Licia: "Hello, my name is Licia, I'm Miwen's cousin, please take good care of me..."
I've told Licia to lie about her real identity for now, since it would only make things difficult.
Having her lie for my sake gave me mixed feelings, but I came to terms with it by convincing myself that it was also for her own good.
Even if Roy and Sam were cool with it, ultimately, I didn't want information about my power being spread around, so it was best to hide her identity.
Licia: "My Gift is [Ice Mage], it allows me to do a bunch of ice-related things, however since I don't have too much mana I can at most coat a weapon in frost."
Sam: "Hi Licia! No worries about that, we are all at low levels here, so we understand that it's hard for you to make full use of your Gift. Roy here also has magic but can't use it, right?"
Roy: "W-well, yeah... I see you brought a knife tho, so you are already more than ready!"
I didn't want to expose Licia's Gift completely, so once again, I had her hide the swordsmanship ability and the buffs to magic and ice magic she gets, making it seem weaker and more simple than it actually was.
Her Gift is very good for combat and could make Sam and Roy end up relying on her too much. It's possible that she decides to leave when she gets a reasonable opportunity so it would be undesirable to create a dependency on her or gain too much confidence without taking into account her impact...
I think that as long as we aren't hurting them, it should be okay to be cautious about our information.
Sam: "Now that we are acquainted, let's explore the dungeon, shall we?"
Licia: "Of course."
From their side, there weren't many reasons to doubt me, so they quickly took a friendly attitude toward her and didn't question her words about her powers and identity.
Thus, after our greetings, we headed into the dungeon for another raid.
We started with some slimes and goblins that were close to the settlement on the first floor, but it looked like Licia had something she wanted to say.
She waited until Sam and Roy were distracted to whisper to me.
Licia: "Your party doesn't have too much fighting experience... you're all making mistakes here and there."
Miwen: "Yeah... But there's not much we can do. We've only recently started to raid dungeons."
I expected as much.
From our perspective, we were doing fine, but for the most part, we were dealing with weak monsters that even people without a combat-oriented Gift would be able to take on.
For someone like her, the small details we weren't even able to notice were like a flashing red light.
It was fine for me if she wanted to point out my mistakes, rather than get upset, I'd actually be glad to be taught by someone who knows more. However, I feared that the others might see her as being picky or annoying, so I asked her to be moderate if she wanted to tell them what they were doing wrong.
Licia: "It's fine on the first floor of a beginner dungeon such as this, but it's gonna be a problem later on if you don't start being mindful of it now..."
Miwen: "I see, thanks for the advice Licia."
She wasn't rude at all. Although she was quite precise and didn't try to sweeten her words, I felt they were quite logical, and their focus was truly on helping instead of belittling.
Aside from that, it was impressive to see her working. She was a living example of her words, and she seemed like the ideal adventurer.
Even without the levels, she had a performance that looked like that of a high-ranker. The only thing holding her back was truly the lack of sheer speed, power, and mana.
Yet, just by managing her behavior, she proved to be stronger than all of us.
She didn't take her victory for granted, and when saw a monster from a distance, she first looked at her surroundings, prioritizing escape routes, and picturing how the fight would go before engaging.
Using the cover available, she approached them and stole the momentum with a surprise attack, giving them almost no chance to resist.
Even though she could definitely defeat them one-on-one, she believes that having the first move or using a surprise attack is worth all the trouble as it provides a big advantage.
I couldn't help but think how she would fight if she used her power...
It's night and day compared with what our party is like.
Even at level 1, when it comes to fighting monsters, we weren't in the same league.
Even Sam, who seemed to know how to fight, wasn't as efficient as she was in what looked more like hunting than fighting.
I wonder how they would fare against each other though. Outside of a dungeon and all.
Sam: "Girl you're incredible, how are you so good?"
Licia: "Uh, w-well..."
It wasn't just me that noticed it, but man...
Did she really need to ask that?
There's no way she could tell the truth, and coming up with an excuse would be hard for her considering she's not used to this world at all.
Miwen: "She's obsessed with dungeons and has been getting tips from videos and forums, she's a total nerd about this stuff, if you need tips she will most definitely have some."
Since I was responsible for this lie to start with, I covered for her.
It might be a poor excuse, but it's more believable than calling it instinct or luck when those would definitely fail more often than Licia's experience.
And well... sometimes you just meet people who are talented for something, even if it's their first time.
Sam: "I see, that makes sense, I've also been obsessed with dungeons ever since I was a kid, that's the whole reason I started taking fighting lessons at a dojo!"
Roy: "Me too, although the content I watch about them is usually mystery and theory-related."
Interesting. That was an interest I too had.
There are many incidents and stories about dungeons, among them, many mysteries that are yet unsolved, and probably never will, it piques your interest and is quite popular among young men.
Especially those who weren't around during the First Contact. Since for us entering a Dungeon is akin to suicide, we couldn't help but look at it with wonder from a distance.
