Leon walked deeper into the forest, coming across many creatures. He slowly got used to Thunderbolt when he could hear sounds approaching him again. Being used to it, he readied his staff and pointed it to where the sound came from.

Suddenly, a figure came into sight. The figure stopped and looked at the staff that was being pointed at his face.

“N-Now hold here lad, no need for such aggression.” The figure said. Leon felt surprised by the figure. It was a person, but the genuine surprise was his height.

He was smaller than even Leon himself and had a massive brown beard while being clad in heavy armour with an axe. An NPC? Leon originally thought it this until he noticed the player indicator at the top.

He’s a player!? Leon got two surprises in a row, causing his brain to short circuit momentarily. Suddenly, a new female voice also came to them.

“What’s wrong Brown?” Two more figures came into view and noticed the scene in front of them.

One of them was an adult woman around the same age as Rose with long blonde hair, wearing a cloak with some leather armour and a bow, but the most obvious feature of hers were the pointy ears.

The other figure was a man who also dressed the same as the woman, but the crucial difference was his normal ears and the dagger near his waist.

Everyone stopped as they all froze, processing this scene.

Leon didn’t want to attack them as they had not attacked him, but if he kept up his actions, it was possible they would attack first.

He lowered his staff and cautiously stepped back, still keeping his guard up.

The small man cleared his throat and spoke up, “We will not attack lad, we have no interest in PvP.” He showed his empty hands and the rest of them nodded and showed no aggression.

I don’t want to fight either, but I also don’t really want to converse with them. Leon was stuck in a rock and a hard place. “I don’t want to fight either,” He said in a monotone voice as he quickly put his mask on and avoided their eye contact.

The group looked at each other, clearly sensing something was off about the boy in front of them. “So, why are you here?” asked the woman in the group.

“Exploring.” Leon simply stated and didn’t explain further.

The woman smiled. “What a coincidence! We’re also exploring. I’m Flowerpath.” She introduced herself, then pointed at the guy next to her.

“This is Darkshadow, and the short one over there is BrownBeard.”

BrownBeard turned to glare at her, “I’m not short! I’m supposed to be a dwarf! Dwarves are this height normally!” He stated his points.

Flowerpath rolled her eyes at him. “You’re still human. Until you change your race, you’re a shorty to me.”

“Oh yeah? Well then, miss ‘human’ until you change your race to elf, I’ll keep referring to you like that.” BrownBeard fired back, making them start a back-and-forth bickering battle.

Leon witnessed the sight and got nervous, thinking he started a fight between friends. “Don’t worry, they do this every day. They’re brother and sister.” Darkshadow said, easing Leon’s nerves.

Is this what it looks like on the outside? He sometimes playfully bickered with Rose, so he understood their dynamic.

“So, um, what’s your name?” Darkshadow asked when Leon said nothing anymore.

Leon realised he should’ve given his name as a courtesy. “Tempest.” As he said his name, Beans poked his head from his robes.

“And this here is Beans.” Leon said, making everyone look at Beans.

“Aw! He’s so cute!” Flowerpath said as she immediately marched over. Leon immediately tensed up and grabbed hold of his staff again.

Flowerpath stopped making Darkshadow sigh, “Flower, how often do we have to tell you to keep your impulses in check?”

“Hey um, Tempest right? Can I pet him?” She asked as he barely contained herself.

Leon saw nothing wrong in that and grabbed Beans from his shoulders. “Sure,”

Flowerpath got the green light and smiled as she stepped forward and petted Beans. He didn’t mind the attention, as he knew he was strong enough to retaliate should she attack him.

BrownBeard looked around and asked, “Lad, are you here by yourself?” He didn’t see anybody coming, even after the commotion.

Leon nodded, “Yes.” There was no point in lying about that.

Darkshadow and BrownBeard looked at each other, communicating, “Then how about you join us? There’s more safety in numbers.” BrownBeard proposed making Darkshadow nod in agreement.

“Um…” Leon didn’t really want to join a group and would rather be alone, but also knew he couldn’t avoid other players forever.

