- “Maximum experience points reached. Level up available. Would you like to level up?” – The message was heard once again.

The next one to reach her next level up was once again Lilfira which wasn’t a big surprise, really. Getting the first few levels was easy, and with my Overgrowth skill’s double experience points boost, it was much faster too. Obviously, Lilfira was quick to ask me help her assign her stat points again and I wasn’t so reluctant to do it this time.

- “Level up accepted. Increasing character’s level from level three to level four. Complete. New skill acquired. Attack skill: Crescent Slash, acquired. Level up complete.” – Finally, the mechanical, dull voice announced something new in addition to Lilfira’s level increase.

“Wow, a new skill?” Lilfira gasped quietly.

“Yes, congratulations, Lilfira,” I said, being glad that she finally got a new skill. “Let’s assign your stat points first and then we’ll check what your skill is all about.”

“Yes, Master Rockin,” Lilfira responded cheerfully, also leaning at me with her back as much as she could, and not only with her back. I couldn’t help but press my lips tight together when she did her thing with her tail. I wanted to say it felt weird, humans having beast tails was a weird thing in itself in the first place, but it felt strangely arousing too.

“Oh, nice. You have received six stat points again,” I said, being surprised about it. Lilfira getting six stat points three times in a row was quite lucky if I was to say so. “How about we follow the same formula and add one to your Stamina, three to your Strength and two to your Magic Energy again?”

“Yes, let’s do that, Master Rockin,” Lilfira had no objections to that.

“Ok, done. Now let’s check your new skill that you’ve acquired,” I said next before navigating to her Skills tab. “Here it is. Oh, it’s a blue rarity skill, nice. Crescent Slash: a powerful swing in a roundabout motion with a chance to knock your target away. Requires a spear or a polearm to use. Cooldown: eighteen seconds. Humph, nice.” I was impressed with the skill after I read about it.

“Wow, you sounded really happy at the end there, Master Rockin,” Lilfira was able to catch my joyful vibe.

“Yes. It sounded like a really good skill. How about you showing how it looks?” I was eager to see it right there and then.

“Really? Right now?” Lilfira wasn’t sure about it for some reason.

“Yeah, why not? I’ll be your target to have you test it properly,” I offered with a gleeful smirk on my face.

“You be my target? No, I cannot do that. I wouldn’t want to hurt you, Master Rockin,” but Lilfira wasn’t exactly excited about my offer.

“I’m sure I’ll be fine,” I reassured her, but it didn’t look like Lilfira would be willing to do it and I honestly wanted for her to give it her all, so I could see how powerful her new skill actually was. “How about this then? Your skill has a chance to knock your target away, so if you manage to knock me off my feet, I’ll do one thing that you want.”

“Promise, Master Rockin?” Lilfira shot a question at me in an instant.

“I already said that I would,” I told her, adding a smile.

“Yes, ok. I’ll go get my spear,” Lilfira said, becoming both excited and serious like never before.

“What’s happening, Lilfira?” Sylfrin asked, looking confused about Lilfira basically floating in the air while she rushed to get her spear that she left a short distance away.

“Master Rockin said he will do one thing that I want if I knock him away,” was all Lilfira said before rushing back to where I was standing.

“Huh? What’s going on, Sylfrin?” Ranalaiya asked after coming closer to her.

“I don’t know. It seems like Lilfira and Master Rockin are about to fight,” Sylfrin made a conclusion of her own.

“Fight?!” Ranalaiya exclaimed, covering her mouth with her right hand. “W… why?”

“I don’t know,” said Sylfrin.

“We need to stop them,” Ranalaiya said before rushing to where Lilfira and I were. “Master Rockin, Lilfira, please don’t fight!” She shouted even before reaching us.

“Huh? Fight?” I crinkled my nose, feeling confused about what Ranalaiya had just said.

“Master Rockin, Leap Jump,” Ranalaiya appeared in front of me, her teary eyes gazing into mine.

“Woah,” I stepped back, being taken aback by Ranalaiya appearing in front of me like that. “W… wait, what’s… gotten into you all of a sudden?”

“Please, don’t fight, Master Rockin,” Ranalaiya begged me.

“Fight? We’re not gonna fight,” I was confused about her request.

“Huh? What? You’re not… gonna fight?” Ranalaiya asked, becoming confused herself.

“But Lilfira said something about knocking you away, Master Rockin,” Sylfrin added with a puzzled expression on her face after coming closer.

