Hot Cave Troubles

(Robin's POV):

We entered the cave slowly and I brought out my pickaxe.

"Guys, since we're here. Keep your eyes peeled because we'll be having a lot of problems here. Let's get the enough amount of ore as soon as we can."

"Got it!"

Everyone agreed in unison and we started traversing through the area while trying to avoid any form of trouble. We had spread out in various pairs and try to cover for each other while we mine out magma ore deep into the cave. When I noticed, it is somewhat getting more and more difficult to retreat with the amount of lava spreading on the floor.

"Damn, this really calls us to be careful. I hope Gayle won't go suicidal in here." - Lester

"Suicidal?"

"Yeah, she has that kind of behavior due to their past but they never told me anything so..." - Lester

"I see, then best be careful then. I'll give them a sharp signal just in case."

"Everyone, each team is to collect a total of twenty-five magma ore. How is it on your sides?"

"Halfway." - Jay

"We got twenty." - Grace

"We're pretty unlucky here." - Rylle

So apparently, most of them are pretty much clear in here. Ridley and Rylle are having trouble since the ore is quite rare in the cave.

We continued mining while having another person cover for us. It was a method that I used whenever we mine in enemy territory so that there won't be any attacks from behind.

"And no behavior that involves self harm. I am not allowing any of you to get yourself in danger."

I got some responses from all pairs and we had continued on what we're actually doing for the time being. After some time we had finally collected all the needed ore. We then immediately regrouped altogether and moved back to an open area in the cave. That area has no lava for some reason so we decided to take a pause in it.

We were discussing on the total ore we had collected and rest there for the time being. After some time of resting, another group showed up once again but there was no backup this time.

"Ready for the plan everyone?"

"I have complex feelings about this..." - Jay

"That kind of planning is a little..." - Lester

"I guess it should be fine..." - Terrence

The three guys had some mixed feelings about the plan I had in mind while Ridley was having a weird complexion about this. Rylle had a smile on his face on the other hand for some reason.

"Greetings peasants. I'm sure you all know that you're trespassing here so I would like to propose a deal for you." - Praetorian Member

"What is it?"

"Offer your girls here and we'll spare you from entering the other server." - Praetorian

These guys actually did think that Grace and Gayle are vulnerable girls. So I guess it's time to punish them...

"Hmm... What's in it for us?"

"Like I said, your survival. None of you will be able to survive against us. We're from the proud Praetorian, we will strive as the strongest army in Survivor's Path." - Praetorian Member

Ah shit, here we go again. Delusional member in front of us...

In front of us, there are ten members wherein it's possible to take on a dungeon boss. This is not exactly an ideal team to fight against but I guess it should be fine with their firepower.

"Alright then."

Gayle and Grace moved in front of them while I contained a dark smile in my face. The member didn't notice and showed a smug face thinking that he just got a nice deal without any expenses.

"Searing Blades!"

When he heard me casting a bunch of searing blades out, his smile disappeared and showed disdain and annoyance instead. I moved the searing blades behind them to prevent escape.

"Have at it you two. Illumination!"

(POV Shift: Grace's POV):

After Robin gave us the illumination buff, we immediately dashed in without hesitation and started attacking the enemy group. Multiple swords were unsheathed and we prepared ourselves for a major clash with just me and Gayle.

"The thing is, Praetorian members are such easy enemies to manipulate. You sure that they are easy targets?" - Robin

Robin, taunting them right after this is just a little too much don't you think? Or is it that you have a personal grudge against them?

"Perfected Sword Art."

I deflected a large sword and tried to move off from one side to another. Gayle moved towards the right while I went left. We then started making quick work on the enemies.

"Jay, Terrence, be sure to support them well." - Robin

The enemy in front of me was a swordsman so it was pretty easy for me to deal with him.

"Blade of Swiftness, Duelist Dance."

I twirled once and used the momentum to deliver multiple quick strikes towards the enemy, effectively dealing a minor amount of damage.

"Blade of Precision."

I concealed one katana and had the other ready for a sharp strike. I waited for the enemy to come closer before landing a very powerful attack that exploits weakness.

