Chapter 211 – Back to the Routine

Chapter 211

Back to the Routine

Date : Day 12 of Frostfall 1024 Aethellgard Concord Year.

Two days ago, the Snow Festival had filled Akela with music, laughter, firelight, and celebration. 

And yesterday, Freedom Party had spent the entire day resting. After everything that had happened over the past few weeks, they simply remained at home and allowed their bodies to recover from the exhaustion that had accumulated over their journey.

They woke before dawn.

Outside the manor, the sky was still deep and dark. The streets of Akela had yet to awaken. Only the faintest hint of silver was beginning to gather somewhere beyond the horizon, where Luna would eventually rise and cast her familiar light across the snowy city.

Inside Wyvern Street Manor, however, the household was already moving. Everything was quick and efficient. A warm bowl of porridge. Some dried fruit. Enough to fill their stomachs without weighing them down.

Hyoren sat at the dining table and slowly finished his breakfast. He looked around at his companions.

Jackey was already eating enthusiastically, as though he were preparing for a feast rather than a dungeon dive. Elise calmly ate her dried fruit. Arianna sat with her usual composed posture, occasionally sipping her tea. Ina sat nearby slowly eating her porridge.

Hyoren put down his spoon and spoke.

"We will dive into the dungeon again today."

His words immediately drew everyone's attention.

"It's been two full weeks since we left the dungeon."

Hyoren paused. His mind briefly went through everything that had happened during those two weeks.

"Riverville Town. Recovery. Then the Snow Festival."

His expression became faintly amused. He leaned back slightly.

"It was eventful. But I guess we need to go back to our routine."

Jackey immediately raised his fist. His tabby cat ears stood upright.

"Yes! My axes already couldn't wait to whack more goblins!"

He mimed swinging an axe through the air. His tail spiralled behind him.

Hyoren couldn't help but chuckle.

"Try not to whack our companions instead."

Jackey lowered his fist.

"I won't!"

Elise swallowed her last piece of fruit before setting it down.

"That's right."

She brushed a silver strand of hair away from her face. Her emerald eyes carried a faint spark of anticipation.

"We have the third floor to tackle. We still haven't seen what lies beyond the second floor."

Arianna lifted her teacup and took another small sip.

"I couldn't help but feel excited about what we are going to see on Floor Three indeed."

Her light blue eyes brightened slightly.

"Considering how different each floor has been so far, I wonder what kind of environment awaits us this time."

Hyoren nodded.

"Then let's prepare."

The simple words were enough. Everyone understood. The break was over. Their ordinary routine was beginning again.

After breakfast, they gathered in the entrance hall. The preparations were familiar by now. Weapons checked. Storage bags secured. Armor prepared. Supplies counted. Potions inspected. Nothing was left to chance.

Soon, they stood together on the porch of Wyvern Street Manor.

The cold immediately greeted them. Their breath turned white in front of their faces. Snow covered the rooftops and streets, reflecting the faint light beginning to gather in the eastern sky. The city was still quiet.

For a moment, Hyoren simply stood there. Then he turned toward Ina. He stepped closer and wrapped his arms around her. His voice was gentle.

"Okay, Ina. We're going to the dungeon again."

He gave her a small smile.

"I think it will be nine to ten days again, just like before."

Ina returned the embrace. Her arms wrapped around his back, holding him firmly for a few seconds.

"Stay safe, Hyoren."

She eventually loosened her arms and stepped back. Her amber eyes moved toward the rest of Freedom Party.

"And you guys too."

Elise smiled.

"We'll be careful, Ina."

Arianna gave a graceful nod.

"Please don't worry, Lady Ina. We will return safely."

Jackey raised his hand.

"We'll be fine, Big Sis!! I'll protect Big Bro!"

Ina laughed softly.

"Nyahaha. I know."

She looked at Hyoren again.

"Just don't do anything reckless."

Hyoren scratched his cheek.

"I'll try."

Ina's ears immediately twitched.

"That's not very reassuring."

Hyoren laughed awkwardly.

"I'll really try."

Nearby, Lena and Vina had also come outside to see them off. The mother Fox-clan Beastkin gave a polite bow.

"Leave the mansion to us, Master Hyoren."

Vina immediately raised one hand enthusiastically.

"Leave it to us!"

Her bushy fox tail swayed behind her.

Hyoren smiled.

