The Damned Demon

Not even a few hours passed, Asher and his group left the Safe Zone, his expression not looking that good, while Zizola and the rest reluctantly decided to kill Hunters on their own to earn enough Deviar Shards to spend the night in the safe zone.

But Zizola decided mainly because she didn't want to burden the royal consort in any way.

Asher grumbled under his breath, flicking the small beast pouch in his hand with a chiding tongue click, "I can't believe that little imp tricked me," he groused, the stone-like surface of the pouch cool under his touch.

Apparently, the Beast Pouch the little Zone Master gave him would only last for five days when he was expecting it to not have such limits.

Next to him, Isola shook her head, her moon-white hair shimmering under the evening sunlight, "It's not so bad, Asher," she said, her voice calm and rational, "At least we can use these five days to gather enough resources to craft our own. According to some people we talked to inside, it's quite easy to find these limited skill scrolls. It makes sense since they are basic necessities."

At her words, Merina, who walked quietly at the rear of the group, perked up, her eyes sparkling with anticipation, "Master could definitely benefit from the Alchemy limited skill scroll," she declared, a hint of eager hope in her voice.

Ceti took that moment to add her own offer. Her red hair flickered like fire as she said confidently, "I can be our blacksmith. We need some good weapons and armor before things start to get difficult. My armor and weapon have already lost 4% of its durability."

Isola nodded approvingly at her, "Then I'll be the harvester," she stated while thinking that every group would need at least four people with each one of these skills to survive.

The realisation of their roles solidified their resolve.

Asher turned to Callisa, patting her hard carapace affectionately, "Time to get in the pouch, Callisa," he instructed, his gaze steady on the giant crustacean.

Callisa let out a soft mewl as she quickly took a look at her surroundings, wanting to walk outside along with them. But she knew it would be bad for all of them.

With a snap of her pincers, Callisa's form shimmered and condensed into a gleaming orb, before disappearing into the confines of the beast pouch.

As Asher secured the pouch, he looked at Isola, who had a look of regret to which he said in a reassuring voice, "I know. We will tell her to come out whenever we are resting."

Within just a few hours, they managed to procure the Alchemy, Blacksmith, and Harvesting Limited Skill Scrolls. Without missing a beat, they set to work, each drawing on their respective skills to support the team.

Isola, wielding her newly acquired Harvesting skill, ventured toward the slain bodies of monsters whenever they killed one.

She also collected the resources from trees, plants, and so on by simply placing her hands on them, though it took concentration and burned her mana, making her realize she had to be careful with deciding what to harvest.

And so she decided to collect the required resources to make a spatial bag and let Ceti make one.

Ceti also agreed since they needed something to store all the resources required to forge weapons, armor, and so on.

Isola worked diligently, skinning and harvesting resources from their surroundings and the lifeless husks of creatures.

But she was unable to harvest a number of a variety of resources until she levels up her Skill, not that it mattered now.

Each successful harvest brought a renewed sense of accomplishment. Her spatial bag was filled with resources, capable of carrying around fifty kilograms worth of their efforts.

Asher felt it was a good thing Isola took the Harvesting role since she was the strongest and had the highest MP, allowing her to harvest a lot without getting exhausted quickly.

Merina, with her innate knack for cooking, found herself scavenging for resources in the wild.

Guided by her newfound knowledge, she began to understand the myriad of plants and herbs strewn across the lands.

She was then able to cook simple meals for the group, the enticing smell of food and drinks providing much-needed relief as they were able to replenish their mana and stamina.

Meanwhile, Asher, donned the mantle of the group's alchemist. His first priority was health potions, vital lifelines for their journey ahead.

With practiced movements, he combined the resources Merina gathered, his hands working tirelessly over their makeshift camp.

As the first batch of health potions took shape, he sighed in disappointment. With his current level, he was only able to concoct Common Grade health potions, and they would only restore 1/10th of his health, very slowly.

He then proceeded to concoct mana potions, even if he was the only one who didn't need them, their luminescent liquid gleaming under the volcanic sky.

It became clear to Asher that the easiest path to mastering their newly acquired skills was through relentless practice, using the skill again and again.

He also realized it wasn't easy to level up. Even after spending hours focused on using their newfound limited Skills, they had only got 1/4th of the expertise required to level up their Skills.

They could only imagine how hard it would be to level up all the way to Level 5 since the things they harvest and make at this level were far from sufficient.

The basic weapons and armor Ceti forged wouldn't even last 2 battles.

But after concocting some potions, Asher suddenly gained enlightment, making his level jump to 2 right away, making him a Journeyman Alchemist.

The rest were astonished but not longer after Isola, Merina and Ceti also gained enlightment, leveling up their limited Skills.

With renewed energy and satisfaction, they marched on, unblinking, in the face of dangers lurking in every shadow.

He also noticed the amount of refined mana they get by killing Hunters was way too less than usual, making him wonder how strange it was.

It was as if to make sure they don't level up, though Asher didn't mind other than feeling it was a pity since he could have gained a lot, especially if he killed the stronger ones.

The tireless day ebbed away with them, felling monsters and Hunters alike, their battles a reflection of their resilience and their path, leaving behind a trail of destruction.

Fortunately, two of the Hunter groups they killed had collected close to 500 Radem Shards each, and they doubled in amount as Asher and his group easily finished them off.