"Zero Armor."

I landed the strike right into the joint of the armor and completely decapitated the left arm of an enemy. I then moved the katana accurately towards the neck and cut it off.

Two more enemies appeared and there seems to be something that is buffing them up.

"Aerodynamic, Windy Footwork."

I increased my balance so that nothing bad would get me here and cause a bunch of trouble. I then swiftly avoided the enemy attacks along with their support drawing out various ranged attacks or magic.

"Blade of Power, Counter Drive."

I parried the one great sword and unleashed a powerful counter with a follow-up and damaged an enemy greatly. The other one tried to land a hit but he took a major hit on the head with his helmet coming off from Terrence's large bullets. Nice one!

I immediately then jumped up and kicked the chestplate of the enemy warrior. He fell down and I delivered a precise attack.

"Blade of Precision, Zero Blood."

I killed off the melee enemies with absolute ease. In all honesty, Robin alone is actually much harder to face.

I charged towards the ranger and the mage on my side to try and completely eliminate them from the game. I avoided dangerous shots and Terrence supported me well by making them move in uncomfortable positions.

"Blade of Swiftness, Bladetongue."

A special skill that I use whenever I overwhelm an enemy. The two enemies started getting pushed back to the array of searing blades from the swift attacks coming from me and Terrence.

They started to gain multiple clean cuts that are almost unavoidable from the overwhelming onslaught coming from me and Terrence.

After they noticed that they reached the line of searing blades, they tried to make a counterattack out of desperation but I found a major opening and delivered a finishing blow.

"Element Merge, Time Cutter."

I sliced both enemies in half in one move that even beats time.

(POV Shift: Gayle's POV):

I immediately dashed to the right and start clearing up the enemies right in front of me. They were thinking about methods to get through but me and Grace had completely separated both teams into five members. I slashed off one enemy with Mysteria almost instantly and tried to launch multiple follow-ups towards them in quick succession. After launching the fourth attack, I lost balance and they tried to lock me down but a bullet passed through one head and splurged out a lot of blood.

Bye bye...

I revealed a dark smile and swung Mysteria around slashing the enemies that tried to surround me. Time for you all to die.

I raised myself quickly and dashed to the side. I then dashed forward and kicked off from the armor of one enemy and flipped twice with Mysteria in one hand. I then land two lethal strikes towards the head of one enemy, effectively killing it. Three left.

"Rift Cutter."

My attacks start leaving purple particles emitting flowers and butterflies which is a characteristic that I am a mystic. I noticed that the enemy is thinking about a counter attack so I immediately formed an absorbing mystic field with the extra mana I used up. I then continued slashing down the enemy right in front of me from a range he couldn't reach. His sword was too short that when I hold Mysteria, it's quite a sad sight for him.

I then eliminated him after a while longer of playing with his hopes. The enemies that remained is a mage and a single support.

"Hope you enjoy your time in the next server~"

I raised Mysteria up high and prepared to execute the two remaining enemies who are in a hopeless state.

"H-hiiiih!" - Praetorian Member

"S-spare us!" - Praetorian Member

Sparing, what is that again?

I dashed forward and delivered one powerful strike to slash the support in half and dashed back to create a follow up and slash the other in half upwards.

"Night night~"

After that, Robin stepped forward while clapping. He's congratulating both of us for the hard work and is thinking of having everyone rest here for the time being.

"Aight, good work you two. Let us all rest for the time being, I don't think there would be anyone that will attack from this point for the time being." - Robin

Everyone agreed in unison as we all came back to the area and sat down for the time being.

"Very nice performance both of you. Pretty sure they will still think that you two are vulnerable targets so we can still keep up the nice baiting." - Robin

As expected, Robin is actually thinking about ruining the pride of the Praetorian faction to the point they wouldn't be able to recover for half a year.

"Kaede... You were pretty scary for a minute there..." - Jay

"Eh?"

"Yep, you looked pretty psychotic for a minute the-" - Terrence

I punched Terrence in the gut before he could finish his sentence. I don't want to hear anymore from you bastard.