The party discussed animatedly, but ultimately Silver Blade doused their enthusiasm.
"I don't know if we can beat a level 9 or 10 elite."
Liam nodded his head. The level difference was too much. They wouldn't be able to do a lot of damage.
"So we just let it go?"
Cyclone looked unwilling. She was eager to test her lucky hands on a treasure chest.
"We have no choice."
Everyone was ready to accept it when Liam spoke up:
"You don't necessarily have to fight all the time."
"Expert, do you have a way?"
"I don't know."
Liam smiled as Cyclone and Balm put their hands on their hips, staring at Liam angrily.
"Tell us!"
"Yeah, tell us!"
"Take a look around."
Silver Blade headed Bleary Mirage's advice, scanning the surroundings.
"What's there to see?"
Suddenly Silent Acacia exclaimed:
"Bananas!"
Quickstep looked at him strangely, holding a hand against his forehead.
"Strange, no fever."
"No, look!"
The young thief pointed at a large palm tree a short distance away. Everyone watched as one of the red-furred monkeys climbed up to grab a few fresh, green-yellow bananas, a foolish grin on its face.
Silver Blade's eyes lit up.
"This might work!"
"Luring monkeys with bananas. A trick as simple as it is genius."
"Speak like a human!"
Sun's Knight had enough as he hit the back of Radiant Shield's head.
"Yo, are you crazy?"
"Am I crazy, or are you?"
"Hehehe.", Cyclone's chuckle let the two men stop, embarrassed.
"Guys, we should figure out how to get those bananas down."
"Easy, I do it!"
Silent Acacia put away his bow, a childish joy in his eyes as he ran at the next tree.
With smooth movements he climbed up, even faster than a monkey.
He reached out with his hand. But the banana didn't move, a progress bar appearing in his vision.
Meanwhile Liam smiled faintly as he approached the same tree, using his gathering skill from the ground.
After a few seconds both men held a banana in their hands.
Silent Acacia looked strangely at the ground. A moment later Cyclone and Balm couldn't hold back, breaking out in laughter.
"Hahaha, I didn't know you could be so mean, Bleary Mirage."
"Yeah, look at him climbing like a monkey."
Only Quickstep waved at her boyfriend in support:
"Babe, you look great! Not everyone can climb such a tree. Don't listen to them!"
The entire group was amused as they began copying Liam, using their gathering skills on the nearby trees if they had it.
Soon, a pile of bananas was collected.
Silver Blade had her eyes on the ground, pondering how to proceed. As she raised her head, she looked at two innocent faces, their cheeks bulging.
"Cyclone, Balm? Did you take bananas?"
The two women shook their heads heavily.
"Really? Then why aren't you talking?"
"I am dalging."
Silver Blade let out a bell-like laugh as white pieces fell from Cyclone's mouth.
"You two monkeys…
Apparently, the bananas work on you. Let's hope the same is true for the elite.
Silent Acacia, do you think you can approach the elite in stealth and drop bananas to lure it away?"
"It might be possible. Dropping doesn't count as use, so it shouldn't break my stealth."
"Let's try it."
"Good luck."
"You have my blessing, young friend!"
"You got this."
Silent Acacia smiled as everyone encouraged him. He took the bananas into his inventory and sneaked away.
The young thief was indeed a pro, his footsteps careful, trying not to disturb the foliage.
He weaved between groups of monkeys until he reached a large tree not far from a small river.
A tall monkey with fists like hammers leaned against the tree, enjoying life as two female monkeys cleaned its fur.
Silent Acacia stopped a short distance away, carefully dropping a banana on the ground.
Suddenly the surrounding monkeys stopped making any sounds. Their heads carefully turned to the elite.
The tall monkey watched for a second before waving its hand gernerously. One of the female monkeys immediately jumped in excitement.
Silent Acacia took a few steps back, watching with a frown as the female monkey grabbed the banana, peeling it and taking a big bite.
It fell backwards, planting its butt on the ground with a satisfied expression.
Suddenly another banana appeared.
But the same routine repeated, this time with the other female monkey.
Silent Acacia stared angrily at the elite.
Is it not good enough for you?!
Somewhat impatient the young thief scattered a dozen fruits on the floor.
Instantly all the monkeys' eyes opened wide. The elite stood up from its comfortable chair.
That's it!
Silent Acacia understood. He retreated, throwing out large amounts of bananas on the way.
