《Dark Ascension》 Chapter 1: The Awakening ¡°Listen up, everyone¡­we defenders will switch aggro wherever our health falls low¡­healers focus healing on the defender with the lowest health¡­damage dealers buff up, keep your elixirs ready in case of any emergency¡­ You all have fought valiantly throughout the dungeon. Now it''s time to burn the final boss down.¡± ¡°Aye¡­leader¡­¡± everyone shouted in unison. One of the healers, Allicia, with a staff glowing faintly with restorative energy, stepped forward. ¡°Remember, we don¡¯t have any intel on this boss. The scouts cannot enter the last boss¡¯s chamber. We are going in blind. So, stay sharp, and try not to die.¡± Everyone nodded in unison; nobody wanted to lose their life due to stupidity or overconfidence. Before them stood a colossal door made of unknown material. Its smooth surface was engraved with ancient runes that glimmered in an eerie, ominous glow. Alicia pressed her hand against the door, her breath visible in the cold air. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen runic symbols like these. I wonder what they signify?¡± ¡°Who cares! Let''s open it.¡± One of the warriors spoke hoarsely as he pushed the door, trying to open it. Others also lend him a hand. With a groaning noise of ancient hinges, the massive door swung open. Torches flared to life inside the chamber. Their yellow flames cast flickering shadows across the room. At its center stood an imposing, demonic figure wreathed in shadowy miasma, the dungeon¡¯s final boss. The demon was humanoid in shape. It wore blackened robes shimmering with arcane sigils that pulsed with an eerie, shifting light. On top of the robe, it wore short, sharp shoulder guards carved from blackened gold. Its jagged obsidian horns curved backward like a crown. ¡°Wow¡­ that¡¯s a final boss, alright,¡± one of the damage dealers whispered in awe. ¡°Look at those glowing runes. It seems like a magic caster,¡± another murmured, tightening his sword grip. ¡°Looks¡­ majestic.¡± ¡°Erik,¡± the leader called. ¡°Use your [Inspect] skill. Let¡¯s see what we¡¯re dealing with here.¡± Erik was a rogue with a knack for reconnaissance. He stepped forward cautiously, stopping just outside the boss¡¯s range. He cast the [inspect] spell on the boss. ¡°Boss, you were correct. This is a magic caster. Its name is Alarion, the Deceiver. It says Alarion is a master of dark arts and deception magic.¡± Adam replied. ¡°Heh¡­ good for us. Magic casters can''t fight in close range. Look, it''s not even holding magic stuff. It will try to keep its distance from us and cast long-range spells. It might also summon minions or golems to fight for him.¡± The leader spoke. ¡°Usually, in higher level dungeons, this type of monster is a problem as they have a lot of health. But this is a bronze-rank dungeon, and we have silver-rank damage dealers. We will munch through its low defense.¡±, he continued. ¡°Get ready, folks. We are killing this monstrosity today.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s do this!¡±. With a deafening battle cry, the leader charged forward, leading the front and initiating the fight. The monster let out a roar as the leader struck him with his one-handed sword. It retaliated with a swift attack using its sharp claws. However, one of the defenders stood firm and raised his shield to absorb the blow. In response, the monster stretched its hands out to both sides, and a summoning circle appeared on the ground before it. The circle glowed in purple, opening a dimensional portal to the pitch-black abyss. ¡°He is summoning a minion! Spread out!¡± the leader shouted, warning the defenders and melee fighters who were too close to the boss. They stepped back and prepared to face the summons. Meanwhile, the ranged damage dealers cast long-range attack spells, like [Fireball] and [Arcane Bolt], which struck directly at the boss¡¯s torso. However, the monster seemed unaffected and maintained its posture so that the summon could continue. Two grotesque creatures emerged from the abyss portal created by the boss. One was a skeletal figure clad in an iron helm and carrying a rusty shield, while the other was a dark shadow wielding two daggers. As the summoning finished, the boss monster broke its stance, and the dimensional portal vanished. ¡°Damage dealers, concentrate on the skeleton! It serves as his defensive minion, and we can''t allow him to protect himself!" the leader yelled while charging at the shadow. ¡°I¡¯ll prevent the wrath from attacking our backline.¡± But it wasn¡¯t that easy. The melee attackers quickly ganged up on the skeleton, following their leader¡¯s instructions. At first, the skeleton warrior simply blocked all their attacks. Suddenly, it slammed its rusty shield onto the ground, creating a shockwave that severely injured and knocked back the melee attackers. It let out a roar to assert its dominance, but the roar was abruptly interrupted as multiple crimson fireballs struck it in rapid succession, causing its bones to catch fire. ¡°[Healing Circle]" Alicia cast her healing spell to help the wounded. A glowing light surrounded their bodies and began to mend their injuries. In just a few moments, they were ready to fight again. However, it was unnecessary since the skeleton warrior¡¯s bones slowly disintegrated to ash. Its shield could not protect it against the [Burn] effect left by the [Fireball] spell that had struck it earlier. On the other hand, the party leader single-handedly halted the assault of the wrath by deflecting its repeated blows with his shield and standing his ground. Now that the skeleton warrior was gone, other attackers also pounced on the wrath and quickly sliced him down. Witnessing his minions fall swiftly only intensified the boss¡¯s fury. It raised its hand to the ceiling, channeling dark energy into a growing black sphere. The orb expanded as the creature infused it with additional power, holding its focus despite the relentless assaults from the adventurers. When the incantation concluded, it cast the black sphere towards the group. One of the defenders yelled, ¡°Get behind me," raising his shield as he shouted, "[Barrier]." His shield radiated a yellow light, forming a larger magical replica of itself. The dark sphere collided with the barrier, resulting in a blast that nullified both as wind and dust swirled around them. The back-and-forth continued as the boss¡¯s health gradually declined. Eventually, a barrage of arcane bolts struck Alarion, causing the creature to emit an otherworldly wail before bursting into crystal-like fragments. The party members received a notification in their status window stating that they had successfully defeated the boss monster, Alarion. ¡°Hell yeah!¡± one of the mages cheered, lowering his staff. ¡°Take that, you overgrown spell-caster!¡± The leader grinned while wiping sweat from his brow. ¡°Heh¡­master of dark arts, my ass¡­¡± he spoke in a confident voice. ¡°Alright, everyone, grab the mana crystals. We need to move before the dungeon seals itself.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. The mana crystals were piled in one corner of the room. A few eager members rushed toward them and began mining. Everyone else took a moment to catch their breath. Suddenly, the ground beneath them started to tremble violently. An ominous energy spread throughout the room. Even the warriors least attuned to mana sensed the shift in the atmosphere. A suffocating pressure weighed down on them, making it hard to breathe. ¡°What the hell¡­what is this?¡± a mage shouted, clutching his chest. ¡°It''s the boss monster. It''s not dead. Look!! " One of the healers pointed towards the middle of the room, where the boss had materialized out of thin air. ¡°No way¡­ we killed it!¡± Erik stammered. His voice was trembling. ¡°I got the notification. It was dead!¡± ¡°Something¡¯s wrong,¡± the leader muttered, his confidence wavering. ¡°It¡¯s not just alive¡ªit¡¯s stronger.¡± The party leader looked at the monster in disbelief. Its purple eyes gleamed brightly, letting out a deafening battle cry. Gazing at those eyes, the leader immediately felt an urge to run. But his legs did not move, and a chilling sensation ran through his spine. ¡°It''s¡­ It¡¯s using some skill. I am not able to move.¡± One of the healers cried out. ¡°How¡­how can that be? Judging by the distance, we should be out of its range. I was closer to it when I used [Inspect]. It didn¡¯t attack me then.¡± Erik shouted. ¡°Does it mean¡­the boss intentionally did not attack me that time??¡± ¡°That''s impossible. Monsters do not work like that. Whenever you move inside the attack range of any monster, it is bound to attack,¡± a mage protested. ¡°No. Something is off about this boss¡­ Everyone get out¡­ now!!!¡± The leader shouted. But as he turned to find the massive door, his blood ran cold. It was gone. The chamber had morphed into an endless, shadowy void. They all stood in an open space for as far as they could see. They could run, but there was nowhere to hide. ¡°Oh my god. What the hell is happening?¡± A healer has also noticed the same thing while searching for the exit door. ¡°Damn it¡­¡± the leader took out a small crystal from his pocket and shouted. ¡°Use your dungeon teleportation crystals. We need to get out of here.¡± The dungeon teleportation crystal is a get-out-of-the-jail-free card that lets users teleport away from within the dungeon. However, it is very costly equipment, and not everyone can afford it. It''s also for one-time use. The crystal breaks after a single teleport and cannot be used again. As a result, not many adventurers use tools like this. Even in the current party, very few had the teleportation crystal. The leader had one with him, and he was the first one to activate it without caring for the other members. But as soon as he did that, the crystal blew up in his hand. He cried out in pain as crystal sharpnels pierced his palm. ¡°What the fuck¡­is he blocking teleportation???¡± ¡°I have heard bosses in high platinum or Valerium level dungeons have such abilities. But this is only a bronze-level dungeon. The final boss at this level should not be this powerful,¡± a warrior shouted in panic. ¡°Watch out, it''s preparing to attack!!!¡± one of the party members shouted in panic. In front of his eyes, Alarion raised its hand towards the sky, and a massive orb of dark energy materialized above its palm. The party watched in horror as the orb grew to an enormous size. It threw that ball of dark energy toward the party in a fraction of a second. Before the party leader could say anything, one of his fellow defenders tried to block the black orb with his shield. The dark energy struck with a deafening crack, shattering his shield like glass and sending him flying. His body landed far back, still as a rock. Even without checking his vitals, they knew he was dead. ¡°Run¡­¡± the leader shouted at his party members. But he knew in his heart that it was futile. For some god-forsaken reason, they were in an open area with nowhere to hide. Those massive dark orbs blew away the person with the highest magic defense like a rag doll. Others didn''t stand a chance; they wouldn''t survive the onslaught. But they didn¡¯t even get a chance to flee. Alarion, the boss, raised his hand again, and a pitch-black pulse radiated from his body. The pulse spread outward in all directions. Everyone at the party was caught in it. The pulse caused massive damage and was powerful enough to knock them to the ground. Yet the monster did not stop there. It continued to unleash dark energy pulses until everyone on the adventurer team stopped moving altogether. The dungeon''s final boss eradicated the adventurer team. **************************************************************************************************************************************** Alicia opened her eyes. At first, her vision was blurry, and she felt a sharp pain in her head. She found herself lying on the cold, damp ground, which sent a shiver down her spine. Alicia groaned as she sat up, clutching her temples. The world around her slowly came into focus. Taking a deep breath, Alicia noticed the air was thick with the coppery stench of blood. ¡°What¡­ what happened?¡± she whispered, her voice trembling. ¡°Where am I?¡± Her heart started racing as her memories flooded back¡ªher party, the dungeon, and finally, the monster that had massacred them. Alicia was able to recall all of them. The dying screams of her party members still lingered in her ears. The dark pulses emitted from the boss tore through her companions like they were made of paper. She remembered the darkness closing in on her eyes as her own life was about to be snuffed out by that overwhelming pressure. Alicia lost consciousness. But she is awake now, still breathing. She has survived the boss¡¯s onslaught. Alicia staggered to her feet and frantically tried to scan her surroundings, searching for any sign of survivors. She looked around, but as her gaze landed on the far side of the room, her eyes widened in shock. A mound of corpses was haphazardly stacked up in one side of the room. Alicia recognized them, her party members. Their faces were frozen in expressions of unimaginable horror. Their eyes were bulging out from their eye sockets. Hands, legs, and other body parts were scattered around in pieces. The grotesque sight was too much for her. Alicia fell to her knees, violently retching onto the blood-stained floor. ¡°Are¡­you¡­awake?¡± A cold shiver ran through Alicia¡¯s spine as she heard a deep, bone-chilling voice from the darkness behind her. ¡°Who¡­who are you?¡± she asked, facing the darkness, her voice shaking with pure panic. From the shadows, two glowing purple eyes emerged. The dungeon boss''s tall, wide silhouette stood before her in the darkness. Its form radiated an oppressive, otherworldly presence. Alicia¡¯s legs gave way, and she collapsed to the ground, her body trembling uncontrollably. The air around her grew heavier, pressing down on her chest until it was hard to breathe. She began gasping for air. As a healer, she knew this was the pressure of mana. The boss¡¯s mana reserve was so immense that it created enormous pressure on its surroundings. But it wasn¡¯t just the mana that paralyzed her with fear. Instead, it was the mere fact that the monster spoke. Dungeon monsters, including the bosses, are mindless monstrosities that guard their chambers and attack anyone who enters their vicinity, known as the attack range. It¡¯s common knowledge. They can roar and let out battle cries but cannot speak; they lack a language. Yet it spoke to her in her own tongue. ¡°Weak,¡± the creature rasped, its voice like grinding stones. ¡°You¡­ healer¡­ strong. Need knowledge.¡± Alicia¡¯s mind raced as she tried to make sense of the disjointed words. ¡°What do you mean? I don¡¯t understand!