143: Weather (5)

Weather (5)

As for Natalie, she waited until the enemy's claws were really close to her neck. Once the creature was close enough that neither of them could dodge any strike, she used her Swift Strike and repelled the monster's claws… with a single hit of her skill. She used the remaining to cut the enemies' throat, but the creature blocked with its fangs. Still, the power of her attack had been high, and the monster was left bleeding from its mouth. Even though her attack used her full power and the enemy was caught off guard, it hadn't been that effective. 1

The aquatic beasts were quite savage, so despite that failure, they kept dashing toward Natalie, only to suffer the same destiny every single time. Eventually, the creature failed and had its throat sliced by Natalie's blades. Around the same time, Kate and Lily finished off the other side.

You obtained 70 experience points.

The skill Wind Manipulation obtained 70 experience points.

"These things are tough… my arrows can't pierce them deeply enough to cause critical damage," Lily said.

"Maybe you should do what we did with ice magic, but wind this time," Billy said. "Or I can help you until you master that yourself."

"But I have too many arrows," Lily said.

"You just need to use the ones imbued with magic," Billy said.

"... I suppose," Lily frowned.

Marie looked quite confused since they were talking about increasing the power of their weapons as if it was something as easy as breathing. Still, there was the problem that the beasts were strong and fast enough to block even arrows at close range.

"You should do that too with your spears," Billy said.

"I will do it," Kate nodded.

Their party wasn't that balanced. It was too offense-oriented for Billy's tastes. Still, that was what helped them reach this far despite their young age and lack of experience. However, Billy was starting to think that he should convince Alexander and Natalie to wear some armor. It would sacrifice some of their mobility, but it was for the best since none of them had healing spells. Still, would that have any meaning? The party could disband after this mission, after all. Alexander will work in that state for at least half a year, and then he will confess to Lily. If he gets rejected, he certainly will leave the party, and Billy didn't want to put even more troublesome thoughts on his only guy friend by exploring dungeons with Lily. Even though they wouldn't be exactly alone…

"Maybe I should start focusing on myself… I can't let those kinds of situations hold me down," Billy thought. "For the sake of the future, I also need to find a way to learn healing spells. While medicine and some fruits can help heal wounds faster, it isn't as convenient as a spell…"

"You are having dark thoughts about something?" Kate suddenly asked.

"No… why do you ask?" Billy frowned.

"When you lower your head a little and look forward, your expression looks quite ominous," Kate said. "I assumed you were thinking about dark things."

"It seems you have too much time in your hands if you are thinking about that," Billy said.

Although he said that, Kate's observation skills were right, and they were kind of terrifying. While Billy didn't have much of a poker face, it still was troubling that he was being read like that. Nevertheless, he wondered about the future what those people would do if the party disbanded… He wasn't anyone's babysitter, so he couldn't watch Kate forever. His promise with Edward was only regarding the first dungeon. Nevertheless, it was time to take the materials of the monster's bodies…

The materials of the fourth and fifty floors were the claws and fangs of the aquatic beasts. They were pretty sharp and sturdy, so they could be used to forge many things. It was a pity that they couldn't be analyzed as they were, so Billy couldn't see their potential that easily. In any case, those three creatures didn't give them much metal, and the smell of blood was quite worrisome since they were attached pretty deeply to their flesh.

Despite their experience, the second battle didn't get any easier. At least for Natalie and Alexander. As for Kate and Lily, after imbuing their weapons with magic, their attacks pierced a lot more, and their target died after five seconds. Weirdly enough, the monsters' claws also had some dent marks on them… the beast tried to block the projectiles, but it failed. They quickly stepped forward to help Alexander and Natalie, but Billy stopped them.

"Why did you stop us?" Lily asked.

"They are refining their fighting style and they won't achieve that if you get on their way…" Billy replied. "Using magic to defeat enemies alongside physical skills is nice and all, but this is a golden opportunity for them."

Although they could have asked Billy to imbue their weapons with wind magic, they didn't do it because that match-up was pretty good. The monsters could, but they didn't use magic. So, the more skilled ones would win the battle. Since the difference in status was also big, those two would have a hard time in every single battle, but after winning those, they would become stronger with large steps.

Billy also wanted to test his strength against them, but he knew that he didn't have to hurry. He will have his chance…

"Be that as it may be, their battles are taking too long because of their weapons," Marie said.

"So, you overpowered them with big weapons such as hammers as well?" Billy asked.

"That is right, there is no feeling like an overpowering an opponent with brute strength alone," Marie said.

If they could be overpowered, then they weren't strong in the first place. Or so Billy thought, it was better not to say that what she did was basically bullying. Not exactly bullying since the enemies always attack first, but something similar…

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