"That was a good shot," Est praised. "Eh? Why do you look so happy?"
"Because it is more than ten" William as the smile on his face widened.
"More than ten? What do you mean?"
"You won't understand."
How could he possibly tell his friends that over the past four years the highest experience points he gained from killing a monster was ten. Those ten points could only be achieved by killing a Goblin Shaman, which was ranked between D and C.
Depending on the skills it had learned, a Goblin Shaman could be at the peak of the D Tier, or in the initial stages of Rank C.
Ella in her War Ibex Form could be classified as a Level C (Low) threat. The Goblin Shaman's threat level started at Level D (High) and ended at Level C (Mid). Meaning, it was a threat that could potentially kill people who are unaware of its true strength.
Since William, Ella, and the goats had trained to resist curses and Dark Magic, a Goblin Shaman was something that they could handle.
Even so, after killing this dangerous creature, the amount of experience points that William gained would not surpass the number ten.
That's why he became very emotional when an ordinary goblin gave him twelve experience points.
'System did you notice?'
< Yes. The experience points gained inside this dungeon and the one we can access through the Ring of Conquest have almost the same value. Although the experience here is a little lower, the difference is not that far apart. >
William agreed with the system's observation. Right now, there were six members in their party. William, Ella, Est, Kenneth, Ian, and Isaac. The Experience points were split among the group so the red-headed-boy only received 12 Experience points after killing one goblin.
'System, set the exp allocation to the Shepherd Job Class,' William ordered. 'It would be best if we max it out as soon as possible.'
< Understood.>
< Experience points allocation is successfully transferred to the Shepherd Job Class. >
'Thank you.'
William sighed. He had long wanted to max out his main job class, but circumstances had prevented him from doing so.
< Shepherd Lvl 28 >
Current Job Exp: 42,400 / 91,207
"Are you really okay?" Kenneth inquired. "Should we return when you're feeling better?"
"I'm fine," William said as he wiped away the last tear stain on his face. "Sorry, you saw a weird side of me just now. Let's continue our exploration."
Est was still worried about William, but since the latter had said that he was fine then he decided to continue their dungeon expedition.
"Our goal is to get to the tenth floor as soon as possible," Est explained. "We will only kill the goblins along the way. Be wary of human parties that look suspicious. If any of you feel that something is wrong, feel free to give a warning."
Everyone nodded their heads in agreement. Just like Spencer said, inside dungeons, it was not only the monsters that you needed to worry about. You also needed to protect your backs against humans.
The progress of their group was quite smooth. They didn't meet that many goblins and the parties they met along the way steered clear of them. After three hours inside the dungeon, they finally arrived at a Bronze Gate that marked the end of the Tenth Floor.
"According to the map, the first boss of this dungeon is the Hobgoblin Leader," Est said with a serious expression. "Its Threat Level is D (Mid). It also summons two Hobgoblin Warriors, and two Hobgoblin Archers. Their Threat Level is D (Low). William, Kenneth, I will let you deal with the archers. Ian, Isaac, you will deal with the Hobgoblin Warriors. I will handle the leader."
""Understood.""
"Meeeeeeh."
The moment William's entire party entered the door, the bronze gate closed behind them. William had experienced this many times before, so he wasn't worried. Est, Ian, and Isaac, on the other hand, were looking around anxiously.
Just like in William's memories, the boss room was similar to a coliseum. Torches lit up the sides, casting their eerie glow on the challengers.
Suddenly, a mighty shout sounded at the far end of the Coliseum and a Hobgoblin jumped down from who knows where and landed in the middle of the battleground.
William raised an eyebrow, because the Hobgoblin Leader that appeared was very different from the one he had battled inside his version of the Goblin Crypt.
The Hobgoblin Leader that was standing in front of them was two meters tall. It held a sword in each hand. It was also wearing light-weight metal armor on its body and the presence it revealed was that of a veteran fighter.
Four Hobgoblins appeared beside it. Two archers, and two warriors. Their threat level was leagues apart when compared to the Boss Fight that William had fought inside his version of the Goblin Crypt, many years ago.
'System, it seems that your guess was right.'
< Yes. The monsters inside this dungeon are stronger compared to the ones that are available in our version of the Goblin Crypt. >
'Dungeon growth,' William mused before using his appraisal skill.
-----
Hobgoblin Leader
-- Goblin Race
-- Threat Level: D (High)
-- Cannot be added to the herd
-- After countless evolutions, the goblin race has finally given birth to a leader. The Hobgoblin is born from the goblin race's desire to grow stronger. A Hobgoblin Leader is born to lead the Hobgoblins to battle.
-----
'If the Hobgoblin Leader is already this strong then it is safe to assume that the Goblin Shaman is already at Rank C,' William frowned.
The system had kindly reminded William that the threat level of the Hobgoblin Shaman would always be a level higher than the Hobgoblin Leader. Not only that, since the dungeon's monster composition had changed, it was very possible that on the Fourteenth Flour, the Hobgoblin Leader and Hobgoblin Shaman might be in the same group.
If this was true then they would really be fighting a strong team of monsters once they stepped onto the Fourteenth Floor.
'I'm worried about Wendy.'
< How about Spencer, Brutus and Bruno? Are you not worried about them? >
'They're boys, why should I worry about them?'
