Lance handed Elliot the piece of paper. They were sitting on their table in the guild lounge area. There were more Adventurers today than any other day. The loud guild house would often shake at the number of Adventurers inside.
It had been three days since they snatched Lance from the king and they had never heard of the king since. The Royal Family hasn't withdrawn its support to the guild too, which was making everyone worried even more.
What could the king be planning all along?
"Dungeon of the Frozen Nymphs?" Elliot asked, looking up at the grinning Lance.
"Yes," Lance said. "That dungeon is an XP farm. It basically contains hundreds of thousands of XP. The nest of the nymphs is untouched, meaning that they always reproduce. And let me tell you, nymphs reproduce a whole lot."
"So, we're going to this dungeon to farm XP?" Connor asked. "It even has a minimum requirement. All party members must be Sacred."
"We can just sign a waiver," Lance said. "So, are we all ready to go?"
"I never knew waivers would help us a lot," Ed said.
Elliot nodded, "Since we're often short of members, we would often sign the waiver."
Lance stood from his seat, "Let's go?"
–
The group traveled for three days before they reached the mountains of the Frozen Nymphs. In the mountain lies another mountain. It was a rock that has a woman-shaped eminence on one side. In her navel was the entrance to the cave.
"Is that the entrance?" Elliot asked to which Lance nodded.
Since the mountain was cold, they had to wear extra layers of coat to keep them warm. Connor could provide them warmth inside the cave but his flames would die out if he was to light them outside where the winds were strong and vicious.
"Let's go inside," Lance said.
The first part of the dungeon was silent. The cave was filled with crystals that lit the entire dungeon with different colors.
"This place is beautiful," Connor said.
"Wait till you see the beasts," Lance said. "Humanoid creatures that looked like female humans but are actually savage beasts that will destroy you. Don't be deceived. Nymphs are also called 'the sirens of the land' for they will try to lure you with their–"
Lance was cut off by a series of giggles and hushed voices.
"That's them," he said. "It's forbidden to destroy the nest since this dungeon is declared as an XP farm. It is also forbidden to kill the boss since it's the one that lays the eggs on the nest."
From a corner, a woman came out. She was wearing only a thin layer of semi-transparent clothes. More woman came. They looked beautiful. Their faces were that of an angel and their bodies were perfectly shaped, like they were carved by the gods themselves.
Lance brandished his swords while his companions slowly fell into the trance. He raised his white sword, "Light."
The tip burst into a bright flash of light. His teammates squinted their eyes at the contact, rubbing it to release the tension. When they regained their sight, they saw that the once beautiful women were not so beautiful after all.
Their skin was that of the texture of soil, their faces looked like rotten bark of trees and frosty mist covered them.
"They earned their title," Ed snorted.
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I couldn't grasp any beauty in those," Elliot sighed. "Disappointing."
The nymphs realized that the boys had already broken free. They screeched and ran to the group.
"Okay. Elliot and I will stand by, you three…" Lance trailed off. "Farm."
Ed and Hope took the front lines while Connor supported. Their team was doing so well.
"Are you okay?" Lance asked, seeing Elliot busy with his Console.
"Yeah," Elliot nodded. "Just looking for a recipe for the nymphs. I don't think there is– oh, there it is."
<< Frost Nymph's Voice >>
// Replenishes 25%HP and 40%MP
Recipe:
Frost Nymph's Voicebox X3
Elliot grimaced. "I feel like the more I further I read the recipes, the more disgusting the they are."
Lance snorted. "Well, good luck. I'll go check on them."
<< Nymphian Tonic >>
// Immunity to Nymph and Siren Trance
Recipe:
Nymph's Eyeball (any affinity) X12
The last recipe took Elliot by surprise.
He would be immune to the Trance spells caused by Nymphs and Sirens. And if they could harvest more than enough nymphs, they could all be immune to their trance.
It was also a plus that he had the Dump feature. That way he wouldn't carve out the eyeballs like he did with the Crimson Phantom. Elliot shivered at the memory but there was also a smile on his lips.
The memory when he was still starting, visited him like an old friend. He was shaking his head at himself.
"I was pathetic back then," Elliot said to Lance. "I changed a lot."
"Yeah," Lance smiled. "But your height though…"
Elliot leaped and smacked Lance behind his head. "I should've let you get married. Whatever."
Lance smiled, "But thank you. You were all brave enough to barge inside the ceremonial hall and take me away. That was so cool."
"That would be thanks to those three," Elliot said. "I was scared. It was me who told you and since it was me who told you, I felt guilty. If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have to talk to Frederick. There would be less problems."
