Realizing that their partnership needed some more work, the two players attempted to fix the obvious holes in their current relationship. And the first thing that needed to be done was to establish proper communication with each other.

Which meant only one thing; they needed to get to know one another. Which they did…just not the way that Hazel expected it to go down.

Since Hazel and Astrid were currently a team, they needed to understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses. That way, they know what they lack and how the other could make up for it.

And so, the first thing the pair talked about was their current abilities. Hazel went first and explained her current skill set.

“So, I currently have four spells which are [Mana Bolt], [Mana Shield], [Baneful Sickle], and [Decay]. The first two spells were provided for me when I chose the Mage class while the latter two I obtained through a Threshold and Grimoire page, respectfully.”

“Right,” Astrid nodded, acknowledging the mage’s words. “I’ve already seen three of them, which leaves the last one. That Decay spell. I’m assuming how it works is pretty self-explanatory?”

“Pretty much…” Hazel answered while picking up a small rock. “The spell basically deteriorates any living or non-living thing.”

Purple wisps seeped out of the mage’s hand before slithering around the rock, encasing it in a violet cocoon. As the purple shell disappeared, the stone slowly degraded. Cracks began to spread all over the surface, much like a Fractured human. Then, it disintegrated into dust while drifting out of Hazel’s palm.

Astrid watched the scene unfold from start to end in bewilderment and a hint of caution in her eyes.

“Why didn’t you use that spell against the Orcs?” The dark elf asked. “That would’ve saved us a lot of time.”

“Because, despite how powerful this spell was, it had its limits. The main problem behind it was the stupid cooldown system. When I use the spell once, I have to wait for thirty seconds before casting it again.”

“Thirty seconds?!” Astrid blurted out. “That’s absurd.”

The novice mage scoffed. “You’re telling me. Because of how long its cooldown was, I only used it against stronger enemies to ensure my victory. Or if I’m in a pinch against a horde of monsters and desperate to do anything to escape.”

The Cyclops and Alpha Dire wolf were prime examples of when Hazel actually cast Decay. They were stronger enemies that she needed to take down and fast. And in both encounters, Decay saved her life.

“That and I can only cast the spell on one target at a time. So, against a large army, that spell could only do so much for me.”

“I see. At least I know why you didn’t use it against those Orcs from before.”

While talking about her spells, Hazel also informed the dark elf of her other spells' limitations like the duration of the Mana Shield spell and the Cooldown of Baneful sickle. The only spell that didn’t have such limiting abilities was Mana Bolt, Hazel’s main offensive spell.

It doesn’t have a cooldown which allowed Hazel to rapid-fire the spell. The only problem was her mana pool. Once her mana reserve was near empty, she was in trouble.

So, despite being able to spam the spell, the novice mage was forced to be more mindful of her current reserve. At least until she had increased her Intelligence stat some more to make up for it.

“Alright, now it's your turn…” Hazel declared to the dark elf. “What are your skills?”

In short, unlike Hazel, who had four spells in her arsenal, Astrid only had three skills. Two that were part of her class and the other was from reaching her Threshold.

The two skills were [Eagle Eye], [Quick Shot], and the last skill from her Threshold was [Piercing Shot]. [Eagle Eye] allowed Astrid to see from a distance, [Quick shot] let her rapid-fire her arrows, and [Piercing shot] increased her arrow’s penetration ability, allowing it to pierce through things from monsters to even trees.

Hazel was very familiar with the [Piercing Shot] skill. It would’ve been hard for her to forget. She witnessed Astrid using it on the last Orc, leaving a massive hole in its chest as a result.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

According to Astrid, [Eagle Eye] didn’t have a cooldown but [Quick Shot] and [Piercing Shot] did. The former had a five-second cooldown while the latter was ten.

For Hazel to get a better understanding of her abilities, Astrid decided to demonstrate her skills. Using [Eagle Eye] wasn’t necessary, so she showed off [Quick Shot] instead.

Activating the skill, the dark elf’s movements were quick as she pulled and fired multiple arrows one after another. She would fire an arrow, reach into her quiver for another, pull the string back, and then loose the projectile into a nearby tree. All within seconds.

She was like a machine, firing her arrows like a Gatling gun. Astrid even managed to show off more when she hit the same spot in the tree with each shot.

After doing this, Astrid looked over at the mage, wearing a smug grin on her face. Hazel maintained a smile, but in the back of her mind, she wished that she could give the dark elf a good smack in the face.

