Dave stood on the s.h.i.+p, looking over the battle that had ended in such an anticlimactic fas.h.i.+on. All of his legionnaires were standing wondering where their enemies had gone to.

Nick's intervention had forced Duradel to retreat. This disabled his magic and made the undead he controlled turn to ash.

"Gafgar!" Dave shouted. Gafgar was in the middle of the undead horde when he heard Dave's call and he shouted back, "Yes, Captain !"

"Do we have enough Undead to sail these s.h.i.+ps back to the Dead Realm?" Dave asked.

"My crew is trained, if you lend me a few of your legionnaires and at least one Death Knight per vessel, I can a.s.sure the safety of all of these s.h.i.+ps ."

"Alright," Dave ordered thirteen Death Knights to follow each one of Gafgar's commands along with a couple dozen Undead Captains per s.h.i.+p.

"Gafgar, you'll stay with us, we still have to loot the treasure," Dave turned to the other Death Knights a.s.signed to protect the other vessels and said, "The rest of you go back to the Dead Realm."

Dave hopped off the pirate's flag s.h.i.+p and went toward his own s.h.i.+p. The Kraken's ability was still freezing the water. He walked across the water's surface and made his way back to the Leviathan.

When he got up to the Leviathan, all of his party members were waiting for him. Lone was the first to ask, "How did you start this event?"

"Just met Nick, he said something about deities and G.o.ds fighting each other. I didn't get all the details, but it seems this will be a PVP tournament for the Legacy Cla.s.s Holders." Dave answered.

"That's neat. We get to upgrade all of our legacies if we win, right?" Lone asked excitedly. She was happy with her own B-Cla.s.s Inheritance, but she had to admit she was slightly envious towards her companions with more powerful Inheritances.

"Yeah, that's the general idea, but as I said I don't know all the details. There will probably be something about it on the forums soon though. Anyway, let's go back to the island, I have the key, and we can finally open the vault now."

"Yeah, can't forget we're here for the monies!" Ralph said.

"I want a golden crown and a sceptre, and to be able to swim in a pool of gold," Flanker demanded jokingly.

"I want jewels, enough to be covered from head to toe!" Lone pitched in.

"We'll see about all that when we get there," Dave grinned and ordered the Leviathan to move.

The Kraken hid underwater waiting for the next time Dave would summon it.

The wind blew, helping the s.h.i.+p move toward the Isla De la Muerta.

The way back to the island felt much faster as the party was discussing what each of them would do with their 'cut' of the treasure.

Dave wasn't a miserly person. He had agreed to split the treasures with everyone equally.

Dave was standing on the bow of the s.h.i.+p. The wind caressed his beard as he looked ahead. His blue eyes gazed upon the sea horizon until they spotted land.

"Land ahead!" Dave calmly announced. "We're here."

The players' hype increased to the limit. They all rushed towards the s.h.i.+p's bow hoping that the vessel could move even a little bit faster.

Half an hour later, the Leviathan dropped its anchor in the shallow waters just off the island. The players paddled a rowboat toward the island.

As soon as they set foot on the island, they moved at a jog toward the mountain in the centre. They entered the cave and went down toward the palace. There were no more undead to stop them or halt their advance.

Soon they were in front of the enormous wall inscribed with runic writing.

"We're here, c'mon open it! We want to see the treasure!" Lone was literally jumping around Dave so he would open the vault.

Dave smiled and pulled out the amulet from his inventory.

"Where's the keyhole?" He asked, tilting his head.

Before he received a response, the amulet flew out of his hand and landed on an inconspicuous part of the runic writing, thereby completing an inscription on the wall.

The whole wall gleamed in a seven-colour rainbow, and the wall began rising up.

Slowly but surely, the wall rose up. Out of excitement Flanker bent down and gazed beyond the small opening of the wall.

However, the excitement in his eyes changed to confusion as he muttered "Huh?"

This reaction made the party's excitement die down. They anxiously waited for the wall to rise up to see what was hidden behind it.

