The news about the Dungeon Rampage still made the girls agitated, even as we made our way to the Dungeon.
There was a limit to how much I could reassure them, and without seeing for themselves, their anxiety could only get so low.
Even though my last level-ups hadn't changed the difficulty sliders for the [Events], they were one of the most straightforward ways I could think of to increase our chances.
So, despite the circumstances, raiding the Dungeon remained a priority for me.
Today's objective was to explore deeper into the second floor, so that we could get the next level-up quickly.
Hopefully, we could also reach the boss room, which was still a little deeper in our path.
Though there was one close if we went in another direction, the descent of the Dragon's Nest third-floor boss made us wary of that path; in case of a Dungeon Rampage, we'd be forced to run deeper into the floor instead of toward the settlement.
But as expected, the difference was minimal. Even though we took the longer path, eventually, we reached one of the Second Floor's Boss Rooms.
It was a terrifying milestone in our progress on this floor.
Sam: "...Going farther would be pretty dangerous."
She slouched against the wall opposite the Boss Room's doors, her eyes darting between them and us.
Roy: "I think we can go deeper though..."
A sigh escaped Sam.
She looked at me, clearly waiting for a more cautious analysis, but...
Miwen: "Yeah, we're doing fine enough."
Sam & Roy: "Eh!?"
Their eyes widened so suddenly that even I was surprised.
Miwen: "W-what?"
Sam: "Well, you know... You're usually more careful...."
I couldn't deny it, but I also couldn't explain to her that it'd be more dangerous for me not to take some risks here.
Honestly, even with my incentives, I stood by my words.
It wasn't without risk, but the rewards were worth it, and I was fairly confident we could handle most scenarios.
Miwen: "Well then, let's just proceed with caution, okay?"
I gave her a friendly wink, taking the lead.
Sam: "Fine by me."
As we walked farther down our path, the worry in our hearts slowly gave way to excitement.
It was an addictive feeling, almost as sweet as the promised rewards themselves.
However, I enjoyed it in moderation, remaining attentive to the growing toll that every fight had on us.
We had run into several groups of hobgoblins and orcs, all of them stronger than before the Boss Room mark.
As I inched close to my next level-up, the battles we faced had become tiring enough that we'd need a couple of minutes to catch our breath before walking another step.
Eventually, we ran into 2 orcs.
Both were slightly bigger than normal orcs, but what caught our attention the most was that one had a greyish skin tone, while the other seemed redder than any other orc we had seen.
The orcs were said to be dumber and less cunning than a hobgoblin, but these two were clearly [Superior Monsters], so we could expect anything.
Careful not to provoke them, I turned to my partymates behind me before confirming their stats.
Miwen: "What do you two think?"
Licia: "It's doable, but it would be hard..."
Claire: "Sis and I can take care of one of them, but the other one would be a bit too much. I'm worried that you guys would end up being injured if you fought against it..."
Worrisome... but I didn't want to pass on the experience.
So I proposed an alternative.
Miwen: "What if I confirm their levels and one of them ends up being weaker than the cap?"
Roy: "You can do that?"
Miwen: "I have a skill for it, but it costs mana, so I don't use it frequently... It's just that this time there's a good chance for us and the experience would be pretty sweet..."
I usually only use it in cases like this, where it might be worth it to pursue some risks.
Although I normally just advise everyone to retreat anyway since we have no need to rush...
The balance was a bit skewed this time, though.
Licia: "If they can detect that a skill is being used against them, they may figure out our location and charge against us... It's a bit risky..."
Claire: "If you want to do it, I won't impede you..."
They seemed to be having doubts about it, and in cases like this...
Sam: "I guess this calls for a vote then? I'll vote against it. I don't think it's worth it since we can keep coming back for more experience..."
Roy: "I don't like running away from these types of challenges. We will need to end up risking ourselves more and more as we advance as adventurers, to run away from a battle just because it's hard would make us unprepared for the challenges up ahead. I'm fine fighting them."
Perhaps for the first time, I was on Roy's side.
Licia: "I'm not sure... I don't like risking it, so I'm also against..."
Both arguments were solid, and normally, I would side with Sam, especially after hearing Licia's opinion; however...
Miwen: "I think it's worth it, at the very least I should check their levels..."
Claire: "I told you I'd do it if you wanted to, so..."
Thankfully, Claire was a little more interested, so we ended up outvoting them.
At least when it came to figuring out their levels.
And so, I first checked the one with grey skin. Using [Appraisal] on it I ended up finding out that he was at the cap, at level 7.
His Gift also made him resistant to non-elemental attacks, but I couldn't get a name or more information about it due to the level difference.
Thankfully, the other one, the orc with red skin, was a much easier target.
He had [Flame Breath] as a Gift, which was pretty self-explanatory.
And the good news was that he had yet to reach the cap. And so, if we ganged up on him, we should be able to take it down.
Roy: "See? It's gonna be easy!"
...I never said that.
I understood that he was trying to hype us up, but I felt it was best to be more realistic about it, and so did the others.
Sam: "So, are you sure you guys wanna do it as you said previously? I believe it would be better to have a 3-on-1 against that grey one since he's stronger..."
Claire: "No need, it's better this way as the chances of someone getting hurt will decrease..."
Licia: "Also, if you manage to defeat the red one quickly, then we can have a 5-on-1 against the grey one."
