Irregular Dungeon vs Adventurers

"…This is weird, man."

"Agree, it's too quiet. I expect more… merry welcome."

"Isn't it good? Let's hurry and retrieve the dungeon core, then we can continue searching for Mahzinson's corpse."

"Maybe the dungeon is still busy digesting the corpse, man. That's why it's so quiet."

Kreis' last comment invited a glare from Mage Loen, not that the scout cared. "More likely, Archimage Mahzin has wiped all the critters within the dungeon," he replied.

"What're you saying? I already showed you his track, man, the geezer never went any deeper."

"Yeah? Perhaps he didn't need to go any deeper at all. He's an archmage, alright. At least it sounds more feasible than your theory of him mistaken the dungeon as a mere cave."

"That's enough, you two. We're in a dungeon. Keep your focus."

With the reminder, the bickering pair shut their mouths. The trio then continued their walk quietly and reached the second room not long after.

"Hey, it's quite spacious here."

"It's a room. To go this far and there's still no sign of the dungeon core, this dungeon may be bigger than I initially thought."

"There's a path over there. Let's go."

"Wait," Zod held Loen's shoulder before the young mage could take another step. The blond swordsman then turned to the other person of their party. "Kreis," he called.

"Give me a moment, man," the scout replied knowingly.

As the short guy closed his eyes, I felt mana fluctuation spreading from his body to the entire second room. He was using an area of effect skill.

"It's clear," he said as he reopened his eyes. "No hidden traps nor secret doors. The path over there is the only one aside from the one we came from."

"Hidden traps? I thought you said a level E dungeon can't set a trap?" Loen asked.

"I also said we can never be too careful in a dungeon," Zod shrugged. "Alright, let's go."

(Was that… a detection skill of some sort? It's good I didn't lay the pitfall trap yet. Hmm, this skill is troublesome. Fortunately, it seems like it's an active skill. It'll be more troublesome if it's a passive one.)

About ten minutes after they entered the second corridor, they finally arrived at where the maze I had specially prepared for them began.

"A crossroads?"

"Technically, no. It doesn't form a cross, so this junction isn't a crossroads," Loen took the chance to refute his baby-faced companion.

Kreis was speechless. "The hell, man. Do you have to be so petty? Fine, a junction then. A Y-junction. Satisfied?" he shook his head.

Soon, I detected another mana fluctuation from Kreis as the scout's face turned serious. "I don't sense anything out of the ordinary. Both paths seem to extend quite far from here," he reported.

Hearing that, Zod frowned. "Extend quite far? It's really big for a new dungeon. Was the cave naturally formed or was it because it absorbed Mahzinson's corpse?"

This time it was Loen who frowned. "Hey, c'mon. Can't you guys stop talking like that? I'm sure he put his son's corpse somewhere else."

Zod shrugged. "You can't discount the possibility."

"Fine, but it's still just a possibility. You don't need to mention it every single time like it's something certain either. Anyway, which way should we go?"

"Hmm," Zod took a good look at the junction before he gripped his sword's handle with both hands.

SWOOSH!

A visible swirling wind was gathering around his two-handed sword's blade. The wind was rotating faster and faster.

"Hey, what're you doing?"

"Step aside, Loen. HAH!!"

The swordsman slashed towards the junction section of the wall from afar, releasing a small cyclone that looked powerful and violent.

CRASH!

It hit the wall loudly. After the dust settled, a long and deep diagonal mark was seen on it.

"There," he said, satisfied with how the mark looked. "If you're wondering, a low level dungeon like this one took forever to revert back to its prime condition, if ever. Marking our way will make it easier to trace it back. Although the paths are usually very simple, again, we can never be too careful in a dungeon. Unfortunately, this method doesn't work in higher level dungeons, just so you know. Those dungeons can reset their shape and there are even dungeons that periodically change their layout. Finding our way would be more of a headache there," he explained.

"Okay, good to know."

