The second floor looked exactly the same.
I looked around at the entrance room. We’d come out of the fight more or less intact, but I was going to make sure that we were much better prepared for the next one.
“What spawns here?” I looked at Rix.
The redhead shrugged.
“What time is it?” I turned to Ether.
“Two.” She answered without even checking.
I looked down at my crystal band and realized that I could have just looked at it for the time.
“How long are we wanting to farm here before we let Aelin go shopping?” I looked back up at Ether.
“Farm until six, then shop until eight and head back?” The white-haired woman looked to Justia for confirmation.
“That sounds good, though we’ll need to tell them we’ve got an extra for dinner.” Our Healer nodded at Fray.
The brown-eyed Hitter smiled, but that was all the reaction she gave.
“I’ll handle that while you are all shopping.” I walked over to Fray. "Don’t worry, you get to stick with us.”
That seemed to make her a little happier.
“Can we go?” Aelin whined. "I want to see what’s here.”
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“Let’s not get too far from the gate.” I looked at Rix. "Do you think you can find us a loop to run?”
The redhead nodded and started jogging south.
We ran into a green slime almost immediately.
“Magic Arrow!” Aelin shot at it. The sticky sap inside it split as the arrow pierced it to shatter the core. “I love this spell!” Aelin did a little dance.
“Okay." I watched Ether pick up the crystal. "Why don’t you let other people try to kill them…”
“But I can one shot them!” Aelin interrupted.
I held up my hand. "If Rix and I can one shot them too, then we can spread out and triple our farming.”
That lit up Aelin’s eyes. "I’m going to find another one!” The blonde ran ahead.
“Did you really have to do that?” Ether chuckled. "You have no idea…”
“I’ve got one!” Aelin started running back. "These things respawn fast!” When no one moved Aelin grabbed Rix’s arm. "Come on Rix! You’ve got to beat this thing!”
Ether walked over to me. "You have no idea the monster you’ve created.”
“Rix can do it!” Aelin came running back. "Come on Atlas! Your turn!” The blonde looked at Ether. "You know, you could use Justia’s sword…”
“Not happening.” Ether tried to shoo us away.
“What about that Shield Attack thingy?” Aelin pointed down another tunnel. "There’s another one!” She grabbed Ether’s arm. "Atlas can try the next one, you do this one!”
“Why don’t we let Ether rest for a bit.” I started walking towards the green slime. "She ran around quite a bit in the boss fight, I’m sure she would be grateful if we let her have a chance to rest.”
Aelin looked like she was going to argue, but instead, she looked at Justia, decided not to say anything, looked over at Fray, and shrugged.
“Fine.” Her eyes lit up. "Hey, let’s see who can beat the most!”
I stopped walking. "Why?”
“To make it more fun!” She started thinking. "Hmm, the winner gets…”
“You’re going to go over the details while Rix isn’t here?” I shook my head. "You’re brave.”
Aelin’s eyes got wide. "RIX!” she took off down the tunnel. "Atlas decided we’re going to play a game!”
“I…”
Ether touched my shoulder. "I told you. Monster.”