As Lexi's body fell to the ground, already lifeless, the women stood there shocked as if there was no tomorrow, full of pain, thinking this could be them if things were just a little bit different.
They had learned to live with Lexi in this place for months and had formed a bond with that woman, so they feel horrible for her now.
None of them would blame Vicente for his decision to kill Lexi, as she herself had wanted it, but they all would have preferred it if she had been stronger and had chosen to live.
Vicente himself was in a bad mood. He didn't know the stories of these people, but he could see they were just like him, victims of this terrible society.
They had probably suffered even more than he had, so he felt a certain kinship with them.
But he had his agenda there, and he said. "I am sorry for your loss. But we don't have time for remorses now. We're in a hazardous area of The Rocky Gorge. There's a 3rd stage basilisk nearby, and since several battalions of the royal army are hunting it in the area, all the beasts in the vicinity are acting cautiously and dealing with human groups deep in the region."
"What? A 3rd stage beast?" The level 1 woman asked, turning pale with fear.
The goblins had kidnapped them in the past few months. But they had no idea of the strength of the beasts in the area they were in, let alone that it was the deepest part of a region with reported beast sightings.
"This is very bad. How will we escape?" One of the two men asked, once again becoming discouraged.
"For now, help me organize all the items in this cave. I want you to separate the coins by type, the resources and materials here." Vicente ordered.
"And then what?" The older man asked as he began to stack the coins for his new master.
"You have two options. Stay here and wait for me to return to Millfall together. Or venture out on your own. I can draw you a map that can lead you to the town. You can get there in a day's walk if you're lucky."
They considered the options before them as they did what he had just ordered.
Venturing out would be bad, but according to Vicente's words, they would have to stay alone in this cave for a while until he returned.
However, as strong as he was and as high as he was in the minds of these people, they wouldn't consider him as strong as a 3rd stage beast!
If he ventured into the depths of The Rocky Gorge, there was a risk that he wouldn't return!
"Don't tell me the master is going..." The level 1 woman was about to say when Vicente interrupted and completed her words.
"That's right, I'm going to hunt the beast. Or rather, I'm going after what might be in its nest."
Gulp!
Everyone made a fuss, but no one tried to change Vicente's mind. A master decided what to do, and the thoughts of their servants mattered little!
"I guess we should take our chances then..." Said one of the younger women.
Vicente saw that they were going to do it and said. "Very well, I'll give you something to protect yourself with. It will help you get to Millfall." He then used his skills and spells to manipulate the walls and floor of the cave to make metal appear there.
Vicente took his time to create weapons and ammunition for the nine adults who would travel to Millfall, something that would give even weak people like them a promising chance of survival.
The people there watched as he made strange weapons, ammunition, and masks.
After a few minutes of this, he was sweating and had used up more than half of his mana. Then, he said. "I want you to use these to go to Millfall. These weapons are quite powerful and can increase your chances of escaping this area without too many casualties."
Then, he demonstrated how to use his weapons, something simple that even children would learn after seeing someone use it just once.
Bang!
Everyone saw Vicente fire his weapon and noticed the power of the oddly shaped thing.
"That's really powerful!" One of the men said.
"Yes. Anyway, to get it, you have to confirm your agreements with me, which means there's no going back after that." He said as he looked at these people from under his mask. "Do you accept that?"
They all agreed, nodding their heads or shouting their decisions out loud.
"Very well. I will meditate to recover, and then we will sign our agreements. In the meantime, finish organizing the resources in this cave and any maps of the area. I'm after the basilisk's nest, so maps might be most valuable to me."
Everyone turned their attention back to the items around them while Vicente took advantage of the number of helpers there to meditate and get closer to level 3.
He had gotten new helpers, but not only that, he had decided to use his forging skills there to push himself a little more and get better results from his meditation.
With people to do his work, he could focus on getting stronger before continuing his journey to the basilisk!
Soon, the group of newer Mazzanti/Fuller family members would finish cataloging the resources the goblins had accumulated in the area over the months, with some of them even cleaning up the area full of bodies.
Throughout the night, Vicente would eventually reach 99% progress, the threshold between levels 2 and 3!
At that level, he would meditate for hours into the night in pursuit of his breakthrough!
As a new day approached, and the darkness of the night gradually gave way to the light of the day, Vicente felt a change in his being.
Suddenly, his magic power, which had been stuck at the limit of level 2, broke through the barriers to level 3, condensing his 3rd Triangle while his mana increased in volume and density.
In a matter of moments, he went from being a level 2 to a level 3 Acolyte, about 17% stronger than he was at the peak of level 2!
Vincent couldn't feel much difference from his surroundings when he opened his eyes because of this advancement, but he felt much stronger inside.
Normally, one could only grow "grain by grain" within a level. But by advancing in levels or stages, one would have leaps in growth that would make it very easy to feel the increase in power within oneself.
'Now I'm ready!' He smiled under his mask, feeling prepared to continue his journey in The Rocky Gorge.