Zod nodded, satisfied with Loen's response. "Then, let's explore this part first," he said, pointing his sword to the path on their right. "Kreis, take the lead."

And thus the trio pressed forward.

(Heh, you think you're smart, Zod? You just unknowingly dug your own grave, you know. I can't wait to see your expression later.)

If I still had a mouth, a smirk would definitely be seen at the moment.

…

…

"Another junction? Hold a sec, that's the mark from before. We're actually circling around?"

"So the right path is connected to the left path. Weird. Kreis, did you notice any other path along the way?"

"No, man, there's only one path as far as I'm aware of."

"What about you, Loen?"

The mage shook his head. "No."

"Weird. Did we miss it somewhere? Let's go through the path one more time, but pay more attention to our surroundings."

…

…

"…We're back at this junction again and we haven't found any other path. Where could the core chamber be? Is it possible for a dungeon to have no core?"

"That shouldn't be the case. Hmm, let's go back to the entrance, maybe the path was hidden and we missed it earlier," Zod scratched his cheek.

…

…

"What!? How come we're back here?! What's wrong with this junction?"

"Damn it, man. This is giving me a creep."

"Calm down, you two," their party leader said, although he could not hide his own shock. "Let's review our situation. First, we went to the right path and came back from the left path. We did this twice, so we can assume both paths are connected. After that, we went back to the middle path we originally came from, and then… we're back here… from the right path. Is the middle path also connected to the right path?" he asked, to no one in particular. The handsome swordsman looked confused.

"…Should we go back to the right path to see where it branched out? Or should we try the left path this time since we haven't tried it?" Loen asked.

"Well…" Zod hesitated. "Let's go back to the right path," he decided.

…

…

"The hell, man! Here we are again. And we're coming from the left instead of the middle path!"

"Should I say, as expected? What now, Zod?"

"…I'm not sure," Zod shook his head. His appearance was no longer as dazzling with his now disheveled hair.

"In that case, I suggest we go back again. We haven't tried entering from the left path," Loen proposed.

"Alright."

…

…

"Here we're again… Why am I not surprised? Is this magic, Loen? Think of something, man."

"Magic?" Loen twitched. He looked like he was thinking hard. "…The kind of magic that can make us go around without realizing can only be illusion spells. In that case, there must be a source nearby, either a mage lurking around or a formation array. Kreis, check our surroundings," he instructed.

Hearing that they might have fallen into an illusion spell, Kreis quickly followed up. Mana fluctuations spread from his body as he knitted his brows, reaching almost twice the distance compared to his previous detection. "Cough, cough. None, man," he reported while wiping sweats from his forehead. "I don't sense anything out of the ordinary. No mana source or whatsoever I could sense, I'm positive there's no hidden mage nor formation array within the 60 meters radius," he elaborated.

(Hmm, Kreis doesn't look good. Is that the limit of his detection skill? Maybe I can make use of this later.)

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"Then, unless it's a very advanced illusion magic, which I doubt, I don't think it's magic at all," Loen shook his head. "However, I think we've got some hints we can use to crack this odd junction. For example, in the three times we entered the right path, we consistently came out from the left path. The result from entering the left path was also indicating the two paths were connected, but was that really the case? Is the middle path the only inconsistent path or the other results were mere coincidence?"

Zod nodded. "Alright. We need to try them several more times to make sure, right? Then let's start with the left path first."

"But, this will take time and there isn't a guarantee it'll even work."

Zod shrugged. "Nothing is guaranteed in a dungeon, Loen. At least we've got something to try. We'll just think of another way if this doesn't work."

(Wow, good luck with that, guys. Ha ha ha…)

Overall, I was really satisfied with my modified figure-8 maze. It was a maze inspired by one of the collections belonging to my previous life's grandpa - a historical fiction about a pair of students who were stranded in the ancient warring era, where three kingdoms emerged from a crumbling empire, all trying to reunite the empire back under their own rule. Although I only remember the title vaguely - I think it had the word Dragon in it - yet the fiction gave me a deep impression simply because of the number of historical details in the story, at least in the earlier part of the fiction.

