"Thwack!"
A number appeared above Diana's head - 428!
In an instant, Diana's fragile mage constitution couldn't withstand the blow. Her health plummeted dangerously low. She hurriedly retreated while gulping down a health potion. At the same time, she let out a soft cry and waved her staff, causing a fiery red energy shield to ripple out around her.
Only then did I get a clear look at what had ambushed Diana - it was a monster called a Phantom Assassin!
I couldn't see the monster's stats, but Diana's serious expression made it clear that its attack power was not to be underestimated.
Diana nimbly sidestepped to put some distance between herself and the Phantom Assassin. She instantly launched an Ice Arrow spell, coating the assassin's body in a layer of frost that drastically reduced its speed. It could only futilely swing its dagger through the air a few times.
Seizing the opportunity, I also fired off an Ice Arrow. To my surprise, it had a similar slowing effect as the mage's Ice Arrow spell. The Phantom Assassin was now completely immobilized. Under Diana's subsequent barrage of fireballs, it exploded into a pile of silver coins!
Unfortunately, it was only silver coins.
As I picked up the coins one by one, I said, "The monsters here appear out of nowhere. Diana, you should keep your Flame Shield activated at all times."
Diana pouted and replied, "I can't do that. The Flame Shield consumes a lot of mana - it uses up a 500-point mana potion every minute!"
I couldn't help but laugh. "Don't worry about it. Keep it on. If you die, you'll lose a level, which would be even worse. Relax, I'm carrying plenty of mana potions too. We shouldn't have any supply issues."
Diana immediately flashed an enchanting smile. "Alright then!"
So Diana kept her Flame Shield effect active continuously, which put my mind at ease. No matter how high the Phantom Assassin's attack power was, it wouldn't be able to one-shot me. After all, at level 27 I now had nearly a thousand hit points!
The first level of the Phantom Cavern only had two types of monsters - Phantom Knight and Phantom Assassins. They lurked in the darkness, only revealing themselves when players got close. This caused us some minor trouble. As an archer wearing leather armor, I was quite vulnerable. If I were a berserker wearing a full set of bronze-tier armor, my defense would probably reach around 350. With 350 defense against the Phantom Knight's 320 attack, I likely wouldn't take more than 150 damage per hit.
However, with Diana's and my powerful attacks, we were still able to clear the first level of the Phantom Cavern fairly easily. Looking at the monster corpses littering the ground, I saw my experience bar shoot up rapidly. I had already reached level 28, while Diana finally broke through to level 31, grinning from ear to ear with joy.
Gazing at the dim stairway leading down to the second level, Diana nudged my arm and said softly, "Silas, you go first!"
I didn't dare refuse. She was my superior, after all - the young lady of the Blue Star Group. If I offended her, I might lose the job I had just gotten.
So I walked to the stone steps and carefully made my way down, with Diana following close behind. Her delicate white hand gripped my arm, making my heart flutter. I couldn't help but marvel at how such an adorable girl could be the top female mage in Ethereal Surge. It wasn't fair - the male mages were really dropping the ball...
"Tap!"
With a soft sound, I set foot on the floor of the second level of the Phantom Cavern. Suddenly the surroundings lit up, revealing a spacious hall filled with monsters. Unlike the first level, these weren't invisible. It was still a mix of Phantom Knight and Phantom Assassins, but their levels had increased significantly to 36. Diana could barely see their info. I suspected that by the third level, we'd be fighting blind!
I carefully used Armor-Piercing Arrow to draw a Phantom Knight over. Diana supported by casting Ice Arrow to slow it down, then bombarded it with fireballs. Usually a Phantom Knight would fall at our feet before it could even get close. Sometimes Diana would aggro the wrong monster, drawing two at once. In those cases we'd frantically chug potions and run for our lives, but we always managed to take them down in the end, albeit with some close calls.
Before long, Diana and I developed a good rhythm. We could focus on the same target without needing to communicate verbally. The level 36 monsters gave incredibly rich experience, causing our XP bars to surge upwards. Diana said with a smile, "If we clear out all the monsters on this floor, I should be able to reach level 32!"
I replied, "Take it slow. Don't level up too fast or I won't be able to keep up."
Diana gave a small laugh. "With your silver-tier bow and Armor-Piercing Arrows, you could solo train here. Just don't fall too far behind my level!"
I chuckled. "We'll train together from now on!"
Diana smiled faintly in agreement.
