Volume 3 Chapter 10 (1/2)
《Playing in a party with users》
The KO-1 Top party excitedly entered the dungeon
[You have found an unregistered dungeon! Each and everythe discovery Only a seon, each and every ister the dungeon?]
”Nope”
The party could hear Maron refusing to register the dungeon
[This dungeon has a difficulty of C, and is the habitat of Cave Goblins The rulers of the cave are Hobgoblins and Goblin eon If you are the first party to clear this dungeon, every ain 50 fame and 30 SP May luck be with you, KO-1 Top]
They liked the reward of clearing the dungeon Although there was nofame, 30 SP was the minimum requireain soeon
But it was questionable whether cave goblins are sihly estimated to be the equivalent to level 8~12 It wouldn't ht with theht multiple enemies in an enclosed area, and no one seemed to have any experience with that
Moreover, since they had no intel on the strength of the boss ot nervous
”It won't be easy, but how hard could it be?”
”Don't jinx it None of us have fought a boss monster yet”
At Rumm's baseless, overconfident words, the cautious Tess provoked everyone's attention
”We may not know the details of the Boss monsters, but we have Lace who has lots of experience in party play, so it'll be alright If we try our best, it should be enough to clear the dungeon” Maron gave some words of inspiration
”Yeah We can do this!”
”Go, Go! Let's go! EXP awaits us!”
A pontiff can heal and sustain the party's health, so Lace was the most important person in the party Also, since Lace was an experienced player, they were able to rely on her and trust her ability Bri spirit, they entered the cave
The inner part of the cave was quite large compared to how it looked froh stalactites and stone pillars that connected the ceiling and the ground, with Mentosa leading the way
'It'd be better if the assassin, Dasoht to himself
According to what he learned in the mercenary academy, the party needed to send aa new place In that way, the party would be able to prepare for what they would have to face
This party was too well acquainted with norive his opinion His concern was realized soon, when they were passing a stalactite that was for a stone pillar
”It's poison darts!”
Mentosa suddenly cried, and at the saround With a quick reaction, Yeo' drew his sword and quickly wielded it Several poison darts fell to the ground They were illuht, which was the unique property of goblin poisons
”Barrier!”
”Barrier!”
The icians casted the Barrier skill that they'd chanted prior A giant barrier covered the entire party, and it earned the They were hiding behind the pillars and covers next to the wall of the cave
”We gotta lure them out or snipe them”
But their archeress Minerva was down, a too erous situation where everyone could have been assassinated by the poison darts, but Lace's command was quick and bold
”Tess, deactivate your barrier and cast AoE¹ coic”
”Workin' on it, sis” Tess replied
As the layer of barrier disappeared fro the barrier could be heard louder than before
”Fire wall!”
At the saround Thin darts couldn't penetrate the wall, and even if some of theh to dae people
”Dasom, flank them!”
assassin Dasom took a few steps, and vanished into thin air She used 'invisibility cloak' The party could hear small noises fro near the cave wall to move around the wall of flame
A few loathsome screams of Goblins echoed in the cave, and at the same ti charged through the flah The scene that caoblin warriors with shoddy spears surrounding Dasom She couldn't find a chance to return to stealth, and was barely surviving in the rain of spears
”YOU bastardS!” Rumm shouted
Ruoblin that was blocking his way Yeo' folloith his sharpened saber Goblins died in vain But some attacked back, and it slowed down the attacks of the twoThe goblins' long spears were li their movement
”What should we do now? They are ht as a group!”
Lace stamped her feet out of frustration Daso The tordsoblin attacks, it seemed impossible to press the attack
The icians couldn't dare to make any moves as the combat ay too chaotic Lace who needed to command orders had to detox Minerva as well, but she didn't even have tiic
A sharp noise of so the air was heard in everyone's ears
Haroon was out of the barrier, throwing so knives he was holding between his fingers The goblins screaer fell to the ground, losing their breath
A few knives cut the air once again Like an illusion, they curved their way through the air and stabbed the nape of the necks of the goblins that were attacking Daso dropped on the floor, and the goblins that were hit were holding their necks, falling on the ground Daso that, the swordsmen tried their best to open a way for Dasom Dasom was able to reat relief
They were now out of the worst case scenario, but not danger The nu the three were still oblins ere shooting darts, hiding behind pillars and walls, looking for their chances Thanks to that, the Magicians were busy casting barriers alternatively, not having enough of ato help the three
”I'll cover the retreat, so heal Minerva!”
