Chapter 18
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A small village was present inside the dark cave. The glowing stone in the particular area was unusually rich. It was enough to light up the large area of the village.
The more unusual element of the village was its inhabitant. Although they were similar to humans, in which they walked on two feet. Their head and body vastly differ from one. The head was in the shape of a toad's.
This village is the so-called base of the Groglod living inside the dungeon. Unexpectedly, they have an order and proper lifestyle for a monster. Not that different from humans in ancient times.
The Groglods inside the village was divided into different rank depending on their strength. Most of the variant lived in a larger settlement than the normal ones. In particular, the center of the village was the location for the largest settlement at the village.
The Groglods moved around the village with a different purpose. One of them brought a large fish that was caught from a lake, located at the north side of the village.
Jake watched the interaction between Groglod from behind a large rock. The abundant glowing rock in the area gave him a disadvantage from using his new skill, <Stealth>.
==
Stealth (Active) [1]
Uses mana to manipulate the lights around the body, making the user's body appear to be invisible.
==
However, no Groglods seem to notice his presence as they continue to their routine.
Jake is currently waiting to ascertain the identity of the Groglod living inside the largest settlement. He has seen two types of variants inside the village. As expected, one was equipped with a sword and chest plate, like the one he saw before. The other one was holding a bow in its hand while carrying a number of arrows at its back.
The tip of the arrow was tainted with a different color. Jake assumed it to be some kind of poison to immobilize their enemy. However, the two variants didn't live inside the largest settlement. Instead, they felt more like a guard station near the hut to ensure the safety of their king. Their living quarters were even located near the building.
Jake was sure that there is a stronger variant living inside that particular hut. It would be great if he found the boss monster immediately.
Finally, the moment he was waiting for arrived. A figure came out from the hut, causing the normal Groglods to kneel in fear and awe.
The figure was similar in appearance to the Groglod with one fundamental difference. Its hand was holding a long wand, made out of some kind of wood.
'A mage…!'
Jake's face distorted as he found out about the identity of the master. As usual, <Inspect> came in handy in times like this.
==
Groglod Mage
Level 25
A variation of normal Groglod. It mastered the art of magic to a certain degree. One of the variants you have to be on guard for. Their magic mainly focused on fire and water magic.
==
A mage, human or non-human, possessed a greater threat towards most fighters. The reason was their great firepower and attack area. In a war, a good mage can turn a bad situation around and achieve victory.
Jake, however, didn't panic. He, too, was in a company of a mage. An exceptional and unique one at that.
=====
Name : Ishida Kana
Age : 20
Job : Magic Gunner (Unique)
Level : 24
Strength : 65
Dexterity : 70
Constitution : 60
Perception : 72
Magic : 83
Potential : S
Evaluation : Excellent Hunter
=====
A magic gunner!
The job name was self-explanatory towards its ability. A gun with the power of magic. It is a very enviable ability, considering that normal gun had no effect on monsters after the incident.
Its advantage was its flexible nature. A handgun would be easy to use against a small number of opponents. A rifle was deadly against a huge number of the enemy. Meanwhile, a sniper rifle was a good as a deadly archer, sniping from miles away. Well, the only downside was its thunderous firing sound.
Jake once again blended with the shadows and depart from the village. It was time to regroup with Kana.
Kana was waiting near the human camp for the reward. At least, that was what Jake remembered. However, he was shocked to not see anyone as he arrived at the spot.
Panicked, he called out to Sylphy to find Kana's location. However, his worry was unnecessary as Kana suddenly appeared behind a small crack between the walls. Her face was filled with relieve and worry as she approaches Jake.
"You're late…"
"Haha, I'm sorry. Couldn't just come back without decent information."
"Hoo? Does that mean you got some nice info?"
Jake started to explain what he saw to Kana. The number of archers and warrior variants made her dumbfounded as she felt relieved not to pursue the Groglod immediately.
When Jake told her about the mage's existence, Kana was more than surprised. A mage was very rare even at the <Hunter Association>, who was hailed as the largest gathering of hunters from all over the world. In fact, the one in Japan was only a small branch.