The maze was basically shaped like a figure of '8' that used several similar looking Y-junctions to confuse enemies. The usual method to solve a maze by continuously following one side of the wall should not work in this maze. However, it had been so many years since I read the book and I barely remembered any detail other than its general resemblance to an '8'. Since I did not know where to put the dead-end, or dead-ends, which I knew existed somewhere in the original fiction's maze, I modified the shape as I saw fit. Now it looked more like a clover than an eight after my improvisation.

In the original fiction, the pathways between each junction spanned for several kilometers within a lush forest where sunlight hardly reached the ground. Along with many turns on the way and similar looking piles of stone that mark every junction, the trespassers would easily lose directions and found it hard to differentiate their location. Constant ambush and harassment from the enemies also played a significant part in exhausting the main character and the army he led in that arc. They were lured deeper and deeper into the maze while their numbers continued to dwindle. They would have been wiped out if not for the wife of the most famous strategist of the era giving them a helping hand.

My version of the maze did not have the original's size - it took less than ten minutes of walking between each Y-junction. Although extending a corridor did not take a lot of mana, it would still be too much of a burden for my limited mana pool to stretch it further. It also did not help that the animals under my influence were too weak to harass the experienced adventurers. However, the semblance of each path and junction in my maze was likely better than the original, since it was impossible to completely replicate every tree and branch in a forest. The marks on the wall were also proven to be at least as effective as the moveable pile of stones at the junctions of the original maze.

That sword mark on the wall was Zod's blunder. After all, it was easy for me to duplicate and apply it to any wall I wish to, move the marks, or remove them without a trace. The swordsman was imprisoned by his own mindset that a low level dungeon was unable to reset its shape when damaged. Too bad for him, I was different from those stupid, low level consciousnesses.

(Maybe this is enough to confine them. Maybe I don't need to set any other traps at all…

(No no no, what am I thinking, I shouldn't be complacent. In the first place, I don't know how long this situation will remain. They may break the maze before I know, I need to add another layer of safety before that happens.

(Well, at least I managed to find out why my pitfall failed to form previously.)

I had done some tests while the trio were trying to find their way. In short, there had to be some distance between the people and the area I was going to change. I simply could not influence their immediate surroundings. After many trials and errors, I concluded the distance was about twelve meters from the nearest person. It was probably the same distance for items to be considered unattended, the prerequisite for me to absorb them.

(In the end, a pitfall can't be set directly under their feet and they'll be able to avoid a prepared one with Kreis' detection skill. Unless… I can create a situation where they're too busy to realize the trap while leading them to it. Alternatively, another type of trap that can't be avoided even if they're aware of it. Hmm…)

While I was busy making a concrete plan, the trio were already moving. Of course, they ended up at different but similar junctions.

"Back here again… the left path once again led us to the right path, which seems consistent with the assumption that the two are connected. But the middle path gives another crazy result, how come we came out from the very same middle path? When did we ever make a U-turn? Hey Zod, like this, it'll take a very long time to crack the maze. You're a Silver-rank, don't you have any better solution?" Loen asked with a tired voice.

"That's… I've a way, but…"

Zod's answer almost gave me a heart attack, figuratively.

(So they do have a way!)

"You have? But what?" Loen was invigorated.

"But, this situation isn't worth that solution. Let's try again, I know we can do it," the swordsman replied with a shrug.

"…Try again?" Loen was dumbfounded. "What do you suggest we try?"

"No idea. How about we go through the middle path again for now? It's the source of our problem, right?"

"Middle path? We just did, I'm sure it'll just give another crazy result. Is there any point?"

"Hmm."

"I second Zod's suggestion to have another try," Kreis raised his hand. "Man, there's something I want to confirm, it may be our next clue."

Probably still unable to understand Zod's choice, probably because of other reasons, Loen totally ignored what Kreis said. "Hey, Zod, c'mon. I don't think it's time to hold back whatever that method of yours," Loen persuaded.

