One hour later, we resumed our dungeon exploration. Outside, Clarice kept talking nonstop and thanks to that, we got the eyes of a lot of adventurers on us, but nothing happened. Maybe she could be some sort of trouble-repellent since no one in their right mind would want to get in the way of Elves.
“Let’s try to save time and energy. Can you two handle the wolves that will show up?”
Jalal looked at me and Clarice. I could deal with them all by myself, but we had to check how much Clarice could do in actual combat. Both of us nodded and then we stepped forward a bit.
“Can you take the ones on the left or the ones that come behind the first?”
Clarice grabbed one arrow from her quiver and then asked that. She looked a bit more serious and not particularly nervous, so I decided to go along with her plans.
“No problem.”
In any case, I took a good look at her arrows. Elven Arrows… they are famous in some stories and games, but I didn’t know that they actually existed in this world. The ones that Clarice had were all green and made of the same material. It looked like glass and metal, but I could tell by the texture that it was made of wood.
While I didn’t know much about their arrows, I heard some stories about their skills with a bow. Essentially, all legendary archers were Elves. Many of their shots are enchanted with wind magic, allowing them to fly straighter and faster than ordinary arrows. Even in stormy or turbulent conditions, the wind bends to its course, ensuring it hits its target with accuracy.
The arrows were insanely sharp that let them cut through magical defenses and heavily armored foes. This makes them particularly effective against magical shields or wards. Some arrows can never be missed. Once fired, the arrow locks onto its intended target, slightly adjusting its course to ensure it hits its mark, even if the target tries to dodge or hide.
The legends mentioned things like that, but I could tell that they were all extra effects granted by the quality of the materials the bows and the arrows were created. Still, for a bow to grant those extra effects, they had to be at least legendary rank.
Regardless, when the first enemies showed up, we made quick work of them. Thanks to my brute strength, my arrow pierced the forehead of the fire wolf and killed it. Meanwhile, Clarice’s arrow hit the eye of the other beast and easily reached the brain.
You received 50 experience points.
You received 05 experience points.
We moved to recover the arrows while the others went to work on skinning the monsters. Clarice had an easy time pulling her arrow, even though she looked so thin. She had some strength; she wasn’t all dexterity like me. Regardless, I lent Jalal and Gao two bone knives with the Blood Coat and Sharpness enchantments. They did the job a lot faster than usual, thanks to it.
“You sure are well-equipped.”
It would be useless to have those skills and not use them, but I decided to stay silent and ignore Clarice’s comments while using the excuse of staying on guard and watching the surroundings.
“Putting that aside… this place is annoyingly hot.”
Clarice began to fan herself with her hands. I had the feeling that she decided to explore the dungeon on a whim and didn’t know anything about it, but I had the fear of asking and confirming that. Rebecca didn’t.
“Shouldn’t you have asked around before coming?”
“I tried, but everyone at home ignored my questions, so I decided to come and see myself.”
That gave me a really bad feeling… Still, I decided not to think too much about it. Nothing good would come out of worrying endlessly about the things that I wasn’t fully aware of.
In any case, going deep into the dungeon was a lot easier this time around than before. We already knew the right path as well, so in less than an hour, we reached the fourth floor. Before going there, I enchanted the rest of their gear. I enchanted their gloves to make them resist fire attacks in case they had to block the flames with their hands. That would be stupid, but it was better than nothing.
“Enchant some of my items, too.”
“I wouldn’t dare, Miss Clarice. Besides, they are paying me.”
“I will pay you too. How much do you want?”
Clarice took a bag of coins from a magic bag on the back of her waist and then we saw a bunch of Aqua coins there. She was filthy rich… even more than me, and I worked for years to earn my money. Considering her behavior, I didn’t think that she could be from a rich elf family, but I could be wrong.
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“I still wouldn’t dare, Miss Clarice.”
“You are so mean…”
Clarice looked a bit dejected, and the two morons decided to come and white knight themselves for her. I squinted my eyes, so Jalal and Gao soon stepped away, but they still didn’t give up after only that.
“Come on, Clive. Let’s be nice to each other to improve our teamwork.”
“That is right. We will make more money, more progress, and gain more experience if we fight at our best.”
Now I was the bad guy… I felt like sighing. Kids will be kids no matter what, they can only see things from their perspective. Maybe I was being a pushover, but I decided to let them sway me this one time. I didn’t want to think of what I would do or decide if that happened again for now, since that would only make me feel worse. I couldn’t be impatient with kids. Besides, I accepted this kind of trouble when I decided to join a party.