However, no expression of fear appeared on Kana's face. She had the confidence to face an enemy of that scale. After all, her strength was already acknowledged by Ethel, who asked her to be Jake's bodyguard despite knowing the danger inside the dungeon.
"Hm… The problem is the mage then"
"Yeah, we need to kill it first."
"Are you confident Jake?"
Kana look at Jake with a teasing smile. The stealth ability Jake showed before was extraordinary, in her view, enough to assassinate the mage hiding behind the crowd.
"Sure! But it depends on how much of commotion you can attract."
Jake returned Kana's words right back at her, causing her to laugh out in surprise. The two seems to be on leisure, almost as if they're out on a picnic instead of raiding a dungeon.
*
The sound of gunshot filled the entire village, causing chaos in the once peaceful village.
Kana held a purple rifle with the model of AKM in her hands. The rifle vibrated each time she pulled the trigger, killing one monster with each bullet.
The great thing about magic is its perk of reloading. There was no need at all as the gun turned Kana's magic power into bullets for her magic gun.
The downside is the great magic consumption for Kana's body. However, it was resolved thanks to Jake's intervention.
=Intermediate Mana Potion=
Type: Consumables
Grade: Normal
Recovers a moderate amount of Mana when consumed and increase mana recovery rate for a small period of time.
That was the main cause of the massacre happening right now.
As for the mage and archer?
Jake has already killed the most troublesome opponent as soon as Kana begin her massacre at the village's entrance, causing most guards to leave the mage in confusion, thus making things much easier for Jake.
Kana's face was the same throughout the massacre, giving Jake the impression of his elder sister, Ethel. It seems that she was used to the sight.
The rain of bullets stopped the as soon as a hole formed on the last Groglod standing.
Kana exhaled an almost unidentifiable sighed before releasing her grip on the rifle, causing it to disappear in a flash.
"Are you all done there?"
"Yup… Got the time to take all the cores too~"
Jake walked over with a smile after taking the last monster core from the Groglod. He couldn't help but let out a small whistle at the scene, causing Kana to frown.
She glared at him in displeasure.
However, Jake misunderstood the glare at something else.
"Chill~ I'll give you a fair share of the cores."
"Humph… Whatever."
Kana seems to be in a rush as she searched for the next area of the dungeon. However, there's something strange about the village. Other than the path Jake came in, there is no other path to continue the dungeon.
"Wha….t?"
Jake also noticed the anomaly but couldn't believe it. He guessed that he might miss something.
The two once again searched the entire village but to no avail. Frustrated, they began to retrace their steps, afraid that maybe they missed another passage. However, they found nothing.
The sense of hunger attacked their body as time passes. Fortunately, Jake came prepared as he took a piece of portable cooking equipment from his <Inventory> and took a break.
At the moment of frustration, Sylphy's voice rang out as her body formed.
"Master, the radar detected Roger's Silver Pass. He's near. 100… 200… Ah! I lost it."
Jake's gaze turned serious. He stood up from his current spot, still chewing on some meat. He scanned the surrounding, but only served to increase his confusion.
The place he chose for the break was the furthest from the mountain of corpses. It was near the lake on the north side of the village.
The lake was clear enough for him to see the bottom, thus his decision.
Pushed by Sylphy's information, he expanded his mana as far as possible.
10… 25… 50 meters…
"Ah!"
"What's wrong?"
Kana froze when she saw Jake's sudden action, questioning him only to see him smile while gesturing to a certain direction.
His finger pointed to an unusual direction. It was deep within the lake. Kana saw a small hole located at the end. A bad feeling started to rise within her heart as she looks at Jake for confirmation.
"There's a passage inside the lake. Why didn't I think about it?! The Groglods were amphibians! They could breathe underwater so they must have some kind of access to the water."
Kana's face turned pale at Jake's words. Her gaze shifted between Jake's excited face and the lake. Soon, her face turned bright red from something.
"Let's go!"
"W-wait!!"
Jake stopped his action of rushing into the lake, almost causing him to fall. He was about to scold Kana for surprising him but couldn't when he saw Kana's bright red face.
"What's wrong?"
