After another day of training, I was able to level up my ‘Identify’ skill to level two. It now allows me to see the level of a skill and the overall level of my allies. It’ll help me better monitor our progress towards evolution and see tangible results in our training. I was even able to use the skill on a group of dungeon delvers that were halfway through the first floor. I’m now able to see the skill levels and the level of an individual. This does raise a question, though. Why was the information I was able to see on the dungeon master so much more limited compared to dungeon delvers? I don’t think it’s a matter of strength, as that one group of delvers seemed stronger than De’gon, so maybe he has some sort of ability to interfere with my skill, possibly through a skill or inherent ability. I would ask him, but I don’t think he would view that too favorably, and I’d rather not push my luck right now.

  ?

  Right now, a new group of dungeon delvers is approaching the final room. They’re a group of five, with the highest level among them being level twenty-two, the rest in the high teens. There were a lot of them, but Vulcan should be strong enough to take on three of them at once, especially if they’re at least partially blinded and two get taken down in the first strike. He’s really built up his durability and fighting ability, so he should be fine. Pim is still pretty squishy, defense-wise, but his speed should at least match their scout. Hit-and-run tactics should work well enough for him. My only worry is that there’s another group of dungeon delvers, around the same strength, not too far behind this group. I can even detect the signs of fighting from errant mana and rushing monsters near the beginning of the dungeon. For whatever reason, there’s been more dungeon delvers than before. I can only speculate on the cause, but I did hear this next group mention something about a delver killer. A dungeon delver must have killed one of their own, but it could only have happened outside of the dungeon. The only two groups that I’ve seen go to the lower floors haven’t come back up yet. The second group had that one guy leave, but he left and came back before they would have met up with the first party. It’s a shame if dungeon delvers are out there killing each other, but it doesn’t concern me if they don’t challenge this dungeon.

  ?

  I gather up Pim and Vulcan and tell them our plan for this next group. “Alright, we should follow the same plan as last time. This next group is about as powerful as the previous one, and we’ve all gotten stronger, so it should work out about the same.”

  ?

  “Vulcan and I attack right after you blind them, and I pick off the weakest one while Vulcan distracts them. Oh man, I can’t wait to test out all my new power. It feels like my spear moves through the air faster than I can think. I could take them all on by myself, the big guy can, too, right, Vulcan?”

  ?

  Vulcan nodded his head and spoke in his grinding voice. “Yes… strong”.

  ?

  I didn’t want them to get in over their heads. I’ve already seen what happens to someone who becomes arrogant in their strength. “Hold on, you both have gotten stronger, but you never know what could happen in battle. Taking on multiple, weaker opponents can still result in your death if you make one mistake. Against one person, you could get away with small mistakes, but a second or third enemy will turn any small mistake into a lethal one. Humans can be just as dangerous as monsters. If they think their death is assured, they would make sure the monster they’re fighting goes down with them.”

  ?

  “Sheesh, Willow, I’m not some dumb monster. I won’t take on more than I can handle. I’ll never be above running, so if it comes down to it, I’ll make sure I survive. I’ll try to help either of you if you’re in a bad spot, but there’s only so much I can do. The plan’s good though, so I doubt we have to worry about anything, right big guy.”

  ?

  “...Yes”

  ?

  “Alright, that’s good enough for me. They’re coming up right now, so let's get into position. Vulcan, blend in with the rocks. Pim, stay on the ceiling. I’ll blind as many as I can, and you two take them down quickly.”

  ?