The blond swordsman looked like he was considering what his mage friend suggested, but eventually shook his head. "It isn't worth it," he said again.

"Why? What do you mean by that?"

"Man, because it's a low level dungeon," Kreis took initiative to explain. He probably felt Loen would not stop nagging until he was convinced. "It's a single-use scroll that'd guide us straight to the dungeon core, but it wasn't easy to get and the cost was ridiculously high. Using it will cut most of our profit from being the first. Actually, it's more likely we'll be at a loss considering this new dungeon doesn't give any carcass to be looted."

Taking a deep breath, Zod nodded. "That's right. It's a different matter if it's a live-threatening dungeon, but that isn't the case here. We can't spend our best card on something like this. Therefore, we'll try to find our own way for as long as the time allows. Well, we still have to meet Lady Viarissa in Khuzan in two days, so I'll have to consider using the Guide-scroll in the end. She's very strict about time, after all. Being late to the meeting and incurring her anger is one thing, but if it made me lose her favor too then it's definitely not worth saving up the scroll."

"…What about the search for Mahzinson's corpse?"

"Sorry, Loen, I don't think it's possible with our current situation. Let's schedule it for later."

"…Sigh. What if I say finding the corpse is potentially several times more profitable than being the first?" the mage said, which immediately brought the others' attention including mine.

"What do you mean?"

"I didn't want to tell you until I can be more certain, less you're disappointed. But I guess you need motivation. First of all, do you know who Mahzin is?"

Both Zod and Kreis shook their heads.

"No, never heard of him, which I found weird. Every archmage is an apex in their respective magic system, they're all famous. However, I don't recall anything about old man Mahzin even after I met him in person."

"Then I'll tell you," Loen started. "He used to be pretty famous. Or more correctly, infamous. Mahzin the Soul Breaker, Mahzin the Mad Bear, Mahzin the Tyrant, some people even called him Mahzin the Walking Calamity behind his back. He was one of the previous generation's Ten Greatest. However, unexpected to many people, he suddenly settled down after he won the fancy of a girl much younger than himself and took her hand in marriage some twenty-thirty years ago. He ceased from the news since then. Together with the Mage Association's effort to push new bloods as their front cover in the following years, it's normal if you've never heard of him. If not because my teacher had suffered in his hand and warned all his disciples about the bear-like archmage, I probably wouldn't know either.

"One peculiar thing about him was his no-secret obsession with immortality. And based on what I'd gathered last night, the corpse may hold the secret of his decades of dedicated research on that subject. Think about it, how much can we gain from it? Even if we fail to unravel anything ourselves from the corpse, we can always sell it. I'm confident I can find a buyer. If all goes well, maybe we can even buy a very big mansion in the capital," the mage grinned, which sent a shiver to me.

BAM!

"Urgh! What--"

"SHUT UP! Do you realize what you're just saying!?"

Loen, being grabbed at his collar and put against a wall, suddenly faced his party leader's stern look. He was flabbergasted.

"You! I thought you're dealing with the old man's request! How do you think he'll react if he ever finds out we're looking for his son's corpse for the purpose you just said? You're about to make an enemy out of an archmage, Loen! A very powerful one, according to your story. This matter can easily blow up and drag the entire guild! How do you plan to deal with that?!"

After calming himself, the swordsman released his junior and shook his head. "Forget it. It's good that we haven't found the corpse yet. We can say it's just a coincidence and we didn't particularly look for it. The existence of this dungeon can serve as our alibi."

"I don't know, man, it's probably too late. I think we're already enemies."

"What is it, Kreis? Do you know something?"

"I'm positive I saw Loen put something in the geezer's drink," the baby-faced scout pointed. "I didn't think much at the time, but it was likely a harmful substance."

Zod squinted his eyes. "…Poison? Did you poison the old man, Loen?"

"…"

BAM!

Zod grabbed Loen's robe once again and pushed him to the wall. "Answer me!"

