In the end, thanks to his hunting speed, Jake found another exit from the forest pretty soon. Thanks to that, he also decided to walk around the forest a little bit and try to cross it from another position since there was no telling if he had followed a weird diagonal route.
After a while, Jake had to stop his hunt because one of the bees finally dropped something. It was a brown breastplate. Jake tried to put over his chain main, but he didn't notice the skill appearing on his skill list.
Light Breastplate
Earth Resistance (0%), master this item to learn this skill permanently.
Durability: 15/15
Earth Resistance: it decreases the effects of all earth-related attacks by one point per level.
Jake nodded to himself in satisfaction. Now that he thought about it, wouldn't it be better for him to gain some status by leveling Fire Resistance? He was planning to clear that dungeon pretty soon, and he would have a hard time doing so if his skill was at a low level, even if Lana helped him.
Jake resumed his hunt while heading in a straight line toward the other side of the forest. It was barely noticeable since the circumference of the forest was massive. Still, Jake had understood that the forest had a circular shape. With that in mind, it became obvious that the dungeon was right in the middle of it, but it probably wasn't like a conventional one.
Regardless, after defeating hundreds of bees, Jake noticed that he had reached an area where the concentration of monsters was higher. Even by himself, he was attracting the focus of two bees at the same time. That was pretty unusual unless he intentionally walked toward an area between two monsters where both of them could see him. His guess was correct. The dungeon was in the center of the forest, or rather, the entire forest was a dungeon.
"So, it is really like this…" Jake rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Since this is not a confined place, there is the chance that I will be attacked from the sides and from the back… clearing this place will require a lot of work."
Given the spawning rate of monsters, Jake assumed that a single run won't be enough to open a route toward the dungeon's core. To clear the place in a single run, he would need many allies. Since that wasn't an option, then he truly would have to find the center of the forest and kill as many monsters as possible in several runs. The problem was the fact that while he wastes time looking for the center of the forest, the number of monsters would increase.
"Hmm, to do this alone, I will have to defeat those monsters in a single strike and without moving too much in order to conserve my stamina," Jake thought.
Obtaining that power while hunting on that map alone was probably possible, but it would take too much time. Obtaining the special class for the first and second maps will help with that. Still, nothing was stopping Jake from hunting monsters in that region until the end of the mission. In the end, Jake did exactly that, and since he didn't have to run around anymore, he focused on leveling up Dash because he got surrounded many times by the bees, and while he fought them and defeated some, he decided to run whenever his health decreased below fifty percent, and there were more than four enemies around him.
In the end, Jake obtained enough coins to buy the sword, but since it was already past ten, he didn't find Luke anywhere. Jake logged off and then prepared his dinner, and fell asleep pretty soon.
The next day, after doing his usual morning routine that he had started on the previous day, Jake logged in and then found Lana and Louise talking with Luke. Now that Jake thought about it, all of their names started with L… which was a pretty weird coincidence.
"For two non-gamers, they sure log in early," Jake frowned.
The appearance of Lana Lana Louise changed a little bit. Now Lana had a new wand and also some gloves and boots. As for Louise, she had an orange robe and some rings.
"Hey, look who isn't a morning person," Luke said with a smile on his face.
"I am starting to think that you are an NPC," Jake said. "Always talking while you are standing here with a big smile on your face… that you are a really boring person."
"Ouch… I just like my job, champ," Luke said. "I assume you already have the coins necessary for the sword. Your party is getting quite strong, the two beautiful ladies here bought items and gained new classes."
"It is just a temporary convenience until they find someone that can tank the monsters and not being self-centered like me," Jake said.
"So, you are self-aware of it," Lana said. "Wait, is that how you see us? We use anyone we see fit and then discard them like trash when they can be replaced?"
"Where is the weapon?" Jake asked.
"Hey, don't change the subject yet!" Lana protested.
Luke had some boxes behind them, and he took out a katana from one of those. It seemed really stylish since it had a small rope attached to the handle. While Jake couldn't care less about the appearance of a weapon, he felt like something more prominent would suit him better.
Katana
Mana Blade (0%), Strength + 05, master this weapon to permanently learn this skill and the status points.
Durability: 15/15
Mana Blade: after activating this skill and swinging your sword, you fire a beam of energy in the shape of the blade of your sword, causing damage equal to your strength plus intelligence. Each level up will increase the damage to the skill by five percent.
Cost: 10 mana
"As you can see, it is a pretty simple skill, but it is very useful since it is a non-elemental attack," Luke said. "The distance that the attack can cross is also equal to your strength, so it can keep increasing as you grow stronger.