Chapter 96 - Dungeon (6)

You obtained 10 experience points.

The skill Appraisal obtained 10 experience points.

The skill Earth Manipulation obtained 10 experience points.

Billy blinked several times in surprise since he didn't expect to get those notifications… something was off. He didn't get any when he killed elementalists in the past… even when he killed monsters and animals, he didn't get that. Something was off... but it didn't seem harmful or troublesome at least.

"Phew… that scared me," Lily said and then sighed. "Billy was right and he warned me and still… I got caught by surprise. I will be more careful next time."

"I didn't expect that they would appear as soon as we faced a dead end…" Billy runner his chin thoughtfully. "Still, you guys attacked fast enough to prevent the attacks. Well done."

"Hmm… Billy is praising us… I guess he ate something weird," Lily smirked.

"I am grateful… now I won't have to do that anymore," Billy said. "This time, keep your guard up."

Billy added some more info to the map and then grabbed a knife from the bag to get the loot. The carapace and the body of the monster couldn't be used. Only the gems in the antennae, and now that he could see it from up close, Billy realized that they were fingertip size… but they came in all colors. They were smaller than the ones he saw in the accessories before.

"Are you fine touching that?" Kate said while frowning.

"It is a bit slimy, but it is not a problem," Billy said. "Maybe I should you put in charge of collecting those while I draw the map to save time."

"I would rather avoid it, but if it is an order…" Kate said.

Now Billy began to feel bad about it. Here was him trying to make Kate dislike that kind of job, and she was saying that she would if she received the order to do so. It was a pain to have a conscience, or so Billy thought.

In any case, the monsters weren't that durable despite their appearances, so Billy could see why that was the easiest dungeon. Still, he could tell that it wouldn't be easy forever. Billy checked his friends, and he confirmed that they had cleaned their weapons.

"Let's get going," Billy said.

Before they returned to the bifurcation, the group was attacked again. A beetle suddenly appeared in front of them, and when they focused their attention on the creature, another other appeared behind. Alexander and Lily focused their attention on the front while Natalie and Kate fought the other one. Meanwhile, Billy was expecting another one to come from above, but it never came.

You obtained 10 experience points.

The skill Earth Manipulation obtained 10 experience points.

"Again… I guess I am getting experience because I created the Earth Arrows," Billy thought. "Still, this amount of experience is pretty high for such a low level monster."

"It feels like the monsters are pretty smart… to use such tactics against us," Alexander said.

It wasn't the monsters… it was the crystal spawning them. However, Billy didn't say that out loud since an object having a conscience was more scary than a monster. In any case, the group soon returned to the bifurcation and chose the other path, and after that, they began to be attacked pretty often. However, Billy never managed to get a grasp of the enemy's spawning rate… three minutes, one minute… thirty seconds, ten minutes. They spawned at random moments. Thus, the group never had the chance to rest properly.

"I guess this really is a good starting dungeon for beginners…" Billy said.

"How so?" Natalie asked, visibly annoyed. "It is annoying that they can appear from everywhere, we basically never had the surprising factor."

"That is why it is a good dungeon… it teaches newbies to stay on their toes," Billy said. "If you want to be an adventurer, you have to get used to this eerie atmosphere and the fact that you might be attacked at any moment… There is no pause to water the plants or to eat anything."

Although he said that, Billy knew that among the things Geral told them to buy, there were some foods that they could eat as soon as the fight ended, and they apparently helped them recover energy and stay hydrated. The fruits didn't restore Billy's mana, and they were a bit sour, though.

Putting that aside, the group soon found a crossroad, and while it was barely visible, the paths to the left and right were bending lightly to backward… it was a sign that those paths would make it closer to the previous path and dead ends. Still, since the bending was barely noticeable, it made Billy wonder if the dungeon was longer than the town itself… It probably was.

In any case, it didn't take long for one of the beetles to appear from above, and then it almost fell on Kate. What was weird was the fact that they were already fighting two of those… in any case, Billy killed it with a spinning Earth Bullet.

"Thanks, you saved me," Kate said.

"Just doing my job of looking after the kids," Billy said.

Kate forced a smile since Billy was the one who looked like a kid the most, even though his attitude was probably the least child-like among them. Regardless, from that point onward, they began to fight against three beetles at a time. Although, since Kate and Lily were getting used to fighting in a confined place, they were starting to kill the enemies with a single shot, so they were only wasting time gathering the gems.

"The gems are getting bigger… and the number of enemies are increasing… I suppose the dungeon will become harder the more we approach the guardian," Billy said.

"Did you get the information if the guardian is alive?" Alexander asked.

"It was killed a week ago and until now… it didn't reappear," Billy replied.