Instead of an answer, Kana's face felt hotter as she struggled to let out a small voice. However, Jake couldn't hear it and asked again.
"I…"
Kana once again mumbled the rest of the sentence, causing Jake to frown. This time, he used his mana to enhanced his hearing before asking her one last time.
"I can't swim…"
Jake's face was fantastic. He was completely dumbfounded before laughing out loud, holding his stomach area.
On the other hand, Kana couldn't hide her embarrassment before stepping away in anger. The redness has gone from her entire face all the way to the edge of her ears.
"Hahaha…"
"Wait… *pfft*"
"I'm just joking… *pfft*"
Jake tried his best to hide the laughter in his words but failed miserably, causing Kana to walk away in a more rapid pace.
Although Kana is his best friend, this was the first time he actually knew about Kana's inability in swimming.
'But this is really bad.'
Jake's gaze alternated between the small passage and Kana. The question now is to how to get Kana to the other side of the cave. The first idea Jake had in mind was…
"Kana, I know of a method for you to breathe underwater but its a bit hard."
The sentence took Kana's attention but she is still sulking due to Jake's previous behavior. In the end, she only moved her head to tell Jake to go ahead.
"Here, pay attention."
Jake started to manipulate his mana to focus on making a membrane around his body. Then, the membrane grew bigger and stopped only after it reached a certain size.
The mana membrane now formed a shape similar to a helmet, covering Jake's head. Jake slowed the process for Kana to comprehend the technique more easily.
"Just try to control the mana as you did with the gun but direct it to the area around your head."
"Hn…"
Kana followed Jake's instruction.
Slowly, a similar membrane formed on Kana's skin. However, it didn't follow Jake's trend and dissipated after merely an inch.
Kana's face flushed red due to the side effect of failure. She could feel the mana inside her body wreck havoc, causing her to feel sick. The strength in her body left her as she almost stumbled to the ground.
"Calm down! Breathe in and out, control your mana."
Jake was already prepared by the result as he held Kana, not letting her hit the ground.
Kana was still very conscious despite her condition. She hurriedly did as Jake suggested and soon regained her strength. It was not a great experience.
Kana pushed Jake in a hurry, her face flushed red once again. This time, however, due to a different reason.
"T-thanks"
"Yeah, let's try it again. I'll be here to help if anything happen."
"Okay…"
The cycle continues for some more time.
Jake didn't mind to wait for Kana as it would contribute to her future development. However, that plan was crushed by a sudden earthquake he felt.
RUMBLE
The vibration didn't last long. However, it was enough to let Jake know that the situation is not so good.
"Kana, I'm sorry but we have to hurry. Let's use the other method."
"The other method…?"
Kana was flustered but soon felt her increasing anger. Why didn't Jake just go ahead with that method? They wasted so much time to learn the technique.
However, that anger was soon dissipated, replaced by another specific feeling after finally knowing the other method that Jake spoke of.
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A small village was present inside the dark cave. The glowing stone in the particular area was unusually rich. It was enough to light up the large area of the village.
The more unusual element of the village was its inhabitant. Although they were similar to humans, in which they walked on two feet. Their head and body vastly differ from one. The head was in the shape of a toad's.
This village is the so-called base of the Groglod living inside the dungeon. Unexpectedly, they have an order and proper lifestyle for a monster. Not that different from humans in ancient times.
The Groglods inside the village was divided into different rank depending on their strength. Most of the variant lived in a larger settlement than the normal ones. In particular, the center of the village was the location for the largest settlement at the village.
The Groglods moved around the village with a different purpose. One of them brought a large fish that was caught from a lake, located at the north side of the village.
Jake watched the interaction between Groglod from behind a large rock. The abundant glowing rock in the area gave him a disadvantage from using his new skill, <Stealth>.
==
Stealth (Active) [1]
Uses mana to manipulate the lights around the body, making the user's body appear to be invisible.
==
However, no Groglods seem to notice his presence as they continue to their routine.
Jake is currently waiting to ascertain the identity of the Groglod living inside the largest settlement. He has seen two types of variants inside the village. As expected, one was equipped with a sword and chest plate, like the one he saw before. The other one was holding a bow in its hand while carrying a number of arrows at its back.
