Chapter 36: You can literally put that on your resumes!

"All right, we explore more!"

All three answered at once, their voices blending into a single choice. Hearing them so in sync felt strangely satisfying, and their genuine smiles were the cherry on top.

Martin matched their excitement. "I want to explore more too. Let’s go."

"Let’s go!" NukEncore shouted without a care.

She was once again the first to sprint toward the Light Tree. Chaosgraphy chuckled and looked at Martin, surprising him yet again.

"Let’s run after her," she said, then took off after their mage.

Martin chuckled and looked toward Kill Clause. "Come on."

"Wouldn’t want to throw off the team’s rhythm," Kill Clause replied, her tone calm but warmer than usual, then ran after the others with a faint, unexpectedly warm smile at the corner of her mouth.

Martin watched her for a second, and his gaze slipped lower before he could stop it. Her plump ass rolled with a tight, athletic sway under her gear, and the sight hit him with a hard rush of heat that turned his thoughts filthy in an instant.

The controlled way she moved only made it worse.

She’s an archer to the bone, so she must’ve tightened that ass through countless shots... What the hell am I thinking? I can’t stand here staring at my teammate like a man with no self-control, or I’ll be the one ruining the team’s chemistry.

Shaking off the improper thought with some effort, Martin ran after everyone. Soon enough, they were back in the Level One Dungeon forest, tearing through wooden wolves and bears with sharper teamwork and smoother coordination.

Before long, the hidden entrance to the buried mine site revealed itself. The team took a short breather, then headed in.

"Martin! Martin!" NukEncore called out, asking for a princess carry.

Martin obliged and scooped her up.

Together, they headed deeper down the slope.

"We can farm categories inside this tunnel," Martin said. "It’s a perfect setup. Chaos might have some trouble, but knowing her, she’ll manage."

Chaosgraphy said, "You mean calling out Angel, drawing the mine boss’s attention, luring everything into the tunnel, and blowing them all up with NukEncore’s fireballs?"

Martin nodded. "Yeah. The space isn’t really cramped for all of us, but I think it’ll still make things harder for you."

"Ah, please. We can farm blue crystals here and take them outside. With those and the level-up trick, I can keep dashing from one wounded enemy to the next. Don’t look down on me, Martin."

"I didn’t mean to." Martin smiled at her.

Chaosgraphy’s lips curved in quiet amusement, like she had expected that answer from him all along.

Categories were the easiest way to farm rewards and income. In the entire Hidden Level One Dungeon bracket, Martin’s party might have been the only one capable of baiting the cave’s boss and forcing it to send an army of goblins after them. That alone could let them farm rewards for weeks if they wanted to.

Damage Dealt, Accumulated Critical Damage, and Accumulated Weak Point Hits would turn plenty of heads among players following the Forest Hidden Monster Hunter Academy’s hidden bracket.

"Players already compare academy rankings every week online. We’re not near the bottom, but we’re nowhere near the top either, Martin," Chaos said, then glanced over her shoulder toward Kill Clause. "Clause seems like the type to keep track of that."

Kill Clause met Chaos’s eyes. "I follow only two academies."

"Hmmm. I see," Chaosgraphy replied, her lips curving up as she connected the dots.

The conversation ended when they reached the cart. Martin followed their plan and took the front, then his teammates climbed in after him.

NukEncore sighed out loud. "I forgot about this."

"Strange, considering you were the first one to run back here," Chaosgraphy jabbed with a hint of sarcasm.

NukEncore puffed out her cheeks, cupped her face in her hands, and looked down.

Kill Clause shook her head at the two of them and settled into her spot.

Then they were off.

Once the cart ride ended and everyone hopped out, Kill Clause asked Martin, "Is your pet in her pocket dimension?"

"Yes," he replied.

"Good. First, we’ll confirm when the crystallization debuff appears," Kill Clause said, walking past everyone with an archer’s grace, her hand outstretched as she searched for any clue.

At the border of the mine entrance, she carefully examined her hand for the blue crystal mark. She still hadn’t received any system notification. Then she took a step forward and entered the cave, where blue crystal veins streaked through the walls and filled the dark with a cold glow.

A tiny speck of crystal formed on her hand.

[You have discovered the crystallization debuff.]

"It appears the tunnel is safe from crystallization. If Martin’s pet can trigger the boss’s hunger from within the tunnel, we’ll be able to farm the categories without the debuff," Kill Clause said.

Martin and the others followed her in and stopped beside her.

"Yeah. We’ve confirmed that much for now," he said. "It’s quiet at the moment, but we should expect more goblins the deeper we go. Do we take the lift?"

He looked toward the lift left behind by the miners. It seemed sturdy enough to handle the four of them.

