"I think it suits you," the redhead said when Jake equipped the armor.
Jake was frowning, so it wasn't hard to imagine what he was thinking. He also wanted to say that he didn't ask her opinion, but looking so annoyed would only please her. In any case, Jake didn't have anything better to do and while he ignored the redhead, he began to make potions.
"The boss will spawn at noon, so don't leave this spot," the redhead said.
The guild master finally got tired of being ignored and went to do something else. Meanwhile, Jake wondered when it would be noon. He couldn't tell since the sky had been cloudy since he arrived and he couldn't see the weather improving.
In the end, Jake had to wait six hours for that… It was hard to say if the redhead made him wait a while longer of if days on that planet were longer. If that were the case, then moving would be impossible. Jake liked adventures as much as the next guy, but he also likes his peace of mind of sleeping when it was dark. With rare exceptions, he would sleep or take a nap during the day, since he considered that a waste of time, unless you were absolutely exhausted. In any case, alongside twenty or so people, the redhead approached.
"As you can see, we aren't lacking firepower, so you won't have to fight," the redhead said.
"Bringing this many people only shows that you don't have firepower…" Jake said. "Why would need this many people to kill a single ape? Even if it is an oversized one?"
"I heard that you have been solo for quite a while, but I never thought you knew so little…" The redhead said. "Up to twenty four people can challenge a boss, so up to twenty four people can get the rewads of that quest. Doing with less people would be inefficient."
"I suppose bullying a monster with numbers is exactly that, efficient," Jake said.
"Frederick said that out of ten sentences you say, twenty have a lot of sarcasm in it," The redhead said.
"I am not criticising you," Jake said. "I am just telling facts… that isn't even the main issue of the matter. The real issue is that you guys don't gain that much experience fighting a monster under those conditions."
The redhead couldn't say anything since Jake was right. Even the angry people behind her couldn't deny it. They were keeping people safe since they acted pretty much the same way as Frederick's guild, but aside from a few members and the guildmaster, the other members weren't that noteworthy. Also, they couldn't clear difficult dungeons by themselves… that was another thing that couldn't be helped. Most of the people that came from the tutorial had some talent, but once they realized that fighting and dying now would permanent, their bodies froze in front of some bosses.
"... Let's get going," The redhead said.
In the end, the other guys kept leading the way and cleared the monsters inside the dungeon when they appeared. Meanwhile, Jake kept crafting potions and the redhead kept an eye on him. Might as well write in her forehead that she couldn't trust him… It would be perfectly understandable.
It was a bit of a pain to make the potions when he was walking, but at least Jake was gaining some time… he was also training hard his antisocial skills by doing his own things while others were around and that was good… or perhaps it wasn't.
Regardless, the group reached the final part of the dungeon, and there they found almost an copy of the red ape that Jake faced. The only difference was that the creature had five more levels. The redhead underlings quickly surrounded the monster and assumed their formation. Ten of them were using large shields to stop the boss while the others either had bows or magic staffs to fire their magic. At least their coordination was good…
In any case, the boss charged at them like he had found an oasis in the desert and one of the frontliners was pushed back for several meters when he tried to block the boss path. That worked and that guy soon returned to his position when the others frontliners forced the monster to reatreat with their spears.
When the beast did that, those guys in the frontline split into two groups and gave the people behind a clear view to attack. Instantly, they began to use their magic and arrows.
Although they weren't that powerful on their own, their massive numbers paralyzed the beast for a while. Still, those five seconds had been enough to make the monster lose twenty percent of its health.
The red ape suddenly jumped toward them, but as if the frontline had been expecting that, they retreated and so did the backline. They sure were quick on their feet, but Jake knew that all of them had used Dash. While those guys weren't remarkable, they were clearing that dungeon pretty often, so they had experience in fighting in groups.
Things repeated themselves like that for a while. Although the boss tried to escape their targets, the beast could only do so much against that many enemies. There is strength in numbers, that saying was true… But thinking about it made Jake feel sick.
"People like you are becoming less and less common," the redhead said. "I can respect that, but you need to understand that the need of a group is more important than the needs of an individual."
"That is why I won't join any groups," Jake said. "I would rather reap all the problems and benefits as long as I can do whatever I want whenever I want."
"The criminals will take advantage of you and your philosophy that way," Jake said.
"Let them try," Jake replied while shrugging.
"You really are a pain in the ass…" The redhead said.
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