The room was dark, the magic lamp already dimmed by Aleric before they'd gotten into bed.
Torin shifted onto his back but still didn't look at Aleric's face. He could clearly hear his own raging heartbeat; surely Aleric could hear it too.
Aleric chuckled softly. "Why are you so nervous? We've shared a room before, haven't we?"
Torin sighed. "Mm."
Aleric sighed too, also turning onto his back. "Torin, I don't know what will happen tomorrow in front of my father, but remember, I won't leave you guys, no matter what I have to do."
Torin finally turned to look at Aleric. His face was obscured in the dimness, but he could feel the determination radiating from him. "If... if you find that you can't do it anymore," Torin said, his voice low, "just do me one favor."
"What?" Aleric asked.
"Take care of the children," Torin replied. "At least they'd have a secure future. I'll move towards the desolate lands with the other villagers..."
He was cut off as a gentle finger landed on his lips. It was Aleric, shushing him.
"Don't worry about that," Aleric said, his voice groggy with exhaustion from the journey. "I won't leave a single one of you." Before Torin could move or protest, Aleric acted.
Unconsciously, he used one arm to pull Torin close, hugging him tight. At home, he always slept with a side pillow. Here, finding none, his sleepy mind substituted Torin, pulling him into a firm embrace as he drifted off.
Torin froze completely. He could feel the warmth radiating from Aleric's body, the soft puff of his breath against his ear. He sighed. It was clear Aleric had fallen asleep mid-conversation. He let him sleep like that, trying to calm his own raging heart as he, too, tried to find sleep.
***
As Silas and the others stepped into the dungeon, the blue vortex behind them flared, and a huge red light pulsed from its center, signaling that the dungeon was now being raided. But ominously, an eerie black aura, like wisps of dark smoke, lingered in the air around the entrance.
Inside, they were met with the sight of kobolds dozens of them, ranging from level 20 to level 25. The six of them looked at the creatures with icy eyes. For Silas, killing so many with only his lightning element would be tough. As for Rhys and Jacob, despite their rapid progress, fighting monsters at level 20 was still far beyond their current capabilities of level 12 and 11.
Silas quickly formed a plan. "Let's have the three of you handle the bulk of them," he said to Kael, Draven, and Theron. "Leave a few for us to handle so we can level up. We need to be able to fight in here on our own."
Kael, Draven, and Theron all nodded. They immediately broke off and began to fight the horde of over twenty kobolds. Kael single-handedly took over one side of the cavern, using his ice element to freeze an entire group before summoning wind blades with his gale magic to slice off all their heads at once. To him, these kobolds were like children.
Draven moved with deadly precision, his swordsmanship growing more and more perfect with every fight. Having seen Silas use similar techniques so often, he had even learned how to execute a perfect counterattack. He cut down one kobold after another on his flank.
The most interesting part, however, was Theron. Silas was curious to see what weapon he would use. The next second, he felt a jolt of surprise.
Divination! Silas thought, activating his skill.
[ Theron
Class: Magus (level 49)
Strength: 271
Stamina: 250
Agility: 100
Mana: 454
Intelligence: 200
Affinity:
Thunder (Excellent)
Dark (pro)
Get 255 free points after each level up. And have base points of 75 ]
Silas was mesmerized. He had never imagined that one of his instructors possessed one of the rarest elements of all, the dark element. That power usually ran in the veins of demons. While humans could wield it, they were incredibly rare and often bullied or ostracized. In some cases, even the Imperium wouldn't trust someone with such an affinity.
Silas sighed as he watched Theron choose to use his thunder element instead. He summoned a powerful lightning strike for each kobold, turning them to ash with its high intensity.
As for the other three, with their boyfriends clearing the path, they chose a single target to fight together. The kobolds were stupid, attacking whatever was in front of them. Jacob protected the other two with his water element while Silas electrocuted the monster, allowing Rhys to land the final, killing blow. The kobold died without putting up much of a fight.
All of them gained some experience, but for Silas, it was just a snack; he needed a massive amount to reach level 16. After collecting the loot, they pressed on.
After two hours of continuous, nonstop battle, Rhys and Jacob had leveled up multiple times. Rhys was now at level 16, and Jacob was at level 15 still novices for a D-rank dungeon, but much stronger. Silas had also gained enough experience in the process to reach level 17, and was on the verge of breaking through to level 18.
