It did not take long for them/us to encounter the first enemy. The enemy was an 8-foot-tall white minotaur. In its hands was a large axe. It noticed the approaching elves before they noticed it.
The minotaur lifted its left hand, using magic it formed a large javelin of ice that flew directly at them. To Micah's credit he was barely able to react to the projectile as he dodged out of the way. Unfortunately, Sierra was walking directly behind him and did not have his levels of reflexes. The javelin impaled itself in her thigh, forcing he to the ground.
Micah ignored his sister's situation and rushed towards the Minotaur. The minotaur was ready for him and had already swung its massive axe in a well-timed blow. Micah attempted to parry the blow with his sword, but the strength of the minotaur was to great. He was forced to stumble back several feet, and lost his footing causing him fell to the floor in a heap.
Hylia and I let out a collective sigh as we decided to take action. She jumped from my shoulder and began firing her hair arrows at the minotaur. In less than a second 5 arrows had already been fired. The minotaur was able to barely react in time. Deflecting two of them, but being struck by the other 3. Small wounds appeared on the minotaur's chest, causing blood to flow freely.
I did not stand idle while Hylia made her move. I silently summoned my Bone blade and utilized shadow movement to appear behind the minotaur. The creature was completely enraged by the interruption of its battle with the swordsman and has zero awareness for the subtle movements going on in the background.
With a deceptively well practiced hand inspired the minotaur's throat. Blood squirted over Micah, who was currently trying to scramble away from the enraged minotaur.
The axe fell to the floor as the minotaur desperately tried to stop the bleeding from its throat. But we did not give it time to recover. Hylia continued to rain down arrows from the front, as I sliced with my bone sword and shot my bullets from the rear. The Minotaur stood no chance against our combined assault and quickly fell.
Before the creature had been hit the ground, I utilized shadow movement to instantaneously appear by Sierra's side. The javelin that struck her had disappeared when the Minotaur fell, leaving a gaping wound. I did not know much first aid, but thankfully Hylia did. She instructed me on what to do, and I quickly patched up her leg.
She would be unable to put much weight on it, and her movement speed had drastically dropped. Thankfully her weapon of choice was a staff, and she would be able to utilize it to help her move.
I looked over at Micah who had just now got to his feet. His pants seemed to have been soiled, but I did not have the heart to point it out. Hylia however could not stop snickering in my mind.
"You two must have just advanced to Level D. Even if this was not the case You are not ready to tackle this instance on your own. The very fact that you could not instantly recognize this was a C rank dungeon is proof of that."
I sighed, looking at their confused faces. "The density of mana in the air is clearly much higher than that of a D rank Instance. Don't tell me you couldn't notice it?"
They both nodded at my words, but surprisingly it was Sierra who answered. "I did not notice, the mana was quite a bit higher than our previous dungeons, but the density of it was... I feel like using my spells would be much harder here, but their power would be even greater. I thought that perhaps this was normal for a D rank instance. After all we just advanced."
I was startled by their response. Just advanced? Never been to a D rank instance? I could not say much about just advancing, after all we were the same. But, our first Instance had been at the C rank. The concept was completely foreign to me.
I looked at Hylia with a confused look, but she only mentally shrugged as she climbed onto my shoulder. She was as lost as I was. I had to think for a moment before I said anything else.
"We do not know where you're coming from. Our first dungeon was a C rank. Following that was a D rank with a dungeon quest. Our final instance had been a mere D rank, but due to the interference of the bug god Hylia had not only lost her body, but almost lost her life as well. If not for special circumstances she would not be here at all. "
"C rank Instances are not something to take lightly. They require teamwork and the ability to trust each other. I have to assume this is why the dungeon sent us here. Only if we can work together will we have a chance."
"What Hylia and I have found works best is that I will scout ahead, returning when I have encountered an enemy. Only when I have identified the threat, including what it is, and how many there are will we engage. This will save a lot of pain."
"Worst case scenario Hylia is capable of tanking. She might have a small body, but she has over 5,000 life, 45% damage reduction, and can regenerate 1% of her hp per second. I would rather not rely on her for this however, as all of her skills are focused on archery."
"Are there any questions? Or do you think you can follow my directions. They are after all the only way we will make it out of this alive."