Chapter 18: Solo Boss Battle

On our way to the dungeon, Claire tried her best to keep her surprise in check, alas it was no use, there was an overwhelming amount of new information and she just couldn't keep up.

Claire: "Are you sure you guys are really humans? This place is not like any human kingdom I've ever seen..."

It's a bit strange since Licia also seems to agree, and seeing them like this it's like I'm the odd one out. I don't think Claire means anything by it, but I imagine that if someone from the past came to the future, even though they are from this same world, they'd be amazed the same way as she is, even thinking that all of this is alien. Above all, this is the only world I know, so, even though I'm in the minority right now, I can't help but think that they are the strange ones.

As the dungeon gate came in sight I made sure the girls were ready for a raid.

Claire: "Of all the things I saw today, this is the only one I can recognize."

Licia: "I know right? It's so unsettling since they seem so different outside of the dungeon. You'll be surprised to know that their dungeons also don't connect to other worlds."

Claire: "That's... then there are only monsters in there?"

Licia: "Well, there are resources as well, but outside of that, yes, only monsters and other adventurers."

I find it funny how Licia is acting as an expert on the matter, even more so considering she was way more shocked to hear how different things are in this world than Claire currently seems to be.

Miwen: "I don't think I need to explain this to you, but inside a dungeon, there are dangers lurking around every corner, so please be careful."

Claire: "I can't believe what I'm about to say, and for sure you'd never hear it if I was in my prime, but since I've been reduced to this state, I'd appreciate it if you could look out for me."

Miwen: "Not feeling too confident? We can go back if you want to..."

Claire: "Don't jest. Since I was escorted by knights to quickly gain levels on higher floors, I lack experience in lower floors, that's all."

Miwen: "Oh so you guys also do that? We have a similar system around here, but it's quite expensive so most people don't even consider it;"

Claire: "Of course it's expensive, you are essentially asking someone of a higher level to degrade themselves to a lower floor, babysit someone, and also risk their lives while doing so, if anyone offered to do that for cheap, you can be sure they have something else in mind."

Miwen: "Yeah, when you put it like that it's quite clear why it's expensive, there's also the fact that a high-level adventurer will profit a ton from drops, so you need to be willing to pay more for their time."

While casually discussing some things, we eventually make our way inside the dungeon, and so I let Licia and Claire take the lead, while I keep my focus on seeing how Claire fights.

After we agreed to help each other, she willingly told me about her Gift and abilities, if what she said is to be believed, then it's clear why her name was famous in her world. Her Gift like mine allows for growth more than anything else, although it also gave her many abilities at birth.

Its name is [The Last Flame Knight of Abdure]. Thanks to it, she had a bunch of skills at birth, such as [Fire Magic], [Fire Sword Arts], [Swordsmanship], [Abdure Blessing], [Increased Firepower], [Mana Control].

Seeing how she had a list of skills, even bigger than Licia's, I was really glad that at level 1 she didn't have enough mana to use her magic on both Licia and me without getting mana depletion and so she didn't go for a magic attack when she first confronted me.

It's also good that she didn't get to keep any of her possessions when she was summoned, If she had a sword, that could've ended really badly for me seeing as she has some skills related to it.

But even if her Gift seems strong thanks to the skills provided by it, its true potential is only unlocked as Claire gets more levels. For every level up, alongside the normal level points one would get, she also gets [Sparks Of Abdure] differently from a level up though, these sparks cannot be used to raise one status or learn new skills, they can only be used to raise the level of skills she already possesses. The price varies from skill to skill and it's not always that it keeps the same cost as it would require to level up a skill through level points, especially skills related to the fire element seem to be cheaper if she decides to level them up using sparks.

Seeing as she can become extremely powerful at a higher level, I cannot be more glad that she was summoned at level one, this girl would wipe the floor with anyone in this world if she was at her prime and I know for sure Licia and I wouldn't be able to defeat her, at max we would be able to escape to my kingdom and let loose a fiery catastrophe.

