Chapter 418 (2/2)

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”Congratulations, warriors,” Dalton said, rubbing his mustache as he looked at the ragged band. Drake rubbed his nose, subdued. He had gained two full Levels from that fight, sure, but also...

The image of the Ghosthound at the end...

Shaking his head, Drake dislodged that thought, then considered the notification in front of him.

Congratulations! You have successfully defended the village while the main force dealt with the Death Cultist threat! Your relationship with the village has increased. If you talk with Cyndra within the next 24 hours it is very likely you will receive a related quest! You have gained 30% experience to your next Level.

A satisfied grin plastered itself on Alana's face, giving away that she had finally reached Level 48, and probably got a significant percentage forward towards 49. For his part, Drake finally reached 40, receiving a new Skill Captain's Cross, a powerful offensive move that was relatively cheap, and would likely become the mainstay of his fighting style in the future. It consisted of two super quick slashes, with an exponentially increased amount of damage at the intersection of the slashes.

But what Drake really regretted was that everything happened so quickly. His Bone Exoskeleton Skill, that he obtained from his Soul Skill, would have been a perfect assist for this situation, the only problem was that it took around 10 minutes to form, and for that time he was completely exposed and immobile. But once it had formed... he would have been able to hold a flank all on his own...

”Thank you,” The Ghosthound said, nodding his head. ”I hope your side of things went well?”

”Ha, don't worry, we have it handled. Anyways, it is late. Please, rest. In the morning, we will explain more about this village's... circumstances.”

And with that, Dalton departed taking with him the 10 villagers who had basically just watched the Raid Dungeon Party defend their walls. After exchanging a glance with Rose and Annie, the group walked slowly back towards the church. It appeared that Arrata was busy with other things, because the doors hung open, and the rooms abandoned. After they were alone, Annie scouted the surroundings, and the Ghosthound moved his strange lanterns. Then finally, they spoke.

Rose went first. ”They were definitely watching us, rather than the monsters. They used Skills, but they were just common sight and sound enhancing Skills, nothing as incisive as what I have. Just common... observation.”

The Ghosthound grunted, flexing his fingers. Drake watched the man carefully. What no one said, and that everyone was thinking, was that even the most basic child had the observational Skills to witness the absolutely dominant display that the Ghosthound exhibited, ripping through around 50 monsters within 5 minutes, leaving their bodies crushed, their spirits broken and scattered. It was the sort of thing that was beyond understanding. When Drake compared his own performance with the Ghosthound's it was hard to believe that they were even the same species and had started using the System at the same time. The Ghosthound seemed to have been born like this. Although he knew that the Ghosthound used to be human too, a friend to Sydney, when he displayed prowess like this...

With a sidelong glance, Drake examined Lucifer and Ace. Truthfully, Drake's performance fell slightly shy of either of these two men, even though Drake had probably gained 30 or so Skill Levels, and 4 Levels, in the past 4 days. And in terms of utilization... there was no better way of forcing your potential to the surface than fighting with your life on the line. It was a difference in tenacity, that meant that he was much, much more powerful than he had been before the expedition began. And it had only been a short amount of time...

Drake felt a certain amount of excitement towards how powerful he would be by the end of this, and a fair amount of fear towards Lucifer and Ace. Lucifer was tireless, now dual wielding his huge swords, using brute force and momentum to wreck opponents. Ace meanwhile was much more... difficult to understand but almost more sinister.

At first, Ace just seemed like a grappler with superior reaction time and an intuitive understanding of fighting. But then an opponent used a similar move again, and Ace suddenly had the perfect counter prepared for the opponent. He was one of the instinctive types of fighters that mid-fight, would make minute adjustments that would slowly tilt advantages his way.

And both of them, compared to the Ghosthound, were just...

”Annie? What were we used for?” The Ghosthound said, breaking the silence and turning to Annie.

She frowned. ”Raiding a strange warren filled with... bat creatures. They are certainly ugly and monstrous enough to be Death Cultists, but I didn't really see much black magic. Mostly, the strange bat things have stupidly powerful bodies. Aside from Cyndra, it seemed like the common bat thing was more than a match for villagers.”

Rose tutted. ”Aren't we happy if the villagers are honest? If we can finish this Raid Dungeon while getting these quests, isn't it for the best?”

Drake privately agreed, but he was wary of it too. So far… these had been brutal fights, sure but… the Ghosthound’s grim face, as they entered the Dungeon, had filled him with a sense of foreboding. Why then was everything lining up for them to finish it without any real effort...