And it did. It worked like a charm. Hitting the one closest to the middle, lightning spread among the foxes like wildfire.
[You have slain a Steel Fox. 25 XP gained. You are in a dungeon. XP rewards will be given when you complete the dungeon.]
[You have slain a Steel Fox. 25 XP gained. You are in a dungeon. XP rewards will be given when you complete the dungeon.]
[You have slain a Steel Fox. 25 XP gained. You are in a dungeon. XP rewards will be given when you complete the dungeon.]
[You have slain a Steel Fox. 25 XP gained. You are in a dungeon. XP rewards will be given when you complete the dungeon.]
[You have slain a Steel Fox. 25 XP gained. You are in a dungeon. XP rewards will be given when you complete the dungeon.]
[You have slain a Steel Fox. 25 XP gained. You are in a dungeon. XP rewards will be given when you complete the dungeon.]
And just like that, all the steel foxes were down. Well, almost. Much to Jay's horror, the bronze one came charging at him, completely unaffected. "Quick! This one's immune to lightning! Do something!" he shouted. Within seconds Sarah had fired over ten arrows. Unlike last time, she seemed to targeting weak spots and far more of them hit than last time.
Two arrows pierced the front left leg. A third hit the throat, bouncing off but leaving a clear dent. But her best arrow pierced straight through its eye, killing it instantly. Surprised, Jay realized there was a notification in front of him.
[Party member has slain an Earthly Steel Fox. 25 XP gained. You are in a dungeon. XP rewards will be given when you complete the dungeon.]
"Wait, you guys got XP from all those foxes I killed? Also, when did we form a party? I barely know you guys!" Jay wasn't particularly thrilled to find out his XP was being siphoned by Sarah and Andrew. True, they had helped him, but HE did the killing. Then again, it did mean he knew about the Earthly Steel Fox.
Given the "earthly" title, it seemed likely that it had an elemental affinity. Whether it was born that way or evolved, who could say? Either way, he wanted its core.
"Of course, we've a party. We entered the dungeon together! Besides, me and Bluejay are totally going to save your butts. I mean, look at this guy? He may not be that big now, but he's going to be awesome by the end of this dungeon. Just you wait! Can I have all the meat again? With that lightning, it's probably even cooked! What do you say?"
Andrew had a point. It made sense for the game to automatically group them, even if Jay didn't like it. Seeing as they had cleared this area, it made sense to stop, look and maybe eat, too. No sense in rushing in to danger.
Moreover, Jay had barely paid attention to the big guy since they met. Looking over Andrew, he saw a tall man, probably over 6 feet tall, with decent muscles and a bit of a beer gut. He'd clearly enjoyed being able to legally drink. He had bark brown hair and a beard that would put most men to shame. Despite all that, he had a friendly look to him that even a wizard's robes couldn't hide.
It was Sarah that he couldn't take his eyes off of, though. Between her plump chest, nice butt, and perfect skin, it's not hard to see that she was one of the campus belles. Her hair was like fire, flowing free behind her. To be honest, she could make anything look good, even her armor. And when she fired a bow? Wow.
Jay absentmindedly went to loot the bodies, still focused on Sarah. When was the last time he'd kissed a girl? It's been a while, that's for sure. Snap out of it! Dead fox corpses to loot. Pay attention, Jay!
Each of the Steel Foxes gave Jay roughly the same thing the first did. 2 lbs. of cooked meat from each was great, but what were all these claws for? He'd hold on to them since they stack, but he had 15 of them now! Hopefully the Earthly Steel Fox had something better for him.
[Earthly Steel Fox looted. Earthly Steel Fox core gained. 2 Earthly Steel Fox fangs gained. 2 lbs. Earthly Steel Fox meat gained.]
YES! A CORE! "I have no idea what this does, but it has to be magic right?" Oh right. Jay knows nothing. Fool. Well, he'll learn soon enough. Cores are important, after all.
"Try checking it out. Maybe it'll say what to do with it." Sarah suggested. Man, are we sure he's the smart one? Jay hurried to follow her suggestion.
[Earthly Steel Fox core. This item can be used to upgrade your mana pool or enhance a known spell. Talented craftsmen may be able to make use of this item.]
Craftsmen? Jay didn't even remember seeing a profession class. He just assumed they were all combat oriented. Either way, he needed this core. Even if it only raised his mana by a little, he needed it. Besides, it's not like he had any earth spells at the moment.
[Earthly Steel Fox core used. Mana pool increased by 5.]
Only 5? He'd need six cores just to cast one more spell! Jay really hoped there would be more as they went further in. Before that, though, they had to eat. He was hungry!
After a short meal, Jay's mana was back to a full 105/105. His meditation skill increased a little bit, but not nearly enough for a new level. Sarah seemed to have gained her first level in "Rapid Arrow" which allowed her to send an additional arrow out every few seconds. Nothing too crazy, but it might matter if there were more enemies further down.
Andrew hadn't had any real gains, but Bluejay had grown considerable. Having eaten the majority of the Steel Fox meat, Bluejay was nearly 3 times his original height. His beak and claws looked sharper and he was noticeably stronger, if still a bit pudgy. His wings were still tucked against his body, but they had grown with his body and their feathers looked better than ever.
Rest completed, the party continued down the dungeon in the same manner they had before. Before long, they came across a second den of Steel Foxes. This group went down even more easily than the first. Jay's lightning strike took out 8 of them, while Sarah's arrows took down a second Earthly Steel Fox.
This time around, Jay decided to try to make some defenses for them. Rather than a bolt, he needed a wave of earth to rise out of the ground. This was significantly harder for him. It seemed that the more of an element that he tried to affect, the harder the spell hit him. Although he succeeded in raising small earth walls on both sides of the tunnel, it took a significant amount of mana.
Almost out of mana, Jay stumbled over to the Earthly Steel Fox. Focusing on the core, he willed it to empower his new "Earth Wall" spell, rather than upgrading his mana pool. It was an "Earthly" fox, so it made sense it would help his earth spells the most.
[Earthly Steel Fox core used. Earth Wall has reached level 2. Mana cost reduced from 50 to 35.]
Now we were talking! Considering how small his mana pool was right now, such a big cost reduction would make Earth Wall way more valuable. If it decreased a bit more or he got some more mana, he might even be able to use it in fights. After a slightly longer rest, all three party members were ready to keep going.
They encountered a few Steel Foxes along the way, but no more Earthly Steel Foxes. Either they were rare and the party had already defeated them, or they were in for a big surprise. As they went further and encountered fewer and fewer foxes, Jay became more and more nervous. Given what they'd seen, it made no sense for there to be fewer monsters deeper in. If anything, there should be more. So, where were they?
And then it hit them. Literally. Before anyone could react, a stone spike had hit Bluejay. He wasn't too badly hurt, but it still scared everyone. If that had been a person, they'd be dead. Instead, It seemed to have pierced Bluejay's side, but the wound was already healing.
"This is the strength of a special pet! I TOLD you it would be worth it! Look at my little man, already charging into the fray. That's the way to do it. Wait, charging into the fray? Bluejay, come back!" Andrew was so occupied with his pet's recovery that he didn't even think about what the attack meant. Fortunately, Bluejay had a better battle sense.
As Jay, Andrew and Sarah chased after Bluejay, they suddenly entered a big, bright room. Just in front of Bluejay was the Earthly Steel Fox that had hurt Bluejay, but they barely noticed it. Instead, their eyes were glued to the center of the room.
"Dang. That's one big fox…"