"I did! Yes, I poisoned him," the young mage grimaced. He then straightened his back and looked back into his leader's eyes. "He deserves it! I asked him politely out of respect, I wanted to befriend him. And you know what his reply was? No word, he straightforwardly tortured me! No, not physically. He pressured me with his aura and then casted a spell that made me experience the worst nightmare ever! It wasn't a simple nightmare, I tell you, it's a dream that can kill! The dreadful Soul Breaker spell, the very same spell that has left my teacher mentally crippled and forced him to abandon his high position in the past," he told. Gritting his teeth, he then continued in a softer, trembled voice, "That guy… is a demon in human skin. The sooner he dies, the less people will suffer."

"Hey, man, we're in a dungeon! Dungeons are known as dens of monsters and demons. Don't talk about a demon in a dungeon, it's kind of a jinx."

Loen ignored Kreis' warning, however, as he continued to stare directly into Zod's eyes in front of him.

"…I see. I was wondering what took you so long at the time, so something like that happened. Does it mean you're also mentally crippled?" the latter asked with a softer tone, patting his shoulder.

"I… I don't know. I don't think so," Loen replied, looking at his own hands. "I still feel terrible whenever I remember it, but I don't think my power as a mage is affected."

Taking a deep breath, the young mage looked back at Zod. "Anyway, you don't need to worry. I'm an adult, and a full-fledged adventurer at that. I can take care of myself and I won't be irresponsible. I promise you Mahzin won't cause a problem to you or the guild. To begin with, the poison I used was very potent. It's something I'd saved up as my trump card. If you still don't believe me, I can also resign from the guild once we're back so you won't be dragged in this matter."

Zod gave it a thought and shook his head. "No need to go that far," he said, "it isn't like our guild doesn't have an archmage of our own. I'll apply for the guild's intervention. You, us, we won't be at disadvantage with their help. Even if he's a former Ten Greatest, our guild also has several Executives who're part of Ten Greatest as well. He must give face to our guildmaster and the others."

Seeing that Loen was still hesitant, Zod patted his shoulder again and gave him a reassuring smile. "I said it's okay. Our guild has no habit of abandoning its members. We're guild mates, comrades in both fortune and misfortune. Even though I'm no match for an archmage, I won't shirk from protecting you. We're together in this, I promise," he declared.

"Okay," the mage nodded. "Thanks, Zod. Glad to know I've reliable allies on my back. However, you don't have to be a match for him. Like I said, the poison I gave him was very potent, albeit working slowly. More so for a high level mage like Mahzin. It should kill him within a week, or at least weaken him significantly. Even if he doesn't die, we don't need to face him directly either. With the number of people he had offended in the past, all we need to do is leak his weakened condition. If we add some info about his past misdeeds and put a bounty, I'm sure he won't last for long," the young mage once again made a devilish grin.

Hearing his words, I felt anger swirling up inside me. My blood was boiling, even though I no longer had blood.

"That's… quite a plan you have there. What kind of poison did you give him in the first place, for you to be that confident?"

"…Have you ever heard of Mana-Dispersing Toxin?"

Both Zod and Kreis gasped in surprise. Although I knew nothing about the poison, I could more or less guess the effect from the name. The people in this world were heavily reliant on mana, after all. With the education system in place like the compulsory Inner-Mana Awakening Course and Basic Mana-Control Course, even ordinary citizens relied on mana in their daily life. I imagined, when someone of this world was suddenly stripped from it, the shock alone would cause considerable mental trauma, which could easily lead to an accident. It should be even worse for high level warriors and mages who were reliant even more on mana.

(That's assuming the poison doesn't do any harm other than dispersing mana.

(Anyway, one week is the deadline then. I need to somehow get the antidote and deliver it before the end of this week. The sooner, the better.

(Tch, this changes everything.)

"Where did you get such a poison, man?" their short scout voiced another point I was curious about.

"I was lucky," Loen replied, still with his smug look. "I foiled an assassination attempt by chance and looted it from the assassin."

