Sam got woken up after three hours. Kain had brought a few rations which they divided between the group members so that everyone could eat a simple meal.

Sam looked at the torches that were still burning.

' What makes them burn so long?'

He looked inside a little steel cage at the top of the torch. A stone was embedded inside the cage. The stone was the object producing the flames.

' I don't know how long they last but if we could mine this sort of stone we would benefit greatly. To have light at night is a luxury nowadays! We could even lighten all of the streets in Blackstone city!'

They packed their few belongings and started to walk to the intersection they had been before.

Sam chose the left tunnel this time.

It lead them straight forward for one hour before they reached a cave.

Torches around the walls illuminated the cave. It was round with a diameter of around 50 meters.

In the middle stood a creature, with around 2,5 meters height.

The upper body was the naked torso of a man but the lower body didn't consist of two legs, instead the legs of a horse were attached to the body.

It was a centaur!

It had a quiver strapped to it's back and held a big black bow.

It turned towards Sam and his group when they entered the cave.

" Who dares to enter this cave without my permission? Don't you know who I, Taros am? If you kneel and beg for forgiveness right now, I might take you as my slaves, otherwise I will kill you after torturing you for 10 days and 10 nights!"

Sam listened to the centaur and checked its information.

( Centaur Archer Taros Level 10 Boss )

" It is only one monster inside this room, even though it's a Level 10 boss we should be fine defeating it."

At the moment Sam finished his sentence a sound could be heard. Kains right arm got shot through by an arrow.

Kain yelped and immediately tried to stop the blood from flowing out of the wound.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Sam saw the centaur already aiming to shoot the next arrow and stepped in front of the injured Kain.

" Jack, Nissa quickly go behind Kain and get ready to shoot your arrows. Wait for my signal!"

Jack and Nissa took cover behind Sam's Roman shield. Sam braced himself against the shield waiting for the impact.

Sam got pushed back half a meter but stabilized himself right afterwards. The centaur started to move, riding from left to right.

Sam shouted " Jack, Nissa, start shooting! I will try to cover you and Kain."

Jack and Nissa nodded and began to fire their arrows. The centaur accelerated and evaded most of the incoming arrows, nevertheless a few still hit its lower body or unprotected arms.

Sam mirrored the centaurs movements so that he always stood between his comrades and the centaur. Sam blocked five arrows with his Roman shield and threw his spiked shield to intercept an arrow he wouldn't have reached in time.

After five minutes of combat, Jack finally hit a vital spot of the centaur killing it in the process. He also leveled up to Level 10.

Kain used half of one health portion to heal his injury, while Jack and Nissa collected their arrows and looted the centaurs corpse.

Jack took the black bow and Nissa got the advanced leather armor to better protect her upper body.

Sam used the break to take a closer look at the cave. First thing he noticed was that there were no other tunnels exiting the cave.

Sam went to the middle of the cave where the centaur had been at the beginning. He found a book with a washed out cover.

( The "Rapid Shooting" Manual )

!!!

' This should be a skill book if I am not wrong! These are great rewards for killing a Level 10 boss.'

Sam decided to give it to his friend Jack. He was the best archer in Blackstone City after all!

Jack took the book and opened the first page. He closed his eyes after reading the first couple of sentences. A smile appeared on Jacks face after a few seconds.

He opened his eyes and spoke " It really was a skill book, I learned the ( Rapid Shooting ) skill which allows me to shoot five arrows in ten seconds. The accuracy and speed will improve by leveling the skill up.

Unfortunately, only some special skill books can be used multiple times. This one can only be used once!"

" What's the cooldown for ( Rapid Shooting ) ?" Sam asked.

" Right now, one hour but it will reduce with the Level." answered Jack.

" That's a really good skill. I think we should carefully inspect every room we enter. We might find more skillbooks or good equipment! " Sam told the members of his group.

They left the cave afterwards and returned to the intersection to take the right tunnel.

They walked for ten minutes when they reached another big cave. Inside was a centaur again but this time it wasn't alone. Five orcs in steel armor, wielding halberds stood around the centaur who held a black bow as well.

" You pieces of shit are here to protect this cave, why the hell are you still standing here? Go and kill them!" the centaur ordered his underlings.

The orcs started their charge while the centaur already knocked an arrow.

" Jack, Nissa, immediately shoot the centaur. I will team up with Kain and kill the orcs. This time I won't be able to protect you, use you skills and kill the boss as fast as possible. His arrows are way too dangerous!" Sam shouted to the back.

He looked at Kain and charged at the orcs together with him.

Kain ran faster than Sam and reached the orcs before him. He used his AOE skill to buy some time. Sam arrived shortly afterwards, tackling one orc to the ground and stabbing it's throat directly after that. Like this only four orcs remained for Sam and Kain to kill.