But NukEncore suddenly grabbed his hand like she’d just received over 9000 Attack Speed.

She squeezed his hand and shook her head. "Nuh-uh! Anything but that lift! At least not yet! We need to explore every nook and cranny first!"

"This place is your bane, isn’t it? You’re scared of bungee rides and the dark..." Martin said, only for NukEncore to press her hand against his lips.

"I’m not scared of the dark!" she said.

Martin chuckled. "Are you really not?"

His lips stayed against NukEncore’s palm for one dangerous second too long, warm and soft enough to make her breath catch. That tiny touch sent a hot shiver through her hand and down the rest of her body, leaving her suddenly, helplessly aware of his mouth, his heat, and how close he was.

She couldn’t pull away. She could only stand there with her palm over his lips, heart pounding, eyes locked on his, while the moment turned thick and intimate in a way that made her skin burn.

"I’m... not," she replied softly.

Martin’s heart skipped a beat.

Man, it’s fun to tease them, but... they’re all girls, so it really makes me look like I’m flirting with them. She doesn’t even look upset. Maybe she finds it fun too?

From farther down the slope, Chaosgraphy’s voice echoed back to them. "I think our tank should be in front. What do you think, Clause?"

"I agree," Kill Clause replied.

The two of them had already gone farther down and were following the scattered crystal marks, clearly not wanting to waste time.

Martin and NukEncore both went, "Ah," and ran after them.

Only their footsteps echoed through the shaft. Blue crystal light spilled across the sloped path, old rails, and rough stone walls, while darkness pooled in every side tunnel. The deeper they went, the eerier the shaft felt.

They didn’t move fast. Everyone stayed on edge in case anything or anyone came out of the shadows.

Kill Clause had the best vision in the darkness, but NukEncore’s eyes stayed so sharp that she almost looked like she could see in the dark too.

Just then, the first unfamiliar sound echoed nearby.

"It’s coming from that tunnel," Kill Clause said.

[Kill Clause has marked an area on the minimap. You can see it on your minimap as well.]

Martin nodded and walked alone toward the marker. Pressing himself against the wall, he carefully peeked inside.

The tunnel opened into a busy mining lane. Dozens of goblins hacked at blue crystal veins with oversized pickaxes, each blow sending bright shards skittering over the stone and sharp clangs ringing through the passage.

Crystal dust glittered in the air.

Teams of goblins kept shoving the mined chunks into squat carts that glided forward without rails, as if some hidden force was dragging them deeper into the cave.

"I want to eat those crystals!" a goblin said.

"Idiot! You’re dead if the boss finds out!" another rebuked.

"But I want to evolve too!"

"We already evolved! We don’t get debuffed by the crystals!"

"You noob! That’s not what I mean!"

"Bastard! Don’t call me a noob! That’s the language of those detestable ancient humans!"

"Ugh! I just want to be bigger, stronger, and wield crystal power like our boss!"

Martin relayed the conversation to his teammates.

[Emperoar: That sounds like a nice lore drop and a clue about this dungeon.]

[Kill Clause: Are the goblins using normal pickaxes?]

[Emperoar: No, they’re tipped with a different blue crystal.]

I see where she’s going with this. Those monsters are using equipment humans could use too. We can loot that equipment and sell it at the academy. And if this mined blue crystal also restores mana, then we’ve got a gold mine in our hands.

[Chaosgraphy: Loot mainly comes from weekly rewards. Monsters rarely leave any behind. But this is the game’s realism working in our favor again. We don’t have to kill them to take their loot. We can just steal it. Getting a monopoly over this spot is impossible, but we can be the first ones to loot everything here. That would give you a lot of standing with Night Espresso.]

A lot of skilled mages would choose Night Espresso if the guild could equip them with refillable mana crystals. Spamming skill after skill was every mage’s wet dream.

Martin liked the idea.

But there was one part he couldn’t agree with.

[Emperoar: It’ll increase everyone’s standing with the guild. We’re a team, not just for this run but for more after this. I refuse to take all the credit.]

[Chaosgraphy: I don’t need standing with Night Espresso.]

[NukEncore: Me too.]

[Emperoar: Are you two stupid?]

Chaosgraphy and NukEncore blinked in silence, stunned.

[Emperoar: Night Espresso is Cassandra Selfmore’s guild! She sees a lot of monetary value in this game, so everything counts! Even if you two care more about competition than profit, it’s always good to have a connection to Cassandra Selfmore!]

Chaosgraphy and NukEncore deadpanned.

Martin didn’t stop.

[Emperoar: You can literally put that on your resumes!]

Chaosgraphy and NukEncore somehow looked even more deadpan.