With their objective set and the location of the boss found, Hazel and her group then spent the rest of their remaining days getting stronger and leveling up as much as possible. And they weren’t just trying to level up themselves but also their skills and spells.

Hazel knew that the battle against the Sub-boss wouldn’t be easy or simple. It was going to be a difficult fight. Probably one of her most fierce and dangerous fights yet that would put her previous battles against monsters like the Fractured Class Humans, Cyclops, and the Alpha Dire Wolf to shame.

Which was why she was also going to be increasing the ranks of her spells as well. Until either, they were high enough to where she couldn’t increase their rank that easily or when the time to go up against the boss had arrived.

With that in mind, Hazel used the remaining days she had to train her spells as much as possible. From Baneful Sickle to Telekinesis, to even Mana Shield. Every spell in her arsenal was going to be used and improved. No exceptions.

And so the day of grinding in the City Island began.

It started with Hazel simply spamming her spells at the horde of Fractured humans infesting the streets of the city island. Whether it was Mana Bolt, Baneful Sickle, or even Cursed Spear, she would use it until her mana was completely depleted.

She did this to understand the activation and timing of her spells. How strong they were, and how fast they were fired, among other things.

Then she would be more strategic with them. She would fire one spell and then a different one to catch her enemies off guard. Hazel practiced this by hurling either a cursed spear or Baneful Sickle at the horde, then she would deliver a barrage attack of mana bolts.

She would also do this in reverse by hurling multiple mana bolts at the horde then when the time was right, cast either Baneful Sickle or Cursed Spear. There were also times when Hazel would mix it up by doing a barrage of mana bolts, sneak a baneful sickle or Cursed spear in the mix, and then return to the barrage.

Hazel was attempting all of these combos as a way to increase her experience and skills with her spells. The more she understood how to use them in a fight, the better it would be for her when the fight against the sub-boss finally arrived.

It wasn’t just her spells she was improving but also her physical capabilities as well. While she wasn’t faster, stronger, or more durable than Astrid or Nycteris, she could still do some training that involved her physical stats as well. One of them being her reflexes.

During the days when she took a break from magic, Hazel would be training with Astrid by having sparring matches. Spoilers; she lost every single time against her.

Not only was Astrid faster, but she was also skilled enough to completely overpower her in a second. Every time Hazel attempted to avoid one of Astrid’s attacks, the dark elf would still take her down in a split second.

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It was during these little sparring matches that Hazel realized how lacking she was in terms of physical capabilities. Then again, she was a mage, so fighting with her fists and feet wasn’t her style. Though, she wished that she didn’t have to realize that after getting her ass handed to her six ways to Sunday.

Aside from Hazel’s training, Astrid and Nycteris were also on the bandwagon. Both of them improved their skills for the upcoming battle.

Nycteris worked on his role as the group’s tank; not only taking the hits for them but also drawing the attention of the enemies to prevent Hazel and Astrid was getting hurt or killed during the fight.

His role was crucial for the fight against the sub-boss since he would need to keep its attention on him while also tanking a lot of its hits, while Hazel and Astrid did their best to weaken it. Without Nycteris, the player pair would have a very difficult time with the boss.

As for Astrid, she focused on areas that she needed to improve on, which was her mana. Due to her low Intelligence and Wisdom stat, she was unable to fully rely on the magic quiver that could conjure more arrows after she poured her mana into it.

According to her, she was only able to conjure at most five arrows every half hour or so. And this was because of her low mana capacity and mana regeneration rate. By the time she conjured the fifth arrow, she would be completely exhausted as if she had run a marathon.

And Hazel made sure to enjoy every minute of it as a form of payback for the dark elf kicking her ass in their sparring matches. Of course, they only got worse because of Hazel’s constant harassment, but she refused to surrender and kept doing it regardless of the treatment.

During those times they took a break, and the pair got a little closer as well. Hazel would occasionally talk about certain things from her world like history and pop culture, and Astrid would do the same and explain certain traditions and cultures that her tribe follows.

They never talked about anything personal like their family dramas or traumatic experiences they faced in the past before getting sent to this dungeon. Hazel didn’t even attempt to press Astrid regarding the relationship with her brother.

She knew that there was more to their relationship than meets the eye. Especially after Astrid confessed about her brother’s fate after growing used to taking lives. However, Hazel was also aware that it was none of her business.

Whatever the problems were with the dark elves were of Astrid’s concern, not hers. Hazel had enough problems as it was once she finally escaped this dungeon. Not only did she have to follow her brother and mother, but she also needed to find a place to keep them safe or at least where they wouldn’t be affected by the upcoming war that was bound to occur due to their two worlds merging into one.

Hazel didn’t want her family to get involved in that kind of chaos. Not when there was a possibility that they could die in the process. If something happened to either of them...she didn’t know what she would do.

But she couldn’t focus on the morbid future regarding her family’s fate. If she dreaded over that constantly, she would lose her sanity in no time. So, she simply focused on the grind, trying to get as much done as possible before the deadline.

Days went by in a flash as the group made progress. Hazel’s spellcraft, Astrid’s archery, and even Nycteris’s power. All of them were getting stronger as time went on, marching toward the target date as they slaughtered every monster in their path, seeing them only as XP farms for them to harvest at a moment’s notice.

And soon...the days of grinding had come to an end. And the final days of their time in the dungeon were about to come to a close.