I bet that if Licia were to tell him about her world, he'd get as interested as I was.
After that quick exchange, we continued going deeper inside the dungeon until we passed by the floor boss room.
As usual, we kept our distance while being mindful of it, since if we got caught off guard here that would be the same as a death sentence.
We were going faster than we ever did, and so, we eventually reached the same place where we had to stop the last time we came to this dungeon.
By now, we had traveled a lot, and Licia should be close to a level up since I and the rest of the party were pretty close to level 3.
Still, this is where we had troubles last time, so, a bit of tension made the air around us feel heavier.
Sam: "Do you guys wanna push in deeper?"
Roy: "I'd like to since I'm close to a level up, but It would probably be too much for Licia, right?"
...A little bit awkward.
I get his worries, but... Licia was way stronger than him.
If anything, he's always the one jumping into monsters and getting injured. Since she's way more cautious, the one who worried me most was him.
Although I was glad that he was being considerate of her, and she seemed to appreciate it too, although...
She normally wears a cold stare, especially in the Dungeon where she seemed concentrated... but his comment gave her a light smile.
They probably didn't notice it, but... I think she was holding out her laugh out of politeness.
Licia: "...Diving deeper is no problem for me, if it becomes too much I'll be sure to notify you guys."
Thankfully she didn't take that as an insult...
She seemed to understand that he only had good intentions with his comment.
Her politeness is a bit on the uncommon side considering she's supposed to be our age, but... If anything, it was actually a bit charming.
Miwen: "Same, since I'm also close to a level-up, I guess we could stop after everyone gets one, right?"
Sam: "Yes, that would be great!"
Since everyone had agreed, we continued our journey, pushing deeper inside the dungeon.
However, it didn't take long for us to stop in our tracks.
Not far from us, we found a rare species, a goblin with reddish skin standing in front of two others carrying clubs.
Among the possibilities, this was either the power of a Gift or...
Roy: "It's a superior monster."
Miwen: "Most likely."
There's a phenomenon where monsters that kill enough people or even other monsters, suddenly change.
This change can show itself in many ways, but in almost every case recorded the monster gets stronger.
This has been called [Monster Evolution] by most people, it's also said that the amount of experience one can get for defeating a [Superior Monster] is way higher than normal.
It makes for a risky gamble, especially on deeper floors where an entire party might be needed to take a single one down.
Sam: "Should we try it?"
Roy: "I don't need the experience from the superior one since I'm gonna hit the cap for this floor anyway, but I think we can take them."
Licia: "Miwen and I are enough to defeat it. You and Sam should take care of the ones with clubs."
Her words showed no sign of doubt.
However, I didn't think she was being overconfident. If anything, I was sure she only said that after a thorough analysis of the situation, as well as our fighting potential.
As for me... I agreed with her assessment. Together, we should be enough to take a [Superior Goblin] down. Although I'd pair Licia with Sam for this fight to make the most of experience and strength.
But there was something less tangible at play here.
It would be challenging for sure, and for that reason, trust could become a factor.
In this case, since I was the one she knew best, and was more used to, it made sense for us to act together.
Going together with me would allow her to fight much more efficiently, knowing that I'd fight alongside her no matter what.
Roy: "Are you sure? It might have a trick on his sleeve, you could easily get hurt you know? It's better to let Miwen and I take care of this one."
He did it again.
He and I were probably the worst pair-up possible.
Our fighting styles don't match at all, and if something goes wrong, we probably would end up getting in each other's way.
Miwen: "Don't worry. Licia seems to want to do it together, and I'll protect her no matter what. If things take a turn for the worse, I'll stall him and you guys can come help us."
Roy: "I-if you say so..."
Sam: "Just be careful alright?"
Miwen: "You too."
And so it was decided. Licia and I were going to take care of the reddish one, while Sam was in charge of the goblin with a club on the left and Roy was going to face the one on the right.
In case the tides were against us on all fronts, we decided to retreat back.
Roy was the first to jump into the fray, he tackled the goblin on the right while Sam jumped at the one on the left. This surprised the Red Goblin, and for a moment his attention was directed to them, before shifting back to Licia and me, who were running toward him.
I was in front of Licia so I was the first to try to attack the Red Goblin. A slash by my dagger superficially cuts his left arm, it was a bit of a waste since he had an opening, but I didn't manage to use the surprise attack for a more committed effort without risking retaliation.
He seemed in pain and hurriedly tried to attack me. Licia moved from behind me to the left side of the goblin, she kept her distance so that he couldn't reach her, but she also couldn't reach him, so she waited for an attack aimed at me to fatally strike him.
And precisely what she was expecting ended up happening, the Red Goblin came towards me and I tried to make sure to dodge at the last moment so that Licia could strike it.
Licia: "Dodge now!"
Before I could process why she said it, I instinctively followed her words and jumped back to avoid the goblin as much as possible, creating the biggest distance between us in the split second I had.
