High Quality or High Quantity?

Adam was shocked after hearing the information on Layla's new Skill.

[ Active Skill: Acceleration [C]

When used, the speed of all movements is multiplied by 1.5.

The Skill lasts ten seconds and it can be used every five minutes.

Uses up half of the user's Max Endurance Points. ]

"Isn't that...a bit too awesome?" Adam muttered.

"I really think it is." Layla was just as shocked.

"What? What? How is it that good? You can run a bit faster, what about it?" Salma asked, demanding an explanation.

"Well, first of all, it's not just running, it's all movements. So I can even move my weapon faster. Second of all, since its power is decided by a percentage of my own speed, that means the faster I am, the bigger the speed boost." Layla explained, but Salma got confused.

"Alright Salma, let's say I'm going at a speed of 10. If I go half faster, then my speed becomes 15. But let's say my initial speed is 100, then going half faster would mean going at 150!" Adam tried explaining.

"I guess I kind of get it." Salma said while holding her fingers up and calculating.

"But then maybe it would be best for me to get used to it before using it in battle." Layla muttered.

"Do you want to go back?" Adam asked Layla.

"No, I need to get my revenge on those yellowy spiders. Can't let my shameful performance be my final one today." She said while smiling.

She showed an innocent and beautiful smile, while talking about smashing living beings to bits.

"Alriiiight, let's keep going then!" Salma said as she stood up.

They started walking again.

"The way splits after this. I can hear it well." Salma said as she continued walking.

The other two had no idea what she was talking about.

Sure enough, after walking for about 400 meters, they found the split Salma was talking about.

They had to enter smaller tunnels to continue. The tunnels were still big enough for them to walk around comfortably, but they were noticeably narrower.

Layla and Adam looked inside each tunnel before turning towards Salma.

"What?" She asked.

"Well, where should we go?" Layla asked her little sister.

"How should I know?" Salma answered. She looked angry and mad for some reason.

"Can you tell what's inside each tunnel?" Adam asked her.

"In the one on the right, there are lots of monsters. I can hear many many noises. There are probably numerous types of spiders like those we saw before with the colored stripes. I'd say in the hundreds. On the one on the left though, I can't hear many sounds, there are maybe thirty or so monsters. But once in a while, there's a sound that makes my ears tremble and a smell that makes me want to run away. That's the gist of it. High quantity or high quality, which is worse?" She raised both hands as if exposing the choice they had to make. Her leg was trembling, but she was doing her best not to show it. She didn't want them to worry about her when she was always behind them during the fights.

The two noticed it and looked at each other.

"How about we get out of here for now?" Layla suggested.

"Yeah, let's. Am a bit tired." Adam answered while stretching his lower back.

Salma's eyes teared up.

"Yes! Oh god, I thought you were going to force me to go in one of them." Salma was crying happily while hugging Layla then hugging Adam.

"You know at one point we're gonna have to. Especially if we don't want to live here." Adam said as he hugged the small Salma.

When she let go of him, she had a huge smile. He looked at her beautiful face and remembered someone he had lost. His expression darkened for a moment before he turned his gaze towards Layla.

She nodded.

They understood each other.

As they walked back, they saw the multiple spiders they had destroyed before.

Salma felt like throwing up when she saw some that were completely smashed.

Layla covered her nose with her hand, she hated the smell.

Adam was deep in thought.

'On the one hand, lots of spiders. The ones with a rank of [F+] and above will be a problem for sure. They're smarter and stronger. They can even attack from a safe distance. We don't even know how dangerous their poison is. Plus the Paralysing Spiders are even more dangerous if they're standing behind a group of other spiders. Getting paralyzed while fighting off a bunch of spiders would definitely mean the end. If we were a bigger group...well I guess if we were more numerous both tunnels would be a bit easier.'

Layla looked at Adam, she knew what he was thinking about.

She started thinking too, about which tunnel would be the best to take. She used every bit of information she had.

'The one on the right probably is filled with a lot of Mutated Spiders and a good amount of Paralysing Spiders and Venomous Spiders. The one on the left probably has the Spider Queen, the strongest monster here after the Great Snake. The queen probably has those [E-] spiders as guards. The Mutated Black widows. For now, we've fought [F] ranks and [F+] ranks. The [F] ranks, even in a group posed no problem. But the [F+] ones were not so easy. I couldn't kill it in one hit, and Adam had to use his Crumbling Touch Skill. That Skill drains a lot of Endurance Points, so a long battle would be to our disadvantage if he were to rely on it. There's only one thing to do...'

Both Adam and Layla arrived at the same conclusion.

'We should take the left passage.' They both thought.

The two looked at each other and nodded.