No mountains of gold and jewels. Instead all that waited for them was a single old box sitting in the middle of an empty stone room.

"What the heck? Is this all the jewels and treasures we came for? Where is the gold ?!" Flanker questioned.

"I don't know man," Dave replied, he was equally shocked and disappointed.

He moved ahead of the group and headed toward the chest. The wooden chest didn't have any keyholes. So Dave opened it with ease. There were two items inside.

A flintlock and a note.

Dave's disappointment reached the limit. He had no use for the gun, without the proper crafting recipe .

Lone came next to Dave and saw the two items, then she said," That note might be the crafting recipe."

Lone's words gave Dave some hope. Perhaps the real treasure was this note. If it's the receipt, they could sell it or make thousands of these flintlocks. There gotta be players that would want to own a weapon.

Dave took the note from the box and shared its content with the party.

***

It seems like you managed to open the vault, s.h.i.+ver me timbers. Ha! Still you doofus, ya think a pirate would leave all his treasures for others? HA HA! Th' best ya get is that flintlock I left ya. Might as well shoot yerself in the head with it after ya lost all that time.

HA! HA! HA!

***

Another notification appeared in front of Dave.

***

You have successfully completed 'Treasure Hunt'.

+1,000,000 EXP.

***

Dave groaned, "f.u.c.k!! Talk about a wasted journey. f.u.c.king h.e.l.l man."

"d.a.m.n b.a.s.t.a.r.d pirate, f.u.c.king h.e.l.l..." Flanker blasted out curses that would even make a seaman blush.

He stomped his feet on the ground and began feeling all over the room's walls.

"What are you doing?" Fortress asked.

"Looking for a secret handle, anything that could work. This might be a trick," Flanker said.

"True, pirates can be pretty tricky. Guys look and see if you can find anything sticking out of the walls or anything else unusual," Dave said.

He also went around carefully examining the walled room. After half an hour of searching, patting the walls and doing random stuff, the party came to the unfortunate conclusion that there was nothing in this room.

"f.u.c.k!!" Flanker cursed and kicked the chest.

The chest tumbled... yet of course there was no secret b.u.t.ton under it to open a hidden chamber nor was there an exit to a secret room. All it was, was just disappointing normal floor. The flintlock flew all the way to the wall and lay there.

Dave went toward the flintlock and was about to pick it up.

"It's gonna turn to dust," Flanker said as he slumped down onto the floor. Drawing circles with his finger. He felt cheated. A lot of time and effort wasted for nothing.

"Yeah, I know." Dave replied and touched the pistole halfheartedly praying to at least get something out of this whole ordeal.

As he picked up the gun, the item's began s.h.i.+ning with a golden glow and turned into a modern pistol. The gun in his hand was awfully similar to the one that was pulled against him in a certain shady private hospital.

"What the f.u.c.k?" Dave blurted out.

"What's going on?" Lone asked, "How come you are holding a Glock? That was a flintlock only a minute ago!"

"s.h.i.+t, look guys! This is The Treasure!" Dave shared a notification that just appeared in front of him.

***

Congratulations you have found the S cla.s.s Legacy Item of the Gunner Cla.s.s.

You cannot initiate the Legacy Cla.s.s Quest {Flint Westwood} due to already having completed another (Higher-Cla.s.s) Legacy Quest.

***

Another notification appeared in front of Dave

***

Conquest Server Announcement

Player Kis'Shtiengbrah has obtained the Legacy item of the Gunner Cla.s.s.

***

Dave stared at the announcement for a few seconds before he realized the implications of having his name attached to yet another S cla.s.s legacy.

"f.u.c.k! Not again, man! Why the h.e.l.l did you also have to put a target on my a.s.s ,Albert! I had enough of ALFRED doing this s.h.i.+t to me, man! I thought you and I were cool." Dave cursed to the high heavens, or the ceiling of the room from where he stood.

"Uh, I didn't do this, you did. If I were you, I'd just trade the gun if its that much of a bother to you." Albert's voice sounded right next to Dave's ear.