¡± she cried, her voice breaking. Tears streamed down her face as she stared up at the monstrous figure, hoping for mercy. ¡°Weak.¡± The monster pointed its index finger at the heap of dead bodies of her party members. ¡°Broken.¡± Then it pointed at Alicia. ¡°You¡­ strong¡­ alive.¡± The realization hit Alicia like a hammer. Her party members had been its playthings. Their bodies and minds were broken until they were nothing more than lifeless husks. And now¡­ she was next. It''s going to torture her until she loses her sanity or dies, just like them. ¡°No, please!¡± she begged with desperation. ¡°Please, let me go!¡± Her body betrayed her, warmth spreading down her legs as she lost control over her bladder. Her terror was too overwhelming. The boss stepped closer, its massive form towering over her. It reached out with its pitch black clawed hand, engulfing her temple and covering her eyes. Alicia opened her mouth to scream, but no sound emerged. A strange pressure filled her skull, and her mind was flooded with images¡ªher childhood, her first day as a healer, the faces of her fallen comrades. Allicia¡¯s memories played in her head like a movie in reverse order. Before she lost consciousness, the last thing she saw in her memories was the long-forgotten smiling face of her mother. Chapter 2: The Prince of Darkness - Part 1 "Ethan, the deadline is tomorrow. Please stay behind and get it done. You know how important this feature is for our customers. It can¡¯t be posponed." It was already ten o¡¯clock at night. Ethan had packed his bags and was about to leave. But his manager¡¯s words stopped him. He was fully aware that it was not a request. ¡°If it¡¯s so important, where are the other team members? Why do I have to stay back and finish everything myself?¡± Ethan wanted to scream out. He looked at Helena, her manager. She was a fine woman with above-average looks. Although she was on the wrong side of forty, her sharp features and well-kept appearance masked the years. Helena looked tired. Dark circles shadowed her eyes behind thick glasses. Ethan realized she was also working late hours. Due to the company''s policy, female employees cannot stay in the office past ten o''clock at night. She would log in again once she reaches home. It was not her fault. The pressure was on her as well. Ethan did not say anything, just nodded in agreement. ¡°Thank you, Ethan. I am going home. Please email me when you are done.¡± Ethan took his laptop out of his bag and started working again. The office was almost empty. The sound of keyboards clacking and other employees'' low conversations slowly faded. All of them left one by one until the only sounds were the occasional flickering of the overhead lights and the quiet hum of the air conditioner. The office felt different when it was empty. It was colder, more lifeless. The chairs were abandoned, and the monitors were blank. It was as if they also had clocked out for the night. Running a hand through his hair, Ethan returned to his computer screen. Lines of code scrolled in front of him. He focused on his work. Ethan kept working on the problem until his fingers ached from typing and his shoulders tensed from sitting too long. He submitted the changes and deployed his code. Finally, he was done. Ethan looked at the clock, it was two o¡¯clock in the morning. He let out a sigh¡ªanother sleepless night for him. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. His coffee had gone cold hours ago, but Ethan took a sip from the cup anyway. The bitter taste of coffee felt like ash on his tongue. He felt a familiar dull pain in his chest as he lay back in his chair, waiting for the code to get executed. Ethan had been feeling this pain for a few months now. ¡°I need to get myself checked. I have been neglecting my health," he murmured to himself. Ethan relaxed his muscles until the pain subsided. He completed his code execution, emailed Helena, and packed his bags. When he reached the parking area, it was already half past two. Ethan got into his car and started driving. The chilly early morning wind felt soothing to his face, so he decided to keep the car window open. The roads were empty at this hour, and Ethan was hitting the accelerator pretty hard. Suddenly, the pain in his chest returned. This time, it was much more substantial and sharper. ¡°Ahh¡­¡± a groan involuntarily came out of Ethan¡¯s mouth. It was becoming more challenging for him to drive. Ethan clenched the left side of his chest with one hand. His vision became blurry, and his fingers spasmed against the steering wheel. The road in front of him dissolved into nothing. Almost blinded by the pain, Ethan somehow steered his car to the side of the road and desperately pressed on the breaks. He fought against the weight pressing down on his chest and tried to dial the emergency helpline number. But his body betrayed him. Ethan¡¯s hands gave out. His vision darkened, closing in like a shroud. His heartbeat pounded in his ears, each one slower than the last. As Ethan sat in the driver''s seat, his consciousness was slowly slipping away. The realization hit him: he was going to die here, in the middle of this dark, empty road. His entire life flashed before his eyes. He had worked hard his whole life. He studied diligently in school while others laughed and bullied him. He juggled two part-time jobs to pay for his studies while his classmates partied with pretty girls. He earned a bachelor¡¯s degree in Computer Science and landed a well-paying job. Ethan worked tirelessly, working late hours to pay back his student loan while his co-workers enjoyed their lives. He repaid his late parents¡¯ debts and even bought an apartment for himself. Ethan was a free man now; he could finally enjoy his life. But his life was being cut short abruptly. All the efforts he had made throughout his life would be in vain. A deep anger coursed through his veins. Is this what they call ¡®God¡¯s plan¡¯? Has God placed only hardship in his life and no rewards? This is unacceptable; this is injustice. In a fit of rage, he wanted to strike God in the face. ¡°No! This is not fair. I refuse to accept this.¡± Tears pricked his eyes as his consciousness faded. ¡°If¡­if only I got a second chance¡­.¡± Chapter 3: The Prince of Darkness - Part 2 When Ethan came to his senses, he found himself in an unknown place, surrounded by darkness. He clenched his chest in panic, but surprisingly, he didn¡¯t feel any pain. Memories came flooding into his head. He remembered that he lost consciousness due to severe pain in his chest. ¡°Did I have a heart attack? How am I still alive?¡± he murmured to himself. Ethan looked around, trying to figure out where he was. At first, his vision was blurry, but slowly, he regained focus. Ethan saw a shiny blue screen open in front of him. It read, Congratulations!! You have leveled up!! Your talent [Awareness] has been upgraded to [Self-conciousness]. ¡°What the hell is this?¡± Ethan murmured to himself. ¡°I leveled up? Am I in a game? Am I not a human anymore? What happened to me?¡± Ethan looked at his clawed hands in wonder. In his previous life, Ethan did not take care of his health. No exercise, junk food, and sitting for long hours in front of a computer made him chubby. He even grew a second chin. But he felt his current body was different. It¡¯s muscular and lean, covered with black scales of some sort. With his new hands, he felt his face, body, and even the horns on his head. Unlike his human body, he felt strong and energetic. ¡°This is my new body in a new word! I have been reborn!¡± Ethan exclaimed. ¡°Thank God! I don¡¯t have to work nine to five jobs anymore.¡± Ethan looked around. His eyes were now accustomed to darkness. But the gory sight that lay in front of him made him uncomfortable. Human body parts were scattered around on the blood-soaked floor. A putrid smell filled the air around him. Another wave of memories flooded his mind. He remembered that a few moments ago, he was in a dreamlike state, a passive observer. Things just happened around him, and he had no control over himself. He remembered that he had fought with the adventurers¡¯ party. Once they were defeated, he even devoured their flesh. He remembered their faces, their screams, their futile attempts to fight him, and at the very end, their despair as life left their eyes. Strangely, he didn''t feel any remorse for his actions. ¡°Maybe because I am no longer a human, I don''t have those humane emotions either. I feel nothing about them being dead and lying in pieces in front of me. Now that I think about it, they are the ones who attacked me first. Serves them right,¡± he thought. It was apparent to Ethan that he was fundamentally different from those adventurers. ¡°But what am I exactly?¡± he murmured. He felt as if other people¡¯s memories got entangled with his own. The memories of their entire lives were floating around inside his head, playing themselves like YouTube videos. In those memories, he saw them laughing, crying, fighting, and spending time with loved ones. He remembered their faces. Those same faces are now lying dead on the floor. Their facial features got twisted so much, it made them almost unrecongnizable. In those memories, he saw those adventurers use specific commands to bring up the transparent blue screen before them. Ethan decided to try as well. ¡°[Status],¡± he commanded. It brought up a blue screen in front of him, similar to the previous one that informed him about leveling up. He read the details. Alarion, Master of Dark Arts Health: 5000/5000 Mana: 10000/10000 Stamina: 850/850 Strength: 500 Agility: 275 Intelligence: 1000 Mastery: 800 Physical Def: 10% Magic Def: 25% Spell Amplification: 10% Damage Reduction: 5% He looked at the numbers for a while, trying to understand their meanings. ¡°Wow!! It is like a game system where numbers represent my general capabilities. So, in this world, I am a demon named Alarion. I am also at level 120, which seems pretty high.¡± He spoke to himself. He looked at the other numbers under the ¡®Primary stats¡¯ section. These numbers on the secondary stats did not reveal the whole story. ¡°My intelligence stat is the highest, and agility is the lowest. It might be because I am a spell-caster. At least, that¡¯s what those adventurers said.¡± He paused for a bit. ¡° I don''t know how high these numbers can go. Usually, in games I have played, secondary stats are essential if the player is trying to min-max their combat capability. If I want to survive, I have to understand these numbers and possibly play around my weaknesses.¡± He thought. He again looked at the bodies of the adventurers who had attacked him. They all were between twenty and twenty-five levels. They had no chance against him one-on-one due to the level gap. Even then, the group managed to defeat him once. He remembered feeling pain as multiple magical blasts hit him and blew him to pieces. After that, something again brought him back. It¡¯s evident that the adventurers were not ready for his reincarnation. And they fell to his onslaught. ¡°It has to be some skill or spell. I must be having the ability to reincarnate!¡± Ethan murmured. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. He tried to use a different command, ¡°[Spells].¡± Another semi-transparent screen appeared before him, listing all his spells. He noticed the spells are organized based on rarity. Starting from legendary spells and moving all the way down to common ones. Ethan got excited seeing that he already had three legendary spells in his arsenal. But his excitement mellowed down as he read through their description. Legendary Spell : [Perfect Hypnosis] Legenday Spell : [Demonic Conversion] [Observe]: Opens a one-way dimensional portal to view the target affected by [Perfect Hypnosis]. No direct or indirect interaction with the target is possible through the dimensional portal. [Summon]: Summons the target affected by [Perfect Hypnosis] in front of the caster, irrespective of the target¡¯s and the caster¡¯s location and state. [Mind Link]: The caster can open a communication channel between him and the target affected by [Demonic Conversion], irrespective of their locations. [Disintegrate]: Discards a converted target and opens up the slot it occupies. The converted target disintegrates to nothingness. ¡°What the hell!!¡± Ethan almost shouted. ¡°Really? These are my ¡®legendary¡¯ spells? How am I supposed to fight with these?¡±. He reread the details. He was right; these abilities were powerful but not very combat-oriented. Sure, anyone lower than his current level has no chance against him in a one-on-one fight due to spells like [Perfect Hypnosis]. But they do not inflict any direct damage. From his limited experience of this world, Ethan knows adventurers fight in groups. They challenge enemies stronger than themselves and rely on their numbers and team coordination. Both of his legendary spells are single-target abilities, so they are not very effective against a group of adventurers attacking him. On top of that, both of the spells do nothing against an enemy who is of a higher level than himself. In his previous life, Ethan had played various role-playing games. He used to prefer to play as a melee damage dealer, like a strong warrior wielding a greatsword or an agile assassin hiding in the shadows and striking with twin daggers. The damage numbers on his screen used to surge his dopamine levels, bringing temporary joy to his otherwise mundane life. He never liked mages or casters with spells having long casting times. He always felt that they were slow and lackluster. In those games, legendary equipment or skills inflicted a lot of damage on the enemies. Ethan was expecting the same type of devastating and cool effects from his legendary spells. But instead, he only got mind-control spells. He was not very happy being a spellcaster in the first place, and now these legendary spells made him a bit more disappointed with himself. ¡°Well, I guess it can¡¯t be helped. At least I am still alive.¡± He let out a sigh and scrolled down the list. Next were the rare spells. Rare Spell : [Mass Hypnosis]: Proficiency Level: 1 Rare Spell : [Wave of Fear]: Proficiency Level: 1 Rare Spell : [Summon Familiar]: Proficiency Level: 1 ¡°Alright. These are not so bad. I can see how the spells are interlinked with each other.¡± Ethan murmured. ¡°But there is still nothing that will actually damage my opponents.¡± Although, he remembered while fighting the adventurer group, he used some damaging spells. ¡°Could those be even lower tier spells?¡± He scrolled on the screen and finally found them under the common spells section. Common Spell: [Dark Nova]: Proficiency level: 1 Common Spell: [Shadow Malestorm]: Proficiency level: 1 Common Spell: [Mind Flare]: Proficiency level: 1 ¡°Oh my god! Five seconds and two seconds of casting time.