“Well yes. It’s because of her new skill. Lilfira has acquired a new skill and I just want to see how it works, that’s all,” I told her.

“A new skill?” Ranalaiya looked at me with eyes full of confusion.

“Yes,” I said.

“I’m so sorry. I became so excited about it that I forgot to explain it properly. The thing is, my new skill, Crescent Slash, has a chance to knock my target away and Master Rockin promised to do one thing that I want if I manage to knock him off his feet,” Lilfira explained herself to Ranalaiya and Sylfrin.

“Huh? Do one thing that you want?” Ranalaiya and Sylfrin exclaimed both at the same time.

Eh? Oh, crap… I realized I haven’t thought it through properly when I offered it to Lilfira.

“On the other hand, why don’t we continue exploring this mine and you can show off your skill when we fight Stoneskin Lizards again instead?” I said, hoping I could get out of it before this whole deal escalated into other directions as well.

“No, you made a promise, Master Rockin,” and of course Lilfira wouldn’t agree to it.

“Yes, I did,” I gritted my teeth, trying to smile. “Ok then, let’s see what your skill is all about then.” I said, taking out my shields. I thought the sooner we’ll get over it the better.

“What? You’ll be using your shields too, Master Rockin?” Lilfira exclaimed in surprise.

“But of course I’ll be using my shields to block your attack. Your skill sounds dangerous and you said it yourself that you don’t want me to get hurt,” I used her own words to defend my actions. “But don’t worry, I won’t use any of my skills.”

“Humph,” Lilfira pouted her lips, clearly feeling slightly upset about me using my shields, but I could also see a burning determination in her eyes.

“Ranalaiya, Sylfrin, can you please stand further away just in case?” I asked them. Lilfira was using a spear, so she could reach further and since Lilfira’s skill said a swing in a roundabout motion, I was expecting it to be a wide range swing.

“Ok, Master Rockin,” both of them complied and stepped away.

“Are you ready, Master Rockin?” Lilfira asked, taking a stance and gripping her spear tighter.

“Ready when you are,” I said with a smile, also raising my shields in front of me.

“Here I go. Crescent… Slash!” Lilfira raised her spear up, shifting her body to the right and making a step back before swinging forward, swiftly spinning around herself in three hundred sixty degrees, swinging her spear in a roundabout motion just like the skill said. She masterfully made three steps as she turned around, with her third step stepping forward to get closer to me, the tip of her spear slicing through my shields, a crescent shaped flash of light following the motion of her spear from the moment Lilfira swung till her attack stopped. I could feel her swing was powerful, but unfortunately for Lilfira, it wasn’t strong enough to knock me away or push me back even a little.

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“Wow, nice,” I gasped, feeling impressed. Even if Lilfira couldn’t knock me away, it didn’t mean her new skill was weak. In addition to looking very cool, I could tell it was a very strong skill.

“Huh? No…” however, Lilfira had the saddest expression on her face after she straightened up and saw me firmly standing on my feet.

Oh, that. Yeah, sorry. I mumbled in my head, pretending I didn’t see Lilfira’s reaction just now. In all fairness, I was cheating with my offer there because I knew there was no way Lilfira would be able to knock me away, definitely not with our current stat difference.

“Master Rockin, I want to try too,” Ranalaiya spoke to me.

“Huh? Try? Try what?” I asked, feeling confused about her request.

“I want to try to knock you away too,” Ranalaiya said, having the sweetest smile on her face.

“Eh? Why?” I asked, feeling perplexed.

“Well, if I knock you away, you’ll do one thing that I want, right?” Ranalaiya said, still wearing the same sweet expression on her face.

“Yes, I want to give it a try it too, Master Rockin,” Sylfrin showed up next to me as well.

“Hey, hey, hey, wait,” I waved my hands in front of me. I knew I have brought it upon myself, but still. “No, no, we’re not going to do that. Besides, neither of you have a skill that can knock your target away.” I tried using that as an excuse to stop them.

“That’s true, but I can still try,” Ranalaiya insisted.

“I think my Frost Spear spell can have a similar effect,” Sylfrin added.

Whaaat? I almost slapped myself on the face. I knew I had to think of something to get myself out of this situation, because I definitely did not want my women to start attacking me.

“Listen, how about this…” I said, raising my hands in front of me defensively, also taking some time to think what to say. “How about… That is… Oh, how about if we find any other higher quality ore within the mine, I’ll do something for you then? But… only something reasonable, ok?” I added, wanting to be on the safe side.