He felt maybe it wouldn't be hard to collect 50,000 Deviar Shards if they could come upon groups rich with shards at times.

Most of the demons who crossed their path were weak and avoided such an intimidating group, despite their feelings about the Bloodburn Kingdom and its people.

As for some who respected him, they offered to join his group as extra support.

Yet, Asher remained unyielding in his decision not to let any outsiders into their circle. His refusal painted a clear picture - trust was a luxury they couldn't afford.

They slept in the most quiet place they could find while taking turns to sleep.

As dawn stretched its sleepy arms across the sky, the group decided to make their way back to the only Safe Zone they knew.

[ Deviar Shards : 2400 ]

It was then that Ceti, her fiery hair dancing with the day's first light, addressed the unspoken question that hung over them like a specter.

"Your Highness," she began, her voice steady and full of resolve, "Why do you insist on refusing the aid of those who wanted to join us? Those Hunters we've defeated, they worked in groups, and we've been lucky not to encounter stronger alliances."

Asher, his gaze set on the horizon, scoffed at her words. "And who," he challenged, turning his yellow eyes towards her, "Would take responsibility if one of those 'alliances' decided to turn their blades against us? Do not underestimate their cunning, Ceti. It's often a deadlier weapon than directly facing a group of Soul Purgers."

Ceti, her eyebrows furrowed in thought, considered his words, feeling strange when she initially thought he would want to gather as much support as they could.

Beside her, Merina gently shook her head, signaling to her daughter to let the matter rest. She knew her Master wouldn't trust anything to those he didn't know.

In the silence that ensued, Isola watched Asher, her sapphire blue eyes soft. She understood his caution more than anyone else.

Then, in an effort to alleviate the tension, Isola decided to steer the conversation towards a different observation she'd made.

"Has anyone else noticed," she began, her voice soft but carrying in the quiet of the dawn, "that every monster we've encountered hasn't been stronger than a peak Soul Eater?"

The question nudged everyone into thoughtful silence. One by one, they nodded, acknowledging the point she raised. Asher's sharp dark yellow eyes were particularly pensive, the gears in his mind visibly turning.

After a beat, a memory flashed through Asher's mind, a conversation he'd had with the little Zone Master, "Perhaps," he mused aloud, "the difficulty of the dangers we face here escalates as we venture into the next mini-dungeon. Maybe in the next mini-dungeon, we will be seeing Soul Warrior creatures. And who knows…in the final mini-dungeon, we could very well come upon…Soul Devourer monsters," Even though he said this, Asher inwardly hoped they could somehow find a way to avoid such dangerous monsters.

Even if Isola was there, he knew their group wasn't fully prepared to take on such powerful monsters.

His words painted a stark, vivid image of the potential dangers that lay ahead of them. Merina clutched her chest, feeling anxious just thinking about facing a Soul Devourer monster.

The only relief she had was that they also had a Soul Devourer of their own.

"Sounds plausible but that could mean we will have to be very careful not to run into one," Ceti chimed in, her eyes narrowed.

The others nodded in agreement. The idea that the threats they faced could increase exponentially the further they ventured into the dungeon added a new level of anticipation and foreboding to their quest.

In one of the bustling safe zones filled with the frenetic energy of Hunters, a group stood apart.

Whispered conversations echoed around them, the hum of excitement seeping into the air as the other Hunters covertly glanced at the figures of prestige, their eyes wide with wonder and admiration.

Rachel Sterling, Victor Hart, Amelia von Haughton, and the relatively unknown Emiko and Yui - an unusual mix of power, beauty, and mystery.

Rachel's fingers traced the edges of the Shelter Matrix scroll they had found just outside the safe zone, "What should we do with this?" she asked, her words carrying a sense of weight and strategy, her eyes scanning each face in her group.

Victor, his green eyes reflecting a sharpness that matched his words, replied, "It's more economical to have our own shelter. The Shelter Matrix doesn't cost much, considering we can gather the resources ourselves. Moreover, the teleportation gates we found can bring us right to it. Why would we ignore such an advantage?"

Rachel nodded thoughtfully, her mind recounting the strange teleportation gate they had come across earlier, which was designed to transport people to their personal shelters. Only then she realized it was possible to make their own shelters.

However, Amelia chimed in with a counterpoint, making Victor narrow his eyes at her, "This Shelter Matrix is of common grade," she pointed out, a note of disdain in her voice, "It's too crappy and won't offer adequate protection if somebody decides to ambush us. We would be like sitting ducks. It would be best to stay here in the safe zone to rest during the nights and create our own shelter nearby tomorrow just to get back here easily using the teleportation gates."

Rachel turned towards Yui and Emiko, who were quiet for most of the time but believed it was their nature, "What about you two? Any thoughts on this?" Rachel asked.

Yui glanced at Emiko before responding, her voice soft but steady, "Whatever decision you make, we'll follow. But we personally agree with Amelia."

Amelia was taken aback, a look of surprise crossing her face, not expecting these two to support her.

"Well," Rachel finally said, "Based on the majority, Amelia's plan is best. We can't afford to waste too much time here. Let's prepare to advance to the next mini-dungeon as soon as possible. But before that…it's best to make alliances with other teams. It will be easier to kill any demons that come our way."