“All right. What do you want to enchant?”
“My boots and gloves, my feet and hands are getting too hot.”
She passed them to me… and when I used identification, I furrowed my eyebrows. Both of them were of the Rare rank and didn’t have any enchantments. They were well made too, so not only were the materials good. Still, considering how much money she was carrying, it made sense.
“It will cost fifteen Terra coins for each enchantment. You can choose between the frost enchantment that will make you feel a bit more fresh and the flame enchantment that will decrease the effects of the heat.”
“I want both of them.”
Clarice passed me sixty Terra coins, so I began to work immediately. With the mana cores, that was easy and wouldn’t consume all my mana. In no time, I finished them. Their quality was pretty decent. It seemed that my focus and experience helped with it.
You received 40 experience points.
You received 40 experience points.
You received 40 experience points.
You received 40 experience points.
“Phew, much better. Thanks, Clive.”
“Can we resume the exploration now?”
“Of course! I will work extra hard this time around!”
We talked a bit about the next formation, and then we headed to the next floor. We knew the path still, but we would need to test our teamwork for a while to use it as a reference for the final ones.
However, it looked like we would be fine… as usual, Clarice and I finished one target each. Rebecca hit one of them with her arrow, and then Jalal smashed its head with a single hit. Gao kept the final enemy away with some quick jabs of his spear until Jalal joined him and attacked the beast from the side.
‘I guess they trained a bit and improved their teamwork. Even a bit of training makes a huge impact when one is basically a total novice.’
“All right, we can do this. Let’s head in a straight line to the next floor. Our pace is more than good enough since no one has caught up with us so far.”
“Say, aren’t you hot with that cloak and hood? That cap too looks pretty stuffy.”
“I am not.”
I worked with Jalal and Gao to skin the monsters, but I felt that I needed to keep my guard up to avoid Clarice… I had the feeling that she might try to prank me and pull out my hood and cap. That would be really annoying… in the worst-case scenario, I would have to knock everyone down and escape.
Even if I don’t want to kill them to keep my secret, that will spell trouble for them since they would be attacked while unconscious by monsters. In any case, I made sure not to expose my back to Clarice, not even for a moment. I knew that I had to consider those things eventually, even if I try to be cautious with the people I work with, but I was bound to make a mistake at some point.
Still, she didn’t do anything. Maybe it was because of the warning that Rebecca gave her earlier… or maybe she was truly more focused while working in the dungeon. We had a quick pause at lunchtime since we arrived on the sixth floor, but soon we began to move again. Clarice at least had bought her meal in her magic bag… it probably wouldn’t give her a lot of stamina, but she had half a pie.
“Phew, exploring a dungeon is a tough business.”
Rebecca was tired, even though she was no longer fawning over herself. Maybe she lived a lot farther away from the border and she came on foot. I didn’t know much about that part of their society. Considering that they liked to keep their trees, they probably didn’t have trains… it would be weird to imagine them using those.
“You don’t have experience dungeon diving, Clarice?”
Jalal decided to entertain her talk, even though we were about to reach the seventh floor and things would become dicey if we messed up. Still, they didn’t mess up even once until now, so it made sense that they would feel that much more relaxed.
“I got in some dungeons to get some classes, but I didn’t try to go deeper.”
“Is that kind of thing free for all the Elves?”
“We only feel obligated to get the classes that improve our skills with the bows. The rest isn’t that sought. People explore those dungeons now and then once every few decades, though.”
For those who lived for hundreds of years, getting a class here and there and training it was as effective as getting a bunch of classes for the multipliers. All in all, their sense or urgency was low because they never had to struggle that much with the things they wanted or needed to do. They had a natural talent with the bow and they were excellent at crafting bows as well… all that added to their confidence.
“Most people are like that, but there are those guys who are a bit too eager to gain power. My elder brother is like that. He often goes dungeon diving solo to sharpen his skills.”
“He seems like a hard worker.”
I felt like rolling my eyes… I wondered if Jalal was trying too hard to score some points with Clarice or if my years as a hermit working made me feel troubled by that kind of interaction.
“He could be, but he is also a moron too caught up in his high horse. When I told him about my idea to come, he laughed at me. He said that I would be captured on the first chance and be sold as a slave by the humans, but until now, this didn’t happen. Isn’t he a moron?”
Being a moron could be in the family… In any case, hopefully, this brother of hers won’t come for her inside the dungeon. It was better not to think too much about that. Jinxing myself wasn’t something that I could do just by speaking.