Since I had enough ingredients to do the same thing a few times, we went to floor 3 and then repeated the battle. This time, all the wolves were mounted with goblins and we had to contend with goblin archers too. Since we had perfected our technique, I simply had Celeste commit time to knock arrows out of the air. It went particularly well. Well, Terra ended up hit by an arrow. I was very scared for a bit but she doesn't experience pain like we do. With some quick healing, she was back to normal.
"I won't let it happen again!" Celeste seemed more upset than Terra was.
Afterward, she worked much harder and the arrows never even got close. By the time the last goblin fell, I nodded in affirmation and continued on.
On the fourth floor, the goblin riders were replaced by a larger-looking creature called a Goblin Elite. Combined with the archers, they were quite deadly. I had Terra create a small ceiling wall which all but made the archers useless. More often than not, they ended up shooting their own guys in the back. It was kind of embarrassing. I probably shouldn't look down on them, but it was really hard not to.
The elites took a little more effort to kill. Lydia did a lot better job knocking them out with her speed and superior swordsmanship. As for Terra, she took more of a beating and I had to heal her more frequently. This was definitely getting more challenging the lower we got. It was also getting pretty late.
"Good job, everyone. Let's get the nearby treasures and then we'll go." I said.
I had about ten gold now, and atleast another ten gold in ingredients, potions, and items which were found around the dungeon or dropped by the monsters. In the future, I should buy one of the guide books for the dungeon. I heard someone selling them in the bizarre. They're supposed to tell you who drops what and all kinds of information like that.
As I was checking the map for treasure, I suddenly noticed a life form we had missed. I had noticed it before, but it was really faint so I thought it was just some kind blip or maybe a rat or something. However, it was very clearly following us. The boss was supposed to be on the next floor down. However, I remembered those shadow bunnies with the expensive fur. Maybe this would have something of value.
"Celeste! Terra!" I whispered to the two girls. "Capture, there!"
I immediately had them create a barrier of dirt and air on either side of where the hidden creature was. Mikki also attempted to attack the spirit, and Lydia ran forward, drawing her sword smoothly.
"Ahhh!" Rather than an animal growl or squeal, I ended up hearing a girl scream.
"Eh?" I'm glad I tossed out a net instead of a knife.
I had hoped to identify the monster before I killed it. However, it wasn't a monster at all, but a girl in black clothing.
"A… ninja?"