“Come on! The more the merrier!” Flowerpath also chimed in as she overheard the conversation while petting Beans.

Leon sighed, “Okay then,” Flowerpath nearly jump for joy at his acceptance.

[Player BrownBeard has invited you to their party. Accept or decline?] Leon accepted and could immediately see their levels.

They also saw his level and their eyes nearly popped out, “Level 16!? How did you level this fast!?” Flowerpath yelled. They themselves were only level 12-13 making Leon by far the highest level.

“I did quests, and I did some alchemy?” Leon said. He didn’t quite know what answer they were looking for. He had also dropped his mask a little, as he was now in the same party as them.

The sheer simplicity in Leon’s answer left them utterly dumbfounded. “I guess we choose incorrectly with our profession then.” Flowerpath gave a bitter smile as none of them chose the alchemist job.

Leon didn’t explain that his massive spending was the main reason for his experience.

“Shall we continue exploring the forest?” Darkshadow suggested and with Flowerpath pacified, they continued on their journey. They talked while they walked, with the focus being on Leon.

“Say lad, do you always keep your summon out?” BrownBeard asked as he noticed Leon giving Beans some meat and Beans retreating into Leon’s robes.

Leon nodded, “Yes, I don’t his company, and he’s asleep most of the time.” He said.

“Isn’t it more comfortable for them in the summon space?” Flowerpath asked as she seemed to be a little down that Beans withdrew.

Leon cocked his head. “I guess? But he doesn’t want to go there, so he stays outside.”

They continued to converse with Leon, getting more and more comfortable.

The focus wasn’t only on Leon. He came to learn that the group was more of a recreational player group looking for role-playing aspects.

BrownBeard wanted to roleplay as a dwarf, so he made his character shorter, and sturdier.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Flowerpath wanted to play as an elf, so she had blonde hair and pointy ears.

Darkshadow wasn’t one for roleplay but liked stealth, so he opted for a rogue-like look.

I guess this is the average player base. Leon noted.

They weren’t particularly strong, nor did they even care about sensitivity or synchronisation. Leon even guessed their skill completions wouldn’t even hit 65%.

They came to a peculiar sight after walking for around 30 minutes. There was a massive wall that seemed to stretch further back with a dark opening that they couldn’t see into, even when standing in front of it.

A message sounded for them when BrownBeard touched the dark hole.

[Entrance to a dungeon discovered. Small dungeon: Kobold Mines. Available difficulty: Easy Level 13, Normal Level 16, Hard Level 20.]

“So, can we do easy?” Flowerpath asked while looking at Leon. She knew it might not hold any interest for him to take on such a low-level dungeon.

“I don’t mind it. It’ll be my first dungeon, so I’m fine with going for easy.” Leon said.

Everyone seemed to be happy that Leon was willing. As such BrownBeard chose the easy difficulty.

The black hole suddenly gave way and they could walk through it. [Easy Small Dungeon: Kobold Mines. Onetime safe death. Experience earned has been reduced by 25%]

Everyone except for Leon seemed to like that message mentally griping. I don’t think I’ll be getting much experience in the easy mode.

Killing lower-level enemies, splitting the experience in four ways and now the debuff? He would be lucky to even get a level at the end.

They entered the cave and followed a narrow passageway. There were lit torches along the walls, lighting up the passageway.

“Kobolds huh, are you aware of what they are, Tempest?” Flowerpath asked. Leon noted she was the one who talked the most.

“Kobolds are humanoid creatures with very distant ties to dragons, giving them their scales and their dragon-like mouths.” He explained, thinking Flowerpath didn’t know the answer.

Flowerpath smiled. “Correct! Wow, you know your stuff. Have you played games like these before?” She thought Leon also enjoyed these types of settings.

Leon now felt a little embarrassed. “N-Not really. I enjoy reading more.” Not explaining his life in poverty to them.

Although Flowerpath liked to talk, she also knew if a topic was too sensitive, thus she didn’t press further. It also helped that Darkshadow and BrownBeard gave her some hints.

