Chapter 120 - A Cave On Yo Tee Mountains 1_2

"It's horrible," I said as we walked towards the source of the fireworks that had just been vanished.

"What do you mean?" asked Ronove who was walking beside me.

"I told my biggest secret to you. That was horrible. What's worse, I haven't told this secret to the person I love."

"You mean that Fallen Elf girl?"

"Yes and… about this Necromancer. Does I have to keep a secret about it and why?"

"You work for me and you don't know the consequences I will get if I told people, I am a Necromancer?"

I shook my head to answer that question. And thanks to this, Ronove narrowed her eyes. They have a light of doubts.

"Necromancers are not well received by the public. They play with the souls of the dead, make them puppets, and use them as tools. No one will love that."

That explanation is different from Necromancer that I know. "Didn't the Necromancer make a contract with the souls of the dead to obtain their services? It's like a Tamer tame their monster. Nothing wrong with that."

"That was true in the old days. But now, the Necromancers prefer to force the souls of the dead to become their combatants. That becomes the main reason why people loathe the Necromancer."

Afterward, Ronove told me the punishments a Necromancer would get if they were being revealed then got caught.

And I will say, those punishments are scary. 

With that chat, we spend the time as we walked to our destination. When we got there, I saw some of Teria's crews along with Ruciel and Myu standing in front of a big cave.

They inspected the cave as I approached them. Ruciel approached me after she realized my presence and the others.

"Is this the cave you're looking for?" She asked as soon as she arrived at my side. Her long ears make a powerful jolt.

"We'll find out after seeing the inside," I replied and walked towards the cave entrance. Ruciel followed me and I told her, "If there's an Earth Crystal in this cave. We have found the right place."

The Fallen Elf girl nodded to my words.

"Oh! Beautiful girl! Let's start the adventure in this place!" Myu shouted excitedly after she caught a glimpse of me.

"I'm going to rest," Ronove said. "This old bone won't last if it has to go on another adventure."

"... All right," I said as I looked at Ronove suspiciously. 

I know that she's still young. So, when she said she was tired, she must be lying. 

Ignoring me, Ronove approached a tree trunk on the forest's floor and sat there. In a carefree manner, she ate some dry fruits.

I want her to become our main force but It seems impossible right now.

Not long after, Teria together with Lostria and the rest of the crew arrived. Those women approach me. Then, we talked and decided to form four teams to explore this cave.

"I'll come with you, lovely girl!" Myu uttered that sentence with insistent.

Seeing her face, I have a hunch, she would say no if I told her to join another team. So...

"Alright, you can join me but you have to stop calling me lovely girl, I'm serious."

"It's a pity but all right, Lite."

My body was shocked after hearing that nickname. My memory of Cerene came to the surface spontaneously.

"Don't call me, Lite! Use Eclaite!" I said that as my fox's ears and tails stand up straight.

After that exchange, we made preparations and checked out our equipment. When we were ready, we walked into the cave to do our adventure.

My Party was filled with Ruciel, Kimi, Alan, Chloe, and Myu. The second Party was Teria and her crew. Lostria was in the third Party. While the fourth Party is filled only by the crews.

We lit our lanterns. 

The light repels the darkness and illuminates our path.

This cave is quite huge. The floor was uneven, filled with the pebble. While on the ceiling, there are many sharp, stone thorns of various sizes. 

We can move freely without having to jostle but sometimes, we have to pay attention to what we are stepping on. The pebble covering the floor could make us slip. 

And yes, I can say that we won't get into trouble for swinging swords or even spears in this place either. We can use our weapon at will but darkness limits our range of attacks and vision.

"By the way, Eclaite. Do you know what monsters inhabit this cave," Teria asked, her eyes not stopping to look at the darkness around us.

"Rock Spider, Rock Golem, Purple Teeth Lizard, Crusher Jaw, and Crystal Cobra. We'll probably meet those monsters."

"I was already expecting we would fight against poisonous monsters when you said we needed an Antidote Potion but a Crystal Cobra? The monster has a different degree of threat," Teria hardened her voice. "The poison of that monster is extremely deadly."

"Our goal is to grab out a few chunks of Earth Crystal, we don't need to defeat or hunt that monster."

"Threats and benefits are unbalanced here."

"There's an Earth Crystal in this cave. That means there's a chance we'll find an Earth Crystal mine. Imagine how many gold coins we would get if we had a private mine. The threat that awaits us is worth it," I told Teria.

The woman became silent and put on a thoughtful expression. 

