Roar!

  The ground beneath their feet erupted with a deafening thud, a bone-white hand bursting through the dirt. Moments later, a skeleton clad in nothing but tattered rags clawed its way up from the earth, hollow eye sockets burning with eerie blue ghostfire, its gaze locking hard on Kiriya and Yukina.

  The monster's sudden appearance made Kiriya freeze for a split second. He immediately stepped back half a pace, shielding Yukina behind him without a sound.

  Yukina seemed pleased by his reaction, the corners of her lips curling into a playful smile. "You're pretty bold, aren't you, Kiriya?"

  Though Kiriya was actually on edge inside, his face remained calm and steady, his eyes darting quickly to the monster's stat panel.

  [Skeleton Warrior] (Common Monster)

  Level: 30

  Attack: 240-275

  Defense: 62

  HP: 1600

  Attack Trait: Weak Point Strike, reduces the target's Defense by 25% on hit.

  He raised an eyebrow. "Its max attack is nearly 280. That's no joke."

  Yukina smiled faintly. "Take a look at its HP and Defense instead."

  Kiriya understood at once. These undead-type monsters had pitifully low Defense and HP; only their attack power was brutally sharp.

  He nocked an iron arrow at once, loosing a Frost Arrow with smooth, practiced precision.

  Crack!

  The Frost Arrow struck the Skeleton Warrior's skull dead on, a damage number of 730 popping up above its head. Without pausing, he fired a Flame Arrow right on its heels, dealing another 879 damage.

  Crackle…

  The Skeleton Warrior didn't even get a chance to strike back before it collapsed into a pile of shattered bones on the ground.

  Surprise flashed in Yukina's eyes. "Damn, Kiriya. Your physical damage is insane."

  So she was implying her magic damage was nothing to scoff at, either? Kiriya picked up on her unspoken meaning and smiled. "Enough about me. Wanna show me what you've got?"

  Yukina chuckled and rolled her eyes, raising her hand to hurl a Fireball at another Skeleton Warrior that had just emerged from the ground.

  1902!

  A Critical Hit triggered, and the Level 30 monster was killed instantly.

  It was no wonder Yukina had chosen to grind here. Her fire magic had an overwhelming advantage against undead monsters.

  Yukina turned to him with a grin. "Our two-person party has some seriously brutal damage output."

  Kiriya shook his head slightly, but he knew full well that this damage combination was easily among the absolute best of any player party at this stage of the game.

  The grinding that followed went incredibly smoothly. Kiriya scouted ahead and pulled mobs, while Yukina stayed close on his heels, unleashing roaring Fireballs that swept across the field and incinerated every oncoming monster.

  Kiriya's Flame Arrow also landed burst finishing blows from time to time. Though its damage was a step below Yukina's Fireball, two shots were still more than enough to take down a Level 30 Skeleton Warrior.

  Their experience bar climbed at a blistering pace, with nearly every monster granting over 1000 EXP. Whenever a mob dropped mana potions, Yukina's eyes would light up, and she would urge him with a laugh. "Kiriya, go grab those potions quick!"

  It was clear she was quite thrifty, even though she'd dropped 24 gold coins on potions in one go before they'd set out.

  An hour later, the two of them had cleared every last mob on the hillside.

  Kiriya jumped straight from Level 25 to Level 27, an absurdly fast rate of progression. Yukina remained at Level 30, a stark reminder of just how much EXP was required for later levels. Kiriya also knew full well that he'd siphoned a large chunk of her EXP thanks to his lower level.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Eventually, the two stopped at the mouth of a cave. Sinister words were carved above the entrance: Skeleton Cave.

  Yukina smiled. "This is where I was heading all along. Kiriya, look at the pile of bones to the right of the entrance. Interact with it to accept the Skeleton Cave quest. Let's head in together and see if we can finish it."

  Kiriya glanced over and, sure enough, spotted a pile of old, shattered bones on the ground to the right of the cave mouth.

  He turned back to Yukina and teased playfully. "Yukina, this place is creepy. Aren't you scared?"

  Yukina smiled softly. "Of course I'm scared. Can't you see how far I'm standing back?"

  Kiriya laughed and stepped forward to interact with the bones. A system prompt popped up at once.

  Ding~!

  System Notice: This skeleton seems to hide a secret. Continue investigating?

  He confirmed immediately, and a second system alert followed.

  Ding~!

  System Notice: You have accepted the quest [Skeleton Cave]. Current quest difficulty: 550.

  Quest Objective: A kingdom general died a violent death outside the cave. Descend to the 5th floor of the Skeleton Cave, locate the culprit, and slay them!

  The quest was straightforward: venture deep into the cave and eliminate the designated target.

  Yukina asked from the side. "What's your quest difficulty?"

  "550. Yours?"

  "450." Yukina smiled. It made perfect sense; her higher level had lowered the quest's difficulty rating.

