As Mash got healed, he thought about what he wanted to do with the three-remaining people. The easiest answer was to just kill them, but that felt wrong. Honestly, he just wanted to get rid of them as soon as possible. With how weakened they were, clearing the dungeon was no longer possible for them. He wasn’t even sure if they could make it back on their own. Though he didn’t care enough to help them with that. Turning to the others, Mash just kind of shrugged his shoulders at them. They seemed annoyed but similarly confused with what to do in this situation.

“I got nothing, what do you guys want to do?”

If any of them felt particularly about something, then he wouldn’t stop them. He doubted they would do anything cruel. Red spoke, obviously still angry and glaring at Safa the whole time.

“Let’s take their stuff and let them go. They can figure out the rest.”

That sounds fine, and more than a little deserved. None of the others protested, and Jill went to grab the two bodies and check them. Gerard had his skull caved in, crushed by Mash’s foot. His arm was twisted the wrong way too, and the three girls turned to look at Mash with some genuine horror. They had no idea how to get his armor off. Thankfully one of the twins knew how, and Mash saw that he had a plethora of small magic items. Jill put most of them in his storage space. She also emptied the man’s own storage space, getting mostly nothing out of it. There was some food and water, but it seemed like he was wearing most of his items.

Brock on the other hand, actually didn’t have any magic items on him. Even his weapon was just a normal sword. It was certainly strange, but maybe his class limited his use of items. It seemed like classes could be related to anything, so it sounded possible. Between the three girls, they only got a few useful items. Safa actually had some elven metals and jewelry that Red said would be worth a lot. While most of the items the three had were worthless to them, and they weren’t in need of the money, they still took everything. They left the actual storage items with them and let them keep their food and water but took anything of value.

The three were at least smart enough to keep their mouths shut. It only took a few minutes, but they managed to get everything and send them on their way. The real issue was needing to keep an eye on them as they left. Mash didn’t want Safa to join another group but couldn’t do anything more. If it happened, there was nothing he could do. He just had to make sure to not get caught off guard. Plus, he doubted that she would be willing to work with most people. Furthermore, not many people would want to work with someone like her.

As soon as the three girls were far enough away, Mash turned into his cat-form. He was basically fully healed and started forming wooden limbs to grab the others.

“I think we’ve been here for long enough. I’ll carry us over the water.”

They could fly as well, but they were a lot slower, and Luke hadn’t recovered that much mana. He had spent most of the time healing Mash. There wasn’t any argument and Mash grabbed them with wooden limbs. Since he could control the size of his wings, he made them several times larger than normal. With his wind magic, he could easily carry the others and flew over the river.

The water beneath zoomed by, and they noticed a few creatures lurking beneath its depths. Some were extremely large, easily surpassing the worms from earlier. What had surprised him was the change in temperature. As he flew over the river the heat of the desert just seemed to vanish, and the air gained a pleasant coolness as they approached the forest.

The trees were weirdly blue and rose far beyond their sight. Mash was tempted to fly toward the top but decided he could do that later. He touched down on the beach before the forest and saw that the other three were eager to wrench themselves from his wooden limbs. They seemed eager to explore the new land, and Mash was too. Honestly, the weather was nice, and the trees provided good shade from the sun. Plus, there were flowers and smaller plants scattered across the ground, making the forest seem even more magical.

“Well, this place seems better than the desert.”

Jill’s expressed what everyone had been thinking, and Luke seemed just as glad about the change. Even if the weather didn’t affect Red or Mash as much, both were happy to be out of the repetitive and boring desert. Mash was somewhat hopeful that they would be able to find natives here as this place seemed much more conducive to a town or village. The question was how to find them.

The others wanted to rest a little too, and Mash had no problem with that. While he didn’t use that much energy in the flight, it would be a good idea to recover fully before exploring. They spent a few minutes just resting and recovering. Other adventurers would arrive eventually, but they still had some time to relax.

Mash thoughts swam with a few disturbing thoughts, remembering Gerard and the bandits he had killed long ago. It had been a while since Mash had killed someone, and he couldn’t help but think about it. Both people had deserved it and worse. He shook his head trying to move his thoughts to something else and decided to check his status.

