‘The heck… it is almost like a cosplay.’
The only difference from that character was that this girl was a bit more thick and she had a pair of enchanted swords on both of her sides. Perhaps I shouldn’t say that about minors… but kids become adults in this world around fifteen at least when it comes to nobles. The ones who don’t start working around ten…
‘I should just stop thinking… I feel like I am just making things worse.’
In any case, the girl also had a relic that kept her parameters hidden… they stopped in front of me and studied me. I had grown a bit in the last year, so I was the same height as the girl, 1.60 meters tall. At that rate, I would become a giraffe or something. I wasn't doing much when it came to moving my body, so I was on the thin side. I wanted to bulk up a bit.
“Are you Clive?”
The swordsman of the group asked and then I nodded. I tried to show a blank face as much as possible, but I still could feel their intense eyes on me. It probably wasn’t uncommon for someone to buy their way into that labyrinth, but they didn’t expect that someone would invest in someone so young.
“We will lead the group to the dungeon and you can keep your bow on your back. We don’t want to risk getting hit by your arrows. You will be staying in the middle of the formation. Do you understand?”
I nodded again… it was a pity, but it made sense. The experience could wait… it was better to avoid trouble in this kind of situation. The girl looked too rich with her gear, probably of even legendary rank, so she definitely was close to one of the rich guys in the empire. Perhaps even the daughter of a Viscount or something. I wanted to joke around at some moment and then say: friendly fire! However, I could tell that they wouldn't accept my amazing sense of humor.
Their attitude was annoying since they made me wait for over one hour, but I decided not to let that bother me and just use my mana to level up my identification as much as possible. If life gives you lemons, make lemonade. I should make that my family motto if I even make one in this world.
After walking for one hour, we reached the dungeon on the southern side of the town. We crossed an open field there, but I found some stumps half buried in the snow. It looked like the people cleaned the path between the town and the dungeon for whatever reason. Since the monsters of the first section were skeletons, I expected to find their images at the entrance of the dungeon, but on the stone, I only found the image of two large trolls hitting each other's clubs above it.
‘This dungeon is of the Titan level… so I guess it makes sense that their final boss would be a troll. It is weird because there are also trolls that live outside dungeons and they are smart. There are some rumors that the trolls that aren't dungeon monsters are descendants of dungeon bosses that escape during dungeon breaks, but that isn't confirmed.’
I recalled where I heard about them… They are from the Collosia clans. Alongside the Colossus and the Stone Giants, they lived in some harsh lands covered in snow. The Clans live in towering mountain ranges and high plateaus covered in snow. Stone Giants are builders, crafting monumental structures from stone and shaping the landscape with their strength.
The Colossus, a hardy race of giant-blooded humanoids, serve as warriors and hunters, living in the rugged terrain. Trolls, while less intelligent, act as enforcers and guardians. The clans value endurance, strength, and the bond between ice and stone, crafting their lives around a deep respect for the mountains they inhabit. I forgot about the other things I read about them…
‘Come to think of it, are the adventurers taking a day off or they are doing jobs in other places?’
Despite that, there were twenty guards around the dungeon and half of them had their weapons in their hands. Half of that should do the job if they just came to make sure that the dungeon would free for us.’
The guards defending the dungeon nodded at the three guys in front of the group… the place was free of adventures, so we didn’t have to worry about possible attacks from humans. That was one less thing to worry about. Considering that a noble kid was with us, then we really needed to be mindful of that.
“We will assume the formation now.”
I nodded and moved a bit closer to the three musketeers. Then, we went down the dungeon… the staircase was made of stone, and it was well-kept, so those steps had been fine. What surprised me was a bit of the cold gust of wind that came from it… I didn’t have much time to research the dungeon, so perhaps I messed up with the choice of the knives.
Still, the first floor looked like an ordinary dungeon… there were no signs of snow. However, the corridor was weirdly large. The ceiling was pretty high as well with some stalactites above.
‘Is this how all the Titan dungeons are supposed to be?’
I wanted to grab my bow, but instead, I moved my arms to the knives on my waist. In the next moment, a sphere of light suddenly passed by my side and then illuminated the path ahead. The sphere of light illuminated things much more than a torch… the maid certainly wasn’t just a maid.
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Our group barely began to move when all of a sudden, three earth coffins emerged from the ground and then three skeletons appeared in front of us. That explained why the corridor was so large… the coffins sunk to the ground and the skeletons charged while carrying shields and swords made of stone. Still, those three at the front stepped forward and then swung their weapons and smashed the creatures to smithereens.