Once they arrived to the place where the spiderweb wall was previously, Salma raised her hands to her sides, stopping them from advancing further.

After she thought for a bit, she started talking

"A lot of snakes went out this time. I think twelve of them left the tunnel. They're a bit everywhere. Some are coming this way while others are going towards where we had appeared at the beginning." Salma said as they continued walking.

"You probably should be the one to get rid of most of them." Layla told Salma.

"What? Why? I don't like snakes..." Salma complained.

"True. It'd be good if you could have some more Magic Skills. Plus we killed all the spiders so it makes sense." Adam put his hand on Salma's shoulder. " Don't worry, we'll help you. It'll be super easy."

"If you say so...."

They continued advancing.

Every time Salma felt a snake close by, Adam would go behind it. Using one hand, he would grab it just below its head. With the other hand, he would grab the middle of its body. Only the end of the snake's body could move. Salma would then enflame her dagger and stab the monster in the head. Every time she did so, she would close her eyes. The snake would usually move around for a bit, but it would die right after as the dagger burnt the insides of it's head.

There were 13 snakes.

Salma got rid of ten of them. Layla easily took care of the three left.

Each one gave 100 Experience Points. It was huge compared to how strong the monster was. If the monster was left alone and survived, it would eventually evolve into a Great Snake. That is why it gave so many Experience Points.

After getting rid of all the snakes that escaped the tunnel, they continued walking towards the only place full of sunlight, the place they had appeared at after entering the Dungeon Gate.

"Kayla, status please."

[ Name: Salma

Sponsor: (None)

Age: 7 years old

Species & level : Human Lv6 (400/500 Experience Points)

Gold: 600

HP: 110/110

Endurance: 55/55

Mana: 130/130

Stats: Strength: 9(+3)

Agility: 15(+3)

Sense: 54(+3)

Vigor & Endurance: 11(+3)

MagicAffinity: 28(+3)

Mana: 13(+3)

Unused stat points: 9(+9)

Skill(s): Fire Enchanting

Cat Senses

Primal Instinct

Title(s): The First Pioneer's accolytes

Righteous to Evil Points: 350 to 50

]

Before anyone could even read her attributes,

"Kayla! Everything on Magic Affinity! Come on!"Salma shouted with her eyes closed.

Layla and Adam both brought their hand to their forehead while looking at the ground.

'She's far too deep. Let's hope she never enters a casino.'

[ The Fox That Blesses Men is chuckling at incarnation Salma.]

"What? Nothing happened. Did I just waste my points?" Salma said while scratching her head. She sat on the ground.

"Of course not. Now you can put even more magic into weapons I guess. Since Magic Affinity helps you control Mana better." Adam answered.

"Salma! What was that? You should've asked our opinion before." Layla scolded her sister with a cold look.

"I know... but if it had worked, it would have been totally awesome...." Salma answered while looking at the ground.

Screens appeared in front of the three.

[The Fox That Blesses Men stares at the incarnation Layla.]

[ The Fox That Blesses Men pities the incarnation Salma.]

A red gentle light encircled Layla in an instant.

Everyone was confused and frightened for a second.

[ The Fox That Blesses Men uses his authority to gift a Magic Skill to incarnation Salma.]

A screen appeared in front of her.

[ You have been gifted the Magic Skill "Fire Arrow".]

"Whaaaaat?" Salma shouted.

"Th...th...thank you." She said.

[ The Fox That Blesses Men is cheering you on.]

She immediately stood up and puffed her chest up.

"Haha! It worked. I knew it." She acted like a genius.

"Yes!! You're such a genius!" Adam lifted her from her armpits and spun her around. His Strength stat made it extremely easy.

Layla started laughing.

She and Adam had decided to go deeper inside the Dungeon without Salma. They both didn't like it, but seeing her trembling before made them think that maybe they shouldn't bring her along.

They were planning on sneaking away while she was asleep.

"Come ooon tell us what it does!" Adam said as he put her back on the ground.

"Kayla ! Tell us please!" Kayla said while jumping up and down.

[ Active Magic Skill: Fire Arrow [C]

A Skill granted by the authority of The Fox That Blesses Men. The user can canalize any amount of his Mana into an arrow that will burn everything in its way. The higher the Magic Affinity, the better control the user has over the amount of Mana he canalizes in one Fire Arrow. The more Mana is put inside the Fire Arrow, the higher its destructive power will be.]

"It sounds great. That's the kind of Skill you can always use, since its strength depends on your Mana and stuff." Layla pointed out.

"Thank you, Mister Fox! You're so cool!" Salma was waving at the ceiling.

She received a direct message. She was the only one who could read it.