"Thanks. Take care of the house while we're gone."

Lena nodded.

"Of course, Master Hyoren."

The familiar exchange brought a sense of warmth to the cold morning. They had done this before. And they would probably do it many more times. With their goodbyes said, Freedom Party finally stepped away from the porch. Their boots pressed into the snow with soft crunches. 

Hyoren pulled his cloak a little tighter around himself as the cold morning air slipped beneath the edges of his clothes. 

He looked ahead. The streets were almost empty. A few early-risers were beginning their day.

Some shopkeepers were preparing to open their establishments. A pair of night watchmen walked toward a guard station, their shoulders slightly hunched against the cold.

The city that had been so lively during the Snow Festival now seemed almost peaceful.

Hyoren glanced back one last time. Ina stood on the porch. Lena and Vina stood beside her. They were watching them leave.

Hyoren raised a hand. Ina waved back.

Then he turned forward again.

"Let's go."

Elise walked beside him. Arianna followed. Jackey adjusted his equipment as he walked.

Their footsteps continued through the snowy streets. They made their way to the North Gate. 

***

The two guards on duty, both burly men dressed in the brown-and-gold livery of Akela, straightened as Freedom Party approached the North Gate.

Their eyes quickly settled on the crimson-haired mage among the group. They recognized her immediately.

“Lady Arianna!”

Both guards saluted.

Arianna smiled and adjusted the brim of her wide-brimmed hat.

“Please be at ease. When I'm with my party, I'm Arianna the adventurer. Not Arianna the daughter of Baron Akela.”

The two guards relaxed their posture slightly, although one of them still gave her a respectful nod.

“But we still need to show some courtesy, Lady Arianna.”

Arianna smiled politely.

“I understand.”

The other guard looked toward the rest of Freedom Party.

“Off to the dungeon, Freedom Party?”

Hyoren nodded.

“Yes. It's been a while since we entered the dungeon, so we're going to catch up.”

The guard nodded, his expression carrying the familiar professional respect he had for adventurers.

“Before you go, you should know there's a new service.”

Hyoren raised an eyebrow.

“A new service?”

The guard gestured with his thumb toward the side of the gate.

“Baron Akela commissioned the Merchants' Guild to set up a carriage line to the Dungeon Town.”

Hyoren followed his gesture.

Only then did he notice the new construction beside the North Gate.

A sturdy building had been erected near the wall, its broad wooden doors large enough for several carriages to enter. It was clearly a dedicated stagecoach station, with a sheltered area where horses and carriages could be kept between trips.

Beside it stood a small ticketing booth. And waiting nearby was an enclosed carriage.

It looked considerably sturdier than the ordinary carriages Hyoren had seen inside the city. Its wooden frame was reinforced with metal brackets, while its broad wheels had been designed to handle the packed earth and snow of the frontier road.

The guard continued.

“It's a fifteen-minute ride. Turns the one-to-two-hour walk into a quick trip.”

He pointed toward the ticketing booth.

“Only 10,000 Kres per person.”

Arianna smiled.

“Ten thousand Kres? As expected of my father. He doesn't price things too high.”

Elise looked over the carriage carefully. Her emerald eyes examined the reinforced wheels, the enclosed body, and the padded seats visible through the open door.

“That's surprisingly reasonable.”

She nodded.

“It saves us an hour of travel and preserves our energy for the dungeon.”

Jackey crossed his arms. His tabby cat ears twitched.

“It's helpful. I could preserve energy to whack goblins instead of using it for walking!”

The guard chuckled.

“That's what everyone says.”

He pointed toward a notice board beside the ticketing booth.

“The carriage service runs every hour. So there's no risk of being stranded, either.”

Hyoren's mind was already calculating the benefits. Time. Energy. Stamina. All of them were valuable resources for an adventurer. For a mere 40,000 Kres for the four of them, they could save more than an hour of walking and arrive at the dungeon with considerably more energy.

His decision was immediate.

“We're taking it.”

Jackey's tail swished enthusiastically.

“Good choice, Big Bro!”

Hyoren smiled.

“Let's get the tickets.”

They thanked the guards before heading toward the ticketing booth.

The process was quick. They paid for four tickets and received their places on the next departure. A few other adventurers were already waiting nearby, apparently having reached the same conclusion.

Once the carriage was ready, Freedom Party climbed aboard.