Before long, the monsters turned into sand and left a single mana core behind. The swordsman picked before stepping forward and leading the group. I could understand why I was sent with this group… no normal person would think that a craftsman would have the skills to face those three monsters at the same and things would get harder too.
In any case, the journey to the end of the first floor had been pretty calm, but I could feel someone staring at my back like she was trying to open a hole with me. That happened whenever I touched my knives… it was probably the maid. Eventually, we reached the end of the first floor, and I smiled.
You completed a trial. Please choose between the classes: Knight, Hunter, and Sorcerer.
I knew the classes that could be gained on the tenth floor, but I didn’t know what could be found on the first… the options were quite advanced, but they made sense considering the level of difficulty to reaching the end of the first floor that spawned three monsters every time like that.
You obtained the Hunter class.
You improved the Dexterity parameter.
You unlocked the Aptitude: Unseen Hunter
You unlocked the skill: Critical Shot.
You unlocked the skill: Camouflage.
I smiled when I confirmed that my dexterity increased once again… perhaps Ovelia knew that this would happen since I didn’t have a reason to pick the other classes. In any case, my goal was the enchanter class.
Unseen hunter: Gain experience while camouflaged and a part of the damage caused when causing critical damage.
Critical Shot: Take aim and deliver a highly accurate shot that deals increased damage equal to your dexterity and strength and has a high chance of making the target bleed. Cost: 30 stamina.
Camouflage: Blend into your surroundings, becoming nearly invisible to enemies. Cost: 03 mana per second.
After getting a few skills, I realized that their cost was pretty high… or maybe people could increase their mana and stamina a lot faster than I had imagined. Nobles could move around the country just fine and unlock as many classes as possible, but the knights only could unlock a single combat class per year thanks to those costs. At least while they are training...
“My lady, have you made your decision yet?”
The swordsman asked and the girl nodded. She didn’t seem tired either, we just walked for twenty minutes, after all, so we soon resumed our journey. However, I began to hear an impatient tap behind me coming from two swords. It looked like the young lady wanted to test her skills instead of just getting classes that easily. I was up for it, but if that could cause her death, it was better to stay quiet, I didn’t need any more drama in my life.
From the second floor onward, the warriors asked her if she was tired, but she just shrugged. She had a pair of iron gloves and greaves too, so her gear should weigh more than a few kilograms, but she didn’t look tired at all. I could only assume that she had been training properly instead of just being given classes and skills that easily.
In the end, she accepted the offer to rest after the fifth floor… since she saw the warriors taking a bit of deep breaths. They were still killing the monsters in a single blow, but using their big-ass weapons all the time was supposed to be a bit tiring, to say the least.
We sat down in the boss chamber in silence while the two women whispered to each other. That was a bit awkward, but I just had to endure that for a while longer. To kill time, I decided to update my notebook with the information about the classes that I found and things related to the dungeon. Updating the map was unnecessary and they would find it weird if they saw me drawing a map of the dungeon.
‘I guess I should also review my plans considering this current upgrade and the classes I will have when I leave this place. Working for Ovelia for another year can’t be helped and this should be a good way to get stronger, improve my skills, and thank her. Aside from that, I should save enough money to buy the magic bag and the materials I will need for my new gear.’
Going to some places first wasn’t a good idea, that would break the order of my plans… However, I probably could try to clear the dungeons in those places a bit faster than I had planned. if I could clear all those dungeons within a month, my plans would get a lot more sound and my strength will increase a lot too. The only downside to that was the fact that I fought using arrows, and my ammo capacity was limited.
‘The magic bag will solve that, but I guess I will also need to improve my skills at close range, I would need the right gear for that too…’
Heavy armor and weapons weren’t an option since I prefer to avoid getting hit, but some countermeasures just in case situations would be welcome. While I was thinking about that, I felt a bit weird… I looked around and wondered if those guys were looking at me, but both parties were busy with their own things.
Usually, thinking that it was just my imagination wouldn’t cut it, I wouldn’t fall for such a cliché. However, since the others didn’t notice anything odd and they were more skilled than me, then it was clear that I was probably just a bit too tense. The maid had this aura on her, of someone highly skilled, so I could believe that she was there as a tracker for the party as well.
Eventually, I forgot about that when the three guys got up and told me that we should move.