Everyone was on edge, especially the ladies, as most of them just stood on the side and watched while Ren, Nikolai, and Silvia took out the group's Lava Ants easily.
The one who was probably the most relaxed was little Pii. The only thing it did was waging its tail and flying around, searching for food it could eat and the treasure it could find.
"Alright, huddle up," said Ren after they defeated the Lava Ants and acquired its loot, EXP, and gil.
What they got was minuscule of a number since there were only four of the Lava Ants, and its EXP and gil were shared amongst them.
"How are the durability of your weapons? Ren asked.
"Durability?" Rosie pointed a finger to her chin before she checked her staff. "Oh, you mean this little number beside our weapon? Mine said 75/100."
After Rosie, the other also said the remaining durability of their weapon.
Ren took note of it and said to Silvia, "Do you have an extra weapon since yours is almost gone."
Silvia puffed her chest and smiled. "I have plenty stored in here. The others have extra too. I have about–"
"It's fine as long as you have extra weapons. Make sure to keep in mind the durability of your weapons since we still have a long way to go, and the monsters are all starting to respawn." Ren also had extra pair of [Long Staff] just in case.
"Yes."
The women's impression of Ren increased again. True to his words, his damage was all they needed to get through half the dungeon, and everything was easy with him around.
Their coordination also didn't suck like before though they were still messing all over the place because of silly squabbles amongst them.
One time, or too often to count, Nikolai almost died because they were busy arguing about their turns that they had forgotten about the poor kid. Good thing Pamela saved him.
A capable man leading the group was not what they wanted, but it was what they needed at this current moment.
"Let's hurry onward." Ren whistled at Pii to move ahead, and the little creature followed suit.
"What?" Ren asked Nikola when he kept staring at him from his side. Neck straining and eyes shining.
"You're strong."
"I know."
"And cool."
"I know." Ren stifled a laugh.
Nikolai beamed. "Usually, when I'm grinding, I sometimes feel scared, and I must constantly watch my back. But when you're around, it's like I can fight with no worries."
"It's because you have plenty of big sisters who will support you from the back."
Nikola's face turned red. "Ehehehe. I guess that's one of the reasons. Partying is nice, huh? It's more fun than being alone."
". . ." Ren didn't comment. He was always alone in the past. And he only parties with his subordinates on a job. It was never because of fun. It was always about business.
However, right now, as he watched Nikolai smile while the women chattered and laughed behind him . . . he thought it wasn't so bad.
He did enjoy himself partying with Isolde, Ragnar, and Leonel a while ago especially seeing their faces when he lied about the boss.
Ren couldn't help but smile.
Meanwhile, while the front and middle lines were all in a happy mood, the back line was full of grumpy people.
Robert, Jack, and Vida were totally convinced that Silvia and the others were ignoring them.
"Let's just go with our plan. This is no fun anymore." Jack complained in a hush but hissing voice.
"Shh . . ." Vida put a finger over her mouth. "Not too loud, idiot."
Robert glanced over his shoulder for a moment before saying, "Not yet."
"What do you mean not yet? We have gone long enough. The map is already seventy percent complete. I thought we'll execute our plans after fifty percent?"
"Are you a fool?" Robert spat at Jack, being careful with his voice. "It was different before because of the pet on that asshole's shoulder. An Animist couldn't even detect the things that creature found. Do you want all those treasures to go to waste? And importantly, lose the chance to acquire a hundred percent map of Vulcan's Cave?"
Due to everyone clamoring about Vulcan's Cave being long and windy that none of the groups ever had a one hundred percent complete Map of the cave even after reaching the Boss's room, it was a sought after information.
They could sell it at a high price.
Jack's lips shut tight. He was silent for a moment before he released a grumble and harsh breath. "Fine."
The group walked steadily before reaching a wide clearing where tons of players were resting.
It was like a vast hall free from monsters and traps, specifically made for the players to take a break after reaching more than half of the cave.
There were multiple groups in the hall, but the one who stood out from the rest was Scar's group.
"What the heck? Aren't they supposed to be behind us? How did they get here before us?" Lucia asked, confused.
