Meanwhile on the Eleventh Floor of the Goblin Crypt…
Wendy's team was fighting against three Hobgoblin Warriors. They had cleared the Boss room half an hour earlier than William's party. Compared to the boss fight, the three Hobgoblin Warriors didn't stand a chance against the four powerful students of the Hellan Royal Academy.
After cutting down the last Hobgoblin, Spencer looked at his sister--who was panting for breath. This was the first time she had gone inside a dungeon and she was not as experienced as him in conserving her strength.
Brutus and Bruno, on the other hand, were in the same boat as Spencer. Aside from being older than the twins by three years, they had plenty of experience when it came to raiding dungeons.
Although this was their first time visiting the Goblin Crypt, they were more proficient in conserving their physical and magical strength. The three boys silently agreed that they wouldn't interfere with Wendy's battle style.
They were doing this in order to help her to understand that even if you were strong, you should know how to maximize your abilities by only using sufficient strength to end the battle. Going all out in each encounter would only exhaust you, and this was a fatal mistake when it came to any kind of dungeon exploration.
As they waited for their leader to catch her breath, a party of adventurers also appeared at their location.
The leader of the six-man-party was a brown-haired man who seemed to be in his mid-twenties. He had average and sharp features that were quite common among mercenaries.
"Is this your group's first time coming here to the Goblin Crypt?" the brown-haired man inquired. "I've been here for a few years and this is the first time I've seen you guys. Are you perhaps students from the Royal Academy?"
"Yes," Wendy replied before Spencer could stop her. "We are from the Royal Academy."
The brown-haired man smiled at the little beauty in front of him. "We are planning to head to the Fourteenth Floor, do you guys want to come along?"
"No." Spencer walked between the brown-haired-man and his sister. "We plan to explore the dungeon at our own pace. Thank you for your offer."
The brown-haired man gave a nod of understanding. "My name is Kent. If you run into trouble on the Fourteenth Floor, come and find us in the Eastern Part of the dungeon. That is where we usually hunt during our stay here in the Goblin Crypt."
"Understood," Spencer replied before taking his sister's hand and pulling her in the opposite direction.
Brutus and Bruno gave Kent a side-long glance before following the brother and sister pair. They could tell that the brown-haired guy was trouble and didn't want to form any connection with him.
Kent watched them go with a smile on his face. He then made a gesture to his men to continue their journey towards the lower floors. Whether Wendy's team went to the Fourteenth Floor or not, they didn't really care.
The Fourteenth Floor where the Goblin Shaman spawned was their old haunt. They knew the floor like the back of their hands and they specialized in making traps to catch suitable prey that would reap them great rewards during their dungeon expedition.
----
"Wendy, next time, don't casually give information to people you've just met," Spencer advised. "There are a lot of bad people in the world who will ask you for a mile if you give them an inch. It is best not to associate ourselves with people like Kent."
"He's right, you know," Bruno backed Spencer. Wendy was a good child and they didn't want her to experience something terrible while they were together. "Some people look harmless, but when you turn your back to them, they are scheming things behind your back. Just a glance and I can already tell that the brown-haired guy is bad news."
Brutus nodded. "If we meet them again, it will be best if you leave the talking to us."
"U-Understood," Wendy stuttered. Although she was inexperienced and naive, she could tell that her Big Brother and her seniors meant well. If they said that Kent was not a good person then they must have a reason for their stance.
"One more thing." Spencer looked at his little sister with a serious expression. "Conserve your strength and don't use any fancy moves when you battle. You will only exhaust yourself if you continue your pace. It's possible that we might get into a fight with something other than monsters."
Wendy could feel the tension in her brother's voice, so she nodded her head in acknowledgement.
"I understand," Wendy said after careful consideration. "But, if possible, I want to go to the Fourteenth Floor. I want to see if the Hobgoblin Shaman is as powerful as the rumors."
Spencer looked at the two brothers in askance. He wanted to know if they had any encounters with the Hobgoblin Shaman in the past.
Both brothers shook their heads in unison. After that Brutus scratched his hair and voiced his opinion.
"We can take a look first," Brutus said. "It will not be too late to retreat if the situation gets dangerous."
"To be honest, I also want to see how powerful that Hobgoblin Shaman is," Bruno commented. "I've never faced a Dark Mage before. This might be a good opportunity to learn from experience."
Spencer also agreed that this was indeed a good chance to understand how strong Dark Mages were. The Hellan Kingdom had banned the use of Dark Magic and anyone caught using the art would either be imprisoned or sentenced to exile. If they had committed atrocious acts then they would be sent to the gallows to be executed.
"Okay, we will speed up and head towards the Fourteenth Floor," Spencer stated. "We will conserve our strength and only fight when necessary until we reach our destination."
Everyone nodded their heads and proceeded to follow Spencer's suggestion.
-----
< Exp Gained: 30 >
< Exp Gained: 30 >
< Exp Gained: 30 >
"I never expected Hobgoblins to be this strong," Est muttered after Kenneth, Ian, and Isaac disposed of the three Hobgoblin fighters who blocked their path.
"It seems that the groupings on this floor are three Hobgoblins per party," Kenneth said while picking up the Hobgoblin Ears that dropped on the ground. They were the monster drops from the Hobgoblins and could be exchanged at the Adventurer's guild or the Alchemist Guild for a few coins.
'Mmm, this is interesting,' William thought. 'The Hobgoblins don't drop anything inside my version of the Goblin Crypt. They are there purely for experience points.'
William had long thought that the purpose of the Ring of Conquest was for training purposes. Perhaps, it was even meant for leveling purposes. This realization brought a couple of questions in his mind.
Just who was the one who made the Ring of Conquest and for what purpose? William had a hunch, but this hunch only brought more questions that he couldn't answer at the moment.
'Perhaps, I'll only know the answer once I have a proper talk with Gramps.' William sighed internally.
Now that it had come to this, he wanted to know how his father, Maxwell, got his hands on the ring. William was also curious to know how his father used the ring to his advantage.
He had only heard that his father had single-handedly prevented the Demon Race from invading the Silvermoon Continent. As to how he did it, perhaps only his Grandpa James, and his mother, Arwen, could answer the mystery that had plagued him since childhood.
The group continued to head deeper inside the Goblin Crypt. Just like Wendy's party, he wanted to know just how strong the Hobgoblin Shaman of this dungeon was. Little did he know that the monster who almost ended his life four years ago, was far scarier than he could ever imagine.