Kreis whistled. "You get your hand on something like that by luck? Zod, I'm now positive, we've to recruit him permanently, man. He'll be our lucky star!"

"Alright, I agree," Zod nodded. "Loen, do you want to formally join our party? Unlike before, you'll have more say in how we divide our loot. You'll also get priority to choose whatever mage-related equipment we get from a quest or dungeon raid in the future. If an equipment is unsuitable to any of us, we'll just sell and divide it equally among us. What do you say?"

Loen did not believe what he heard. "Are you serious?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?"

"No. I mean, yes. I mean, YES, I'd love to join you! Where do I sign?"

"Hahaha, calm down. We'll have to wait until we're back before we can formalize it," Zod smiled. "Anyway, welcome."

"Welcome, man," Kreis echoed.

"Thanks, guys," Loen grinned. "Today's one of the best days in my life."

To be honest, watching the trio gave me a mix of feeling; anger, disappointment, relief, and… happiness. Yes, happiness.

I was angry at how they treated my father, that much was obvious. It was my father they were talking about! No matter what past he had, they were not in position to judge him. I was pretty sure the only reason Loen did not become mentally crippled like his teacher was because father took pity and had mercy on him.

(I don't know his past, but the father I know isn't someone who'll blindly harm others. Well, okay, maybe sometimes. But he's not an evil person at heart, mother wouldn't have married him otherwise. His teacher was probably the one who sought trouble first and father isn't known for his patience.)

I was also disappointed at how they rewarded Loen after they knew he had poisoned father. Not only did they not punish the young mage, they valued him in even higher regard to the point they recruited him on the spot!

(What lucky star? Aren't you the walking calamity instead? At least father won't hurt others because of greed, and he'll never ever reward me if I ever did such an evil deed.)

On the other hand, I was relieved because I no longer had a dilemma on how to deal with them. After all, the plan to negotiate with them had many uncertainties, even after counting my childhood friend Viarissa in the picture - assuming she was the same person the trio had been talking about.

(Adventurers may be heroes who fight to protect ordinary people from monsters of dungeons, but you're my father's enemies and thus my enemies. Since you've made your stance clear, I won't stand on ceremony. Hmph.)

Last but not least, I was happy to learn more about my parents.

(To think father was one of the Ten Greatest… To be recognized as such isn't an easy feat, I always thought they're people above the cloud. No wonder his requirement for my teacher was so high. Sigh.

(Wait, since he's a member of the previous generation's Ten Greatest, doesn't it mean the present Ten Greatest are all his juniors?

(I see… When he infuriated our hometown's priest by calling Saint Xanders a brat, I thought he was just messing around. But that mightn't be the case. The most prominent figure of the Holy Temple might really be a brat in his eyes.

(Eh, does he know Saint Xanders in person? What about the other Greatest? Does he know Siwa the Elementalist too? If he does, maybe… he can introduce me? With his recommendation, it shouldn't be impossible for me to take an apprenticeship under Archmage Siwa, right?)

Siwa the Elementalist was arguably the present day most powerful archmage who was also a famous adventurer. He was at the forefront when it came to Elemental Magic and his knowledge comprehensively covered all the four primary elements. Just thinking about the possibility of meeting the celebrity mage made me excited. Not for long, however. I was reminded by reality that my father was somewhere out there, poisoned and weakened. I silently swore I would make the trio pay the price.

"Alright, let's get back to business," Zod clapped, demanding attention from the other two. "So you were saying, if we can find the corpse then we're bound to gain something from it. Either some secrets of immortality or monetary or both. Is that right?"

"Exactly."

"Good. But there's something I don't get, how come the corpse of his own son holds the secret of immortality? Did the old man try to make his son immortal or something?"

"Yes, he did. It seems there was an accident during the process, although I don't know the details."

"It's ironic, don't you think?"

"Who cares, it's good for us."

"Hmm. Then what if Mahzinson's corpse's been absorbed by the dungeon? Do you think we can still gain anything?"