Hyoren entered first, followed by Elise, Arianna, and Jackey. 

The interior was clean and surprisingly spacious. Two long padded benches faced each other, leaving enough room for passengers and their equipment without making the carriage feel cramped. The wooden walls were thick, helping keep the cold outside, while the seats were covered in soft leather that felt much warmer than the snow-covered world beyond the door.

Elise sat beside Hyoren.

Arianna settled opposite them, carefully arranging her purple robe so that it wouldn't become caught beneath her boots.

Jackey dropped onto the bench beside her with a satisfied sigh.

“Much better than walking.”

Hyoren chuckled.

“Don't get too comfortable. We're still going into the dungeon.”

Jackey's ears immediately perked up.

“Then I will save all my energy!”

Arianna covered her mouth with the back of her hand.

“Ohoho. A wise strategy, Sir Jackey.”

The driver climbed into his seat at the front.

He checked the passengers, adjusted the reins, and gave them a small flick. The horses began moving. The carriage lurched forward. The wheels rolled over the packed road with a deep, rhythmic rumble.

Hyoren felt his body sway slightly with the motion.

It was a strange sensation. They had spent so much of their journey traveling on foot that simply sitting inside a moving carriage almost felt luxurious.

The North Gate slowly passed behind them.

Akela's stone walls began to shrink in the distance as the carriage moved farther away from the city.

Soon, the buildings disappeared behind them, replaced by the open frontier. Snow stretched across the fields on both sides of the road. The landscape was almost entirely white. Bare trees stood scattered across the snow-covered ground, their branches dark against the pale winter sky. The road itself had been cleared and packed down, allowing the carriage wheels to roll smoothly despite the heavy snowfall.

Hyoren leaned back against the padded seat.

“This is truly convenient.”

He looked toward Arianna.

“We need to thank your father.”

Arianna smiled.

“I think he simply does what's best for the city.”

She adjusted her hat slightly.

“Akela already has carriage services running to the west and east on the King's Highway. So making a new route to a profitable dungeon is an obvious next step.”

Hyoren nodded.

“I see.”

Elise glanced out through the carriage window. Beyond the glass, snow continued covering the frontier.

“But even if that's the case, we should still be thankful.”

She shivered slightly.

“Walking in this kind of weather is depressing.”

Everyone laughed.

Jackey nodded emphatically.

“Especially when the snow gets inside my boots!”

Arianna tilted her head.

“Then perhaps you should wear your boots properly, Sir Jackey.”

Jackey looked down at his boots.

“I did!”

Hyoren chuckled.

“Then perhaps the snow simply doesn't like you.”

Jackey's tabby cat ears drooped.

“Why does everyone blame me?”

Another round of laughter filled the carriage.

The gentle rocking continued. Outside, Akela's snowy frontier rolled past their windows. Inside, Freedom Party simply enjoyed the convenience of being carried toward their destination.

It was a small change. A simple carriage route.

But it was another sign of how much the world around the Akela Dungeon was changing.

The dungeon had become important enough for the city to invest in roads, transportation, merchants, and infrastructure. What had once been a remote destination requiring a long walk through the frontier was slowly becoming part of Akela's expanding sphere of activity.

And Freedom Party was right at the center of that change.

Hyoren looked toward his companions.

Elise was quietly watching the snowy landscape. Arianna was sitting comfortably across from him, occasionally adjusting the brim of her hat. Jackey was staring out the window with the curiosity of a child, apparently fascinated by the passing scenery.

Hyoren smiled.

The carriage continued onward toward the Dungeon Town.

***

The fifteen-minute ride was a revelation.

The landscape that had once taken them nearly two hours of grueling marching to cross simply rolled past the carriage windows in a comfortable blur. The packed road stretched beneath them, the carriage wheels producing a steady rhythm against the frozen ground.

Then the carriage rounded a final ridge. The Old Quarry came into view.

Hyoren's eyes widened. Even for all his pragmatism, he was taken aback. The Old Quarry where he and Elise had once fought the goblin settlement was almost completely gone.

In its place stood a town. Not merely a few scattered buildings like when they had left two weeks ago, but a sprawling, chaotic, and vibrant settlement that seemed to have sprung from the earth in an absurdly short amount of time. When Freedom Party had departed, several buildings had already been erected. The foundations of others had been laid. The town gate and outer wall, however, had still been under construction.