The sudden appearance of the grandpa in Hawaiian clothing scared the s.h.i.+t out of Dave, but thankfully he didn't jump or send a defensive punch down the Game AI's face. Though Dave did feel that the old guy would deserve it.

"Dude, what the heck. Shouldn't I be allowed to accept or refuse these kinds of things? I mean I wouldn't want all of Conquest to know when I went to take a dump."

"Unless you manage to set a new record for bowel movement, it would not warrant a notification. Well, as I said, that is just the way how this game was designed. Basically it rewards incredible action by publis.h.i.+ng it to increases your fame. Still, as I have just suggested, feel free to exchange this item with someone else, and you should be fine." Albert replied.

"Hey, old man. We spent weeks looking for a treasure, where are the monies?" Ralph asked the AI.

"This is all that is left of Gangplank's treasures. He never kept a single coin before his death. He was always a greedy man, yet he could not stand the idea of someone else profiting off of him, so he made sure not to die with any regrets. You may even consider yourself lucky that something beside the note was still inside the chest. Alright, this is all from me. I gotta go," Albert said and disappeared from the room.

"This is weird as heck guys," Ralph said.

"What is?" Lone asked.

"I just feel that stuff doesn't add up. I mean, why did the G.o.dling stay here all this time. I mean what use would he have for gold?" Ralph added.

"You are right, it should be related to the legacy item," Dave agreed.

"What do you mean?" Tess asked.

"Well, it should be simple to deduce. The G.o.dling is someone who will become a G.o.d soon. I suppose he will have some use for the legacy item. Like Dog with his Legacy Cla.s.s. I mean we already saw in the video of the Raid on the Eastern Kingdom, that NPCs can also use the legacy items. I suppose he has a use for it." Dave said.

"Right, if he is a G.o.d wannabe I think he might need the S Cla.s.s Legacy item after all. Either to accelerate his process or simply to get himself a powerful underling" Perfect theorised while folding both of his arms across his chest.

"Dave, Dad's calling, he wants to talk to you," Lone suddenly interrupted their brainstorming.

"Oh? Put him on speaker," Dave said. He could already guess what this was all about.

Lone activated the speaker option: "Dad, you're connected."

"Ah right, Davey, Davey, sweet Davey. My future Son-in-Law. I have something to ask you," Dante Silvana's voice came from the voice chat. As if b.u.t.ter wouldn't melt in his mouth.

Lone facepalmed and mumbled, "s.h.i.+t, I knew this was gonna happen."

"Hey, I heard that. That's a hundred dollars in the swear jar, young lady!" Dante Silvana's voice returned to normal as he berated his daughter for her language.

"Dad! I told you, you're on speaker! Don't embarra.s.s me anymore or I'll disown you!" Lone threatened, face turning beet red and voice rising several octaves.

She only received a low chuckle from the other end of the phone call.

Dave smiled and asked nonchalantly; "What can I do for you, sir?"

"Don't call me 'Sir', we're practically family. Just call me Dante," Dante replied.

"Stop that, Dad. It doesn't take a genius to find out why called. You just want to get the legacy item from Davey! And that's not gonna happen with sweet words alone. You better pay up!"

"Huh, you're already on his side. I gotta say Dave, I'm impressed that you managed to capture my daughter's body and soul so fast." Dante said in a teasing tone.

"No! We haven't done anything yet!" Lone protested her voice getting quieter towards the end.

"Yet? So, you're planning on doing something, right?" Dante asked playfully.

"Oh my G.o.d! Please, Dave, I'm gonna hang up!" Lone couldn't take it anymore, her face was currently a mixture of anger and utter embarra.s.sment. It added a great allure to the elf avatar.

'That's cute,' Dave thought as he smiled.

"Nah, it's alright. Dante, you want the Gunner Legacy, right?" Dave asked.

"Yeah, please. I'll pay you for it. I'll even allow you to date my daughter, officially."

"I don't need your permission for that!" Lone shouted, "And we're already dating! Pay up and stop being stingy!"