A craze broke out among the monkeys. They hastily scrambled for the golden treasures. Whoever got their hands on one sat on the ground, enjoying themselves without moving.
Silent Acacia quickly returned to the group.
"It worked, but I don't know how much time we have."
"Quick, take Cyclone with you and open the chest."
By now everyone was convinced by Cyclone's luck, agreeing with Silver Blade.
Thus, Cyclone and Silent Acacia ran as fast as possible. Noticing that the monkeys showed no signs of chasing after them, they grew bolder, not taking a detour.
Soon they passed the elite, arriving before the treasure chest.
"It's bronze!"
Exclaimed Cyclone with a grin. Silent Acacia was surprised that she knew the grade at a glance but had no time to discuss.
"Quick, open it!"
"On it."
Cyclone reached out with her hand, a progress bar appearing.
[Opening Treasure Chest. 10 seconds remaining]
"So long…"
Silent Acacia looked anxiously at the elite. He took out the last few of his bananas and threw them over.
"Come on, big monkey. Just eat. Ignore us."
The seconds ticked by and Cyclone soon pulled her hand back. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at the blue light.
"It…"
"Roarr!"
A loud roar interrupted Cyclone. She looked over at the elite monkey, smiling wryly as she watched it stand up, its rage-filled eyes staring at the two thieving nephilim.
"You watched us steal, but now you react?!"
"Don't talk, run!"
Silent Acacia urged Cyclone as he ran explosively, disappearing down the hill.
"Hey, wait!"
Unfortunately, a thief was much faster than a mage. Silent Acacia looked back; his heart anxious.
He turned around and tried to help Cyclone, but movement speed was a fixed attribute.
The ground trembled as the elite monkey followed with big jumps.
"It's catching up!"
"I don't want to die!"
Cyclone looked distressed, proud about her deathless record so far.
Suddenly a person appeared before the two.
"Mirage!"
Cyclone smiled brightly, instinctively trusting Liam to save them, contrary to Silent Acacia.
"Careful, Mirage! Run away!"
"It's alright we can just trade."
"What?"
Silent Acacia didn't understand Liam's words.
The latter waved his hand leisurely, more than a hundred bananas appearing out of thin air.
The elite monkey was already close, but it suddenly stopped. Its eyes stared at the mountain of delicious yellow snacks before it.
It was calculating in its brain. Eventually it decided that bananas were more important than some items it couldn't use anyways.
The elite monkey indulged itself while the players got away safely.
Cyclone sighed in relief as they regrouped.
"Puh. This was a bit too exciting."
Silver Blade had a conflicted expression.
"Sorry. I should have thought about it. Without Bleary Mirage you would've died."
"Don't beat yourself up, I only saved us some time. We would've gotten the items anyways.", encouraged Liam.
Quickstep checked her boyfriend's state while the group began gathering around Cyclone.
"Brave companion, please, reveal the treasure to us."
"What did you get?"
Cyclone enjoyed the attention, smiling brightly. She flicked her wrist, and a beautiful bow appeared, surrounded by green sparkles.
Everyone looked enviously at Silent Acacia, knowing that he was the only bow user present.
Next, Cyclone built some tension before revealing a piece of paper.
Everyone quickly inspected it.
"A recipe for fire resistance potion? Not bad."
"Who wants to take this?"
Balm was somewhat hesitant as she was still new to the group. But after no one showed a strong desire, she raised her hand.
"I… I would like it, please. Is it ok?"
Liam looked at the red-haired woman in surprise.
"Are you interested in becoming an alchemist?"
"Yes. I always liked it in other games."
"Not bad. I have another recipe. Let's talk about it sometime."
"Ehm, sure."
Balm was somewhat confused, not sure what Liam meant. But if she could buy the recipe, it would be good for her.
However, as Cyclone handed the recipe to her friend, Quickstep intervened.
"Sorry guys. Don't take this the wrong way, but a recipe is clearly worth a lot."
Everyone showed a different reaction with Radiant Shield and Sun's knight being the most offended.
"Treasures go to whoever needs them. The young lady wants to become an alchemist, so she should have the recipe."
"No. Quickstep is not wrong.", agreed Liam. "We should find a solution which satisfies everyone."
Fortunately, Liam already knew how groups in his old life handled these problems. Thus, they quickly agreed on a certain percentage Balm had to hand over from the profits made through the potion, up to a cap.