At Haroon's shout, Lace started healing Minerva Her lips were already dyed purple, and her body was as cold as ice If Lace hesitated for a second, Minerva would die fro
”Purification!”
She cast purification ic as it wasn't enough
”Anti-poison!”
A few arcs of light sprouted from her hands, and covered Minerva's body, and soathered her hands and closed her eyes Soy flew out froh-level of holiness
Haroon was out of throwing knives Nuround, andpoison darts As Haroon had experienced several battles, it was i knives
Haroon took out all of his six-bladed shurikens from his inventory He didn't expect the knives, since he didn't have enough experience with the that he could be picky about, as Dasom and the tordsmen's conditions seemed fatal
”Ru weapons, so slowly retreat and join the party!
”OK Then hurry up!”
Haroon snal Rumm to trust hi speed was so fast that the party could not track the shurikens with their eyes In the blink of an eye, the goblins that were surrounding the three fell down on the ground The nuly, seven All of them had been stabbed by shurikens in their vital points
It opened a way for the her aroblins tried to stop theh of the action
”Magicians, use your coic! Quickly!”
No one, including Haroon hi But at his order, the h they were exhausted fro barriers to block the poison darts
Now that there was no barrier to protect the party frooblins that shot them
Haroon took out the throwing knives that he saved for this moment He had no hly 20 goblins that were charging at them, and summoned Brat
”Summon! Guided knife!”
With insane speed, Haroon threw all of the 10 knives that he saved for this ets As Haroon took out oblins that used poison darts, the tides of battle changed in the blink of an eye Haroon quickly took an antidote, and withdrew more shurikens
”Wall of Flame!”
”Wind Blades!”
”Firebolt!”
It see as how their voices broke But they were able to successfully cast theirat the party couldn't avoid diving into a wall of flaoblins panicked, and the blades of wind h their skin, followed by 6 bolts of fire that oblin warriors
The heat of the battle got way higher, quite literally Although it wasn't intended, the coics in the fire and wind divisions caused circulation of air in a confined space, gradually increasing the temperature It wasn't too bad for huoblins as they're creatures covered in fur
As the spells deactivated due to their duration time, the horrible scene of the battle caoblins survived, which were sloalking backwards with fear in their eyes The rest were lying down on the ground, or were still being burned alive, rolling around to put out the fire
The s oblins Seeing this hell-like scene, so It was evenground, but a confined space with less light
Sohts of the party It was a sound of Haroon throwing his shuriken Another goblin that was screa
”We gotta finish their pain, Rumm”
”R-right We should”
With pale faces, Ruoblins, and stabbed their swords into the goblins' necks Haroon did the saers and shurikens Their durabilities had dropped quite a bit, and their blades were dulled as he had used them several times
It was at that moment, when he heard the UI sound
[You have leveled up by 3!]
It h it oblins, Haroon had about 20 solo kills on them and it increased Haroon's level by 3 And that wasn't all he got
[Focus is increased by 1 point]
[Agility is increased by 1 point]
[ESP is increased by 1 point]
[You have gained 30 SP]
If it wasn't for the UI sound that alerted hi that the horrible scene would be the only thing he would get froet out of this scene as soon as possible to lighten the mood
He turned towards the party to suggest , but then he realized it would be better if he didn't disturb the what their UI sound brought After a moment, unhideable joy became apparent in their eyes
”I've leveled up! Two levels at the same time!”
”Same! I can't believe what just happened Think of how hard it was to level up!”