"Ah, my daughter is no longer mine," Dante sighed. Dave could practically imagine the man shaking his head sorrowfully. Their next encounter promised to be… interesting to say the least.

"Alright, I'll wire you an adequate amount for the legacy item. But I heard you need to do quests. I don't have a party or a strong enough team to take on an S Cla.s.s Legacy Quest. Can you help me out?" Dante asked.

"As much as I would like to, I can't. All Legacy Quests are difficult for a reason. They have Solo Quest that you will need to finish by yourself. Only the later quests of the legacy can be done with a party. However once you are done with your solo quests I'll try and help you out. Also, I would recommend you don't start the Legacy Quest anytime soon," Dave answered.

"Why is that, David?" Dante asked.

"I'm sure you saw the Clash of G.o.ds event announcement. If you get involved at your low level, you might end up facing someone strong, which seems quite probable. If they win, your Legacy's rating might decrease." Dave explained his logic.

"Right, I'll still start the quests, but I'll refuse the challenges against other Legacy holders then. Tell me when you're ready to exchange the Legacy Item." Dante agreed.

"Will do. I'm currently in a faraway area. When I get back to land, I'll contact you or just give the item to Lone and she will hand it to you."

"Thanks, son," Dante said and hung up.

"Ah man, that was embarra.s.sing," Lone said her face still as red as a tomato.

The rest of the party were secretly laughing at Lone's misfortune when Dave turned to them.

"Seeing that we didn't get any treasure, I say we'll split whatever Lone's dad gives us equally. It's our treasure of sorts," Dave suggested.

"Oh, Mr Skeletal! Please take my body and soul in exchange for your kindness and generosity!" Flanker said as he raised his brows up and down at Lone.

A vein threatened to pop on Lone's forehead as she shouted, "I'm gonna kill him!" Lone nocked and drew an arrow and aimed it at Flanker. The shameless priest scurried away hiding behind Dave.

"You wouldn't want to hit your beloved David, would you?! Please, Mr Skeletal don't let her hurt me!" Flanker pleaded with an over-exaggerated att.i.tude as he peered from behind Dave's shoulder.

Dave shook his head, smiling. "Let's go back to the Dead Realm. I need five more levels to get to level 450. I'll need that for the upcoming event."

As soon as he said that, he moved away from Flanker. The priest found himself without a meat s.h.i.+eld to protect him from the enraged elven archer.

"Uh! Please, no! At least not the face!!!"

"Dance for me!" Lone began shooting arrows at Flanker's feet to which he jumped high and low to dodge them. She was careful not to land a hit on him but at the same time shot her arrows a hair's width from Flanker, making him dance around the room in fright. The rest of the TNT just stood there and made a video of the hilarious scene.

"What's so special about level 450 for you, Dave?" Ralph asked as he extracted his eyes from Lone and Flanker's charades.

"Well, It's the last condition I need to be able to equip Deadrea's s.h.i.+eld and Sword. I got a feeling that those two items are quite OP." Dave replied with his famous Draugr smile while stroking his beard.

The Cursed s.h.i.+eld of Ajax and Durandal had stayed in his inventory for the longest time. It would not be much longer before the world came to fear them once more.

"By the way, Dave. Did you realize that you are only a few levels away from the top rankers?" Ralph asked.

"Oh? I didn't know, what's Warlord's current level?" Dave asked, genuinely surprised. He was leveling for his sake, not even aware that he was so close to overtaking Warlord.

"Let me check through the guild's panels." Ralph waved his hand and opened his Devastator Guild panel.

"Oh, yep, very close. He is level 452. I think the gnomish ruins gave them a lot of EXP. Anyway, you should be able to catch up in no time." Ralph was confident in his buddy.

"Yeah well, I still have the EXP Bead from ALFRED. It gives 50% additional EXP until I reach level 500. Once I hit that sweet, sweet 500, my bonus exp will disappear and I'll level the same speed as any other player."

"Guys, let's go. It's time to do some more grinding." Dave lead everyone out of the 'treasure room' back to the s.h.i.+p.