Just then, another Phantom Knight came charging towards us, its weapon whistling through the air. Diana's Ice Arrow spell struck it squarely in the chest as I rapidly fired off Armor-Piercing Arrows. By the time the Phantom Knight reached us, it let out a low roar and collapsed into a pile of bones, dropping a sizeable amount of silver coins and a piece of armor!
I quickly picked up the armor and examined its properties:
[Vengeful Chestplate] (Bronze-tier Armor)
Defense: 72
Strength: +8
Required Level: 30
(Unidentified)
Diana took a look and exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, that's some high defense! Once it's identified, the defense might break 100!"
I nodded with a smile and tried to trade the armor to her, but Diana quickly canceled the trade, saying, "What would a mage like me do with that kind of armor?"
I said, "But I can't equip this type of armor as an archer either!"
Diana laughed and said, "Then let's keep it for now. When we get back to town, if the identified stats exceed 100, it's mine. If not, it's yours. Fair enough?"
I was speechless. What kind of logic was that? Diana was truly as inscrutable as her sister Emma.
So I said nothing more and simply put the armor in my inventory. There were probably over 500 monsters on the second level. Although Diana and I could kill them quickly, it would still take us two or three hours to clear them all. We had no choice, since the monsters were clustered around the entrance to the third level, blocking our way forward.
Fortunately, the monster respawn rate in this area was quite slow, probably around once every 6 hours. This gave us a chance - otherwise we'd be stuck in an endless cycle of killing respawning monsters. That said, continuing to kill them indefinitely wouldn't be so bad. The experience was incredibly rich, and there was always the chance of getting high-level equipment drops!
Of course, the drop rate for equipment was extremely low. These level 36 monsters were a full 8 levels above me, but even after killing hundreds of them we had only gotten one bronze-tier item. If we were killing monsters at our own level, we might not have gotten even that. Then again, this single bronze item was already priceless. Most level 30 players were still using level 15 iron-tier equipment. Getting level 30 bronze-tier gear was incredibly difficult. Diana was an exception of course - I had no idea how she had managed to get a full set of Blazing equipment. I guess she must have had some lucky encounters like me!
Soon enough, we cleared out the last few monsters on the second level. As I had hoped, I reached level 29 with 50% experience, while Diana hit level 32. However, she made it clear that to reach level 33, we'd probably need to clear both the first and second levels again, and even that might not be enough. It was astounding how much harder leveling became at higher levels!
Next up was the third level. The Phantom Cavern had five levels in total, so we had explored two-fifths of it so far!
When I stepped onto the third level, I was shocked. There were no more Phantom Knight or Phantom Assassins. Instead, the area was filled with bow-wielding Phantom Archers!
I couldn't even see the Phantom Archers' levels - they must have been 38 or higher. Not only that, but these monsters had an extremely wide field of vision. As soon as Diana and I appeared, we immediately drew the aggro of at least five Phantom Archers!
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
A volley of arrows flew towards us. My health suddenly dropped by over 300 points. Thankfully their individual attack power wasn't too high, but multiple archers firing together was still devastating!
Diana wasn't faring much better. She had been targeted by two Phantom Archers at once. Two flashes of cold light bounced off her Flame Shield, which was already showing signs of strain. Diana's health had rapidly dropped to about half. The situation was dire!
I quickly fired Ice Arrows to slow the monsters' attacks. Meanwhile, Diana began a long casting sequence. In a burst of flames, a rain of fire descended from the sky, engulfing the feet of the five Phantom Archers in roaring flames. Damage numbers continuously popped up above the archers' heads. In the blink of an eye, they had all been reduced to half health!
"This Crimson Sea skill is really effective!" Diana exclaimed.
She was using the skill I had just given her - Crimson Sea!
However, the basic version of the skill only lasted about 10 seconds. So Diana cast it again. Finally, amidst the flames, all five Phantom Archers let out agonized screams and exploded into piles of silver coins!
Unfortunately, we couldn't collect any of the coins. The area was swarming with Phantom Archers - anyone who tried to pick them up would be turned into a pincushion!
Diana lamented with a laugh, "What a waste!"
I said, "Staying alive is the priority. But the monsters on this level are incredibly strong. It's going to be really tough for us to kill them..."
"Mm-hmm."
Just then, we suddenly heard voices coming from outside. Diana looked at me in surprise and said cautiously, "Silas, other players are coming!"