“Well, now that we know our skillsets, I think our next move should be establishing our roles when we’re in combat,” Astrid advised.

“Kind of hard to do that since our classes only provide one role; that being support.”

Both Hazel and Astrid possessed support-oriented classes. Their primary role was to attack from a distance.

When being part of a group or party, players are given specific roles that will allow them to efficiently fight monsters. One of those roles, aside from the support position, would be the Vanguard.

But a Vanguard would normally be a Warrior class. Which neither Hazel nor Astrid were. So, they were in a bit of a pickle with this.

“My physical stats are higher than yours, so I’ll play the role of Vanguard. You’ll continue acting as support, attacking any enemies that get close to me. And also mow down any of them when you get the chance to lighten the burden.”

“Sounds reasonable,” Hazel nodded.

Between the two, Astrid was certainly more suitable to act as the vanguard. Although Hazel didn’t know what the dark elf’s stats were exactly, she knew that, in terms of their physical stats, she was superior to the mage.

“So, since we took down one enemy so far, that means we only have nineteen more to go, right?”

Hazel paused, hesitant to answer Astrid’s question. Considering what their quest entailed, it should be obvious that they had one less monster to deal with. And yet, for some strange reason, the novice mage wasn’t sure that was the case.

So, she decided to pull up the Dungeon Challenge panel to check…and her suspicions were unfortunately spot on.

“That kill from before didn’t count,” Hazel told the dark elf.

“What?” Astrid said in confusion.

“Take a look at the panel. We’re still at zero.”

The dark elf did what Hazel said and pulled up her panel. Seeing the progress, her face fell into a frown instantly.

“Why didn’t that kill count? Didn’t we work together to kill it?”

“I don’t know…”

Hazel was just as confused, unable to understand why that goblin kill from before didn’t count. Then a thought occurred to her.

“Maybe we both have to land a hit for the kill to count, like an assist kill.”

In certain video games, players could get an assist kill by attacking an enemy with another player. Considering that the objective was to kill the enemies as a team, it might be required for both of them to harm their target before killing it.

However, to truly know if that was the case, they would need to test the theory first.

Astrid leaped on a tree branch near them. While perched, she scanned the forest ahead of them, as if searching for something. She was likely using her [Eagle Eye] to assist her.

Just then, she whistled to the mage.

“I’m seeing a lone dire wolf up ahead. Head over there and get its attention.”

Hazel nodded before making her way over to where the dark elf instructed her. She slowly crept through the woods, searching for the target that Astrid spotted. Up ahead, her eyes quickly caught a four-legged figure near a tree.

It was the Dire Wolf. And just as Astrid said, it was currently alone. Hazel stopped moving and crouched down, doing her best to conceal herself. The dire wolf was none the wiser, minding its own business. Not knowing what was about to happen.

Before taking action, Hazel quickly pulled up the Chat room and messaged her partner.

[Hazel Thatcher: Should I fire a Mana Bolt at it?]

[Astrid Skogr: Only if you think you can graze it. Or do you want me to do that while you land the final blow?]

Hazel pondered over her choices, unsure of what to do. To be honest, either choice was fine since they’d still be able to kill the monster regardless.

[Hazel Thatcher: You graze it and I’ll deal the final blow.]

[Astrid Skogr: Understood. Tell me when.]

Knowing how skillful Astrid was, Hazel was confident that she could wound the creature. Which left the kill shot to the mage.

Hazel soon readied herself, gripping her staff while keeping a sharp eye on their target. The dire wolf remained in place, unaware of their presence.

Taking a deep breath, the mage was then prepared.

[Hazel Thatcher: Do it.]

As soon as she sent the message, an arrow could be heard whistling through the air before striking the Dire Wolf in the leg. The monster yelped, not in pain, but possibly in surprise.

It then growled while searching for the culprit, its lips peeled back to reveal razor-sharp teeth that could easily tear flesh from bone. Hazel waited for the right chance to strike. To end the beast in one go.

And in that moment, she took it, firing a baneful sickle at the furry monster. Just as it turned to look at the spinning scythe rushing toward it, Hazel’s spell killed it in an instant.

[Level 3 Dire Wolf has been defeated!]

Hazel ignored the kill notification while quickly pulling up the Progress from her Dungeon Challenge. It was time to find out if her theory was right.

[Progress: Monsters Team Kill [1/20]

And it was.

[Astrid Skogr: Looks like you were right.]

Hazel stared at her partner’s message for a moment, a smile creeping up her lips.

[Hazel Thatcher: Yeah. Now let’s get to work.]