The tip of the arrow was tainted with a different color. Jake assumed it to be some kind of poison to immobilize their enemy. However, the two variants didn't live inside the largest settlement. Instead, they felt more like a guard station near the hut to ensure the safety of their king. Their living quarters were even located near the building.
Jake was sure that there is a stronger variant living inside that particular hut. It would be great if he found the boss monster immediately.
Finally, the moment he was waiting for arrived. A figure came out from the hut, causing the normal Groglods to kneel in fear and awe.
The figure was similar in appearance to the Groglod with one fundamental difference. Its hand was holding a long wand, made out of some kind of wood.
'A mage…!'
Jake's face distorted as he found out about the identity of the master. As usual, <Inspect> came in handy in times like this.
==
Groglod Mage
Level 25
A variation of normal Groglod. It mastered the art of magic to a certain degree. One of the variants you have to be on guard for. Their magic mainly focused on fire and water magic.
==
A mage, human or non-human, possessed a greater threat towards most fighters. The reason was their great firepower and attack area. In a war, a good mage can turn a bad situation around and achieve victory.
Jake, however, didn't panic. He, too, was in a company of a mage. An exceptional and unique one at that.
=====
Name : Ishida Kana
Age : 20
Job : Magic Gunner (Unique)
Level : 24
Strength : 65
Dexterity : 70
Constitution : 60
Perception : 72
Magic : 83
Potential : S
Evaluation : Excellent Hunter
=====
A magic gunner!
The job name was self-explanatory towards its ability. A gun with the power of magic. It is a very enviable ability, considering that normal gun had no effect on monsters after the incident.
Its advantage was its flexible nature. A handgun would be easy to use against a small number of opponents. A rifle was deadly against a huge number of the enemy. Meanwhile, a sniper rifle was a good as a deadly archer, sniping from miles away. Well, the only downside was its thunderous firing sound.
Jake once again blended with the shadows and depart from the village. It was time to regroup with Kana.
Kana was waiting near the human camp for the reward. At least, that was what Jake remembered. However, he was shocked to not see anyone as he arrived at the spot.
Panicked, he called out to Sylphy to find Kana's location. However, his worry was unnecessary as Kana suddenly appeared behind a small crack between the walls. Her face was filled with relieve and worry as she approaches Jake.
"You're late…"
"Haha, I'm sorry. Couldn't just come back without decent information."
"Hoo? Does that mean you got some nice info?"
Jake started to explain what he saw to Kana. The number of archers and warrior variants made her dumbfounded as she felt relieved not to pursue the Groglod immediately.
When Jake told her about the mage's existence, Kana was more than surprised. A mage was very rare even at the <Hunter Association>, who was hailed as the largest gathering of hunters from all over the world. In fact, the one in Japan was only a small branch.
However, no expression of fear appeared on Kana's face. She had the confidence to face an enemy of that scale. After all, her strength was already acknowledged by Ethel, who asked her to be Jake's bodyguard despite knowing the danger inside the dungeon.
"Hm… The problem is the mage then"
"Yeah, we need to kill it first."
"Are you confident Jake?"
Kana look at Jake with a teasing smile. The stealth ability Jake showed before was extraordinary, in her view, enough to assassinate the mage hiding behind the crowd.
"Sure! But it depends on how much of commotion you can attract."
Jake returned Kana's words right back at her, causing her to laugh out in surprise. The two seems to be on leisure, almost as if they're out on a picnic instead of raiding a dungeon.
*
The sound of gunshot filled the entire village, causing chaos in the once peaceful village.
Kana held a purple rifle with the model of AKM in her hands. The rifle vibrated each time she pulled the trigger, killing one monster with each bullet.
The great thing about magic is its perk of reloading. There was no need at all as the gun turned Kana's magic power into bullets for her magic gun.
The downside is the great magic consumption for Kana's body. However, it was resolved thanks to Jake's intervention.
=Intermediate Mana Potion=
Type: Consumables
Grade: Normal
Recovers a moderate amount of Mana when consumed and increase mana recovery rate for a small period of time.
