Chapter 525: The Mirage Caverns

“Fall back! Don’t let them overrun us!”

“Leader, we are surrounded!”

“Dammit!”

A group of six stood back to back as they faced over thirty Toxic Frogs that were led by a Crowned Shadow Toad. They didn’t expect that they would be facing these many enemies at once, and it made them very anxious. 

All of them were Gold Ranked adventurers, who had come to Silverwind City to challenge the Dungeon known as The Mirage Caverns. This was a dungeon which had fifty floors and was considered a Class A Dungeon.

Because of this Dungeon, Emperor Leonidas had decided to build a Dungeon City around it. Thus, Silverwind City was born. A few years later when the city prospered, he decided to build an academy on/in the mountain overlooking the city, with the intention of nurturing the elite children of his Empire.

It was the perfect training ground to train the students of the Academy in life and death battles, while they were still young. This was also why most of the children in the Empire aspire to enroll inside the prestigious academy, even though the requirements were very high. 

Naturally, certain restrictions were placed in order to prevent senseless casualties from piling up. No students below the Platinum Rank were allowed to go past the 30th Floor, but there were still idiots that thought that they were strong enough to challenge the dungeon monsters beyond these floors.

After breezing through the lower floors, the adventurers thought that they could aim higher, so they decided to go to the 30th Floor, which was the dwelling place of Frog and Toad type monsters. 

(A/N: I know what you are thinking. Just ask Google senpai for more details.)

The Toxic Frogs were a meter tall, and were classified as Class B Monsters. The Crowned Shadow Toad was a Class A Monster that specialized in short range combat using its flexible and powerful tongue.

At most, Gold Ranked adventurers could only fight against Class C Monsters. To give a brief example on how strong Class C Monsters were, they were as strong as the Angorian War Ibex.

As for the Crowned Shadow Toad, it was as strong as Psoglav when William met him for the first time. 

After meeting four Toxic Frogs, the adventurers immediately engaged them in battle. Although the frogs were stronger than them, the Adventurers had an advantage and that was their teamwork that had been honed over the years.

Unfortunately, after killing two of their prey, the two remaining frogs uttered a loud cry, which was meant to call for reinforcements. 

The adventurers were not aware of the Toxic Frogs’ habits, so they thought that it was just a war cry that would boost its strength.

A minute later, several Toxic Frogs appeared behind them. 

Seeing that they were at a disadvantage, they decided to retreat. Unfortunately, the escape route they took led to the dwelling of the Crowned Shadow Toad. The Class A Monster had a dozen Toxic Frogs as its underlings, so the group was sandwiched in a pincer attack.

“Sorry, I was too greedy,” the leader of the group apologized. “I will unleash my strongest attack. Use that opportunity to escape. I will hold them back for as long as I can.”

“Leader! We won’t leave you behind!”

“He’s right. We will get out of this place together.”

“Don’t be so pessimistic, it’s just a few frogs and a two-meter chubby toad. I still haven’t gone to the brothels of this city. I can’t possibly die without sleeping with their top prostitute!”

“You guys.” The leader was touched because his party didn’t want to leave him behind. However, he knew that if they stayed, all of them would be buried in this floor and he would not be able to forgive himself even in the afterlife if that were to happen.

The Crowned Shadow Toad extended its venomous tongue to kill the invaders that had dared to enter their domain. Many people had died in this manner because they had underestimated the strength of the monsters inside the Mirage Caverns.

“Brace yourselves!” The leader of the adventurers raised his sword to parry the Toad’s tongue that was hard as steel. 

The Toxic Frogs took that opportunity to close the gap, and emit a poisonous smog that would paralyze its victims. 

The adventurers tried to hold their breaths, but it was impossible in the current situation they were in because they were being attacked at all sides.

“Gwah!”

The leader of the adventurers slammed against the wall after getting lashed by the Toad’s poisonous tongue. If not for the fact that he was wearing heavy armor, he might have already died due to the Toad’s merciless attack.

“L-Leader!”

“I don’t want to die!”

“Brothel… I still haven’t gone to the Brothel…”

“Someone! Anyone! Please! Save us!”

The adventurers were now unable to move their bodies due to the paralyzing poison that they had inhaled. The frogs had now surrounded them, and were about to deal the killing blow when a shower of arrows pierced the frogs’ bodies.

The Crowned Shadow Toad emitted a loud croak and the remaining frogs sprayed their poisonous smog in the direction where the arrows came from. However, a powerful gust of wind pushed the smog away, clearing it completely.

“Will, let me handle this,” a voice that seemed to belong to a young man reached the adventurer’s ears. 

