Cautious and Careful

With a shield in his left hand and an electric baton in his right, Yinsen's Combat Power rose sharply. Though he still could not wipe out hordes of Dark Creatures with a wave of his hand like Zul and Isendra, he could at least avoid holding them back now.

No longer needing to worry about Yinsen's safety, the two mages finally unleashed their full strength. The Dark Creatures in the Den of Evil now met their end.

Frost, flames, and Rathma Cult necromancy glowing with a ghastly white light, accompanied by the cries of the Fallen—Yinsen felt as if he were inside a top-tier fantasy blockbuster.

What 3D? Compared to this, it was complete trash! The lighting! The effects! The sheer immersive presence!

With a swing of his baton, he smashed a charging Fallen to death. He spun around and kicked over a zombie that had approached him, then rushed forward and followed up with a War Stomp, crushing its already rotten, fragile skull.

Looking around, he saw that the two powerful mages had wiped out most of the monsters together, while he had finished off the remaining few from behind. For a moment, the area around him had actually become empty.

"Good thing I came along."

At this moment, he was immensely grateful for his earlier decision. After all, he could not think of many opportunities to level up behind two such powerful figures.

With those two protecting him, Yinsen's Combat Power improved at a visible rate. Fallen and zombies might fight in simple, brutal ways, but all kinds of strange emergencies could arise. The cave's complicated terrain also created many sudden encounters and ambushes. In just one day, Yinsen had come to resemble an experienced Adventurer.

"Also, the Mental Power training method The Ancient One taught me is incredibly important."

Everything about his current Combat Power was based on the tremendous improvement in his Mental Power. He could think during "more" time and react to all kinds of unexpected situations. That was the main reason he had fought until now without suffering even the slightest injury.

As the explosions from Isendra's fireballs and the screams of the Fallen—who shouted and scattered in every direction whenever attacked—gradually faded, the battle between the two mages also neared its end. Only a few Fallen that had run too far away and a handful of sluggish zombies remained alive.

Previously, the two mages would deliberately leave such monsters for Yinsen to deal with alone as a form of training.

But they no longer did so. In Zul's words, "You've passed that stage. Next, you need to improve yourself in more complicated combat environments."

Only now did Yinsen truly feel like their companion, a comrade fighting Dark Creatures alongside them!

Yinsen carefully examined the Dark Creature corpses scattered across the ground, wary of monsters playing dead and suddenly striking him. This was the real world, not a game where a monster was truly dead once it fell over. Given how crafty and treacherous the Fallen were, no one could guarantee that they would not play dead when escape was impossible.

There was no harm in being careful, especially when his own life was at stake. The situation before him seemed to prove just how correct Yinsen's caution was.

As he carefully checked the corpses with the iron baton in his hand, a Fallen lying amid the pile of bodies suddenly sprang up. It shouted in Demonic Language that no one could understand and raised its long blade to slash at Yinsen.

Having been on guard for exactly this, Yinsen immediately raised his iron baton and firmly blocked the Fallen's strike. Then he lifted his left leg and kicked the short red demon.

Bang!

His thick-soled leather boot landed squarely on the Fallen's ugly face. The impact seemed to leave it dazed, and Yinsen seized the opportunity to follow up with another blow.

This time, he deliberately activated the Lightning Magic contained within the baton. Leaping arcs of electricity illuminated the dark cave, and amid a fresh scream, the Fallen was killed by the explosive surge of powerful electricity.

"Whew... good thing I was careful."

After checking once more and confirming that no one else was playing dead, Yinsen quickened his pace and caught up with the two mages ahead, who were doing the same thing.

"Well done, Yinsen."

The two had witnessed everything that had happened. Yinsen's responses were becoming increasingly seasoned, and he was gradually losing the air of a novice. In truth, his rate of growth had greatly surprised them.

"I am starting to regret it. Perhaps I should have insisted on inviting you to join our Rathma Cult."

No one knew how much sincerity lay behind Zul's smiling remark, but praise always made people happy. After spending some time together, Yinsen no longer deliberately acted modest and accepted it with a smile.

"All right, let's continue exploring. We've been wandering through this cave for most of the day. We don't know how many Dark Creatures are still lurking in the shadows, so we need to be even more cautious from here on."

Isendra was becoming irritated by the dark, damp cave and its countless branching paths. She felt as if she had spent half the day walking in circles, yet her astonishing memory clearly told her that they had not passed through the same area twice.

