Did she already know what I would ask her for?

Ch 38: As expected from [Edge+]

"How strange… After being inside the labyrinth for so long, we haven't found any groups of monsters. Maybe a group of adventurers passed through earlier and the monsters haven't been restored yet," she said with her hand on her chin.

'Not really.'

Thanks to the map, I managed to dodge all the groups of monsters, looking for monsters that were alone. That way, we could adapt our current weapons. But I kept quiet and just nodded since the UI still has to stay hidden.

[Archer Lvl1]

[Lancer Lv1]

After defeating dozens of monsters, the classes finally appeared. I'll activate them immediately, so we can level them up and restore the points used on them as quickly as possible.

[Emir] [Adventurer Lvl8] [Archer Lvl1] [Warrior Lvl8] [Leader Lvl4] [Survivor Lvl6]

[Alessia Addari] [Adventurer Lvl13] [Warrior Lvl6] [Lancer Lvl1] [Leader Lvl6]

In my case, the fifth class has a value of 7 activation points, while Alessia's fourth class needs 5 points. I had to remove points from our status, as our free points were not enough.

[Shadow Cat Lvl4]

"Ah, it's too small... I think I'll fail"

Breathing calmly, I concentrated and aimed the arrow at the shadow cat. Once the bow steadied and my heartbeat slowed, I released the arrow.

Cutting the air in two, the arrow whistled its way, and then… It inserted itself into the monster's head.

[Claw]

'How strange.... I don't feel this time like it's a stroke of luck. I felt like a real archer chasing down his prey. Was it my imagination?'

[Skeleton Lvl4]

"You go, Alessia; my arrows won't do anything to it."

"Yes, do not worry."

Running with the spear in hand, Alessia approached the skeleton. The latter moved its sword back, gaining momentum to attack her. But such a thing didn't happen. Due to the length of the spear, Alessia attacked before the monster. Her spear pierced the skull of the skeleton without any resistance.

[Femur]

"It seems I'm getting used to the spear; maybe I've always had an affinity with it and, only now, I'm realizing it."

Alessia's movements were very different from the ones she showed in the previous battle. If before she seemed clumsy, now she seems to have trained for years with the spear.

'Haa… It doesn't take a genius to understand why this is.'

The moment I activated the [Archer] and [Lancer] classes, both I and Alessia underwent a qualitative change in our abilities. My earlier feeling wasn't my imagination; my archer's instincts kicked in.

The same goes for Alessia and her spear.

Then, why has, until now, no class change made such a drastic change in us? If I had to explain it, I would say that, besides [Warrior] and [Adventurer], we don't have any other kind of battle class, so we don't notice it in our daily lives. Also, we both have experience with the sword, so when I activated the warrior class on Alessia, she didn't see a change in her abilities. The same thing happened to me.

'This brings up another assumption… If we got all the battle classes, would we become experts in handling all weapons?'

My hands are shaking with excitement.

[Giant Mantis Lvl4]

[Fierce Hyena Lvl4]

"I will fight against the ferocious hyena, right?"

"Yes, since my arrows have a better chance of going through the head of the mantis than the eye of the hyena,"

"Of course, we will start the battle the moment you shoot."

If the strength behind my arrows were greater, then they could have pierced the hyena's skull, but since this isn't the case, my only chance of defeating it is through the eyes. And such space is too small.

*Fuu*

Exhaling, I calmed my heartbeat. Stabilizing my bow was easier than before, and my aim seems to be more accurate.

Aiming for the mantis's head, I released the arrow.

With a hiss, the arrow grazed its head, leaving a superficial wound in the process.

"They noticed us; I will draw the attention of the hyena."

With such words, Alessia ran toward her target. Meanwhile, I returned to aim at the mantis.

One after another, the arrows could only graze the head of the mantis, leaving marks where they passed. With each missed arrow, the monster got closer and closer to me. If I can't hit its head, I'll have to take my sword out of inventory and fight at close range.