As they went deeper into the caves, they could hear sharp sounds of metal hitting the walls. Sounds of mining. Leon thought as he and the rest got ready for combat.

The passageway opened up into a massive room. More torches were lighting up the room and scaffolding was present with the previously described kobolds on it.

There were also kobolds on the ground floor and all of them were reddish-brown wielding a pickaxe. Sounds of them smashing the pickaxe against the wall echoed through the room.

Leon furrowed his brows as the sounds prickled his ears and his brain. One glance at the rest informed him that only he was the one being bothered by it. Great, I’m going to have headaches for the entire dungeon now.

There were 5 kobolds in sight, two on higher scaffolding, and three down below. Darkshadow crouched down and carefully got close enough for an assess without making much noise.

[Worker Kobold] (Common)

Level 10

HP 140/140

More HP than the goblins, however, I doubt they’ll pack as much of a punch as them. Leon analysed calmly. the rest of the party wasn’t as calm as him.

“Can you lure them away from the rest?” BrownBeard asked Darkshadow, who shook his head.

“Probably not. They’re too densely packed and the sounds of battle will attract them.” They seemed to be at a loss for what to do. Flowerpath was too nervous to say anything.

“Isn’t the solution easy?” Leon piped up, getting the attention of everyone.

“Lad, there’s five of them and four of us,” BrownBeard reasoned with Leon. Beans came out of Leon’s robe, giving BrownBeard a stink eye due to not counting him.

“There’s five of us. And I can deal with all five of them.” Leon corrected BrownBeard.

BrownBeard was getting annoyed at Leon’s arrogant boast. “Alright then lad, show us.”

Leon nodded and walked up. Flowerpath was about to stop him when Darkshadow held her back. “He seems confident. Let him try. Plus, there’s one free death. It’ll be a learning experience.”

Everyone watched Leon walk forwards and stopping just outside the kobold’s range. He pointed his staff towards one kobold on the scaffolding and yellow sparks danced on it again.

With a crack, a bolt of lightning shot towards the unsuspecting kobold, striking it in the back and through its body as it went limp.

-230

The rest of the kobolds snapped their heads towards Leon and sprinted towards him while growling in anger.

Beans jumped from Leon’s robe and drummed on the floor, making shocks pass through, stunning them all.

Leon ignored the three on the floor and focused an Arcane Missile at the remaining kobold on the scaffolding. With nowhere to go, the missile slammed into the kobold, throwing it off the scaffolding in a bloody shower.

-265

Beans didn’t sit still either as he once again slammed down on the floor, this time erecting a small rock. He head butted the rock and shot it towards the furthermost kobold, nailing it directly as blood flew into the air.

-99

He dived into the ground and vanished in an instant. Leon didn’t bat an eye as he gathered more energy for another missile. He fired it at the closest kobold, making it get rag-dolled away.

-278

Beans popped up from the ground again at the furthest kobold and took a mighty bite out of its face, which made it plop to the ground, dead.

-68

Leon focused on the last kobold as, after a few seconds, he once again summoned a bolt of lightning and pierced the kobold through the chest.

-216

Beans continued to scratch and bite his own kobold and not long after, it also dropped dead on the ground, covered in wounds.

Leon exhaled as Beans climbed back up and looked at his notifications.

[Kobold Worker killed. Obtained reduced experience for killing a lower levelled enemy. 25% dungeon debuff. Obtained 18 EXP.]

That was to be expected. Seeing the notifications didn’t surprise Leon as he mentally sighed.

He turned back to look at the rest of the party. They all held shocked and speechless faces as they just witnessed Leon tear through the kobolds.

Leon wasn’t used to the attention and awkwardly rubbed his head. “Um, shall we continue?” Beans gave BrownBeard a smug look as he dived into Leon’s robes.

The trio nodded slowly as they walked in silence. The difference is that big? Leon felt like what he just did was nothing compared to what Rose could do.

