Chapter 49: Chapter 48
Thanks to the narrow tunnel, they "only" had to take on five Kobolds at a time. What Vince had said was correct, but… considering they had two archers, it meant that the three front-liners had to at least hold them by themselves.
Gero could hold two, but more than that was impossible for him. He didn't have a hard time, but it was not as if he had much leeway either.
Zack Lipsgold could fight one at a time, but that was really his limit. Without Nicole's assistance, he could not even hold his ground.
Thus, Artemisia found herself fighting two by herself. She, like the Prince, had reached the Dawn Stage. But, being the last one having broken through, she still hadn't adapted to her new power.
Artemisia started trying to kill the Kobolds she faced. Feeling they were in a stalemate, she wanted to finish the Kobolds off as soon as possible. As she prepared to kill the first one, she heard a voice.
"Don't! If you take them down and don't just hold them, you'll exhaust yourself too quickly. It's better to prolong the fight. Wearing them out is the best strategy here."
Vince had read her intentions immediately. Estelle realised how big was the gap between them as party leaders. Just from a glance, Vince could tell what Artemisia was thinking. It was almost frightening.
'But why is he keeping such a passive role?'
Estelle couldn't understand. She had seen how he fought in close quarters earlier. It would be more beneficial to have him on the front lines in this situation, alleviating the burden on Artemisia. Yet, he kept his distance.
But it's not as if he wasn't doing anything. He was perfectly covering for everyone's mistakes. When someone on the front lines missed a timing on a dodge or was overwhelmed, his arrows would always come and save the day.
But he didn't do anything more. All he did was cover for their mistakes and give commands.
"Artemisia, aim for the Kobold's arm when he swings!"
"Nicole, try hitting the eyes instead of the nose! You are shooting at them from the side; the eyes are an easier and more effective target!"
"Gero, you focus too much on dodging. You are strong enough to parry with your shield instead. You should mix the two and not rely on just one."
"Zack, stop trying to go for a killing move. It's better to inflict damage over time and wait for your archer to secure the kill. Every time you aim at a vital, you are over-committing to the fight. If you were fighting smarter opponents, they would go for a counter each time."
Sure enough, the Kobolds soon started to fall to the ground, one by one. Most of them were killed by Artemisia and Nicole. Soon, less than half of the starting thirty Kobolds were remaining.
'Incredible! I thought they were already great as a team, but they are still improving!'
As they got better, Vince stopped correcting their basic mistakes and instead worked on their ability to cooperate.
"Nicole, you are focusing too much on assisting only Zack. He isn't that hard-pressed. Look for opportunities to strike even on Gero's and Artemisia's Kobolds. Being an archer lets you see the battlefield as a whole better than someone in the front lines. Great archers are those that are always aware of everything happening in a fight and won't miss a single opportunity."
"Zack and Artemisia, instead of fighting one and two Kobolds each respectively, fight three Kobolds together. At first, you might get in each other's way while fighting, but as you grow accustomed to the other's style, you'll work wonders together."
"Gero, tanks don't only defend. You can counter as well. If they come too close to try and attack you, dash at them and push them with your shield. If you get the timing right, they might fall to the ground and give an archer an easy shot."
'It's so unfair! How can you be so talented in everything? I vowed to myself that one day I'd surpass you and make you truly recognise me as your master, but at this rate, that'll never happen…'
By the time they defeated the last one, Vince didn't even have his bow in hand anymore. They were fighting as four people, not five.
"See, I told you we'd make it. We even had that much leeway!"
The four of them looked at him with mixed feelings. They were grateful that he was the one giving orders, as they worked together in such a way they didn't even think possible. But on the other side, they hated him for stepping out of the fight.
They were all drenched in sweat, had bloodstains here and there, and were bruised a little too. Yet, here he was, in perfect condition.
"Don't look at me like that! Since you worked so hard, I'll prepare lunch for you all."
Nicole, Zack and Gero immediately looked at him with sparkly eyes when they heard it. Seeing their reaction Estelle and Artemisia were slightly puzzled. What could there be so special about a meal?
***
At lunch, Artemisia and Estelle understood why the three of them had shown those eyes full of gluttony. It was incredible thinking that such a meal could be prepared inside a dungeon.
This even tasted better than the meals they were served at the Academy or at home to some of them.
"Sorry it wasn't perfect, but I had to make do with what I had."
"Don't say that! It was a great meal like last time!"
Hearing Nicole, the others also nodded.
"Anyway, back to the main topic. I'd like to reform this party since Harlan left. The problem is… we only miss one person, but Estelle and Artemisia are two people. Well, that's assuming that they want to join my party."
'The way he specified "my"… I guess we would be the underlings. But maybe that would be for the best…'
Being disheartened at her own party's performance, Estelle didn't think it was a bad idea. Plus, being in the same party as Vince didn't sound all that bad…
Turning her head, she looked at Artemisia, who could easily tell what she was thinking. Just the fact that she was fidgeting with her hands was enough to tell how much she wanted to join this party.
Even though they were the same age, Artemisia was a bit of a big sister. Maybe due to her precocious maturity. And, being the big sister, she couldn't say no to her cute little sister.