  As Kiriya stood up, Yukina smiled. "I'd originally planned to find a high-attack, high-defense player from the Azure Imperial Region top 10 to party with for this quest. But now I see there's no need at all. You're more than enough."

  With that, her eyes swept over the Blade Set on Kiriya's body, a knowing smile playing on her lips.

  Kiriya groaned inwardly. Dealing with a sharp, perceptive girl was never easy. She'd definitely figured out how extraordinary his gear was.

  He decided to play dumb. "Come on, I'm just a squishy Archer. You can't expect me to tank damage, right?"

  Yukina shot him a playful, exasperated glare. "Stop playing dumb. The total defense on this set is at least 150. I've got a sharp eye for gear."

  Kiriya was secretly impressed. She'd guessed almost exactly right.

  Just then, Yukina smiled and activated her gear's visual effects. In an instant, brilliant light blazed forth, the full mage set on her body glowing with searing red light, utterly dazzling.

  She did not attempt to hide it, sharing her full gear stats in the party chat. She was wearing a complete Level 30 Bronze-Tier Flame Set for Mages.

  Nearly every individual piece of the Flame Set granted around 5% bonus Fire Magic Damage. The set effect boosted Fire Magic Damage by a full 45%, and also included a Flame Shield skill that could block physical damage for the Mage for a short duration.

  Kiriya couldn't help but marvel. He'd thought his Blade Set was impressive enough, but it paled in comparison to Yukina's Flame Set.

  He no longer held back, sharing the stats of his Blade Set, along with the Bow of Glory in his hands.

  When she saw the Bow of Glory's stats, Yukina's eyes went wide with shock. "No way! The first Silver-Tier item in the entire server has been with you this whole time? You act so ordinary day to day, but you've been hiding this huge secret!"

  Kiriya sighed helplessly. "I had to keep a low profile. Otherwise, everyone would be gunning for this bow. I'd be looking over my shoulder nonstop, and how could I level up in peace?"

  Yukina giggled softly. "Fair enough. Now I'm even more confident. Today, we push all the way to the 5th floor of the Skeleton Cave and finish this quest. The reward is bound to be incredible!"

  Kiriya nodded. A quest with a difficulty rating of 550 would never give a paltry reward.

  He stepped into the cave first. The temperature plummeted around him at once, and he shivered involuntarily.

  The interior of the Skeleton Cave was a circular, deep pit. Stone stairs leading down to the next floor stood clearly across from them.

  A hoarse growl came from the side, and Yukina called out a warning at once. "Watch your right!"

  Kiriya spun around at once, his heart skipping a beat. Without him noticing, an armored skeleton had appeared to his right, wielding a heavy sword and slashing straight at him with brutal force.

  Slash!

  The heavy sword grazed his shoulder, a sharp pain shooting through him. His HP dropped by nearly 290 points in an instant.

  This attack power was on a completely different level from the Skeleton Warriors outside.

  He quickly checked the monster's stats, only to find the panel filled with question marks.

  [Shadow Wraith Warrior] (Common Monster)

  Level: ???

  Attack: ???

  Defense: ???

  HP: ???

  Just then, Yukina raised her hand and hurled a Fireball, which slammed into the skeleton with a deafening boom, blasting away nearly a quarter of its HP.

  Kiriya's heart sank. No wonder Yukina had needed a partner. The monsters inside the Skeleton Cave were leagues stronger than those on Skeleton Mountain outside.

  He fired a Flame Arrow, which exploded with a thunderous crack. Only a 425 damage number popped up above the skeleton's head.

  He wasn't satisfied with the result. Yukina's single Fireball had dealt over 600 damage to the same monster just moments before.

  He switched to Armor-Piercing Arrows at once. A milky-white arrow sliced through the air, piercing straight through the skeleton's armor. A damage number of 894 floated above the monster's head.

  Yukina followed up with another Fireball, dealing 560 more damage. The Shadow Wraith Warrior finally crashed to the ground.

  Yukina stared at him in amazement. "What skill was that? The damage was insane, nearly 900 damage in one hit!"

  Kiriya told her proudly about the Armor-Piercing Arrow's 50% defense ignore effect.

  Yukina's grin widened. "Then our chances just got even better! Most of the monsters below have heavy armor like this. Your Armor-Piercing Arrows will be perfect."

  Just then, another Shadow Wraith Warrior spawned nearby. Kiriya still couldn't see its level or stats, so Yukina told him at once. These are Level 34, Attack 250-320, HP 2400.

  Kiriya was now Level 27. The monster was exactly 6 levels higher, so the system hid all of its stats.

  He bent down to pick up the silver coins dropped by the previous Shadow Wraith Warrior, then worked with Yukina to take down the newly spawned monster with two Armor-Piercing Arrows.

  But at that moment, a dark shadow appeared silently behind Yukina. Before she could react in the slightest, the cold glint of a dagger flared to life!