That was the main cause of the massacre happening right now.
As for the mage and archer?
Jake has already killed the most troublesome opponent as soon as Kana begin her massacre at the village's entrance, causing most guards to leave the mage in confusion, thus making things much easier for Jake.
Kana's face was the same throughout the massacre, giving Jake the impression of his elder sister, Ethel. It seems that she was used to the sight.
The rain of bullets stopped the as soon as a hole formed on the last Groglod standing.
Kana exhaled an almost unidentifiable sighed before releasing her grip on the rifle, causing it to disappear in a flash.
"Are you all done there?"
"Yup… Got the time to take all the cores too~"
Jake walked over with a smile after taking the last monster core from the Groglod. He couldn't help but let out a small whistle at the scene, causing Kana to frown.
She glared at him in displeasure.
However, Jake misunderstood the glare at something else.
"Chill~ I'll give you a fair share of the cores."
"Humph… Whatever."
Kana seems to be in a rush as she searched for the next area of the dungeon. However, there's something strange about the village. Other than the path Jake came in, there is no other path to continue the dungeon.
"Wha….t?"
Jake also noticed the anomaly but couldn't believe it. He guessed that he might miss something.
The two once again searched the entire village but to no avail. Frustrated, they began to retrace their steps, afraid that maybe they missed another passage. However, they found nothing.
The sense of hunger attacked their body as time passes. Fortunately, Jake came prepared as he took a piece of portable cooking equipment from his <Inventory> and took a break.
At the moment of frustration, Sylphy's voice rang out as her body formed.
"Master, the radar detected Roger's Silver Pass. He's near. 100… 200… Ah! I lost it."
Jake's gaze turned serious. He stood up from his current spot, still chewing on some meat. He scanned the surrounding, but only served to increase his confusion.
The place he chose for the break was the furthest from the mountain of corpses. It was near the lake on the north side of the village.
The lake was clear enough for him to see the bottom, thus his decision.
Pushed by Sylphy's information, he expanded his mana as far as possible.
10… 25… 50 meters…
"Ah!"
"What's wrong?"
Kana froze when she saw Jake's sudden action, questioning him only to see him smile while gesturing to a certain direction.
His finger pointed to an unusual direction. It was deep within the lake. Kana saw a small hole located at the end. A bad feeling started to rise within her heart as she looks at Jake for confirmation.
"There's a passage inside the lake. Why didn't I think about it?! The Groglods were amphibians! They could breathe underwater so they must have some kind of access to the water."
Kana's face turned pale at Jake's words. Her gaze shifted between Jake's excited face and the lake. Soon, her face turned bright red from something.
"Let's go!"
"W-wait!!"
Jake stopped his action of rushing into the lake, almost causing him to fall. He was about to scold Kana for surprising him but couldn't when he saw Kana's bright red face.
"What's wrong?"
Instead of an answer, Kana's face felt hotter as she struggled to let out a small voice. However, Jake couldn't hear it and asked again.
"I…"
Kana once again mumbled the rest of the sentence, causing Jake to frown. This time, he used his mana to enhanced his hearing before asking her one last time.
"I can't swim…"
Jake's face was fantastic. He was completely dumbfounded before laughing out loud, holding his stomach area.
On the other hand, Kana couldn't hide her embarrassment before stepping away in anger. The redness has gone from her entire face all the way to the edge of her ears.
"Hahaha…"
"Wait… *pfft*"
"I'm just joking… *pfft*"
Jake tried his best to hide the laughter in his words but failed miserably, causing Kana to walk away in a more rapid pace.
Although Kana is his best friend, this was the first time he actually knew about Kana's inability in swimming.
'But this is really bad.'
Jake's gaze alternated between the small passage and Kana. The question now is to how to get Kana to the other side of the cave. The first idea Jake had in mind was…
"Kana, I know of a method for you to breathe underwater but its a bit hard."
The sentence took Kana's attention but she is still sulking due to Jake's previous behavior. In the end, she only moved her head to tell Jake to go ahead.
"Here, pay attention."