  We get into position, hiding in the shadows, ready to strike. I’ve trained with ‘Mana Projection’ enough that I think I could create a bright orb in front of each of them simultaneously. Already spreading my mana around head height, the dungeon delvers are walking into the room in formation. A scout leads, followed by a swordsman with a shield, another swordsman to their side, a mage behind them, and an archer taking up the rear. It’s a well-composed party, role redundancy is covered, and they have a good mix of frontline to ranged support. Now it’s time to see if our training has been worth it. One of their swordsmen starts to tell the rest of his party to watch out for an ambush, but before he could finish, I set off my trap. At the exact same time, a blinding orb appears in front of each delver, blinding them from the dangers approaching in my companions. I was worried about Pim and Vulcan growing arrogant and becoming reckless with their strength, but I guess the joke was on me. Surprising me, even though I knew where they were, Pim flew in like a rocket towards their archer, only a slight whistle warning of his descent. In the few seconds the delvers were blinded, he had driven his spear through the archer from above, and in the same motion, pulled the spear out and into the mage. At the same time, Vulcan was pulverizing the middle of their formation. Crushing bones and armor alike, the two swordsmen fell to the overwhelming force of Vulcan’s stone club. Four people fell in only a few seconds from my companions' overwhelming violence and strength, leaving only the scout in the front, still partially blinded. He has a decently leveled detection skill, so that must be what’s allowing him to currently run at full force towards the stairs without his sight. To top off everything that has already surpassed my expectations, Vulcan manages to throw his club at the fleeing scout. The club flies through the air and only grazes his leg, but that’s enough to knock him off balance and tumble along the ground, smashing his body against the wall of the dungeon. Pim then flew forward and delivered the final blow against the final delver, bringing an end to this battle.

  ?

  The outcome of this battle saw me get to level thirteen, Pim to level ten, and Vulcan to level eight. We each gained a few levels from this fight, and they were quickly catching up to my level. Fortunately, it looks like the next group of dungeon delvers is making good progress through the dungeon. They should be here in the next hour or so, giving us enough time to recuperate.

  ?

  “Good job, guys. You’ve both gotten much stronger than when I first met you, and, if we keep up with this pace, one of us should evolve soon. We already have another group on the way, so let's keep up this momentum.”

  ?

  “Hehe, of course, we’ve gotten stronger. Most monsters don’t live long enough to level up their skills. Only the dungeon managers have a chance to do it, so we’ll be at their level soon enough. So bring on the intruders! The faster they come, the faster I’ll evolve. But big guy, when did you learn to throw? You don’t even have fingers.”

  ?

  “Ha…Ha…Strong,” he laughed like a grinding stone.

  ?

  With a quick glance at his status, I think I’ve found the answer alongside the new throwing skill he’s earned. “Vulcan’s health has dropped a little, even though he didn't make any hits. His club was fused to the end of his arm, so he must have detached his arm where the club was to throw it.”

  ?

  “Whoa, seriously? And I thought you just had rocks for brains, but you’re pretty clever, huh.”

  ?

  Looking proud of himself, as much as a featureless stone golem’s face can, he continued to laugh. Pim said stone golems were supposed to be pretty dumb, but Vulcan keeps breaking that idea with his growth. I wonder whether he was spawned with his current intelligence, or if something external is improving his intelligence and emotional capacity. Eh, food for thought, but there are more important things coming, like that party making its way here as we rest. Well, they should be my next priority, but something has just appeared on the stairs, getting past my mana without being detected up to that point. But, it isn’t a human walking up those steps; it’s a monster. A lizardman, with a greatsword strapped to his back, strided up the stairs as if he owned the place, and it looked like I wasn’t too far off the mark.

  ?

  With a deep, booming voice, the lizardman spoke. “Hahahaha. You think you’re strong. An imp, a stone golem, and a wisp, strong enough to be compared to one of the managers? Don’t make me laugh. Being compared to a lot of base-level monsters is an insult to the strong. I think it’s time you learned your place, fodder for the humans. And I, Leron, will be the one to happily do it.”

  ?

  Leron the Lizardman, no, the dungeon manager, raised his greatsword from behind his back, the wrapping falling silently to the ground. The edge of the sword glinted with the blue light of my ethereal light. He was raring to fight, leaning forward in anticipation, and then he launched forward, plunging us into the next battle for our lives.