Chapter 46: An Odd Family

It had been a week since the first time Joshua and Lilly had completed the dungeon and they had finally finished their grinding sessions. The first time through they leveled up multiple times, but the higher their levels got the less bonus experience they gained from the dungeon. By the time they reached level twenty four it actually took three whole runs to gain another level and Joshua was sure it would only get worse from there sense they would no longer be getting any bonus experience from being under leveled. Lastly the fact that they couldn't redo the hidden quest which basically took an entire boss fight worth of experience out of each run meant there was no way they would be able to get as much out of dungeon as they did their first time around.

In the end it was time for the two of them to move on from the dungeon and head back to the hub city to train for a while. By the time Joshua had reached level twenty four he had stopped getting the full potential out of his levels which was a sign that that the fights he was participating in weren't challenging enough anymore and that it was time to get back to training. During their last few runs other groups finally started to appear at the entrance of the dungeon and a couple of groups actually decided to go in. The first group was a little small and unlucky. During one of Joshua's and Lilly's runs through the dungeon they found some remains of the explorers that had died inside of the boss room. It made the both of them feel a bit sick at the situation, so from that point on whenever they came across a group that had entered ahead of them in the dungeon, they made sure to rush ahead and help them out if things went bad. Thus on multiple occasions they ended up saving parties that were on the brink of death when going up against the boss at the end.

The last thing they got from the dungeon were some new skills from clearing it the first time around. Since they completed a hidden mission during their first time through they were given some pretty nice skills as a reward with their high evaluation. For Joshua he was given a skill known as heroic shout. It was an ability that allowed him to break any sort of inhibition placed on him or any people in his surroundings up to a certain range. Of course it only destroyed negative enchantments such as curses or hypnosis of some kind and it gave everyone effected by it a surge of strength that allowed them to push forward. It also attracted enemies towards him if he wasn't their current target. With each level it grew its range would grow and its cool down would shorten.

Lilly on the other hand didn't exactly get a skill for herself, but instead got a skill for each of her pets. The two bunnies got a skill that allowed them to heal poisons to a certain degree. The lizard that she rarely ever used learned a skill that allowed it to spit acid in a similar way to the lizards in the dungeon. Flutter gained a poison cloud ability that would hamper their enemies whenever they breathed it in. Mr. Hoppy gained a surprising ability that allowed it to camouflage its bodies into a similar color as its surroundings. This ability would help keep it hidden whenever their presence hiding abilities were blown from attacking. Lastly Tank gained an ability that worked like a bubble trap. It created large bubbles of water that floated in the air and exploded if triggered or touched by an enemy.

All in all they had gained a lot from the dungeon and most importantly had learned how to work together fairly well after going through the dungeon over and over again. Their team work and ability to work with Lilly's pets in different situations improved and they were able to figure the best way to utilize Tank depending on the situation. Against larger boss like creatures Tank would be up front with Joshua dealing unsuspecting blows whenever he got the chance, while against smaller mobs Joshua would be up front while Tank would attack with Lilly from a distance. Both situation were far better thanks to the big guy, it was pretty much like having another experienced party member along for the ride.

Now that they had finished with the dungeon Joshua and Lilly left the dark halls of the place for the last time after saving another group that had taken on far more than they could handle. Sense they had already reached level twenty-five by the time they had reached the boss they decided to bring the group of ten into their party so that they would at least gain some experience when Joshua killed the boss. This time around they made it in time to save all of the members of the group and were thanked by them after they were able to heal their knight's broken arm. Of course the entire group was shocked when they found out that both Joshua and Lilly were only level twenty-five. It was a funny note to leave on.

Soon they made their way back up to the lake and into the marsh area before opening a portal back to the hub city. There were several other people in the main area to congregate for entering and leaving the hub world and Joshua and Lilly both smiled at the familiar sight. "Well I'm tired. I've never spent so much time out fighting." Lilly said as she made sure to put all of her pets away so they wouldn't get to much attention. "So what do you plan to do now Joshua? I'm assuming you don't plan on going back out any time soon."

"Nah, I'll be staying in the hub city for at least the next month to max out the potential on my levels and get in some training. There's also a meeting I have to go to tomorrow with the rest of my friends about a new support guild they've made." Joshua said before a bright idea came to his mind. "Why don't you and your parents come along as well?"

"Why would we do that? I thought you said the meeting was with your friends?" Lilly asked a little confused.

"Well I'd consider you a friend as well at this point after going dungeon diving together. Besides I think this support guild will be the perfect opportunity for your parents." Joshua said getting a curious look from Lilly urging him to go on. "You said you wanted your parents to be able to work in their old jobs again and that's why you decided to support them by going out and earning funds for your family right?"