Now, the difference was staggering.

Rows of wooden buildings filled the former quarry. Some were simple houses. Others were taverns, shops, workshops, warehouses, and establishments catering specifically to adventurers. Construction was still ongoing in several areas, with workers carrying lumber, hammering boards into place, and shouting instructions to one another.

The wooden walls surrounding part of the settlement had also progressed significantly. It was still rough compared to a proper established town, but there was already a sense of permanence to it.

The entire place was alive. Hyoren stared for several seconds.

“So much changed in only two weeks…”

Elise leaned closer to the window. Her emerald eyes wandered across the growing settlement.

“It seems the dungeon's popularity has accelerated the town's development considerably.”

A large wooden archway had been erected at the town's entrance. Freshly painted letters stretched across it—Akela Dungeon Town.

Elise smiled faintly.

“Simple town name.”

She tilted her head slightly.

“But it fits.”

Hyoren nodded.

“I agree.”

Arianna adjusted her wide-brimmed hat as she looked toward the settlement.

“It certainly leaves little room for misunderstanding. Ohoho.”

Jackey pressed his face against the window.

“Akela Dungeon Town!”

His tabby cat ears perked up.

“It already looks bigger than before!”

Hyoren chuckled.

“Yeah. It definitely is.”

The carriage eventually slowed.

The wheels creaked as the driver guided the vehicle toward the carriage station beside the gate. Similar to the station at Akela, a small building had been constructed here for the new carriage service. Several adventurers were already waiting nearby. They were apparently preparing to return to Akela City.

The carriage finally came to a stop.

Hyoren stepped down first, boots crunching softly against the snow. Elise, Arianna, and Jackey followed.

Hyoren turned toward the driver.

“Thank you for the ride.”

The driver smiled and nodded.

“My pleasure. Enjoy your dungeon dive.”

The four of them then entered Akela Dungeon Town. The moment they passed beneath the wooden archway, the atmosphere changed.

The streets were bustling. The sheer energy of the place was a stark contrast to the quiet focus of their last visit. They passed a newly opened tavern where the smell of grilled meat drifted through the doorway.

Further down was a brothel that already seemed to be doing brisk business despite the town's relatively young age.

Rows of stalls lined parts of the street, their merchants eagerly displaying adventuring equipment. Some of the prices were noticeably higher than those in Akela City.

Hyoren glanced at one display. A simple piece of adventurer equipment had been marked up considerably. He immediately looked away.

“Overpriced.”

Jackey nodded.

“Very overpriced.”

Arianna covered her mouth.

“Ohoho. At least you noticed, Sir Jackey.”

The four of them ignored the merchants and continued onward. Their destination was clear—the Adventurer's Guild. The guild building was now a proper timber structure, a significant upgrade from the tent that had served as the guild's first outpost.

Hyoren pushed open the door. The warmth of the interior greeted them.

At the  counter stood Sherly. Her short blonde hair was neatly arranged in a bob cut, and her glasses sat properly on the bridge of her nose. She still maintained the prim and professional bearing she had possessed when she first arrived.

She was sorting through several documents when the guild's entrance opened. She looked up. Her expression immediately brightened.

“Freedom Party!”

She placed the documents down.

“Long time no see! Back for another dive?”

Hyoren approached the counter.

“Long time no see, Sherly.”

He smiled.

“And yes. After everything, we're going to be back in the dungeon.”

Sherly nodded enthusiastically.

“Yes, yes! I heard the story!”

She leaned forward slightly.

“It has practically become an urban legend already! Good job for saving Riverville Town!”

Hyoren's smile became wry.

“Yeah… about that…”

He scratched his cheek.

“Anyway, do you have any news about the dungeon? Surely after two weeks, people would have overtaken us by now?”

He chuckled.

“We might not be pioneers anymore.”

Sherly shook her head.

“To the contrary…”

She adjusted her glasses.

“The progress stagnated when you guys were gone!”

Elise, who had stepped up beside Hyoren, furrowed her eyebrows.

“Huh. Really, Sherly?”

Sherly nodded.

“Yes!”

She picked up one of the reports on the counter.

“Some parties managed to break through that absurd Goblin Berserker and the First Floor Guardian.”

She sighed.

“But they became stuck on the Second Floor afterwards.”

Hyoren's expression became serious.

