Dane walked up to Nox. "I've been sent by the noble's daughter to escort the slaves into the dungeon."
"Escort?" Nox asked, surprised, glancing at the prisoners who were now beaming with joy; he proceeded to ask Dane more questions.
Lex knew the noble's daughter had some interest in him, but sending Dane, a gifted knight, to watch over him was more than expected.
He pondered for a while but didn't come up with any form of answer; it was probably her using him as some sort of pawn.
He, along with Dane and the others, proceeded into the dungeon through the rope, landing directly on muddy ground.
Lex glanced around; the dungeon was dimly lit, with a bunch of crystalline rocks; the prisoners immediately rushed and began picking them.
Lex was about to join in when Kate stopped him with her hand.
"What's wrong, Kate? We're going to fall behind. Let's go deeper; there should be more down there."
Lex nodded his head as he followed; after a few steps of walking further, Kate stopped in her tracks, turning back.
A frown appeared on her face as she pointed at the green armoured knight who stealthily followed them.
"What's the fuss?" she spoke, glaring directly at Dane.
"Most of the prisoners are back there, so why are you after us?"
"You're going deeper; that's more dangerous, so I have to watch you both closely," defended Dane.
Lex could only smile wryly; he knew exactly what was going on; Kate had suspected what the noble's daughter was planning.
And she wasn't going to let her win.
"We'll be fine alone!" She yelled, beckoning Dane to leave their presence.
Dane refused to yield; it then resorted into a hot argument.
Lex was about to join in when he heard a shriek from deep inside the cave.
"Great, you've alerted the monsters," Kate spoke as she backed down, standing right beside Lex.
Lex brandished his sword; a wicked smile appearing on his face; it was time for him to slay his first magic beast.
Lunging towards them were three green goblins; "Stay behind me!" Yelled Dane as he lunged forward towards two of the beasts, immediately parrying their strikes.
More began emerging from the darkness.
Kate joined in as she transformed into a large spotted jaguar, growling hard as she pounced on one of the beasts.
Lex was amazed as he stared at the fierce jaguar, rampaging right at his front; he didn't have any plan on staying behind; he was immediately attacked by one of the goblins.
He ducked, dodging the strike from the green creature; the goblin snarled as it went for another strike; Lex parried the strike with his might.
Stabbing his sword into the heart of the goblin, the green creature immediately crashed on the ground, dust spilling around it.
Lex stared at the goblin, then back at his blood-wet sword, then back and forth again.
He's done it; he killed a magic beast.
"Yes, my first kill."
A white glowing stone emerged from the body of the green goblin; the translucent screen of the system appeared, absorbing the glowing stone.
So that's the mana stone.
{Congratulations}
{You've killed a magic beast}
{Mana stone acquired; 1/150}
{Good luck host!}
"On hundred and fifty," yelled Lex amidst his thoughts; "alright then, system, I've got this."
Lex lunged forward as he struck another goblin hard on the head; blood sprouting profusely from the beast's head as it fell towards the ground.
The battle against the goblins lasted for a few more minutes, after which all the goblins laid dead on the dungeon ground.
Lex crashed towards the ground, panting heavily; he stared towards the translucent screen; notifications spammed it continuously:
{Congratulations}
{Congratulations}
{Congratulations}
{Number of Mana stones acquired; 39/150}
The mechanical voice of the system then spoke:
{Well done host, you may proceed further into the cave.}
Kate stretched her hands towards Lex, who still laid on the ground; various parts of her body stained with sweat.
"I never knew a lowly servant boy would be able to wield a sword," spoke Dane as he stared deeply at Lex.
"No wonder she wants you to join the lower hand quest."
Lex grabbed onto Kate's hand as he spoke, "It was only luck; you and Kate did most of it."
Lex then pulled Kate back towards the entrance of the cave.
They grabbed their resource bag and began uprooting the glowing stones attached to the walls.
"You were amazing there," Lex spoke as he watched Kate, who was now immersed in the rocks she pulled out.
"That's the power of a half-blood," she then threw a couple of the precious stones into her sack.
"Do you really think he's here for all of us?" Kate asked, her demeanor serious as she stared at Lex.
"W-Well, not really," Lex answered; "the noble's daughter can't be possibly interested in a servant, except it has something to do with politics."
"Then would you like to be treated like a slave?" Kate asked.
"Not at all," replied Lex confidently.
She seemingly smiled then continued digging.
After a few more minutes of mining, they emptied the section of the cave; with Dane leading them, all of the prisoners strutted deeper into the cave, Kate and Lex included.
Lex sighed inwardly as they walked deeper into the dark cave; he knew sooner or later he would have to make a choice between Kate and Elle; he would have already done that if it was easy.
But if he would choose Elle, it would be because of the profits he would gain, which he wouldn't get if he went for Kate.
Yet still, the noble's daughter's beauty could not be compared to that of Kate.
Lex shrugged the thoughts of his mind; survival should be the most important thing in his mind now; after all, he knew how dangerous he'd made Aetheria.
They all stopped abruptly, fazed; right ahead of them were three different parts.