“Nalitta, here you are,” Louneus spoke to her after she entered her own office. “You are just the person I wanted to see.”


    “Sir… Vilmanos?” Nalitta said, stumbling with her words a little.


    “It is unusual to see you look so flustered, Nalitta,” Louneus has instantly noticed her nervousness.


    “Yes, I… I’m sorry about that, sir. I have just come back from the headmistress’ office and did not expect to see you here,” Nalitta said, bracing herself for what Louneus was about to say next.


    “You must be tired from working so diligently all the time, so I will try to be brief in regards to my visit. I will be leaving Reina’s Magic Academy tomorrow,” Louneus Vilmanos informed.


    “Tomorrow? Ahem… another meeting, sir?” Nalitta asked, looking genuinely surprised.


    “Not exactly,” Louneus said, showing his celebrity model smile. “Let’s just say I will be leaving to… prepare for the upcoming Interschool Magic Power Games competition.”


    “I understand, sir. When should I expect for you to return?” Nalitta asked.


    “You shouldn’t,” said Louneus.


    “Excuse me?” Nalitta’s asked, making sure to keep a calm facial expression.


    “You see my dear Nalitta, the upcoming Magic Power Games are too important to me and they require a very specific training and preparations on my part, so I don’t know when I will be coming back to Reina’s Magic Academy, if I’ll be coming back at all. In that regard, I will be leaving you in charge of the Elite Magicians student club,” Louneus Vilmanos informed her.


    “Me sir?” Nalitta asked, still trying to process the information that Louneus has presented to her.


    “Of course. You are doing such a brilliant job managing it all this time after all. Besides, I trust you completely,” Louneus added, his sweet smile not leaving his face.


    “Thank you, sir, but…” Nalitta said, clicking her tongue at the last second before finishing saying whatever she wanted to say.


    “Is there something on your mind, Nalitta? It looks like you have something to say,” Louneus said, tilting his head up and placing his hands behind his back.


    “Well, it is regarding the Magic Dungeon exploration issue. Like I said earlier, I’ve just been to the headmistress office and…” Nalitta started telling him about it, but stopped when Louneus raised his right hand.


    “You don’t need to tell me the details, Nalitta. You are now in charge of the Elite Magicians student club, so I leave it to you to resolve it without needing my approval. On a more important note, I do expect that the team representing our student club at the Interschool Magic Power Games will be able to put a magnificent performance,” Louneus added, showing his celebrity model smile.


    “Ok, sir. I understand and I will make sure our team shows excellent results during the Interschool Magic Power Games competition,” Nalitta said.


    “Excellent,” Louneus said. “Now then, it’s time for me to leave, but before I go… I would really love to see your smile, Nalitta.”


    “Huh? Sorry sir, but smiling is not part of my job,” Nalitta said, adjusting her glasses.


    “That’s a shame, but that is also why I like you, Nalitta. You always take your job seriously,” Louneus said, showing his own overly sweet smile before leaving.


    “Have a safe trip, sir,” Nalitta said, bowing her head, letting out a deep sigh after Louneus Vilmanos was gone. “Now then, what to do regarding Narias Talrone?”


    {somewhere inside the Magic Dungeon}


    “Sorilani, block that Pincer Ant’s advance! Xefys lure that other Pincer Ant away while we kill the one closest to us!” Ileena was issuing commands.


    “Right away. Stone Wall!” Sorilani cast her spell.


    “Ove here-nya!” Xefys yelled out, picking up a few rocks before throwing them at one of the Pincer Ants the next moment, irritating the big bug monster and making it follow him.


    “Wind Slice,” Nicky cast her signature spell at the third Pincer Ant that the group was currently fighting, hitting it on the front leg and making it stumble.


    “Humph,” Growly jumped out of his curled furry ball right after, slamming the Pincer Ant with his paws, crushing it’s exoskeleton and killing it instantly.


    “Lightning Crush,” Ileena cast her own spell on the Pincer Ant that came out from behind the stone wall that Sorilani built using her Earth Magic earlier. Her magic lightning claw slashed the big ant’s body in three different places and almost cutting it in half, the monster dying right after.


    “Hah-nya! Ya!” In the meantime, Xefys was battling the last Pincer Ant on his own. He was too fast for the Pincer Ant to get him, but at the same time, Xefys wasn’t as strong as Growly to kill it with just a single blow.