¡± Ethan¡¯s inner monologue came out of his mouth involuntarily. He was startled hearing his demonic voice for the first time. It sounded deep and ominous, like a demon. ¡°At least I have a sexy voice.¡± He sighed. Chapter 6: Like Moths to a Flame Olivia Anderson stepped into the guild master Throne¡¯s office, her boots clicking softly against the stone floor. The room glowed warmly from flickering lanterns. Olivia looked around and noticed the other six founding guild members seated around the large circular table. Accompanying them was a female elf¡ªthe only unfamiliar face in the room for Olivia. ¡°Is she a new recruit?¡± Olivia thought to herself. ¡°But that doesn¡¯t explain why Throne called everyone here.¡± ¡°Ah, Olivia. You are here!¡± Throne¡¯s deep voice broke the silence. He continued in a warm yet serious tone, ¡°Thank you for coming on such short notice. Please, have a seat. And kindly close the door behind you.¡± Olivia felt the tension in the air. Surely, something significant had come up. She nodded, closed the door behind her, and sat down in an empty chair beside the roundtable, her worn-out leather armor creaking softly as she settled in. The guild master, Throne Belford, stood up. ¡°I apologize for summoning you all here on such short notice,¡± he began in a calm, measured tone. ¡°But what I¡¯m about to reveal cannot wait.¡± He gestured toward the elf seated next to him. ¡°This is Alicia Rosevelt,¡± Throne continued. ¡°She is a silver-rank healer from Kingsford and has presented us with an intriguing proposal.¡± Olivia studied Alicia closely. She was an elf with white hair and striking blue eyes. It is very difficult to determine an elf''s actual age. They can live for hundreds of years and still appear the same. However, something about her indicated to Olivia that she was relatively young, at least in elven terms. Alicia was a true beauty, the kind that drives men wild. She wore leather armor like Olivia, but it was dirty and worn. Olivia could also detect a faint scent of blood on her clothes. She had clearly endured some brutal battles. ¡°Miss Alicia, please present your proposal once more. All seven founding members of our guild are now present.¡± Throne gestured toward the others seated around the table. All eyes were on Alicia, who shifted uncomfortably under their collective gaze. She stood up, took a deep breath, and continued, ¡°Hello, everyone. As the guild master mentioned, my name is Alicia Roosewell. I''m a silver-rank healer from Kingsford. I¡¯ve been working as a freelance contractor for quite a while now.¡± Olivia observed as she paused momentarily, her fists clenched tightly. Olivia recognized her body language; Alicia was preparing to discuss a difficult topic. ¡°Two weeks ago, a few fellow free agents approached me about a dungeon raid.¡± Her voice gradually grew stronger. "They were also from Kingsford, as we worked in the same field; I was familiar with some of them from my past ventures. They had received direct intel from the scouts about a previously unknown dungeon deep within Blackwood Forest.¡± The scouts have a centralized organizational structure. They periodically release information about newly discovered dungeons and publish a catalog of them. This information is free and accessible to any adventurer. In return, the Kingdom of Everest compensates the scouts, effectively making them government employees. However, some scouts sell this information to interested parties for a good price before it is officially published in their ledger. Olivia realized this was how they had obtained information about this dungeon. Like all other adventurers, she has the latest published version of the dungeon ledger, which contains no details about a dungeon in Blackwood Forest. ¡°The dungeon is situated in a particularly remote part of the forest. Adventurers usually steer clear of that area because of the high number of mana beasts that inhabit it. According to the intel, it was a bronze-rank dungeon with three bosses. We gathered a team of fifteen members and ventured into Blackwood Forest. Most of our party were either high bronze or low silver rank, like me.¡± Alicia paused once more to catch her breath. ¡°We found the dungeon and fought our way through. The first two boss fights were tough but manageable. We defeated both with minimal casualties. Then we faced it.¡± Alicia bit her lower lip in frustration. She paused as her voice cracked, her hands shaking. ¡°It was the third and final boss of the dungeon. The fight was a nightmare. None of my companions made it out alive. I am the only survivor.¡± Olivia was not oblivious to the risks of being an adventurer. She had heard stories of entire guilds being wiped out in a boss fight. The most infamous incident occurred in the kingdom of Avalon, where a party of twenty Mythril-level adventurers failed to conquer a Platinum-level dungeon¡ªultimately leading to the catastrophe that nearly destroyed the entire nation, known as the Dungeon Break. Even fifty years after the incident, much of the country of Avalon remains uninhabitable due to the horrors that escaped from the dungeon that day. However, this was the first time she had encountered a victim of such an incident up close. ¡°I¡¯m here to ask for your help,¡± Alicia continued, steadying her voice. ¡°I promised my comrades that if I survive, I will see this through to the end. I will clear the dungeon¡ªfor the fallen. But I can¡¯t do it alone. I¡¯m offering all the mana crystals we can gather from the dungeon as a reward. I won¡¯t take my share if you join me. I will also fight alongside you. I¡¯m a healer and know the layout, traps, and the monsters'' attack patterns. I will support you with everything I have.¡± A murmur began in the room. ¡°It was a wild goose chase.¡± Olivia thought. ¡°Blackwood Forest itself is infested with mana beasts. Furthermore, it''s a dungeon that isn''t listed in the ledger. That means the ranks are not official. Even though they were told it was a bronze-ranked dungeon, it could very well be an even higher-ranked one. The risks were very high to begin with.¡± ¡°Thank you, Miss Alicia.¡± Throne stood and raised his hand to silence the murmurs. ¡°On behalf of our guild, please accept my sincere condolences for your loss and the trauma you have endured. However, I hope you understand that this is not an ordinary request.¡± He paused briefly before continuing, ¡°Please allow us some time to think this through. I must ask you to wait in the adjacent room while we discuss the matter among the guild members. I hope that is alright with you.¡± ¡°Yes¡­ yes, of course. Thank you, everyone, for considering my humble request.¡± Alicia stood up. ¡°I will wait for your decision.¡± She bowed in gratitude and stepped out of the room. The heavy door of the meeting room closed behind her. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ******************************************************************************* ¡°She¡¯s hot!¡± Alex grinned as soon as Alicia stepped outside. He was a fierce, young warrior with a lean, muscular body, dirty brown hair, and sharp brown eyes. Alex leaned back in his chair; his plate armor made a soft clicking noise as he moved. His longsword rested within arm¡¯s reach against the wall. ¡°Uhhh. Now is not the time, Alex,¡± Olivia replied with visible frustration. She knew all too well about Alex¡¯s interest towards attractive women. But this time, she couldn¡¯t bear to see him drooling over that elf. Lost in her thoughts, Olivia¡¯s dark eyes turned to the door where Alicia had just left, a frown pulling at her lips. For some reason, she couldn¡¯t fully buy into Alicia¡¯s story. Even Olivia herself was unsure why she felt that way. ¡°What?! This is my first time seeing such a beautiful elf lady up close,¡± Alex protested, raising his hands in mock surrender. ¡°You need to loosen up, Olivia.¡± ¡°Loosen up?¡± Olivia¡¯s voice rose. ¡°Did you even listen to what she said? She is a living, breathing example of what happens if you take dungeon raiding casually.¡± ¡°That''s enough, you two.¡± Throne¡¯s deep voice pierced through the tension between them. ¡°We¡¯re here to discuss her proposal. Stop bickering like kids.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s hear your thoughts first, Throne. Exclusive access to a bronze-level dungeon is a big deal for a guild like ours,¡± said Frederick, the priest, who sat right beside Throne. Of all the guild members, he was the oldest. But beneath his long, flowing white beard and slightly stooped posture due to age lies a veteran silver-rank healer. He wore a black cassock adorned with the symbol of the local church. Throne did not say anything immediately. His mind raced with thoughts. Frederick was right. Creating a guild with a bunch of fellow adventurers is easy. But maintaining it is hard, especially for small guides like theirs. Being a Guild Master, Throne knows it very well. The Kingdom of Everest doesn¡¯t impose taxes on the earnings of a guild and its members. However, in return, every guild must contribute to dungeon raiding at least once every three months. If a guild fails to meet this requirement, it will be dissolved, and its previous earnings will be confiscated. This posed a problem for small and emerging guilds, as stronger guilds started targeting lower-level dungeons to fulfill their quotas. Nowadays, guilds often have to share dungeon resources with other guilds. Securing exclusive access to a dungeon and its resources has become nearly impossible. Additionally, bronze-tier dungeons are deemed more valuable because, starting at the bronze rank, boss monsters could drop monster cores upon defeat. Monster cores are a rare resource that sell for a significant amount of money. They are used as crafting ingredients in blacksmithing, tailoring, alchemy, and various other professions. Consequently, they are always in high demand, far more than mana stones, a relatively common resource found across all dungeon tiers. ¡°You are correct, Frederick. It is an excellent opportunity for us. Usually, it''s tough to get hold of a dungeon like this. With our current strength, we should be able to clear a bronze-level dungeon reliably. Miss Alicia is offering all the resources that we can find inside the dungeon. It would be foolish to pass on an offer like this. I am inclined to accept this offer.¡± Throne spoke after a few moments of silence. ¡°I think you should reconsider, Throne,¡± Olivia objected. ¡°Okay. Let''s hear you out,¡± Throne said. ¡°Why do you think we should not accept?¡± ¡°First of all, the dungeon¡¯s location is not public yet. That means its rank is still not official. If Miss Alicia¡¯s party has failed to clear it with bronze and few silver-ranked adventurers, there is a high chance that it¡¯s actually not a bronze-ranked dungeon. It belongs to an even higher tier.¡± ¡°Good point, Olivia. I was thinking the same,¡± Lisa Underwood said from the other side of the table. She had been listening to the conversation silently up to this point. She was a silver-ranked mage with an affinity towards the fire element. Her striking red hair and red pupils were distinctive features of the Underwood household. Lisa bears an old scar across her temple, a remnant of a past battle, but it did nothing to diminish her beauty. ¡°With that kind of team, they should have been able to clear the dungeon, unless someone messed up real bad.¡± After a brief pause, Lisa continued, ¡°Although it is rare, calibration mistakes do happen, especially since it hasn¡¯t yet been documented in the ledger.¡± ¡°I still think we can handle it,¡± Raul said with a grin. He was the guild¡¯s primary damage dealer, a silver-rank archer who had recently registered for a reevaluation of his rank. He was confident that he had already broken into the realm of gold rank adventurers. Getting the official rank upgrade was just a matter of time. Lately, his newfound confidence had also begun to reflect in his words. ¡°Even if it¡¯s a silver-rank dungeon, we should be able to clear it with our current strength.¡± ¡°I have to agree with Raul,¡± Dale, the primary defender of the guild, rumbled. Dale was a middle-aged man wearing a full-plate armor. His broad shoulders and towering figure made him look like an immovable object on the battlefield. He was the only official gold rank adventurer of the guild. ¡°Even if the boss is stronger than expected, my ¡®demon obliterator three-thousand¡¯ would defend everyone.¡± Dale pointed towards his huge shield that rested beside him. Olivia let out a sharp breath. ¡°Stop giving your shield weird names! Also, did you guys think about why Alicia gave us the offer? I mean, we are not the strongest guild in town. Most guilds would accept an offer like that without a second thought. So, she could have gone to any other guild in town. Why us?¡± ¡°And she is from Kingsford, right? So, why didn¡¯t she return to her town after the dungeon incident? Instead, she came here?¡± Lisa added. ¡°I don¡¯t know the answer to Olivia¡¯s question. Maybe Throne or others know; they would speak. However, Lisa, I asked Miss Alicia the same question you mentioned when we first met. Most of you were not here then; only Throne and I were here with Miss Alicia. She said she lost her way in the Darkwood Forest and followed the Temur River downstream, which brought her to our town," Frederick responded. ¡°Which is a reasonable explanation.¡± ¡°Her choosing our guild may be a sheer coincidence. Maybe Miss Alicia understood more renowned guilds would demand more compensation from her.¡± Alex spoke from the other side of the table. Seeing Olivia still not convinced, Throne stood up. ¡°I believe this opportunity is too good to pass on. We¡¯ve discussed the risks and the rewards. And I still believe that the rewards outweigh the risks. Let¡¯s have a vote and let the majority decide.¡± A tense moment passed as the seven founding members of the guild sat in silence. ¡°Those in favor of taking the raid, raise your hands.¡± Olivia felt disappointed as she watched Raul, Dale, Alex, Throne, and even Frederick raise their hands. Lisa and Olivia kept theirs down. ¡°Well then, it''s decided.¡± Throne spoke with a smile, looking at Olivia. ¡°We are taking up the offer and going for a raid. We can decide on the dates and details later.¡± ¡°You ladies really don¡¯t like Alicia, huh?¡± Alex poked. ¡°Do you guys feel threatened by her beauty?¡± ¡°Shut up, Alex!¡± Lisa hissed at him. "Okay. Fine!¡± Olivia sighed, giving in. She knew the outcome wouldn''t favor her. She tried to uplift herself. Maybe she was overthinking, and maybe it would truly benefit the guild. Throne turned towards Alex. ¡°Bring Miss Alicia in, Alex. We will let her know our decision. We also need to learn about the details and the exact location of the dungeon from her.