Five hours after Skyla left the skies of Lont, William and the goats gathered inside the goat shed to plan their strategy in exploring the dungeon.
He knew that the time would come when he would reunite with his mother, but until then, he would have to focus on getting stronger.
After a unanimous vote, everyone decided that they shouldn't go to the Fourteenth Floor where the Goblin Shaman resided.
There were a couple of reasons for this, but it was mostly due to the trauma that William and the goats had experienced during their last battle. Also, William's Dark Mage Job Class was still Level 0.
In order to fight against the Hobgoblin Shaman, William must first reach Level 15 in order to gain sufficient skill points and learn the skills to counter its dark magic. For that to happen, they decided to just focus on gaining experience on Floors Eleven to Thirteen.
William, Ella, and the goats approved of this plan. After making their last minute preparations, they once again returned to the Goblin Crypt.
-----
Goblin Crypt Floor Eleven…
< Exp Gained 220 >
< Exp Gained 220 >
< Exp Gained 220 >
< Exp Gained 220 >
William and the goats started to sweep the entire floor hunting for Hobgoblins as experience points. The subclass that was currently equipped was Dark Mage, while the supporting spell that William chose from the Ice Mage Job Class was Mana Regeneration.
Due to the system, William was able to choose one skill that he could use even though he had switched his job class. The system allowed William to equip one skill per job class as long as the requirement was met.
What was the requirement for the support skills to work? The job class must be at max level. Since William had the Ice Mage at Max, he was able to choose one spell from the Ice Mage Job Class and place it in the support magic slot.
This was the magic that William could freely use regardless of what kind of Job Class he was currently using. It was one of the perks of having the blessing of the God Of All Trades and William was very satisfied with this feature.
After all the mobs in the Eleventh Floor had been cleared, they immediately headed towards the Twelfth Floor. The teamwork of the goats was starting to bear fruit as their speed in clearing the floors increased.
William and Ella didn't join the battle. They just stayed in the rear and watched as the Angorian Goats developed their battle sense.
Battle Sense was a skill that could not be taught. It was something that could only be learned through first hand experience. The Angorian Goats had good temperaments, so it wasn't easy for them to become warriors at the get go.
William and Ella had spent years in the Goblin Crypt before they developed their own battle style. If they hadn't encountered the Hobgoblin Shaman on the Fourteenth Floor, William was sure that they would have already cleared the Fourteenth Floor long ago.
"Remember, don't let your guard down," William reminded the goats. "Even though there isn't a single monster that can threaten you on this floor, you mustn't be too overconfident. Always work as a team to achieve victory!"
""Meeeeeeh!""
""Meeeeeeh!""
""Meeeeeeh!""
The goats bleated their agreement as they focused on the new battles that they were going to face.
It took them eight hours to clear the Twelfth Floor, and ten hours on the Thirteenth. William's Dark Mage Job Class had gained a total of eleven levels in this dungeon expedition.
After clearing the Thirteenth Floor, he decided to return and call it a day. Ella and the goats had no complaints as well. Although the experience points they gained weren't much, they still managed to get a level each.
-----
Name: William Von Ainsworth
Race: Half-Elf
Current Exp: 146,283 / 146,283
< Dark Mage Lvl 11 >
Current Job Exp: 455 / 13,316
------
Name: Ella
Race: Angorian War Ibex
Level: 11
< Strength: 51 >
< Agility: 108 >
< Vitality: 50 >
< Intelligence: 40 >
< Dexterity: 30 >
Current Exp: 21,894 / 26,632
-----
Race: Angorian Goat
Level: 21
< Strength: 10 >
< Agility: 28 >
< Vitality: 10 >
< Intelligence: 2 >
< Dexterity: 2 >
Current Exp: 7,033 / 42,508
-----
"Tomorrow, we will be able to reach our target level." William yawned as he embraced his Mama Ella to sleep. "Goodnight, Mama."
"Meeeeeh." Ella nuzzled the side of William's face to bid him goodnight.
The goatshed remained still and only the sound of William's, and the goats', deep breathing as they slept echoed within its walls.
Ella watched her wards with a gentle gaze, before, she, too, closed her eyes to sleep.
-----
Somewhere near the Windkeep Citadel, a great battle was taking place.
James, along with the masters of Lont were kiting the Big Shots of the Beast Tide from afar. They were trying to split the attention of the monsters in order to help the offensive of the Hellan Kingdom break the Beast Tide's battle formation.
(A/N: Kiting is a term mostly used in games when you attack the enemies from a safe distance so they can't attack you back.)
"Those bastards must be so annoyed right now," James chuckled as he watched John, Blitz, and the Sentinel of Lont, Trent, harass the ranks of the monster army from the air.
Sentinel was one of the job advancements of the Sniper Class. In order to change to this Job Profession, an important requirement had to be met and that was to single-handedly slay an adult dragon.
Basically, Sentinels were Dragon Slayers and every faction in the continent wanted one to join their ranks. In the Southern Continent, there were only two Dragon Slayers. One was Trent, and the other one was serving in a different Kingdom.
Marcus who was seated on top of his mount, Thunder, nodded his head in agreement. "We're lucky that the Big Boss of the Beast Tide was a Flood Dragon. Due to Trent's harassment, it couldn't command the monster army effectively."
"Even so, this will still be a very difficult battle for the kingdom," Jekyll commented. "The Beast Tide has the Harpy Queen to command the army from the air. On the ground, they have the Lamia Queen and the Garm to take charge. Those two cannot be underestimated because they are very sly monsters."
"It's fine as long as we keep the Flood Dragon busy," A monk holding a wine jar said in a casual manner. "According to my prediction, the winner of this war will be determined in two days' time."
"Dwayne, you already saw all the Big Shots in the monster army." James looked at the monk who was happily drinking from the wine jar in his hand. "At most we need to deal with three of them. What are our best choices?"
Dwayne burped and closed his eyes. "Of course we need to take the Flood Dragon. It is the best catch and we can't let the nobles get it. As for the last two, I think the Ourobro (Golden Ape), and the Amphisbaena (Two Headed Serpent) will be very helpful in Lont."
"I can understand about the Amphisbaena, but Ourobro? That one needs careful consideration," James replied as he played with his beard. "A single punch from that Golden Ape can demolish the Walls of the Windkeep Citadel with ease."
"Ah, about that, Boss," Dwayne said with a mischievous smile. "I am looking for a Beast Companion, and that monkey is the one that I've always wanted. For it to appear here can be considered a fateful encounter, don't you agree?"
"You still have a big appetite," James grinned. "How confident are you in subduing it?"
"As expected of Boss," Dwayne grinned and pressed both of his palms together. "I have already prepared for this day for many years. I alone can deal with that monkey. What I need to ask from everyone, and Boss, is to just lure it to our direction. I'm confident that I will be able to subdue it with ease."
"Okay, we will move when the Hellan Kingdom launches their full offensive," James nodded his head.
The night passed swiftly as James and the others lay in wait. They were like a pack of bandits waiting for the treasures to be drawn in their direction. For them, the outcome of this battle had already been set in stone. What they needed to do was to reap as many benefits as they could during the chaos, and return to Lont in a triumphant manner.