[ The Fox Who Blesses Men says that you too can protect them.]

After reading the message, she had a wide smile.

"I will!" She said out loud.

"You will what?" Adam got confused.

"Nevermind. I got a message. Anyway, I want to try it!" Salma said excitedly.

"Umm, try shooting that snake." Layla pointed towards a snake that they had killed.

Its body was lying about 30 meters away from them.

"Alright, here I go!"

Salma raised her left hand forward.

A bow made of fire appeared in her hand.

She grabbed the fiery string with her right hand.

When she pulled it all the way back, an arrow made of flames appeared.

'Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!' Salma couldn't hold back her excitement.

She shouted "Gooo!" as she let go of the arrow in her right hand.

The arrow missed the snake by a bit.

But as soon as the arrow touched the ground, it exploded.

It left a big hole in the ground. Half of the snake's body was gone.

"Wow." Layla was dumbfounded.

"That's strong. How many of these can you shoot?" Adam asked.

"Well...I got excited and used about a third of my Mana, so I guess three? I didn't really focus on how much I should use. I only focused on making it strong hahaha" Salma said while laughing and scratching her head.

"This is perfect, just what we needed. With some Magic Potions, it'll be perfect. You're slowly becoming the most important person here you know?" Layla said jokingly.

"What? I've always been the most important amazing strong person here you know???" Salma answered while giggling.

Adam was already back in deep thought.

'With this, our chances of survival are a lot higher. This is what I've been waiting for. They finally were gifted a Skill. It's a perfect skill too. Our enemies are weak to fire and Salma got a bunch of fire-related Skills.... Does it have something to do with her red hair? No, it can't be that simple. But I guess I can see it. Salma is cheerful and fun. She's like sunlight. A gentle ray of light. She's also passionate and energetic. Layla on the other hand is quick mentally. She makes decisions and doesn't waste time. She's very cool and very rarely loses her composure. She was able to take out monsters, even though it was the first time she saw them. If that's the case, if our abilities, stats and Skills depend on who we are then, what abilities can I develop?'

He got interrupted when Salma pulled his arm.

"Come on, Adam! It's Layla's turn! If we don't all see while she puts her points in, that's bad luck." Salma said in a scolding way.

"Alright hahaha" Adam smiled.

"Show us my status" Layla said.

[ Name: Layla

Sponsor: (None)

Age: 13 years old

Species & level : Human Lv7 (80/750 Experience Points)

Gold: 440

HP: 290/290

Endurance: 145/150

Stats: Strength:21(+1)

Agility: 41(+1)

Dexterity: 26(+1)

Sense: 13(+1)

Vigor & Endurance: 30(+2)

Unused stat points: 3(+3)

Skill(s): Weakness Exploitation

Acceleration

Title(s): The First Pioneer's Acolytes

Righteous to Evil Points: 700 to 120

]

"Wait since when did you have a Title?" Adam asked.

"Since we entered the Hidden Location, Salma has it too." Layla answered.

Salma was shocked.

"Really? I had no idea."

"The First Pioneer's Acolytes? What does it do?"

"It says a wind will guide us to closeby hidden things. I think it's basically the same as yours." Layla answered.

"Yeah, I guess so. Mine also increased my Sense stat a bit."

"That's cool. Anyways, what should I do with these stat points? I don't think a small number like 3 is even worth discussing over." Layla said.

"So? What do you think?" Adam asked.

"I'll add three points in Strength."

"Oh, I just realized, now we all have two Skills! Hahaa Adam, you're not as strong as you used to be hehehe." Salma pointed at Adam.

"Well, I actually have three Skills."

"Liar! You're a sore loser hahaha, Adam is a sore loser. You have the weird dust think and your hearing Skill."

"Show everyone my status." Adam said.

[ Name: Adam

Sponsor: (None)

Age: 12years old

Species & level : Human Lv9 (670/1750 Experience Points)

Gold: 1550

HP: 480/480

Endurance: 160/160

Stats: Strength: 43(+0)

Agility: 29(+2)

Sense: 45(+0)

Vigor & Endurance: 28(+0)

Magic Affinity: 12(+0)

Stealth: 35(+0)

Unused stat points: 4(+0)

Skill(s): Sleeping Beauty

Crumbling Touch

Extended Earshot

Title(s): The First Pioneer

Goblin Hunter

Righteous to Evil Points: 890 to 120

]

"Oh, completely forgot about those four stat points. Where should I put them?" Adam muttered.

"Sleeping Beauty?" Salma asked while chuckling

[ The Hero Who Survived By Sleeping For a Century is staring at incarnation Salma.]

"It's a great Skill. Let's me recover super fast when I'm sleeping." Adam said with a thumbs up. He really wanted the gods to keep giving him Skills.

