--

With the Slime Lord’s attention fully occupied by Jules, the rest of the party attacked it freely.

Kaycee shot explosive arrows that tore off chunks of its flesh; Jen stabbed her sword into it, melting more of its gelatinous body to expose the core. Ren was also blowing up more portions of its flesh to reduce the area where the core could move.

And the ever watchful and opportunistic Derek saw the unmistakable flash of the Slime Lord’s core, struck like a venomous viper, and stabbed it with his dagger.

The core exploded into powder once he did that, and the gelatinous body of the Slime Lord collapsed without its consciousness holding on to it.

It’s dead.

It left behind a pool of slime, which quickly dried up and turned into powder scattered by the breeze.

The party regrouped and looked for its drops. The Slime Lord left behind red and green slime clumps, a chunk of its flesh, and a shard of its core. All are valuable materials for sure.

"Well, that’s that," Derek stated after tossing the drops to the party inventory. "It’s that simple to hunt down a Slime Lord with a party."

There’s no doubt that he’s talking to Ren here.

"It’s a bit opportunistic, yes, but it’s relatively the same," he continued. "Even if the Slime Lord were awake when we arrived, we would’ve used the same tactic to slay it."

"Slime Lords usually move alone; they could rarely be seen with other elites or lord variants. If we entered this place at Black Shade Tendency, then that’s to be expected. Otherwise, Slime Lords will only be surrounded with ordinary slimes."

Ren nodded at this.

Actually, Derek didn’t need to tell him this. Ren knew this already. He had read a lot of information about the dungeons and monsters online. His sources were credible and verified so he trusted them, and they weren’t wrong.

This was Derek doing his job as the new party leader, who was him to get in the way of that?

Truthfully, if Slime Lords weren’t too much for Ren’s current strength level, and if he wasn’t so adamant to progress through the dungeons as fast as he could, he wouldn’t have bothered with a party at all. He would’ve gone solo instead.

But as it stands, he had a good reason for rushing. Something that he can’t reveal for now.

However, this is fine. Joining this party wasn’t too bad at all, either.

The party took a brief rest after hunting the Slime Lord. Although they weren’t too spent from the fight, they weren’t in a hurry to clear the dungeon.

They even had something to eat while resting—a picnic of some sort.

Some slimes wandered near them, but they didn’t attack. They probably just gave them a strange look and then bounced away like it’s none of their business.

Because of that, the party’s short picnic was peaceful.

Once they’re rested, fed, and energetic again, they look for the elites. This time, they didn’t bother Kaycee with finding it. They decided to search for the pair on the normal way—by exploring the map.

And it didn’t take them long before finding the pair of elites.

They stayed at the same area where Kaycee initially saw them. Not in the same exact position, but they didn’t go too far either.

This is why it didn’t bother Kaycee to find them again; simple-minded creatures like slimes wouldn’t really leave the area they spawned in. At most, they’d just explore the nearby area for a bit, but eventually, they’d return.

The elites posed less challenge than the Slime Lord. Sure, there were a pair of them, but that didn’t matter too much. Jules tanked them both at the same time without a problem.

Ren applied the pain amplification effect of the Pain Demon Art to both as soon as the hunt began. This made the hunt easier since the pain amplification practically overloaded the senses of the elite slime pair. . 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

It also didn’t take long before they discovered the core for each elite. Once they were exposed, killing the elites became easy.

Just like that, the pair of elites was down. One of the requirements to clear this dungeon was fulfilled. The other was too damn easy.

The party went on a killing spree after that. They needed to kill 250 ordinary slimes to clear the dungeon, and this posed no challenge to them whatsoever.

They even had a little competition for who was going to kill the most before the dungeon was cleared.

Sufficed to say, Kaycee won this fight.

Jen accused her of cheating because she removed her goggles, but Kaycee just rolled her eyes.

Kaycee’s eyes were special. From what Ren gathered so far, and from what little Kaycee revealed, this came from a special bloodline she has. Maybe it’s something she inherited from her parents; maybe it’s something that was fused to her through other means...Ren doesn’t know the details just yet.

What he does know is that Kaycee’s vision was really sharp. Her glasses and goggles actually regulate her visual prowess, inhibitors, if you will. Without them, the true might of her eyes will be unleashed.

Unfortunately, the power of her eyes were too strong for her. That’s why she had a need for inhibitors.

Anyway...

With that, Stage 4 was cleared. Too easily, in Ren’s opinion. He thought that stage 4 would at least give them a bit of difficulty, but no, everything went so well and smooth that even Ren was surprised.

The party tallied their gains.

Most of the resources they’ve gathered will be processed by Justin. In this trip alone, Ren earned 200,000 credits for his share.

Without a doubt, he would’ve earned more if he went solo. But that comes with its own set of troubles too. Considering how being with a party made the dungeon way easier to clear, earning less was definitely worth it.

But since Ren wasn’t in dire need of credits, he chose to pick some resources instead. He used half of his earnings and exchanged them for raw resources, mostly for making potions.

Right, he still hadn’t gotten the chance to tell them that he could actually brew potions. It hasn’t been a priority, and Ren never got the chance. Maybe soon, but not now.

After tallying their gains, the party took a brief rest, mostly to repolish or repair their gear and replenish their necessities.

Ren doesn’t have to. His leather armor was barely touched during that whole exploration. Matter of fact, he’s not even that tired. He’s raring to go again.

If there’s anybody that needs to pay attention, it will be Jules, because his shield most definitely endured some heavy hits because of his role on this team.

Ren watched Jules repair the durability of his shield, and only now that he had taken a closer look at it did he see how weathered the shield had truly become.

"How long have you been using this shield?" he asked, startling Jules a bit.

"Around...five years, I think?" Jules doesn’t sound sure. "I can’t remember exactly. But I’ve been using it even before I had my initiation. Why?"

"I can tell that you’ve taken good care of it, and you obviously really like it. But to be honest, you might have to retire it soon and get a replacement," Ren tried to break it to him gently.

"Minor repairs like this do work, but even equipment has lifespans. Every time they’re damaged, a little bit of that lifespan is drained, never to be restored even with quality repairs."

Saying this, Ren’s eyes traced the deep groves and scars on the shield. He initially thought that these were there by design, but now that he’s got a closer look, he realizes that they’re not.

These were scars that failed to heal. They left permanent damage to the quality of the shield, and it’s not something that minor repairs, or even expert smiths, could restore.

This shield is old. That’s why Ren said that it needs to retire soon.

Jules didn’t look surprised to hear this. It’s probably not the first time either. He just smiled sadly and caressed the edges of his shield.

"Travis, our previous leader, said the same thing," Jules replied, still wearing that sad smile on his face. "In fact, he told me way earlier. Like, at the foundation of our party."

"It was I who was stubborn. It’s my first piece of equipment, you see. It’s the last memento of my big brother. He gave it to me before he died, and I’ve trained with it since."

"When I have this, I feel stronger. I don’t feel like I alone was enduring the hits whenever I confront monsters. It’s like my brother is with me as I do every time. And I like that feeling; I’ve been holding onto that ever since because I miss him."

Ren nodded. He completely understands Jules’ sentiment.

"That’s why I think you should retire it soon," Ren insisted, still. "Your brother has taken you this far; that’s enough. You’ve already proven that you can stand alone. His spirit should be satisfied now."

"Besides, it’d be a pity to see that shield break in the middle of a fight. The team still needs you in the front line."

"Just...give it more thought, yeah?" Ren patted Jules’ shoulders before leaving him to his own thoughts.