Well, said girl is now my ally, and even though she criticizes me, she also doesn't seem to bear any ill intent, if anything, she says she wants to repay me for what I've done for her. Of course, I think that everything I've done is only fair given the circumstances, and I don't believe she needs to pay me for anything since it's my responsibility, but at least I can trust her a bit thanks to her sincerity.

Everything was going fine, and we were killing some goblins and slimes, nothing out of the ordinary for the first floor had even appeared. To be honest, it was quite dull, but that's to be expected since Licia and I were enough to deal with anything on this floor, add to that Claire, that was incredibly capable at fighting, and it was clear that we were overkilling it right now. But then something strange happened. We had only just started, at about 3 slime kills and 6 goblin kills, Claire said something that I did not see coming.

Claire: "Hm? That was fast."

Licia: "Did something happen?"

Claire: "Well yes, I got to level 2, so should we go deeper or do you guys wanna fight the boss?"

Miwen: "Does your Gift boost your experience gain?"

Claire: "I already told you everything about my Gift, it has no such power."

That's strange. When I first raided this dungeon it took our group 9 slimes and 18 goblins for everyone to become level 2. It's true that if you were to divide, everyone killed about 3 slimes and 6 goblins each, so it would make sense for her to level up after reaching the same number. But therein lies the problem, the experience earned would only make sense if you take me and Licia out of the equation. Since some of these kills were actually ours, it doesn't really add up that Claire was able to level up since individually she clearly killed less than necessary, and while it's true that you can earn experience simply by participating in a battle and only contributing the bare minimum, not even being required that you deal damage to the enemy, the amount of experience earned would be diminished based on your contribution.

That's another reason why the escorts that are paid to help people level up are so expensive, since they can't stick to the lower floors. They need to be able to solo everything up to a higher floor, so that they can take their low leveled party member to a high floor and then have them earn experience from monsters that give a ton, this way, even though you get a small percentage, you still get a lot of experience from each kill.

Licia: "...maybe that was the case after all."

Miwen: "Do you know what is happening Licia?"

Licia: "I'm not completely sure, so I'll tell you after I've confirmed it..."

Miwen: "That's fair."

Claire: "Hey! Don't ignore me! I asked what do you guys wanna do now?"

She seems angry all of a sudden, is this the pride that comes with being a noble? Claire definitely hates it when we leave her out.

Miwen: "Oh yeah, I had forgotten about that, sorry."

Claire: "You better pay more attention. So, have you decided?"

Miwen: "I think it might be dangerous since you are still a level 2..."

Claire: "Don't mess with me, do you really think I'd lose?"

Miwen: "Well..."

Licia: "You don't need to worry, we can fight the floor boss."

The last time I thought Licia was being reckless she showed that she was a few steps ahead of me, so this time I decided to trust her words and follow her lead, still, I'd be lying if I said that I'm completely convinced this is a good idea.

Miwen: "The floor boss it is then."

And so, since I'd hurt Claire's pride and damage the trust I have in Licia, the best course of action is to follow their desires and make my way to the boss room.

The path toward the closest one is not that difficult to traverse, and we don't find any challenges on our way. Even though Claire has only gone from level 1 to 2, it seems like her Gift allowed her a far more explosive boost when it comes to fighting monsters.

Miwen: "The boss will spawn 4 minions, with the boss being level three, I think either Licia or I should take him on, but how do you want to do it?"

Claire: "I don't think I'd lose, but it's true that either you or Licia would be a better fit for the boss himself."

Licia: "I thought about this, but Miwen, you really should face the boss."

Miwen: "Is that so?"

Licia: "Yes, last time, I helped you but you're not gonna get real battle experience if someone always lends you a hand right? I believe you can take him on alone without much risk right now, but he's certainly an opponent you have to concentrate and keep your guard up against, so I think it's a good experience for you."

Claire: "You definitely lack experience, but that's to be expected since you've only just recently started facing off monsters right?"

Miwen: "Well, I have no problems with it, and I can see clearly that you both are way better than me at this, so I'll take your advice."

And so we decide on our formation, the girls will each take two goblins while I deal with the Goblin Lord.

Entering the room, the same thing as last time happens, only darkness as far as the eye can see, and when the door behind us closes we know that the battle is about to begin.

