Chapter 124: Chapter 124 - Adventurer Party(Part 8)

Well, we found the route in which the Goblins have been multiplying in, and we’ve encountered a pretty large number of Goblins, having traveled down to the fifth floor across the span of about two hours. We’d come across groups of upto twenty Goblins, but despite the large numbers...it wasn’t particularly challenging.

Ilex’s Shadow Bind Skill restrains them and I then blast them with fire or lightning Magic. And now, it’s been a while since we last encountered any Goblins, we’ve probably wiped out most of them.

There sure were a lot of them though, if they’d been left unchecked for just a couple more weeks or so, their numbers would’ve potentially ballooned up to an overwhelming force.

Fun fact, Goblins, and incidentally a lot of other Monsters, mostly the lower Grade Threat Levels, are intersex, meaning that they have features of both genders. All Monsters that fall under this category can all serve as either male or female when it comes to procreation, any of them could either impregnate or be impregnated by another member of their species.

And when it comes to the most powerful Monsters, the Demonic Grades, some of them can even breed through interspecies copulation. In other words, some Demonic Grade Monsters could create hybrid offspring, though there are very few recorded cases in history, it’s a pretty rare occurrence.

I’ve been reading up a lot about Monsters lately, this town has a pretty great library, it’s usually pretty hard to find quality books as Commoners. But since this town has a lot of interaction with Nobility since the Knights come here often to train in the Labyrinth, you can find things here that aren’t available in the other towns.

Well, anyway, back to the matter at hand...having made some good progress and likely quashed the Goblin infestation, we were currently taking a break, regaining some energy before venturing further down.

I was munching on a sweet cereal bar, taking regular swigs of water since it was kinda dry. As I finished it off and gulped down some water to clear my mouth, Ekspen walked over and sat down beside me.

"Uh, is something wrong?" I inquired, a little uncomfortably.

"Oh, no, nothing like that. We’re about halfway through with this now, so I was wondering what your thoughts regarding this have been so far?" He responded with a smile.

Ah, he wants some feedback, does he? I noticed Dispo speaking to Ilex as well, likely about the same thing...they really are taking this pretty seriously, aren’t they?

"Well, to be honest, I don’t think I’ve particularly benefited all that much from this. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate your intentions and all, but I think I really am better off working alone after all," I replied, deciding to be honest.

"Haha, I see! Well, by the end, if it helped even a little bit, I’ll be content," He smiled wryly.

"Why not just offer training by, like, sparring and stuff with the people you want to help? I get that actual experience is more effective that simple practice battles, but just taking us down the upper floors of the Labyrinth probably isn’t the most efficient way to go about this, it’s pretty rare that any actually threatening Monsters appear up here," I pointed out objectively.

"On paper, maybe so, but...Labyrinths are known for being unpredictable, you know what to generally expect to come across on each floor, but it’s fairly often that stronger Monsters wander up to the higher floors than where they’re generally known to reside. Adapting to unexpected turns of events is, in my experience, the most effective way to sharpen your skills," He countered with a smile.

"Fair enough, I guess."

"The three of us formed this party because we had each lost loved ones because of Nobles. We met at a bar one night, and after opening up to each other over drinks, we came to an agreement, to set about laying a foundation from which Commoners can stand up against Nobles...Adventurers against Knights.

We’ve worked hard since then, but it hasn’t always been easy...we’ve lost many comrades and fellow Adventurers to the Knights, some who tried to stand up to those bastards or protect innocent citizens from their abuse, and others simply because they were attractive women who caught the eye of a Knight.

I almost lost heart many times, and I almost certainly would have if it wasn’t for my party. Instead, we etched each of those incidents into our minds and used it to drive our determination to prevent it from happening again...we want our work to spread. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

If even a few of those we help go on to help others in turn, our efforts will not have been in vain. And, yes, it won’t always go perfectly, sometimes our help might not make much of a difference, but little by little, it’ll build up, and eventually, we’ll accomplish what we set out to do...at least, that’s the hope," He remarked with a sheepish grin.

"Well, if nothing else, I will say this much...given the opportunity to kill a Knight, I would very much do so, without hesitation and with the utmost pleasure," I replied assuringly.

