In the end, Ryan gave some pointers to the Colonel and his men. Although he was giving for free the information, that was basically the secret of the best method he could use to hunt the monsters. He didn't feel bad or worried. Ryan intended to use only long-ranged attacks against a large number of enemies and while his other fighting style was being developed. Besides, he had other secrets that were more useful, and other people weren't aware of it. So, it was fine.

As for Alissa, no one could learn much by watching her. She was impatient, and since she relied too much on her draconic powers, one could easily notice that she lacked discipline and technique. For others, it may look like she was wasting her draconic powers, but for Ryan, who knew the life she had before the monsters' arrival, it was only natural that she would be like that.

"Now that I think about it…" Ryan turned around and faced the Colonel," Alissa, didn't you say that Cole and the others were communicating with survivors of Indianapolis? I can't imagine the people having the leisure to do that with so many monsters around this area."

"Yes… we were the ones who were talking with your friends," the Colonel sighed. "There is no point in denying. We intended to lure you two to this place. Alissa's existence intrigued us and I thought..."

"I see…" Ryan frowned. "It looks like the situation forced you to make several bad moves. You have been lucky and unlucky at the same time, Colonel."

"I am fully aware of it," the Colonel said.

It looked like the Colonel politics were changing little by little. At least it looked that way since he was less secretive and more sincere. By the look of things, his partnership with the people of Shreveport was going to succeed. Thanks to that, Ryan noticed that he would have to do something about the dungeons, and the only thing he could do was to leave a tamed monster behind. The problem was: would his skills level up fast enough if he goes to check things with his salamander and desert wolf?

"I also need to keep in check the dungeons and the date that I cleared them. Considering that each dungeon break makes the monsters level up by four levels, things might get really complicated in a few years if those dungeon breaks continue to happen over and over again."

Without having any means to communicate with others over long distances, leaving some survivors behind wasn't wise. Not only because it wasn't safe, but because those people wouldn't be monitored. In the worst-case scenario, they might end up creating camps and forcing other people who join them to do whatever the heck they want.

Considering the skills that he had, using the tamed monsters was the only solution, but truth to be told, Ryan couldn't imagine those skills leveling up fast enough and give him the chance to guard all the dungeons he already cleared. While Ryan was being troubled by that problem, the day ended, and they finally killed all the ordinary golems around the dungeon, and now they just have to worry about the bosses.

Iron Golem – Lv 60

Health: 9.000/9.000

Mana: 4.500/4.500

Stamina: 6.000/6.000

Strength: 2.500

Dexterity: 600

Speed: 300

Intelligence: 350

Endurance: 3.000

Control: 1000

Mentality: 2.000

Luck: 700

Recovery: 3.500

Skill List

Offensive Physical Skills: Earthquake Lv 100

Passive Physical Skills: Steel Skin Lv 100

Spells: Earth Bullet Lv 100

Support Skills: Earth Resistance Lv 250

"I think you guys should fall back for now," Ryan said after using Appraisal and analyzing the monster's status in the distance. "Even if Alissa goes all out, something still might go wrong against fifty of those monsters.

"They are tough?" the Colonel asked.

"They are very tough," Ryan said.

Ryan felt that something was off somewhere regarding the golems, but he couldn't pinpoint exactly what that was. In any case, sniping those creatures wasn't completely out of the question since they were even larger than the ordinary golems and easier targets. However, Ryan would need to use Power Shot, and it doesn't matter how much stronger he gets against an even more powerful creature. He would need some time to charge his attacks. So, even if he attacks five hundred meters away from the monsters before he can kill even ten of them, the others will reach his location.

"Solving this by transforming into a dragon would be easy, but not fun," Alissa said. "So, I will only use my bolts and some simple elemental magic."

Although someone might think that Alissa was underestimating the golems, even basic magic on her hands was deadly. Besides, she wasn't exactly dumb to do something that would end up making her waste time and thus delay her work. In any case, the first strike was on Ryan's hands.

"Let's see what I can do with ten seconds."

Ryan prepared his arrow and then activated Power Shot. Hopefully, he wouldn't need to charge his attacks for ten seconds to kill a single boss. However, given the endurance of those creatures, Ryan couldn't expect much. In the end, just to make sure that he would cause as much damage as possible, Ryan even used Lesser Water Enchantment. When he fired his projectile, the damage knocked down the monster and even froze and cracked a good part of the golem's head. Ryan saw the creature's core there, but since it hadn't been completely destroyed. The monster began to regenerate.

"Ah, come on…" Ryan sighed and fired another arrow to finish the job.

The monsters finally noticed Ryan's presence, and they began to move toward him. It was a bit annoying to know that even with all his power, Ryan alone could only take down three of those beasts without running out of mana. Fortunately, that also made Ryan aware that he had a lot of room to grow.

You obtained 2.000 coins.