"But if you didn't do it, I would still be stuck between the chains of my father," Lance sighed. "But now, I can officially say that I'm free."
"Adventurers are free humans," Elliot smiled. "It's up to us what to do, where to go, and who to travel with."
"We're so cheesy," Lance chuckled.
It was then that all the nymphs were slayed. Hope and Ed significantly raised their levels while Connor was still stuck at Level 50. After all, he needed a hundred thousand XP to level up.
"The Creator's Sloth," Elliot activated. The bodies glowed and were stored inside his Inventory. "I have a surprise for everyone."
"More XP potions?" Hope asked but his smile fell when Elliot shook his head.
"I couldn't find a recipe I could use with nymphs, but I do have these," Elliot handed them the containers that contained the extracted essence from the nymph's eyeballs.
Of course, Elliot wouldn't tell them what the potion was made of. He didn't tell them anything as to not let them be disgusted. They might not want to take any more potions that Elliot would hand them.
This is all because of the Manual's weird taste in things. Elliot thought.
'Immune to Siren and Nymph Trance." The voice resonated in their ears except for Elliot.
"Wow," Connor sighed. "This is awesome. How did you get it?"
"Err," Elliot gulped. "Let's just say I found some… recipes."
"This tastes like eyeballs," Hope said that made everyone snap their gaze at him. "Out of all the potions, the taste of eyeballs is very strong in this one too."
"How did you even know what eyeballs taste like?" Elliot asked, grimacing.
"I was a dragon," Hope pouted. "I couldn't believe you forgot about that, Mr. Moon."
Connor narrowed his eyes at Elliot, "But the real question is, are these made from eyeballs, right?"
Elliot gave him an awkward smile, "Let's just say I prefer not to say my trade secrets."
"I actually don't care," Ed said. "Even if they were made from the weirdest parts of beasts, as long as they give me OP buffs, I'd risk it."
"You do have a point though," Connor said, nodding intently.
"Let's go further now." Lance broke their conversation and proceeded deeper into the dungeon.
"This dungeon is really filled with crystals," Elliot said. "Can't we take them?"
"Crystals costs about 5 gold coins each," Lance said.
"Let's mine them!" the four excitedly said.
"But you'll have to pay 10 gold coins if you mine them," Lance added that made the others' jaws drop. "These crystals are the natural lights of the cave. It would be hard for other Adventurers to navigate inside if we exploit them all, wouldn't it?"
"So, that's why they were strict when handing the permit," Elliot said.
Lance nodded, "Exactly. If they allow multiple parties or guilds to get inside, it would be hard to trace which group took the crystals. And these glowing stones are monitored by the guards."
'Beast detected.'
Everyone brandished their swords after feeling the incoming aura. It was huge, terrifying, and ominous. It felt as though it bore all the darkness in the world.
"Another Cannibal," Lance said seriously. "Eating its kind made it pass through the Carnal Breakthrough. We must be careful."
"Why does it seem like we face tons of Cannibals as of late?" Connor mumbled. "I don't like them. Their auras are so sad."
"Beasts would turn to eating its kin when they have no other choice," Lance said. "When they feel the fear from what's coming towards them, they would devour their clan and seek the power to defend itself."
"You're here, that's probably why they do it," Ed said. "Oh, to be strong."
Lance shook his head, "I hunted even lesser beasts and they do not turn Cannibal when faced against me."
"What do you mean?" Connor asked.
"They can only resort to eating their kind when faced with absolute fear," Lance said. For some reason, his gaze landed on Elliot. "Or something that they never felt before."
<< Frost Mother Nymph >>
Level 95
HP: 100,000/100,000
MP: 20,000/20,000
Meanwhile at the palace the king was talking to Madam Hoot.
"I told you he'd choose well," the king said. "And you always tell me that he still wants to be a prince."
Madam Hoot rolled her eyes, "Yes, yes, you told me so."
"I know my son more than anything," the king smiled. "He had always wanted to become an Adventurer. I just didn't know how to show my support. I even made him think the opposite by pulling him in."
"You're really okay with Lance renouncing his claim?" Madam Hoot asked, fully knowing the answer.
The king rested his head on his throne, "Whatever Lance chooses, I will support him."
Madam Hoot nodded and stood. She walked towards the door and locked it. "I never really thought I had to do this, but my king, we need an heir."
"What do you– Madam Hoot?"
Her eyes glowed with a deadly shade of red, "Prince Lance shall rule the kingdom, whether he likes it or not."
The king's eyes turned dark. "Lance will rule the kingdom, whether he likes it or not."