Finally, they stood before the boss room. The air here was heavy, thick with a pressure that felt far too powerful for a D-rank dungeon. An oppressive, almost suffocating aura leaked from the seams of the massive stone door, a palpable malevolence that made the hairs on their arms stand on end. As they stared at it, everyone's face turned grim.
A sense of dreadful déjà vu washed over Silas. He shot a look at Draven, his voice laced with bitter irony. "Is this some kind of trend nowadays?"
Theron, confused by the inside comment, asked, "What do you mean?"
Kael also looked to Silas for an answer, but this time it was Draven who spoke, his voice low and serious. "Silas and I... we've been through something like this before. An E-rank dungeon with a mutated B-rank boss waiting at the end."
A chilling silence fell over the group. The words sent a shiver down their spines, and even Kael and Theron's expressions hardened. A B-rank boss in an E-rank dungeon was unheard of, a catastrophic anomaly.
"You're serious?" Kael asked, his tone sharp.
Draven nodded grimly. "We thought it was a freak exception. Maybe some creature was brought in from the outside and devoured the other monsters to evolve. But looking at this now..." He trailed off, the implication hanging heavy in the air.
Jacob gulped, his knuckles white where he gripped his wand. The sheer pressure emanating from the door was making it hard to breathe. "So... what are we going to do now?"
"The pressure is immense," Kael assessed, his eyes narrowed on the door. "This is, at the very least, a high-level B-rank monster."
While the others were focused on the sheer power level, Silas's sharp eyes scanned the group and caught the deep, troubled frown on Theron's face. He seemed to be sensing something beyond just the raw power.
"Theron, did you discover something?" Silas asked, his voice cutting through the tension.
Pulled from his thoughts, Theron looked up, his face pale and grim. "It's not just the power," he said, his voice barely a whisper. "I can feel it... faint strands of the dark element."
The name of that forbidden power hit Kael and Draven like a physical blow. They both knew Theron's secret, and their expressions immediately darkened. The dark element was exceptionally rare and dangerous, capable of corrupting and crazily enhancing anything it touched. To find it within a dungeon, even a mutated one, was almost unthinkable.
Silas's brow furrowed, his tone turning harsh. "Is someone tampering with the dungeons?"
Rhys, who had been silent until now, finally spoke, his voice tight with anger as he gritted his teeth. "Those black-clothed people. So this is why they were skulking around the academy."
The pieces clicked into place for everyone. The mysterious figures weren't just wandering; they were conducting twisted experiments, turning the dungeons near their school into volatile death traps.
"But why?" Silas asked, the question confounding them all. "What could they possibly gain from this?" The question hung in the air, unsettling the entire team. Mutated dungeons were not a common phenomenon.
"I don't know," Draven said through clenched teeth, "but whatever it is, they're planning something huge."
"Speculating won't help us now," Kael said, his focus returning to the immediate threat. "We have to do our best to fight that thing. If we can't defeat it, we won't be leaving this dungeon at all."
A silent, determined agreement passed through the group. Taking a collective deep breath, they pushed the heavy stone doors open and stepped into the boss room together.
They entered the room to find it completely empty. Not a single monster was in sight. But the powerful aura they felt from outside the door kept them on high alert. Still, no one could see where the monster was.
Silas decided to use his power. "Divination," he murmured to himself. He scanned every corner of the vast room, but he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary.
His eyes glowed with the power of his ability. He pushed his senses further, searching everywhere. When he finally looked up, his blood ran cold. He immediately shouted to his team, "Be careful! Above our heads!"
Just as he yelled, a massive spear slammed into the ground where they had just been standing, shattering the stone floor. The powerful attack came from the boss monster.
They all looked up and saw it. The monster was hanging from the ceiling, gripping the stone high above them.
The monster chuckled, a horrible, grating sound. "So, you found me first!"
A chill went down everyone's spine when they heard its voice. A monster that could talk meant its level was high, high enough to have intelligence.
Silas focused his glowing eyes on the monster, and the information he needed appeared in his mind.
[**Kobold King (Mutated)**
Class: Warrior
Level: 48
Strength: 400 + 20
Stamina: 220 + 20
Agility: 300 + 20
Mana: 200 + 20
Intelligence: 80 + 20
Techniques:
1. Dark Healing: Can heal continuously until its dark element runs out. 2. Raging Waves: Can be used once every 30 seconds. A wave of dark element will attack all invaders in its territory.
All stats have a +20 enhancement because of the dark element. The monster is corrupted.
*Monster reached level 48 due to a forbidden technique.*]
Silas frowned as he read the stats. So its level was also raised by some unknown technique? he thought to himself.