The Leopards' Jungle

Once Adam made it out of the Dungeon, it wasn't raining anymore.

The sun was rising.

It was about 7 am.

He walked back to the house while thinking about the Water Spirit.

'It asked me not to hurt them... Since when am I the attacker...' He wondered.

Once he arrived at the house, he found Calvin doing his daily training.

'It looks like he's following a fitness routine, not training for survival...'

After talking with him for a bit, Adam entered the house and made his way to the kitchen

Layla, Salma and Elizabeth had just woken up and Calvin had been training since 6 am.

Layla and Salma joined Adam in the kitchen.

"Did you go into a Dungeon without us?" Layla asked him.

He stared at her with wide eyes for a second.

"You can tell?"

Both sisters laughed out loud at his answer.

"You're wearing a mask. And gloves I never saw before." Salma answered him.

"Oh. Right. Unequip everything except the boots and the Monster tamer's Bracelet." Adam said realizing he still had his Artefacts on.

"You got Gloves, a Necklace and a Mask. Was it an [E] rank?" Layla asked.

"I... walked to the first Gate I entered two weeks ago. It didn't take me to the same Dungeon though. The Rank of cleared Dungeons does go up. I think the Gate was purple this time too."

"Am glad you're okay." Salma told him.

"Thanks." Adam said as he gathered the ingredients needed to cook.

"How was it?" Layla asked him.

"At first, normal. But it got... weird afterward." He answered without looking up.

"Weird how?" The younger sister asked.

"There was... a Spirit. It gave me, Light and Python a Skill. It also gave me something else that I didn't check yet. But, it asked me not to hurt the monsters..."

"That is weird. I only entered one Dungeon, but the monsters attacked us the moment they noticed us. I'm sure that one was special." Layla said with her hand on her chin.

"Oh. A nice Spirit. My Sponsor says there are some like that, but they're rare. Most Spirits are selfish and evil." Salma said after reading the messages she received from The Nine-Tailed Fox, her Sponsor.

"Is that so?" Adam asked absentmindedly as he started cooking.

'But it does raise a question. Is it right to attack monsters that aren't hostile to us? We were told that monsters will come out of Dungeons at one point. We're stepping on weaker beings to be able to face stronger ones later. I'll step on them if it means surviving with my family. But Adam seems more conflicted. Maybe it's because the Spirit could talk.' Layla thought as she watched Adam's facial expression.

After everyone ate, Adam, Layla and Salma went outside.

"So? We want details!" Salma shouted as she ran outside.

Adam told them everything about the Dungeon.

"Oh. Here Salma, take this." Adam handed her the Monster Summoner Earring he had obtained.

"It's beautiful..." Salma said while looking at the earing.

It was a simple earring with a blue pearl.

She immediately equipped it.

"Anything for me?" Layla asked jokingly.

"Umm... You can choose what you..."

"I'm joking. I'll get my own Artefacts. Don't worry about it." She said as she tapped his shoulder.

The three walked away from the house.

"Right! There was this too! Python, come out!" Adam shouted suddenly.

A Winger Fire Salamander appeared in front of the three.

It was about 20 centimeters long and had wide red wings.

The sisters looked at Python with surprised faces.

As if to show its Evolution, the Tamed Monster spread its wings and took off.

After flying around for a bit, Python landed on Adam's shoulder.

"So...."

"...Cool."

The sisters said.

"I know right! Wanna see Light?" Adam asked with great excitement.

Layla was surprised at how quickly Adam's mood had changed.

"Sure?" She answered.

Suddenly, a huge black wolf appeared.

The two sisters jumped back in surprise.

"What the hell..." Layla muttered.

"Wow..." Salma said with wide eyes.

The black wolf was absolutely huge.

"It's as big as a car..." Layla added.

"We could all ride on him." Salma said as she approached Light.

She walked slowly towards him.

Before she could pet his head, Light started licking her face affectionately.

"Hahah! Stooop! Light!" Salma chuckled as she pushed the huge wolf off.

Layla circled around Light and approached Adam.

"As big as a Boss Monster." She commented while looking at Light.

"Yeah. His rank is [E]. It'll become [E+] after leveling up a bit." Adam told her.

"You got him for that Testing Room, huh? How do you think that works if the three of us enter?" Layla asked him.

Before he could answer, the System answered the question with a voice everyone could hear.

[The Testing Room is a Dungeon made up of 1-on-1 fights. If three participants enter, they will either be sent to different Testing Rooms, or one will participate while the others spectate.]

"Oh. Should we do that?" Layla asked.

"It would be best if we don't fight at the same time." Adam said.

"Why?" Salma asked while petting Light's black pelt.

"So that we can exchange Artefacts and stuff before fighting." Layla answered.

"I think both of you should have no problem arriving to the 10th Test like I did. I think the three of us can go beyond that. Although you might find it harder Layla, since you're fighting alone." Adam said.

"True. I'm the only one-man team here. Salma can summon her Fire Fox and you have both Light and Python. Not only that, but since you can conjure weapons, you can fight from a safe distance, just like Salma. That reminds me, did you tame an Orc while you were at it?"

