"Sometimes, risking it all is worth it. Sometimes, it'll look really stupid. This time, I think, it's going to be both." ~Grace Allturia

Among the group, Grace was the first to realize their fortunate situation. They were up on an elevated land, most likely a hill, with a lot of cover from bushes and trees. Even the wind's direction was blowing their scent away from the brontrels.

In short, they had the most opportune conditions to strike.

Of course, this was by design.

From Ren and Tayin's expressions, it looked like they finally realized how Shallies had plotted down their route this way intentionally. Whether it was actually the most optimal route for the sake of travel or not, they couldn't deny that the Godkiller had given them the best chance at a surprise attack.

Six brontrels, however, was still a lot.

"We have all these buffs," Tayin said. "I don't think we're outmatched, even if we're outnumbered."

"I won't be able to take all their attention, though," Ren said.

"You can," Grace rebutted, recalling her experience from when Ben had used it. "You have Bright Sun on you. Just activate it when we engage."

For the sake of stealth, they had their Guiding Star buffs currently inactive. But Tayin did have a point, Grace realized. They have all these new Skills, new equipment, buffs, and everything. Six brontrels shouldn't impose that much of an issue.

The only problem would be the Mini-Boss.

"At the very least, I'll keep that one on me," Ren said.

"Copy that," Grace confirmed. "I can run around and keep them away from you, Tayin."

"Thanks," said the halfling, nodding along. "If it all goes well, I can take down two of the small ones right from the get go."

"Oh, really?" Ren asked. "Is that the twin-casting thing, Shallies mentioned earlier?"

"Yep. It won't let me use twin-casting on Prepared Spells, until I have the actual Twin-Casting Skill, but I can hard twin-cast Fire Lance and Shooting Star with just incantations."

"I'm guessing you're aiming for the two ice brontrels, then?" Grace asked.

"Yeah. Fire Lance should do double damage on them."

"Alright," Ren started, turning back to the pack of monster-bears. "We have our plan. But as always, we adapt when needed."

Grace and Tayin nodded.

Making sure they were as stealthy as possible, the group traversed down the hill in order to get in striking range. They were careful, taking their time with every step. Ren was providing them with enough information through hand signals, as he took point. Within the cover of bushes and trees, they finally closed the distance.

At this point, they couldn't use their words anymore. Just like with the six-horned noldzwjak before, the group opted not to use Scan. But unlike that previous situation, they had the guidance of their mentor leading them on.

With a nod, the operation began.

Haste, Shield Charge, and twin-casted Flame Lance echoed from the shadows as Grace's party emerged from hiding. At the same time, their Guiding Star marks twinkled to life.

In a single step, the half-orc reached one of the fire-maned brontrels. Lightning Surge erupted, causing her target to be stunned by the sudden blast of electricity. And with a swift swing, Grace tapped into her Focus and used Mana Slash.

The brontrel had no chance.

This three-step combo had become the half-orc's staple. She would've wanted to weave in Flametongue and Sharpen Blade into the mix, but it would've taken her a step too long to reliably hit every time. A thing she was still in the process of improving.

An instant later, two Flame Lances erupted beside her, killing two ice-maned brontrels. And further in front was Ren, who had ended the life of one more. He was legitimately surprised, since his attack had no Skill behind it, only using a normal downward slash of his Basic Shortsword +2.

He had no time to spend dwelling on their successful surprise attack, however. The Mini-Boss bellowed, forcing the remaining two smaller brontrels beside it. 'Smaller' was a generous term, all things considered, since these creatures were still a tad larger than an average human.

"Defend!" Ren called out, raising his shield.

The larger brontrel's fur glistened with a mixture of ice and flame. The two smaller ones that had remained shared an affinity each for either element, and started surging with mana as well.

Grace raised her Mana-Edge +4 across her chest, using Parry. Tayin, on the other hand, simply floated away, hoping she was relatively out of range. At the same time, she was reciting incantations for another Spell.

Volleys of fireballs and ice shards showered Ren and Grace. The Shield Knight relied on his trusty shield, while the Spell Sword deflected them easily with her Mana-Edge.

The half-orc was quick to notice that when compared to the drillbull's Mana-Missiles these ones were easier to deflect.

Or is it just because we're better now?

Regardless, both defenders managed to slowly close the distance while they deflected the volley of elemental projectiles. Realizing that their attacks were doing nothing, the Mini-Boss brontrel ceased its attacks and charged, attempting to maul Ren. The Disciple infused his shield with mana and stood valiantly.