“Very well, just make it quick,” William replied. “Um? Chiffon, where do you think you’re going?”

“I want to see if those frogs taste good,” Chiffon answered as she pointed at the frogs that had died due to William’s arrows. 

“Don’t eat them,” William said. “Those frogs are poisonous.” 

“But, I am immune to poison…”

“Would you rather eat a frog? Or would you rather eat my lollipop?”

“Big Brother, I love your lollipop. It’s so long, hard, and sweet…”

The corner of William’s lips twitched because Chiffon’s words could be easily misunderstood by anyone that heard her.

The arrows that had pierced the Frogs’ bodies flew into the air and returned to the quiver behind William’s back, while he was chatting with Chiffon.

Ian on the other hand, summoned her water whip, and activated the power of the Geomancer Job Class. Right now, she was fighting in swampy terrain. The Geomancer Job Class allowed her to use spells that were empowered by its current environment.

“Mud Binding!”

The mud on the swamp surged up to wrap itself on the Frogs, trapping them in place. 

When the Crowned Shadow Toad saw that its underlings were in danger, it unleashed its powerful tongue to slap the annoying newcomer that had gotten in the way of finishing off the adventurers that entered their domain first.

“Water Cannon!” Ian unleashed a torrent of water at the tongue that was headed in her direction. The powerful force of the attack repelled the Toad’s tongue and continued its trajectory until it hit the opened mouth of the Crowned Shadow Toad.

A second later, the Toad’s head exploded, ending its life. 

Ian watched its two-meter-tall body crash on the ground before shifting his attention to the Toxic Frogs that were still struggling with/against the mud that bound their bodies.

“Water Whip Sword Mode.”

The floating whip above Ian’s head turned into a razor sharp, transparent blue sword that glowed in a bluish hue.

“First Form, Blade of Hysteria.” Ian charged at the helpless frogs and decapitated them one by one.

When the last of the Toxic Frogs had died, their bodies glowed and transformed into particles of light, leaving several Beast Cores behind.

William waved his hand and the beast cores flew in his direction. He stored them all inside his storage ring before checking the condition of the hunters that had seemed to have lost their consciousness.

“They’re safe, but the poison in their bodies is a bit troublesome,’ William said as he changed his Job Class to Life Wizard. “We can’t leave them in this condition.”

William lined the unconscious adventurers side by side before casting a spell to cure them of their paralysis.

“Mass Cure”

—–

The leader of the adventurers opened his eyes and abruptly sat upright. 

He grabbed his sword that was lying by his side as he scanned his surroundings. His body felt unusually light, and the injuries that he had received during the battle had been healed.

If not for the fact that the damage on his armors were still there, he would have treated everything that happened to them as an illusion.

“Wake up!” the leader shook his members one by one. “Let’s get out of here!”

“L-Leader?”

“I-I’m alive?”

“Am I in heaven? Where are the ladies in the Brothel?”

The leader slapped the last guy on his cheeks to wake him up from his nonsense. He couldn’t believe that the bastard was still thinking of brothels right after they survived a near death encounter. 

After making sure that his members were really fine, he placed his fist over his chest and shouted. 

“I don’t know who saved us, but know that the Crimson Storm will always be in your debt,” the leader yelled. “My name is Sam Brock. Our Party is staying at the Dragon Claw Inn. Feel free to find us if you ever need our help. Thank you!”

The Crimson Storm gathered their belongings and hurried towards the 29th Floor. They would never step on the 30th Floor again unless they had raised their ranks and regained their confidence.

“At least they know how to be grateful,” William said softly with a smile on his face.

The Quarterly Assessment Test was currently happening in the academy and William only had a week in order to collect as many points as he could before the final day of the exam. 

When he told Ian his plan, the latter immediately insisted that she go with him to clear the Mirage Caverns.

Currently, Ian has been registered as a member of Class A, but due to Princess Sidonie’s influence, the Homeroom Teacher of Class A agreed to temporarily place her in Class F for the duration of the exam.

The students of Class A weren’t too bothered by this last minute transfer. They were confident in their skills and they would definitely not need William’s Retainer to help raise their merits during the exam. 

“Let’s go,” William walked forward. “We still have twenty more floors to clear before we get to the Final Boss Room.”

Ian and Chiffon nodded their heads and followed William’s lead. This was the first dungeon that William had explored since he and Ian had arrived at the Kraetor Empire. He was looking forward to the types of the monsters that were found on the higher floors.

Monsters that would soon become part of his strength, once the restriction on his Dungeon Conqueror Job Class had been lifted.

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