Chapter 74: Rank three Dungeon II

Chapter 74: Chapter 74: Rank three Dungeon II

"That one actually worked."

"Don’t celebrate yet!" Ore shouted.

Tolu looked up.

More were coming.

"You’re kidding me."

Folami stood against the wall.

Apple in hand.

Watching.

Not helping.

Tolu’s expression twitched.

"Master!"

"Hm?"

"Are you seriously going to eat that thing?"

Folami looked at the apple.

"I paid for it."

"That’s not what I meant!"

Another beast lunged.

Tolu ducked.

"Focus."

---

They pushed deeper.

The first section of the dungeon was a maze of natural tunnels.

The creatures became more numerous the farther they went.

There were scaled hyenas, large stone-backed reptiles, pale spiders with poisonous fangs, and strange bat-like creatures that attacked from the ceiling.

None of them were individually overwhelming.

That was what made them dangerous.

They never came alone.

The group had to learn to fight together.

Tolu became their anchor.

His hammer was slow compared to their other weapons, but every successful strike carried enormous force.

Akin stayed close to him, using his great sword to control the creatures that tried to surround them.

Temi moved constantly.

She never stopped.

Her twin blades flashed through the darkness as fire followed her movements.

Ore stayed farther back, her bow singing again and again.

Every arrow had a purpose.

One eye.

One throat.

One exposed joint.

One creature attempting to attack from behind.

And when something got too close—

The staff came out.

Ore spun it.

Wind exploded against the flattened surfaces of the weapon.

The staff accelerated through the air.

CRACK!

The blow sent a reptilian monster flying.

Ore landed lightly.

"That thing is amazing."

Folami took another bite of his apple.

"I told you."

---

Eventually they reached the second section.

The dungeon changed.

The natural tunnels opened into an enormous underground forest.

Trees grew from the stone floor.

Their roots crawled across the walls.

Thick vines hung from the ceiling.

A faint green light came from glowing fungi scattered throughout the area.

Tolu stared.

"An underground forest."

Folami nodded.

"Rank Three dungeons begin developing environments like this."

Temi looked around.

"So the dungeon is basically making its own ecosystem?"

"Something like that."

Akin touched one of the trees.

"These aren’t normal plants."

"No."

Ore looked upward.

"Then what lives here?"

A low growl answered her.

Everyone froze.

The forest moved.

Not the trees.

The shadows between them.

One pair of glowing eyes appeared.

Then another.

Then another.

Tolu slowly lifted his hammer.

"How many?"

Folami took another bite.

"Twenty-three."

Temi sighed.

"Of course."

The creatures emerged.

Wolves.

But they were enormous.

Their bodies were covered in dark bark-like armor, while green energy pulsed beneath their skin.

"Bira wolves," Akin muttered.

The first one attacked.

Tolu met it head-on.

HAMMER!

The impact shook the ground.

The wolf’s claws dug into the stone.

Tolu’s arms trembled.

"It’s stronger!"

A second wolf attacked from the side.

Akin intercepted it.

His great sword clashed against its claws.

Temi rushed through the opening.

Fire gathered at the tip of her blade.

She thrust.

The flame burst into the wolf’s chest.

It staggered.

Ore’s arrow struck its throat.

It fell.

But three more replaced it.

"There’s too many!"

Temi ducked beneath a claw.

"I know!"

Tolu swung his hammer in a wide arc.

Two wolves were knocked away.

"Stay together!"

Akin planted his feet.

"Ore!"

"Already moving!"

She fired three arrows.

One.

Two.

Three.

Each struck a different wolf.

Temi took advantage of the distraction.

She sprinted forward.

Her swords crossed.

Fire surged between them.

"Burn!"

She uncrossed the blades.

A wave of heat tore through the nearest wolf.

Tolu stepped beside her.

He raised his hammer.

Earth energy gathered around the weapon.

The ground beneath his feet cracked.

"Move."

Temi immediately jumped away.

Tolu brought the hammer down.

BOOOOM!