"Manaweave: Mana-Affinity." Grace's incantation increases her overall damage depending on her Mana-Affinity. It didn't matter which Skill she used, or which weapon, or which attack. They all benefited from this Mana Weaver Skill.

Rather than help Ren, she focused her attack on the smaller brontrels. She closed the gap to one in a blink, stunning it again with Lightning Surge and quickly ending its life. The second one managed to resist the lightning, however, and tried to maul her. She quickly dodged, taking advantage of the bear-monster's sluggish movements, and taking her third kill.

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"Chippy!" she called out.

From the skies, the phoenix descended. With a flap of his wings, he threw a barrage of embers at the Mini-Boss's eyes. As expected, the massive brontrel's resistance against fire almost let it escape unharmed, but with the right aim, Chippy successfully caused it to flinch.

That was enough for a three-pronged finisher from Grace, Ren, and Tayin to reach the Mini-Boss. Mana Slash, a normal slash, and a twin-casted Shooting Star.

The massive brontrel fell, and the fight was over.

So far so good. Grace let out a breath. Chippy perched on her shoulder, proudly chirping at his contribution. She rewarded him with a few chunks of meat that Shallies had prepared for the phoenix, now that he could eat something more solid.

"That went well," Tayin said, dropping down on her feet after deactivating her Star Stream. "Shallies could probably use their meat, right?"

"I think so," Ren agreed, already retrieving the Godkiller's Containers from his Class Inventory. "You keep the Loot Sources for now."

In the meantime, Grace looked at her System Console, referring to Shallies' map. "Are you guys good to keep going?"

Ren and Tayin looked at her like she had said something crazy.

"What?"

"If we're quicker to tire than you, Grace, that would be a poor showing on our part," Ren said.

"As long as you're good to go, we'll keep up," Tayin added. "At least, until we're all at the same level."

[Speaking of,] Stachie interrupted. [Congratulations on defeating the Mini-Boss. Grace, you got two Levels. And Ren and Tayin, you each have one. You can choose which Class to invest these Levels into.]

"We can do that at night," Ren suggested. He was done collecting the carcasses.

"Agreed," Grace and Tayin said at the same time.

[At your own pace, then.]

"Alright," said the Shield Knight. "Let's keep going."

"How many Mini-Bosses are there?"

Shallies spared Valor'el a glance as he asked the question. She was busy analyzing some weird herb.

"Six," she replied. "Five now."

"Mmm… Sounds about right."

"Three of them are guarding the Delve Gate."

"One Mini-Boss per party member," Valor'el concluded, not even trying to hide his sarcasm. "Of course, of course."

"You can help them out if you want." Shallies returned the sarcasm.

"And ruin their growth? Us being here is already messing up with their bravado. They'll think that we're here to save them in case something goes wrong."

"Grace already knows that I won't," Shallies replied, finishing the Scan on the weird plant. "The other two might still have that assumption, and this would be a good opportunity for them to learn otherwise.

"You know this is how I operate, Valor'el. I'll always accompany my new students in their first dungeon. I'll give them the best route. If they deviate, they'll face the consequences of their decision and learn from it. If they follow, they'll learn to trust the methods the route teaches them. At the same time, they're supposed to realize how true I am to my word."

"That they won't receive any other assistance other than what you've already given them." Valor'el nodded. "I understand. Even if their lives are on the line, you won't be saving them."

"That's right."

The seraph scratched his head, making a sigh as he stared at the field of weird herbs that were yet to be harvested.

"So what are these?" he asked.

"Chuchili," Shallies replied. "A form of chili pepper, but it doesn't have the same shape. It's got some kick to it."

"I assume it's a magical ingredient, then?"

"Yep. Probably one of the best ones." Shallies smiled, turning to the seraph. "It's got an Experience Multiplier. It even multiplies Feats of Heroism."

Valor'el's face turned from impressive to shocked and amazed in quick succession.

"That's amazing!" he started. "We should get as much as we can, and then have Marisa plant more for us."

"Unfortunately, these can only grow in a dungeon."

"Oh…" This time, he rubbed his chin curiously. A plan seemed to be brewing inside his head. Shallies knew what it was before he even gave it voice.

"You can talk to Hydrangea if you want," she started. "If she's willing to keep the dungeon open, we can probably set up a containment area, and constantly farm these resources."

"It's about a day of travel via carriage," Valor'el calculated. "And the seclusion might end up having a lot more visitors than normal."

Shallies breathed out, looking at the field. Based on her Scan, this was the only patch of land where these chuchilis had grown throughout the island. In fact, they weren't the only ones that were potentially powerful magical ingredients in this dungeon.

