"E-Rank, D-Rank, C-Rank, B-Rank, A-Rank, S-Rank, SS-Rank, SSS-Rank." Leslie blurted out a string of words, causing both Bob and Freya to stare at her dumbly, "Those are the rankings of a hero. Once you kill a number of monsters, you can change your class to something higher."
Bob held his chin, 'Like the death point system? Interesting. I guess normal heroes have to face a simpler way to upgrade than someone who doesn't have a limit to respawn. Then again, I still have a few dozen more deaths to be close to an upgrade though.'
"You look lost, should I start over?" Leslie stopped by the door to Area 10, then turned around to face stare at Bob. She turned to Freya, and the silver haired woman looked more eager to jump in and ace the next level, "Uh, or are you not ready to advance?"
"No, I was just thinking something. Please, continue." Bob pocketed his hands, then Leslie smiled and opened the door. Bob felt his heartbeat speed up seeing her smile, but he shook his head, 'Man, Leslie is so much nicer to talk to than—' he spared a glance at Freya and shivered.
The door opened, and Bob frowned. The room on the other end seemed to suck in the darkness from this room and Bob summoned a torch, as soon as he followed Leslie into the room, all the light emitting from his torch was consumed, "This is normal, right?"
"Don't worry, it is. Anyway Freya, do you have any status cancelling skills?" Leslie summoned her bow and conked an arrow, "The demons here had cast [Darkness] on us. We cannot dispel the effect around us, but we can from ourselves to see the demons when they arrive."
"How is that normal? Oh wait, forget I asked." Bob sighed, frowning with his eyes as cold as ice, "I believe that there are some of us who do not have this skill. How are we going to walk if we can't see a damn thing?" he focused his gaze on Leslie.
He thought that the shadow cult had something to do with this, but since it was the doings of the pathetic low levelled mobs, he had little to worry about. It was just the image of a certain guy using a certain similar trick to throw a certain frying pan at him.
"You trust me, don't you boss?" Freya reached out, relaxing her hand on his shoulder. She stood behind Bob but he did not bother turning around.
"No, I don't." Bob replied honestly, shrugging and letting out a sigh for maximum damage. With the words out of his mouth, Freya removed her hand from his shoulders and stepped back.
"Okay, here's what will happen. I will lead Bob through the darkness while Freya will lead the wolves." Leslie relaxed her hands on her hip, tapping her feet on the ground for a few seconds in silence then adding, "You are okay with that?"
"No, I am not. Freya will lead me through the darkness while you lead the wolves." Bob replied with a straight face, and Leslie nodded to Freya. Freya handed Bob her hand, then led him through the area while Leslie guided the wolves around, "Uh, Freya? My hand is slipping out…"
"Why am I the one grabbing your hand?" Freya barked.
"Because I didn't want to seem like a pervert." Bob sighed.
"That doesn't even make any sense." She replied, then sighed.
——
In as much as he wanted Leslie to hold his hand — ahem! — Bob trusted her to lead the wolves far better than he did Freya. If Freya led him into trouble, worst came to worst, he would die and be respawned like nothing happened. His pets on the other hand? Gone. Reduced to minced meat.
'Her hand is so soft… I feel like it'll melt in my grasp…' Bob maintained a straight face while his mind wandered around, but when he recalled Freya pummelling the giant to death, he stiffened, "It must be difficult punching things with her bare hands. Maybe we should get her gauntlets?"
Even Bob would not dare punching through a skeleton with his bare fists — that stuff was tough for humans and he guessed ten times tougher for a giant at level two handed and fifty! Besides, 'She is a dagger main from what I perceive. Why does she like punching things so much?'
"Stop squeezing that hard, are you trying to break my hand? It won't work." Freya replied with a cold scoff, leading Bob through the darkness — a straight path in her eyes — and glancing around from side to side, "Leslie, this place is bigger than the others. I still see no monsters."
"I mentioned the size increase respective to area increase before, but as for the monsters. They usually show up when you reveal an opening, and land a very dangerous hit, or you get close to the door." Leslie patted Aquarius with one hand, and held her bow with the other.
"Are they like those dumb Room Elitist?" Bob asked, halting his footsteps. Freya wanted to tug him forward, but his feet rooted deep in the ground and she was forced to stop and turn to face a serious Bob, "Wait a second. I can feel their rumblings again… if this is like last time…"
Aquarius leapt out of Leslie's reach and jumped in front of Bob, blocking an arrow that would've pierced through his head. Bob patted Aquarius, praising him with the words "good boy" and causing the wolf to wag its tail foolishly, "Then again, they have gotten more impatient."
⦗Room Elitist Dealt Damage to Demon Lord!⦘
"Well, I guess we will have to deal with this quickly." Freya turned in the direction Aquarius had taken that blow, and hurled Bob. Time froze, and Bob felt his heart skip a beat, "I knew that I should never let my guard down around you!" He grinned, summoning two [Light Bombs].
As Bob closed his eyes, the bomb landed on the ground. In the instance that it appeared from his soul — or whichever it came from — and landed on the ground, shining brightly for a second before being consumed by the skill, the monsters; location were revealed!
Bob collapsed right into the middle of their ranks, and their sharp cries of pain followed. Blood rained as Bob swung his four daggers around, slicing the monsters like butter. Bob felt sad for the little things, "I have to kill you so brutally yet you give such pathetic XP…"