[Author's Note: For bonus chapters, the goal is
25 Power Stones
50 Power Stones
Every Week]
Volume 1 Chapter 68: Concluding the Exploration of Three Entrances, and Pepper's Mischief Strikes Again
As usual, Eve was the first to respond, followed by Pepper.
Eve: "Master, I didn't find anything in my direction."
Pepper: "In my direction, there's nothing apart from some stone spikes on the ground. How about you, Master? Did you find anything?"
Carmilla: "Just like both of you, I didn't find anything in the area where I searched. Let's head back then, considering we already have what seems to be the most important item here, I believe."
Having expressed her thoughts, Carmilla transformed into a bat and began flying towards the exit, with Eve and Pepper following suit.
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The three of them flew slowly, while also looking around, but in the end, they still found nothing.
They eventually arrived on the other side of the wall. Finding the hole was much faster now that Pepper was not the only one looking with Carmilla and Eve also looking around for the opening. The three of them quickly located the hole, and after entering it, they didn't stop but continued to fly.
After flying for a while and making several stops, the three of them finally reached the exit of the initial opening. Upon reaching the exit, Carmilla cancelled her bat transformation, and as usual, she marked the 15th entrance.
After completing that task, Carmilla began walking toward the next entrance they were going to explore. Eve and Pepper were already there, as they had flown directly without stopping, unlike Carmilla who had to carve a mark for the 15th entrance they had finished exploring.
When Carmilla reached the front of the 16th entrance, all three of them transformed into bats and began to fly.
After flying for a while, they reached a dead end. However, to be sure that there was truly nothing there, all three of them carefully searched around for any hidden entrance or compartment.
After searching for a few minutes without any results, the three of them started making their way towards the exit by flying.
Upon reaching the exit of the passage, Carmilla cancelled her bat transformation and began to mark the entrance.
The 16th entrance led to a dead end.
After finishing carving the 16th entrance, Carmilla proceeded to walk towards the next entrance they would explore. As usual, all three of them flew into the depths of the entrance, and after flying for a few seconds, they spotted an opening.
To be cautious, all three of them cancelled their transformation and slowly walked towards the opening. Once they were in front of the opening, they saw a bunch of rats.
One of the rats was much bigger than the rest and had some red patches on its fur. Then, there were three other rats that were slightly smaller than the rat with the red patches on its fur. Lastly, there were four other rats that were much smaller than the rest of the rats.
Even though they were more powerful, having previously fought the rotting rats, the three of them still didn't become careless. They began to use blood magic to create a blood bow as a precaution.
After making all of those preparations, the three of them entered confidently.
When they were within range, Carmilla immediately used the Analyze skill on the rats.
The results of the analysis showed that there was 1 rat at level 4, 3 rats at level 3, and 4 rats at level 2.
The rat at level 4 is called [Mutated Fire Rat], which makes sense due to the red patches on its fur. The other rats are categorized as [Mutated Rat], and despite the mutation on its name, they still possess the same health and the lucking of as the [Rotting Rat] they fought earlier.
[Mutated Rat]
[Level 2]
[Hp: 15/15]
[Mp: -/-]
[Mutated Rat]
[Level 3]
[Hp: 20/20]
[Mp: -/-]
[Mutated Fire Rat]
[Level 4]
[Hp: 20/20]
[Mp: 10/10]
Without any hesitation, they engaged in a fight with the mutated rats, including the mutated fire rat.
4 minutes later.
The cave looked significantly more chaotic after the battle. Burn marks marred the ground and walls, while various holes pockmarked the area from arrows that had missed their targets. Additionally, there were shallow cuts scattered across the ground.
After the battle, the three of them began to collect the bronze coins that had dropped from the slain mutated rats. Once they had gathered all the bronze coins, the total amounted to 13 bronze coins.
After placing the bronze coins in her inventory, Carmilla opened her status screen to check how much experience she had gained from defeating the mutated rats.
Since Eve and Pepper's kills would only grant Carmilla half of the experience, and considering they had killed several mutated rats, Carmilla's experience should be 10 instead of 8, assuming she dealt all of the finishing blow to the mutated rats.
[Name: Carmilla]
[Race: Vampire]
[Title/s: N/A]
[Level: 3]
[Exp: 8/40]
[HP: 43/60]
[MP: 36/36]
Carmilla closed her status screen, and the three of them commenced searching the cave for any hidden items. Once they had thoroughly confirmed that there was nothing concealed within the cave, they began their flight back.
As usual, after exiting the passage, Carmilla transformed back into her human form and began marking the 17th opening they had just explored.
Having completed those tasks, Carmilla made her way towards the 18th entrance, which was the last unexplored opening.
Before entering, Carmilla initiated a conversation with Eve and Pepper.
Carmilla: "Last one, guys."
After Carmilla made that remark, Eve and Pepper replied with their own remarks.
Eve: "Indeed, master. This is the last entrance to explore unless there is still some hidden opening around the whole cave system. We should be done here."
Upon hearing what Eve said, Pepper, who was initially about to respond with a simple nod and replied "yes" or something similar to Carmilla's words, changed her response. She began to contradict what Eve had said.
Pepper: "I hope not, since I'm eager to leave this cave already. I want to see what's outside and, lastly, experience what the sun is like."