Oakley walked in, taunted the monsters.
Penelope targeted the closest four and left one of the crows alone.
“Light Bolt! Light Bolt! Light Bolt! Light Bolt!” to kill all but one crow.
DING!
Experience +4
Experience +4
Experience +4
Experience +4
With her part of the plan done, Penelope watched Frederica stab the Shadow Caster in the neck.
And it didn’t die.
The Demon slapped Frederica away as it pulled out its potion sling and removed the Healing Potion.
The blonde used her second dagger to stab at it, which the Demon brushed away with its arm. The effort forced it to stop trying to take the Healing Potion, which gave Penelope enough time to get close enough and aim at its head.
“Light Bolt!”
DING!
Experience +12
With only one monster left, Penelope pointed her wand at it.
“Light Bolt!”
DING!
Experience +4
The remaining crow fell to drop the barrier.
“I knew that was going to happen!” Oakley ran over to the older woman. “Frederica! Are you okay?”
The blonde brushed herself off. “I’m fine.” She picked up the Healing Potion and potion sling. “I get these.”
“Are you sure?” Oakley grabbed her cheek and looked into the older woman’s eyes. “It looked like it hit you pretty hard.”
Frederica brushed him off. “I’ve been hit harder by tennis balls.” She looked over at Penelope. “More loot for you?”
Penelope winced as she picked up the gloves. “Yeah…”
“I think you’re picking these rooms just so you can get gear.” The older woman glared at Penelope. “Why don’t we do something that one of us will get something other than potions?”
Penelope swallowed. 4C had a hand crossbow, but that didn’t seem like a weapon that Frederica would want. 5D was the last item that Penelope wanted to gather for herself, but suggesting that right now didn’t seem wise. 4E was the Shadow Warrior with the Power harness. While it was a piece of Power gear, she doubted that the older woman would want to wear something that wouldn’t cover her boobs.
Frederica pointed west. “I think we should go that way.” Her glare dared the other two to object. “The Demon over there looks like an archer-type, so I should get some gear.” She raised her eyebrows. “Any objections?”
Penelope wanted to object, but there was no good reason she could justify to do so. “Sure, if that’s what you want to do. This seemed a lot easier than the last column since we don’t have to worry about burrowing monsters.”
Oakley shook his head. “I think we should go back to the third column. Even with the ambush, the bigger Demons should be easier.”
Frederica pouted her lip as she walked up to the young man. She walked her fingers up his chestplate. “I didn’t think you’d be taking her side.” She booped him on the nose. “Are you really going to get more Caster gear for her?”
“Momma’s got game.” Jeru admired.
“Aren’t you like two thousand or something?” Penelope gagged in her head. “Plus, she’s old enough to be his mom.”
“I can appreciate that a forty-seven-year-old woman knows how to manipulate a man that’s twenty years younger than her.” Jeru chuckled. “You should take some notes.”
“You’re messed up.” Penelope shivered, then forced a smile when she realized that the two humans were looking at her. “I already said that we can go west and try to get Frederica some gear.” She held up her hands. “Don’t bring me into your lover’s spat.”
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“We’re not…” Oakley sputtered as he looked between the two women.
Frederica smiled and started walking west to 4C.
The Tank started walking over to the younger woman, which set off every alarm in her head. Penelope hurried to catch up to the blonde and the two of them walked in silence to the barrier.
“Same plan as before?” Frederica looked at the two.
“Um…” Penelope thought about pointing out that she needed to kill the Demon first to maximize her experience, but then she remembered that she’d stop gaining experience at level ten. While hitting nine would be helpful, she had a feeling the older woman would throw a fit about min/maxing. “Sounds good. Make sure to wait for me to kill the little ones before you attack the boss so I can help if you need it.”
“I won’t.” Frederica smiled at the Tank. “Whenever you’re ready dear.”
Penelope suppressed the urge to gag.
Oakley nodded, hefted the shield, and walked in.
“ARRRGG!!!”
As soon as the monsters turned to the Tank, the two women walked in.
“Light Bolt! Light Bolt! Light Bolt!”
