After checking the sky for a while and seeing the direction the clouds were moving, Jake decided to gamble, and then they began to run toward the right side of the forest. It was hard to say if the game designers paid enough attention to even make sure that the flow of the clouds and wind would make sense. Still, it was better than nothing.
Fortunately, his gut feeling was right, and after running for half an hour, he found the dungeon in the distance. Once he found it, he waited for the girls to catch up to him again. While he was probably being rude, Jake didn't pay mind to it since the coins were being divided among them equally. Not to mention, he also found a weird crystal that it could be equipped as a shield. Apparently, it was the shield version for magic classes.
Crystal Ball
Recovery + 04, Mana + 04 (0%), master this time to gain the status points permanently.
Durability: 05/05
"Who wants to master this first?" Jake said while showing the sphere to them before they could complain.
"Whoa… what a pretty item," Lana said with her eyes sparkling while she was sweating bullets. "What is that for?"
"Equip it on your left hand. I already mastered it," Jake said. "Let's see… now I can use Bash almost once every twenty seconds."
"Is that the dungeon? It sure looks creepy like an ancient mausoleum," Louise said.
"There is no time to waste," Jake said. "This area is crowded with Giant Bats. It seems the last group who tried to clear the dungeon did so more than a few days ago."
"Well, that is good, more coins and items for us," Lana smirked while imagining the items she could buy with the extra money.
Jake could always train his Mana Blade with his mana, but for the time being, he grabbed his crossbow. It was time to master it and gain those sweet, sweet status points. Louise did the same and bombarded the monsters in the area with Poison Bullet until she ran out of mana and was forced to sit down to meditate.
It didn't take long for Jake to master the crossbow. The monsters kept dashing toward him and even without his mana. As long as he holds the crossbow with one weapon and fights with the other, he could always master it. In any case, his aim was pretty good since he used Mana Blade often and rarely missed.
You obtained 02 coins.
You obtained 01 coins.
You obtained 02 coins.
You obtained 01 coins.
…
"As expected, this area is much more efficient… at least for now," Jake thought.
At that point in time, Jake suddenly had a certain thought. Let's say that he masters a certain weapon that grants him status points and then sells it. Could he buy or obtain another by hunting and then obtain the same status points? After thinking for a while, that seemed too good to be true. Otherwise, veteran players like Luke wouldn't sell items. They would trade with their friends.
Although he had to do most of the job, he didn't feel tired or fed up. In fact, he felt great. He could see himself improving while fighting against so many enemies. His react speed, his movements, and his strikes were becoming more precise by the minute to the point where he could easily cut the head of three bats when they tried to surround him with a single swing of his blade.
Congratulations! The skill Swordsmanship has leveled up.
Congratulations! The skill Stamina Boost has leveled up.
"Nice," Jake smiled in satisfaction.
While Jake was fighting, the girls were using Meditation. Fortunately, the skill only required of them to sit down and cross their legs in the lotus position. Thanks to that, they could keep their eyes open to see their surroundings.
"It seems Jake is enjoying himself," Louise said while smiling.
"Boys will be boys. They don't lose a chance to show off," Lana shrugged.
"Somehow, I have the feeling that he is always like that, whether he is alone or with other people," Louise said.
"You sure can imagine the good sides of everyone, Louise," Lana forced a smile. "I suppose that is one of the talents of teachers."
"No… perhaps yes, I tend to exaggerate when forming my opinions of others," Louise corrected herself when she recalled her past.
Lana noticed the sadness in Louise's voice. It seemed that was another difficult topic for her. Lana thought that she was a cool adult. Still, despite being in the middle of her twenties, she already had quite the baggage when it comes to life experience. At least that was the case from her perspective.
When Louise's mana was back again, she decided to use her spells more efficiently. Instead of selecting a single target and hitting it, she waited until the three of them got close enough to Jake, and when they entered a line, she used Ice Arrow. The projectile pierced the wings of three monsters, making them fall to the ground and freezing their wings for a short while. Jake easily finished them, thanks to that.
While that kind of attack was useful, Louise also started to notice that she wouldn't be able to use it often. Not to mention. Lately, the party has been facing many monsters at the same time. Just like Lana decided to improve her fighting style by going full support, Louise realized that she needed to learn the area of effect spells. While they would consume more mana, it was necessary, not to mention that kind of spell would be very useful against bosses.
None of those three could see it clearly, but the whole strength of the party was increasing even without the help of status, skills, or equipment. While the girls were improving by realizing what they were lacking, Jake was improving by fighting… improving by instinct.
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