“Stuck? Why?”

Sherly nodded.

“They say every encounter is too difficult. The goblins on that floor are much stronger and more coordinated than the ones before it, so it takes them a long time just to make meaningful progress.”

Hyoren nodded slowly.

That made sense. The second floor's respawn rate was not as high as the first floor's, but the monsters themselves were considerably stronger. And unlike the monsters on the first floor, they coordinated with one another.

Hyoren looked toward Sherly again.

“Even Unbreakable Will and Merry Go Round are stuck?”

Sherly tapped one finger against the report.

“Yes. They are not really struggling in the dungeon proper. But they said they still couldn't think of a way to defeat that Floor 2 Guardian…. The Goblin Ruler and its fifteen-hundred-goblin army.”

Hyoren tapped his chin.

“I see…. We even got stuck there.”

His gaze briefly shifted toward Arianna.

“Before we found Arianna.”

He smiled wryly.

“And even with Arianna, it was still a hard fight.”

Arianna smiled.

“Indeed. That was quite the battle.”

Hyoren then looked back at Sherly.

“Okay. I'll give you a strategy to clear Floor 2 Guardian… Tell anyone who wants to clear the Floor 2 Guardian to practice in the First Floor Monster Room first.”

Sherly tilted her head.

“That death trap?”

She adjusted her glasses.

“I know all adventurers avoid that hidden chamber because they know they can't clear it without risking their lives.”

Hyoren smiled.

“We actually know how to clear it safely, Sherly.”

Sherly froze. Her eyes widened behind her glasses.

“Clear that death trap safely?”

Her finger trembled.

“I thought you guys were just a madman who didn't understand danger. But you guys actually have a strategy to safely clear the Monster Room?”

Hyoren nodded. He glanced toward his party.

Elise, Arianna, and Jackey all nodded. They understood what Hyoren was about to do. He was going to share one of Freedom Party's methods. None of them objected.

Sherly looked at him incredulously.

“You're fine with sharing that precious information?”

Hyoren nodded.

“Yes…. We're going to keep advancing. And we don't really want to monopolize the Monster Room.”

Sherly stared at him for a moment before hurriedly grabbing a piece of paper and a writing tool.

“Then please explain everything.”

Hyoren nodded.

“Basically, the key to defeating the First Floor Monster Room and the Second Floor Guardian is similar.”

He raised one finger.

“Kiting the enemy to a choke point.”

Sherly’s brows furrowed at the unfamiliar term. But she held back and decided to begin writing.

Hyoren continued.

“The First Floor Monster Room has a narrow corridor connecting the chamber to the entrance. We used that corridor to funnel the goblin horde.”

He moved his hand as he explained, visualizing the battlefield.

“Instead of fighting all of them at once, we forced them through the narrow passage. Only a manageable number could reach us at the same time.”

Sherly's pen moved quickly across the page.

“And the same principle applies to the Second Floor Guardian?”

Hyoren nodded.

“Exactly, Sherly. We used the stone bridge to funnel the Goblin Ruler's army.”

His expression became focused.

“The bridge prevents the entire army from surrounding us. They can only cross from one direction, which means the number of enemies engaging our frontliners at the same time is limited.”

He tapped the counter.

“That also protects our back row.”

Elise nodded.

“Without the bridge, the goblin army could surround us from multiple directions.”

Arianna added calmly,

“And once our back row was surrounded, maintaining our formation would become considerably more difficult.”

Jackey raised his fist.

“Then we just whack them while they're stuck!”

Sherly blinked.

Hyoren stared at him.

“…That's the simple version.”

Jackey grinned.

“Simple is good!”

Arianna covered her mouth.

“Ohoho. Sir Jackey's explanation is certainly concise.”

Sherly laughed despite herself before returning to her notes.

Hyoren continued explaining the details—the importance of positioning, keeping the choke point intact, preventing the enemy from breaking through, and making sure the frontliners could rotate when necessary.

He explained how Freedom Party had used the narrow corridor on the First Floor and the stone bridge on the Floor 2 Guardian Chamber to turn overwhelming numbers into manageable engagements.

Finally, he leaned back.

“That's the gist.”

Sherly stared at the pages she had filled. There was considerably more writing than she had expected. She adjusted her glasses and looked up at him.

“So this is how you guys do it…”

Her expression carried genuine admiration.

