Chapter 73: Black Bones

Since all my daily summons are being used by the Merchant I am now experiencing the slow pace that the other adventurers have to deal with.

While just yesterday I got two level-ups, it's undeniable that I would've seen a much bigger impact if I had acquired more skill levels.

I could use the level-up points to strengthen some skills but it feels wasteful since I know that I'll be able to get these levels soon through the [Skills Banner] or train the skills like normal people do.

This makes the status a priority for me since the only bonus I get to it is through Anna's Gift, which only boosts defense and strength, which while great, still leaves me with the need to use points for the other categories.

There's also the matter of using [Kingdom Points] to share skills, but I need to wait for the girls to improve their skills to make good use of it, so for the time being I'm just saving them up.

Overall, it's just poor timing that the Merchant's stay coincided with the floor I wanted to power through the most, but since there was nothing I could do about it, we spent the morning like usual and prepared for the next raid.

During breakfast though, Licia and Claire couldn't help their giggles whenever Ellie and I interacted, making an already awkward situation even worse.

Even though Ellie is normally somewhat quiet, an attentive eye would be able to notice that her embarrassment was higher than normal. and Anna was quite perceptive to that.

Her reaction was a bit strange though, as while being shocked, she seemed to direct it toward Licia, someone who by all means had nothing to do with the situation aside from making Ellie overly conscious.

I couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking about since perhaps she misunderstood things.

Aside from her though, both Mia and Beatrice seemed pretty oblivious, but while I can't prove it, i do think they're somewhat aware and either don't care about it or are just better at masking their reactions.

It was a good mood though as Ellie's cute side was on full display as she became more and more ashamed by the minute all the while the girls kept being playful and teasing her about it.

Deep in my heart, I wished these days could last forever, but somehow I felt like being in the calm before the storm.

The amount of news about the Army Of The Gifted has been decreasing as their campaigns have also been getting weaker.

Since it's been a short time, I think it signifies that it was either quite successful and they've reached their objectives, or it failed and they decided to stop investing too much time and resources in it.

The problem is that through my means I've yet to get any relevant information on them. It's obvious that at the very least they are still operational, but I think the new influx of people has made it hard to gather precise information.

If my theory is correct, since there are new people and changing positions/assignments, even the ones in charge who should know what's going on and could provide information are still getting things in order and can't provide a good picture of the current state since even they don't really have full grasp now.

All in all, it simply doesn't help me quell the bad feelings I have about it.

Well, whatever it's brewing over there, I doubt it's going to affect me since I don't participate in their organization, but I do hope nothing happens to my sister since she has a knack for getting in unnecessary trouble.

And yes, I'm fully aware of how ironic it is for me to think about her like that when I'm heading every day to the biggest source of danger in the modern world.

Yet, while the dungeons are not safe by any means, they are also the source of my strength and future security, so it's essentially an investment where I need to risk my current well-being so that I diminish any threat to come.

As such, there's no other way around it, and we once again enter the fourth floor.

The level cap here jumps from 12 to 18, meaning that in the worst case, you might face multiple enemies with over 6 levels on you.

When moving in a group, it's harder to go unnoticed, so it's more common that you end up fighting stronger opponents that you'd normally wish to avoid.

This problem is mitigated thanks to everyone being so capable that we often notice enemies first, and due to the low mobility of monsters on this floor, we're able to plan out a coordinated attack to not incur many risks.

It's slow and hard, and it also takes a toll on the mind since we are often planning and having to adapt to monsters that make use of their Gifts. Thankfully I work quite well as our scout and even though I can't read their Gifts like the Merchant did to me, I can still deduce what an enemy is all about when I look at their skill-kit.

I need to give my team credit here though, I can only do this job since they provide me with a large breathing room and don't get overconfident even if there's just one enemy with a low or similar level.

I thought I'd have trouble reining in Mia and Claire, but they did listen to me and aren't acting recklessly on this floor.

It goes to show that they know themselves pretty well and can be careful when needed.

I wish they'd be like this on every floor, but their judgment is usually correct so I can't blame their confidence too much, If anything, it's good that I have them as a danger meter that works on instinct and experience since I'm not good with that, normally relying on more concrete information and analysis most of the time.

It's good to have their instincts as a counterpart to my thinking as it makes the party more complete.

That even they are on their toes goes to show that this floor is not to be messed with, and as if to reinforce that idea, a single monster stood in our way a few meters ahead in a small area.

Miwen: "A level 17 skeleton mage... he's capable of [Bone Magic] and [Wind Magic]. Seems like he also makes use of curses..."

Frankly, that's a problem. Using magic gives him a longer range on his attacks, meaning he might be able to afflict us with curses from a distance.

What's more... [Wind Magic] is quite problematic to deal with as it takes experience to know when an attack is coming, add the curse factor to that and it becomes unreasonably dangerous.

Anna: "Look at what he's wearing..."

This is also not a good sign...

The clothes the monster was wearing were modern looking, meaning he wasn't spawned from the dungeon and instead was killed and later converted into a monster.

