Chapter 88: Field Trip Begins The Dungeon Tour

POV Eliza

I moved swiftly towards Tyros at a steady pace. In the meantime, I thought about how I should deal with Lynn if she was currently in Tyros. I had been on the road for a good two hours but couldn't find a convincing solution to this problem. I wished I could see her again, but I also feared that it would take me longer to get back to the children. I also wasn't sure how much I was allowed to reveal about my current mission. Probably almost nothing.

At the city gate, I was let in immediately thanks to my license. In the city, I pulled my hood over my head to be less conspicuous. I thought there was a high risk of being discovered by chance, as many of the townspeople knew me. I also wanted to get the food first in any case. So I let my head prevail over my heart. I mainly bought fresh food and hired a pack mule for the job. It took me several hours and luckily I didn't bump into anyone I knew, especially not Lynn. I then left the town and arrived back at our little camp shortly before sunset. The first entry to the dungeon was planned for the next day, so we all went to bed early. At least that was the plan, but the children were all very excited and you could hear quiet murmuring from their sleeping places. I let them have their fun, as the monsters were all weak to begin with.

After a good breakfast the next morning, we packed up our things, topped up our water supplies one last time and then set off. The children's excitement grew the closer we got to the entrance. At this time of day, we were the first to enter the dungeon. The other adventurers wouldn't be here for at least an hour.

“Watch out, kids. There are only slimes in this level. You can't hurt them without magic, but they're slow and do very little damage. We'll move through here quickly and you make sure you avoid all attacks. Understood?” <Eliza>

“Yes, Eliza.” <Children>

“I'm not a kid.” <Tamina>

“Don't sulk now, Tamina. Just follow me.” <Eliza>

"Hmph." <Tamina>

I walked ahead across the wide grassy floor. Whenever I spotted one or more slimes, I pointed them out to the others. This allowed them to sharpen their senses without being attacked. It took quite a while for everyone to get used to the procedure. Occasionally there were still fights. The younger children had problems staying on their feet as soon as they were attacked by the slimes. But the slimes did very little damage, so apart from a few bruises, no one got any serious injuries. It looked funny from a distance, but I remembered my own problems back then, so I stifled a laugh.

The real training began on floor 2. The beetles became the opponents for the children to practice on. I always led a maximum of 3 beetles to them. Here they pounced on the beetles without consulting each other. Due to their lack of experience, they suffered noticeable damage over the course of the day, which Brinna was able to heal with her water magic. I supported her in this task.

We spent the next few days like this. Whenever possible, we avoided other adventurers, but that wasn't always possible. I then told them that we were here for training and that they were welcome to come by. But the other adventurers were not always convinced. We had problems with one group in particular. We were still on floor 1. The group consisted of 2 boys and 2 girls around 14-15. They were new adventurers, which was very obvious from the way they acted. One of the boys in particular, a beefy guy with a club, was visibly in a bad mood. They seemed to be having a lot of trouble getting through the slime. What's more, the two boys were probably trying to impress the two girls and show how great they were.

“Hey, babe, this is our territory. Go somewhere else. We won't be robbed of our well-deserved reward by you defeating our injured slimes.” <Boy>

Babe? I immediately disliked his manner and the children behind me whispered quietly. Some, especially the younger ones, seemed to be afraid of them, while the others tried to calm them down. But I didn't want to give in so easily and teach him a lesson.

“Why should we? We just wanted to pass by. You can look somewhere else.” <Eliza>

“What was that? You better be glad you're a girl or I wouldn't have asked so nicely.” <Boy>

“That was supposed to be nice? You won't find a girlfriend with that attitude. You should work on your manners:” <Eliza>

“Huh?! Are you looking for trouble?” <Boy>

“Not me, but it looks like you want some.” <Eliza>

“Don't take the piss. I say again, get lost or I can't guarantee anything.” <Boy>

“You just want to show off to your female companions how great you are. But I can see what a weak weenie you are.” <Eliza>

“You'll pay for that. Nobody talks to me like that.” <Boy>

With that, the boy jumped towards me and tried to hit me with his fist. I dodged him with a twist of my body and took a step to the side.

“You see, children. In a fight, it's always best not to get hit. Always pay attention to your opponent's movements and you can react to them. And always keep an overview.” <Eliza>

“Stop right there, you damn witch. Don't make fun of me.” <Boy>

“I don't have to, you can do it yourself.” <Eliza>

“Wait a minute. Argh!” <Boy>

I dodged all his attacks without attacking myself. My aim was to wear him out. It only took a few minutes and he was panting loudly.

“You see, children. You don't always have to kill an opponent to defeat them. This tactic doesn't work with monsters, as they're far superior to you in terms of stamina, but it works against human opponents, as you can see here. In the end, a single attack is enough to bring them down.” <Eliza>

I spun around once and kicked his legs so that he fell backwards. He fell on his head and started wailing.

“Ouch, ouch, my head. Ah, my head.” <Boy>

I took another look at him and then turned to his companions. The other boy just shook his head, while one of the girls put her hands over her mouth in shock. The other girl looked down at the poor boy in disgust. I took the opportunity to give them some advice.

“As you have seen, sometimes there are opponents who are much stronger than they appear on the outside. I am only the children's escort and cover. Even the four of you wouldn't stand a chance against me, so choose your battles carefully. You'd be dead against the wrong monster if you couldn't run away and escape. You are newcomers, but you can still get much stronger.” <Eliza>

Hopefully the other three took my advice to heart, otherwise they were in for a nasty surprise. The boy lying on the ground just cursed. The other boy helped his colleague up and together they left us. The boy I had ridiculed gave me another hateful look. Then I turned to the children, who looked at me with beaming eyes.

“That was so cool, Eliza.”

“Yeah, so cool. I want to be like that too.”

“That guy deserved it. What an ass.” <Tamina>

Various cheers and congratulations reached my ears, and on this day they were all particularly motivated in the beetle hunt.