- So far so good - I said looking a the hunters led by Tihana, as they slaughtered the last orcs in front of the entrance to their dungeon.
The sun was frying us in the canyon, and the walls made it hard for the wind to give us any cooling, so people were quite sweaty because of all the physical activity.
- Yeah - John agreed with me. - I thought it would be worse.
His part of the group was active before the last skirmish, and now they were resting at the backline, picking up the stones, while my daughter's group went to the frontlines to deal with the rest of the monsters.
- You got decent - I admitted. - Some of you are dragging the group a little bit down, but at least nobody got hurt worse than a couple of shallow cuts.
- Not everybody went full-on with the battle-appropriate classes and skills - he pointed out.
- I did notice the healers and those who are giving you buffs. Back in my day, this wasn't a thing. Everybody was looking for pure strength to make sure they could keep themselves alive - I explained.
- Here we can be more cooperative. I guess people are more open to working as a group than as individuals - he replayed.
I nodded. That definitely seemed to be the case. I don't want to sound like I'm bragging, but I was suspecting it was due to my influence. I was the one to organize the whole thing. I was the guarantee of safety to everybody. I was the one who showed them effectiveness, and I always kept my promises. I guess this made the idea of working as a group more attractive to them, compared to struggling as individuals, because, after all, we were working towards the same goal.
They thought that goal was to create a paradise for them, to live here and hunt, making themselves stronger, until they will reunite with their families. The true goal was for me to consume the fruit, and they didn't need to know it.
As I was thinking that, I also noticed that all the orcs were now dead. Everybody began working on gathering the crystals, so I decided to help them a little to not waste the time. I summoned an army of shadows that quickly picked up everything, and put it all on the carts.
There were a few of them, mostly filled with provisions and equipment because it was easier this way. People didn't have to carry their own stuff, which didn't slow them down as they fought with the orcs.
- Move, move, move - I said as I did that. - Time is precious. We have other places to be.
Tihana hearing that began moving closer to me. She wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand. In the other one, she was holding a spear. One of a few options she brought with her.
She had shorts on with knee and elbow pads made out of kevlar, and obviously a bulletproof vest, with a gray T-shirt poking from under the protective gear.
The rest had similar gear. Even John, who no longer even possessed that fancy shit he used to wear. Now it was more about functionality.
- I don't think we will be able to clear other spots - she said, gasping for air. - We started before sunrise, and we only managed to get here now. You could hardly say that we were slow when you basically teleported us all the way here.
She had to pause briefly, to catch her breath. She was still out of gas after the battle, in which she was quite an important figure, and the talking didn't help with that.
- It's probably around noon now - she pointed at the real local star, as I didn't create a fake sky for us, under the dome - and we still have the cave to clear. Maybe we could do one more spot, but that's definitely all.
I nodded slowly to her words.
- I'll think about a solution, maybe I'll come up with something - I told her.
She nodded in response, and we started the preparation to enter the dungeon. The torches were lit up, and the bearers spread to the sides to provide the most light and make sure the middle of the tunnel was accessible for those who needed to retreat.
I was at the very end of the column. What I already saw made me quite confident in the ability of this team to clear the path all the way to the boss.
They didn't disappoint me, but the finish line was achieved only thanks to the heavy impact John and Tihana had in the last few battles. Some people weren't able to hold their line, and had to retreat, while those two didn't even budge.
We had a few wounded, but we also had healers able to help.
The worst mess happened in the staircase leading towards the boss room. Tihana and John carried that part the heaviest, dealing with the mages, while the rest just desperately looked for someplace to hide.
It was a clear single to me, that they just couldn't clear that place.
I hunted like crazy, and it took me around two years to get strong enough for this, while they didn't even have a full year on their accounts, which made it quite impressive that they were able to reach as far as they did.
The duo was stronger, though, and now without difficulties, managed to clear the path to the boss room.
Most of us gathered on one of the levels, to have a rest, while the rest began collecting the crystals, to bring them to the top, where the carts had to be left.
The place brought some of my memories back, as I had a moment to look around, at the fake arcane laboratories, and the bookstands. Normally I just blasted through, not stopping even for a single glance.
Tihana and john, laying flat on the floor, were gasping for air, while those who were able to even a little bit keep up with them, looked way better. They still were exhausted, but at least able to stand.
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