Chapter 74: Just Eat It, And Trust Dim Dim! "Alex, is it just me, or have you grown stronger since the last time I saw you?" Elaine asked as she slashed a Goblin Warrior in half with her sword. "I noticed it too, and I’m certain your strength has improved significantly," Efa commented while making short work of the two Goblins with her daggers. "I changed my Job Class and have experienced many life and death battles as of late," Alex answered before using his shield to bash the body of a Hobgoblin, allowing Elaine and Efa to both land the killing blow. Although the Hobgoblin was a Rank 3 Monster, it now looked like a slightly bigger Goblin Warrior to him after his encounter with the mutant red-striped zebra jumping spider in the Etherion Domain Granted, Alex wouldn’t be able to kill it in a one-on-one battle easily, but he at least knew now that he had the abilities to fend off the attacks of Rank 3 Monsters and below and survive a battle with them. Nothing could beat actual combat experience, and his trial in the Etherion Domain had honed his fighting skills. "Still, we won’t be able to catch up to that weirdo with the number of enemies blocking our path," Elaine pointed out as she swung her blade against another Goblin, who had lunged at her from her right side. At that moment, the airship of the Clawford Tribe flew above their heads, and something small and white fell down and landed on Alex’s head. "Dim Dim!" Dim Dim announced its arrival with a big smile on its face. "Welcome back, Dim Dim. Good job earlier!" "Ahem~" The Dim Sum God felt proud because it had been able to help everyone by telling Captain Gil to target the cloaked individual, who seemed to be the mastermind of the monster stampede. "Dim Dim," Dim Dim reported that it had seen Cairo jumping from roof to roof in pursuit of the alleged mastermind behind the monster stampede. "Oh?" Alex smiled faintly. "Master is pursuing that person alongside the airship?" Dim Dim nodded. "Dim." "Good." Alex smiled. "Now we just have to gain some experience points and level up." "Dim Dim~" Two minutes later, the young man heard two notification sounds inside his head, making his eyes widen in shock. [Level Up!] [Level Up!] He could understand leveling up once, but leveling up twice instantly was a first even for him. Fortunately, it didn’t take long for him to understand what just happened. —— < Your allies have slain the Orc Juggernaut! > < You gained +200 Arcana Points > < You gained the item Juggernaut’s Belt as a reward. > —— < Juggernaut’s Belt > Item Grade: Super Rare Stats: +3 to All Stats, including Magic and Luck. Passive Skill: Enhanced Rush Effect: Any skills that increase movement speed, including offensive skills like Shield Charge, will gain a 30% increase in movement speed, and an additional 30% damage upon hitting the target. —— ’Sweet.’ Alex grinned after seeing the information about the reward item that he received for free. Items that granted a direct increase in Magic and Luck were highly sought out by players, because these Stat Parameters couldn’t be increased using normal means. The young man then glanced at his Skill tab, where he could see the progress of the skill that he was currently trying to learn at the moment. —— < Shield Charge > — In order to unlock this skill, you need to use Shield Bash 100 times against an enemy monster. [Number of times Shield Bash is used = 43/100] —— Alex sighed because although he wanted to use Shield Bash as many times as he could, his stamina wasn’t high enough to use it consecutively. Using up his stamina wasn’t an option either, especially during a battle as big as a monster stampede. Because of this, he would stop using his Shield Bash when he was left a third of his stamina. He didn’t plan to go any lower than that to avoid running out of options in the case he met some kind of emergency where he would need to use his stamina to execute skills like Slash. "Dim Dim, please give me some roasted pork buns," Alex said. "Dim Dim~" Dim Dim nodded and summoned a bamboo steamer that hovered in front of Alex. The young man set aside his sword for a brief moment and started to eat a pork bun while casually using his shield to bash the monsters in front of him. Elaine and Efa didn’t know if they should laugh or cry when they saw the young man inexplicably start eating in the middle of the battle. "Alex, now is not really the time to eat, you know?" Elaine wanted to facepalm, but she directed that energy towards kicking a Goblin instead, sending it flying. "Actually, now is the right time to eat because I’m running low on stamina," Alex explained before finishing the last piece of the bun in his hand. "You and Efa should eat as well. Trust me. It will help you guys in the long run." As if waiting for him to say those words, the Food Buffs he wanted to see started to take effect. —— < Food Buff > — Barbecued Pork Bun — Stamina regeneration increased by 30% Duration: 1 hour —— "Are you serious?" Efa asked because the bamboo steamer with a single pork bun flew in her direction. "Just eat it, and trust Dim Dim!" Alex stated. "Dim Dim!" Dim Dim also raised its hand, telling Efa to trust it. Although she felt a bit silly about eating during a battle, she decided to trust the two and bite into the pork bun. "D-Delicious," Efa muttered. A few seconds later, she felt less exhausted, allowing her to retain her current pace in battle. Elaine had also decided to eat the pork bun because Alex and Dim Dim insisted on it. Similar to Efa, the Swordswoman also felt her strength returning to her. "I have so many questions, but I will ask them later," Elaine said as she followed behind Alex, who had just finished killing the last Goblin blocking their path. Efa sped up a bit and ran past Alex. As a Scout, it was her duty to scout for enemies and ensure that their party could avoid fighting as much as possible. Their goal was to catch up to the cloaked person, who was currently on the run after their plan to destroy the Town of Thaloria was thwarted. That person probably didn’t expect that the town would receive several reinforcements. "Alex, I can hear Guard Captain Santino and Branch Guildmaster Darius at the plaza," Efa reported. "Should we help them or ignore them?" "Do they sound like they need help?" Alex asked. "Yes." "Then let’s go. My master is strong enough to apprehend that person. Let’s help the others first!" "This way!" Efa replied before making a sharp left turn, leading towards the town’s plaza. She had heard the shouts of Santino and Darius in that direction and, from what she could tell, they might need all the help they could get. When Alex’s group arrived at the plaza, several bodies littered the streets. Goblins, Orcs, and Humans lay on the ground, either dead or dying. The Captain of the Guards, Santino, and the Branch Guildmaster of the Adventurer’s Guild were facing off against six High Orcs, all of which were Rank 4 Monsters. But, the six High Orcs weren’t the only threat because they were accompanied by dozens of Orcs Santino was a Rank 4 Knight, while Darius was a Rank 5 Brawler. Although they were capable of fighting a High Orc in a one-on-one battle, they were forced into a defensive battle because both of them were protecting their subordinates. "Do it, Dim Dim!" Alex shouted. "Ei!" Dim Dim didn’t hesitate and started throwing one brittle vial after the other. The young man often wondered if Dim Dim had some kind of Auto-Aim ability because all of its throws were very accurate. And just as he expected, the brittle vials hit the High Orcs’ heads, shattering upon impact. What followed was a sight of multiple monsters desperately trying to ease themselves from the suffering brought by the simple weapon Alex and Dim Dim liked to use in their battles. However, even after losing their sense of sight, the High Orcs were still able to sense around them. Perhaps, the only thing that Dim Dim had done was to make them angrier because their attacks became more ferocious. In their rampage, they even sent Santino flying.