Jake started to manipulate his mana to focus on making a membrane around his body. Then, the membrane grew bigger and stopped only after it reached a certain size.
The mana membrane now formed a shape similar to a helmet, covering Jake's head. Jake slowed the process for Kana to comprehend the technique more easily.
"Just try to control the mana as you did with the gun but direct it to the area around your head."
"Hn…"
Kana followed Jake's instruction.
Slowly, a similar membrane formed on Kana's skin. However, it didn't follow Jake's trend and dissipated after merely an inch.
Kana's face flushed red due to the side effect of failure. She could feel the mana inside her body wreck havoc, causing her to feel sick. The strength in her body left her as she almost stumbled to the ground.
"Calm down! Breathe in and out, control your mana."
Jake was already prepared by the result as he held Kana, not letting her hit the ground.
Kana was still very conscious despite her condition. She hurriedly did as Jake suggested and soon regained her strength. It was not a great experience.
Kana pushed Jake in a hurry, her face flushed red once again. This time, however, due to a different reason.
"T-thanks"
"Yeah, let's try it again. I'll be here to help if anything happen."
"Okay…"
The cycle continues for some more time.
Jake didn't mind to wait for Kana as it would contribute to her future development. However, that plan was crushed by a sudden earthquake he felt.
RUMBLE
The vibration didn't last long. However, it was enough to let Jake know that the situation is not so good.
"Kana, I'm sorry but we have to hurry. Let's use the other method."
"The other method…?"
Kana was flustered but soon felt her increasing anger. Why didn't Jake just go ahead with that method? They wasted so much time to learn the technique.
However, that anger was soon dissipated, replaced by another specific feeling after finally knowing the other method that Jake spoke of.
A small village was present inside the dark cave. The glowing stone in the particular area was unusually rich. It was enough to light up the large area of the village.The more unusual element of the village was its inhabitant. Although they were similar to humans, in which they walked on two feet. Their head and body vastly differ from one. The head was in the shape of a toad's.This village is the so-called base of the Groglod living inside the dungeon. Unexpectedly, they have an order and proper lifestyle for a monster. Not that different from humans in ancient times.The Groglods inside the village was divided into different rank depending on their strength. Most of the variant lived in a larger settlement than the normal ones. In particular, the center of the village was the location for the largest settlement at the village.The Groglods moved around the village with a different purpose. One of them brought a large fish that was caught from a lake, located at the north side of the village.Jake watched the interaction between Groglod from behind a large rock. The abundant glowing rock in the area gave him a disadvantage from using his new skill, Stealth.==Stealth Active 1Uses mana to manipulate the lights around the body, making the user's body appear to be invisible.==However, no Groglods seem to notice his presence as they continue to their routine.Jake is currently waiting to ascertain the identity of the Groglod living inside the largest settlement. He has seen two types of variants inside the village. As expected, one was equipped with a sword and chest plate, like the one he saw before. The other one was holding a bow in its hand while carrying a number of arrows at its back.The tip of the arrow was tainted with a different color. Jake assumed it to be some kind of poison to immobilize their enemy. However, the two variants didn't live inside the largest settlement. Instead, they felt more like a guard station near the hut to ensure the safety of their king. Their living quarters were even located near the building.Jake was sure that there is a stronger variant living inside that particular hut. It would be great if he found the boss monster immediately.Finally, the moment he was waiting for arrived. A figure came out from the hut, causing the normal Groglods to kneel in fear and awe.The figure was similar in appearance to the Groglod with one fundamental difference. Its hand was holding a long wand, made out of some kind of wood.'A mage!'Jake's face distorted as he found out about the identity of the master. As usual, Inspect came in handy in times like this.==Groglod MageLevel 25A variation of normal Groglod. It mastered the art of magic to a certain degree. One of the variants you have to be on guard for. Their magic mainly focused on fire and water magic.