Long story short, the answer was no.
Even with my broken 2x exp buff, and me hunting solo, the exp gain had reduced quite a lot.
I was just a few levels higher than them, yet, the nerf hit hard.
The goblins that gave me hundreds of exp earlier, now gave me mere 30-40.
And in addition, the exp requirement bumped up with every level up.
Though, clearing the whole floor 1 alone did push me to 89% of exp.
Just as I reached the part where it was normal to see queues of people, I felt something behind me.
I turned around in shock, nearly swinging my falcata but stopped when I saw my beloved Claire's beautiful face in the vision.
"Nice instincts, not bad." She grinned, shooting a glance at the grip on my falcata.
Eva giggled slightly as well, before looking over my shoulder and sighing.
"4 groups ahead of us, geez."
She was talking about the queue, and yeah, it sucked.
Luckily, we didn't see Ruby's party inside the labyrinth, as I had no interest in meeting them right now.
"4? That's like a 30 minute time waste, let's just cut the queue." Claire remarked casually.
Cut the queue?
Heh, now we are talking, lessgoo!
Let's do some newbie bullying.
And indeed, my expectations weren't misplaced.
I watched as Claire casually strode past all the waiting raiders, swiftly reaching the first group that was getting ready to head inside the boss room.
"Mind if we go first?" she asked, her eyes narrowing at the pair of two women, who seemed to be leading two men.
They both were average in looks, but so were the men in their group.
Looking at them, I didn't feel the same pressure that I felt when I looked at Claire, so it was safe to assume they were weaker than her.
"No." a woman of that group replied, while the other burst out laughing.
Repeating her words, mocking as if she just heard a joke.
Though there was no change in Claire's expression, as she simply stood under their mocking jeers.
She waited for a few moments, letting the two women laugh and mock to their hearts content.
And once they were done…
"Gravity Overload." Claire intoned.
Suddenly, a huge amount of pressure crashed onto me, my knees buckling.
Ugh- fuck- friendly fire?!
Though just like it had appeared, the pressure disappeared.
I looked at the dumb women, and they were still on the floor, kneeling with a twisted, shocked expression on their faces.
It doesn't feel like it had reduced for them–
Oh.
I notice a golden mana wrapping around me defensively, shielding me from the crushing pressure that Claire subjected these poor newbies under.
Must be Eva's doing.
I nod gratefully towards Eva, before watching my baddie look down at the kneeling, scared women.
"Mind if we go first?" She repeated her earlier question, but the two didn't dare to mock her again this time.
"Using skills against other raiders is a punishable offense! How dare you! I will report yo–"
"Claire Reed." Claire interrupted, "Go and report, I will be going ahead first."
Was it bad of me to feel good while watching my girlfriend bully innocent newbies?
Maybe.
But did I give a fuck? Not really.
I don't care about morals, all I know is that Claire is a heck of a baddie.
Without even waiting for the two women to say anything, or if the crowd before us made any fuss, Claire walked towards the open boss room's door.
Eva followed her as if nothing happened, while I followed soon after.
I guess this was usual for them, I like it.
When I entered the blinding darkness of the passage once again, Claire and Eva had disappeared.
"It's a goblin warrior." Claire's voice drifted to my ears, but looking around, I couldn't find where it came from.
So I ignored their whereabouts and focused on what she had to say.
"I am really confident that you can beat it alone, but if you cannot, we are here. Just give it your all." she said.
Her voice had lost most of the coldness that I felt when she spoke to the women.
"I am keeping up the Status Armor on you, it will defend you against one attack. Though, try not to get hit.
After all, you won't always have status armor in real fights." Eva's voice also sounded out of nowhere, as melodious as ever.
Claire scoffed, "He doesn't need to fight in real fights, Eva."
"Come on, Clay. You don't know what the future will bring."
"I know that it won't be bad enough that he needs to pick up a sword and fight."
"What if he wants to?"
"..." Claire went silent, and I felt a gaze on me from the darkness.
"I'll think about it if he can reach level 10 today." she said after a moment.
"Oh come on, that's unfair for him."
"Enough."
Wow.
Did I even have a say in my own life?
They didn't even ask me what I wanted, though that was okay.
I heard what she said.
She wants me to reach level 10 by today, doesn't she?
Before that, she won't even listen to my baseless whims.
I need to prove to her that I was no flower boy that needed protection, unlike the other men of this world.
I may be weak right now and hiding under her sexy thighs, but that wasn't my goal.
I didn't have that unrealistic goal of ruling over the world, at least not yet, but I do want to become a man that the women of this world actually respect.
Not just in name, not just due to Claire or other external reason, but because it's me.
I want respect as Aaron Cross.
So that I am not disrespected again, not for my class, nor my actions.
Claire. I accept your challenge.
I struggle to hide a grin emerging on my face as I make way down the dark hallways, reaching the dimly lit room.
Just like before, the boss was in the center.
But unlike last time, it was a goblin.
A 5 feet tall goblin, holding a heavy mace with his two hands.
His nose was long and crooked, teeth so dirty that they were almost black.
A dirty loincloth was hanging down his waist, splashed with the artistry of dried, crimson blood.
His thin, green lips were twisted into an amused, cocky smirk.
Even a mere green skinned bastard was looking down on me now…?
Wow, what a coincidence.
Let's start rising in this world with a first objective.
I want that smirk wiped off his face, no matter what.