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With the Sli Lord’s attention fully occupied by Jules, the rest of the party attacked it freely.
Kaycee shot explosive arrows that tore off chunks of its flesh; Jen stabbed her sword into it, lting more of its gelatinous body to expose the core. Ren was also blowing up more portions of its flesh to reduce the area where the core could move.
And the ever watchful and opportunistic Derek saw the unmistakable flash of the Sli Lord’s core, struck like a venomous viper, and stabbed it with his dagger.
The core exploded into powder once he did that, and the gelatinous body of the Sli Lord collapsed without its consciousness holding on to it.
It’s dead.
It left behind a pool of sli, which quickly dried up and turned into powder scattered by the breeze.
The party regrouped and looked for its drops. The Sli Lord left behind red and green sli clumps, a chunk of its flesh, and a shard of its core. All are valuable materials for sure.
"Well, that’s that," Derek stated after tossing the drops to the party inventory. "It’s that simple to hunt down a Sli Lord with a party."
There’s no doubt that he’s talking to Ren here.
"It’s a bit opportunistic, yes, but it’s relatively the sa," he continued. "Even if the Sli Lord were awake when we arrived, we would’ve used the sa tactic to slay it."
"Sli Lords usually move alone; they could rarely be seen with other elites or lord variants. If we entered this place at Black Shade Tendency, then that’s to be expected. Otherwise, Sli Lords will only be surrounded with ordinary slis."
Ren nodded at this.
Actually, Derek didn’t need to tell him this. Ren knew this already. He had read a lot of information about the dungeons and monsters online. His sources were credible and verified so he trusted them, and they weren’t wrong.
This was Derek doing his job as the new party leader, who was him to get in the way of that?
Truthfully, if Sli Lords weren’t too much for Ren’s current strength level, and if he wasn’t so adamant to progress through the dungeons as fast as he could, he wouldn’t have bothered with a party at all. He would’ve gone solo instead.
But as it stands, he had a good reason for rushing. Sothing that he can’t reveal for now.
However, this is fine. Joining this party wasn’t too bad at all, either.
The party took a brief rest after hunting the Sli Lord. Although they weren’t too spent from the fight, they weren’t in a hurry to clear the dungeon.
They even had sothing to eat while resting—a picnic of so sort.
So slis wandered near them, but they didn’t attack. They probably just gave them a strange look and then bounced away like it’s none of their business.
Because of that, the party’s short picnic was peaceful.
Once they’re rested, fed, and energetic again, they look for the elites. This ti, they didn’t bother Kaycee with finding it. They decided to search for the pair on the normal way—by exploring the map.
And it didn’t take them long before finding the pair of elites.
They stayed at the sa area where Kaycee initially saw them. Not in the sa exact position, but they didn’t go too far either.
This is why it didn’t bother Kaycee to find them again; simple-minded creatures like slis wouldn’t really leave the area they spawned in. At most, they’d just explore the nearby area for a bit, but eventually, they’d return.
The elites posed less challenge than the Sli Lord. Sure, there were a pair of them, but that didn’t matter too much. Jules tanked them both at the sa ti without a problem.
Ren applied the pain amplification effect of the Pain Demon Art to both as soon as the hunt began. This made the hunt easier since the pain amplification practically overloaded the senses of the elite sli pair. .
It also didn’t take long before they discovered the core for each elite. Once they were exposed, killing the elites beca easy.
Just like that, the pair of elites was down. One of the requirents to clear this dungeon was fulfilled. The other was too damn easy.
The party went on a killing spree after that. They needed to kill 250 ordinary slis to clear the dungeon, and this posed no challenge to them whatsoever.
They even had a little competition for who was going to kill the most before the dungeon was cleared.
Sufficed to say, Kaycee won this fight.
Jen accused her of cheating because she removed her goggles, but Kaycee just rolled her eyes.
Kaycee’s eyes were special. From what Ren gathered so far, and from what little Kaycee revealed, this ca from a special bloodline she has. Maybe it’s sothing she inherited from her parents; maybe it’s sothing that was fused to her through other ans...Ren doesn’t know the details just yet.
What he does know is that Kaycee’s vision was really sharp. Her glasses and goggles actually regulate her visual prowess, inhibitors, if you will. Without them, the true might of her eyes will be unleashed.
Unfortunately, the power of her eyes were too strong for her. That’s why she had a need for inhibitors.
Anyway...
With that, Stage 4 was cleared. Too easily, in Ren’s opinion. He thought that stage 4 would at least give them a bit of difficulty, but no, everything went so well and smooth that even Ren was surprised.
The party tallied their gains.
Most of the resources they’ve gathered will be processed by Justin. In this trip alone, Ren earned 200,000 credits for his share.
Without a doubt, he would’ve earned more if he went solo. But that cos with its own set of troubles too. Considering how being with a party made the dungeon way easier to clear, earning less was definitely worth it.
But since Ren wasn’t in dire need of credits, he chose to pick so resources instead. He used half of his earnings and exchanged them for raw resources, mostly for making potions.
Right, he still hadn’t gotten the chance to tell them that he could actually brew potions. It hasn’t been a priority, and Ren never got the chance. Maybe soon, but not now.
After tallying their gains, the party took a brief rest, mostly to repolish or repair their gear and replenish their necessities.
Ren doesn’t have to. His leather armor was barely touched during that whole exploration. Matter of fact, he’s not even that tired. He’s raring to go again.
If there’s anybody that needs to pay attention, it will be Jules, because his shield most definitely endured so heavy hits because of his role on this team.
Ren watched Jules repair the durability of his shield, and only now that he had taken a closer look at it did he see how weathered the shield had truly beco.
"How long have you been using this shield?" he asked, startling Jules a bit.
"Around...five years, I think?" Jules doesn’t sound sure. "I can’t rember exactly. But I’ve been using it even before I had my initiation. Why?"
"I can tell that you’ve taken good care of it, and you obviously really like it. But to be honest, you might have to retire it soon and get a replacent," Ren tried to break it to him gently.
"Minor repairs like this do work, but even equipnt has lifespans. Every ti they’re damaged, a little bit of that lifespan is drained, never to be restored even with quality repairs."
Saying this, Ren’s eyes traced the deep groves and scars on the shield. He initially thought that these were there by design, but now that he’s got a closer look, he realizes that they’re not.
These were scars that failed to heal. They left permanent damage to the quality of the shield, and it’s not sothing that minor repairs, or even expert smiths, could restore.
This shield is old. That’s why Ren said that it needs to retire soon.
Jules didn’t look surprised to hear this. It’s probably not the first ti either. He just smiled sadly and caressed the edges of his shield.
"Travis, our previous leader, said the sa thing," Jules replied, still wearing that sad smile on his face. "In fact, he told way earlier. Like, at the foundation of our party."
"It was I who was stubborn. It’s my first piece of equipnt, you see. It’s the last nto of my big brother. He gave it to before he died, and I’ve trained with it since."
"When I have this, I feel stronger. I don’t feel like I alone was enduring the hits whenever I confront monsters. It’s like my brother is with as I do every ti. And I like that feeling; I’ve been holding onto that ever since because I miss him."
Ren nodded. He completely understands Jules’ sentint.
"That’s why I think you should retire it soon," Ren insisted, still. "Your brother has taken you this far; that’s enough. You’ve already proven that you can stand alone. His spirit should be satisfied now."
"Besides, it’d be a pity to see that shield break in the middle of a fight. The team still needs you in the front line."
"Just...give it more thought, yeah?" Ren patted Jules’ shoulders before leaving him to his own thoughts.
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