“Promise, Master Rockin?” Ranalaiya insisted, her tail starting to dance playfully all of a sudden.

“I already said… that I will,” I reassured her. I found it strange for them to keep insisting that I make a promise to do something when I’ve already said that I would.

“Yay, thank you, Master Rockin,” Ranalaiya cheered, her face sparkling with joy.

“Ok, I’m ready to go,” Sylfrin was ready to move out already.

“Huh? Go where?” Lilfira asked.

“We need to find some new ore, so Master Rockin will do one thing that we want when we get back to Hirvant,” Sylfrin told her.

“Really? Wow, ok. I’m ready,” Lilfira said, Sylfrin’s words making her forget about failing to knock me away and helping her cheer up in an instant.

“Come on, Master Rockin, we need to go,” Ranalaiya ushered me to get moving.

You three… I dropped my shoulders before shaking my head. Well, at least they are fired up to explore the mine.

After looking around the current cave, and not finding anything, we moved on. The girls were very eager to find a different type of ore and were not wasting time on idle chatter anymore. When we have reached another mining cave, and after Ranalaiya confirmed there were only Stoneskin Lizards inside of it, all three of them unleashed themselves on the monsters, with Ranalaiya and Sylfrin killing all of the Stoneskin Lizards that were dwelling inside the cave within seconds. That earned them some scolding from me, reminding them that they should let Lilfira fight more, so she could gain more fighting experience. Lilfira was now much stronger and had a new skill she could use, so I wanted her to get some practise in using her new skill as well.

The good thing about this new cave was, we were luckier with the Brown Iron Ore this time. Not only did we receive one as a drop, but we have found a Brown Iron Ore deposit as well, Lilfira mining two more ore pieces out of it. One thing I had forgotten was that I had another spear that I have bought from Alragus. I saw it being in my storage when I was taking out a pickaxe for Lilfira to use to mine the ore. It looked exactly the same as the other spear she was using for the most part, but was adding two to her Strength stat which was a boost in Lilfira’s strength, even if a small one.

The next cave that we have come across was much bigger than all the others. It was almost as big as the one with the Workers Lodgings entrance in it, with big, wooden planks and fortifications to help keep it together. After scouting the cave, Ranalaiya has some unexpected news for us.

“There’s that new monster in the middle of the cave here as well, Master Rockin,” Ranalaiya informed me after scouting it.

“Oh, nice,” I became excited about it for some reason. “And how many Stoneskin Lizards have you seen, Ranalaiya?”

“Five Stoneskin Lizards and two Trottle monsters,” she said.

“Trottle monsters? Oh, ah, right,” I said, scratching my cheek with one finger. ‘Turtle’ wasn’t a thing in this world, apparently. I did call that new monster a turtle, but it must’ve sounded unusual and trottle sounds similar to a turtle, and that’s probably why Ranalaiya called it that way. “Two, huh?” I touched my chin to think how to go about it. I knew I could take one by myself, but two might cause a problem.

“Master Rockin,” that’s where Sylfrin came to the rescue.

“Yes, Sylfrin?” I turned to face her.

“You said that Trottle’s weak point was its belly?” She asked with a calm expression on her face.

“Yes. I was able to kill it after I flipped it belly up,” I told her.

“I could use my Frost Spear to hit it from below in order to try and kill it or at least to do some damage to it,” Sylfrin offered.

“Hey, that’s a great idea,” I told her. “And you can do it from a safe distance too. Ok, we’ll have Ranalaiya and Lilfira take down the Stoneskin Lizards while you and me fight the turtles… Trottles… whatever they are.”

“Ok, Master Rockin,” Sylfrin said, showing a smile and looking happy that her suggestion was accepted.

“However, you need to be careful when you use your spell, because those turtles can move around really fast,” I warned her.

“Yes, Master Rockin,” Sylfrin confirmed it.

“I will run in first to get the monsters attention then all of you go in after that,” I instructed the ladies. “Ok, here we go.”

I ran out into the open area, two of the closest Stoneskin Lizards springing to their feet the moment they have noticed me. The two turtle monsters in the middle of the cave took notice of an intruder as well, sticking their flat faces out to check who or what disturbed their peace. The moment they saw me, they ducked in their heads and spun around to shoot their stone spikes at me.

“Shield,” I used my defense skill to block their incoming attacks, a few spikes hitting my Tarkee King’s Shield which I held in front of me.