< … >
William stood in place holding his bow and arrow. Est, Ian, Isaac, Kenneth, and Ella had charged towards their respective foes and engaged them in combat.
William didn't intend to participate in this battle. His Mama Ella was more than enough to dispatch the Hobgoblin Archer with ease.
He was paying close attention to his friends' battles and would help them if needed.
Kenneth's quick movements allowed him to close the gap between himself and the Hobgoblin Archer in order to engage it in close combat.
Surprisingly, the Hobgoblin Archer used a short sword to parry Kenneth's attack. Ian and Isaac were battling hard against the two Hobgoblin Warriors who were equipped with both swords and round shields.
The Hobgoblins Threat Level was D (Mid), just a level lower than the Hobgoblin Leader, and they were fighting against Ian and Isaac evenly.
It seems that the twins weren't being serious in the battle because they didn't use their magic powers. They were only using their sword techniques as if they were using the Hobgoblins as training partners.
Est was fighting a "dual wield" battle with the Hobgoblin Leader and, just like his retainers, he wasn't using his magic powers either.
The only problem was, Est was getting pushed back by his enemy. Even so, Est didn't back down and continued to engage the Hobgoblin Leader in close combat.
The sound of weapons clashing reverberated inside the boss room as both parties fought for supremacy.
Five minutes later, the twins felt that they had endured enough and used their magic powers to make a comeback.
Ian's sword extended and lashed out at his opponent like a whip. The blade turned into a whip made up of water and sent the Hobgoblin skidding away a few meters.
'Whip sword? Wow!' William praised the snot-nosed pansy behind his back. 'That looked so cool.'
Isaac on the other hand summoned a round shield made up of Hard Rock that was a meter and a half tall. He then charged against his foe using the shield to ram the Hobgoblin's body. A miserable shriek escaped the Hobgoblin Warrior's lips as it was sent flying.
William winced upon seeing this scene and wondered how he would fare if he got hit in the face by Isaac's shield. The thought of it made him shiver, so he immediately looked in another direction.
Est gritted his teeth and Rhapsody glowed brighter.
"Divine Burst!" Est unleashed a special move at point blank shot which caught the Hobgoblin Leader by surprise.
With a shout of unwillingness, the Hobgoblin Leader tried to use its swords to block Est's attack, but it was futile. The power of the Divine Brust overwhelmed the defenses of the Hobgoblin Leader and tore through its body.
Est looked at the gaping hole that appeared in his opponent's chest before it lifelessly fell to the ground. Soon, its subordinates followed its demise as they were finished off by William's party.
Ella had long defeated her opponent, and simply watched the children as they fought against their respective opponents. She understood that they were training themselves with real combat, so she didn't help them after her fight had ended.
The Hobgoblin Leader and his lackeys disappeared into particles of light, marking the end of the boss fight.
-----
< Exp Gained: 5,000 >
< Shepherd Lvl 28 >
Current Job Exp: 47,400 / 91,207
----
William grinned when he saw the influx of experience points that he had received. It had been a while since he saw over a thousand experience points and it made him giddy with happiness.
"Good job everyone." William clapped his hands in approval. "That was an impressive battle."
Est smiled and nodded his head. For some reason, he liked getting praised by William. It was at that moment when a treasure chest appeared in the center of the room.
William crossed his hands over his chest. He had no intention of taking the spoils of this battle. Est and the rest understood his stance as they crowded in front of the treasure chest with curiosity.
"Open it, Young Master," Ian urged. "I want to see what is inside."
"Okay." Est nodded. He, too, was quite curious about what he was going to see inside the chest.
The handsome boy lifted the lid of the chest and saw a pair of boots.
William's smile stiffened as Est took out the pair of boots from the chest. He didn't need to use his appraisal skill to identify them, for they were the same boots he received when he won against the Hobgoblin Leader in the past.
-----
Windborne Boots
-- Wear light on your feet, go strong in your life.
-- Agility +3
----
Perhaps it was by coincidence, but Est's gaze landed on William's boots. He then looked at the boots in his hand and saw that the two pairs of boots were identical.
William whistled and looked at the ceiling of the Coliseum. For some reason, the stalactites that were hanging on the ceiling looked very interesting to him right now.
Est cleared his throat as he showed the pair of boots to the rest. "Who wants these boots?"
"I don't need them," Kenneth politely declined Est's offer.
"I don't need them as well, Young Master," Isaac replied.
"Wait, these boots look oddly familiar," Ian frowned as he inspected the boots in Est's hand. He then looked at the boots of the annoying boy that was looking up at the ceiling and realized something.
For a brief moment, Ian wanted to ask Est if he could have the boots for himself. However, when he saw Est's expression, he realized that his Young Master was giving him the "I dare you to ask for these boots" smiling face.
Ian gave an awkward cough as he reluctantly took a step back to compromise.
"My boots are already good, Young Master," Ian said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Please, take the boots and use them well."
Est's expression softened as he nodded his head in approval. "Since none of you want them then I'll gladly use them as a memento of our first Boss Fight."
Est stored the Windborne Boots inside his storage ring for the time being. As much as he wanted to wear the Windborne Boots, now was not the time to do so. He then made a gesture for everyone to follow him, as he stepped into the glowing portal that would take them to the Eleventh Floor of the dungeon.