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From the two Gray Wolves I ended earning 100 EXP. It seems that when someone other than Eleanora or my Familiars kill monsters below by supervision or assistance, I can only get half of what they got. Nonetheless, 100 EXP is welcome, anything is welcome to be honest.
We moved forward without hesitating, reaching the third layer with the kids was something I had already planned. I wanted to fight some demons again, and if possible, we could even sneak deeper and find where the Demon Gate might be located. If I know its coordinates, I could come later on with Eleanora and then destroy it. I know the possibility of getting more demons for EXP is tempting, but it is also a big threat that will only continue to escalate further out of control. I prefer to destroy it than to let the menace grow further just for some EXP.
Before leaving the village I remember that I saw a large group of Knights gathering around the church. Perhaps they might come here soon as well since I rescued Lukas and his surviving knights that the news about the demons being cunning and too strong spread out. The Duke ended realizing that his fiefdom was in too much danger, and decided to send even more men here, with the help of the priests as healers and light magic users, which the demons fear, they might come here for a full crusade to eliminate all demons. Although I have no idea if they’ll do it now or in the next couple of days. If they do it now, it would certainly be annoying to get in the middle of it. Especially because I saw Ellergest and his priests in there, even the little Elizabeth might participate.
“Something’s off around here… Where are we?” Wondered Erika.
“Yeah, how deep does this forest even go?” Asked Chris.
“I can sense… this energy is not just mana, there’s demonic energy here! I remember when Blake showed it to us… It is intoxicating and it feels like it takes the air away.” Said Eric.
“You’re right. We have reached the third layer of the forest. In here is where demons roam the most. Gray Wolves are incredibly rare, but Giant Boars might appear sometimes…” I said. “To be precise, this place is where I’ve bought you to fight demons. The weakest and most common of them are Imps, which are red-skinned and small, almost the same height as you guys… Ah, Eleanora found a sizable group of eight! Sweet, let’s go.”
I had sent Eleanora off before we even got into the dungeon by ourselves. She used Shadow Sneak and Stealth to sneak away into the forest undetected, and jumped around the tree branches seeking the deeper layers. She had already reached the third layer while the kids were fighting the Gray Wolves. When she finally got here, she began to quickly search for prey until she finally found a scouting group of eight Imps. Well, not really scouting, they were hunting and were bringing a large amount of horned rabbits and two gray wolves back to their village. Perhaps following them might give us the location of the gates, but I really wanted the EXP, so I told Eleanora to go seek another small group to follow or find the Demon Village by herself while we took care of the eight Imps.
I guided my group swiftly through the forest. The enhancement of their bodies through Ki allowed them to move faster and run swiftly, and they got exhausted way slower than before. Erika barely felt any body fatigue if anything, so she could probably run while holding her breath for hours.
“W-We are fighting demons now…” Sighed Eric.
“This is a bit too much now… Eight as well?!” Asked Chris.
“Don’t worry, Erika will assist you with her dolls.” I said to them.
“W-What about you?” Asked Chris.
“I will watch from the sidelines and make sure the Imps don’t escape.” I said with a calm smile.
“Y-You’re the coward here!” Chris complained, as Eric seemed even more dispirited as he heard I wasn’t fighting.
“I am not a coward, you blockhead, I am merely standing by because if I help, the entire challenge will be trivialized. At this point I can just kill Imps without issues. This is a training for YOU, not me.” I said angrily, as I felt the impulse to smack the stubborn Chris in the head again, but I contained myself. “Stop doubting yourself so much, Chris. This is not the kid that threw that fireball at me the other day, or are you? I thought you were bolder.”
“I-I… Right! I am not a chicken!” Said Chris. “I’ll show you! I’ll freaking show you I am strong!”
He suddenly began to release fire out of his eyes as Eric and Erika got slightly scared. This was happening a lot recently, whenever he got pumped up, Chris would begin generating blazing flames out of his body, most of the time his own eyes.
When we finally reached the area where the Imps were, I quickly told everybody to move slowly. We sneaked behind the trees and bushes, finally peeking at the eight Imps, they had decided to take a break and were sitting around a bonfire, roasting their prey. They had lowered their guards, it was the perfect time to strike.
I told Chris and Eric to fight first. Eric quickly nodded, having gained some more self-confidence, he put his hands into the floor and suddenly used once more his Spirit Technique. In a second, vines sprouted out of the ground, entangling around half of the Imps, while the other half was surprised by the sudden monstrous plants that they felt shocked, a good time to strike them from behind.
“Now go!” I commanded, as Erika and Chris decided to move forward. There were too many targets and the possibilities of them running away were high. Because of this, the two had to be fast and precise.
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