Chapter 115: 115 First Floor.

It’s been a while since Jin’s group entered the dungeon. Lucya, who stood behind Iris and Silvia, looked behind her and watched the group she picked.

There were four of them, which emphasized the role that she picked after gaining some knowledge about dungeon exploring.

“Next!”.

Teacher Dannan’s loud voice snapped Lucya from her daze. She looked forward to seeing Silvia and her group enter.

Unlike their leaders, the other four were enveloped with tension, as shown by their hardened expressions.

Then, Iris entered the dungeon, bringing the group by walking behind them as a protector and guard with her overwhelming experience.

Lucya unconsciously dug her own palm. Her heartbeat resonated with the tickling internal clock that kept getting closer as Dannan turned to her.

“Next”.

The girl glanced at her group, who nodded in confirmation. Lucya stepped forward, entering the dungeon entrance surrounded by darkness.

When she crossed the threshold, the cold air stabbed her layers like an invisible hand clawing at her skin.

Her footsteps bounced off around the narrow and dark path as if to mock her presence.

The air was thick and pungent, with a metallic smell that aged within the surrounding space, a testament to old wounds from a predecessor.

Lucya passed the flickering light ahead, her steps were firm and carried a distant hesitation in her mind, thinking that this was a perfect chance to calm her first ticket to her end goal.

She and her group arrived in the dome-shaped place. Glittering light from moss and a chunk of crystal that absorbed mana scattered across the spacious place, giving the group a moment to catch their breath.

Thanks to the light, Lucya could recognize the environment well. A rocky structure like a cave, with a jagged surface stretched into the dark edge.

The girl inhaled deeply, calming her pounding heart, which had disrupted her thoughts because of its loud beat.

“Velna, scout the perimeter. Elarin and Trissia, be ready as a vanguard and ensure a way for Velna to retreat if a monster is around”.

Lucya paused, urging her comrade to create a battle formation. With her in the back as a mage.

Velna drew her dagger and stood in front. Her short purple hair swayed as her sharp eyes squinted, wary.

Elarin gripped the sword hilt. She pulled her light brown hair back and tied it into a ponytail to not disrupt her fight.

Trissia was a tall girl with shoulder-length black hair; she carried a broadsword on her back.

Hidden beneath her gym uniform were toned muscles which contained raw power that rivalled a boy.

“Mirae, stood beside me, I’m counting on you as a fellow mage”.

“Y-Yes”.

The girl stammered but still gripped her wooden staff tightly. Her pale blue hair reached her back, and her large blue eyes trembled behind those round glasses.

They proceed carefully, following the scout’s pace. The group kept their eyes skimming through the environment.

An ominous howl that echoed from the corner of darkness, flinched their body in guard.

In front of them, a shadow lurked closer, twitching while exhaling a breath of life.

“A monster”.

Velna leapt back, and following her lead, Elarin and Trissia stepped forward to block the monster’s advance.

However, the vanguard’s brows knitted as they noticed one, two, three shadows creeped before them in the form of a furry bipedal monster.

“It’s a kobold”. Elarin’s voice was low, but it perfectly travelled across the group’s ears as they tensed their bodies.

Lucya once read a book that said a kobold was classified as a Common-rank monster. They always stayed in the group, making them the true lowborn monster along with the Goblin.

The three monsters were one meter in height. They stood on two feet with blue fur covering their body, a dog face with an elongated mouth and jagged teeth, drooling as they saw prey.

“Brace yourself, everyone”.

Lucya roared her command, which heightened the tension between the group as they prepared their stance.

She raised a palm to gather enough mana, trying to conjure a spell that could end the enemy in one strike.

*Rawf!

The monster barked with drool splatter across the ground, raising its club in its hand.

Elarin and Trissia hardened their expression and engaged two of the monsters, letting one of them bypass the vanguard.

But Velina was ready. With a flick from her right hand, a small knife cut through the wind as it embedded itself into the approaching kobold.

Blue blood spurted from the wound, and the kobold’s steps were halted momentarily, holding its shoulder with a hideous groan.

Lucya extended her palm ahead as white mist began to shimmer around her. The moisture clung to her skin before condensing into a body of water that compressed thinly into a blade.

“Velna”. Lucya said, prompting the scout girl to clear a path.

She swung her hand, letting the water jet propel toward the monster and slicing through its body cleanly.

Lucya cancelled her spell, and the water blade dispersed into mist and disappeared into the atmosphere.

’I did it’. The girl muttered under her breath, feeling her pulse quicken. She reached out to her chest, which was pounded hard.

The sound of footsteps snapped Lucya from her daze. She twisted her neck to see Velna approach with a grey mana stone in hand.

“Here, it’s yours”.

“Thank you, Velna”. Lucya extended her palm to receive the mana stone from Velna’s hand.

It was tiny with a rough surface, the same as a pebble she used to look around the street, but it carried a stifling weight of life that she had taken.

“Haaa!”.

Lucya and the other two turned toward the front as they saw the vanguard was dealing a last attack.

Elarin’s swordsmanship was swift. With a thrust of her sword, she pierced the neck of one kobold, turning it into a tiny grey stone.

Trissia let out a spirited howl that faltered the kobold’s spirit, halting its movement albeit briefly.

But that moment was a prominent gap, as she twisted her waist by swinging the broadsword with all the weight in her body.

*Woosh!

A gust of violent wind billowed as she swung, sending a shockwave that split the kobold’s body into two.

Silence draped over the group while Lucya lifted the corner of her lips. ’It seemed I chose a reliable comrade’.

“Good job, everyone”.

All eyes turned to Lucya, and smiles spread across their faces. They gathered in one spot and briefly discussed their next plan.

“Let’s continue”. Lucya’s blue eyes swept over her teammates and said. “Keep your guard up”.

“Yes!”.

The four overlapping voices resonated within their heart, lit the ember by the presence of a reliable comrade who could be trusted.

They continued exploring the place, then wandered ahead searching for a way to the second floor.

Four kobolds blocked their advance, and the group began to move in sync. Elarin and Trissia kept two monsters in check.

Velna hid beneath the veil of darkness and threw a pebble, or a throwing dagger, to disrupt the monster’s movement, letting the mage deal the finishing blow.

The group kept their synergy through the vast place until, in front of them, a hollowed wall revealed a stair path that went down.

Lucya stopped a few meters before the door. Her blue eyes blinked in blazing determination, turning to her teammates.

“Are you girls ready?”.

Elarin, Trissia, Mirae, and Velna nodded, their eyes filled with spirit that chased away the hesitation in their steps from reaching their goals.

“Let’s proceed deeper”.

Lucya took her first steps, descending the gloomy passageway that guided her further down. The flickering light from the moss and crystal chunk helps them explore the dark part.

A cold wind blew from the next floor, touching their skin with chill. It carried an ominous whisper, making the hair around their bodies stand up.

The group walked undeterred under the stifling pressure. Passing through the passage, in front of them stood a spacious room, lit by the crystal chunk.

’Second floor.’ Lucya clenches her fist tightly, looking ahead with clear intent. ’Three more to go’.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep