"Adventurer!" the captain said with a deep voice.
The captain had an unknown level to Alex, meaning it was high. All the other soldiers had the same level as the guards before the gate, 25.
"Mayor Sebastian sent me here to help you, brave soldiers of the city of Crystal, deal with the monster problem inside this cave."
"A helping hand? You must know the task before us is hard, and we may die. Are you willing to risk your life for the sake of the city and its citizens?" the captain said.
Alex wasn't willing to die for the sake of anything, but he had to say yes to keep the quest moving forward…
A B-rank quest was challenging. Alex's confidence in finishing the quest came from his hidden class, Shadow Hunter, which might be far more powerful than the ordinary classes. At least, he hoped so.
"Yes, I am."
[Quest Objective Updated]
[Enter the cave with the captain and his soldiers to uncover the mystery behind the recent monster attacks]
'At least the captain and the guards will come to help me.'
Alex had no idea what to expect, but after speaking with the captain, he followed them, entering the cave. The captain, a tall, muscular bearded man, gave him a torch, "It's hard to see inside this place. Take it."
"Thanks."
Alex appreciated the gift, which would greatly help him explore the cave but was not great to use during combat. But not seeing the enemy would be much worse than carrying a torch.
The captain led everyone, and Alex was happy to have him go first to lure the monsters because his level was much higher.
It was dark inside the cave, and the only sound was the water dripping from the crevices, hitting the ground, or a random soldier's head from time to time.
Alex noticed the scattered mining tools and sleeping bags. The miners must have run when the monsters came, trying their best not to die. The nearby forest around the cave was safe, and no monsters were inside the mine, yet that happened.
'A horde of monsters came rushing to this cave, but why?' Alex thought, looking around the cave, trying to see any clues which may lead to the answers he wished.
Mayor Sebastian put great importance on this quest. An attack like that scared the citizens, leading to rumors like, 'Mayor Sebastian is getting old to protect us,' or 'Someone can attack the city at any moment!'
Something that directly attacked the Mayor's reputation had to be dealt with, so he sent the captain and many soldiers to deal with it.
Alex wasn't sure his help would significantly increase the mission's success rate, but he would do anything to complete it and get his hands on the hefty rewards.
They kept moving deeper into the cave, and nothing happened. It was quiet and devoid of any creature until a bat flew to attack them!
[Cave Bat]
[Level 12]
It was two levels higher than Alex! The captain was ready to attack it when Alex intervened, "Let me deal with it, captain!"
The logic was that the deeper they went, the higher level the creatures would be. Alex knew the captain or the soldiers could quickly kill the bat, but he wanted the EXP!
Alex grasped his Umbra Blade and activated the first skill he learned, which dealt massive damage.
"Shadow Strike!"
Darkness enveloped his blade, and Alex hit the bat mid-air with a jump.
[352 Damage dealt]
[You killed Cave Bat]
[2 levels difference]
[+20% EXP]
[+430 EXP]
The bat died with one skill! Alex's attributes had increased by five after he got the title from the Mayor, and five points in the early levels made a lot of difference!
His skills also had good scaling, and his weapon base damage was far superior, so his damage output was pretty high, and that was without a critical hit.
There was no loot from the bat, but two more came to meet him right after Alex killed it!
"Shadow Strike!"
"Shadow Strike!"
They both died with one hit as well, granting Alex more EXP. But, after killing all of the bats, his Shadow Essence was low, and he needed some time to recover it. The good news was that the captain and all the other soldiers were there to help him in case he needed it.
"That was a nice move, kid. Soldiers, let's keep moving!"
The captain was impressed by Alex's display of skill, but the difference between the two was still high. Alex would have to grind many levels to get close to the captain.
More bats attacked them. Alex killed some when he had his Shadow Essence, and with the help of his Doppelganger, which granted him a recovery in Shadow Essence, Alex managed to kill a lot of bats!
He needed 13000 EXP to level up, but the bats came toward them in swarms, so Alex managed to grind his level up to 12! After that, the EXP needed to level up increased by a lot, and there weren't any bonuses because he and the monsters were at equal levels.
Still, that was relatively fast! The players went crazy on the game forums once again.
-JamesQuickHands: "How does Shadowborn level up so fast? I thought the higher your level, the harder it was to level up!"
-Shadowbornfangirl1: "Are you stupid? You don't have the skills like our idol, handsome, incredible, Shadowborn."
Alex read a few comments while resting with the other soldiers and couldn't help but laugh.
'Why do they use these types of nicknames in the forum? Fan girl? Really?'
After a quick rest, they kept moving toward the cave's depths, and then something else came to attack them. It wasn't a bat like the other time, but a humanoid thing.
[Fledgling Vampire]
[Level 15]
"A vampire?" Alex muttered.
That wasn't the type of enemy he expected to be there, but it did not matter. He would kill it just like he did with the bats! Though the fight would not be as easy.