”Haha! Those goblins ht”
”Nah, see e just did You can easily tell that we've just slain 60 or even 70 enee if we didn't level up”
”That was intense though I've never felt this horrible before”
As thetheir spoils of victory, looking back at the after-battle scene wasn't as horrible as before
”Maron, let's leave this place for now We have soood for them”
Saying that, Lace stood up With help fro to normal
”Good call Ru, help Dasom I'll carry Minerva on my back”
At Maron's order, the party moved with haste Meanwhile, Haroon wiped the blood fro weapons and stacked the While he had time to do so, he took so the that they'll be of some help later on
”Haroon”
It was Lace Her face flushed with excite someone heroically save the party
”Thank you for helping us To be honest, I underestimated you and I'm really sorry about that If it wasn't for you, ould have been……”
Lace shi+vered with fright
”I'm just a party member, so you don't need to say those kinds of words I should help if I can”
”That ht it was just like us doing everything for you Leveling you up, possibly sharing an iteot lucky, but it was us ere fortunate to have you If Rumm didn't stop you……”
”Nah I'lad that I could be of help I don't think this is a place for thatthe dungeon”
”You are right about that Let's move for now”
Before they knew, the party drew nearer and was listening to their conversation Saht about hih
”I'll scout ahead”
Haroon volunteered
”You know that kind of thing should be ordered by the party lea-”
Haroon was alreadywhen Maron spoke Irritated, Maron frowned But the others were nodding They didn't feel any need of a scout, but soon realized they had the wrong idea
It was totally different from how tankers lead the party At every corner, Haroon climbed walls or looked for a blind spot to scout ahead withoutaround, he proceeded only when it was safe to move That caused the entire party to approach oblin ambushes three times
Preparing to face the aoblins couldn'twith 5 to 10 of them at a time wasn't a hard task
”We should have moved like this in the first place……”
It hat Tess said after defeating the third ambush
”If we did so, Minerva and Dasoot hurt”
Yeo' casually replied to Tess Maron heard it, and his face turned grim and serious He was the party leader, after all, and Yeo'reat criticism to his orders Moreover, Haroon's heroic save weakened Maron's power in the party, which et colder and colder
”Nah, it is not our fault I just wanted to say Haroon is an a player If we came here on our oould have died to the first ambush”
Tess couldn't stop co Haroon's performance
”I thought the sa His level is only 17, and it is just a number for hiuy who experiences Beyond more than anyone else Perhaps he died so h level to lower than us I didn't expect hi to your sister's words since she is so good at dealing with people, but I'd never have guessed he'd be this good,” said Minerva
Everyone nodded Except Maron Tess see Lace
”Well, she toldthat user on the way here, and she said he see that he has so ht”
Listening to Minerva and Tess's whisper-like conversation, the party looked at Haroon with soht be the lowest level of the party, but his abilitywas the highest, and they couldn't see his limit
Seeing Haroon s any sound, assassin Dasom couldn't close her mouth Not to mention the ability to throeapons silently Those concealing, ni for, and a non-assassin, low level user was already executing it
Moreover, the quick wits, sense of occasion and appropriate co that couldn't be executed by ordinary players His true identity was suspicious, but since Lace told the party that he's trustable, that wasn't so she needed to be concerned about
”But haven't we been in the cave for quite a long ti manner
Haroon suddenly stopped Haroon sent a signal to halt, and the whole party went silent
There was a wall in front of them It was an intersection that lead to two different ways
With a s that was about 4 rabbed stalactites and crawled over it to the right pathThe party could barely hide their astonish for him to coround, and signaled to retreat for a bit, but silently
”So Haroon, as that about?”
Rureat expectations shown on his face
”That was the boss room”
”The boss? Really?”
Rued for They couldn't besome items
”There are two oblin with a crown on its head They are still eating their h”
The party could feel the tension rising in the atmosphere
”So what should we do, Haroon?” Tess asked
”ME? Why would you ask me that?” Haroon replied, confused
Haroon couldn't understand why Tess would ask hi, after all Then Haroon could see Maron's arrogant face had a cold, set expression
”Yeah, tell us your opinion on this,” Lace added
”Huh? Lace, you too?”