¡± Chapter 5: First Step Ethan noticed that Alicia''s deep blue pupils had transformed into a predator-like yellow. Her canines extended enough to show from the corners of her lips. The golden yellow aura surrounding her gradually dissipated as her body descended back to the ground. The screen before Ethan displayed a message. [Demonic Conversion] process has completed successfully. Current status of the Converted target Name: Alicia Rosevelt Race: Lamina Class: Shapeshifter, Healer Age: 125 Years Level: 80 ¡°Holy shit! I think previously, her level was around twenty-five, similar to other adventurers in her party. This [Demonic Conversion] is really something special. She is so much stronger now.¡± Ethan could feel the pressure exerted by her mana. ¡°M¡­ master?¡± Alicia spoke her first words after being converted to a demon. ¡°Yes. I am your master.¡± Ethan spoke confidently. ¡°What happened to me? I¡­I feel different.¡± Alicia spoke. ¡°You have fought against me and lost. Yet, I am merciful. Instead of death, I have granted you a new life and a new purpose: to serve me.¡± Ethan recognized how cheesy it sounded. However, he needed to establish a hierarchy of power. The spell¡¯s description indicated that the converted target would be bound to the caster¡¯s will. He worried that if his resolve weakened, she could unleash chaos. He was dealing with forces and beings he had no prior knowledge of. ¡°I must be very cautious,¡± he thought. Alicia¡¯s eyes widened. She immediately kneeled before Ethan, ¡°Th¡­Thank you, master. Please forgive my insolence.¡± Ethan walked up to her, ¡°Stand, Alicia. Let me observe you closely.¡± Alicia stood up. Ethan observed her closely. Her height had increased, and she was now nearly seven feet tall, still a bit short of Ethan¡¯s new demonic body. If Ethan had been in his old human body, she would have towered over him. She was naked, her privates fully exposed, but she did not seem to mind at all. Ethan noticed her skin was covered with tiny scales, which shone even in the dim light. He touched Alicia¡¯s hands; they were much more muscular than before, yet they felt soft. Even her feminine curves had become more prominent. Alicia¡¯s naked body was starting to trigger Ethan¡¯s lustful desires once again as he felt the tenderness of her hand. ¡°Damn! She is even hotter in this new body!¡± Ethan shifted his gaze away from Alicia before his desires took control over his body like last time. ¡°I have some questions for you, Alicia,¡± Ethan said. ¡°Answer them truthfully. Remember, it''s an order.¡± ¡°Sure, master. Please rest assured, I will always be truthful to you.¡± Alicia spoke. ¡°Do you have memories of your past self?¡± ¡°Yes, master. I remember the pitiful life I lived as an elf. I thank you with all my heart for giving me a chance to serve you, my master.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. Things will become simple then.¡± Ethan thought. ¡°And I assume you have shapeshifting skills as well?¡± He asked. Alicia glanced at Ethan quickly and immediately shifted her gaze towards the ground. ¡°Yes, master. I can change my body to any shape or form of your liking¡­¡± ¡°Alright. Then I want you to try something. Shift to your previous elven body.¡± ¡°Sure, master.¡± Alicia nodded and closed her eyes. The scales over her body started to change their size, shape, and color. Within seconds, she was in her old elven body. Even her body¡¯s height and width changed back to how it was. She opened her eyes, and her deep blue eyes returned as well. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°I am done, master.¡± She mentioned. ¡°Good. You are indistinguishable from your previous self.¡± Ethan was genuinely amazed. This shapeshifting of her seems to be a pretty high-level skill. ¡°Now, hold this in your hand.¡± He gave one of the teleportation crystals to Alicia. ¡°Do you know what this is?¡± Ethan asked. ¡°It¡¯s my Teleportation Crystal, master. I bought two of them from an alchemist before entering the dungeon.¡± Ethan agreed. ¡°Correct. I want you to use one of the crystals and try to teleport outside of this dungeon.¡± ¡°Sure, master.¡± Alicia nodded. ¡°If you are able to teleport outside, don¡¯t make any unnecessary moves. Wait for my instruction. Do you understand?¡± ¡°Yes, master.¡± Alicia grabbed the crystal and chanted, ¡°[Teleport]¡±. In the next moment, she disappeared from Ethan¡¯s sight. ¡°Did it work?¡± his mind raced in anticipation. Ethan waited momentarily, then used [Mind Link] to talk to Alicia. ¡°Where are you, Alicia?¡± He heard Alicia¡¯s response in his ear, ¡°I am now outside the dungeon master. I can see the dungeon gate in front of me.¡± ¡°Yes! It worked. It freaking worked.¡± Ethan¡¯s excitement surged. He was right. He believed that even if Alicia was covered now, the crystal would still work if she was the one who used it. Ethan¡¯s choice to save her life was the right decision. It took him quite a while to calm himself down. ¡°This [Mind Link] ability is pretty amazing, too. It¡¯s similar to talking to someone on the phone,¡± Ethan thought as he settled his mind. ¡°Now, let¡¯s see how this one works.¡± Ethan thought as he chanted ¡°[Observe]¡±. A screen appeared before him, resembling the system screen but lacking any information. Instead, it displayed Alicia''s surroundings, like a television screen. She was standing in a lush green forest beneath the azure blue sky. It was around noon, and the sun was shining brilliantly. He could see the leaves of the trees around her rustling in a gentle breeze. Ethan noticed a few unfamiliar birds and colorful butterflies fluttering around Alicia. It was a calm and soothing environment. ¡°So beautiful! So this is the outside world. It looks similar to Earth," Ethan thought to himself. It had barely been a day since he had been transmigrated to this world in his new body. Even so, the clear blue sky and lush greenery made him homesick. ¡°No matter what, I need to get out of here," he murmured with newfound determination. ¡°Did you say anything, master?¡± Alicia¡¯s voice rang in. ¡°Umm¡­ no¡­ nothing. Tell me about how it feels out there. Do you see any adventurers? Any wild beasts?¡± ¡°I feel nice and warm here. I don''t see any adventurers or wild beasts around, master. But I do sense some lesser beasts in some distance.¡± ¡°Alright. The first part of my plan was a success. I am calling you back, Alicia.¡± Ethan spoke before chanting ¡°[Summon]¡±. A circle of purple light, filled with intricate patterns, materialized on the ground before him. In the next moment, Alicia was standing at that exact same spot. ¡°So this is how [Summon] works. I¡¯m learning so much about my spells,¡± Ethan thought, and an involuntary grin spread across his face. ¡°Sorry to push you around, Alicia. But now I need you to do something more for me.¡± Alicia¡¯s eyes glew up in excitement. ¡°I exist to serve you, master. Please order me.¡± ¡°I want to leave this place. I don¡¯t want to just stand here, doing nothing, while wave after wave of adventurers come attack attack me. I need your help to escape from here," Ethan said earnestly. ¡°I will help you get out of here, master.¡± The excitement in Alicia¡¯s voice was palpable. She was genuinely happy that her master¡¯s plan includes her. In her excitement, she switched back to her original Lamian body. ¡°I will tell you. But before that, please wear some clothes, Alicia.¡± Ethan diverted his gaze from her naked body. She has not worn anything since she was converted. Even her elf form was naked. And for some reason, she does not care about it. But every time Ethan sees her naked body, a primordial urge bubbles up inside him. He was struggling to keep his cool. ¡°Master, do you not like my body?¡± Alicia pouted innocently. ¡°Is there something wrong with me?¡± ¡°What kind of question is that? And why is she making that face? She¡¯s a demon for God¡¯s sake!¡± Ethan wanted to cry out but somehow restrained himself. He cleared his throat, ¡°Ahem... I really admire your body, Alicia. So much so that it distracts me. What I¡¯m about to discuss is very important, so I don¡¯t want to lose my focus.¡± Alicia¡¯s face brightened when she heard this: ¡°I understand, Master. Please give me a moment.¡± The adventurers had also brought backpacks to carry the looted mana crystals after defeating the bosses. The bags were stacked on one side of the room. Given the chaos that had erupted since the start of the fight, it was a miracle that they were mostly intact. Alicia rushed toward the bags and returned wearing a pair of pants and a top. Ethan saw that the clothes didn¡¯t fit her well and clung tightly to her body. They did little to hide her curves, but at least she had something on now. Ethan let out a sigh and started explaining. ¡°Now, listen very carefully. This is what you have to do!¡± Chapter 6: Like Moths to a Flame Olivia Anderson stepped into the guild master Throne¡¯s office, her boots clicking softly against the stone floor. The room glowed warmly from flickering lanterns. Olivia looked around and noticed the other six founding guild members seated around the large circular table. Accompanying them was a female elf¡ªthe only unfamiliar face in the room for Olivia. ¡°Is she a new recruit?¡± Olivia thought to herself. ¡°But that doesn¡¯t explain why Throne called everyone here.¡± ¡°Ah, Olivia. You are here!¡± Throne¡¯s deep voice broke the silence. He continued in a warm yet serious tone, ¡°Thank you for coming on such short notice. Please, have a seat. And kindly close the door behind you.¡± Olivia felt the tension in the air. Surely, something significant had come up. She nodded, closed the door behind her, and sat down in an empty chair beside the roundtable, her worn-out leather armor creaking softly as she settled in. The guild master, Throne Belford, stood up. ¡°I apologize for summoning you all here on such short notice,¡± he began in a calm, measured tone. ¡°But what I¡¯m about to reveal cannot wait.¡± He gestured toward the elf seated next to him. ¡°This is Alicia Rosevelt,¡± Throne continued. ¡°She is a silver-rank healer from Kingsford and has presented us with an intriguing proposal.¡± Olivia studied Alicia closely. She was an elf with white hair and striking blue eyes. It is very difficult to determine an elf''s actual age. They can live for hundreds of years and still appear the same. However, something about her indicated to Olivia that she was relatively young, at least in elven terms. Alicia was a true beauty, the kind that drives men wild. She wore leather armor like Olivia, but it was dirty and worn. Olivia could also detect a faint scent of blood on her clothes. She had clearly endured some brutal battles. ¡°Miss Alicia, please present your proposal once more. All seven founding members of our guild are now present.¡± Throne gestured toward the others seated around the table. All eyes were on Alicia, who shifted uncomfortably under their collective gaze. She stood up, took a deep breath, and continued, ¡°Hello, everyone. As the guild master mentioned, my name is Alicia Roosewell. I''m a silver-rank healer from Kingsford. I¡¯ve been working as a freelance contractor for quite a while now.¡± Olivia observed as she paused momentarily, her fists clenched tightly. Olivia recognized her body language; Alicia was preparing to discuss a difficult topic. ¡°Two weeks ago, a few fellow free agents approached me about a dungeon raid.¡± Her voice gradually grew stronger. "They were also from Kingsford, as we worked in the same field; I was familiar with some of them from my past ventures. They had received direct intel from the scouts about a previously unknown dungeon deep within Blackwood Forest.¡± The scouts have a centralized organizational structure. They periodically release information about newly discovered dungeons and publish a catalog of them. This information is free and accessible to any adventurer. In return, the Kingdom of Everest compensates the scouts, effectively making them government employees. However, some scouts sell this information to interested parties for a good price before it is officially published in their ledger. Olivia realized this was how they had obtained information about this dungeon. Like all other adventurers, she has the latest published version of the dungeon ledger, which contains no details about a dungeon in Blackwood Forest. ¡°The dungeon is situated in a particularly remote part of the forest. Adventurers usually steer clear of that area because of the high number of mana beasts that inhabit it. According to the intel, it was a bronze-rank dungeon with three bosses. We gathered a team of fifteen members and ventured into Blackwood Forest. Most of our party were either high bronze or low silver rank, like me.¡± Alicia paused once more to catch her breath. ¡°We found the dungeon and fought our way through. The first two boss fights were tough but manageable. We defeated both with minimal casualties. Then we faced it.¡± Alicia bit her lower lip in frustration. She paused as her voice cracked, her hands shaking. ¡°It was the third and final boss of the dungeon. The fight was a nightmare. None of my companions made it out alive. I am the only survivor.¡± Olivia was not oblivious to the risks of being an adventurer. She had heard stories of entire guilds being wiped out in a boss fight. The most infamous incident occurred in the kingdom of Avalon, where a party of twenty Mythril-level adventurers failed to conquer a Platinum-level dungeon¡ªultimately leading to the catastrophe that nearly destroyed the entire nation, known as the Dungeon Break. Even fifty years after the incident, much of the country of Avalon remains uninhabitable due to the horrors that escaped from the dungeon that day. However, this was the first time she had encountered a victim of such an incident up close. ¡°I¡¯m here to ask for your help,¡± Alicia continued, steadying her voice. ¡°I promised my comrades that if I survive, I will see this through to the end. I will clear the dungeon¡ªfor the fallen. But I can¡¯t do it alone. I¡¯m offering all the mana crystals we can gather from the dungeon as a reward. I won¡¯t take my share if you join me. I will also fight alongside you. I¡¯m a healer and know the layout, traps, and the monsters'' attack patterns. I will support you with everything I have.¡± A murmur began in the room. ¡°It was a wild goose chase.¡± Olivia thought. ¡°Blackwood Forest itself is infested with mana beasts. Furthermore, it''s a dungeon that isn''t listed in the ledger. That means the ranks are not official. Even though they were told it was a bronze-ranked dungeon, it could very well be an even higher-ranked one. The risks were very high to begin with.¡± ¡°Thank you, Miss Alicia.¡± Throne stood and raised his hand to silence the murmurs. ¡°On behalf of our guild, please accept my sincere condolences for your loss and the trauma you have endured. However, I hope you understand that this is not an ordinary request.