When the monsters appear, each of us knows what to do, and so, everyone tackles their respective challenge.

Licia and Claire face off their opponents, while I face off against the Goblin Lord.

Since he has a small sword, his reach is greater than mine, though, in terms of our status, I'm more capable than him in every way, and so I go for my usual strategy when dealing with troublesome opponents, that is, keep a distance, try and dodge the attacks until the opponent gets tired or an opportunity for a counter strike appears.

Since this battle is meant for training, and both Licia and Claire argue that I lack experience, there must be something in which I can improve. So as the goblin comes to try and slash at me, I sidestep him and keep a distance. Thankfully, his swings are very wide and so I have plenty of room to dodge, but this guy keeps his guard up, so I can't find any openings to counter.

Since I only have a dagger, I need to close the distance so that it can be effective, but since this guy is quite capable and is carrying a sword, even though a small one, my heart doesn't stop screaming "Danger" towards him, and that clouds my judgment, making it hard for me to decisively finish him.

I know for sure I can win, but I also don't want to get hurt. It's not like I fear him or anything like that, even if I were to get reckless and simply attack him nonstop, I'm confident I'd be able to squeeze the win. But even though I'm sure in my mind, my body doesn't want to get hurt, so, instead of focusing on how to win, I unconsciously focus on how to not injure myself. Yeah, this is proof that I lack experience. Even though I know what needs to be done, I fail to take the initiative, choosing instead a passive fighting style, waiting for the opponent to eventually make a mistake. It works for me and it sure could be said that it's my fighting style, but what if I need to resolve matters quickly? If Licia and Claire were in a pinch and I needed to help them, I wouldn't be able to just wait until my opponent makes a mistake so I could kill it.

So I now understand what is it that I lack the most right now. My fighting style is not wrong, but it needs improvement. This Goblin Lord is the perfect example. If given enough time, he is bound to slip up, but, instead of waiting for his mistake, why not try and force him to make one?

And so, I've decided to create the situation I'd been waiting for.

The goblin comes slashing at me, and I can only dodge, but then, I strike back at him. I know that I can't kill him with the slash I'm going for, but that's not the point of it anyway. The goblin also dodges to the side, but I'm faster and so I graze his arm, even if only slightly.

It seems to be somewhat astonished that I injured him, and so, I follow up, this time, I intentionally try a wide swing coming from above. It's not at all how I would like to use this dagger, but it's the most effective way for what I had planned. Normally, if your opponent did something like this, if you managed to dodge it, you should be able to retaliate, even if only by a little, but that's not what's going on in the mind of the Goblin Lord.

I know for sure that after it got cut, his mind must have entered its most primitive state, the same unconscious instinct that I had to shrug off. 'I don't want to get hurt'. That is an instinct that protects us, but it can also lead to our downfall. Right now, the goblin instead of dodging decided to protect itself with his sword. Since it's longer than my dagger, he had ample room to do so, and it's pretty obvious that to swing at him as I did was a mistake, but I also managed to get what I wanted out of this, and that was, for him to make a mistake as well.

Right now, my strength Is the status I most developed. I already know that my speed is greater than his, so my strength should also be higher. As such, now that one of his arms has been cut and I have locked blades with him, I simply punch his stomach with my free hand.

This makes the Goblin Lord lose the strength in his arm, letting go of his sword and shrieking. Thanks to this, the path toward victory has been established, and I quickly stab his neck. I can say for sure that Licia was right, I really needed to improve, and by fighting while thinking about it, I was capable of obtaining way more experience than I thought I'd get out of this battle.

Once again, the boss drops his monster core, and the sword also does not disappear, so now we've got one more sword, and I think I can give it to Claire since she's probably better with it than me anyway. It will also help her more since her level is the lowest right now.

And while collecting the loot, I make sure to watch if Licia and Claire are doing alright.

Of course, it was no surprise that just a bit after I dealt with the Goblin Lord, they also managed to deal with their opponents.

Licia: "Good job. I managed to get a glimpse, it seems like you improved."

Miwen: "Well, I got another trick on my sleeve that's for sure."