"No. I wanted these two to get lots of Experience Points. It was barely enough to have them both level up to 10. Although getting an Orc to evolve would be amazing. Then again, there's that individuality thing. Am sure not all monsters evolve at Level 10. " He answered.

"To The Testing Room?" Salma asked.

"Not necessarily. You said there was a link between the old Dungeon and the one that appeared in its place. Why don't we enter the Skeleton and the one with that Hare then? Even though they became [E] rank Dungeons, they should be easy, right?" Layla said.

"I also got big Gold and Experience Points rewards since I was alone." Adam added.

"I'm sure you did. But it's too dangerous. The three of us going in there means that we're splitting the rewards. We're not really losing anything as a group. Plus, you said that it was dark inside the Dungeon. If I were you, I would have been in trouble since my Sense Stat is low. The Dungeon that will take The Skeleton Mansion's place probably will be in the dark." She told them.

"Let's start with the Hare." Adam said.

The three walked towards the Dungeon Gate where The Horned Hare's Domain was.

"It really became purple." Salma noted.

"Here, Layla. Take this." Adam handed her his Bracelet of Chiefs and Leaders.

They proceeded to equip their Artefacts.

"Alright. Let's go in." Layla said as she stepped inside.

The other two followed her.

They found themselves in a sunny jungle.

[ Welcome to "The Mutated Leopards' Jungle" [E]

The Leopards' Jungle is an [E] rank Dungeon. This dungeon is filled with different types of Leopards. From Mutated Leopards [E-] and Agile Leopards [E-] to Sonic Leopards[E+].

Participants: 3 Humans.

Clear Requirement: Defeat 30 Leopard Monsters.

Minimal individual reward: 3000 Gold coins +6000 Experience Points.

]

"Huh? Defeat 30 of them? As in 10 each I guess. The monsters go from [E-] to [E+] unlike in that spider Dungeon where there were [F] and [F+] monsters." Layla said after reading the information.

"But there's no Leopard Queen at least. The monsters are close." Salma added.

"Sonic Leopard... Is it super fast or something?" Adam muttered.

"We'll see I guess. Salma, can you tell where the closest monsters are?" Layla asked her sister.

"Yes. They're 200 meters in front of us, three of them. They're hard to localize though. They probably have a Stealth Stat like Adam." Salma answered.

The trio started walking forward.

"They noticed us. They're fast." Salma said.

She stopped walking and proceeded to summon her Fire Fox.

Adam called out Python and Light.

'Oh. I should use Python for recon. Although since we have Salma, it wouldn't help much' He thought.

Layla took out her two Reinforced Iron Maces.

A couple of seconds later, three big leopards jumped and landed in front of the group.

They were as big as tigers.

The monsters growled and showed their teeth.

The huge Light growled back and stared at them with red eyes.

The leopards roared at Light and tried to intimidate him.

Layla took advantage of this and circled around the leopards.

Before they noticed her, she was at their side and used her "Acceleration" Skill.

Her movements became much faster.

She swung one of her Reinforced Iron Mace at a monster's head and her second one towards its back.

The monster cried in pain as it stepped back. The hits were heavy. Its head was bleeding and it had trouble breathing.

The other monsters tried jumping back, but Layla was faster.

She approached the second leopard and swung both Iron Maces towards its head.

[1 Mutated Leopard has been defeated. Congratulations! You have gained 75Gold and 150Experience Points.]

'They are fast, but not fast enough. Same rank as Orcs, huh? I guess they're Sense and Agility focused.' Adam thought as he saw Layla destroy two monsters extremely fast.

The third leopard monster turned to face Layla.

Just when it was about to jump towards her, giant fangs bit its neck.

It died on the spot.

Layla ran towards the first monster she had injured and finished it.

[1 Mutated Leopard has been defeated. Congratulations! You have gained 75Gold and 150Experience Points.]

"Easy enough. Although these are the weakest here." Layla said.

She usually said that after defeating monsters that scared her a bit.

"That's three out of 30." Salma said.

"They're weaker than Mutated Black Widows." Adam noted.

"True. I guess the Agile Leopards will be as strong as them, maybe?"

They walked deeper in the jungle.

Layla switched one of her Reinforced iron Maces with her Blessed Great Snake's Dagger.

It was very useful as it easily penetrated the monsters' skin.

Mutated Leopards were taken care of easily.

"There's only one of them. It's a lot faster than those before." Salma warned the group.

Suddenly, a leopard jumped out of a bush and towards Adam.

He barely had the time to step back.

The monster's claws scratched his shoulder.

Salma aimed a Fire Arrow at the monster.

Right after landing on the ground, the monster climbed up a tree and jumped towards Light.

The huge wolf managed to swing its paw at the incoming monster.

The hit had enough power the throw the monster on the ground.

Salma shot the staggered monster with her Fire Arrow.

[1 Agile Leopard has been defeated. Congratulations! You have gained 90Gold and 180 Experience Points.]

'Too fast..' Adam thought as he drank a Light Healing Potion.

"Sorry. I can't use my "Acceleration" Skill yet." Layla apologized.

"I'd say it's as fast as you are." Salma said.