Ding!
Experience +4
Experience +4
Experience +4
You are now Level Eight
Stats increased: Aura +1, Magic +1
You have learned: Light Burst
New Class Unlocked!
Greenhorn -> Spellshot
New Passive Unlocked!
Chaincast
Mana Sponge
Penelope grinned at the wall of text and turned to the last two Demonic Crows.
“Light Bolt! Light Bolt!”
Ding!
Experience +2
Experience +2
Oakley yelled again as the crossbow unloaded thorns into his shield. Just in case something happened, Penelope moved close enough that she could shoot the Demon.
Frederica had run in a wide arc to get behind the Demon. Both of her daggers were coated in shadows as she raised them behind the oblivious Shadow Shooter. This time, instead of stabbing with one dagger and trying to make a followup, the blonde plunged both daggers into the Demon’s neck at the same time.
Ding!
Experience +8
“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!”
Penelope had to bite her cheeks to keep the smile off her face. Oakley on the other hand was very concerned about Frederica’s outburst.
“Are you okay?” The young man ran over to where the older woman was glaring at the pile of items.
“It’s the gun!” Frederica glared at the other woman. “You knew there wasn’t going to be anything here that I could use! That’s why you were so willing to do what I suggested!”
Penelope held up her hands. “Hey, you made a good point and I agreed with you. I’m sorry it didn’t work out.” She motioned at 4B. “That one has a Warrior type in it. You want to do that one and see if you can get some Power gear?”
Penelope looked around, then motioned at 4E. “There was a Warrior over there too, I think there might have been another Assassin in 4F, but I couldn’t tell.” She held up her hands. “Whatever you want.”
“UGH!” Frederica grabbed Oakley’s arm. “Come on!”
Penelope paused at the item pile to pick up the hand crossbow and harvest the goo. Frederica had taken the potions, but she had so much mana recovery that she filled up moving between rooms.
The pair had already entered 4B by the time that Penelope reached the barrier.
They do know that they can die, right? Penelope shook her head as she walked into the square.
“You mean like someone else?” Jeru scoffed.
You know what I mean. Penelope pointed her wand at the minions.
“Light Bolt! Light Bolt!”
Ding!
Experience +2
Experience +2
The two Demonic Centipedes rolled into a wheel as they died, forcing Oakley to use his shield to shove them away from him.
The Demonic Crows lifted off the ground like they were preparing to dive. The Shadow Warrior roared, sending a shockwave towards the Tank.
Penelope took care of the flyers by firing three
Ding!
Experience +2
Experience +2
Experience +2
The Demon charged, leaving Frederica behind as it cleared the gap and slammed its mace into Oakley’s shield.
How mad do you think she’d be if I killed the Demon?
“Please don’t.” Jeru sighed. “Neither of us want to listen to her complain, and I think he’ll be fine.”
Oakley held his ground as the Demon hammered blow after blow against the shield. The young man even managed to get in a few slashes with his short sword while Frederica snuck up on the fight.
The shadow-coated daggers plunged into the Demon’s neck as it prepared for another attack. Penelope had to admit, assassinating the Demons was effective.
Ding!
Experience +8
“Finally!” Frederica picked up the leather belt and wrapped it around her waist.
“Congratulations!” Oakley raised his hand to give her a high-five. When she didn’t take it, he lowered his hand. “Do you think we should head back?”
“It’s 12:34.” Penelope turned to check the progress of the other group. “Looks like they have one more room to clear.” She looked at the older woman. “You want to clear one more on our way back?”
The blonde glared at the younger woman. “You just can’t wait to get more gear for yourself, can you?” Frederica wagged her finger. “We’re going to get an upgrade for my little tree and then if we have time, we can try to feed your greed.”
Penelope sighed. “Fine.” They weren’t going the direction she knew they needed to go, but she didn’t trust the pair not to try a room without her. She walked over to collect the
“Jeru!” Penelope’s heart thumped in her ears as she looked around. “Where are they?”
“Behind you.”
Penelope turned around. Frederica and Oakley had gone into 3B by themselves.
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