Picking up Girls With My System

The initial parts of the Icy Cave weren't that cold, making it okay for anyone who wanted to camp in the area. Bailey said she was not comfortable while camping outside near the rest of the mages, and they all agreed to that!

Arthur, for example, wasn't scared of the mages outside, but the youth with black-hair gave him a sense of danger. For him, that person was the only one he should worry about in that area.

Well, the youth and the beasts they were about to face! They only rested for a few hours before heading inside the cave, looking for the scorpions.

"Keep your guard up! These scorpions appear out of nowhere, and we cannot trust the mages from other schools!" Bailey said.

It was a common occurrence for those mages to attack the others inside the Icy Cave and blame the scorpions or any other 'natural' thing. For them, it was a chance to get rid of some troublesome mages from these top schools, diminishing the power of their rivals.

For that reason, Arthur was not only focused on the creatures of that cave, but also on any other mage who could try to attack them.

"Look out! Be careful!" Esmond yelled to all of them.

The snowy ground beneath them shook, and then exploded, creating a vast hole in which a scorpion came out. It had a massive body of about 6 meters and was as tall as 4 meters.

Not only that, but its sting was bigger than its own body! Having a length of approximately 8 meters. The skin of that scorpion was hard, and was white as the snow, making it blend with the environment.

Just by looking at such creature it had evolved throughout the ages, adapting to live inside such a place. It was marvelous, but dangerous at the same time!

The scorpion made a deafening sound, one that would never come out of the mouth of a normal scorpion! It quickly moved toward Arthur and his group, aiming to attack Bailey, who was in the front leading the way.

It did not attack with its sting at first, but with its pinch claws that were massive! One clean hit of it could end the life of almost anyone. So, Bailey tried her best to avoid such an attack after seeing it coming.

"Lightning steps!" Bailey yelled, using the thunder to enhance her feet, making her run as fast as the lightning itself!

Well, not that fast as it would be to overpower, but her speed increased by a lot, allowing her to dodge the upcoming claw attack. She jumped and walked in mid-air, returning to the rest of the group safe.

"That was close," she said, gazing at the scorpion, who was clearly angry after failing the attack.

"Everyone, work together to kill it!"

Esmond was the first to act, casting his spell, which was a thunder of purple color. It flew toward the scorpion at fast speed, but when it touched its hard skin, nothing happened.

The purple thunder hit and then was repelled, hitting the cave wall just beside them.

"How is that even possible?" Esmond said, having his eyes wide open after seeing such a scene.

Michelle, the remaining mage of their group, was not only watching but preparing a spell of her own.

"Lightning Cage!"

Sparks of lightning came out of nowhere, taking the shape of a cell, trapping the scorpion in it! It tried to get out by attacking these lightnings with its claws and even sting them, but nothing worked!

"Good job Michelle. That is the power of our support! Arthur, Esmond, let's go!" Bailey said.

Bailed and Arthur ran toward the scorpion, while Esmond created a magical bow that shot lightning spears! It was a powerful attack, and each arrow pierced through the skin of that scorpion.

Arthur did not want to show them too much of his power, but he could not stay put and do nothing. They were a team and each one of them had to help or else they would only get the profits without the effort. That was unacceptable.

It had been a long time since Arthur did not go out in a melee brawl, so he used his lightning powers to create a lightning spear similar to those Esmond was shooting with his bow.

But different from him, Arthur would fight the scorpion up close! Piercing the spear into specific spots of its shell. Spots that were the most vulnerable, causing significant damage to that thing!

With quick and precise attack, as well as the attacks coming from both Esmond and Bailey, the scorpion did not last long, dying in the spot.

"That was close. Good job, everyone."

They quickly got the sting from that creature. Well, not the entire thing, but the tip, which was way smaller and was where it stored the venom.

The meat was also something important for them while being down there, as no one knew when a troublesome situation may come around. Even Arthur took a few pieces to store inside his magical pouch.

"Who knows when I will need it?" He thought.

After that fight, the confidence of the group increased, and they marched forward deep into the cave, killing more and more scorpions, getting their stings.

Whoever it was said in the details of the quest that they had to bring back at least 15 stings, but the more they got, the more they would earn in the end.

The strange part was that the quest did not have a limit.

"The person behind this thing really wants this stings and surely has a lot of money. But what for?"

Arthur knew the contributions points they would earn came from the person who gave the quest, as it would pay for the stings with mana stones, and then the school would either give them the mana stones, or exchange it for contribution points.

Contribution points were better, at least Arthur thought so. There were lots of items inside the school which were way difficult to buy in the outside world even if one had the mana stones. That was one perk of being part of a top school.

"We are getting way deep into this place. How many stings do we have?" Arthur said.

"Hum, let me see here... 16, which meant we finished the quest!" Bailey said.

The three of them, Arthur, Bailey and Michelle, were ready to leave, but Esmond did not want it.

"Come on everyone. If we get more stings, we get more rewards. Isn't this a golden opportunity? When will we return to this place? Remember that we cannot enter for quite some time."

"You have a point. The agreement only let the same mage enter this place once every year."

They all thought about the situation for some time and kept going. Arthur was okay with that, as he too needed the money, but there was a feeling of danger that he could not let go.

More and more scorpions died on their hands, having their stings ripped off for some random person who really wanted them.

As for the feeling Arthur had, it grew and grew along the way, until he finally understood what it was. Treachery!

The group was neither a pit that no one knew where it led, and anyone who fell on it would surely die. So, that was what they did!

Michelle quickly cast the lightning prison, giving Arthur no time to react as a lightning spear pierced through his body!

It was not enough to kill him, but it was enough to make him fly all the way down into the abyss!