Chapter 201 - dungeon 1
As we entered the dungeon, I sensed the surroundings changing, but my perception caught every detail and never left Luna.
What I saw inside the dungeon made my eyes widen. There was a massive number of lizardmen.
As soon as we appeared inside the dungeon, they noticed us and rushed toward us.
Subconsciously, I summoned Eclipse and coated it with Ice Aura.
I slashed at them with a freezing attack.
The sword arc swept through space, freezing everything it touched. All the lizardmen charging toward us turned into ice statues, while the lizardmen behind them tried to climb over their frozen companions.
Luna tried to kill them, but I stopped her.
"Hey, this is Lily’s test. Don’t."
I looked at Lily.
She blinked and pointed a finger at herself.
"Me?"
Her big eyes blinked in confusion.
My eyes twitched. "Yes, you! Who else? Is there anyone else here named Lily? And if that old woman finds out we cleared this dungeon without letting you do anything, what do you think that crazy old woman will do?"
As soon as I finished speaking, a fist came down on my head.
"What did you say, you stinky brat?"
My eyes widened as I looked at the mage woman.
"Ah, how did you get into the dungeon?"
She just shrugged. "It’s quite easy. I can enter, but I can’t use my powers inside the dungeon because they’re sealed."
I looked at her thoughtfully as she turned toward Lily.
"This stinky brat is right, disciple. You have to face this alone. If a real danger appears, you can get help from us."
Luna, standing beside me, glared at me.
"You had your fun, but the moment I tried to kill a few, you said it wasn’t appropriate."
I just shrugged. "I killed them because they attacked us. If I hadn’t taken action, they would have attacked both you and me."
She just huffed. "If you hadn’t taken action, I would have killed them. I have far more control over Ice than you do."
I smiled and nodded. "Okay, okay. Next time, if Lily needs help, you can help her. How about that?"
She thought about it and understood how important this was to Lily. She looked at Lily before finally relenting.
"Hmm, fine. Whatever. Humph!"
Lily finally entered the battlefield and began fighting the lizardmen.
She used pure magic to kill them, casting spells like Wind Blades and Fireballs.
I looked at the mage woman and asked, "Where’s her sword?"
The mage woman’s eyes twitched. "She’s a mage. Why would she have a sword?"
This time, my eyes twitched.
"Wouldn’t it be better to follow both paths instead of just one? Isn’t choosing only one a massive disadvantage?"
She just shrugged. "You say that because you haven’t understood the depths of magic yet."
"Some people spend their entire lives following the sword without touching magic, while others use magic without ever wielding a sword or another weapon."
I looked at her and said sincerely, "That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. Yes, you can accomplish many things by following one path, but if you have the ability, you should use all of it."
"It’s a waste to follow the sword path if you can also become a mage. You should use everything you have in battle."
The mage woman shook her head.
"It’s up to the individual. Not everyone is talented enough to combine both paths."
"I’m not saying Lily can’t use a sword, but her talent lies in magic, so she focuses on what she’s good at."
"If she follows the sword path as well, her journey will only become harder."
Then I asked, "So, what happens if someone comes along who can resist magic or absorb it, like me?"
She raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by absorb?"
I looked at Luna, and she immediately understood. She shot a spear of light at me.
I simply devoured it.
The mage woman’s eyes widened before she nodded.
"Hmm, that’s certainly a troublesome ability to deal with. As for magic resistance, it’s not absolute."
"You can learn many spells and improve your mana control to deal with such opponents. It’s a little difficult, but not impossible."
"You two are talented enough to learn everything, but not everyone is like that. Lily simply likes the path of a mage, so I’m showing her the way."
I nodded in understanding.
That’s true. You don’t always need to think about strength. If she forces herself to do something she doesn’t like, it’ll only hinder her.
I looked at Lily as she killed all the lizardmen.
Then I took out a glass of orange juice and gave it to Luna.
She happily accepted it and took a sip, closing her eyes to enjoy the taste.
Then I took out some apple juice and looked at the mage woman.
"Would you like something to drink?"
She politely refused, so I took out a bowl of popcorn as well and offered it to Luna.
We watched Lily fight while eating popcorn and drinking juice.
Luna grabbed another handful of popcorn and ate it as she said, "Lily is doing a good job killing them. It seems we don’t need to intervene."
I nodded as we walked farther into the dungeon.
Lily had already killed the lizardmen and continued deeper inside, so we followed her while eating popcorn and drinking juice.
The mage woman came along with us, her mouth twitching at the sight.
She was mainly here to save Lily if something happened.
Even though her powers were sealed, they were only sealed when she confronted the monsters. She could still stay away from them, and she had complete confidence in her ability to save her disciple if anything happened.
Just like my shadow guardians, I could sense that they were still in my shadows and darkness.
Then we followed Lily as she remained highly alert to her surroundings.
I noticed the mage woman wearing a strange smile, and I had a bad feeling.
She had good senses, so I kept my perception active, ready to face anything.
Then we saw what the crazy woman had been smiling about.
A massive group of evolved lizards. There were about ten of them.
I looked at them and sighed.
They were still C-Rank, so they were manageable.
I took Luna’s hand and teleported us into the sky, creating a Space Platform so we could watch.
I looked at Luna and said, "If you want to sit, you can."
She immediately nodded, sat down in the middle of the space platform, placed the popcorn basket beside her, and began watching what would happen next.
The mage woman’s mouth twitched at the sight.
But she also kept her distance.
As for Lily, she was fully determined. She summoned several Fireballs, compressed them, and launched them at one of the lizardmen.
She guided them with her staff, her movements refined through practice.
She used Wind Magic to make her Fireballs faster and more powerful.
My eyes gleamed as I watched her movements. Then she used wind pressure to propel herself away and create some distance.
The evolved lizard was hit by the fire and began burning.
The other lizards rushed toward Lily, but she used her wind to spread the flames farther, engulfing them.
The lizards screamed as she used something I hadn’t expected.
She had three elements.
My eyes widened.
Luna added, "She has three elements, just like us."
I nodded as Lily made the rocks burn and used wind pressure to hurl them at the evolved lizards.
Those flaming rocks pierced through them, killing them one by one.
As things progressed, it became clear that she could kill all of them.
So I shouted, "Hey, Lily! Leave one lizard for us!"
She blinked and looked at me in the middle of the battle, confused, but she nodded.
Then I looked at Luna and said, "You said you wanted to have some fun. How about I teleport you to that lizard, and you kill it using only your sword?"
"No elements."
Luna’s eyes lit up as she nodded.
"Hmm, that sounds interesting. Let’s do it!"
I nodded and teleported Luna beside one of the evolved lizards.
She drew her graceful, ice-like sword and assumed a fighting stance.
She didn’t use any elements, relying solely on her physical strength as she slashed at the lizard.
The lizard met her attack with one of its own.
Luna immediately retreated a short distance. She almost subconsciously used her elements to coat herself, but stopped herself and raised her sword to attack again.
She didn’t use any heavy attacks, relying instead on fast strikes that managed to injure the lizard. The cuts weren’t deep, but she continued inflicting small wounds.
The lizard stopped and dodged many of her attacks.
This time, the lizard was alert, unlike when Lily attacked it with magic enhanced by wind, making it difficult to evade.
However, Luna’s sword strikes were visible, allowing the lizard to dodge many of them.
It wasn’t because Luna was weak. It was because this crazy girl was holding back both her strength and her speed to match the lizard.
She doesn’t want to end it quickly.
I just sigh as watching it.