    “Earth Grab! Rock Voley!” Sorilani cast her spells to help Xefys, catching the Pincer Ant with her Earth Grab spell then shooting several fist size rocks at it the next moment. Her spells didn’t kill the monster, but she managed to hurt it just enough to make it flinch.


    “Thank you-nya! Lacerating Claws!” Xefys jumped in to finish the Pincer Ant off, delivering multiple fast slashes on the back of it’s body, the monster disappearing into a small cloud of dust after Xefys did enough damage to it. “Huh-nya?” Xefys didn’t let his guard down just yet, however. He quickly turned around to look if there were any more Pincer Ants coming, but it was quiet and no additional monsters showed up.


    “Nicely done. It seems like you managed to come on top yet again,” Estella complimented the students.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    “Thank you, Miss Alifur,” Ileena said.


    “Having said that, I don’t think I can allow you to explore too much of the third floor of the dungeon going forward. I am not worried about you, Ileena, or Growly, and I can see Nicky is keeping up too, but Sorilani and Xefys are starting to struggle a little. I wouldn’t want for something bad to happen if you know what I mean?” Estella informed her.


    “I’m really sorry. I am doing my best, but this is my first time exploring the Magic Dungeon…” Sorilani apologized.


    “Sorry for messing up on the last pull-nya, but I feel recovered enough to use my Anima-Transformation ability again, so if need be I will do that during the next fight-nya,” Xefys tried to show he could still keep going.


    “Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying you two are weak. The two of you worked really well together to take down that last Pincer Ant and you have learned teamwork extremely fast, and listened to your group’s leader all this time too which is really important. However, what I am saying is, you two lack the experience fighting the monsters inside the Magic Dungeon in general. In addition, while watching your team’s latest several fights, I’ve noticed you are getting out of breath faster than before, Xefys. The pressure of the Magic Dungeon is too much for your body to handle for longer periods of time which makes you become tired faster. Same for you too, Sorilani. It will take several more visits for both of you to be able to adjust to it,” Estella explained.


    “Yes, sorry-nya,” Xefys said after being forced to admit it.


    “It’s fine. I understand, Miss Alifur. In all honesty, I did not expect for us to reach floor three of the Magic Dungeon. We are doing much better than I expected we would. On the same note, I’d like to ask your permission for us to still keep going, Miss Alifur. There’s a Supply Point room not far from here. I think it’s three caves ahead. Maybe we could go there to have a longer rest before going back?” Ileena asked.


    “A Supply Point room? I don’t remember any Supply Point rooms being nearby around here,” Estella said.


    “It’s the Supply Point room Narias has found,” Ileena said.


    “Oh?” Estella’s cat-like ears and tail shot up. “Ok, but all of you need to be careful until we reach it. I might join in to help you fight monsters if need be, but don’t worry, it will not affect your dungeon exploration score. Your safety is my top priority here.”


    “Thank you, Miss Alifur,” Ileena said before turning to her group. “Let’s check this cave for any drops or treasures before we move on.”


    {some time later}


    “Huh? But… this is a dead-end cave?” Estella asked after the group entered an empty cave with nothing inside of it.


    “Yes, it looks that way,” Ileena said before turning to Growly. “Growly, if you please?”


    “Stay away, ok?” Growly said before walking to a certain spot near the wall.


    - ‘Bash. Bash. Slam!’ – Growly punched the wall with his Monster Dusters a few times, breaking it down. The rocks crumbled down, opening a pathway inside of it.


    “Wow,” Estella gasped, more so for being impressed than surprised.


    “Sweet-nya,” Xefys exclaimed.


    “I see now. No wonder nobody was able to find it. People who would come here, would simply turn around and leave. It seems like the Magic Dungeon likes to play hide and seek.” She added a smirk at the end.


    “I know you said it was a hidden Supple Point room, Ileena, but seeing Growly open a hidden passage inside the wall with my own two eyes was really incredible,” Sorilani spoke to her.


    “Yes, I had a similar reaction when Narias opened it too,” Ileena admitted before stepping forward. “The passage is quite narrow compared to the tunnels on this floor, so be careful when you go through it.”


    “It’s rather small for a Supply Point room,” Estella commented when she has finally reached it. “Oh my, now that’s quite a stack of supplies.” She added after seeing packs of food stacked inside of it.


    “Yes, we are preparing to explore more of the third floor of the dungeon and have decided to stack up on more food. This Supply Room also has water in it which can serve as a base to come back to and refill our supplies before continuing our exploration,” Ileena shared with Estella what their plan was.


