Dungeon, 7th Floor.
"Gannu, you're charging too far ahead! The Monsters are flanking us! You idiot — there's a Needle Rabbit trying to ambush us on the right! Emma, Link! Covering fire!"
Kael jumped up and down, gesturing wildly.
"Hey, kid brother, stop being lazy! Go draw away those Killer Ants!" Emma called out.
"How can you call me lazy when I'm constantly watching for Monster movements?" Kael protested, then turned toward Sven's direction and shouted, "Rear guard! Prioritize the threat on the right!"
Whoosh—
An arrow landed by Kael's feet.
Link snarled, "Stop talking nonsense. If you don't want my arrow through your skull, draw away that group of Killer Ants on the left!"
"We're beloved family, brothers-in-arms. How could you point an arrow at me?" Kael jumped indignantly.
"Keep talking! You'll end up like that Needle Rabbit!"
The arrow cut through the air, piercing a Needle Rabbit's eye, making it screech.
Kael gave an awkward smile. Since entering the 7th Floor, he'd been using his position as support to shout orders at Gannu and the others — though they weren't actually following his suggestions.
He contentedly stopped his "shouting", obediently took out a pack of Monster-attracting herbs from his large bag, activated it, and rushed toward the Killer Ants on the left.
❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈
In the narrow corridor, Kael ran with a huge iron barrel in his arms, pursued by four or five Killer Ants chittering with their shells. Their deep red armor-like shells covering their entire bodies, along with their massive mandibles, made him nervous on his first Dungeon run.
"How does Bell manage to stab their weak points through the gaps in their shells with just a dagger?" He wondered as he searched for an opening.
At least with my dissection knife, I can't even pierce their defenses! I can only rely on Skills!
Rustle Rustle—
The sound of arthropod legs scuttling came from above. Kael looked up to see crimson reticular eyes glowing red. The Killer Ant's mandibles opened and closed, transparent fluid dripping from its mouthparts.
"Tch, disgusting. They probably can't see me here." Kael stopped running, using the iron barrel in his arms to block the Killer Ant dropping from the ceiling.
Using the momentum, he opened the barrel's lid and took a big gulp. The Falna on his back emitted scorching heat, as if endless stamina was surging through his body.
The surrounding Killer Ants raked their claws across his shoulders, tearing cloth but leaving only faint scratches.
"Would you... like a drink too?" Kael laughed as the ghostly image of a bearded dwarf appeared behind him, matching his movements as they both raised the barrel and slammed it down hard.
Bang—
A wave of wheat-colored liquor burst out in all directions. The Killer Ants surrounding him collapsed as if struck from above, their armor shattering as they went limp.
"Phew..." Kael let out a long breath.
The medium durability and damage immunity from [Drunken Rage], plus the small durability boost from [Bearing the Burden] — with these two Skills working together, his temporary Endurance attribute had nearly reached B-rank.
The damage amplification from his Endurance attribute released power equivalent to a C-rank Strength dwarf striking with a 100-kg hammer. Combined with an area attack effect, it resulted in this overwhelming victory.
Kael put down the barrel and dug out the magic stones from four Killer Ants. When he got to the fifth one, seeing its nearly crippled state, he thought for a moment and stuffed it into his backpack.
"How could I forget my beloved family?" He snickered.
Killer Ants had a unique trait — they released pheromones when near death to attract their companions for rescue. In other words, they were natural Monster-gathering machines. Many powerful protagonists in fan fiction started by using them to farm Monsters in groups.
However...
"They don't call their companions that quickly. Hmm, I should deliver this to my brothers while it's still fresh!"
Picking up the barrel that towered over him, pressing down on the dying Killer Ant trying to escape, he shouldered his backpack and jogged toward where Gannu and the others were.
❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈
Pantry, 7th Floor.
This was the Dungeon's edge, off the regular path where few dared to venture. Hungry Monsters gathered here to feed on the glowstones' secreted liquid. The creatures were particularly aggressive, pouncing on any "prey" they spotted.
Right now... Kael had reunited with his "brothers" while carrying his "gift".
Gannu swung his worn and chipped great axe, cutting through the approaching Killer Ants.
"Hey, why are there more and more Monsters?!" Sven complained while blocking a Killer Ant's mandibles with his longsword.