The impact shattered the ground.

Stone erupted upward.

Several wolves were thrown into the air.

Akin moved through them.

His great sword became a blur.

One.

Two.

Three.

The last wolf landed behind him.

Ore’s staff smashed into its head.

"Behind you."

Akin looked back.

"Thanks."

"You’re welcome."

They continued.

---

The forest became progressively more dangerous.

Some creatures could camouflage themselves.

Others could manipulate vines.

One massive insect nearly caught Temi in a web.

She burned herself free, furious.

"I hate this place!"

Tolu laughed despite himself.

"You wanted to become stronger."

"I didn’t say I wanted to become stronger while being eaten!"

Even Akin smiled.

Then the ground shook.

Everyone stopped.

A deep rumble travelled through the forest.

Leaves fell from the trees.

The glowing fungi flickered.

Folami stopped eating.

For the first time since entering the dungeon, he looked genuinely interested.

"That’s better."

Tolu swallowed.

"What?"

Folami pointed deeper into the forest.

"Your first real test."

They followed the sound.

Eventually the forest opened into a massive circular clearing.

Something stood in the middle.

A creature nearly twice Tolu’s height.

It had the body of a lion, but its front legs were enormous and covered in thick stone plates. Two black horns curved backward from its head.

Green energy pulsed beneath its hide.

Tolu’s stomach tightened.

"What is that?"

Folami answered casually.

"A dungeon guardian."

Akin tightened his grip.

"Advanced?"

"Peak Adept."

Tolu stared at him.

"Peak Adept?"

Folami nodded.

"Not quite an Advanced cultivator."

Temi raised both swords.

"But stronger than everything we’ve fought so far."

"Yes."

Folami took another bite of his apple.

"And it has considerably more experience killing things than you do."

The guardian roared.

The sound shook the entire clearing.

Tolu tightened his grip on his hammer.

"Then let’s kill it first."

Folami smiled.

"That’s the spirit."

---

The guardian moved.

Tolu barely saw it.

The beast crossed the clearing in an instant.

Tolu raised his hammer.

CRASH!

He was thrown backward.

His body slammed into a tree.

"Tolu!"

Ore fired.

The arrow struck the guardian’s shoulder.

The creature barely reacted.

Akin charged.

His great sword came down.

The guardian twisted.

The blade struck its stone armor.

Akin’s arms shook.

The guardian’s paw slammed into him.

He crossed his sword in front of his body.

BOOM!

Akin was launched across the clearing.

He crashed onto the ground and rolled several times.

Temi attacked from behind.

Both swords ignited.

She struck the creature’s hind leg.

The flames spread across its stone armor.

The guardian roared and spun.

Temi barely escaped.

Its claw tore through the ground where she had been standing.

"That was close!"

Ore fired another arrow.

Then another.

Then another.

The arrows struck its eyes, joints and exposed sections.

The guardian roared.

Tolu charged again.

"Hey!"

The guardian turned.

Tolu slammed his hammer into its leg.

The impact finally made the beast stagger.

"Now!"

Temi and Akin attacked together.

Fire and ice crossed through the clearing.

Temi struck from the left.

Akin from the right.

The guardian twisted between them.

It blocked Temi’s blade.

Akin’s great sword struck its exposed side.

The creature roared.

Tolu came from behind.

Hammer raised.

He poured everything he had into the weapon.

Earth energy crawled over the metal.

The hammer became heavier.

Denser.

He swung.

"BREAK!"

The hammer slammed into the guardian’s back.

CRACK!

A section of stone armor shattered.

The beast stumbled.

Ore immediately fired.

Her arrow flew straight through the opening.

The guardian screamed.

But it wasn’t dead.

It became enraged.

Green energy exploded from its body.

The entire clearing shook.

Roots tore from the ground.

Vines whipped through the air.

The guardian charged.

"Spread!"

They scattered.

The beast crashed into a tree.

Tolu rolled beneath its body.

He came up behind it.

His heart hammered.

His arms were beginning to ache.

His breathing was heavy.