Being on this floor, it's pretty much guaranteed that whoever this was, he possessed a combat-oriented Gift, as people without one would have a lot of trouble going past the second floor, much less the third.

In any case, this also means that the monster who probably killed and converted him is still alive...

At this point, we were somewhat deep on the floor and had managed to get a level-up, so going back would be an option and we could also try another path.

Licia: "What do you wanna do?"

While it would be right to give him final peace by defeating the monster he became, I won't risk putting everyone in danger just for that.

Miwen: "It's not worth it. let's fall back before he notices us."

I decided to take the safest course of action and head back, but...

While returning, zombies started pouring out of a left path in front of us, essentially cutting off the only way we had of going back.

This made it so that we were now encircled by the zombies on our front and the mage skeleton on our back.

I also wasn't in the best physical condition, so each of his attacks felt too heavy for me to completely block.

I needed to keep him busy though, so I rushed against the monster that, in response tried an overhead slash with his sword.

It took me all the strength I had to defend myself with both blades and even then, I was almost at the point of kneeling with how much power he was putting in that strike.

Mia would most definitely take this opportunity, but I tried to think about what I could do to further help her.

Most of what I could do relied on using a skill or magic, and wasting mana wasn't ideal in this situation.

While Mia's training is great, if I had more ability with the blades, I might've been able to further help her... I really need to learn more about sword fighting with Claire and Licia.

While I was giving my all, Mia used the opportunity to strike the skeleton with all she had.

Normally, two or three punches would've been enough for her to defeat any monster on this floor, but her first attack didn't even manage to make the monster let go of his sword.

He was still pushed away though and I could stand up properly again without the weight of his sword threatening to cut me in half.

Even in a situation like this she still took the time to bump me.

Miwen: "Ow. I'm not confident in fighting you two at the same time."

Mia: "..."

She gave me a serious stare, which made it clear she wasn't up for jokes.

I'm guessing if not for teasing, then maybe her bumps might be a show of her anxiety? Either way, if she's this serious about it, I think I'll have to go with plan B.

Mia: "I can see you're saving up your mana but... if you want to defeat him, you're gonna need to use your skills."

Miwen: "I think so too but... I need to see how things progress first."

Mia: "We don't really have the luxury of time though."

As soon as she said that I looked back and saw Beatrice panting heavily... it seemed like she was close to her limit.

Miwen: "We'll go for one attack with all we've got. If it doesn't work, we'll let Anna handle it."

Mia: "Fine by me."

We didn't really have time to strategize and the black skeleton came to attack us.

In the middle of the air while slashing at us, suddenly, his single sword multiplied along his image, and it was as if three monsters were attacking us simultaneously.

He didn't have a skill for creating a clone or using illusions, so I could only guess this was his Gift.

Mia jumped to the left while I went for the right, the three swords touched the ground and left three marks where they landed, and then his image went back to normal and a single skeleton knight stood in front of us.

The fact that all the swords had an impact when they touched the grand meant that they were real attacks and not illusions, so maybe the effect of his Gift was making slashes that hit three times.

It was good that Mia and I went in different directions though, as this allowed us to surround him, and using her ice magic, Mia caught his attention by launching a bunch of ice nails in his direction while also rushing at him.

He used his Gift to defend against the projectiles coming his way, but he didn't manage to stop the girl who gave him a roundhouse kick.

Since the three images weren't an illusion, as soon as she hit him, the monster was pushed away, and I took the opportunity to slash at him as much as I could.

It was clear that my attacks lacked the same power, but it was enough to hurt him, and he turn his attention to me.

He readied his sword, but before he could do anything, Mia attacked him with a flying kick to the back.

It seemed like he wouldn't be able to put much of a fight if we kept going like this, but he still had a trick up his sleeve.

Maintaining his sword in hand, he did a sword dash toward... nowhere.

But his image once again split into three, and each of them went in a different direction.

Neither I nor Mia could avoid that given how fast and unexpected it was, so we had no choice but to use magic to block it.

The monster seemed tired after this attack, and using [Focused Strike] alongside [X Slash] I finally managed to get his head off.

Surprisingly it was still not enough as the monster tried to do a counter attack but...

Mia managed to finish it off by destroying his remaining body by pummeling it to the ground.

While we had won our battle though, Ellie was starting to run out of mana and it would be a matter of time before her opponent who was a dedicated mage could overpower her.

Not to mention...

Beatrice: "Miwen... I'm almost out!"

Licia and Claire had also yet to defeat their opponents...

If more monsters came, in the current state our party was, we'd be done for.

Miwen: "Retreat Bea! Anna, wait for my signal."

Beatrice left her position and came to join us, Licia and Claire did their best to push their enemies away and finally, Anna used a sword strike to shake hem off their feet while also destroying the barrier their mage had created.

While I'd love to have had Anna help us fight our opponents, it was absolutely crucial for us to hide our trump card, as without it, we would really be able to make our escape once we were so low on mana.

using the opportunity she created, Licia, Mia and I used whatever mana we still had to freeze the enemies and make our escape through the exit gate.

It was doubtful if we had managed to defeat any of them with this last attack but once we got out from the dungeon it wasn't our problem anymore.