"This… I don't know. I still believe it's unlikely, not to say impossible, for an archmage like him to mistake a dungeon for an ordinary cave."

"Alright, that's fine. Whichever the case, I think it's still worth a try. Kreis, please take the Guide-scroll out, we'll speed conquer the dungeon."

"Before that, man, there's something I want to confirm. Let's go through either the right or the left path once again before we use the scroll."

"Oh. Not the inconsistent middle path but either the right or the left? What's it, Kreis? What do you want to confirm?"

"We've walked through the path so many times that I realize there's something different every time we went through them. It's very subtle and it's possible that it's just me being oversensitive, but if my suspicion is right, we may have actually been walking through different pathways all this time."

"What?! Are you sure?!"

"Not yet, man, that's why I want to confirm it."

"Alright, this may become a bigger discovery than we thought. Let's not waste our time here any longer."

"Wait, what bigger discovery?"

"Dear Loen, we previously concluded this one is a new dungeon with a threat level no higher than E. However, if what Kreis said is true, that means the dungeon has deliberately misguided us all this time. It's beyond what a level E dungeon should be capable of. There's only one possibility for that to happen, an irregular dungeon! It's a big discovery and the reward will naturally be more generous in that case!"

"Irregular dungeon?" Loen repeated. "Because it does what normally we thought isn't possible for its threat level? Could it be that you misjudged the threat level in the first place?"

Zod shook his head. "I stand by my previous judgement. No matter where I look, I don't see any trace of sentient beings ever coming here. I don't even see any trace of monsters, only animals. Physically, I'm sure it's a virgin dungeon of threat level E. However, the will seems to be more advanced for whatever reason. This is without a doubt characteristic of an irregular dungeon."

"Then, what do you think is the appropriate threat level?"

"Let's see… A dungeon that could deliberately misguide adventurers would normally be at threat level C, but since it's strength is only at weak level E, we should consider it as level D."

"I disagree. I think B is more appropriate, man, at least it should be a C+."

"B? How come?"

"Zod, my man, think about it. Why did we assume there's only one pathway in the first place? It's because of the mark you left behind at the first junction! How long did we walk from that junction to the next one? No more than several minutes, man. It means the dungeon adjusted its tactic within that span of time. My experience in raiding higher level dungeons is limited, but I'm sure such adaptability is beyond what a level C dungeon is capable of."

"Oh. Yes, now that you mention it, yes, I think you're right. However, even if the threat level of the will is B, it doesn't change the fact that it lacks strong monsters to back it up. Its strength is still undeniably a level E dungeon. I'm more inclined to think of it as level D+ or C at most."

"You're the assessor, suit yourself, man. It's still an unconfirmed conjecture anyway."

"Alright. Now let's go."

(…Damn, how did they realize? Subtle difference? Don't give me that crap. Urgh, I really can't underestimate experienced adventurers, can I? Whatever, I'm more than ready. Bring it on.)

The three jogged, following the path on their right. Since all cards were now open, I discarded all pretense. It was time for all out war. I thus prepared ahead of their track.

After a while, the air within the corridor they were passing became more humid and their vision started to get hampered. Kreis at the front quickly gave his company a hand signal to stop.

"What's this? Mist? There wasn't a mist before."

"It's getting thicker."

"Man, I was right. Be careful, I'm positive this mist is the dungeon's reaction for our earlier discussion."

"Are you saying the dungeon's will is able to understand our language?"

"Better assume the worst and have a pleasant surprise later than being caught off-guard."

"Agree."

Soon, the fog completely enshrouded the trio. Even though they had enchanted their eyes and had previously been able to see rather fine inside my lack-of-light cave, I doubt they could see more than one meter now with the fog being so thick.

The fog was the product of my experiment. Since I had been able to manipulate the floor and the wall of the cave with Ground-Element Magic, I had figured I might be able to use the Elemental Magic to do other things as well. And I had been right. My mana moved so smoothly according to my will, controlling elements had never been easier. Becoming a dungeon was a blessing in disguise. By manipulating the water vapor and temperature, I had created a thick fog. And it was only the beginning.