Claire: "That's what it is all about. Keep learning new tricks and eventually, you'll be undefeatable!"

I don't think it's quite as easy as that, but Claire seems so confident in it that I almost want to believe her.

Claire: "Oh, speaking of which, I got another level up."

Miwen: "Huh?"

That was fast, way too fast. We did manage to get a few more kills on our way to this room after she got to level two, but no way she'd get to level 3 without killing the boss.

Claire: "Strange isn't it? I also thought it was way too quick."

Licia: "That's for certain. For you to level up this fast, you'd need to have soloed every monster we faced today."

Claire: "That's about right, if I was alone it would make sense but... Oh, I got it!"

Licia: "Did you come to the same conclusion?"

Claire: "Well, there's only one Gift here that would allow for something like that so..."

I'm being left behind, I know that Licia's Gift has nothing to do with experience, and Claire also said that her Gift doesn't boost experience gain, so why is it that she's getting so much experience? The three of us are killing the monster, yet she's getting the experience as if she was alone. The only Gift that could have anything to do with it would be my own, but [Gacha Kingdom Bulding] doesn't have anything to do with experience gain either. Well, there are the [Events] that I've yet to check, but...

Claire: "Do you truly don't get it?"

Miwen: "Well I'm ashamed to say so..."

Claire: "It's not something to be ashamed of. It's harder for you to notice it after all. Both you and Licia have reached this floor's level cap, right? So you aren't getting experience even though you contribute to the kills."

Is that why? But I've never heard of it being this way... wait it doesn't make sense, the escort's job would be much easier if that was the case, so what is she going on about?

Licia: "That's just the reason it's harder for us to notice though, it's not why she's getting more experience than she should. Since our experience is not getting higher, we have no way to confirm how much each kill is giving us."

Claire: "Correctly. If you weren't at the level cap and started paying real close attention, you'd see that even if you only contribute a little to the battle, you guys would get the full experience as if you had killed the monster alone."

Licia: "And that is because..."

Claire: "You are killing it alone."

I see so that's the conclusion they reached. I also thought it was strange before, it seemed like Licia and I were getting level-ups faster than normal, but since we were sharing experiences with Sam and Roy who were contributing to the battles and killing enemies it got harder to notice. But if I think about it, it does make sense.

Miwen: "It's because you were summoned by my skill, is that right?"

Licia: "I believe so. Since the both of us only exist here thanks to your ability, it could be said that every kill we get is also because of your Gift. And so, when we kill a monster it's actually your Gift that is killing them. Even though we are fighting in a group, it's like you are soloing it. The same effect applies to us of course. even if you kill something, we also get the same experience, as if we had soloed it ourselves."

It's almost like the girls are extensions of me as a being, so the experience that I should get, they also get. And since they are technically the product of my Gift, our experience is not being divided, instead, it's being counted as one person doing everything.

Miwen: "This is a strange effect, but it does make sense."

Claire: "Overall, it's good for you, so you shouldn't worry too much about it."

Licia: "I also don't think you should worry too much about it, although I do think it's a bit depressing that the dungeon isn't recognizing me as a separate being..."

Claire: "Well, nothing that can be done there, the dungeons are a blessing from the Gods, the same as the Gifts, so if his Gift treats us as being part of him, then the dungeons, who have the same origin, would also do the same. Don't let it get to you though, you are as alive as it can get."

Licia: "I know..."

Miwen: "We can think about it later. I think we've done enough for today, so let's head home and have dinner alright?"

Licia: "Sounds nice to me."

Somehow I'm able to lift Licia's spirit, it sucks that this is the most I can do for her though.

Today's loot was the Goblin Lord monster core and his small sword. We weren't very lucky, but I guess there are days like this too... the monster core was evaluated at $8 so at least there's that.

The important thing about today's dungeon raid was that we were able to raise Claire's level, she's a good girl and it seems like we can trust her. Although right now she might be stronger than Licia and I, but she'd probably lose against the two of us combined so we should be safe. It doesn't look like she means us any harm though, so if you think about it in a positive light, we've just acquired our strongest ally yet.