Flowerpath realised something as she gave a small harmless kick to BrownBeard, giving him the hint. “Hey lad, I’m sorry for being so mean earlier.” He said to Leon.

Leon shrugged his shoulders. “It’s fine. I never took offense. Beans probably did.”

“Um, okay?” BrownBeard didn’t know what to say to that. The entire time Leon’s been with them, he’s been trying to figure out his personality and keeps failing.

Flowerpath noticed the mood wasn’t going anywhere and smiled as she walked next to Leon. “Wow Tempest! You’re really strong! And Beans too!”

Leon felt embarrassed being praised like this. “Um, thanks. But I’ve still got a long way to go.”

The mood shifted back into a more calm atmosphere as Flowerpath livened the conversation up again. They continued to talk until the next group of kobolds was in sight.

It was a smaller group of three kobolds this time. Leon got ready to exterminate them again when BrownBeard stepped in front of him.

“Sorry lad, can you let us handle these? We can’t let you do all the heavy lifting.” Flowerpath and Darkshadow nodded as they joined BrownBeard and stood in front of Leon.

Leon put down his staff. “Okay.” Since they said they would handle it, he wouldn’t intervene.

The trio nodded as they focused on the kobolds. They weren’t completely confident, but they didn’t want to be outdone by a kid.

BrownBeard surveyed the kobolds as he pointed at one on the far left. “Dark, can you lure that one a bit away?”

Darkshadow nodded and crouched down. Is he going to go invisible? Leon guessed he was going to use a rogue’s most famous weapon, their invisibility skill.

Oddly enough, Darkshadow only crept to the side. He picked up a rock from the ground and threw it at the kobold. While the rock didn’t cause any damage, it caught its attention.

The kobold turned towards Darkshadow as it snarled and walked toward him. The other kobolds either failed to notice or deemed it unnecessary to take action.

Darkshadow kept luring the kobold away until BrownBeard thought it was far enough. “Now Flower, nail ‘em with an arrow.”

Flowerpath nodded. She grabbed her bow and an arrow and notched it. She aimed for a moment before the arrow glowed slightly. After a few seconds, she released the arrow and pierced the kobold’s shoulder.

-62

The damage wasn’t much, but the kobold snapped its head towards Flowerpath as it ran towards her.

BrownBeard stepped in front of her, armed with a sword and shield. “Come on, then!” He yelled as he clanged his sword against the shield.

Oddly enough, that attracted the attention of the kobold, who changed its target to BrownBeard. A taunt skill? Leon guessed.

The kobold raised its pickaxe and smashed down on BrownBeard’s shield, making him take a few steps back.

-33

BrownBeard did his best to keep the aggression on him and block all attacks.

They’re too weak. Leon noted as the taunt skill wore off and the kobold wanted to brush past BrownBeard and sink its pickaxe into Flowerpath.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, came Darkshadow, who crept up behind the kobold and, after making his dagger shine, sunk it deep into the kobold.

-67

The kobold’s aggression was now on Darkshadow as it turned around to face him. With the kobold turned around, BrownBeard plunged his sword into the back of the kobold.

-35

The kobold limped, and they moved onto the second one. They cleaned up all the kobolds with the same strategy. Juggling aggression and using teamwork to create openings. Leon evaluated their strategy.

I suppose that’s how teams operate. Leon sighed. He wasn’t planning on joining a team or a guild.

Flowerpath smiled at Leon. “So Tempest, how did we do?” Her voice filled with excitement.

Leon was hesitant about calling them weak. “Fine, I suppose.”

BrownBeard shook his head. “Lad, you don’t need to hide your opinions. We know we’re lacking compared to you.” His words made Flowerpath feel a bit down.

Leon felt a little guilty as he honestly spoke. “That’s true, but you’ve got good teamwork and with some work you could easily handle Elites.”

Flowerpath cheered up at that, “You think we could take on Elites?” Elites were still very hard for the general player base.

Leon nodded and didn’t explain further. The mood seems to have eased again as they continued exploring the dungeon.