"I roughly mapped it out in my mind. Combined with the information we received earlier from Akara and Kashya, we have already cleared more than half of this evil cave."

The Den of Evil was actually a recent name. Originally, it had merely been an ordinary cave in the Blood Moor, with no mineral deposits and no sights worth visiting. If not for the recent surge in Dark Energy that had driven many Dark Creatures to hide here, it would have been nothing more than an ordinary Underground Cave.

However, in order to keep track of the surrounding area, the Rogues and the nuns of the Blind Eye Monastery had explored the Den of Evil and drawn detailed maps.

Although those maps had been left behind in the monastery occupied by demons during the earlier chaos, Kashya, as the High Priestess and commander of the Rogues, had a detailed understanding of this cave. Before the group agreed to come clear it out, she had thoroughly explained the Den of Evil's terrain.

"Next, we'll enter the deepest part of the entire cave. Judging from what we've encountered along the way, a very powerful Dark Creature should be hiding there."

As they had traveled onward, the Dark Creatures had steadily grown stronger. It seemed that the darker areas of the Den of Evil were more to the liking of those evil creatures, and the strongest naturally occupied the darkest region.

Yinsen thought of the elite zombie boss from the first quest of the game's first act, Corpsefire.

But could he say that? How would he know? Would they mistake him for a spy planted among the human alliance by the Dark Forces and kill him?

Maybe he could warn them not to get too close to that elite zombie? They could kill it with ranged attacks?

Then again, there was probably no need. These two were experienced mages. When facing completely unfamiliar monsters, they would never rashly charge in. Besides, close-quarters melee combat was not their first choice to begin with.

These two are max-level veterans. Maybe I'm worrying for nothing?

His worries truly were unnecessary. After they continued into the deepest part of the cave and spotted Corpsefire's distinctly different appearance among the zombies from afar, along with the nearly visible fluctuations of Dark Energy, the two mages decisively moved Yinsen behind them.

"Fall back, Yinsen! This isn't an opponent you can handle right now. Leave the rest to Isendra and me."

Zul did not summon his usual scythe. Instead, he drew the strange dagger he had not used at all during this cave-clearing expedition. At the same time, he casually summoned a Bone Shield in his left hand for defense.

Isendra was no slower. She first cast a Magic Shield around herself, then cast a Frost Shield on Yinsen before launching a massive fireball at the group of zombies.

By then, Zul had also completed his spell. He held a pale Bone Spear in his right hand, with powerful Primal Magic Power clinging to it and emitting a dazzling white glow that lit the dark cave as brightly as day.

Combined with Isendra's enormous fireball, everything in that dark space was revealed to them. Even the monsters hiding in the farthest corners were clearly visible to Yinsen—densely packed zombies, too many to count, and deeper in the shadows, many Skeleton Archers. They had already drawn their bows, nocked their arrows, and aimed at the group.

The whistle of arrows cutting through the air rang out in rapid succession. Almost at the same instant, Zul rushed to the front and raised the shield in his left hand. The clanging rang out like endless raindrops. Those Skeleton Archers were far more threatening than they looked.

"Take out those archers first!"

Without needing Zul's reminder, Isendra had already adjusted her attack. The massive fireball traced a beautiful arc through the cave, passed over the densely packed zombies, and plunged straight into the Skeleton Archers.

Boom!

A tremendous explosion erupted along with blinding firelight. The archers swallowed by the flames fell silent. With the greatest threat removed, everything that followed became much simpler.

They first bombarded the area with wide-range magic. Once the monsters were no longer packed together and instead scattered in small groups, Isendra and Zul both stopped using those high-powered area spells. They switched to magic that consumed less power while offering greater precision.

At that point, Yinsen could finally join the battle. He moved along the edge of the cave, avoiding going too deep and getting surrounded by several monsters.

He used the terrain to ensure that he only had to face enemies from the front while staying as far from Corpsefire, the elite monster, as possible. Perhaps Zul and Isendra only needed a single spell to deal with that thing. Likewise, it might only need one strike to deal with him.

"Don't take on a job you can't handle. That saying really does make sense."

Knowing his limits, Yinsen stopped fighting after seeing that only Corpsefire and the few zombies around it remained. He waited quietly for the two mages to display their might.

Unfortunately, a Dark Creature of this level could not force either of them to reveal their true strength.

One huge fireball later, Corpsefire fell, no different from the ordinary zombies beside it.