Chapter 118: On Behalf Of The Heroes

POV Eliza

The next day was sunday. It was the day on which anyone interested could introduce themselves to the heroes. I first positioned myself near the entrance and analyzed all the people with appraisal who looked like they wanted to introduce themselves. It turned out that most of them were men. Interesting. The people had all kinds of professions, and I looked particularly closely at wizards to see how skilled they were. The abilities ranged from level 10 to level 30. I could tell from this that they specialized in one element and had learned at most a second, weaker one. I used this as a guide and adjusted my status accordingly. Then I took a deep breath and entered the hotel.

“What can I do for you?” <Receptionist>

“My name is Stevt and I'm a wizard. I saw the notice and would like to offer my services.” <Eliza>

“Very well. Please see the soldier at the front. He will help you further.” <Receptionist>

I went to the aforementioned soldier, who sent me up the stairs. At the top, I was met by another soldier who took me to a room. There were already several people waiting outside the door. A soldier stood next to the door and kept an eye on us. Then the door opened and Javier stepped out. He looked around and chose three people. He entered the room with the three people. I was very curious about his status, but didn't analyze him. I didn't know if he had a skill or an item that prevented an appraisal. In the worst case, he would notice the attempt, which I didn't want to risk. Instead, I asked one of the attendees how the selection process worked.

“Three or four people are always invited in. They are interviewed inside and then asked to form a group. They are then given the task of going into the dungeon and doing certain things there. I don't know any more details yet.” <Man>

I thanked him and waited. Then the door opened again and the three people left the room. They walked down the stairs in silence. A few minutes later, Javier came out again and this time selected four people, including the man and me. We then all entered the room.

In the room, the other three heroes were sitting behind a large table. There were four chairs in front of the table. After Javier had sat down, he pointed to the chairs and we all sat down too.

“Let's move on to the introductions. You all know us and you know why you're here. The aim is to find out what you can do. To do this, you will form a group and go into the dungeon. We have specifically put you together in this constellation. So introduce yourselves for us and for all of you.” <Cornelius>

“I am Liarus and a level 18 warrior. My weapon is a sword and shield. I also wear heavy armor. I can serve as a melee fighter and tank. I have little experience." <Liarus>

“My name is Ezekiel and I am a level 15 archer. I have experience in the dungeon and am a ranged fighter. I also have earth magic.” <Ezekiel>

“I'm Martin and I'm also a warrior. I wield a spear and light armor. I have no experience in the dungeon.” <Martin>

“And my name is Stevt. I'm a level 16 wizard specializing in air magic. I also know water magic and can heal with it. I've also been in the nature dungeon before.” <Eliza>

“Very nice. Now we know roughly what you can do. Your task will be to defeat the second boss. As soon as you've defeated him, come back and report back. If we're not at the hotel, report to reception. Don't tell the others outside about the test. You may leave now.” <Cornelius>

We bowed and left the room. Outside, we went down the stairs and out of the hotel. There, Ezekiel took the word.

“We have a few things to sort out. Firstly, we need a leader to give orders in the dungeon when things get dicey. If no one else wants to, I can do that. After all, I already know the dungeon.” <Ezekiel>

I just nodded and the other two agreed. I had no interest in taking on a leading role.

“Okay, then we should figure out how to proceed in the dungeon. It's best if you, Liarus, go in front and Martin and I form the flanks. Stevt will go at the back. Any objections?” <Ezekiel>

All three of us agreed again.

“Then we should clarify when we leave. I think the time we need will play a big role. Also the degree of injury we might sustain. I suggest we meet at the city gate tomorrow morning at sunrise. That will give us time to prepare today. Depending on how well we do, we can probably beat the first boss tomorrow. Otherwise, I estimate that we'll need three to four days at most.” <Ezekiel>

“What do we do with the slimes? Fight them or avoid them?” <Eliza>

“We'll avoid them. Don't get into a fight. Slimes can only be defeated with magic and aren't worth the effort. Just make sure you avoid them. They're slow and harmless. Any other questions? None? See you tomorrow then.” <Ezekiel>

We said goodbye to each other and went our separate ways. The next morning, we met at the city gate at the agreed time and entered the dungeon together. Ezekiel proved to be a good leader, so we made good progress at first. First he led us around all the slimes. With the beetles, we simply walked straight through everyone we came across. Our fighters slayed them all with ease. I took every opportunity to practise being a man.

The poison spiders really hurt the others, as they had no poison resistance apart from Ezekiel, but I was able to heal the damage. We made it to the first boss cave that day and were able to defeat the first boss without any problems.

In the two days that followed, we made slower progress as the others had to get used to the large number of fights. But then we came to the second boss. The butterflies slowed us down, but my air magic and Ezekiel's bow made quick work of them. The treants were the second monster that slowed us down considerably. Ezekiel then decided that they were only slowing us down unnecessarily, so we bypassed most of them. The main reason why it took us so long overall was the decision to let everyone gain some combat experience. With a maximum level of 18, this was an understandable decision.

Freshly strengthened, we went into the boss cave. The boss was a treant that could take a lot, but did relatively little damage. I took care of the butterflies first to take the pressure off the others. The fight lasted over an hour, but was successfully completed without any casualties. The chest was not touched as none of the others had the necessary skills. Only the stele was gratefully accepted by them. I also touched it to keep up the pretense that it was my first time, despite my dungeon experience.

We saw soldiers standing at the entrance, so the heroes had just entered the dungeon. We immediately returned to Tyros. There we went to the hotel reception and our time was noted down. Then we were told to report back here the next sunday in the morning. Then the heroes were ready to receive us again. We then went our separate ways until the next sunday.