Need A Party

Yren sliced through a purple ant the size of a cat with a long sword, but he jumped back right away. The sword morphed into a spear as a green gooey acid hit the spot he had been standing.

"These things are pretty nasty, but you don't even seem fazed. How can this only be the second time you have come into a Dungeon?" Mika asked from her seat on a rock behind Yren.

Yren didn't speak, there were still five of the seven left in this area, and two were on the roof. Like his father asked, the boy had studied and learned all he could see about every monster.

Yren's knowledge, training, and weapon gave him the confidence to keep calm, but he needed to focus. The ants had a ranged acid attack and a powerful bite attack, so Yren couldn't be careless.

The two ants above Yren made their move first, firing two globs of green acid, and Yren activated Hot Step. Dashing forward and getting into close range, Yren made two quick strikes up and then slashed down with a short blade.

Four killed, Yren activated Hot Step again, and a gooey acid blast hit his burning after image in his place. Yren quickly switched to a spear to dispatch the last purple ant, letting out a sigh as he did so.

"Sorry I couldn't answer you while I was fighting. Five on one is still pretty rough for me, and I am concerned about how much damage one of these things could do. As for my fighting, I had help learning to get better, and I studied Dungeons to become more efficient. Plus, I have to look good, or you will just make fun of me, haha!" Yren said with a grin, pulling out his license to quickly look over what he had got.

There had been no message floating in his line of sight, so that must mean there were more monsters ahead. Yren had never heard of a dungeon having separate rooms like this, but he assumed this must be the actual purpose.

"What are you then? Are you just a human like your dad?" Mika asked as she hopped off her rock.

Yren had got Ant Claws and Green Ichor from the purple ant, and he was curious about what they would be worth.

"You would have to ask my mother about that one. Since she is the dungeon core, I am sure you can make assumptions about the rest," Yren said as he tucked his license back away, but Mika's eyes widened.

"Y-You are a D-Demi-God?!" Mika stammered.

"I couldn't tell you, but it seems I had always been able to enter the Dungeon even before I got my card. I also can't use Magic or learn skills like other people do. I was hoping I got another skill after I beat you, but it seems to only work like that the first time," Yren said with a sigh.

He had really been hoping to get another skill, but he was sure it was no easier for the rest. One day Yren hoped to be able to teach other people about this new way to complete the dungeons, but he needed to get stronger.

"I guess it's okay for you to have that weapon if you are going to use it to help. Doesn't feel quite as bad knowing that, but you better not cheat against me next time!" Mika complained, and Yren grinned as he turned back around.

There was a purple light coming from ahead; Yren had a pretty good idea of what it was supposed to be. Books told him that there should be an Ant Queen, but that was a Rank four monster, and that was two above him.

Yren closed his eyes and took a deep breath in as he thought about its skills and the fact that it would be much more significant. The ant should have been small enough to crush with a boot, but these were Rank two.

"Can I ask you to stay back? I am really going to have to concentrate inside there, but we will collect all the ore after, okay?" Yren asked, looking back to Mika, who nodded.

"Sure, I get it, but don't die! I can't help you here. In my opinion, you and your father are like twin loners that take too many risks. You should consider looking for more party members you can trust rather than running into a place like that. I think we can gather the ore in this area and head back; don't push your luck!" Mika scolded Yren, and he turned back to the ominous purple light.

It was true that he was worried about what lay ahead, which meant he should listen to Mika. Yren was good at measuring his own capabilities, which felt like putting himself in danger.

"I think you might be right, but can I mine the ore without aggroing the monster?" Yren asked as he looked down at a lumpy rock that stood out from the cave wall at ground level.

"This area is clear, so you will be safe to do it, but you should leave the two up there till last. Then if one of them is in range of whatever is around the corner, you can just run back to the entrance, and the cave will be reset. That means all the monsters will spawn back, but you will still get experience," Mika explained, and Yren nodded, walking back to the first lump of rock he had seen.

Yren willed Omnus to change into a pickaxe but felt a bit guilty for using his weapon like this. The weapon was sort of alive, but not, yet Yren felt like there was more to this weapon than he could understand.

Omnus changed into a pickaxe, the same as every other weapon he had imagined, and Yren sighed as he leaned down.

One swing was all it took, and the gray lump of rock split open, and a five-inch silver cube was revealed. The metal cube vanished before he could react, and Yren nodded as he got up; this was easy.