Chapter 20: Gaining 300 Experience, the Ashamed Rock Squad

A smell of burning drifted through the air.

The two ogres that looked incredibly dangerous and had driven the Rock squad into a desperate situation were easily crushed by a single "Lightning Strike."

The atmosphere became somewhat quiet!

Even Captain Dosari, who was howling in pain with his ankle crushed, had quieted down at this moment.

"Third-tier magic 'Lightning Strike' discovered. Requires Basic Magic Caster class, level requirement '15–21'. Current conditions not met..."

The information on the status panel floated before Tang Zheng.

The Basic Magic Caster class could be obtained through "Genius," but he clearly did not meet the level requirement.

"What a pity."

Tang Zheng said to himself in his heart.

Then, noticing the quiet atmosphere in the field, Tang Zheng could guess the complex emotions currently within the Rock squad.

The ogres they couldn't defeat despite their best efforts had been easily taken care of by their own client.

It was hard for this feeling not to be complex.

Not to mention!

Being able to use third-tier magic placed one among the ranks of "Platinum" or even "Mythril" level adventurers.

The Rock squad found it difficult even to reach "Gold" level, let alone these higher-level adventurers!

After a brief silence.

Tang Zheng was the first to break the atmosphere, walking quickly toward Captain Dosari.

Looking at Captain Dosari, who had collapsed on the ground with his expression twisted from intense pain.

Tang Zheng squatted down and saw the ogre's severed hand still gripping the captain's ankle tightly: "Captain Dosari, let me remove the ogre's hand for you."

Captain Dosari nodded subconsciously, and then his face turned somewhat flushed.

It was unclear whether it was due to the pain caused by Tang Zheng forcibly prying the ogre's hand off his leg, or for some other reason.

After Tang Zheng pried off the dark yellow, rough-skinned ogre hand and tossed it aside, he looked at Captain Dosari's lower leg.

The entire lower leg was completely flattened and hung on the ground in a twisted shape; the bones inside were, needless to say, shattered beyond repair.

This level of injury would basically result in a disability in his previous life!

But in this world, although it was a bit serious, it wasn't a big deal; after all, even resurrection magic existed.

"Minor Healing!"

Tang Zheng stretched out his hands toward the lower leg and spoke in a low voice.

A soft white light enveloped Captain Dosari's lower leg. Under the effect of the healing magic, the originally flattened leg slowly inflated as if it had been blown up, and the twisted appearance was gradually repaired.

The lower leg, which had just lost all sensation, began to feel intense pain again, causing Captain Dosari to gasp, though he endured it and did not cry out.

As the light dissipated!

The lower leg, which had previously been unrecognizable, could now barely be identified as a leg.

Seeing this.

Tang Zheng cast "Minor Healing" again.

By the time the second healing spell ended, Captain Dosari's entire lower leg looked as if it had returned to its original state.

"It looks fine on the surface, but the bones inside are shattered."

"Two spells can only provide simple repairs. To fully recover, I'm afraid it will take a few more times. I'll help you heal again once I recover some mana."

Tang Zheng let out a breath and spoke softly.

Along the way, the Rock squad had been quite good to him, so since he could help them, Tang Zheng naturally wouldn't be stingy.

Captain Dosari was covered in sweat, his lips pale, clearly because the pain during the healing process was too intense: "Thank you, Tang."

"No need to be so polite, Captain Dosari," Tang Zheng said.

At this moment.

The archer Bask, supporting the injured brothers Rand and Rer, also hurried over. Seeing the captain's current condition, he let out a sigh of relief and looked at Tang Zheng with gratitude in his eyes. "Are you two alright?"

Tang Zheng stood up and looked at the two brothers being supported.

"Don't worry, we won't die." Rer grinned; aside from his face being equally pale, there were no obvious injuries on his body.

However, since he was being supported by the archer Bask, even if there were no external wounds, he likely suffered some internal injuries. Tang Zheng remembered that he had been kicked away by the other ogre.

"A few broken ribs," Rand said with a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth, "but we won't die."

"Once my mana recovers, I'll help you heal," Tang Zheng nodded.

Rand laughed and said, "Good."

"Huh?" The archer Bask's ears twitched, and he suddenly turned his head to look at the ogre that had its arm severed by lightning and was lying on the ground. "It's not dead yet?"

As soon as these words were spoken.

The faces of the Rock squad members turned cold.

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Tang Zheng's eyes lit up, and without waiting for the Rock squad to act, he walked to the ogre lying on the ground first.

He swung his short sword!

Following the wound left by the arrow in the ogre's eye, he thrust it fiercely into the creature's brain and gave it a forceful twist.

The ogre, which had only one breath left, completely lost its life.

The clean and efficient movement surprised the members of the Rock squad.

Perhaps even Tang Zheng himself didn't notice that a touch of ruthlessness had unknowingly entered his movements!

"Experience gained: 300!"

Seeing the information flash across the status panel, a flash of surprise crossed Tang Zheng's eyes.

So much experience.

It allowed Tang Zheng to level up directly, and combined with the scattered experience he had gained before, his level had now reached level 5.

"Are you all alright!" Enfirea jumped down from the carriage and ran over quickly with a worried face.

The Rock squad subconsciously looked at each other, then looked at Enfirea, who had come before them, with respectful expressions.

"Don't worry, we definitely won't delay the rest of the journey," Captain Dosari said hurriedly, supporting himself with his hands and standing on one leg.

"I didn't mean that."

Hearing this, Enfirea's cheeks flushed. He waved his arms, and just as he was about to continue, he suddenly saw the members of the Rock squad looking behind him with expressions of awe.

"You should rest for a while."

Grandmother Rigy walked over with her hands behind her back, expressionless.

"Yes, my lord."

Captain Dosari spoke solemnly, though his one-legged stance looked somewhat comical.

A magic caster capable of using third-tier magic was not someone a squad like theirs could afford to offend, especially since they had just saved their lives.

The other three members of the Rock squad lowered their heads with flushed faces; as adventurers, being saved by their client was truly embarrassing.

It was just that they never could have imagined.

That the client possessed such great strength and would actually hire an adventurer squad for escort—no, perhaps from the beginning, the client only intended to hire manual labor.

Grandmother Rigy ignored the Rock squad and looked in the direction where the goblins and ogres had appeared.

That location belonged to the Tob Forest south of the Azerlisia Mountains, which was not only vast but also extremely dangerous. "E-Rantel" was located on the edge of this forest.

"It seems it's time to clear out the monsters again," Grandmother Rigy muttered to herself.

Goblins were monsters that reproduced very quickly, and combined with the beasts and other monsters in the forest, they attacked humans almost every year.

Therefore, the Adventurer's Guild in "E-Rantel" had monster-clearing quests posted year-round.

(End of chapter)