the gates, and that was when it started. Alarms suddenly went off, and the guards began to shout. "Quick, get into positions! Another monster raid is coming!"
The dungeon had officially started. This was not part of the normal game modes. Ryu knew this much for sure. Even the hard mode guide never said a word about there being a monster raid. Ryu turned his head and looked to see what this monster raid thing was that they were shouting about, and his face fell. The sky in the distance was completely black, but these were not storm clouds, these were millions of flying monsters, and on the ground, it was the same thing. Millions of ground type monsters were all heading towards the town.
"Put up the barriers! Use the red level barriers!" The guards at the gate were issuing orders left and right. They seemed really practiced with how they were handling things. One of the guards looked over at Ryu and his group and walked over. "You guys said you were adventures, right? Can I ask you to help us fend off this monster raid? You will be handsomely rewarded, of course."
Ryu got a message asking if he wished to start a new quest.
[Special Harlin Heights Chain Quest: The Monster Lord Awakens]
"Ryu, what do we do?" Chi asked. She was standing next to him, looking at her screen.
"What else do we do? We do it!" Ryu would not miss this opportunity. He had never heard of a second quest line in this dungeon, so he could only guess that maybe this was a special quest line which meant better rewards!
After hitting yes, he turned to his team and began yelling out orders: "We will be helping fend off the monster raid! Make sure you are prepared! Do things as we always do. Main Healers concentrate on tanks! Sub healers on DPS. DPS, do your best not to take damage. We will follow the town guard's lead. If they tell you to do something, do it, no questions asked!"
The guards heard Ryu's orders, and all nodded their heads. They liked how Ryu did things. Ryu also knew that if he went against the direct orders of the guards who always defended this town, it would look bad on them, so it was best to follow their orders. This was also the best method of staying alive. Ryu could already tell the monsters coming were not going to be easy to deal with.
After giving orders, Ryu turned to the guard who was still standing there and said: "We are at your command. My people will follow your orders."
"That is good to know. Can I ask that you split your team into four groups? We need healers and ranged fights up on top of the walls, tanks, and your main fighters on the front line. We will need to spread you out a bit. I hope you do not mind." The guard asked.
"Not at all, we are yours to command."
