While they do still plan to continue with their delve, I think it's a pretty safe bet they aren't going to fully clear the floor during this delve. Still, it's not like I have anything else to do at the moment. So, I continue to watch. The group makes their way back to the main room before clearing the side rooms on the other side. Well except the treasure rooms that is. Though I believe they definitely will during the next delve. Especially since Darrel managed to reach level 14. They did however manage to get a lot more loot and even some more rabbit meat.

  After making their way back to the main room yet again, they finally decide to continue along the main path. The next room offers very little resistance with all but one of the party members being higher level than the mobs. They did still have to be careful though because while their skin is tougher than normal, especially in the case of Clyde and Cole, it is not yet arrow proof. That's not even counting the fact that level 12 archers have bows with a much higher draw strength and are slightly more accurate than the archers they meet at the start of the second floor. They took their time resting anyway so that Lily could pick the miracle berries without feeling rushed.

  The next room offered a little more resistance though not much. Granted when they first entered the floor this room was a lot tougher. Especially the mages that attack after a party would have normally let their guard down. I remember how they initially ignored the third mage since it didn't seem to be doing anything. The look on Clyde's face when they figured out that it was mending the other two was priceless. Now though the surprise is gone so they know not to lower their guard after defeating the goblins.

  After clearing that room, they continue straight ahead. I'm surprised at first but then I remember that they haven't found the door to the boss room yet. So, naturally they wouldn't know which are the side paths. It's not like I made it hard to tell though, so I'm sure they'll figure it out in no time. In the next room they face another skeleton party. They still haven't completely gotten used to the idea of skeleton with the ability to imitate a healer's abilities though. It's the room after that when everything goes wrong.

  Having been in this room before Lily, Darrel, and Chandra stayed near the entrance while Clyde and Cole walked out to trigger the encounter. They still haven't worked out that they can eliminate some skeleton early. The first few seconds after triggering the encounter went well enough. Swords were swinging, knives and ice spears were flying, and it looked as if they had the upper hand despite being outnumbered. Then it happened. Cole's chest armor despite being heavy plate armor finally suffered enough damage to let a sword through. I'm sure the fact that he's been wearing it for nearly a year has something to do with that. It could also be the fact that it's only stone rank armor.

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  The sword doesn't penetrate very deep. It is However deep enough that Cole immediately starts to lose a lot of blood. He tries his best to keep fighting but his reaction speed has slowed significantly. He does manage to stay on his feet continuing to take some of the pressure off of the others. To be fair they do still have potions it's just really hard to pop a potion in the middle of defending against multiple attackers. Eventual Clyde also gets stabbed. This time in the back and unlike Coles wound this time the sword goes all the way through. The way it pierced through Clyde's stomach reminded me of that one scene from Alien.

  Fortunately, while the groups two heavy hitters could barely defend themselves at the moment Chandra and Darrel haven't been idle. If anything, they have redoubled their efforts with knives and ice spikes flying continuously. At least until Chandra got down to what was apparently her last knife. I say this because she refused to throw it. I always wondered what it would take for her to run out. The pouch she uses holds way more throwing knives than a pouch three times that size should be able to hold.

  Thanks to everyone working together they do eventually manage to kill all sixteen skeletons. After which Cole and Clyde don't hesitate to pop their potions. Thankful they managed to saved the potions till now. At the same time Lily runs over to immediately begin treating them. Despite being injured Clyde finally managed to reach level 14 as well. It takes a while before either of them is able to walk without clutching their stomachs. Eventually they are at least healed enough to continue. They decide not to press their luck though and vow instead to get all new gear before returning. Having learned the harsh truth that being sentimental about your gear can get you killed.

  In spite of all the weirdness that happened, and partly because of it, this delve gave me a lot of mana. Their time on the third floor alone gave me nearly three times as much mana as the first two floors combined. I can't help wondering how much I would have gotten if the delve hadn't been forced to end prematurely. I'm still a little concerned about the weirdness that happened during their delve. There's not really much I can do about it though so instead I try to focus on the positive. Next time Clyde and his party come in here I'm certain they will do a full clear or at least try to.

  Imagining how much mana I will get from them looting those chests makes me almost giddy with excitement. As does imagining all three instances of the third floor being used at the same time. The new meat loot should grant me even more mana as well. I'm still not ok with goblin meat, due to how close they are to being sapient, so delvers are kind of stuck with wolf and scorpion meat in addition to the non-hostile creatures. At least for now.