And so, my eyes watched as the goblin arm that reached the place I was just in started to burn, the flames he released went ahead in multiple directions. If not for Licia, I wouldn't have managed to dodge it, as I would've waited for as much as possible, without ever thinking about a possible follow-up to that.
I couldn't believe how careless I was.
But there was no time to dwell on it as Licia came running in my direction
Licia comes towards me and hurriedly says to me:
Licia: "I have a strategy, do you trust me?"
Miwen: "Yes."
I didn't even need to think before answering. She had just saved me in this instance, so I knew that I could go along with whatever she had in mind without any worries.
Seeing that I was determined to listen to her, she shared her plans, and I followed her lead.
The goblin came towards us, and Licia surrounded him from the left once again. It seemed like a repeat of last time, but...
This time, I went in the direction of the Red Goblin without the dagger as Licia was the one carrying it along with her knife.
The Red Goblin tried to jump at me since Licia kept her distance.
His arms started to burn and so, before any flames were released, Licia's strategy came into play.
I grabbed the arms of the Red Goblin, those same arms that in seconds would spill flames in every direction.
Miwen: "Why don't you chill a bit?"
The Red Goblin suddenly seemed confused, the flames that were supposed to come off from his arms had yet to do so.
Before he had any chance to understand what was happening, his life came to an end thanks to Licia cutting his neck in a cross shape using both the dagger and the knife, leaving the monster no chance to react.
Licia's strategy was quite simple, she offset the heat from the goblin by covering my arms with her frost coating, I'd need to grab the hot arms of the goblin for it to be effective though, so I wasn't able to use my dagger.
I had no idea for how long it would work and It seemed like the arms of the Red Goblin would continue heating until the flames came out, but it was going to take a while since his temperature was quite low from the moment we touched.
Of course, she predicted the opportunity this would create, as the monster became confused due to his ability not working, and with perfect timing, she was once again quick and decisive.
Licia: "Are you alright? Did it work?"
...Wait, weren't you sure it was gonna work? Was I unknowingly betting my life?
Of all times for her to improvise... She's more scary than I thought.
Miwen: "Yes it did work, but now, pass me my weapon please."
Licia: "Of course."
She hands me the knife.
Miwen: "That's the wrong one."
Licia: "Right, how silly of me."
That was the first time I saw her joking, she seemed... happy? It's strange, but the dungeon raid seems to have been good for her mood.
Before we left to help Sam and Roy we noticed both a [Monster Core] and a red orb, and of course, we collected them.
From what I can tell, Roy and Sam didn't have much trouble with their opponents, and both seemed to be doing okay after their battles were over.
Sam: "Did you guys manage to level up?"
Miwen: "Yes, we also got another orb."
Roy: "Man you're lucky with those things..."
Miwen: "What can I say? Haha"
While it's true that I've been getting them more frequently, it's also true that I've been dealing with the most troublesome opponents, so... I kind of deserve it.
I managed to level up surprisingly quickly taking into consideration that I wasn't even the one to kill the Red Goblin, and since Sam and Roy had also managed to level up, today's raid was a complete success. Of course, Licia was also able to level up after being the one to kill the Red Goblin.
However, our options were now limited. We would have to either go to another dungeon with a higher level cap or fight the [Floor Boss] and try to reach Floor 2. There was no easier one among those, but it would undoubtedly be more efficient to fight against the Floor Boss, after all, while it's safer to run from dungeon to dungeon, it is also incredibly troublesome.
Miwen: "I think we are ready for the Floor Boss."
Sam: "Probably, but I'm kinda tired right now, it would be better to do a dungeon raid where we specifically come to battle the Floor Boss."
Miwen: "Absolutely, I was not suggesting we should do it right now... It's just that I've realized that we came very far already."
Sam: "Oh! Then I agree! One hundred percent!"
And with that, we tread our way back to the Gate.
Today's loot was as follows:
Sam found 2 goblin's monster cores, both at level 2, so at the dungeon office she got $4.
Roy found a single goblin monster core, at level 3, so he got $3.
Licia and I got 1 monster core and 1 flame mana orb. Since they were both from the same Red Goblin, a superior one, they were of level 3 and evaluated higher, so we got 6$ for the monster core and a whopping $30 for the flame mana orb. Of course, we didn't want to create any bad blood, so we decided to share what we got from the flame mana orb with Sam and Roy, giving each $10.
I doubt they would create trouble over such a meager amount, but we wouldn't have faced the Red Goblin without them anyway since there were more monsters around, and it's also not enough for me to get stingy about either. This just felt like a nice gesture, if anything.
In the end, we only made $16, but It was still a whole lot better than what I got on my first raid, so I was quite pleased with it.
Considering this was just the first floor of an easy dungeon, this was fine.
And thus, after saying our goodbyes, there was nothing more to be done except go home. Of course, at home, I would make full use of [Gacha Kingdom Building] once again.