Lace's face was full of trust while looking at Haroon
”Of course, that's 'cause you're the most experienced player of us all Isn't that obvious? Maron was leading us only because we didn't know your true skills Things are different now”
”She is right It's not about who has the right to couidance from an experienced player”
Daso how he made whole party level up by 2, they had to admit that Haroon's ability easily surpassed their own
At last, Haroon realized the party wanted hi one of them He couldn't understand why, but that wasn't i they needed to do was to clear the dungeon
”Alright, then we should take care of the ic they can cast I'llthe other one Lace, standby and prepare just in case one of us fails to kill the icians, you'll need to cast the ics you've ever learned, at the saics like the last time, but since I'm not an expert on that, I'll leave that up to you Try to come up with the combination that would be most effective in a enclosed area like this”
The people who got called nodded without answering
”Dasoic attacks, move around to the back side and flank theood chance for you Swordsoblin warriors are taken care of after the two cooblin in a straight line”
The swordsrabbed their weapons firmly
”Magicians, after casting ic, retreat into different directions, then look for a place to regainthe swords care of the rest of the goblin warriors with throeapons
It was an impeccable plan As the brief was told, Haroon started explaining the plan in details, drawing a s where each member should be positioned
He picked up these kinds of strategies in the Mercenary ca that Haroon had lots of experience with dungeons Otherwise, it would be iy in such a short time
Seeing how the others looked at Haroon, he knew they were , but he didn't bother to explain it in detail There was no time and no reason to Perhaps, the plan would work better if they believed that Haroon has great experience in sketching plans If the members cannot trust the leader, they would not be able to execute the plan
”Then, Lace, We need your blessings”
Upon his words, Lace started chanting the incantation with a language they couldn't understand Holy words, presumably
”Bless!”
[You are now blessed Every ability is enhanced by 10 for 5 minutes]
Thetheir abilities by 10 But there was no ti in the front, the party tried their best not tothe corner, taking the right path Soon, they entered a rooot ambushed
The goblins were eating so piled up in the center, which looked like fresh corpses of bats The Hobgoblin, which had a sicians which see at the inneroblin and goblintheir oblin warriors were eating as fast as they could to eat at least one more than the others
Haroon and Minerva got in position near the entrance of the roo at the goblin iving a signal to Minerva at the same time There was no need to summon Brat for this round
Two objects were shot Two screa Minerva's arrow hit the h to kill it It was fortunate at least that Haroon's knife hit the head as it killed the goblin instantly
”The icians!”
As soon as Haroon and Minerva quickly retreated, the ic The spells activated as they spoke their incantations
”Wall of Flame!”
”Wind Blowing!”
”Wind Blowing!”
It was super effective! It took quite a while for thea wall of flae area This co a siic, or ic
As a sudden fire interrupted the happy oblin warriors panicked and fell back, but half of them were already swept by the flames
”Wall of Flame!”
”Wind Blowing!”
”Wind Blowing!”
The first wall of flauished, and still the second wave swept the goblins At this time, the fire as cast oblins further back
At thatit'd be effective if they attacked the goblins at a distance Although it wasn't discussed during the planning phase, Minerva understood and answered with a smile To not miss the chance, Minerva quickly shot arrows
Haroon threw his shurikens through the wall of fla visible reference to ai his throwing knives and daggers for the Hobgoblin, he consecutively threw shurikens at a fast rate
The goblins' fearful screa their furs fro attacked by shurikens and arrows Attacks from unknown sources made them even more scared
At last, theits duration ti smaller and smaller
”The swordsmen!”
The swordsmen jumped into the flames that were too weak to hurt the fro able to hold their spears properly The swords hearts and vital points of easy targets When the flaoblins were left
”Haha, they are just like rats in a trap!” Mentosa cried happily
Laughing broadly, he lifted his greatsword high up in the air Yeo'reen blood, trying to make a fancy finale
”Step back!”
The sudden, sharp cry of Tess filled the cave They saw the Hobgoblin opening its oblins, but it was too late In the blink of an eye, the Hobgoblin sprayed poisonous liquid, and it turned into a poison cloud in a cone shape
”Kugh!”
”Ugh! It's poison!”
Mentosa couldn't avoid it, and careless Ru their eyes with their hands, they fell on the ground Yeo' his face with his arot him
”Minerva, shoot theic!”