"Oh, that's good."

"I guess you should get your Agility to 30 and put the rest in Strength." Layla told Adam.

"Yeah, I guess. I'll do that." Adam said.

He had the slight hope that he would develop a Skill, but unfortunately, that didn't happen.

They were now back in the place they had appeared in after entering the Dungeon Gate.

"Should we go see the snake?" Layla asked.

"What are you..Why do you..?" Salma couldn't comprehend why she would want to go back there.

Adam started thinking.

"Well, we were scared and stuff, but maybe the big snake can't get out of there. Other than him, there were a bunch of eggs. And since Layla can attack from far away...."

"OH! So you're a genius too!" Salma was, although a bit scared, completely on board.

"Isn't that a bit crazy?" Adam asked.

Layla remained silent for a bit before answering.

"The two tunnels at the end of the way are our final destinations, I think. There are two possible ways to clear this Dungeon, remember? One of them was killing the Spider Queen, she's probably at the end of the left tunnel. The other one was destroying the Spider Colony, which would mean killing all the spiders on the right tunnel. The whole colony is in the right tunnel. Which means that next time, we're finishing this Dungeon. And since we're finishing it, might as well let Salma destroy all of those eggs. Even if the Snake wakes up, it can't pass on the other side of the tunnel. It's free Experience Points for Salma really, which will really help since she can assist us from behind and enflame our weapons." She explained.

Salma didn't follow her explanation, but she was excited about the end.

"Yey! Free Experience Points! Yey" Salma was jumping up and down as was her habit whenever she was excited.

[A Certain Evil is pointing out your cowardice.]

Adam chuckled as he saw the message.

He was the only one who could see it.

That was always the case when messages used "you" and not a third-person pronoun.

"Alright. We can do that before going into one of the tunnels." Adam said.

They all sat down with their back against the wall.

"I think we should go for the Spider Queen." Layla said.

"I agree." He added.

The two looked at Salma.

"What? Are you worried about me? I just got a super strong Skill. I'm not scared. Too many sounds and monsters would make my senses confused anyways. I'm strong, you know!" Salma said while flexing her arm muscles.

The three of them laughed.

"We can't really train, can we? Now that we burned the wall spiders can come and go, and snakes too. Training might makes u tired and sleepy." Layla said while looking at Adam.

"Yeah, would be bad if they caught us sleeping. At least we can't all sleep at once." Adam answered her.

"Let's sit for a bit and do it now!" Salma said.

"I guess we can. I'm sure we can escape if the situation isn't to our advantage."

They rested for about one hour.

.....

Adam stood up and took the Goblin Chief's Greatsword out of his Storage. He grabbed it with two hands and swung it two or three times. It felt good in his hands.

"Maybe I'll use this, the blade is so big that what it does can't be called slashing. I'm sure I can cut a spider in two with this." He said.

"Isn't moving gonna be hard?" Layla asked.

"With Salma here, I can just take it out when enemies are close." Adam raised the greatsword "It symbolizes a lot you know, those hours I spent swinging and resting are important to me."

[A Certain Evil is looking at you.]

"Yeah, it's all thanks to you." Adam said.

The sisters understood he was answering a message.

"It's my favorite weapon really. I don't really like using it, but still I hope I'll be able to use it properly one day." Adam added.

[You designated a weapon as your favorite weapon.]

[From now on, you can take it outside of your storage by plunging your hand in it.]

"What?"

It was a confusing explanation.

Adam was used to taking his weapons out of the storage by selecting them in the list he saw once he said the word "Storage". He would put them back in the Storage by saying something like "unequip" or "go back into the Storage", the weapon would then disappear.

He told it to go back and it disappeared.

After that, he said "Storage".

The screen that held his different Items and Artefacts appeared as it always did.

Adam, instead of choosing a weapon, plunged his hand inside the screen. After his whole hand was inside, he could feel the familiar hilt of his greatsword. He pulled it outside.

"That's going to be convenient. It's faster than looking for the weapon in the screen. Just when you decided to only take it out when needed too." Layla pointed out.

"Yeah..." But Adam didn't really think about that right now. He was surprised, and impressed.

He was impressed by himself.

Currently, he was holding the Goblin Chief's Greatsword in one hand.

His face quickly turned red and his hand started trembling, but it was the first time he lifted it with one hand.

He remembered all the times he struggled to lift it using two arms, all the times he struggled to swing it using both arms.

Although he could lift it with one hand, he was far from being able to swing it with one hand.

But he couldn't help but laugh a bit.

He had gotten stronger.

[A Certain Evil congratulates you.]

"Yeah, thanks."