    “Nice. A very well thought planning,” Estella said, looking impressed. “Ok then, let’s have a rest here and then we’ll be going back home.”


    “Yes, Miss Alifur,” Ileena agreed.


    Everyone in the group had something to eat before taking out their blankets and laid down to have some rest. Nicky was the luckiest one because she had Growly to lean on, with the others finding a spot and laying down by themselves. Estella being their Guide has made herself comfortable closest to the exit out of the Supply Point room. There hasn’t been a single incident reported for any monsters entering a Supply Point room, but that didn’t mean Estella wanted to take any chances.


    The group had taken a longer rest after killing the boss monster on the second floor and it took them maybe three to four hours to get to the current Supply Point room, so they weren’t planning on sleeping for too long. But fighting Pincer Ants was harder than the monsters on the first two floors of the dungeon, so all five students were a little tired. They have agreed they will take as long as needed to rest before going however, since Sorilani and Xefys were more tired than everyone else was.


    It hasn’t been an hour since the group laid down to rest when a loud crash was heard from inside the small passage that was leading out of the Supply Point room. It sounded like wall was crumbling and rocks were falling, the noise waking everyone up in an instant.


    “What’s… happening?” Sorilani exclaimed, becoming spooked by the noise.


    “I don’t know. It sounded like rocks were falling,” Ileena said, standing up.


    “What the…” Estella exclaimed, jumping to her feet.


    “What could it be, Miss Alifur?” Nicky asked, pressing herself closer to Growly.


    “It can’t be… a cave in?” Estella said, her words sounding like a question too.


    “A cave?” Sorilani gasped, covering her mouth with both hands.


    “Huh? Wait, I hear something,” Estella said, becoming tense and jumping forward in front of everyone.


    “What is it, Miss Alifur?” Ileena asked.


    “Someone… or something is coming here,” Estella said.


    “What?” Nicky exclaimed, becoming frightened.


    “I will protect you,” Growly said, stepping forward.


    “I won’t anyone get inside this room-nya,” Xefys jumped forward as well.


    “Stay behind me. Whatever it is, it is not a Pincer Ant,” Estella said, leaning down to get ready to jump at whatever was about to show itself from inside the dimly lit passage.


    “Huh? Estella?” Narias gasped in surprise after coming into the light of the Supply Point room, seeing Estella glaring at him menacingly.


    “Narias?” Estella asked, her eyes becoming very wide.


    “Narias?” Ileena exclaimed before rushing to get closer to him. “Narias… it is really you?”


    “Well, yeah. It’s… me,” Narias said, rubbing the back of his head and looking flustered.


    “You really got us frightened here, you know,” Estella said, letting out a sigh of relief.


    “Wow, Narias. Who could’ve thought?” Nicky said, covering her mouth with one hand with a chuckle.


    “Hi, Narias,” Growly greeted him.


    “Yo’, boss. We were about to fight you-nya,” Xefys said, starting laugh.


    “Fight me? Why?” Narias asked, becoming surprised.


    “We were having a rest and were woken up by a loud noise of something crashing down. We thought it was a cave in or something and thought some monster was coming our way,” Estella explained to him.


    “A monster? But monsters can’t enter Supply Point rooms,” Narias argued and everyone knew he was right.


    “Yes, well… It was… unexpected,” Estella said, crossing her arms in front of.


    “Indeed they can’t,” Ileena said, letting a sigh of relief.


    “But then what was that crashing noise earlier?” Sorilani asked, feeling puzzled.


    “Oh, it must’ve been the echo from the wall crumbling after I broke it in order to enter this Supply Point room. It is a single entrance to get into the Supply Point room and several rocks must’ve fallen inside the passage, creating the noise,” Narias explained.


    “You must’ve made a really big entrance to have several rocks fall inside this small tunnel,” Estella commented, her sarcastic jab being very evident.


    “Well…” Narias said, showing a silly smile.


    “Wait, hold on,” Estella exclaimed suddenly as if remembering something. “If you are here, that means you’re exploring the dungeon, aren’t you?”


    “Ah, yes…” Narias admitted, looking a little worried for some reason.


    “So then… where is the group you are escorting?” Estella asked, trying to look behind Narias to see if anyone else was coming.


    “About that…” Narias said, averting his eyes away while scratching his cheek with one finger. “I came here… by myself.”


    “Huh? Whaaat?!” Estella, as well as the rest of the group exclaimed out loud.