¡± He paused briefly before continuing, ¡°Please allow us some time to think this through. I must ask you to wait in the adjacent room while we discuss the matter among the guild members. I hope that is alright with you.¡± ¡°Yes¡­ yes, of course. Thank you, everyone, for considering my humble request.¡± Alicia stood up. ¡°I will wait for your decision.¡± She bowed in gratitude and stepped out of the room. The heavy door of the meeting room closed behind her. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ******************************************************************************* ¡°She¡¯s hot!¡± Alex grinned as soon as Alicia stepped outside. He was a fierce, young warrior with a lean, muscular body, dirty brown hair, and sharp brown eyes. Alex leaned back in his chair; his plate armor made a soft clicking noise as he moved. His longsword rested within arm¡¯s reach against the wall. ¡°Uhhh. Now is not the time, Alex,¡± Olivia replied with visible frustration. She knew all too well about Alex¡¯s interest towards attractive women. But this time, she couldn¡¯t bear to see him drooling over that elf. Lost in her thoughts, Olivia¡¯s dark eyes turned to the door where Alicia had just left, a frown pulling at her lips. For some reason, she couldn¡¯t fully buy into Alicia¡¯s story. Even Olivia herself was unsure why she felt that way. ¡°What?! This is my first time seeing such a beautiful elf lady up close,¡± Alex protested, raising his hands in mock surrender. ¡°You need to loosen up, Olivia.¡± ¡°Loosen up?¡± Olivia¡¯s voice rose. ¡°Did you even listen to what she said? She is a living, breathing example of what happens if you take dungeon raiding casually.¡± ¡°That''s enough, you two.¡± Throne¡¯s deep voice pierced through the tension between them. ¡°We¡¯re here to discuss her proposal. Stop bickering like kids.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s hear your thoughts first, Throne. Exclusive access to a bronze-level dungeon is a big deal for a guild like ours,¡± said Frederick, the priest, who sat right beside Throne. Of all the guild members, he was the oldest. But beneath his long, flowing white beard and slightly stooped posture due to age lies a veteran silver-rank healer. He wore a black cassock adorned with the symbol of the local church. Throne did not say anything immediately. His mind raced with thoughts. Frederick was right. Creating a guild with a bunch of fellow adventurers is easy. But maintaining it is hard, especially for small guides like theirs. Being a Guild Master, Throne knows it very well. The Kingdom of Everest doesn¡¯t impose taxes on the earnings of a guild and its members. However, in return, every guild must contribute to dungeon raiding at least once every three months. If a guild fails to meet this requirement, it will be dissolved, and its previous earnings will be confiscated. This posed a problem for small and emerging guilds, as stronger guilds started targeting lower-level dungeons to fulfill their quotas. Nowadays, guilds often have to share dungeon resources with other guilds. Securing exclusive access to a dungeon and its resources has become nearly impossible. Additionally, bronze-tier dungeons are deemed more valuable because, starting at the bronze rank, boss monsters could drop monster cores upon defeat. Monster cores are a rare resource that sell for a significant amount of money. They are used as crafting ingredients in blacksmithing, tailoring, alchemy, and various other professions. Consequently, they are always in high demand, far more than mana stones, a relatively common resource found across all dungeon tiers. ¡°You are correct, Frederick. It is an excellent opportunity for us. Usually, it''s tough to get hold of a dungeon like this. With our current strength, we should be able to clear a bronze-level dungeon reliably. Miss Alicia is offering all the resources that we can find inside the dungeon. It would be foolish to pass on an offer like this. I am inclined to accept this offer.¡± Throne spoke after a few moments of silence. ¡°I think you should reconsider, Throne,¡± Olivia objected. ¡°Okay. Let''s hear you out,¡± Throne said. ¡°Why do you think we should not accept?¡± ¡°First of all, the dungeon¡¯s location is not public yet. That means its rank is still not official. If Miss Alicia¡¯s party has failed to clear it with bronze and few silver-ranked adventurers, there is a high chance that it¡¯s actually not a bronze-ranked dungeon. It belongs to an even higher tier.¡± ¡°Good point, Olivia. I was thinking the same,¡± Lisa Underwood said from the other side of the table. She had been listening to the conversation silently up to this point. She was a silver-ranked mage with an affinity towards the fire element. Her striking red hair and red pupils were distinctive features of the Underwood household. Lisa bears an old scar across her temple, a remnant of a past battle, but it did nothing to diminish her beauty. ¡°With that kind of team, they should have been able to clear the dungeon, unless someone messed up real bad.¡± After a brief pause, Lisa continued, ¡°Although it is rare, calibration mistakes do happen, especially since it hasn¡¯t yet been documented in the ledger.¡± ¡°I still think we can handle it,¡± Raul said with a grin. He was the guild¡¯s primary damage dealer, a silver-rank archer who had recently registered for a reevaluation of his rank. He was confident that he had already broken into the realm of gold rank adventurers. Getting the official rank upgrade was just a matter of time. Lately, his newfound confidence had also begun to reflect in his words. ¡°Even if it¡¯s a silver-rank dungeon, we should be able to clear it with our current strength.¡± ¡°I have to agree with Raul,¡± Dale, the primary defender of the guild, rumbled. Dale was a middle-aged man wearing a full-plate armor. His broad shoulders and towering figure made him look like an immovable object on the battlefield. He was the only official gold rank adventurer of the guild. ¡°Even if the boss is stronger than expected, my ¡®demon obliterator three-thousand¡¯ would defend everyone.¡± Dale pointed towards his huge shield that rested beside him. Olivia let out a sharp breath. ¡°Stop giving your shield weird names! Also, did you guys think about why Alicia gave us the offer? I mean, we are not the strongest guild in town. Most guilds would accept an offer like that without a second thought. So, she could have gone to any other guild in town. Why us?¡± ¡°And she is from Kingsford, right? So, why didn¡¯t she return to her town after the dungeon incident? Instead, she came here?¡± Lisa added. ¡°I don¡¯t know the answer to Olivia¡¯s question. Maybe Throne or others know; they would speak. However, Lisa, I asked Miss Alicia the same question you mentioned when we first met. Most of you were not here then; only Throne and I were here with Miss Alicia. She said she lost her way in the Darkwood Forest and followed the Temur River downstream, which brought her to our town," Frederick responded. ¡°Which is a reasonable explanation.¡± ¡°Her choosing our guild may be a sheer coincidence. Maybe Miss Alicia understood more renowned guilds would demand more compensation from her.¡± Alex spoke from the other side of the table. Seeing Olivia still not convinced, Throne stood up. ¡°I believe this opportunity is too good to pass on. We¡¯ve discussed the risks and the rewards. And I still believe that the rewards outweigh the risks. Let¡¯s have a vote and let the majority decide.¡± A tense moment passed as the seven founding members of the guild sat in silence. ¡°Those in favor of taking the raid, raise your hands.¡± Olivia felt disappointed as she watched Raul, Dale, Alex, Throne, and even Frederick raise their hands. Lisa and Olivia kept theirs down. ¡°Well then, it''s decided.¡± Throne spoke with a smile, looking at Olivia. ¡°We are taking up the offer and going for a raid. We can decide on the dates and details later.¡± ¡°You ladies really don¡¯t like Alicia, huh?¡± Alex poked. ¡°Do you guys feel threatened by her beauty?¡± ¡°Shut up, Alex!¡± Lisa hissed at him. "Okay. Fine!¡± Olivia sighed, giving in. She knew the outcome wouldn''t favor her. She tried to uplift herself. Maybe she was overthinking, and maybe it would truly benefit the guild. Throne turned towards Alex. ¡°Bring Miss Alicia in, Alex. We will let her know our decision. We also need to learn about the details and the exact location of the dungeon from her.¡± Chapter 7: Strings of Fate Olivia emerged from the bath, drying herself with a towel. She wrapped the towel around her body as she staggered into her room, her mind clouded with thoughts. The dungeon raid her guild had scheduled was just days away, and her supplies were running low. She needed to visit the market to get those restocked. But upon entering the dimly lit room, her train of thought was interrupted, and she paused in her steps. Damien was still there, sitting on the bed, waiting for her. Olivia deliberately stayed in the bath longer just to avoid seeing his face again, but there he was. ¡°Took you long enough.¡± He spoke with a smirk that made Olivia¡¯s stomach twist. ¡°Why are you still here, Damien?¡± Olivia replied. ¡°I wanted to give you something.¡± Damien got up from the bed, half-naked and only wearing a pair of trousers. His muscles glistened with sweat as he rose. Damien¡¯s body was lean rather than bulky, each muscle finely sculpted as if meticulously carved from marble. His flawless physique, paired with his chiseled jawline and deep brown eyes, made him an object of desire for every woman, except for Olivia. She knows exactly how much of a monster Damien is. Beneath the facade of a handsome young man, he is a predator who takes great pleasure in exploiting and torturing defenseless women. Damien has toyed with numerous women in this way and discarded them when he lost interest. Olivia knows this because she is one of his playthings. He pulled out a flat rectangular box from his backpack, which he had left in a corner of the room, and handed it to Olivia. "It''s a gift for you.¡± ¡°Gift?¡± Olivia hesitantly took the box in one hand while holding the towel with the other. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s been a while since I gave you a gift. I hope you like it.¡± He shot Olivia another smirk. ¡°Open it!¡± Olivia stood still with the box in hand. Her mind raced. ¡°Open it!¡± Demien said again, this time a little bit more forcefully, and it startled Olivia. ¡°I¡­ I will. Let me get dressed first¡±. ¡°In case I was unclear, that wasn¡¯t a request.¡± Damien¡¯s tone was full of malice. ¡°Open it. NOW!¡± Olivia felt as though her legs were starting to give out. She was afraid of him, afraid of how much power Damien had over her life. With trembling hands, she opened the box. Inside was a black colored revealing dress. Olivia had seen women wearing such dresses in brothels and dance bars. The silky smooth top half of the dress was transparent, designed for viewing pleasure. The lower part of the dress covering the groin area was made from the same material, but the fabric was a bit denser and less transparent, leaving some elements to the viewer¡¯s imagination. ¡°Go ahead. Wear it!¡± Damien¡¯s menacing voice startled Olivia once again. ¡°What? Why?¡± Olivia tried to gather up courage and protest. ¡°Because I told you to,¡± Damien replied. Olivia could protest no longer. She took the transparent garment with trembling fingers and retreated silently to the bathroom. Minutes later, she came out wearing that perverted lingerie. Olivia stood in the dimly lit chamber, trembling as she faced Damien. The thin, almost ethereal fabric hugged every curvature of her body, deepening her humiliation. Her breasts were on full display through the thin layer of the fiber. Every breath she took seemed to tighten the garment¡¯s grip around her body. It also heightened Olivia¡¯s awareness of Damien¡¯s intense gaze upon her. She could feel his eyes lingering over her form, savoring every detail of her helplessness. "You look stunning in that dress, Olivia," Damien murmured. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Olivia clenched her fists in anguish. "Why are you doing this to me? Haven''t you humiliated me enough?" Damien¡¯s smirk widened. He stepped forward towards Olivia. ¡°What are you talking about? I bought you brand-new lingerie.¡± Damien checked her out by encircling Olivia and hugged her from behind. ¡°I wanted to see how it looks on you. You definitely look very sexy in this dress.¡± His fingers trailed along her bare shoulder. Olivia flinched as Damien¡¯s hand roamed all over her body, starting from her collarbone, to her breasts, to her stomach, and continued towards the nether region. Olivia felt her stomach twist in disgust. ¡°Please¡­ stop,¡± she whispered, tears stinging in the corners of her eyes. Her ears and cheeks were turning bright red. She stopped Damian¡¯s advancement by gabbing his hand tighyly. ¡°And what if I don¡¯t?¡± Damien¡¯s voice darkened as he gripped her waist tightly with his other hand. "What are you going to do, Olivia?¡± His hand moved lower and squeezed her buttocks with force. Olivia let out an involuntary gasp of pain. ¡°That''s the sound I want to hear,¡± he whispered against her ear. ¡°I know you enjoy it a lot when I play with your body. Just half an hour ago, you were letting out those beautiful moans as I was ravaging you. You can¡¯t hide your feelings from me.¡± Olivia forcefully broke free from his grasp. She tried to cover herself with her hands, but Damien approached and opened her arms. ¡°Don''t hide them, Olivia. Let me see those puppies.¡± ¡°You¡­ you are the worst human being I have seen in my entire life. I hope you die a painful death.¡± Olivia screamed, gritting her teeth. A spark of defiance flared in her chest. ¡°Aww. Don''t be so mean. Trust me, there are much darker monsters in this world. I am nothing compared to them." He tilted his head, pretending to think. ¡°So, should we go for another round?" ¡°Never! I already did what you asked me to do. Now leave!¡± Olivia spat out, resisting her urge to cry. Damien clicked his tongue. ¡°Sorry, what was that? I did not hear it properly. Can you please repeat it?¡± He took his ears before Olivia¡¯s mouth, expecting a response. Hearing nothing, he spoke slowly in a sinister tone, ¡°For a moment, I thought you were ordering me to leave.¡± Olivia squeezed her eyes shut. "Please, Damien. Please stop humiliating me. I beg of you." Tears fell from the corners of her eyes. Damien¡¯s lips curled into a wicked grin. "Begging is a good start.¡± He released Olivia¡¯s hands, sat down on the couch, and leaned back. ¡°Do you know how much it costs to keep your brother alive? Four gold coins! That''s the cost of the mana purification your brother needs every week. Without it, he would face a slow and painful death within a week.