Chapter 803 Warped Intentions
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Appearing in the 'cave' where they'd hidden their anchor crystals, Emilia quickly activated her headgear's 'Vigilance' skill, and sighed in relief when she realized that there really wasn't an ambush waiting for them.
Maybe the boss didn't yet 'know' the function of these things properly, or maybe he just hadn't been paying attention when they hid it. Either way, the crimson-haired girl felt they'd been quite lucky.
Her teammates had only briefly argued against her logging in first to take the anchor crystals out, but agreed once they realized she was indeed the smallest and fastest of them all. Of course, that was only because they didn't yet know the full horror of goblins.
'But as long as we can get through the first level today, that kind of thing won't matter.' Emilia smiled as she placed the anchor crystals on the ground carefully.
Shortly after, the rest of her teammates appeared, and almost immediately started fussing over her.
"We didn't come too late, right?"
"You didn't wait for long, right? I forgot to factor in the time difference, ahh."
Once Danielle and the others were assured that she was fine, however, they quickly got serious.
"Let's go. Robin, Emilia… lead the way!"
Danielle had asked all her teammates to stay the night at the office previously, and it wasn't without reason.
The four of them, including Sylvia, had discussed the matter for a long time before agreeing to a plan of action for their future.
They realized that the world was changing, and if they couldn't get strong enough to 'resist' that change in time, they would only become prey to those that did, no matter how they didn't want to admit it.
Otherwise, not to mention protecting Emilia from 'malicious' people like Norman, they may not even be able to protect themselves.
They would no longer hesitate or run away when encountering difficulties. Nor would they seek an easier way out when faced with challenges.
Only Emilia and Crystal were excluded from this 'vow', though it was for vastly different reasons.
Their success in the game was no longer just about becoming famous or being acknowledged by the public. It might be what decided if they would able to survive with their dignity intact in the future.
After all, if they weren't strong enough, there was no telling if the 'respectful' attitude of Norman and his buddies would change for the worse. It was fine to be 'soldiers', but they definitely couldn't tolerate the thought of one of them becoming someone's plaything.
With Emilia's charm, the only way to make sure such a thing never happened was to be strong enough to protect her.
As for Crystal… well, not to mention that she was an outsider, Danielle and the others didn't think she needed their protection. After all, no one seemed to know who she was, so her background definitely couldn't be simple.
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—Killed [Inferior Goblin], +2000 Experience, +2 Silver Coins
—Killed [Inferior Goblin], +2000 Experience, +2 Silver Coins
"Whew…" Robin wiped the sweat off her temple as she took out her dagger from the goblin's corpse. "I thought that would never end."
Danielle frowned. "Don't let down your guard. You're our scout, after all."
The taller girl nodded frantically. 'Right! I can't keep relying on Emilia just because she has that item.'
Of course, despite admonishing her, Danielle was inwardly a little surprised. 'I'm not sure if this is just my illusion, but… isn't this much easier than it should be?'
The last time they were trying to get through, the hordes of goblins that attacked them were so overwhelming that they almost despaired. But now… although they were a lot more 'frantic', there was no denying that their numbers had been reduced.
"Could it be that we got through the worst of it already, and retreated just as things were getting easier?" The drill-haired girl frowned, inwardly regretting her choice.
Had she known it would be like this, she would have just followed Emilia's whims and continued. That way, not only would they have been much further ahead, but might also have been able to avoid meeting Norman!
Danielle quickly shook her head in denial. 'No, there's no point in regretting it now. I just have to make sure to think about things more clearly from now on!'
Sylvia frowned. "Actually… I've noticed that the goblins earlier acted quite strangely. Didn't they?"
Danielle hummed thoughtfully. "You might be right… it's like they want to chase us somewhere… could it be a trap?"
Obviously, after her open conflict with Dolly, the already diminishing 'rift' between Sylvia and the rest of the team had been resolved further.
'Actually, with the way their eyes glowed with intensified greed, I suspect… no, it doesn't matter.' The yellow-eyed girl frowned, then nodded. "It's possible, but… we can only keep moving forward."
Danielle sighed. "Alright, Robin, Emilia… be careful."
Naturally, she had no idea that the boss was being more 'lenient' with them.
The goblins they faced were slightly weaker, the path they took made them progress much faster, and even the 'random' resources they encountered on the way were plentiful.
Emilia was sure that the boss must be quite 'eager' to meet them now, and she couldn't help but grin. 'Ehehe… looks like my plan was a success!'
There was no doubt in her mind that the direction that the goblins were trying to force them to move in even as they died was exactly ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Meanwhile, the hero's team was celebrating yet another victory where they needed to head.
After all, only by completing the first two levels could they meet the boss.
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Meanwhile, the hero's team was celebrating yet another victory over a now-decimated goblin horde.
"Take that!"
"Ahaha…"
"We did it!"
Darryl, however, remained quite indifferent. 'Although it's not enough to give us trouble, the strength of the hordes we encounter has definitely changed.'
The numbers they faced may not matter much with his team composition, but Darryl wasn't one to be conceited.
He could tell at a glance that the attacks in this session were definitely much more organized than before, and also seemed to have completely different intentions.
Darryl frowned. 'I was sure that the thing controlling these monsters was quite eager to meet us, but now its intentions seem to have changed… Why…?'
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