==A mage, human or non-human, possessed a greater threat towards most fighters. The reason was their great firepower and attack area. In a war, a good mage can turn a bad situation around and achieve victory.Jake, however, didn't panic. He, too, was in a company of a mage. An exceptional and unique one at that.=====Name : Ishida KanaAge : 20Job : Magic Gunner UniqueLevel : 24Strength : 65Dexterity : 70Constitution : 60Perception : 72Magic : 83Potential : SEvaluation : Excellent Hunter=====A magic gunner!The job name was self-explanatory towards its ability. A gun with the power of magic. It is a very enviable ability, considering that normal gun had no effect on monsters after the incident.Its advantage was its flexible nature. A handgun would be easy to use against a small number of opponents. A rifle was deadly against a huge number of the enemy. Meanwhile, a sniper rifle was a good as a deadly archer, sniping from miles away. Well, the only downside was its thunderous firing sound.Jake once again blended with the shadows and depart from the village. It was time to regroup with Kana.Kana was waiting near the human camp for the reward. At least, that was what Jake remembered. However, he was shocked to not see anyone as he arrived at the spot.Panicked, he called out to Sylphy to find Kana's location. However, his worry was unnecessary as Kana suddenly appeared behind a small crack between the walls. Her face was filled with relieve and worry as she approaches Jake."You're late""Haha, I'm sorry. Couldn't just come back without decent information.""Hoo? Does that mean you got some nice info?"Jake started to explain what he saw to Kana. The number of archers and warrior variants made her dumbfounded as she felt relieved not to pursue the Groglod immediately.When Jake told her about the mage's existence, Kana was more than surprised. A mage was very rare even at the Hunter Association, who was hailed as the largest gathering of hunters from all over the world. In fact, the one in Japan was only a small branch.However, no expression of fear appeared on Kana's face. She had the confidence to face an enemy of that scale. After all, her strength was already acknowledged by Ethel, who asked her to be Jake's bodyguard despite knowing the danger inside the dungeon."Hm The problem is the mage then""Yeah, we need to kill it first.""Are you confident Jake?"Kana look at Jake with a teasing smile. The stealth ability Jake showed before was extraordinary, in her view, enough to assassinate the mage hiding behind the crowd."Sure! But it depends on how much of commotion you can attract."Jake returned Kana's words right back at her, causing her to laugh out in surprise. The two seems to be on leisure, almost as if they're out on a picnic instead of raiding a dungeon.*The sound of gunshot filled the entire village, causing chaos in the once peaceful village.Kana held a purple rifle with the model of AKM in her hands. The rifle vibrated each time she pulled the trigger, killing one monster with each bullet.The great thing about magic is its perk of reloading. There was no need at all as the gun turned Kana's magic power into bullets for her magic gun.The downside is the great magic consumption for Kana's body. However, it was resolved thanks to Jake's intervention.=Intermediate Mana Potion=Type: ConsumablesGrade: NormalRecovers a moderate amount of Mana when consumed and increase mana recovery rate for a small period of time.That was the main cause of the massacre happening right now.As for the mage and archer?Jake has already killed the most troublesome opponent as soon as Kana begin her massacre at the village's entrance, causing most guards to leave the mage in confusion, thus making things much easier for Jake.Kana's face was the same throughout the massacre, giving Jake the impression of his elder sister, Ethel. It seems that she was used to the sight.The rain of bullets stopped the as soon as a hole formed on the last Groglod standing.Kana exhaled an almost unidentifiable sighed before releasing her grip on the rifle, causing it to disappear in a flash."Are you all done there?""Yup Got the time to take all the cores too~"Jake walked over with a smile after taking the last monster core from the Groglod. He couldn't help but let out a small whistle at the scene, causing Kana to frown.She glared at him in displeasure.However, Jake misunderstood the glare at something else."Chill~ I'll give you a fair share of the cores.""Humph Whatever."Kana seems to be in a rush as she searched for the next area of the dungeon. However, there's something strange about the village. Other than the path Jake came in, there is no other path to continue the dungeon."Wha.t?"Jake also noticed the anomaly but couldn't believe it. He guessed that he might miss something.The two once again searched the entire village but to no avail. Frustrated, they began to retrace their steps, afraid that maybe they missed another passage. However, they found nothing.The