"Don't you remember the amount of detour we had to do because little Pii found so many hidden rooms?" Alecia replied.
"Still . . . they're quite fast." Rosie put a palm on her cheek and pouted. "How troublesome."
"At least they don't have a map that's already more than eighty percent completion. Right Ruru?" Silvia tapped the little raccoon girl on her shoulder.
Ruru nodded. "Yes."
"What should we do? Should we take a break?" Pamela asked, and all eyes were on Ren.
However, the man remained dazed, like something had happened. Not even squeezing a word.
Though hidden from everyone, Ren's line of direction was focused on a girl with white hair among Scar's group. But the ladies thought that Ren was merely looking at Black Lion.
"What's wrong?" Silvia asked and nudged Ren. "Are you also bothered as to why they're so fast?"
Ren slightly shook his head. "Nothing. Do you want to rest first, or do you want to proceed?" he asked Silvia.
Silvia looked at the women and asked, "How about it?"
"I think we should rest first." Rafaela rubbed her temple. "A five-minute break from all this . . . 'dungeoning' stuff would greatly replenish my energy and tired brain cells."
Though it was just a game, it was one hundred percent realistic. More than half a day was spent in the cave, and the group was exhausted.
"I agree." Seconded Rosie as she stretched her arms, breasts wiggling as she did. "It would be nice to rest my tired eyes and old bones."
Lucia smirked. "Old is accurate."
Rosie chuckled and crossed her arms under her breasts, full cleavage on display behind her robe. "You mean mature, right." she teased and pointed an eye at Lucia's flat chest.
Lucia burst red and hid his breasts from everyone. "Mind your own business!"
While the two argued, Silvia said, "Let's take a five-minute rest."
There was no point in continuing and pushing themselves to exhaustion. They would just make many mistakes along that way. It was best to recuperate and take a breather.
While the women all went and took a rest at the side, Robert went to Scar's group again.
"Yo. I thought that you were right behind us. I didn't know that you're so ridiculously fast. How's your map completion, by the way?"
Zevi, the Hunter in Scar's group, looked over at Robert while the latter threw a wink at her. She batted her eyelid and resumed checking the map on her screen.
"Good. About seventy percent," Scar said while drinking a [Health Potion] to recover his HP.
Robert smiled though his smile only appeared like a smug smirk. "Is that so? Ours is already eighty percent. That's probably why we're lagging behind. We had found so many hidden rooms along the way."
Robert enjoyed it when he saw Scar's face cracked a little, and his amiable expression slightly fell off.
"Is that so?" Scar said in an even tone. "Good for you then."
"Want our map? I can give it to you if you want. We found multiple hidden rooms in the dungeon that . . . I bet your hunter didn't found."
Scar took a look at Zevi, their huntress, before addressing Robert, "How much do you want it?"
Robert's lips quirked to the side. "Not much. How about ten thousand real money?"
Scar repressed a laugh. "Fine then. But I only want a hundred percent complete map for that price."
He then took his back and left Robert with no further ongoing conversation.
"You'll see. We'll have a hundred percent soon."
When Robert left, Zevi approached Scar and muttered, "He's joking. There's no way that my [Perceive] can't detect hidden rooms. He's clearly bluffing."
"Don't worry about him. He's always been a clown." Scar said, though, beneath his calm facade, he was bothered by what Robert said about an eighty percent completion of the map.
They were clearly behind them a while ago, and he thought that Robert's group was already ahead of them. Who would have thought that they were left behind? He was even surprised to see them appeared after them in the resting area.
Was this because they really have found other paths? Could he be telling the truth?
Scar looked at Silvia's group once more. There [Animist], a raccoon girl wasn't anything remarkable.
However, Scar's eyes were drawn to a tall, lean man leaning on the other side of the wall. He was together with Nikolai, Sumeri's little brother, and this got him bothered even more.
The man seemed to be a [Hunter] based on the creature that was coiling around his neck. However, the question was, how did he acquire a Pet this early in the game?
"Guro," Scar called one of his teammates.
"Yes, boss?"
"See that man?" Scar said, pointing at the man with a hood, "Have him investigated. If he turned out to be remarkable, recruit him into the guild."
"Right away."