“Twinstab, Swift Cut,” I heard Lilfira and Ranalaiya unleash their skills behind me. I knew they will be able to take down Stoneskin Lizards with ease, but there were three more left and they were coming at me.

“Oh, get lost. Shield,” I used my attack skill on the Stoneskin Lizard who was quick enough to reach me faster than I was able to get to the spiked shell turtle monster, killing it in an instant.

- “You are on fire today, handsome. No wonder you look so hot. Four experience points for you and eight for your party members.” – Lavita was happy to announce it.

- “You don’t waste your time on the small stuff, do you, babe? You have received four experience points and your party members have received eight.” – Another message from Lavita was heard right after the first one, indicated either Ranalaiya or Lilfira has killed another Stoneskin Lizard which was probably Ranalaiya I assumed.

In the meantime, two spiked shell turtles decided to stretch their legs and change locations. One of them ran directly away from me while the other one ran towards my right, ending up close to two Stoneskin Lizards that Ranalaiya and Lilfira were about to engage.

“No, get back!” I shouted before rushing to where the three monsters were.

“Frost Spear,” the turtle monster started to spin to shoot its spikes at us, but before even the first spike shot from its back, Sylfrin put an end to the monster, almost three feet icy, frozen spike shooting up from the ground and hitting the monster from bellow. It didn’t pierce the monster, but it was strong enough to lift it up from the ground and throw it up and to the side, the monster falling on the ground with its belly up several feet away.

“Shield!” Since Sylfrin’s spell wasn’t strong enough to kill it, I jumped in to hit it with my attack skill before the monster flipped itself over.

- “What an awesome kill. You definitely know how to move, handsome. Eight experience points for you and sixteen for your party members.” – Lavita’s message confirmed that the monster was dead.

“Master Rockin, watch out!” Ranalaiya warned me. Since I jumped at the spiked shell turtle monster to finish it off, I ignored the two Stoneskin Lizards that were about to attack me. “Leap Jump. Shadow Claw!” But Ranalaiya wasn’t about to let one of them bite me, killing it with one hit.

- “My, my. I love seeing you move like that. You have received four experience points and your party members have received eight.” – Lavita was very talkative and she clearly loved it.

“Oh, buzz off,” I grunted at the second Stoneskin Lizard, smacking my Tarkee King’s Shield on the ground in front of me and stopping its advance. “Sylfrin, where’s the other one?” I asked her, ignoring the lizard monster next to me completely.

“It ran close to those wooden beams over there!” She shouted from the distance.

“Don’t get close to it! I’m coming!” I shouted before rushing to her side and leaving the last Stoneskin Lizard for Ranalaiya and Lilfira to deal with.

“My Frost Spear spell is still on cooldown, Master Rockin,” Sylfrin informed me.

“That’s ok. I’ll go be the bait, so you can attack it once your spell becomes available,” I said before going towards where that turtle monster was. Sylfrin’s Frost Spear spell wasn’t strong enough to kill the monster in one hit, as it turned out. It hit the first one directly on its stomach from below and it didn’t die. Either Sylfrin’s spell wasn’t strong enough or the monster had some resistance to Frost spells, or both. In any case, with the two of us working together, me getting the spiked shell turtle’s attention and Sylfrin timing her Frost Spear to hit the monster at the right time, we killed it soon after.

- “That was such an amazing kill, babe. Keep it up. Eight experience points for you and sixteen for your party members.” – Lavita announced one last time before becoming quiet.

“Phew…” I let out a sigh of relief. “Everyone ok?”

“Yes, Master Rockin,” Ranalaiya said, with Lilfira showing she was perfectly fine too and I already knew that Sylfrin was ok since she was next to me.

“Ok, great job everyone. Let’s look around if monsters dropped anything or if there are any ore deposits around,” I said before going to check if those turtle monsters left any items behind.

Unfortunately, the only thing we have found was one single Brown Iron Ore that one of those Stoneskin Lizards has dropped. Since we have encountered two more of those turtle monsters, and because they didn’t drop anything, I was now certain they were just another type of monsters that inhabited the mine. That just made want to explore the mine more and find out what kind of item they could drop. We had just enough Carnabbit and Rhaki’s meat left to last us two more days at best and I wanted to make the best of it. In addition, Ranalaiya, Sylfrin and Lilfira were very eager to find some sort of new ore to have me deliver on my promise, so I didn’t have to work hard to talk them into exploring the mine some more.