Temi had blood running down one cheek.

Akin’s shoulder was bruised.

Ore’s breathing had become uneven.

They were exhausted.

The guardian wasn’t.

It turned.

Tolu stared at it.

Then he smiled.

"We’ve got it."

Temi looked at him.

"Are you sure?"

"No."

She laughed.

"Good."

Akin tightened his grip.

"We finish it together."

Ore nocked another arrow.

"On three?"

Tolu nodded.

"Three."

They moved.

Temi went first.

She attacked the front.

The guardian raised its paw.

Akin struck the opposite side.

The guardian twisted.

Ore fired.

The arrow struck its damaged armor.

The creature roared.

Tolu ran straight toward it.

The guardian lowered its head.

Its horns pointed directly at him.

Tolu didn’t slow down.

At the last moment, he planted his foot.

"Stone Grip!"

The ground beneath the guardian’s front foot rose.

The creature stumbled.

Tolu ducked beneath its horns.

He twisted his body.

His hammer came around.

Every bit of earth energy he could gather flowed into the strike.

The hammer hit the damaged section.

BOOOOOOM!

Stone shattered.

The guardian collapsed.

Tolu stumbled backward.

For several seconds, nobody moved.

The massive creature twitched.

Then stopped.

Silence returned to the forest.

Tolu stood there panting.

Temi lowered her swords.

Akin leaned heavily against his great sword.

Ore slowly lowered her bow.

They had done it.

They had actually done it.

Tolu looked toward Folami.

Their master was still standing beneath the same tree.

The apple was almost finished.

He took the final bite.

"Not bad."

Tolu stared at him.

"Not bad?"

Folami nodded.

"You nearly died several times."

"That’s your response?"

"You didn’t."

Temi wiped sweat from her forehead.

"Master, you could have helped."

"I could have."

Akin looked at the enormous corpse.

"But you didn’t."

"No."

Folami tossed the apple core into the bushes.

"You wanted those futures."

His expression became serious.

"So fight for them."

The words settled over the clearing.

Tolu looked at his hammer.

His hands were shaking.

His body hurt.

His legs felt like they might collapse.

But beneath the exhaustion was something else.

Confidence.

Not the foolish confidence of someone who thought he was invincible.

The confidence of someone who had faced something stronger than himself and survived.

Folami turned toward the deeper darkness.

"Come."

Tolu looked up.

"There’s more?"

Folami smiled.

"Of course."

He started walking.

"That was only the first guardian."

Tolu’s expression changed.

"Wait."

Temi groaned.

"You’re joking."

Folami didn’t answer.

They followed him deeper into the dungeon.

The second section ended several hours later.

They fought through more creatures, crossed an underground river, navigated a cavern filled with poisonous mist, and eventually reached the deepest part of the dungeon.

The final chamber was enormous.

A circular stone platform sat at its center.

Ancient pillars surrounded it.

At the far end stood a massive stone door.

The door slowly opened.

Something stepped through.

The four stopped.

Even Folami remained silent.

The creature was different from everything they had faced.

It was humanoid.

Nearly three meters tall.

Its body was covered in black armor fused directly to its flesh.

A massive great axe rested in one hand.

Red energy burned inside the cracks of its armor.

Tolu’s grip tightened.

"What is that?"

Folami answered.

"The dungeon’s final guardian."

The creature lifted its axe.

The pressure filling the chamber became almost suffocating.

Tolu’s instincts screamed at him.

This wasn’t another ordinary Peak Adept.

This was the true Rank Three boss.

An Advanced-level creature.

Folami stepped backward.

He found a nearby stone and sat down.

Tolu stared.

"Master?"

Folami crossed one leg over the other.

"You’ve come this far."

He gestured toward the boss.

"Finish it."

Tolu swallowed.

Temi raised her swords.

Akin lifted his great sword.

Ore drew an arrow.

The enormous guardian took its first step.

The entire dungeon shook.

Tolu smiled despite the exhaustion.

"Let’s do this."

The battle began.