RUMBLE!

"What's that sound?"

"Something's coming. Get ready!"

SWOOSH!

Wind started to gather and swirl around Zod's blade once again, sucking in the fog nearby. Their impaired visibility was restored to some extent.

Not long after, two round boulders that were big enough to fill the pathway came rolling from both their front and behind. They were about to sandwich the trio.

"Let me handle the one from behind," Loen said as he positioned himself and raised his black staff.

"Alright, I'll take care of the one from the front," the swordsman stepped forward.

"O powerful element, source of heat. Gather in my hand, fierce fire to pierce and burn my enemy into ashes…"

"Hey hey! What did I say about not using Fire-Element Magic?!"

"…Ignite, Flame Arrow! Shoot!"

"Tch," Zod shifted his attention back to the boulder in front of him. When it was within his reach, he moved. "HAH!"

This time Zod chose to leap and stab the boulder, focusing the wind charge damage to a single point. The boulder was halted, cracked at where it met the sword's tip, which was expanding rapidly in a spiral. The loud sound of its crumble was muffled, however, drowned by an even louder sound as the other boulder exploded because of Loen's Flame Arrow spell. Dusts were flying everywhere.

"Watch out!"

Kreis pushed Loen, right before a stalactite dropped at where the mage had been standing a moment earlier. Being shocked, Loen tried to look up, only to have Kreis' hand grabbed and pushed his head down.

"Duck!" the short scout yelled, followed by a clunk when his dagger deflected another falling stalactite.

A series of clunks rang as Kreis danced with his pair of daggers, protecting his younger comrade from a rain of stalactites. Fortunately for them, not for me, Zod came to their rescue soon after.

"You two okay? Kreis, your head is bleeding."

"Nah, it's just a scratch. But seriously, man, that's dangerous."

"That's right," Loen nodded. "If not for Kreis, I might've been a goner. Thanks."

"No problem, man. Just hand me a health potion of yours."

"What? Why?"

"I saved your ass, don't you think you need to pay me back? Look, I'm bleeding because of you," the baby-faced grinned as he pointed his wound.

"Ugh, fine," the mage grunted. He still took out a bottle with red content from the inner pocket of his robe, nevertheless. "Here," he said, reluctantly handing it over.

"Alright," Zod clapped. "Now, Loen, mind explaining your spell choice? I'm sure I've warned you to avoid using Fire-Element Magic in a closed environment like a cave."

Loen shrugged. "You know it's very difficult to manipulate the floor and wall within a dungeon, even though they're made of rock and dirt. A mage needs to be at least Advanced-rank in Ground-Element before he can have a barely satisfying result. It's just out of the question for me."

"…And? The other elements?"

"Wind Blades aren't strong enough to cut the thick boulder. In fact, I don't know any Air-Element spell that's destructive enough to stop it, unless I combo the spell with a Fire-Element spell. It hardly added more value and was less efficient than a single Fire Arrow. I don't have your special wind-enchanted weapon, alright.

"As for my Water-Element, well, it's even worse. I know how to conjure water so I won't die because of thirst, but you see, it's the opposite element of my favorite and I can't combo them. I've never seen any point in learning more than the basics of Water-Element."

Zod shook his head. "Alright, I understand. Just remember to add more Air-Element spells in your arsenal later. There's a reason why Air-Element and Water-Element are the favorite of adventurer mages. Most dungeons are caves, after all."

"I know, that's my plan as well."

"At least we've confirmed it's really an irregular dungeon. The will seems very dangerous too. You're right, Kreis, it's no longer a level C dungeon. Anyway, the scroll please."

"Here, man," the scout threw the item, which was easily caught by Zod.

The swordsman quickly spread it on the floor and put his hand on the magic diagram, channeling his mana. The said diagram was then glowing. Soon after, a light ball emerged from it as the scroll turned into ashes.

"Let's go."