While Glyea was attending to the families of the dead as Zephyr had advised, the hero and his party were getting ready to tackle the first level of the dungeon. Only a day had passed since the war effort, but with Custer as their guide for monsters, they felt that it was best to start the study of monsters early. Their task was simple after all. To observe and determine weakness before tackling anything.
"Alright, just stay quiet about this, okay?" Closing his eyes while the party stood gathered outside the dungeon's entrance, Zephyr focused on one of his many starting abilities from a thousand years ago. "Summahnaa: Arth'Goblis!"
A circle of runes appeared before the party, and the next they knew, the very runes formed into the silhouette of a goblin. As the light settled and dimmed, Zephyr opened his eyes, and a goblin was formed in front of everyone's eyes. Still as a statue and yet harbouring the characteristic smell and muttering of a goblin, the beast stood obediently in front of its master.
"I-it's really a goblin…" Tapping its nose with the blunt edge of her knife, Audrey gasped and jerked away, assuming that it would strike her.
"What in the world?!" When nothing happened, Roxanne reached out and touched the beast on its head.
"I've never seen someone summoning one like this!" Leaning forward with her arms crossed, even Charlotte couldn't help but marvel at the skill.
Rudy was the only one who'd remained a bit skeptical about the monster's obedience. Perhaps due to his past trauma with goblins, or maybe it was simple scorn that was suppressed in his heart and directed at Custer's competency.
"But it's just a goblin. What can it even do?" He asked grumpily.
Shrugging his shoulders, Custer put on a smile and addressed his concern.
"That is why Aura and I study monsters. The more I know about a monster, the more likely it is that I can summon it, control it even." The girls hummed in awe of the ability while Rudy remained unimpressed by the power. "For now, though, I can only summon low-level creatures. I can try with more complicated beasts, but controlling them can be an issue, so let's use these monsters as distractions for now. We can learn a lot about the monsters inside if we make this goblin fight them first."
"That sounds perfect," muttering to herself, Roxanne glanced over at Rudy. "We won't even have to rely on the ring."
"Or that belt Aura mentioned…" Whispering in the background, Charlotte shook her head. The others had heard her, but they ignored it with a flush streaking across their faces. "Anyways… I have to say, Custer."
Placing a hand on his shoulder, Charlotte gave it a light squeeze.
"You made the right choice by not letting anyone else know about this power. I'm sure it would've caused you a load of trouble if you did."
"Now, if you guys can keep your lips hushed about this, I will continue to help you explore. Do we have a deal on that?" Nodding right back without question, everyone–even Rudy agreed to the terms, and so with both parties in agreement, this new promise effectively became part of their initial contract.
Thus, with renewed determination, the party finally ventured into the dungeon. The goblin summon led the charge, ten steps ahead to encounter any monsters or traps before any of the party members did. For a while, it only led them down a dark cave with nothing but bats overhead; however, then came a clearing, or rather a branching structure with multiple pathways.
A handful of them were nothing more than dead ends, while the others had slimes as monsters and a few low-level poison toads and small monster critters. The party almost felt a bit disappointed at the challenge until eventually they stumbled into a much larger beast–a poison toad twice the size of Charlotte's body.
It stood in a reeking pond of poison and was surrounded by many smaller toads. The spikes on its limbs and the thick scales were covered in human skin and lacerations from previous battles. A whole rotting human leg was sticking out from its shoulder spikes as well; even so, what drew the party's attention instead was a treasure chest right behind the monster.
Bright purple with golden fireflies curling around it to mark its importance. Whatever was inside, the beast was protecting it. Staying hidden while stalking their prey, the hero and his party urged Custer to send out the goblin. Agreeing to their demands, he did as they'd asked, but the moment the goblin stepped in front of the giant poison toad, the monster shot his sticky tongue and grabbed the summon.
Swallowing the goblin whole, the toad blinked unimpressed–or rather, unthinking. Its sole objective was to protect the chest; beyond that, it seemed as though it wasn't even aware of its own existence.
"Well," reaching inside his bag, Zephyr took out a flimsy-looking pouch tied with a single piece of string. "Throw this at the monster's face and close your eyes for a second. Then strike it in the gaps between its scales, the belly preferably."
Taking the pouch in her hand, Charlotte squinted.
"Are you sure? Shouldn't we study it more?"
"It's just a giant-sized poison toad, nothing to learn really. And if we waste time studying every beast, we're never getting anywhere close to the bottom of this dungeon."
"If… you say so." Taking a deep gulp, Charlotte looked at the others. "Follow me and keep that ring close in case we need to escape this place."
With an affirming nod back, the leopard woman rose to her feet and unsheathed all four of her elemental blades. Closing her eyes temporarily, she activated their elemental energy, and in a second, her weapons began to glow and burn with their corresponding element.
"Heave-ho, let's go!" Stopping herself from overthinking, Charlotte ran around the corner and charged at the beast. It noticed her in an instant with its big dark eyes, but right before it could open its mouth, the demi-human threw the pouch at its face. Closing her own eyes right in time, she saw a flash of bright light warming up her eyelids. Even so, continuing to charge at the monster, she swung her blade and opened her eyes at the same time. Shifting the trajectory mid-swing, she carved a piece of its belly from between its scales.
"Shatter defense!" Activating a skill of hers, Roxanne lowered the beast's defenses further as Audrey moved in for the kill.
"BURNING DAGGERS!" Channeling her mana through her weapon, Audrey buried the daggers in the wound, and in a flash, they burst into searing flames.
"GWAHHH!" Screeching with pain, the toad swung its arm at the fox, but parrying it with his shield, Rudy took the brunt of its force before going down on his knees. "EUGGHHH!"
Watching the fire burning, cracking the scales and burning the monster's entrails, Charlotte held her swords in a cross and readied herself to slice it in two.
"GET AWAY!" Planting her feet forward, she waited just long enough for Audrey to move away. "ELEMENTAL SLASH!"
Striking at once with burning flames, stabbing ice, exploding winds, and slices of razor-sharp waters, the demi-leopard kept tugging at her swords in opposite directions until the toad in front was cut open like a gutted fish. And as it finally fell, roasting and exploding from the effects of the elements, everyone took a few steps away and watched as its flailing body was slowly drained of all its blood.
Breathing heavy from the sudden exertion, the group quietly watched the monster dying and the toad around it moving in already to feast on it.
"Good job, better than I expected, honestly," coming out of the back, Zephyr clapped for the group. "Now, how about we check that chest?"
"Gladly!" A smile lifted across Charlotte's face. The hunt had made her excited.
The others, however, were struggling through the numbing effect of the adrenaline. Leaving only her to open the chest and find out what their reward was for slaying their first monster in this dungeon.