“No wonder you were pioneers.”

She looked down at her notes again.

“You keep thinking outside the box.”

Hyoren smiled wryly.

“Sometimes we need to fight smartly.”

From behind him came an enthusiastic shout.

“Big Bro is really smart!”

Jackey raised both fists.

Arianna nodded elegantly.

“Leader does indeed have some rather unique strategies sometimes.”

Elise nodded beside her.

“He does.”

Hyoren could only smile wryly.

***

Hyoren rested one hand against the counter.

“That's how we did it, Sherly.”

He tapped the counter with his finger.

“It's not like the fight is going to be easy. But at least it would be manageable as long as they were careful.”

Sherly nodded slowly. She looked down at the report again, her eyes moving across the notes she had hurriedly written while Hyoren explained their strategy. Her finger traced one of the rough diagrams showing the narrow corridor and the position of the adventurers.

“I see…”

She adjusted her glasses.

“It does indeed look doable.”

Her expression brightened.

“I'll make sure to give this information to any party that is going to tackle the Second Floor Guardian.”

Hyoren smiled.

“Good.”

He then reached into his storage bag and pulled out four guild cards. The familiar cards caught the warm light of the guild's magic lamps as he placed them on the counter.

“Anyway…”

He slid them toward Sherly.

“Please register us for the Dungeon Exploration Quest. We plan to dive for about ten days.”

He paused briefly.

“If we manage to clear Floor Three before that, then we might end the dive earlier.”

His expression became slightly more serious.

“But if we couldn't clear it within ten days, we won't dive for longer than that. We will go back first without clearing it.”

Sherly gathered the four guild cards into her hands.

“Good thinking.”

She nodded approvingly.

“The Adventurer Guild doesn't recommend adventurers to remain inside the dungeon for more than ten days without sufficient preparation.”

She paused.

“But I guess I don't need to explain the reason.”

A small smile appeared on her face.

“Senior Ina would already have told you guys about it.”

Hyoren smiled.

“Exactly.”

The danger of prolonged dungeon expeditions wasn't something they needed explained. Fatigue accumulated. Supplies diminished. The mind would gradually break fighting in cramped space without knowing day or night. And even experienced adventurers could make fatal mistakes when their bodies and minds were exhausted.

Sherly placed the four cards onto the familiar registration device. The magic tool gave a soft hum. Soft blue light glowed across its surface before settling into the guild cards.

Sherly checked the result, then handed the cards back.

“Here you go.”

She smiled.

“Freedom Party is registered for the Dungeon Exploration Quest.”

Hyoren accepted the cards and carefully returned them to his storage bag.

“Thank you, Sherly.”

Sherly gave them a small, professional bow.

“May fortune smile upon you.”

Hyoren nodded.

“Thank you.”

The four members of Freedom Party then turned toward the entrance.

Hyoren pushed open the door. A rush of cold winter air immediately swept into the guild. The warmth inside was replaced by the crisp bite of snow. The silver sunlight reflected from the snow-covered streets, forcing Hyoren to narrow his eyes for a moment.

He stepped outside.

Elise followed, her silver hair catching the sunlight. Arianna adjusted her wide-brimmed hat as she walked out behind them. Jackey came last, stretching his arms above his head. The wooden door of the Adventurer's Guild closed behind them with a soft thunk.

Hyoren looked ahead.

The newly established Akela Dungeon Town stretched before them, filled with adventurers, merchants, workers, and the constant noise of a settlement built around the dungeon.

Hyoren took a slow breath. The cold air filled his lungs.

After everything that had happened in Riverville Town, after the nightmare of the Voided Covenant and the Flesh Golem, they were finally back where their adventuring journey had been interrupted.

He looked toward his companions.

Jackey raised his fist.

“Dungeon time!”

Hyoren chuckled.

“Yeah, Jackey. It is dungeon time.”

Elise tucked a strand of her silver hair behind her pointed ears.

“I hope our skills haven't rusted.”

Arianna shifted her purple robes. Her light blue eyes gazed forward toward the dungeon entrance.

“Let’s do it, everyone.”

Hyoren nodded.

He turned toward the road leading deeper into Akela Dungeon Town. The four of them started walking. Their footsteps crunched softly against the fresh snow.

The dungeon awaited them once again—and Freedom Party was ready to tackle the dungeon again.