'20 meters, 10 meters… Come on, come on, this is the last arrow I'll be able to shoot since, in just seconds, I'll be within reach of their scythes.'

I breathed calmly, and then I shot the arrow.

The speed was such that, in just a fraction of a second, the arrow found itself in front of the mantis and… pierced its head.

The mantis immediately went into berserker mode, attacking in all directions, and seconds later, its body fell to the ground with golden particles surrounding it.

[Thin blade]

Without the pressure of the mantis, I feel more relaxed and can shoot arrows at the hyena. My heart rate practically did not vary, so the arrows were more precise than ever. Even so, they could only stick to its head without being able to enter its skull.

[Hyena Paw]

The one who defeated it was Alessia, by forcefully piercing the skull with her spear. It’s not surprising; her spear has both [Rock] and [Feather] skills. It can pierce with brute force through everything if needed!

***

Hours later.

"The boss room"

"Mn, according to the book, only the basic characteristics of this boss will increase. In other words, the edge of its scythes, the strength, and its size. But it will fight like the normal giant mantises have done so far. The only big problem is its ability to camouflage."

"I see"

In front of the boss's room, Alessia reported about what the floor boss will be like.

"Have your sword, Alessia. We are not yet trained enough with the bow and spear to risk a boss battle with them."

"Yes, thanks"

With the inventory, I changed our weapons through the [Equip] option, and the swords appeared in our hands in just a blink.

"I'm still not used to this. A second ago, I had a spear, and now I have a sword in my hand... In the future, I wish I could do it myself"

'You will be able to do it; not for nothing did I create a quest in the adventurer's guild.'

After resting for a few minutes, we entered the boss's room.

Unlike the previous ones, where the rock walls were visible, in this one there are various types of plants on both the floor and ceiling walls. Some with big leaves and some with small leaves. The only thing that doesn't change is their deep green color.

The same color as the floor boss.

[Giant Mantis Lvl4]

"Where is-…?" I interrupted her.

"There," I pointed with my hand.

Its ability to camouflage is to be feared; without the user interface, I would have mistaken it for another plant.

"It's still; won't it move?"

"No, it won't unless we get close."

"Mm… Fine, I'll attack it with my bow. If we're lucky, an arrow will end all this."

"I wish you luck."

I put away the sword and re-equipped the bow. The level of concentration and stability is higher than it was before, and it seems that [Archer] leveling up also caused my skill to increase.

Since it's a boss, I prepared myself more carefully, using more time than normal to aim and stabilize the bow. Once I felt the timing was perfect, I shot the arrow.

Alessia and I both watched its path with great interest, making sure not to miss any details. The moment the arrow landed on the mantis, I re-equipped my sword, after all… The arrow only blinded it in one eye.

"Master, I will get its attention. Meanwhile, you run to its side and then jump on its back."

"That way I'll have a clear path to its head, huh? okay, I'll do it"

'Alessia approached the boss running, while I tried to be inconspicuous.'

The mantis stretched out its leg like a scythe and attacked her in a horizontal line. Due to the sheer magnitude of the scythe, Alessia couldn't jump back like she normally does, but instead positioned her sword vertically, planning to use the impact as a springboard to get away, but…

Alessia: "!!!"

Her sword cut the leg of the mantis in two.

'—The two [Edge] runes gave the sword great cutting ability. It can cut limbs off floor bosses! She must seize this opportunity!'

Alessia jumped in the direction of the mantis's head. If this one had an expression on its face, it would surely be one of incredulity. After all, her legs must have been as hard as steel! It is unthinkable that a thin sword could cut them!

Without even being able to react to the sudden events, the Giant Mantis boss's head was blown up.

Alessia quickly walked away, knowing it still had a few breaths of life left. And so, the next second, the boss uncontrollably attacked in all directions, trying to take its enemies to their deaths along with it.

Seconds later, the mantis boss fell to the ground, dead.

[Giant Mantis Scythe]

'As expected of [Edge+].'