BONUS Chapter 5/5
"I swear the walls are moving and are squishing me," Alicia complained.
Rafaela laughed. "It's just your bulging tummy."
"Excuse me? I'm size twenty-four."
"Don't you mean thirty-four?" Rosie teased, and the others laughed.
The only woman who didn't laugh was Pamela, whose fingers were sweating, eyes keeping watch, seeking whatever light was present.
Traversing a 400-millimeter-wide path with only a torch in their hands as light against the darkness wasn't exactly her type of adventure.
"You okay?" Silvia looked over her shoulder and grabbed Pamela's hand.
Pamela swallowed her fear and gulped her saliva. "Y-yeah."
Silvia was worried about Pamela but decided to respect her brave front. Pamela didn't want to burden the group just because she was afraid of tight spaces and darkness.
She'd rather take it all to herself and not complain all for the majority's sake.
Silvia was aware of it, and she was grateful that her best friend was enduring all for the sake of the guild.
Silvia's grip on Pamela's hand tightened, and she gave the latter a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. This isn't real. It's just a fantasy. A dream. A game."
Pamela somehow regained her breathing at the thought. "Y-yeah. You're right."
There was nothing to be afraid of. Everything was not real. This was a just a game.
Pamela gasped when she felt something on her behind. Looking back, she found Jack grinning from ear to ear.
"Sorry. I slip." Jack said and coyly smiled.
Pamela's chin crumpled, and tears welled in her eyes. She didn't want to make a scene and disrupt the mood within the group, so she held it all in.
She pressed forward and squished herself to Silvia, hoping to distance herself from the man behind her.
On the other hand, Jack was enjoying Pamela's vulnerability and was going to attempt another 'slip' when Vida warned him in a hushed voice that only they could hear.
"Put your hands where they belong. Don't push your luck, or everything will be ruined because of you."
Jack grumbled and took a wild breath.
First in line in the group was Ren, with a torch in hand to light his path. Next was Ruru and Nikolai, followed by the others.
"Uhm . . . If you don't mind me asking . . . how did you acquired a pet?" Ruru asked, eyeing Pii, who was flying just ahead of Ren.
Ren didn't have to look to know that Ruru was curious.
Ren didn't answer her direct question, but the question that concerned her deep in her heart. "Don't worry. You'll get a pet yourself soon enough.
Ruru opened her mouth but closed it again. Looking at Ren's wide back and tall frame, she felt intimidated for a girl like him who only reached his torso. Not to mention the coldness that he naturally gave off.
It was even hard to breathe from his presence.
"You an Animist?" Nikolai asked Ruru. They were the same age, so he felt at ease talking to her.
Ruru nodded. "And you are a monk?"
"Yeah. What made you decide to be one? Me, it's because I wanted to be strong."
Ren left the two alone to chat while he focused his attention up ahead.
The air turned denser and hot, and it wasn't easy to breathe as they neared the end of the narrowed path that opened into a wide clearing where steaming smoke burst from the holes on the ground.
Jack was right. It was a dead end.
However, in the very far corner of the room laid a [Golden Chest] on top of an altar guarded by a Giant [Lava Hound] twice the size of a man.
[Lava Hounds] were monsters taking the form of a giant dog with a large bulging stomach. Lava flowed on its veins, and its hide was made of layers of dried magma rocks. And from the numerous cracks of its hide, lava poured.
They were monsters running rampant near the Boss's Room. They were usually slow because of their size, but they were hard to deal with, especially if they were dozens of them coming after you in an enclosed space like this that you even have to watch out for the terrain or you'd get hit by the steams that burst erratically from the ground and suffer HP reduction.
You'd automatically get the [Burn] status with one touch from the Lava Hound.
However, a single one poses no threat to Ren. He only had to be careful about one skill of it . . .
"Whoa! There really is a treasure in here!"
The Lava Hound opened its eyes upon Jack's loud voice and locked on the newly arrived interlopers.
RoOaArR!
Upon the sight of the threat, the group momentarily froze. All their eyes saw was the gleaming chest and nothing else. And at the sudden appearance of the Lava Hound sprinting towards them, they were temporarily stunned.
"Stop daydreaming and get into position!" Ren moved to the side and paused before he cast [Water]. He wanted to hide [Mobile Casting] from the others until the final Boss. And he was right to be careful since the unexpected appearance of Robert and his group might pose a threat to him.
–475 Critical Hit!
After everyone's shock at the sudden appearance of an enemy, they were stunned in place yet again at the enormous numbers flashing on the Lava Hound's head.
What kind of damage is that?!
"Nikolai, draw its aggro on you. Use your skill [Taunt]." Ren instructed, and Nikolai followed even before he could regain his brain.
Though [Taunt] wasn't as effective as [Aggro on Me] like the skill of a real Tank because others could steal the aggro of the Boss if they weren't careful with their damage output, it would have to do for now.
"R-right." Nikolai cast the spell, and the Lava Hound locked its eyes on him.
"B-Big brother Ren! W-what should I do next?"
"Just run around," Ren said without a care, "My Spell is still in cooldown."
"H-huh?" Nikolai was in tears, but he did what Ren asked him to do. His AGI was low, but the Lava Hound was slower.
In truth, Ren could finish the Lava Hound with one shot, but he wanted to know his group's combat strength when facing an enemy.
He wasn't worried about Nikolai since the Lava Hound's only concern was the [Burn] status that a White Mage could quickly dispel with [Cure].
In fact, it would do good for Nikolai to realize how lacking his AGI and DEF faced with a much stronger enemy than the usual beasts found in the forest.
"Don't worry, leave it to me!" Lucia shouted. The pressure was real. She was one of the damage dealers in the group, and some strangers would not best her in terms of magic damage.
"Water!" Lucia shot a water ball and luckily hit the Lava Hound despite her poor aiming skills and off positioning.
–42 Critical Hit!
Lucia's mouth dropped. "Only that much?" she had the highest INT in the group, but her damage only amounted to that?
Just how high was Ren's INT?
It was not only Lucia who was shocked. Robert and the others were too.
"Whoa!" Lucia screamed when a hot stream of air burst from below her.
–20
"Shit! Heal me quick!" Lucia shouted at the others. "What the hell? This steams do damage too?"
Pamela healed Lucia and lectured with a soft voice drowned by the commotion, "Be careful of your positioning and don't just waste your mana by blindly attacking the enemy."
Robert clicked his tongue and rethought his plans. With meager equipment, Ren could deal that much damage already. Then it only means that his INT was extremely high.
Was he a beta tester? Or did he stumbled upon a grinding spot?
Whatever it was, Ren's damage output wouldn't be a hindrance to him. Robert regained his calm and stayed at the side together with Vida and Jack while the others shot [Water] spells at the Lava Hound like a shooting game – only their aiming skills suck.