"Hahaha, I certainly like to hear that!" He chuckled in response as he patted my shoulder, before standing up as he added, "Alright, then, I think that should do for the break. Let’s continue, shall we?"

As no one voiced any objections, we continued making our way down the Labyrinth, with Ilex and I in the lead as usual. Since we’re taking a longer route, we’ll probably only go down to the seventh, or at most, the eighth floor.

Exterminating all those Goblins took some time, they may not have been much of a challenge, but there were so many of them that, even with my Spells, it took a while to strike down all of them.

I’m getting pretty sick of Goblins, they feel more like overgrown pests than actual Monsters, almost anyone could kill one of them. Casualties caused by Goblins are pretty rare.

Anyway, progress was pretty smooth as we made our way through the Labyrinth, thanks largely in part to Ilex’s Shadow Bind Skill. I’m honestly a little surprised that the others haven’t suggested that he stop using it and we try other options to deal with the Monsters.

But they’ve refrained from talking too much about our abilities...they haven’t asked me any questions about the details of what my sensory Skill is, I guess they’re trying to avoid prying too much. Well, I certainly appreciate that.

Hm? Looks like we’re getting a bit of respite from this monotony...I can sense some Monsters up ahead that won’t be affected by Shadow Bind. They’re not particularly powerful, but at least it’s something different...

"There’s four Cockatrices up ahead, they’re perched up on the stalactites above," I informed them.

Cockatrices are giant rooster-looking Monsters, each one is about as tall as an average person. They’re more slender than roosters though, and they can fly pretty well.

They’ve got sharp talons and long beaks with rows of razor sharp teeth. They’re classified as Intermediate Grade Monsters, so they’re not all that dangerous.

They’re pretty ferocious, but they’re also simple-minded and their attacks are straightforward and easy to avoid. Though, if they do manage to land a hit, they can do a lot of damage with their talons and teeth.

"Manifest Soul Weapon: Mana Armament," Chanted Ilex, bringing out that L shaped handle...from what I’ve seen, he doesn’t have any proficiency with Spellcasting, but he can handle himself just fine even against opponents that Shadow Bind won’t work against.

That Soul Weapon of his is highly versatile and powerful, it can attack both at long and short range, and can be used as a solid defense as well. That, along with his Shadow Bind and Invisibility Skills, make for a pretty decent arsenal.

"We’re almost there, we’ll be right under them soon," I remarked, as I turned my gaze upwards.

Almost right on cue, a Cockatrice suddenly swooped down towards me with a screeching snarl, aiming its talons down at me, as the rest that I’d sensed came into sight as well.

Ilex stood still as one shot towards him, a slight smirk appearing across his lips as it closed in on him, before he swiftly swung his weapon across, forming a Mana blade at the end of it and decapitating the Monster, a spray of blood bursting out as he sidestepped to avoid getting splattered.

As the one swooping down towards me closed in as well, its beak wide open as it continued to screech threateningly, I raised my hand in its direction as I activated a Spell...Elemental Metal: Create Needle.

I fired out a long, narrow metal projectile at near point-blank range straight into its mouth, the needle shooting in and piercing out through the back of its head, before I leapt up as it began to plummet, jumping straight towards another one.

As it slashed its talons at me, I grabbed hold of its leg and pulled myself in closer towards it, reaching for its neck and taking hold of it with a tight grip, before tearing out its throat with a violent yank.

These Monsters have pretty weak hides, and their necks are especially weak...if you’re able to evade their attacks at close range, you could easily kill them with your bare hands. But I probably shouldn’t have...my hand is all bloody now, gross...

The last remaining Cockatrice then shot towards the other three with a vicious squawk, Ilex responded by aiming his Soul Weapon behind over his shoulder without turning around, just glancing back slightly and then firing as he caught sight of the Monster from the corner of his eye, shooting it through the back of the head and killing it before it could reach the others.

"Wow, that was a damn good shot!" Grinned Ekspen with a thumbs up.

"Talk about impressive marksmanship," Nodded Sakri in agreement.

"Those are some serious shooting skills you’ve got there," Added Dispo encouragingly.

Heh, they’re gushing praise at him and he’s just looking more and more uncomfortable in response. Glad he’s standing out, it puts less attention on me...

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