¡± He paused briefly and continued, ¡°As far as I recall, it was you who came to me, asking for help. You told me you''d do anything for me if I kept him alive. I''m keeping my end of the bargain. So, if you dare to show me that attitude of yours, be ready to start begging on the streets.¡± The weight of those words crashed down on Olivia like a tidal wave. "I... I already let you do whatever you wanted with me. You''ve played with my emotions and used me like a toy. What more do you want?" she sobbed. ¡°It¡¯s true. I really enjoyed our time together,¡± Damine laughed. ¡°But what can I do? I can''t stay with one single woman for too long. It''s just not in my nature. I don''t feel that much¡­ what do they call it¡­ attraction¡­ for you anymore. That¡¯s why I¡¯ve come up with a plan.¡± Olivia listened in horror as Damien explained, ¡°You see, Mr. Hastewood is an important client of mine. He is investing a great deal of money in my business, so I had to comply when he requested a night of fun, with wine and women. I was searching for an attractive girl who could satisfy him. Then I remembered about you. You would be the perfect match for him.¡± Olivia recoiled in disgust. "You bastard! I¡¯m not sleeping with anyone for you." Damien¡¯s expression darkened. ¡°Oh, you will. You have to. Let me remind you if you¡¯ve forgotten. For the past six months, I have spent forty gold coins to keep your brother alive, and out of which you have managed to return only twenty. Ignoring the interest, you still owe me twenty gold coins. You have to repay that somehow.¡± He looked straight at Olivia¡¯s mortified face. Damien got up from the couch and cupped Olivia¡¯s chin, making her look into his eyes. He whispered, ¡°Don''t worry, I¡¯ll be there with Mr. Hastewood. I can¡¯t leave you alone with a stranger, after all. But I promise I¡¯ll just watch. I won¡¯t touch. Hahaha¡­¡± He laughed loudly. ¡°You¡¯re a monster,¡± Olivia choked out in tears. Damien suddenly grabbed a fistful of Olivia¡¯s wet hair and yanked her head back. Olivia cried out in pain as a result of this sudden onslaught. Damien ignored her cry and hissed in her ears, "Yes, I am a monster. If you dont want it to happen, then pay up, bitch. Your tears mean nothing to me. I know you are going for a dungeon raid. I will give you two weeks to return and pay me back. If you can¡¯t repay me by two weeks from now, I¡¯ll start selling your body. And I will make sure that you suffer. So you better prepare yourself." Tears streamed down Olivia¡¯s face in pain, yet she remained silent. Damien suddenly released her, grabbed his shirt, and stormed out of the room. Olivia stood frozen. She could hear his footsteps receding, the main door creaking open, and then slamming shut. The world''s weight crushed her chest as Damien finally left. Olivia laid on the floor, curling into herself, wrapping her arms around her trembling body. Invisible hands seemed to choke the very life out of her. This world seemed too painful to live in. Olivia broke down in tears. Tears streamed down her face as she sank into the shadows of the room. The darkness enveloped her silent sobs. Olivia¡¯s thoughts drifted to her brother¡ªhis frail body on that bed, clinging to life. She remembered her promise: ¡°I will find the cure for this curse. Till then, I will keep you alive. I will not allow you to die.¡± Olivia recalled her conversation in the guild room when she had opposed the raid the previous day. A derisive laugh escaped her as she reflected on her words. Risky? Not enough information? How could she have been so naive? She had forgotten that she had no choice. Regardless of the danger, she needed to participate in the raid to obtain resources from the dungeon. This was the only way to safeguard her brother''s life and her own from predators. If she were to die doing it, so be it. It would be better to die once for real than to die like this every day, piece by piece. Chapter 8: Preparation It had already been a week since Ethan had sent Alicia on her mission. The mission was straightforward: find a river in the forest, follow it to reach a town or locality, connect with a guild that is average in size and strength, and persuade them to come here with a convincing story. Ethan didn¡¯t want to confront strong guilds just yet. Defeating average guilds would be easier, and he might also be able to recruit one or two of the stronger members in the process. Ethan has been keeping in close contact with Alicia using [Mind Link] and [Observe], guiding her with instructions. He knows that Alicia and the adventurer team have already started their ¡®exciting¡¯ journey to the dungeon, although they''ll still need a day or two to reach their destination. Meanwhile, Ethan had been busy testing his abilities and the level of authority he held within the dungeon. The first thing he examined was the pile of mana crystals gathered in the farthest corner of the room. Ethan knew these mana crystals were the materials the adventurers sought, as they sold for quite a bit of money. They were essentially concentrated mana mixed with a significant amount of impurities. These crystals must undergo an extensive refinement process before pure mana can be extracted. However, even after inspecting them for a long time, he still had no idea how these crystals formed or why they were primarily located in the boss chambers. He even tried eating them to see if they had any poisonous reaction on his body. They tasted sweet, dissolved slowly in his mouth like sugar cubes, and had no negative effects. After being reborn in this new body, Ethan hadn¡¯t felt hungry until then. However, eating one small crystal gave Ethan the satisfaction he used to feel after finishing a full-course meal on Earth. He concluded that they could serve as food sources and help regain lost mana quickly. Still, their formation inside a dungeon remained a mystery. Ethan also tested his two damaging spells, [Dark Nova] and [Shadow Maelstrom]. He found them underwhelming in terms of damage. Additionally, he tried his summoning spell, [Summon Familiar]. No matter how many times he cast it, it always summoned the same two minions: an undead defender wielding a shield and a shadowy wraith holding two blades. Both of them were at level thirty. One positive aspect was that Ethan¡¯s spells consumed very little mana to cast and had a short cooldown before he could use them again. Ethan wanted to explore and examine the entire dungeon, but he quickly realized his activities were limited to his current chamber. He couldn''t escape it. ¡°At this point, it really feels like a prison, as if someone has locked me in here for some unknown crime,¡± Ethan thought. Defeated in his attempt to escape, Ethan sat on the floor and opened the [Dungeon Settings] screen before him. It read [Dungeon Settings] menu is only accessible when no external entity is infiltrating the dungeon. An infiltration will wipe out all the unsaved changes under [Dungeon Settings]. Ethan had been playing with these numbers. From this screen, he could control the number of monsters that would appear in the dungeon, including the bosses. ¡°The dungeon rank increases in proportion to the number of monsters. If I max out all the numbers, it reaches gold rank. But I probably shouldn''t do that, as it might scare off the incoming party," Ethan thought. ¡°It¡¯s interesting that this system doesn¡¯t recognize me as one of the boss monsters. I could essentially have a dungeon with five bosses, including myself.¡± He opened the [Layout] menu from within the [Dungeon Settings], which read Select a theme for the Dungeon. Ethan has tried both of these options already. But now it was time to make a choice for the upcoming raid. Each of the two layouts provided different options for the monster types and spawn points that he could place inside the dungeon. Ethan selected the ¡®Monster¡¯s Lair¡¯ option first. Immediately, a second screen appeared before him, showing a preview of how the dungeon would look with that [Layout]. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. With ¡®Monster¡¯s Lair¡¯ selected, the look and feel of the dungeon was that of an underground cave system. The path inside the dungeon traveled like a maze, providing three different paths to choose from. Two of them got narrower towards the end and were littered with traps before finishing into a dead end. Anyone attacking the dungeon would perish if they selected either of these two paths. The third path starts narrow but widens as it goes deeper into the dungeon and finally opens up to the first boss¡¯s chamber. The same pattern repeats itself. If the adventurers manage to kill the first boss, they must select from another set of three paths to proceed to the second boss, and so on. This layout¡¯s normal monsters were of Goblin type. Two goblins counted as a single normal monster. As a result, although the maximum allowed number of normal monsters is thirty, this [Layout] can fit sixty goblins. ¡°It might be because goblins were relatively weak creatures. They tend to surprise the incoming attackers with sneak attacks and overwhelm them with numbers.¡± Ethan thought as he was looking through the different monsters available. The rare monsters were giant scorpions with tank-like bodies, two mean pincers, and a massive sting. Its boss monsters were also insect-themed. The first boss was a giant spider with a poison attack. The second boss was a huge toad with a frontal cone attack using its tongue. The third boss was an earthworm, which could burrow inside the ground to avoid attacks and come back up to counter the adventurers. Lastly, there was a centipede with a hard exoskeleton and a pincher attack. When Ethan opened the Layout menu for the first time, ¡®Monster¡¯s Layer¡¯ was selected as the default. This led him to believe that these were the monsters and bosses that Alicia¡¯s party had faced when they attacked the dungeon. ¡°Honestly, the existence of the Scouts makes this layout obsolete. The adventurers entering the dungeon would know exactly which path to choose.¡± Ethan thought. ¡°Instead of that, the other [Layout] is way better.¡± Ethan selected the Vampire¡¯s Castle option from the [Layout] menu, and a preview appeared on the second screen. ¡®Vampire¡¯s Castle¡¯ transformed the dungeon into a medieval English castle with dark and sinister corridors. Its walls were made of dark stone and lined with flickering torches. ¡°It is very similar to how dark castle hallways are depicted in horror movies,¡± Ethan thought. On both sides of the hallway were rooms where normal and rare monsters'' spawn points could be placed. The castle had four floors in total, which was relative to the number of boss monsters selected. As a party of adventurers attacking the dungeon, they have to move through the narrow corridors until they reach the main hall near the stairs. The main hall was an open space for boss encounters on each floor. They must defeat the boss monster of a floor, use the stairs to go to the next floor, and repeat the process until they reach the terrase, where the dungeon¡¯s last boss would be waiting for them. In this [Layout], the normal monsters looked like zombies. Their flesh was stitched together haphazardly, sometimes falling off as they patrolled their designated area. The rare monsters looked like wraths. Their pale white, almost transparent bodies floated above the ground. Their faces were absolutely hideous, twisted in eternal agony, and their jagged teeth glinted in the dim light. This [Layout] also came with four unique boss monster options. The first was A massive bat with burning red eyes and a vampiric ability to drain life from its victims. The healing it receives via life drain is proportional to its damage to the enemies. The second one was a Cyclops with a muscular body and a single massive eye on its head. It has a lot of health and can shoot an energy beam from its eye. Because of the long casting time, it is easy to avoid. But at the same time, anyone hit by that beam would surely die. The third boss was a pair of stone gargoyles, slightly bigger than regular humans with broad bat-like wings. They had a skill that shared their hit points. Both had to be killed within a very short timeframe. If one dies before the other, it gets resurrected with full health. The fourth boss was a Vampire. He could shapeshift into a huge bat or divide himself into a pair of Gargoyles. The bat and the Gargoyles have the same skills as the first and third bosses. Ethan read through the description of the monsters once again and concluded, ¡°Yup. They are borderline broken. From my experience of playing online RPG games in my previous life, this [Layout] would be a nightmare for the adventurers. I faced boss monsters with similar abilities in the games I used to play, and it used to take me a lot of tries to defeat them. But this is the real world. There will be no second chances for those adventurers. I feel a bit sorry for them. But it¡¯s a matter of survival for me as well. In an ideal world, we would not be facing each other with the intent to kill.¡± Ethan decided to go with the Cyclops and the Gargoyle because of their abilities. Even if they couldn¡¯t stop the adventurers, he wanted them to continue fighting for as long as possible so that he could analyze their strengths and weaknesses. ¡°My build is not very combat-oriented, and my offensive spells are not very good. But this time, I am fully self-aware and have complete control over how I want to use my skills. I will have Alicia to help me as well. And if everything fails, I will still have [Reincarnation] and [Rage] talents to finish the fight when they least expect it. However, I don''t want to rely on it.¡± Ethan murmured. Ethan adjusted the number of normal and rare monsters, set their spawn points, and placed the boss monsters in their respective places. After the changes, the dungeon¡¯s rank increased to silver. ¡°This is fine. Those adventurers are already expecting the dungeon to be silver rank.¡± He thought. He carefully went through the dungeon map shown on the second screen once again to ensure everything was in place. Once satisfied, Ethan tapped the Apply button on the [Layout] selector screen. Ethan¡¯s surroundings shined brightly. He could not see anything around him for a few moments. Then, the brightness reduced, and Ethan could finally see. He looked around. The [Layout] had also altered the space around him. He was currently standing on a vast empty rooftop. In front of him was an empty, gothic throne overlooking the darkened landscape. Ethan looked closely. The throne was intricately carved with snarling beasts and draped in deep crimson fabric. A huge black Sun loomed in the gray sky above him, emitting an eerie glow that made everything around him visible. As far as he could see, jagged spires were silhouetted against the gray sky. Ethan was more than satisfied with the setup. He got up and leaned back on the throne meant for him. He has completed all the preparations on his end. Now, he just has to wait. Chapter 9: Assault ¡°Ugh, disgusting!