"That's right. At the moment there isn't any jobs for veterinarians available and I don't want them out their fighting when they don't really have the skills for something like that. Do you think your meeting has something to do with that?" Lilly asked a little hopeful.

"Yep, if what you said earlier about people being able to tame a pet when they reach level one hundred is true, then in all likely hood there will be a position wide open for your parents to capitalize on in the future. The only problem is right now it would be quite a waste of time and effort for them to set up a shop under the current circumstances and they would just end up burning all of their money away. At the rate things are going it's still probably another few years before people are able to reach the point where they can have beast partners." Joshua explained. "So the best thing would be for your parents to join a guild that can support them until the time where their expertise will come in handy. That's exactly the type of guild that my friends have created recently can be used for. It works for both sides."

"Are you sure they will be okay with it? I don't want to impose even if you consider me a friend I can't say the same for the rest of them." Lilly said with a slight frown.

"Oh please, all of them are my friends and family, I know that they will have no problem with the idea especially with me vouching for you and your family. In fact they will probably be thrilled with the idea after we explain it to them. It will just be another way for us to get an upper hand over the World Government Guild in the future."

"Alright then. If that's the case then I would be happy to come along with you tomorrow, but I was wondering if you could come explain it to my parents. I don't want them to think I'm just joking around." Lilly replied finally smiling like her usual self.

"Sure, I can go with you now before heading on home myself afterwards." Joshua said. Lilly simply nodded before typing a destination into the screen that opened doorways for people to travel through. Joshua followed alongside her as they made their way through a door that lead to a neighborhood that was similar to Joshua's original one when he first came into the system. At this point Joshua and his family had moved on to a nicer more spacious place that had room for a gym on the inside where they could spar with one another more often. Of course they could do it at their father's gym, but it was usually filled up all the time with people coming to learn how to fight.

The two of them walked up to the door which had the name 'Ellis Family' next to it to show that it was their home and Lilly knocked on the door to get the attention of the people inside. Usually she would just waltzed on in with her key or pass code, but she didn't want to bring Joshua in to the house without having her parents know about him first. Soon they could hear someone on the other side of the door gasp in surprise before they could here two voices on the other side arguing back and forth over something. Joshua scratched his head not knowing what to do with the situation while Lilly frowned a little bit. Then finally the door was opened and there were two people standing on the other side.

The first person was a short man that was only a couple inches taller than Lilly standing at five foot five inches. He had short light brown hair a nice amount of stubble on his face and hazel colored eyes which he used to glare up at Joshua. The man tried to look as intimidating as possible, but was clearly a bit shaken after seeing how big of a difference there was between himself and Joshua. The other person was actually a little shorter than Lilly and stood at around five feet and two inches tall. She had long platinum blond hair similar to Lilly's that was put into a long pony tail that fell all the way down her back. She had the same light blue eyes as Lilly and if it wasn't for the fact that older people were rejuvenated through the system Joshua would have thought she was Lilly's sister.

"Hello dear, it's good to see that you made it back home safely. We were worried about you sense you took so long." The woman said as she walked over with a familiar doe eyed smile that Joshua had gotten used to seeing from Lilly. She hugged her daughter tightly before turning to look up at Joshua. "Who do we have here?"

"Mama this is my new partner in exploration Joshua. We met up at the dungeon and he helped me out and we trained and explored new dungeons together over the past week." Lilly said with a similar smile to her mothers. "I know he can look a bit intimidating, but he's really kind and he even helped me find new pets."

"That's nice dear." Lilly's mother said before turning to look back to Joshua. "Thank you for taking care of our daughter we know she can be a bit of a handful."

"It's no problem mam, she's a nice partner to have and someone I can trust to have my back, but for now I think it's best I get home and let my own family know that I'm alright." Joshua used the party chat to send a message to Lilly. 'I think you better have a chat with your father about what I told you before I try to. The way he's looking at me makes me think he believes I'm taking advantage of you or something. I'll come back by tomorrow morning to discuss it with you guys a bit.' Joshua watched as Lilly nodded towards him to tell him that she understood.

"Are you sure we don't mind if you stay over for a bit. We were about to make dinner." Lilly's mother said, but the gaze Joshua was getting from her father told another story.

"Sorry, but I'm sure my mother is as worried about me as you two were worried about Lilly, and my father is probably itching to see me again for other reasons." Joshua said with an awkward smile as he thought of how his sister and father were probably already ready for a spar sense it had been a while since the last time they sparred.

"Alright it was nice to meet you, and thanks once again for taking care of our daughter."

"No problem mam, Have a good night." Joshua said before turning around to leave. He hoped Lilly could talk some sense into her father because he was sure that if she could then things would work out perfectly.