Chapter 216 Tier 7 Floor

"Ow, my bloody head hurts! How can a child even bonk that hard!?" Elanor, managing to pull out her fan blades, finished off the child that had hit her with a stick. The group had watched on in amusement seeing a small child chase an adult elf in circles. Now Elanor was sitting on the edge of the fountain getting a small heal from Shaman

"Never underestimate a child, they may look weak, but they are still tier 6 monsters." With a smug grin, Elysia poked Elanor on the side of the head. Elanor pouted while glaring at Elysia knowing full well she was being teased.

"Don't bully sister Elanor!" Silver, who felt bad the most, tried to protect Elanor and pulled Elysia back by the waist. Elanor was happy to see Silver come to her rescue and found him very adorable.

"Oho? Someone's a little protective." Elysia, now turning the teasing on him, saw him instantly turn red.

"I-it isn't like that." Silver tried to deny it, but Elysia just gave him a look of confusion.

"Isn't like what? I never said anything." Elysia acted like she didn't know, but her grin said everything.

"Okay Eli, you can stop the teasing, it's time to head to the next floor." Shaman, who just finished using [heal], did not like the direction of the conversation and decided to stop Elysia before there were any misunderstandings.

"We should really get a healer, that way we can be a bit more aggressive and not rely so much on dodging." Clara thought about their group's composition and realised they did not have a tank or a healer.

"I have thought about that, I was hoping to pick up more healing skills, but it feels like a waste." Shaman wanted to be a jack of all trades, but she realised that it would be impossible.

"I do recommend getting a dedicated healer, but sadly we don't have anyone in the Freya forest who can join you right now. Still, you should definitely try to get your hands on one. Usually, they are of the priest class, so maybe heading to the fox realm chapels when you get the chance is a good idea." Kiruya, who had been relatively quiet the whole time, spoke up to give a suggestion.

"After heading to the demon lands and getting Himeko out we will see." Shaman agreed, but their mission took priority for the time being.

"Let's get going, we have spent too much time talking." Clara sat up and dusted herself off.

"Hopefully we can speed through the enemies, but if any end up like the greatsword and dual-blade elves we will have some trouble." Elysia remembered the gruelling fight against them, so if they had to fight a group, it could spell trouble.

"Just have to wait and see." Shaman didn't worry too much about it and walked towards the same secret entrance as last time.

*

Clearing their way up to the pool chamber, this time the elves with the greatsword and dual swords did not come out. This was a major concern as they could be a part of a larger group that had more variants of elves.

"Before we enter deeper, Kiruya can you watch over Elanor while we clear the next room? We will try to capture some so Elanor can get the final blow and get some free experience." Shaman wanted to see if they could boost Elanor even more and maybe even get her to tier 6 which would let her fully catch up.

"Sure thing." Kiruya didn't mind as long as they kept moving closer to the boss.

With Kiruya's confirmation, Shaman then walked up to a stone tablet that was by a wall that had an unknown language on it. Pushing on it and hoping for the best, suddenly the stone wall began to open, creating a mini earthquake.

On the other side of the wall was a long hallway where tree roots covered the walls with all kinds of vegetation filling in the gaps. At the end of the hall, an elf priest was seen kneeling while maintaining a green barrier. There was also the greatsword and dual blades elves standing guard, however this time they were accompanied by a bow user.

"This must have been where they were last time, but they ended up coming out before we arrived." Clara noticed how the roots led to the tree and guessed there was some pathway that led into the pool.

"The hallway is rather narrow but it's still better than luring them to an open space where they could go after Elanor, so let's try to fight them head-on." Shaman, much more confident in her group taking on the elves, believed they could take them all at once.

"I don't think the priest will move, he will be busy with that barrier." Silver squinted his eyes looking at the priest and saw magic circles very slowly being formed.

"Let's not waste any more time, I think they are coming." Elysia pulled out her bow, intending to take the ranged roll for this fight, especially since the elves had their own archer.

"Silver, you stay in the shadows and attack whenever you can. Clara, you will be with me attacking, so listen out for calls or otherwise use your better judgement." Shaman explained their formation, organising their attack plan.

Shaman then dashed towards the elves alongside Clara while Silver merged into the shadows. Elysia stayed back taking aim directly at the elf with the bow as her competitive spirit was flaring up.

***

<Elysium>

"Are all the admirals here yet?" The Pope was sitting on his throne asking for a report from the guard in front of him.

"W-we are yet to see Jane and of course Himeko." As he mentioned the name of one of the admirals, there was a clear look of disdain.

"Tch, she was friends with that bitch Himeko, so no wonder she might not want to come." Knowing the motive for her late arrival, The pope contemplated if he should go out and kill her or drag her to the mission.

"Nevermind sir! Jane just arrived and is with the others, apparently she had some city issues she had to deal with before coming." The guard receiving a message through a talisman relayed it to the pope.

"Tch, she lives this time, guess it's time for me to explain the plan." Getting up from his seat he clicked his fingers, disappearing from the spot. Reappearing at the same oval table where they had a meeting not too long ago, everyone went silent as soon as the Pope appeared.

Scanning each of the admirals, it was clear they all didn't want to be there since it was taking time away from their duties.

"Good, now you are probably all wondering why I have brought you here. Unfortunately, I will be taking more of your time as I have a group mission for us." The Pope took his seat at the end of the table while putting his hands together and smiling as he waited for their reactions.

With the mention of more of their time being taken, a few groans and grumbles echoed out, but it was still too early to be annoyed.

"My plan is to attack the demon lands." Cutting right to the chase, everyone was left speechless as it was very unexpected.

"Why?" Many of the admirals were still sceptical of the Pope's plans and didn't want to jump to conclusions yet.

"I'm on a hunt and I want to take it over, so all of us will be going over to raid the place." Elaborating further, Jane flinched a little at the mention of a hunt, as she assumed it was Himeko he was after.

"Are you stupid? That will break the 400-year-long treaty with the demon lands!" A very muscular man in a yellow uniform stood up, outraged they were doing something so absurd.

"Calm down and let me finish." The Pope glared at the man that stood up and a wave of fear washed over him, forcing him to sit down.

"Now, I know we have the treaty, but I say who gives a damn, they haven't done anything for the last 400 years. I want war! So we'll poke our heads in, and if it turns out no one is there, we will take over it." An evil glint appeared in the pope's eyes. Finally realising how serious he is about the plan, everyone else choked on their breath.

"I-I know you want more land, but are you sure we can't go about it peacefully?" A woman in completely white clothes spoke up, but at the mention of peace, it seemingly hit the Pope the wrong way. However, he stopped the aura he was leaking out and looked at the woman who spoke.

"Just look at this small expedition as a crusade against the demons." The Pope smiled joyfully like a harmless child, yet to everyone else it was the look of someone insane.

"Now, I assume there are no objections?" Everyone looked down, not daring to object as their life was at stake if they ever spoke against him.