We kept walking, minutes passed. I didn't detect any heat. That's why I thought we were fine. However, I was wrong.

Creak! Zraak! Creak!

The pile of rocks around us moved and got up. Within seconds, the stones formed a three-meter tall human figure.

We met our first monster and they were the Rock Golems.

"Heat Perception doesn't work on them," I whispered.

"Everyone! Get to your position!" Teria shouted.

We unsheathing our weapons. Then, swiftly, we surrounded three Rock Golems that appears to attack us.

"Big sis! What should we do?" Kimi asked for guidance. Her fox ears twitching showed doubt.

"Watch the Rock Golem's movements. They were slow but their attacks were strong so dodge it. Attack them using Spells don't use your swords. Always remember to attack their joints or heads."

Kimi, Chloe, and Alan nodded. Then, swiftly, they moved into their respective positions.

I saw the Rock Golem that walking toward me. "[Appraisal]"

—————+

[Race: Rock Golem | Lvl 27]

| HP: 850/850

| MP: 20/20

| SP: 614/620

—————+

Level 27... It wasn't far from the kids' level. They should have been able to defeat this monster but their lack of fighting experience made me hesitate about that theory.

"Gru gu!"

A punch came to destroy my body. I who don't want to be hurt move my legs to dodge the punch.

I stepped to the left side and the punch passed beside me.

Another punch came and I dodged it again. I did it easily because of my high AGI. Because of that, the monster's movements looked so slow in my eyes.

"[Bullet of Light]"

The balls of light I shot scraped the monster's elbow.

The moment I finished with my attack, several Mana Bullets hit the monster's head.

Myu gave me her support.

Ruciel did not remain silent. She fired a Mana Arrow to harm the monster's right knee. To my surprise, her attack managed to create a huge crack.

The Rock Golem fell to his knees and Chloe uttered. "[Mana Bind]"

A one-meter Magic Circle appeared under the Rock Golem's feet. The blue rope made of Mana that come out of it tied the monster in its place.

Kimi, Alan, and I approached the monster. 

"[Sword of Light]"

Together, we attacked the monster. Kimi and I cut through its unguarded joints. As for Alan, he tries to crush the monster's head using a Shield Arte.

And yes, the Rock Golem didn't stay silent as we attacked its body. It gave counterattacks that we had to be wary of.

Weapons and Spells continued to be used. In the end, we managed to cut off the monster's arms. A few minutes later, we killed it.

"It was a pretty tense fight," Myu commented. "And there's still another one that hasn't fallen."

Drawn by that words, I looked around and I saw that the Rock Golem she referred to.

But then, the Rock Golem's life didn't last long after we joined the fight.

We got broken Magic Stones and some Iron Ores from the corpses of those monsters. As the agreement, I kept the Magic Stones directly. Teria and her crew kept the Iron Ore that we will sell later.

Our adventure through this cave continues. Then, we found a branching path.

"We're going to take the cave on the left," I told Teria.

The woman nodded. "In that case, we'll take the cave on the right. And Eclaite, bring this necklace."

"Thank you," I said as I received a Telepathy Necklace. "Please let us know that you have found the Earth Crystal."

"Sure and you should do the same."

With that, we parted ways.

For the next few minutes, we explored this dark cave. We met some monsters and we fought again.

We didn't meet the Rock Golem but rather the Rock Spider. This monster was weaker than a pile of human-like stones that could move. Therefore, the kids can fight against them without needing my, Ruciel, or Myu's help.

I want the kids fighting experience to increase. So, I told them to fight as they pleased.

And since I didn't need to take care of the kids anymore, I swung my spear as I pleased too. For the record, I did not go berserk.

"[Flash Swings]"

Scret! Splat!

The bodies of three Rock Spiders split apart. Green blood flowed profusely. A moment later, they died.

Leaving the corpse behind, I ran to get close to the Rock Spiders in the distance. My spear swung to kill them.

< Level up! 12 to 13 >

Good! I'm getting stronger.

And yes, about Rock Spiders, despite their name being Rock Spider, the monster is not made of rock. According to the Monsters Encyclopedia, they got that name because they could disguise themselves as rocks to ambush preys or enemies.

Let's forget about the explanation and back to the moment. Everyone was busy with their respective battles. So… after I showed my back to them...

Crunch!

< Acquired a skill! Lesser Endurance |Lvl 1 >

[Lesser Endurance | Lvl 1] [Passive]

[+ Permanently give 5 points to END.]