Adam nodded at that.

"Maybe. Let me stand at the front." She answered as she stepped forward.

The other two had no objections.

A bit later, another fast monster ran towards the group.

It jumped towards Layla who was standing in front of the rest.

She deflected its paws with her Reinforced Iron Mace and stabbed its stomach deeply with her dagger.

Layla quickly pulled her dagger outside of its body.

The monster howled in agony as it landed on the ground.

She swung her mace towards its head without missing a beat, but the monster dodged.

The hit still landed on its back.

It fell to the ground unmoving.

[1 Agile Leopard has been defeated. Congratulations! You have gained 90Gold and 180 Experience Points.]

She turned back towards Salma and Adam.

"This one is annoying." She said.

They walked deeper and deeper inside the jungle.

From time to time, minor injuries occurred. But they were easily healed by Healing Potions.

"Another one is coming. It's a fast one." Salma warned them.

Layla readied her weapons.

A leopard jumped towards her.

It was now a routine.

Except that the leopard was gray.

Layla's eye twitched, but the change of color wasn't enough to throw her off.

The monster jumped towards her with its mouth wide open.

She deflected its paws and was about to stab its stomach when it roared.

It wasn't just any roar.

That roar was the loudest sound the group had ever heard in their life.

A massive headache suddenly overcame Layla.

Her ears and nose started bleeding.

The two behind her got dizzy.

She managed to hold on to her consciousness enough to stab its stomach, but she fell to the ground right after.

'Shit!' Adam thought as he jumped forward with his Black Widow's Sword in his right hand.

The monster landed on the ground.

Just when it was about to escape, a Fire Ball hit its head.

Adam didn't miss the opportunity and slashed its head off.

[1 Sonic Leopard has been defeated. Congratulations! You have gained 350Gold and 800 Experience Points.]

He ran towards Layla and shook her shoulders.

"Hey! HEY!" He shouted with fear and worry.

She slowly opened her eyes.

"She's okay!" Adam shouted as he turned towards Salma.

His eyes widened at that fear came back.

He ran towards her.

She had passed out and had bled even more than Layla.

'Layla was closer. Was it because of her high Sense Stat?' He thought as he called out to her and shook her shoulders.

He shook her for a while before she woke up.

Eventually, the two sisters sat up and drank Healing Potions.

"Holy shit..." Layla muttered.

"What happened..." Salma was still dizzy.

After a bit, the two sisters stood up and chuckled.

"I guess it was our turn to pass out in front of an enemy." Salma said weakly.

"That's not funny. We're staying away from those Sonic Leopards. We only need to get rid of 5 more Leopards to leave. No need to go deeper inside the jungle." Adam exclaimed.

"I'd like some Hidden Artefacts though." Layla told him jokingly.

Adam shook his head and looked at the monster's corpse.

"It's just as fast as an Agile Leopard. But it has that roar. Is that what makes it [E+] rank?" Salma asked while looking at the gray monster too.

"Just like the time against the Mutated Black Widows. We were taken by surprise. That's all." Layla said.

"I'm not sure. How can we counter that roar though? It's true that you didn't use your Acceleration Skill, but I got dizzy even though I was further than you were. You'd have to attack it before it opens its mouth." Adam said.

"Let's just focus on getting out of here." Salma said while holding her head with her left hand.

They got rid of 5 more Leopards.

Three of them were Agile Leopards and two were Mutated Leopards.

They left the Dungeon right away.

"God, that monster was scary!" Adam exclaimed.

"If there was one in front of us and one behind us, we would have been goners." Layla added.

"That's why we shouldn't enter Dungeons alone." Salma said.

"Yeah..." Adam answered weakly.

They sat in front of the Dungeon Gate of a bit.

"My Sponsor said that it was a bad match for us, that's all."

"That's true."

"Adam, didn't you fight [E+] monsters in the Testing Room? You said the Orc Leader was [D-] rank too, right?" Layla asked.

"Yeah. Still, this one scared me more than that Boss Monster..." Adam muttered.

The next instant, bright light came from the Dungeon Gate.

The group quickly got up and jumped back.

The light faded, and it left a Red Dungeon Gate instead of the purple one they had seen before.

"That's the next Rank then. Probably [D]." Layla said.

"Why do you say probably?" Salma asked.

"There's no guarantee a cleared [E] rank Dungeon would become a [D] rank. The rank goes up, but we don't know by how much." She explained.

"True. The [F] ranks we have cleared have become [E] ranks, but we only cleared four of them. It's not enough to make it a rule. We can't deduce from that, that this Red Gate would take us to a [D] rank Dungeon." Adam added.

"I see. Anyway, let's go to that Skeleton place." Salma said as she started walking away.

The other two followed her.

Indeed, the Dungeon Gate had become purple.

The three entered.

Since they suspected the Dungeon would be dark, Layla stood behind them.

"We're back here..." Salma muttered.

"What is this?" Adam asked, confused.

Both were looking at the building they had entered and cleared last time.

Layla looked up.

She found the same dark sky with two moons she had seen last time they took this Dungeon Gate.

The same two overlapping moons.