After preparing themselves, they walked in a group. Isabella was in the center with Aaron, while Hilda stepped ahead as a guide.
[Dark Pillar Tower]
[First Floor]
[Monster: Lv. 30-33]
[Monster Boss: ?]
[Dark Pillar Countdown Closes:]
[00:09:59:59]
It was clearly written on the system panel that the monsters roaming and living in the Dark Pillar maze were monsters with 30-33 levels, lower than the spider monsters Aaron had met.
"This maze is quite complicated. I've mapped it out. Every member of the main raid team knows which route they should take," Hilda explained, speaking to all the team members, including Isabella and Aaron.
"I trust you completely, Hilda," Aaron replied.
He glanced briefly to the side, watching Isabella's expression which seemed to be smiling happily.
Once in a while, she retook Aaron's hand and leaned her head towards the young man, her attitude showing that she was interested in Aaron.
Several team members noticed Isabella's attitude, but none dared to remind the woman about David's anger. Aaron was at a great disadvantage right now.
Arriving at the first intersection, Hilda pointed to the right. With great confidence, she directed the entire team towards the boss's room.
But, to get there, Hilda and the others knew that they had to get past some monsters that could be life-threatening. Isabella tried to convince everyone that they would return safely.
ROAR!
Hilda raised her right fist, signaling everyone to stop their steps.
Isabella released her hold on Aaron and asked Hilda why the woman had stopped walking. Aaron braced himself. He faintly heard the sound of a monster roar, but he didn't know the exact location yet.
"I heard a monster roar," Hilda said.
"What? Why didn't I hear it?"
"She's right, Ms. Isabella. I also vaguely heard the roar," Aaron said, backing up Hilda's words.
ROAR!
The roar became increasingly louder. Also, the slight tremors felt on the ground were a sign that large-sized monsters were stepping near them.
"Let me track them down!" said Isabella.
[Talent Activated]
[Sub Talent Activated]
[Rose Thorns Scattering]
A red magic circle appeared above Isabella's palm, then began to release thousands of small thorns typical of rose stems to all corners of this place with no exception.
Even though it was a thorn, when it pierced into the bodies of those detected, they would not feel any pain.
They can only know whether they are being tracked by using talents with sensor abilities, such as the Environmental Reaction talent at A rank.
Isabella's eyes closed. Through her mind, she managed to map the shape of a maze with red rose petals in several places; those were the enemy's locations.
[Rose Thorn Detection Successful]
[Location: Dark Pillar First Floor]
[Number: 20 Objects]
[Human: 17]
[Non-human: 3]
[Red Rose Thorns will fade in one minute]
"17 people took the raid mission this time. I saw two monsters ahead of us. It's a twin-headed wolf, a 32nd-level monster," Isabella explained.
"Level 32?" asked several people, especially those who joined the raid for the first time.
Hilda sensed their anxiety. She turned around and told the people not to be afraid.
"This is a common monster in the first-floor maze. You don't need to be afraid," said Hilda.
Sure enough, twin-headed wolf monsters appeared from the end of the path. They had white fur mixed with black, sharp fangs slobbering with black eyes. Their size exceeded the average wolf, almost the size of a grizzly bear.
[Monster Details:]
[Monster: Twin Headed Wolf]
[Level: 32]
[HP: 35,000/35,000]
[MP: 37,000/37,000]
[Element: Wind]
Since there are two of them, there is a certain difficulty in fighting them. Hilda stated clearly that their weakness was their sense of smell.
They will weaken if they smell a strong fragrance, be it flowers or rotting carcasses.
"Not only that, we have to try to blind them. It's the only way they cannot tell where we are," Hilda explained.
"Leave their noses to me."
[Sub Talent Activated]
[Rain of Rose Petals]
Isabella pointed her hand forward, a magic circle appeared above the two wolf monsters' bodies. Rose petals fell and created a barrage of powerful explosions, accompanied by the distinctive scent of rose fragrance.
Aaron glanced to the side, watching as a pop-up system panel showing the amount of damage the monster had received appeared before Isabella.
Surprisingly, the amount of damage dealt was consistently above 500.
'Woah, it seems like the high level has a fair effect on the damage dealt,' Aaron explained.
[Monster: Twin Headed Wolf]
[HP: 31,540/35,000]
[HP -3460]
Not only Isabella but also the others cast their talent attacks targeting the monster. Aaron was still silent; he was confused about what kind of attack he should do, whether a regular magic attack or a talent attack.
[HP -2750]
[HP -3550]
[Monster: Twin Headed Wolf]
[HP: 25,240/35,000]
"What are you doing? Quickly attack it!" said one of the male team members to Aaron.
"A-Alright."
[Magic Activated]
[Fire Magic: Dragon Flames]
[MP -550]
Aaron unleashed his attack forward against one of the two twin wolf monsters. The monster failed to dodge and was hit by Aaron's magic attack.
But, due to his level not being high yet, his attack did not have a significant impact.
[Damage +230]
[Damage +180]
[2 Combo]
[HP -410]
[Monster: Twin Headed Wolf]
[HP: 24,380/35,000]
Everyone was shocked while widening their eyes, mouths gaping with their focus of attention shifted to the side.
The young man who had the second-highest CP in the Night Liberator group could only deal less than 500 damage to a 32nd-level monster.
"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT DAMAGE?!" shouted the man, annoyed and disappointed.
'What's happening? Is he actually hiding his power? The system is never wrong,' Isabella explained, narrowing her eyes.
"Get ready. It's about to attack!"
Hilda reached out, creating a protective shield to withstand the wind elemental attack of the wolf monster. Several people did the same, but Aaron still stood by doing nothing.
The two wolf monsters unleashed a powerful wind roar forward, successfully breaking the shield wall and dealing wounds.
A damage pop-up appeared before Isabella, showing the massive amount of damage she had taken from the power of the two wolf monsters.
[Damage -3200]
Not only her but also Aaron received a larger amount of damage. That was because he did not cast any defensive magic to block the attack's force.
[Damage -3700]
Aaron fell to his knees, blood flowing from the corner of his lips, a sign that he had received a fatal attack on his body.
"We shouldn't leave if we're relying on an imposter like him!" complained James.
"I foolishly believed that he had high CP."
"Let's hurry back for our lives."
Several team members showed their dislike and disappointment towards Aaron. Aaron heard everything and felt he needed to show his true power.
"I'm the leader of this team. I'm the one who invited him. So, don't keep blaming him!" said Isabella, still supporting and believing in Aaron's abilities.
"You still believe in that person's bullshit? He can only release magic attacks; his talent is complete trash!" complained James.
"I believe that Aaron is not a liar! He probably needs time to use his talent."
'Damn! Am I going to keep letting Isabella protect me?' Aaron complained.
'Alright. I have no other choice.'
Aaron got up with both hands clenched tightly; he took the HP potion and downed it. At once, his HP count was restored to its original state.
The young man tapped Isabella lightly on the shoulder, suddenly luring the woman's attention to the side.
"Aaron?" asked Isabella.
"Thank you for trusting me. For the rest, I'll do it myself."
"You're gonna do it? Are you going to kill yourself?!" complained James.
Aaron's eyes closed, a white servant pattern appeared on Aaron's forehead, a clue that he was ready to summon his soul servant.
"Servant Jack The Ripper!" called Aaron.
[MP -24500]
In white light, the figure of a soul servant appeared and stood tall beside Aaron. The servant's arrival surprised the entire team, including Isabella.
"Servant? You have a servant?"
Aaron did not answer Isabella's question. He pointed two fingers of his right hand forward to command Servant Jack the Ripper.
"Jack, kill them!"