¡± Lisa grimaced as she incinerated a cluster of spiders clinging to the ceiling. The creatures curled and shriveled in the flames as their webs disappeared into nothingness. ¡°This dungeon is way creepier than I thought it would be. I hate spiders!¡± The party reached the dungeon¡¯s location yesterday evening. Alicia expertly guided them through the Blackwood Forest. Their journey was mostly uneventful, with only a few encounters with mana beasts. However, the team members handled these challenges pretty well and arrived at the dungeon gate without any major incidents. After a full night¡¯s rest this morning, they finally began the raid. Upon entering the dungeon, they found themselves in a long, narrow corridor dimly lit by flickering torches mounted on the walls. That''s when Lisa''s worst fear came true: a hallway littered with spiders and their webs. Ranging in size from a penny to as big as her face, they were nearly everywhere¡ªhanging from the ceiling, crawling on the ground, and some just chilling on the wall. ¡°Seriously, if I had known it would be like this, I wouldn''t have come here,¡± Lisa complained, incinerating spiders on sight as their party moved slowly down the corridor. ¡°This is the first floor of the dungeon. Due to the warm and humid weather, many spiders are around here. You¡¯ll hardly find any once we move¡­¡± Alicia tried to console her, but her words faltered as she saw three zombie-like monsters approaching from the darkness of the hallway. Their limbs and heads were stitched with their torso, giving them a humanoid form. Their sharp, scale-like teeth glistened even in the dim light of the torches. ¡°We¡¯ve got company!¡± Throne informed everyone as he unsheathed his twin daggers. ¡°Get ready!¡± The monsters charged at the party, intent on killing and dismantling them. But Dale stood his ground, holding them at bay with his massive shield. Throne dashed forward and decapitated one of the zombies with inhuman speed. Lisa sidestepped and cast the [Fireball] spell. A crimson sphere of fire shot toward the zombies as they piled on each other to climb over Dale''s massive shield. The fireball erupted, engulfing them in flames. Both zombies shrieked in pain. ¡°So they can feel pain as well. Let¡¯s see how they like this one, [Brusting Arrow].¡± Raul spoke as he fired an arrow enchanted with his weapon skill. Upon impact with one of the zombies, the arrow exploded violently and blew them into pieces. ¡°That was easy,¡± Dale smirked. ¡°I didn¡¯t have to do anything.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You will have plenty of opportunities to show your skills off.¡± Alicia also smirked in return, ¡°We are just getting started.¡± Within a short amount of time, they made decent progress through the hallway by clearing hordes of zombies. Along with the zombies, Lisa made sure to burn any creepy crawlers she encountered. ¡°Are we close to the first boss, Alicia?¡± Thorne asked. Alicia nodded with a serious expression. She pointed toward the darkened hallway stretching in front of them. ¡°Yeah, about a hundred meters from here, the hallway turns right and ends in an open chamber. The dungeon¡¯s first boss, Citron the Cyclops, should be there. We defeated him last time, but since we failed to clear the dungeon, he must have respawned by now. He guards the staircase to the next floor, so we must defeat him to move on to the second floor.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Thorne looked over the group. ¡°We¡¯ve cleared the hallway of any roaming monsters. Let¡¯s take a moment to finalize our strategy before facing the boss. Alex, please gather everyone here.¡± Alex signaled for the party to gather around, and they formed a circle in the middle of the hallway. Once everyone was settled, Thorne turned to Alicia. ¡°Please run us through the boss¡¯s abilities and phases once again, Alicia.¡± Alicia took a deep breath before explaining. ¡°The first boss, Citron, is a massive Cyclops standing over twelve feet tall. He has four muscular arms and a single golden eye. You should avoid staring directly at it. Otherwise, there¡¯s a chance Citron will switch targets and redirect his attack at you. Citron can strike with the club he¡¯s wielding or punch with one of his free hands. Be aware that his attacks pack a serious punch. Defenders must rotate and switch before their health drops too low.¡± She glanced at Dale, who returned a confident nod. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Alicia continued, ¡°The real danger lies in his [Energy Beam] skill. As the fight progresses, Citron builds up rage when he takes damage. The more damage he endures, the higher his rage intensifies. When this accumulation hits a certain threshold, he unleashes a high-intensity beam of pure energy from his eye. It¡¯s a devastating attack. The beam is locked onto the nearest enemy, which is usually one of the defenders. Although the attack is target-locked, its area of effect is quite broad. Anyone caught in the blast radius would certainly be dead.¡± She hesitated momentarily before adding, ¡°Last time, we lost two members because they couldn¡¯t escape the blast zone in time. The skill takes a few seconds to charge up. So, as soon as Citron targets one of the defenders, the defender must move Citron¡¯s face away from the group. Ideally, we should position Citron to face the back wall to minimize casualties. This way, the defender would be the only one taking the hit. The other party members must use their strongest defensive abilities on the targeted defender to keep him alive.¡± ¡°Sounds like a job for me.¡± Dale cracked his knuckles. ¡°With my magic resistance, I should be able to take the hit without too much trouble.¡± Alicia nodded. ¡°Yes, you are the right person to take the hit. I have no doubt about your abilities, Dale, but once Citron finishes releasing its [Energy Beam], we need to take him down quickly. A second hit from the [Energy Beam] will be too much for even you to handle. After Citron stops shooting the beam, it will be vulnerable for a few moments.¡± Alicia paused momentarily to catch her breath and continued, ¡°That would be our chance. Damage dealers should use their high-damage spells to burn him down during that phase.¡± Dale grinned. ¡°Relax, guys. I have brought my brand new Galaxy Obliterator five thousand. It can handle four or five of those beams, no problem.¡± He raised his shiny new shield for everyone to see. Lisa rolled her eyes. ¡°Great, another weirdly named shield.¡± ¡°Hey, what¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± Dale protested, feigning offense. Lisa replied. ¡°Overconfidence gets people killed, Dale. So don''t be so full of yourself. No matter how strong you and your new shield are.¡± Thorne clapped his hands, refocusing the team. ¡°Ok. Looks like we have a plan. Let''s go then.¡± Lisa noticed Olivia lingering at the back as the group began moving forward. Usually, Olivia was the most focused during team meetings, brimming with energy and questions. But today, she seemed disconnected, as if something was bothering her greatly. Lisa slowed her pace until she was walking beside her. ¡°Hey, Olivia,¡± Lisa said softly. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Olivia blinked as if pulled from deep thought. ¡°Huh? Oh¡­ yeah. I¡¯m good.¡± Lisa narrowed her eyes. ¡°You sure? You seem distracted.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Don¡¯t worry.¡± Olivia forced a smile, but Lisa wasn¡¯t convinced. ¡°You know you can tell me anything, right? I can see something is bothering you. Keeping it to yourself won''t help anyone.¡± Olivia hesitated before finally exhaling. ¡°It¡¯s just that¡­ I have this strange feeling. From the moment we entered this dungeon, it felt like something or someone was watching us.¡± Lisa frowned. ¡°You think we missed some of the monsters back there?¡± ¡°I¡­ I don''t think it¡¯s a monster. It''s nothing like what we have faced so far in this dungeon. It feels much more sinister in nature.¡± Lisa nervously looked around the darkened hallway that stretched behind them. The thought of something lurking in the darkness suddenly sent a chill down her spine. ¡°Well¡­ we¡¯re already in too deep. We can¡¯t turn back now. Let¡¯s focus on what¡¯s in front of us first. One step at a time.¡± Olivia nodded and started moving forward with the party, but the uneasiness lingered on her facial expression. After walking for a few minutes, the group reached the end of the hallway. The passage turned sharply to the right, opening into a vast chamber. As they made the right turn, the air suddenly felt heavy, thick with the scent of damp stone and something metallic, like blood. Then they saw him. The Cyclops stood alone in the center of the large, empty chamber. Citron was an imposing embodiment of muscle and brutality. He towered far above the heads of the adventurers, his four thick arms bulging with raw power. Citron¡¯s skin was hardened and rough, resembling cracked brown leather, while scars crisscrossed his chest. A testimony to countless battles. His lone, gleaming eye was at the center of his broad, squared face. It was like an orb of molten gold with a vertical slit that dilated as it focused on the approaching adventurers. Citron¡¯s jaw resembled a strong, chiseled anvil of bone and muscle. His jaw was lined with tusk-like teeth that jutted slightly from his lower lip. He exuded pure menace, akin to a predator savoring the moment before the hunt. Thorne let out a low whistle. ¡°That¡¯s bigger than I expected.¡± Lisa swallowed hard. ¡°We¡¯re actually fighting that thing?¡± ¡°Hell yeah, we are!¡± Dale cracked his neck. ¡°Get ready, everyone. Let¡¯s see what it can do.¡± The Cyclops let out a low, rumbling growl. Then, with terrifying speed, he reached for a massive wooden club at his side and lifted it effortlessly. The chamber trembled as Citron the Cyclops stepped forward, his enormous frame brimming with raw power. His singular golden eye gleamed with cold malice as he squared off against the adventurers standing before him. Chapter 10: Citron "Positions!" Thorne shouted. The team moved in unison and took their places behind Dale, who assumed a defensive stance, holding his shield high. Cynthia, the party''s secondary defender, stood beside him. The adventurers who specialized in healing or support magic, like Olivia, Frederick, and Alicia, positioned themselves at the back. Each of them was aware of their role. Dale charged forward, raising his massive shield. "[Steel Bastion]," he roared, and his armor shimmered. A golden aura pulsed around him and his shield, reinforcing his defenses as Citron¡¯s wooden club crashed into him. The impact sent a tremor through the ground, but Dale stood his ground. His shield absorbed the force of the blow. "He''s focused on Dale! Strike him hard!" Olivia shouted, raising her wand. She cast [Warrior¡¯s Blessing], and a faint silver light surrounded the entire party, enhancing their offensive and defensive abilities. "On it!" Lisa darted to the left as a bright orange cloak of flame engulfed her entire body. She pointed her palms at the boss, and a magic circle appeared before her. She called out, "[Flame Strike]," and a large fireball launched toward the monster. The fireball struck Citron in the torso, and he roared in pain. Raul followed up. He drew his bow and loosed an arrow infused with wind energy. The projectile struck Citron¡¯s exposed shoulder, slicing through flesh with razor-like precision. Dark blue blood oozed from the wound. Citron took a step back to absorb the impact. "Good hit! Keep the pressure up!" Thorne shouted as he rushed forward with his twin blades crackling with energy. He moved swiftly, positioning himself behind the boss. Citron was so huge that Thorne¡¯s head barely reached his knee. Thorne slashed at Citron¡¯s ankle, bolts of lightning arcing from his weapons. The Cyclops groaned, stumbling slightly as the electricity surged through his muscles. Other party members joined in, attacking with weapons and launching various spells. Magical projectiles crackling with energy soared toward Citron from all directions. Alex led the melee attackers, shouting, ¡°Aim for the legs! We¡¯ll take him down and then finish him off!¡± The melee fighters had to stay alert, changing positions quickly to avoid being cleaved by the boss while Dale defended against the heavy blows. In the process of repositioning, Alex momentarily got very close to Dale. Cyclops¡¯s club came crashing down on Dale¡¯s shield with massive force just as he was about to move away. Dale braced for the impact, but it also struck Alex and knocked him backward. Alex¡¯s body was propelled back a few meters and landed hard on the ground, injuring him severely. Blood trickled down from his forehead. ¡°You idiot, don''t stand so close to me,¡± Dale grumbled. He was withstanding the blows, but back-to-back heavy hits by the monster were starting to take a toll on him. "Holy Mother, bless us with your light. [Rejuvenate]" Frederick¡¯s voice echoed through the chamber. Warm golden energy surrounded Dale and Alex, rapidly mending their bruises and reinforcing their vitality. "Incoming attack! Get ready!" Alicia warned. Citron raised his club, gripping it with two hands, and struck the ground with blinding speed. A massive shockwave erupted from the impact, sending cracks racing across the floor. Dale braced for impact. "[Iron Resolve]" A heavy barrier formed around him just as the shockwave hit. The rest of the team dodged in time, but the sheer force still sent some of them flying. A sharp, stray rock struck Raul''s leg, causing him to bleed from the deep wound. ¡°[Rejuvenate]¡± Frederick cast his healing spell again, covering everyone at the party. The damage they received by the shockwave was repaired within a few seconds. The party members leaped into the fight with renewed vigor. Cynthia stepped forward, raising her shield. She moved closer to Citron and intercepted his attack, giving Dale a much-needed breather. Citron¡¯s club came crashing down on Cynthia¡¯s shield, sending a wave of pressure and dull pain through her hand that held the shield. She couldn¡¯t believe Dale was taking these heavy blows for so long, keeping the party members safe. She strengthened her resolve to do the same. