From bronze grade onward, each weapon had some basic skills.
The razor knife was perfect for trying to gouge out the Hibiki snake's eyes, though it was questionable how effective it would be against such a massive creature.
As for the stat increase, it was the bare minimum—nothing special there.
After handing everyone a knife, the old man dropped an enormous chunk of meat wrapped in thick red cloth. "Here, warriors. The smell of this meat will help you attract the Hibiki snake's attention."
Everyone looked at the meat and nodded.
The old man sighed and said, "I'll leave you guys here to discuss among yourselves. Feel free to stay as long as you want. I'll even send some food in a few moments."
With that, the old man walked out of the room, leaving the ten of them behind.
They all stared at each other.
The guy named Cion, from the local big guild, took the lead and asked, "So now that we're all in this together, feel free to share your thoughts on how we take on that snake."
Rodium shook his head. "With just the ten of us, it would be impossible to fight and contain that beast."
Elish nodded. "Yeah, we have to surround that snake from all directions, or it'll just run away."
Everyone knew the answer, but no one wanted to say it outright.
Forsyx glanced at Kos and Zanarc—these guys acted stupid before, but when it came to business, they were as sharp as anyone.
Forsyx sighed and took the lead. "We need more members."
As he said that, everyone started glancing at their sides.
After all, everyone on this side had badges on their clothes.
On the opposite end, only Cion was part of a guild.
Cion didn't shy away and said, "Well, I could call some of my guild members, but you'll have to give me a higher portion of the reward."
Following his example, Rodium, Kos, and Zanarc spoke one after another.
"For enough compensation, I could do the same."
"Same with me. I just want to submit the quest myself as compensation."
"Two extra knives, and my guys are in."
All eyes turned to Forsyx and Lucami.
Forsyx just shook his head and sighed. "Can't do the same. I'm alone here."
Zanarc hissed at him. "Bird boy, why are you lying?"
Forsyx stared dead into Zanarc's eyes and said, "You know I can fly. Why would I drag dead weight around with me?"
Kos chimed in, "Dude, why make things difficult for all of us?"
Elish spoke from the front. "If you guys can call others for help, then I agree to give up my knife after completing the task. But I won't compromise on the coins."
Forsyx raised his eyebrows at that.
He thought Radiant would oppose this setup, but things were heading in the opposite direction.
Sure, Elish was the first, but soon after, both Luka and Danish reluctantly supported the decision.
Now the pressure was on Forsyx, Lucami, and Drakim.
Forsyx stared at Elish and the other two more openly this time.
Were they not after the Hibiki snake? Were they also after those eggs? But that didn't make any sense.
The players from the Radiant guild wouldn't reset their characters just for some unique-grade beast eggs.
No doubt, the eggs were valuable—but would three top players really reset their characters just for some eggs? No way.
Even average top players wouldn't do that, let alone members of Radiant.
Many of their top players had epic mounts—forget about just some unique-grade ones.
He also knew no top player would reset their main character just for a cool class.
It would be the same for him. If he were anywhere near their level, the time and resource loss by character reset wouldn't be worth it.
Heck, from their names, it was clear these guys started playing the game from day one. Only those who started at the very beginning would get the chance to choose those names.
They weren't even hiding that fact.
He stopped staring and just looked down at the meat slab.
There had to be something special about this quest—something hidden that was worth risking everything.
The Radiant Guild must've gotten some clue, which was why these guys were here.
He couldn't let them get that advantage.
They were already beasts—who knew what kind of power they'd gain if everything went according to plan?
He looked at Lucami and Drakim.
Both of them seemed reluctant to speak.
After a moment of thought, he said, "Let's reveal it to the public."
Zanarc shouted at him. "Are you an idiot? Why should we reveal our task to others?"
Forsyx waved his hand and said, "Just listen to me. All I'm saying is we'll reveal the Hibiki snake's location to the public—nothing about the quest."
Cion leaned forward and asked, "Your reason?"
Forsyx leaned in and said, "Well, do you think when a couple hundred players fight that beast, no one's going to die? I mean, you might have that many players inside the village, but all I'm saying is—the task only requires the eyes. We'll use the masses to get them. As for the snake, do as you see fit."
Elish just stared at him. "What if someone damages the eyes? Are you going to take that risk?"
Forsyx shrugged his shoulders. "Why should I take the risk? If you can handle the snake alone, be my guest."
Danish chimed in from the side, "Dude, no need to react like that. She's just pointing out the danger in your method."
Forsyx leaned back and rolled his eyes. "Well, in that case, we can go with your method—but this time, you take the responsibility."
Instead of overreacting, Danish just stared at him and said nothing.
Sure, these guys weren't that easy to provoke.
Still, Forsyx wanted to avoid getting directly involved with them in front of anyone else. So he just said, "I suggest we reveal it to the public, and those who secure the eyes safely will get 10% extra as a monetary reward."
Elish said, "I believe it's better to go the safe route. For that, I'll offer my potion as compensation, including the Hibiki snake's body parts."
Forsyx just shook his head and waited for the others to choose. The decision was now back to them.