It was truly a hidden treasure trove for Chefs.

"Maybe only until Thrush'ven Alir shows up," she suggested. "Tell Hydrangea that we'll take a month, maybe two if possible. I can personally escort Marisa every time, whenever she needs to tend to them. Lots of moving cogs involved with it, but I think we can manage for a month, at least."

"Hmm… If that, I can probably even entice Hydrangea by offering some of the yield," Valor'el said. "She might be able to market it, or help improve her adventurers."

"I'll leave that up to you," Shallies conveyed, understanding that the plan was now in motion. "Just make sure there's enough for my students and some people in the Gaiamaxims. You can go tomorrow. For now, help me harvest these."

"Of course."

Without skipping a beat, the two worked on the field, gathering the chuchilis. At the same time, Shallies monitored her students' performance.

They had killed another Mini-Boss. Grace gained another level, while the other two remained the same. They were pretty close to the Delve Gate now.

Close, but Grace, Ren, and Tayin noticed that Shallies had given them a detour, avoiding the Delve Gate for now.

"She said she'd tell us the Delve Gate requirement, right?" Grace asked. "I don't see it."

"Maybe it'll only show up once we get there via the route?" Ren guessed.

"Seems plausible," Tayin added.

Grace agreed. "She's asking us to clear the monsters in the entire half of this island before we get to the Delve Gate."

The group spent a few more hours clearing packs of monsters and finding some hidden treasures. Surprisingly enough, they were just bits, or mundane gems that could be exchanged for bits, rather than equipment.

When the three of them gained another level, they took a short break.

"Should we have some lunch first?" Tayin asked. "Says here we can go back to the entrance for a quick break, or continue on if we want."

"I'm a little hungry, not gonna lie," Ren said.

"You just want to add your Levels."

"That too."

They both turned to Grace.

"Yeah, I'm feeling a little hungry, too."

Four levels in under five hours—two for Ren and Tayin—was already really good, as far as she could tell. Even if they still had a lot of energy, due to Mana Energy and their conservative use of mana itself, a lunch break was definitely still in order. That would give them a lot of time for the rest of the day.

"We should probably ask Shallies for some packed dinner," Ren asked as they went through the route leading back to the entrance.

Surprisingly, Grace noticed that it led them away from other monster packs.

"We can probably just ask her to deliver it for us," Grace said. While Ren got confused, Tayin quickly caught on.

"Oh, she has Sight Step!"

"Yeah."

"But ask the Godkiller to deliver us food?" Ren asked.

"I don't think she'll mind."

"I definitely won't," Shallies said, appearing in front of them.

Suddenly, Tayin vanished with the Godkiller. Grace turned to Ren and waved goodbye before he, too, disappeared. Finally, the half-orc held out a hand. And within the next instant, they were all back to the entrance.

"I can do either, whichever you prefer," Shallies said. "Deliver or pack, up to you. This one is a special service, because I found something that will help you out a lot."

"Oh, I thought we'll only have one Food Buff?" Grace asked.

"That's why I said it's special." Shallies pulled out a herb.

It was a long leaf that looked painfully dry. It didn't even bend as the Godkiller waved it around. Surprisingly, though, it didn't break either.

"This is a chuchili," she started. "It's pretty spicy, but that kick comes with an Experience Multiplier. The Food Buff can give a fifty percent bonus up to a hundred percent, depending on how hot you can manage your food."

"Hundred percent!" All three of them screamed at the same time.

"Are you sure?"

The double ask placed Grace and the others on the back foot. The Godkiller's sly smile didn't help either.

"If you can't finish the meal, you can't gain the Food Buff."

"How hot is a hundred percent?" Ren risked the question.

In response, Shallies gestured behind her.

Valor'el was gasping with an entire jar of milk in his hands. He was sweating bullets, a small tear in his eyes, and raw, burning lips. Still, his plate was empty.

Grace gulped. She was confident in her spice tolerance. She could eat a jalapeno raw. But to see a Favored Class holder struggle made her hesitate. She heard the other two swallow as well.

Shallies wasn't helping them at all. Just smiling her dumb smile.

Tayin was the first to give in. "I'll try a sixty, then."

"Seventy!" Ren added.

Grace gulped again. She had a lot to catch up on. Her fist clenched in desperation. She closed her eyes. She gritted her teeth.

"No pain, no gain!" she yelled. "I'll take a hundred!"

Shallies said nothing. She only smiled. Even as the others gasped, and even as Valor'el desperately shook his head. The Godkiller still only smiled. Proudly, Grace hoped.

"Coming right up!"

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