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The melee attacker unleashed a flurry of attacks using their swords and daggers upon Citron, making him bleed profoundly. Crimson fireballs, shimmering blue arcane energy bolts, and piercing arrows rained down on his torso and shoulders, further draining his strength. Then, in a moment of stillness, Citron halted his attacks, and his golden yellow eye began to pulse ominously. "He''s charging the energy beam!" Alicia warned. Olivia quickly recited her support spell, "[Guardian¡¯s Embrace]." A brilliant shield enveloped the entire party, reducing the incoming damage. Dale silently thanked Cynthia for relieving some of his burden and allowing him to catch his breath. He gritted his teeth, gripping his shield tightly. "It¡¯s my turn now. I''ve got this!" As Citron¡¯s eye glowed brighter, Dale dug his heels in and charged forward, attempting to maneuver the monster to make it face the nearest stone wall. He struck Citron¡¯s feet with his massive shield to get his attention as he backed against the stone wall. ¡°I¡¯m here, you muscle brain. Hit me!¡± Citron turned toward him, letting out a grueling roar as his eye shone even brighter. "Now, hold your position!" Alicia called, reinforcing Dale¡¯s armor with "[Titan¡¯s Aegis]." A brilliant glow enveloped him just as Citron unleashed his energy beam towards him. A blazing red beam of crackling energy shot through the chamber, slamming into the stone wall with a thunderous blast. The immense force turned the rocky wall into molten slag, hurling debris in every direction. The entire chamber trembled from the destruction, with cracks spreading across the walls. The beam would have annihilated them if Dale hadn''t moved the Cyclops away from the group. The air shimmered with lingering heat, making it difficult to breathe. "Damn, that was powerful!" Raul exclaimed, wiping sweat from his brow. ¡°Is Dale ok after taking that attack head-on?¡± As the dust settled, the party members found Dale. He was still standing with his shield raised, but he was severely wounded. The shiny armor he wore was cracked and falling apart from his body, with blood dripping from his head and arms. ¡°That bastard!!¡± he laughed tiredly, gasping for air. ¡°He almost killed me.¡± ¡°Cynthia, switch with Dale immediately. Frederick, Alicia quickly heal him up. Others, We can''t let the monster do that attack again! Press forward!¡± Thorne commanded. Cynthia rushed forward and struck the monster with [Shield Slam]. Citron immediately shifted his attention from Dale to Cynthia. However, with his rage subdued, his attacks felt sluggish. Cynthia sensed that his blows had also weakened compared to before. The others joined in to attack Citron while Fredrick and Alicia concentrated their healing spell to recover Dale. Throne twirled in the air, activating his weapon skill, [Phantom Strike]. His figure became a blur as he unleashed a rapid series of slashes against Citron¡¯s ribs. Raul notched another enchanted arrow, murmuring, "[Hawk¡¯s Judgement]" before letting it fly. The arrow struck true, hitting Citron squarely in the eye and prompting a painful howl from the monster. "He''s still on his feet! We need more firepower!" Olivia thought for a moment and chanted, "[Battle Surge]" to enhance the attack speed of Thorne, Lisa, Alex, and Raul. Alex seized the moment with his weapon skill, "[Mortal Execution]." He drove his sword deep into Citron¡¯s chest through his ribs. The boss staggered on his feet, his strength waning as thick, dark blue-colored blood oozed out from his wounds. Cynthia didn¡¯t let up either. With a surge of force, she slammed her shield into Citron¡¯s kneecap, forcing the giant to drop to one knee. Raul called upon his most fierce attack. "[Stormpiercer Arrow]" The arrow, infused with crackling storm energy, whistled through the air before embedding itself into Citron¡¯s throat. Citron was on his last legs. He dropped his heavy club as he could no longer hold onto it. However, he refused to fall so quickly and unleashed a final, desperate attack. Citron slammed all four of his fists into the ground with his remaining strength, triggering another shockwave. The stone walls of the dungeon shook violently, causing massive chunks of rock to crash down from above. "Watch out!" Alicia screamed as the team scattered to avoid the falling debris. Dale, now somewhat healed, rushed forward. He raised his shield overhead and unleashed his skill, "[Bulwark Dome]." A glowing light barrier expanded from his shield, enveloping the team just in time as the falling rocks shattered against its radiant glow. Citron groaned one last time, struggling to lift his arms until his strength finally gave out. With a final, guttural exhale, his massive frame collapsed. The dungeon walls trembled one last time, and then everything went silent. Lisa collapsed onto one knee, panting. "I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever fought something that tough in my life." "The dungeon really tested us this time," Frederick said, healing Raul¡¯s leg. "I don¡¯t think we would have made it if we hadn¡¯t timed that beam." Raul examined the battlefield, eyeing the molten rock still glowing from the laser''s impact. "It''s true. That Energy Beam could have been the end of us. I am glad we had information on how to deal with that. Thank you, Alicia." ¡°And thank you for helping Dale as well. Your spell Titan¡¯s Agis saved his life.¡± Olivia spoke. Alicia nodded in response. A triumphant ¡®ding¡¯ echoed through the chamber as everyone¡¯s status window opened. Signaling the end of the battle. Despite their exhaustion, a smile echoed in everyone¡¯s face. Alex and others shouted in joy, ¡°We did it!! We beat the first boss.¡± Thorne exhaled profoundly and rolled his shoulders. "Good work, everyone. That was a damn hard fight. But we came out at the top!" He paused for a moment before continuing. ¡°We¡¯ll set up our camp here. Everyone needs rest before moving on to the next floor.¡± Chapter 11: Calm Before the Storm Ethan observed his guests through his [Observe] spell as they battled Citron. Although the spell''s intended purpose was to track Alicia¡¯s whereabouts, the screen actually displayed events happening around her from a wide angle. Because of this, Ethan used the skill to watch the fight and analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the party members. To Ethan¡¯s surprise, the adventurer party defeated Citron without any casualties. He had anticipated that Citron would manage to thin out their numbers or possibly take out one or two of the stronger members. But no¡ªthese adventurers were more coordinated and stronger than the previous group that had attacked him. Ethan closed the [Observe] screen as they began to set up a temporary camp in the boss chamber on the first floor while a few of them started mining the mana stone cluster that had grown near the staircase to the second floor. There was no point in watching over them as they rested. At the end of the fight, when Citron fell, Ethan received a notification screen. The screen displayed a message indicating that Citron had fallen. It also provided information about the various spells and abilities used to defeat Citron, detailing how much damage each adventurer had dealt. In total, Raul dealt the most damage with his arrows, followed closely by their leader, Throne, in second place. The third place was a tie between Lisa, the mage, and Alex, the warrior. ¡°Well¡­ the results are expected. These rankings are useful. Now I know whom I have to take out first during my fight.¡± Ethan thought to himself. ¡°Their damage output was impressive.¡± But Ethan knew that the damage inflicted did not tell the whole story of the fight. He was particularly impressed by their defender, Dale, who had literally saved the entire party multiple times during that battle. He defended against Citron¡¯s energy beam attack. Ethan had not thought Dale would survive that encounter. Not only did he survive, but he also made Citron turn his attention away from the party and shoot the beam directly at him. Additionally, he saved the entire party from falling debris using his barrier skills. ¡°I could use a powerful defender like him,¡± Ethan murmured to himself. ¡°I have to keep him alive and convert him later.¡± Ethan replayed the entire fight in his mind once again. The party members employed various skills and abilities during the battle. Ethan attempted to mimic one of the most frequently used skills of their mage, Lisa. He extended his palm forward and focused, trying to replicate the pattern of the magic circle that formed before her hand. Slowly but surely, a flickering light appeared before Ethan¡¯s outstretched hand. The light particle moved at his command, weaving a pattern in the air. First, there was a circle. Inside the circle, there was a smaller circle. Within the smaller circle was a triangle, its three angles touching the inner circle¡¯s perimeter. Inside the triangle was another smaller circle, whose perimeter touched all three sides of the inner triangle. Once he could visualize the entire pattern forming, Ethan opened his eyes and chanted, ¡°[Fireball].¡± A magnificent crimson ball of fire launched from the palm of his hand and soared into the void before him. Ethan gazed at his palm in wonder. ¡°So this is how it is,¡± he exclaimed. ¡°The pattern converts my mana into the spell I¡¯m casting. Calling out the name of the spell initiates the conversion process.¡± He felt a surge of happiness, like a child discovering a new toy. But as always, his excitement faded, and his mind began racing. He hadn¡¯t woven any mana circle while casting his spells. Ethan recalled casting [Dark Nova] and [Shadow Maelstrom] during his battle with the adventurers. Those spells didn¡¯t require any magical patterns. Even when he converted Alicia using [Demonic Conversion], there was no pattern involved. Could it be that his spells function differently? ¡°I will figure it out later. But this is fun. I have learned to cast [Fireball].¡± Ethan spoke in his demonic voice. ¡°Casters are not so bad after all. Let¡¯s try a few more spells.¡± Alex swung his greatsword in a mighty arc. The zombie''s head flew off its shoulders, but its headless body still stumbled forward with flailing arms. Its claws were still capable of tearing apart human flesh. From behind him, Lisa muttered, ¡°[Incinerate],¡± and a ball of fire rushed toward the headless body, narrowly missing Alex. The fireball crashed into the zombie¡¯s torso. The body ignited in an instant, flames consuming the decaying flesh and reducing it to nothing more than a pile of ash. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Hey, watch where you''re shooting!" Alex shouted. "You crazy mage, you almost hit me with that!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t help it if you stand right before my target.¡± Lisa shrugged innocently. ¡°What?? There is no way I was blocking your path.¡± Alex protested. ¡°Stop fighting, you two.¡± Olivia intervened, ¡°We¡¯ve got a whole dungeon ahead of us. Save your energy for the enemies that actually want to kill us.¡± ¡°You two should start dating.¡± Raul passed a cheeky comment. ¡°You two look like a married couple already.¡± ¡°Nonsense!!¡± Both of them screamed in unison. ¡°I see what Raul means. Congratulations, you two.¡± Frederick laughed. ¡°Well, if you need a Preist, let me know. I will be honored to read the vows.¡± ¡°Shut it, you depraved Preist!¡± Lisa hissed angrily; a flicker of flame lit up in her eyes. ¡°Sorry to spoil the fun, guys¡­but we have company again.¡± Throne spoke as a few more zombies appeared in the corridor, slowly walking towards them. Raul shot a flurry of arrows towards them. The arrows blasted on impact, scattering their body parts all over the corridor in front of them. ¡°Let¡¯s keep moving. It seems if we stop, they just keep on coming.¡± Raul spoke. Everyone agreed and pressed on. After defeating the first boss, Citron, they set up camp on the first floor. Depending on the dungeon¡¯s difficulty, it can take weeks to clear it. As a result, adventurers carry ample food and drink with them during raids. Typically, two or three members who lack confidence in their combat skills carry the essentials on their backs. They also bring extra backpacks to gather mana crystals from the dungeon. After the battle with Citron, they feasted on plenty of wine and meat to celebrate their victory. Then, they slept peacefully for hours, primarily due to the wine. Inside the dungeon, there is no way to track day and night cycles. It is also rumored that dungeons exist in a separate plane of existence from the outside world, rendering the concepts of day and night meaningless. Consequently, it was impossible to ascertain how long they truly slept. However, Throne ensured that the group received plenty of rest and fully healed before ascending the stairs to the next floor. Just like on the first floor, the zombies on the second floor weren''t a huge threat, but their overwhelming numbers were a bit annoying. After a few minutes of fighting and taking down the zombies, they finally reached the end of the corridor. ¡°Here come the Wraths,¡± Throne warned as two pale, almost transparent figures guarding the end of the corridor caught their attention. ¡°Let me take care of them," Cynthia rushed forward, letting out a war cry that drew their attention. The wraths emitted a sharp howl and leaped toward her. ¡°[Shield Bash]!" she yelled as her shield glowed, unleashing a shockwave in a small cone-shaped area before her. The shockwave was strong enough to knock both of them back as they collided with each other. "Now! Hit them hard!" she shouted. ¡°Nice repelling,¡± Raul said, sending an arrow toward them, empowered by his "[Piercing Gale]" skill. The arrow, imbued with wind energy, rotated violently at an unimaginable speed and drilled through both the wraths. Their bodies disintegrated in thin air. ¡°At last, we¡¯ve made it to the end of this godforsaken hallway,¡± Dale said, continuing forward. ¡°Great job, Cynthia. You¡¯re picking it up quickly.¡± Cynthia blushed. Dale was the person she admired. After seeing him in action, she idolized him and wanted to follow in his footsteps. She didn¡¯t reveal it to anybody, but she also had a crush on him. A compliment from Dale meant a great deal to her. ¡°Th¡­Thank you,¡± she said, with a bright red face. Dale moved forward and peeked into the empty room on the right side at the end of the long corridor. ¡°Don¡¯t be so flustered. Your real challenge starts now,¡± he said as they laid eyes on the second-floor boss for the first time. Two monstrous gargoyle statues guarded the staircase to the next floor on the opposite side of the hall. Their forms were carved from ancient, weathered rock, darkened with age and streaked with deep cracks that ran like veins of malice across their hulking bodies. They stood over eight feet tall in height. Their broad shoulders made them look like small mountains. Their tattered, bat-like wings stretched outward. Their grotesque faces are frozen in eternal snarls¡ªfang-lined maws twisted into expressions of hatred and hunger. Although their eyes were made of lifeless stone, they seemed to bore into the souls of their enemies. ¡°The Twin Gargoyles.¡± Alicia, who was silent this whole time, spoke in a shaky voice. ¡°They are the second boss of this Dungeon.¡±