"Well, don't sweat it too much. It was just a proposal for you to think about. It's not as if we have to make a choice on the spot. It's something to worry about once we are back from spring break.
Also, we should have almost reached the end of the floor. Looking at the map, we are just roughly thirty minutes away. Let's pack up and go."
***
Just as Vince had stated, the end of the floor was around thirty minutes away. They didn't encounter any more Kobolds either.
Once they arrived, they saw a big and dark staircase heading down.
'The access to the second floor!'
This dungeon had a total of five floors. The first one was meant for students within the first half of the Awakening Realm, the second floor for the second half, and from the third on it was only for those who managed to break into the Flowing Realm.
Even though most of the kids were awakening around the same time, it didn't mean their progression would be at the same pace. As the kids grew, the disparity between them also grew more prominent. There might be people in two wholly different Realms within the same school year.
The difference between someone in the last stage —the Twilight stage— of the Awakening Realm, and someone in the first stage —the Early-Dawn stage— of the Flowing Realm, was massive. It was approximated with the difference between three or four Stages.
And for that reason, from the third floor onward, the dungeon was a taboo for most students. From that point, only seniors in the last two years could be found, as they were the only ones with strong enough cultivation bases. And those were people twice their age.
Looking at the staircase, Estelle felt a tingling sensation. She was anticipating the moment she would climb down those stairs.
Once they were just a few steps away, the headmaster appeared on the side of the staircase.
"Congratulations! You all are the second party to clear this dungeon. Since things happened, it will be slightly hard evaluating your parties, but the adults are working something out. Normally there would be rules prohibiting parties from splitting up but… I forgot to tell you all. So, we are improvising some evaluation criteria right now."
Hearing him, everybody thought one thing.
'How blunt…'
Estelle and Artemisia were slightly annoyed because they might be punished due to the headmaster's blunder, but… they also knew that it was partly their fault. The fact that parties shouldn't disband in the middle of an adventure was common sense. They should have broken the Bounded Stone and given up, but instead, they split apart.
That might have been a logical consequence of it being a party made up solely of high rankers.
"Also, which was the party that came in first?"
"The one led by Rick Flossen."
'That dunce managed to get here before us?'
"How long ago?"
"Just over two hours ago."
'Well… whatever.'
"Anyway. Everybody, hold each other's hands! We are getting out of here."
Listening to the headmaster, the six of them started holding hands.
"Good, good. Now, here we go!"
'Is it just me, or the headmaster is in a good mood?'
As she was thinking that, she felt slightly nauseous, and her vision blurred. After a few seconds, her sight came back. They were now within an unknown room, presumably within the Academy.
Below their feet, a big magic circle was glowing.
"A teleport formation!"
Estelle exclaimed, looking at the ground. But, no one else seemed to answer. Then she noticed. Except for Vince and the headmaster, everyone else was alying on the floor.
Looking at them, the headmaster stroked his grey-ish beard and said something.
"Well, for most people, the first experience teleporting is like that. I remember I threw up the first time. With time you'll eventually get used to it.
Anyway, you all can go to your rooms and rest. The results of the exam will be announced in a week. Once you get out of that door, you'll find yourself in a hall. There are maps hanging on the walls that will tell you where to go.
Now, I'll excuse myself."
And with that, the headmaster left the room, leaving his students suffering on the ground.
***
That same day, at dinner, the six of them reunited. And in that occasion, Zack Lipsgold made an announcement.
"Thank you all for having me in this party, but I decided that I'll leave it. You all improved a lot, and I feel like I might hold you back. I thought about this a lot, and decided that I'll try to make my own party. Staying in this party may even hinder my own growth.
And Vince, let me say something. I'll make sure to give it my all! We'll find ourselves as opponents from now on as I'll try to surpass this party with my own!"
Hearing that, Vince smiled.
"We'll be waiting then. You'll have to work hard to keep up, but if you give it your all, I'm sure we'll eventually find ourselves competing on the same stage."
Hearing that, Zack's pride hurt, but he knew it was the truth.
He had asked to show what the Owl's Eye recorded to the instructor his family got him. And the instructor replied in the way he feared he would.
"You improved a lot Zack, but this party… you don't fit in it. This is a party of monsters. Especially the leader. Sorry for being this blunt, Zack, but… You are not at their level anymore. Just by glancing at your performance, I can tell. You weren't as much as a deadweight, but you were holding them back a bit."
This party started with him being second only to Vince when it came to capabilities, but over time he was overtaken. Both Nicole and Gero had shown monstrous growth.
'You could have been a bit less direct, Vince.'
Estelle felt bad seeing the dejected Zack. He hadn't known him for long, and he didn't speak much either. But she didn't feel he was a bad kid at all…
"Anyway, with this, we can now really form this party. Estelle, Artemisia, are you in for it?"
""Yes!""
And they weren't the only ones celebrating a new beginning as a party.
Andre Von Rais had formed his own party as well. They also managed to clear the first floor completely as well, just a few hours later compared to Vince and his party.
But there was only one thing that all the students had in common at this time… They were all looking forward to how the rankings would change!
Weekly Power Status
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