Ryan Bennett had just reached out, wanting to pat Emily Miller on the shoulder and say a few words, but his hand stopped midair and he pulled it back, afraid of startling this girl as sensitive as a rabbit.

Scarlett Miller gradually edged closer to the three venomous maggots along the edge of the cave, stopping at the cave’s rim.

On the other side, Blake Miller had already used Stealth to sneak up, slowly circling behind one of the maggots.

Blake Miller made a hand signal to Ryan Bennett, Scarlett Miller, and the others.

The battle began!

Blake Miller struck one of the venomous maggots from behind, knocking it into a stunned state.

Roar! Scarlett Miller charged forward, and together with Blake Miller, each grabbed one of the remaining two maggots.

Healing Spell!

Emily Miller gripped her priest’s staff tightly, casting a quick heal on Blake Miller. Just as she was about to cast another quick heal on Scarlett Miller, Ryan Bennett hurriedly stopped her, saying, “Don’t be nervous, their health hasn’t dropped much yet, don’t waste your mana. Believe in yourself, you can do it.”

Ryan Bennett’s voice was slow and deep, leaving a lasting impression on Emily Miller’s heart. Emily Miller’s hands gradually relaxed.

Regeneration!

Emily Miller cast a slow healing spell on Blake Miller and Scarlett Miller.

Ryan Bennett nodded approvingly and began waving his own staff.

Corruption!

Agonizing Pain!

Shadow Bolt!

With two melee classes holding the front line, Ryan Bennett didn’t need to do much else—he could just focus on dealing damage.

Ryan Bennett’s damage stayed steady at over a hundred, which secretly surprised Blake Miller and Scarlett Miller. The damage from this full-intelligence warlock was just too strong; even some fire mages of the same level they’d seen didn’t necessarily have spell damage as high as Ryan Bennett.

Bang! A critical hit landed. A huge number—over three hundred—appeared above the maggot’s head. Ryan Bennett’s crit actually dealt triple damage.

The venomous maggot squealed shrilly, shook off Blake Miller, and charged straight at Ryan Bennett.

Not good! Blake Miller was caught off guard and tried to catch up to the maggot, but it seemed to have locked onto Ryan Bennett, lunging at him.

Ryan Bennett was startled by the scene. A flash of fear appeared in Emily Miller’s eyes.

Usually soloing had made Ryan Bennett’s nerves extremely sharp, and he reacted quickly to all sorts of situations. He was only startled for a moment before regaining his composure.

Splat! The maggot’s venom sprayed over Ryan Bennett, turning him bright green, and his health dropped to just 39%. Ryan Bennett quickly retreated—Repulsion Aura!

He pushed the maggot back a short distance.

Shadow Bolt!

Agonizing Pain!

Two spells shot toward the maggot.

Healing Spell!

Emily Miller actually managed to cast a quick heal on Ryan Bennett in time, instantly restoring his health to full. Ryan Bennett hurriedly drank an antidote potion.

Splat! Another stream of venom hit, knocking Ryan Bennett’s health down by 53%. Ryan Bennett thought to himself how lucky he was—if not for Emily Miller’s healing, he’d probably be lying dead on the ground.

Explosion Spell!

With a bang, over two hundred health was blasted off the maggot. The Explosion Spell was a close-range AoE spell with relatively low damage, but unexpectedly, it crit for over two hundred.

The venomous maggot collapsed limply to the ground.

“Are you guys okay?” Blake Miller caught up and asked.

Ryan Bennett smiled and said, “I’m fine, thanks to Emily Miller’s timely healing.”

Blake Miller glanced at Emily Miller in surprise, finding it hard to believe that Emily Miller could react so well in such a critical moment. Emily Miller felt a bit uneasy under Blake Miller’s gaze, but her face showed a happy expression, maybe a little embarrassed. Ryan Bennett noticed the skin behind her ears turning red.

Ryan Bennett chuckled, “Thank you.”

Emily Miller gave a sweet smile, shook her head, and said softly, “No need to thank me.” The look she gave Ryan Bennett was full of gratitude.

Blake Miller nodded and rushed back to help Scarlett Miller kill monsters. The maggot beside them had already woken up. The three of them increased their damage, killed the maggot Scarlett Miller was holding, and then turned their attention to the last maggot.

Only one was left, and it couldn’t make much trouble. The three of them worked together to kill it. Blake Miller gathered up the loot dropped by the three maggots.

Ryan Bennett received 75 silver coins. Blake Miller picked up a necklace from under one of the maggots, which glowed with a faint red light. Blake Miller used an identification scroll and exclaimed in surprise, “It’s a purple item!”

Ryan Bennett checked the necklace in the shared inventory. The silver-white necklace was set with a red crescent-shaped gem, crystal clear and exquisitely crafted.

Red Moon Necklace: Purple equipment, +3 Intelligence, +2 Agility, adds 10 points to healing effects. Class: Priest, Required Level: 6.

It was for Emily Miller, and the stats were pretty good—especially the +10 healing effect, which was very useful for priests. It was a nice little low-level top-tier item, good enough to use until level twenty.

Ryan Bennett smiled and said, “Congratulations.”

Emily Miller blushed and thanked him.

Blake Miller said, “This necklace should be worth about sixty gold coins on the market. According to our previous agreement, we should give you twenty gold coins.”