"Everyone, let us move into the rocky terrain," Max stated as he quickly walked forward.
After collecting the materials dropped by the Boss Slime, the party followed Max without asking any questions.
There was a specific reason for this behavior. Back when the party had been searching for their final member, no one had been willing to join their outcast party. Anne had been the one to suggest Max's name, yet the other members of the party had initially refused that decision.
They believed Max was a degenerate person who had joined the academy through the back door. Furthermore, since they all lived on the very land ruled by Max's father, they already knew the rumors regarding the Grand Duke's untalented son.
However, that strong doubt remained in everyone's minds only until they witnessed how easily he answered Mr. Morrison's questions, surprising everyone, and how swiftly he defeated Ethan in a sword duel. Thus, after witnessing this immense talent displayed by Max, Anne had strongly suggested asking him to join their party.
Although still reluctant, the other members had ultimately agreed, as the time limit to register a party was nearing its end.
Even now, they felt irritated by his suggestion to ignore regular monsters and strictly target Boss monsters. Yet, they simply gritted their teeth and remained silent, afraid to issue a rebuttal. Even if he were less talented than them, he remained the Heir of a Grand Duke. As mere peasants, offending him would definitely bring ruin to their families.
Therefore, they simply shook their heads and agreed to all of his suggestions.
Now, seeing how their own attacks had not even provoked a reaction from the monster, while this boy, who had awakened multiple classes yet possessed supposedly mediocre talent, had killed it in a single move, did any of this make sense within this world?
They had all heard the rumors regarding the Grand Duke's son, stating that the ruling lineage would eventually end with the current ruler. Were all those rumors simply some kind of ruse planned to deceive certain people? This was the exact thought on everyone's minds as they walked behind this mysterious man. They had initially believed they knew everything about him, yet in reality, they knew absolutely nothing at all.
He excelled academically and displayed overwhelming combat prowess. Their entire perspective of him had completely changed in the short span of just two days.
Max suddenly stopped walking. Upon noticing that he had stopped, the other party members instantly snapped back to reality from their deep thoughts.
"There are plenty of ordinary Titan Slimes here. I want you guys to hunt them and collect their cores and materials. Once you are finished, let me know. I will be meditating right here to replenish my Mana pool," Max stated, pointing toward the boulder-sized Slimes currently roaming across the black rocks.
The party did not argue against Max's decision to have them hunt the regular Titan Slimes. Instead, they welcomed it greatly. They obtained more Cores, materials, and EXP, as well as the real combat experience they had all been eagerly waiting for.
The ordinary Titan Slimes were not like the Boss Titan Slime, which had not even shown the slightest reaction to their attacks. These Slimes were agile, attempting to fight back by leaping at their feet. However, the party's attacks proved highly effective against these ordinary Slimes. Thus, grouping up to slay a single Slime was an easy task for the party.
Up until now, they had slowly hunted the monsters one by one without suffering any serious attacks. The only time they sustained an injury was when they accidentally lured two of them at the exact same time. While the Shield Warrior tanked one, the other landed directly on his foot from the side, attempting to crush it. Fortunately, his bones remained intact because he had moved his foot at the exact right time, allowing him to be healed quickly.
Stolen story; please report.
Over the past two weeks, they had all discussed and practiced as a group, coordinating to match their rhythm and fighting skills. That training was greatly helping them right now.
As an Archer, Anne stood in the backline, continuously firing volleys of arrows to attack. Meanwhile, the Shield Warrior stood at the frontline, tanking the Slime to prevent it from targeting the others. Simultaneously, the two Elementalists continuously moved around to launch their attacks.
It was a perfectly coordinated battle. Within twenty minutes, they had successfully cleared out all of the Slimes, a total of twelve, and gathered all the materials. However, the ordinary Slimes dropped very few items, yielding mostly one item, or exactly two if they were highly lucky.
Once they finished, Anne walked over to the location where Max was sitting cross-legged, meditating with his eyes closed.
"Max, we have cleared out the area," Anne called out.
Max slowly opened his eyes and stood up. His Mana pool was almost fully replenished. Now, they needed to find another Boss monster.
"Okay, let us find a Boss Slime," he stated as he walked toward the heap of black rocks.
The party began walking toward a small hill formed from the exact same rocks. Max hoped they would discover more Boss monsters.
More than half an hour had passed since their initial entry into the Dungeon, yet they had barely collected twenty Cores. If they discovered more Boss or Mutated Slimes, it would be highly beneficial for them. However, Max knew that Boss monsters would not reside closely together, as they strictly ruled over their own distinct territories. Along the way, they hunted the ordinary Slimes, which existed in plenty. After walking for half an hour, they had successfully hunted more than twenty ordinary Titan Slimes. Everyone leveled up once. Since this was their first level, they gained five free attribute points instead of three. Max assigned whole into agility.
...
Level: 1
EXP: 130 / 1500
Attributes: Strength 6, Agility 8, Endurance 8, Intelligence 6, Vitality 5
Unallocated Attribute Points: 0
...
Before they could reach the base of the hill, Max spotted a Boss Slime. However, this Slime was not in a dormant mode; rather, it was actively moving around like a living Slime. They could not attack it head-on, as they did not possess any vegetation around them to use as cover. If they provoked it, they would simply be crushed underneath it. Thus, Max had to wait for the exact right time to kill the Slime in a single, combined attack, just as he had done earlier.
Max signaled the party to stop, gesturing for everyone to take cover behind a large rock. The massive Slime was situated exactly a few feet away from them, constantly moving around. Whenever it moved, they could physically feel the impact of its landing reverberating against their bodies.
Max felt slightly confused by this immense strength. Ultimately, he came to the conclusion that this was not merely a Boss monster, but additionally a Mutated monster. This meant it might possess a completely different kind of Skill other than the standard leaping skill used to crush its enemies. Alternatively, he could be completely wrong; he simply was not sure.
"Okay, we can hunt this Slime as well, but for that, we need someone to act as bait. Just launch a surprise attack on the Slime to force it to stay still, preventing its Living Core from moving."
If the Slime were to detect it was being attacked and felt danger, it might move its Living Core inside its body to avoid being killed. Since it was constantly moving right now, it needed to receive a sudden surprise to force it into a stationary mode without making it feel threatened. Thus, instead of having everyone attack, which would detect the danger, Max suggested a single person launch an attack. When the Slime noticed this surprise attack, it would stop moving, and due to a single, tiny hostility, it would not feel danger. Then, Max would finish it in a single combined move.
"Any volunteers?" Max asked the party members.
Everyone hesitated for a moment. They had just witnessed the attacks and damage from the ordinary Slimes; they could not even imagine exactly how much strength the Boss Slime would possess. They would definitely be crushed into paste if Max were to miss his shot. Even though they realized his true strength now, their minds still told them it was dangerous to act as bait.
"I will go. Since I am an Archer, I will stay relatively far away and launch a surprise attack," Anne stated, noticing that everyone had remained silent.
She felt a similar way to the others, but they were inside a Dungeon, and in order to grow, they had to take risks. If she was afraid to act as bait inside an E-Rank Dungeon, then she would be bound to become a nobody in the future.
"Very good. You can climb the rocky hill from the other side, position yourself, and get ready for my signal. At that time, attack only a single time, then simply stand there without moving. I will take care of it," Max instructed, detailing what she needed to do.
Soon, Anne moved toward the rocky hill and began to climb up the side, carefully avoiding detection. Max also moved to the other side to find a good spot that would be perfect for the attack. Meanwhile, the others stayed at the exact same location, concealing their presence.