"This is the Pantry, isn't it natural to have lots of Monsters?" Kael said matter-of-factly.
"Damn it. What about the Blue Papilios? Has anyone seen them?" Gannu spoke up again, positioning himself in front of three Killer Ants, "If this keeps up, my equipment will be ruined. I don't know if we can even make back the repair costs."
The 7th Floor required E to D-rank attributes, and Gannu's group barely had one attribute reaching E-rank. Still not adapted to this environment, they had no attention to spare for their surroundings.
The idle Kael looked around and pointed excitedly toward the chamber's interior at ten o'clock, "Over there! One, two, three... nine in total!"
"Excellent!"
"I'll go catch them!" Kael volunteered, already jogging toward the inner chamber.
A hand reached out from behind, grabbing him by his collar.
"What are you doing? Let me go quickly, or they'll fly away!" Kael kicked his legs anxiously.
Link sneered, "If it's just you alone, how do we know you won't lie about the numbers and hide the drops?"
"You're misunderstanding me again. How could I do such a thing to my brothers?" Kael probed.
"Hmph, since we're brothers, help us out then!" Link grinned, pulling out Monster-attracting powder from his pocket and stuffing it into Kael's arms.
"What... what are you going to do?" Kael's eyes widened, his lips trembling.
"Following the usual routine, of course. Buy us some time, little~ brother~!" Link grabbed his collar to throw him, but staggered back from an unexpected weight, "What the hell! So heavy!"
With Kael carrying a nearly 100-kg barrel on his back, trying to throw him without being Level 2 was pure fantasy.
Clicking his tongue, Link whistled, shot down a Killer Ant near Gannu, and shouted to the vanguard, "Let's go!"
Everyone understood, forcing back the Monsters with two slashes, leaving Kael alone to face the horde.
Before leaving, they called out, "Brother, help me out, this is my last request in life!"
Kael took two steps to follow but was knocked down by Gannu as he passed. The barrel on his back rolled away from the backpack, scattering magic stones across the ground.
Gannu's footsteps paused for a second as he grabbed the backpack.
"Little brother! I'll keep this safe for you!" Without even looking, he yanked the backpack from Kael's hands and rushed toward the inner chamber.
Lying on the ground, seemingly waiting to be devoured by Monsters, Kael slowly raised his head.
"Being greedy will only hurt you."
He hadn't expected the plan to go so smoothly — he'd been wondering if he should wait until they entered the chamber to throw in the backpack, but now this saved him the trouble.
Feeling the Killer Ants approaching, Kael picked up the barrel that had rolled aside and took a big drink. The powerful damage reduction left the surrounding Killer Ants with no way to hurt him. More Killer Ants continued chasing after Gannu and the others.
After the figures disappeared, Kael finally slammed down the barrel, reducing the scattered Monsters around him to ashes.
Avoiding the main passage, seeing more Killer Ants surge toward the chamber, he slowly emerged. Glancing at the barely diminished liquor, he quickly followed, hiding at the side of the Pantry chamber.
By now, Gannu's group had captured the Blue Papilios and were standing back-to-back, defending against the surrounding Monsters.
Kael snickered, raising the barrel high as he stood at the chamber entrance and shouted inside, "Lord Gannu, I'm here to help!"
Gannu turned his head, first seeing Kael's tattered appearance, and was shocked.
How is this possible? How did this kid survive that many Killer Ants? He even has enough energy left to come back and help?
But soon, a smile spread across his face, "Well done! As expected of our brother-in-arms, our beloved family!"
Sure enough, he's a tough punching bag, still alive! We can use him one more time!
"Little brother! Quick! Help us draw away these annoying bugs!"
"Alright! No problem! Brother Link! Watch my aim!"
The next second, a black, half-man-high iron lump flew toward Gannu.
Holy shit! What the—!
Gannu instinctively swung his battle axe, striking down with one blow.
Crash—
The barrel shattered into pieces, its contents instantly splashing over all four of them. It was concentrated high-proof alcohol, practically pure ethanol!
Kael snickered, "Let the fun begin!"
Before the four could react, inside the backpack with them, the magic stone lamp he had secretly lit earlier flickered slowly, and the next moment, the backpack burst into flames, the fire instantly spreading along the alcohol to engulf Gannu's entire body.