Name: Mash Stellumbra Class: Draconic Thunder-wood Imitation

Level: 83 → 86

Health: 2090 / 2090

Energy: 3560 / 3560

Fortitude: 209

Endurance: 136

Strength: 171

Agility: 171

Intelligence: 220

Wisdom: 102

Charisma: 96

Free Stats: 0 → 15

Skills: Hunt, Thunder-wood Creation, Inhuman Hibernation, Monstrous Transformation, Thunder-wood Imitation, Draconic Domain, Adaptable Monster Core, Monstrous Humanity, Wooden Body, Mimic’s Avarice, Golden Body

Mash was startled by the improvements. He had killed Gerard on his own, but the man was weaker than him. Gaining even one level from him would have been unlikely. Did killing him while having his skills limited give him a bonus? How did Safa’s skill actually work? Could it have artificially made it so his level was lower? That didn’t seem likely, but he didn’t have another idea for how he got so many levels from the fight. It almost certainly had to do with the restriction, and he wished he had asked her about it more. Only one other thought came to mind, but he didn’t like that explanation.

He considered using his free stats but didn’t know what to put it towards. All of his attributes were relatively balanced, and he didn’t know what his class upgrade would bring. He probably should have realized this before, but it would probably be his next advancement that showed him how to use them. The obvious ones were intelligence or fortitude as both would be generally useful for him. The bonus range on his domain was always appreciated and becoming general more durable sounded good. Especially, considering the recent fight. He would think about it later.

“Luke, What did you gain?”

Ever since the fight ended, he had been wondering what bonuses he would have received. Probably some fire magic, but he was more curious to hear about his levels and stats. Luke turned to him, looking a little grim. Even if he didn’t like what he had done, it was important to hear about what had changed. Trying to ease him into it, Mash told them of his own changes.

“I gained three levels. Don’t really know how, but I guess it has to do with killing Gerard despite the restrictions.”

That did raise some eyebrows, as they realized how many levels that was. This dungeon was certainly giving them a lot of levels and maybe that had also affected the fight.

“Wait, how close are you?”

There was concern in Jill’s voice as she asked. He didn’t understand exactly why but guessed that she didn’t want him to get ahead. That was a concern he understood.

“Eighty-six, so fourteen more to go.”

The three of them looked a little annoyed at the level, but Luke’s words revealed that he wasn’t that far away.

“I’m at eighty-two. I gained a lot from the soul. Plus, a good amount of strength.”

That was impressive, as he should’ve been further behind. Honestly, after the invasion in the capital, he expected to be far ahead of the others but was surprised to see how close Luke was. He had stolen some souls in the previous dungeon, and the one he got now was enough to let him keep up. Jill and Red were a little behind, though it still wasn’t as large of a gap as he would’ve expected. Jill was at 74 and Red was 73. They were behind, but it wasn’t such an insurmountable gap. Especially, with how rapidly they had been gaining levels recently.

Then Mash had an idea and couldn’t help but share his thoughts. Curious to hear what they thought.

“Do you think it's possible that we are intentionally gaining levels more quickly? What if the system is responding to something like a war? Could the world owner be trying to give people more power?”

He was just sharing his thoughts openly, wanting to hear where they would go with it.

“With all the dungeons appearing, it could be possible. Though what does that make us? Invaders or defenders?”

Red’s thoughts brought something to light that Mash hadn’t considered. He hadn’t been thinking about what side of the battle he was really on. It should’ve been something he considered, but he had been more focused on why he was gaining levels more rapidly. He didn’t know how to respond to what she was saying, but he considered what options he was left with. What did he want to do if he was the invader? It was another concern to add to his list.

“Well, let's find the natives and try and help them. I doubt the other adventurers will be as friendly as us. We might be able to do what we did in the previous dungeon. At the very least, I want to try and help those that we can.”

Luke sounded surprisingly confident in his response, and Mash found himself agreeing with the words. Nobody had any real arguments for the plan, as it felt like a pretty good option. Plus, it was reasonable. It basically meant that they would give the natives the opportunity for a peaceful resolution. Even if they didn’t have the authority to stop the invasion, they didn’t have to fight for any side in particular.

Mash should probably tell his brother of his speculations, but he couldn’t leave the dungeon yet. The group actually had two ways out. Mash had the key his sister had given him, and they also had the key they got from Arthur before. Either item should be able to get them out, but it wasn’t something he wanted to use just yet. Maybe once they found some natives, they could consider escaping and starting some more peaceful negotiations.

With a semblance of a plan in mind, the group decided they had rested enough. Now the question was how to find people. None of them had any particular ideas, and Jill couldn’t see anything with her skills. Since they didn’t have any particular idea, they decided to just walk into the forest for now. Flying was an option, but they didn’t want to scare anyone. Mash was really hoping for a friendly encounter. The recent betrayal left a bad feeling in his gut, and he didn’t want to keep thinking about it.