While they said that, the truth was that Claire and Licia were stronger as a pair than Sam, Roy, and I were as a trio.
They are also quite capable and coordinated when fighting together, so mixing someone inexperienced with them would actually hurt their chances.
Sam: "If you say so..."
Thus, the battle against the two orcs began.
Everyone locked in on their targets, and although it was sad that I was separated from the girls, I knew they would be alright.
And while it might be bad to admit it, if something happened to them, I would rush to their side without thinking twice.
Still, in our battle, the first one to launch an attack was Roy.
He tried to slash the arm of the red orc sideways; however, he used his huge club to block the attempt.
When it came to handling his weapons, he seemed to be the best monster we had encountered, which made things hard as daggers and knives weren't exactly a counter for it.
We lacked the reach, and if we wanted to win, we would need a direct hit, so after Roy jumped back to disengage, Sam and I surrounded the monster.
This way, no matter how strong it was or how he used his club, as long as we managed to attack him simultaneously, he simply wouldn't have room to defend himself.
Once again, Roy dashes toward his opponent, getting blocked and then counterattacked by the orc.
However, the wide motion it took to attack Roy gave Sam and me an opening to slash his back, stopping him in his tracks.
Roy, who had just created distance, closes in again and attacks him from the front.
We were only doing superficial damage at best, but it was enough to enrage it, as the monster was stuck.
Every time it tried to attack, it was met with counters from its blind spots.
Thus, it finally used his Gift of [Flame Breath].
While Roy, its primary target, had made enough distance to evade it, in a circling motion, the orc turned to Sam and me, making all of us retreat from his attack range.
It didn't seem like he got tired after doing that, but it was costly energy-wise to keep up like this.
Not to mention, it was consuming a lot of time.
If more monsters came, we would be in an incredibly difficult spot.
Still, what we had to do to defeat it was clear.
First, the flames were too much of a problem. We couldn't let them get to us or it would be game over.
Second, we needed a powerful strike to end this as fast as possible. Before he had any chance to recover, adapt, or learn.
With this in mind, I decided to focus entirely on this fight.
As Licia and Claire said, it was definitely doable, but it would be hard.
So, I decided on my next steps and how I was going to defeat it.
Sam and Roy attacked him again, but this time, he answered with his [Flame Breath] straight away.
Once he stopped, Sam tried to attack again, but the orc managed to send her away by swinging his club at her.
I circled around him. Waiting for a good opportunity, which came exactly when Roy attacked him to cover for Sam.
His attack went through, and he damaged the monster's ankle.
While not a deep cut, it was enough to reduce its mobility, as well as to get all of the monster's attention.
Enraged, the Red Orc launched his flame attack once again, and a fiery wave headed towards Roy.
However, this left him open, and I used [Focused Strike] alongside [X Slash], hoping that the combo would be enough to kill it.
Surprisingly, it was more than enough.
As if cutting through butter, I sliced his neck clean, making his head fall to the ground.
Defeating a strong opponent like this one made me want to celebrate, but before that, I noticed that Licia and Claire were still fighting theirs, so I quickly headed their way.
Claire: "Took you long enough."
Miwen: "Do you really think so? Looking at this, you guys are the ones being late."
Claire: "Hmh... can't deny that..."
Although she was a little mad at that comment, she still admitted it.
Sam: "What's the problem?"
Claire: "I'll change with Licia, and she will explain it to you."
As she says that, Claire launches herself towards the Grey Orc. Seeing it, Licia disengages from the battle.
Licia: "Oh, you're here, good. Now we can win."
Miwen: "What's happening? Is it that tough?"
Licia: "A little bit, Claire and I can keep up with him, but the real problem is that he's very annoying. Only elemental attacks work on him, and Claire and I can't keep using magic-based attacks due to our low mana, so..."
It was impressive that a single one of them was able to hold him back long enough for the other to leisurely explain things, but judging by Licia's state, it was also definitely tiring.
Miwen: "That's a bit of a problem then, I also just used up almost all of mine..."
Licia: "I was hoping you didn't, but that's alright. There's a way for us to win."
As she says that, Licia grabs one of my daggers and enchants it with her frost coating.
Licia: "Give me the other one, with this, you should be able to damage it."
After doing that for all our weapons, the four of us join Claire and start attacking the Grey Orc.
Although it had a higher level, as his Gift was mostly defensive and Licia's countered thanks to her frost coating, it was not as problematic as the red one.
It also lacked any ranged attack.
With five of us surrounding it, the monster relied too much on circular attacks with his club, in an attempt to get even a single one of us distracted.
Of course, this never happened, and we took turns cutting him whenever possible.
Without context, this looked like a bullying case. Even more than what we did with the Red one.
Alas, Licia's coating wasn't going to last forever, but thankfully, the damage we were doing was enough.
He couldn't handle it for much longer, and eventually, either due to the bleeding or a perforation of one of his vitals, the monster died, marking the end of our battle against the two superior orcs.
This battle ended up being enough for everyone to level up, and it even made me somewhat close to the next level.
As such, it ended up being well worth it to me.
Sam: "I'm glad it's finally over, but we are going back for sure now."
Miwen: "No complaints here. I'm exhausted..."
Our raid ended as we made our way back from the second floor.
Sadly, the orcs didn't drop anything noteworthy, but we did get a good amount from other monsters, and when dividing it, Roy and Sam made $18, while the girls and I got $45.