sense of hunger attacked their body as time passes. Fortunately, Jake came prepared as he took a piece of portable cooking equipment from his Inventory and took a break.At the moment of frustration, Sylphy's voice rang out as her body formed."Master, the radar detected Roger's Silver Pass. He's near. 100 200 Ah! I lost it."Jake's gaze turned serious. He stood up from his current spot, still chewing on some meat. He scanned the surrounding, but only served to increase his confusion.The place he chose for the break was the furthest from the mountain of corpses. It was near the lake on the north side of the village.The lake was clear enough for him to see the bottom, thus his decision.Pushed by Sylphy's information, he expanded his mana as far as possible.10 25 50 meters"Ah!""What's wrong?"Kana froze when she saw Jake's sudden action, questioning him only to see him smile while gesturing to a certain direction.His finger pointed to an unusual direction. It was deep within the lake. Kana saw a small hole located at the end. A bad feeling started to rise within her heart as she looks at Jake for confirmation."There's a passage inside the lake. Why didn't I think about it?! The Groglods were amphibians! They could breathe underwater so they must have some kind of access to the water."Kana's face turned pale at Jake's words. Her gaze shifted between Jake's excited face and the lake. Soon, her face turned bright red from something."Let's go!""W-wait!!"Jake stopped his action of rushing into the lake, almost causing him to fall. He was about to scold Kana for surprising him but couldn't when he saw Kana's bright red face."What's wrong?"Instead of an answer, Kana's face felt hotter as she struggled to let out a small voice. However, Jake couldn't hear it and asked again."I"Kana once again mumbled the rest of the sentence, causing Jake to frown. This time, he used his mana to enhanced his hearing before asking her one last time."I can't swim"Jake's face was fantastic. He was completely dumbfounded before laughing out loud, holding his stomach area.On the other hand, Kana couldn't hide her embarrassment before stepping away in anger. The redness has gone from her entire face all the way to the edge of her ears."Hahaha""Wait *pfft*""I'm just joking *pfft*"Jake tried his best to hide the laughter in his words but failed miserably, causing Kana to walk away in a more rapid pace.Although Kana is his best friend, this was the first time he actually knew about Kana's inability in swimming.'But this is really bad.'Jake's gaze alternated between the small passage and Kana. The question now is to how to get Kana to the other side of the cave. The first idea Jake had in mind was"Kana, I know of a method for you to breathe underwater but its a bit hard."The sentence took Kana's attention but she is still sulking due to Jake's previous behavior. In the end, she only moved her head to tell Jake to go ahead."Here, pay attention."Jake started to manipulate his mana to focus on making a membrane around his body. Then, the membrane grew bigger and stopped only after it reached a certain size.The mana membrane now formed a shape similar to a helmet, covering Jake's head. Jake slowed the process for Kana to comprehend the technique more easily."Just try to control the mana as you did with the gun but direct it to the area around your head.""Hn"Kana followed Jake's instruction.Slowly, a similar membrane formed on Kana's skin. However, it didn't follow Jake's trend and dissipated after merely an inch.Kana's face flushed red due to the side effect of failure. She could feel the mana inside her body wreck havoc, causing her to feel sick. The strength in her body left her as she almost stumbled to the ground."Calm down! Breathe in and out, control your mana."Jake was already prepared by the result as he held Kana, not letting her hit the ground.Kana was still very conscious despite her condition. She hurriedly did as Jake suggested and soon regained her strength. It was not a great experience.Kana pushed Jake in a hurry, her face flushed red once again. This time, however, due to a different reason."T-thanks""Yeah, let's try it again. I'll be here to help if anything happen.""Okay"The cycle continues for some more time.Jake didn't mind to wait for Kana as it would contribute to her future development. However, that plan was crushed by a sudden earthquake he felt.RUMBLEThe vibration didn't last long. However, it was enough to let Jake know that the situation is not so good."Kana, I'm sorry but we have to hurry. Let's use the other method.""The other method?"Kana was flustered but soon felt her increasing anger. Why didn't Jake just go ahead with that method? They wasted so much time to learn the technique.However, that anger was soon dissipated, replaced by another specific feeling after finally knowing the other method that Jake spoke of.
