Chapter 182: Second Class Hell Ape Gauntlet [II]

Fiona took a deep breath, looked at Luke, and then said, "Alright. You’ve earned your place in this team, but you should remember that this dungeon belongs to us. This means you will contribute the least and observe. Only act when we ask you to."

Luke shrugged because he didn’t care about whatever arrangement.

His presence here was to test his Second Class armor, and that was going well so far.

Meanwhile, Fiona looked very reluctant, but the other members had different opinions because Luke was a great asset.

With his strength, their chances of survival had increased greatly, they can clear the dungeon more efficiently and return to the guild faster.

They are junior members of the Victorian Guild, so they want to prove themselves and gain the recognition of their seniors, and having Luke around is beneficial.

"Since we now have five people, I think we should split into two groups so we don’t spend too much time clearing this dungeon."

"That’s a good idea," Drew said. "I can team up with Luke; he’s already shown enough strength to protect a crippled person like me."

Luke glanced at him, thinking at least this guy knows his limitations! But Fiona refused so, and said, "No. Luke should be with Troy or me. We know what we’re doing, and we can make sure he doesn’t kill all the monsters and hog all the experience points. Either one of us can protect you, Drew, just like we always have."

The real concern is that if Luke wanders around freely, his incredible power will leave others with nothing to do.

Then Troy said, "I’ll take him. Luke Kingsley will stay with me, and Fiona, Ray, and Drew will form another group. Luke Kingsley will stay with me, and Fiona, Ray, and Drew will form another group."

Everyone turned to look at him because Troy was the one who disliked Luke the most, so why would he volunteer?

No one knew what he was thinking, but Troy wanted Luke to be away from his girlfriend, Fiona, because Luke had won over Drew and Ray with his personality, and he didn’t want Fiona to be attracted to him as well.

"Come on, Kingsley. I’ve never walked with someone of royal blood before," Troy said with a chuckle and patted Luke on the chest.

Then he walked ahead, and Luke followed behind.

Luke didn’t feel bullied at all because he was very happy with the people he was interacting with, because they were seniors at Montclair Academy.

Luke read their yearbook three times during his freshman year, so he held them in high regard, as they were older and presumably had more life experience.

Troy Tesla was a jock in the yearbook, and his senior quote was, "If you didn’t get my number, you should have tried harder."

Luke looked at his handsome face and thought he must have been the wonder and terror of his time.

But Luke also realized that not every person who looked like a protagonist in their youth would grow up to be an impressive adult.

Troy is a Greater-grade summoner, which is respectable, but after all these years, he is still a bronze-rank hunter.

Also, from his aura, Luke can tell that Troy is not satisfied with his progress.

Then a swarm of locusts appeared before them.

Troy thrust out a hand.

"Back off, Kingsley. Let me handle this!"

He summoned his jaguar, Ryder, who roared as he charged for the monsters.

Ryder was a big jaguar and was lengthy and agile.

Ryder used Sawtooth Pounce at the command of his master, Troy.

Sawtooth Pounce boosted this jaguar’s leap like a jet fighting against air resistance.

Immediately it landed in the middle of the monsters, the Jaguar’s claws went into overdrive, killing as many as it can.

The locusts were as big as Troy’s jaguar, and they were poisonous, but Troy had full armor, so these locusts were very weak, as they couldn’t do anything.

However, they control the crowd. But Troy instructed Ryder to roar, Predator’s Roar.

A very common skill amongst beasts like Troy’s jaguar. When used, enemies will be terrified or will stagger back.

When Ryder roared, the locusts staggered backward, and this created space for Ryder to lunge his attacks again, biting and tearing barbarously.

So, Ryder killed a total of twenty-five Greater-grade locusts.

"No disrespect to your beast armor, but that’s what you call a true summoner’s battle!"

Luke killed monsters more than Troy, and he did it with less effort and in a shorter time, but Troy acted like he was more impressive.

Luke didn’t argue with him because it was just a trivial matter.

"So when can I fight again?" he asked.

"Keep a low profile for now, Kingsley. Remember, this dungeon is ours," Troy replied and resumed his trial with Ryder.

Their next opponents were Spiked Beetles. They had hard shells that can withstand claw strikes and sharp spikes on their backs, so Troy’s jaguar, Ryder, must aim for their abdomen to slow down their attacks.

After that, the dungeon environment became a problem, as carnivorous vines emerged from the ground, wrapping around Ryder’s legs and immobilising him, allowing the monsters to attack.

Troy had to direct Ryder to tear apart the vines while keeping the monsters at bay.

Then a herd of Razor Sheep appeared, fast enough to attack from all sides.

Although Ryder may tear them apart one by one, defending against multiple attacks at the same time was very difficult. So, the jaguar became sluggish, and Troy had to protect it from being surrounded.

This is why hunters need a team in Gamma-grade dungeons, because even powerful summoners can be isolated, but Troy still refuses to ask Luke for help.

Meanwhile, Luke checked his system, as it had been over twenty-four hours since he upgraded the Hell Ape Gauntlet to Second Class, so this means he can use the Second Class Beast Armour Blueprint feature again.

Luke’s choice was to upgrade the Bluespine Centaur Chestplate next.