Chapter 26

It has been two days since we've been exploring the dungeon, classifying the things we find on each floor and being separated each time we enter. The highest floor we've reached is the eighth floor.

"It seems the dungeon is not small, but the mobs seem a bit too easy. The only difficulty we're facing is that we're used to working as a team, and most of the time our focus is on protecting the village."

"Yes, but there seems to be a great variety of monsters and some resources according to the reports."

"That's good, but it's a reason not to conquer it. If the dungeon continues like this, the guild will pay a lot for it, in addition to the extra profit it will generate."

The village is just an ordinary village. Although it's not entirely abandoned, its population has been decreasing every year, with the younger generation moving to towns and not returning, while the older residents are nearing the end of their life expectancies.

"While you gather information, I'll focus on exploring the number of floors the dungeon has."

"Good luck."

Even though the dungeon is the future of the village, I've noticed that some are tempted to conquer it for the rewards. The fact that it hasn't been conquered yet means it's not as simple as it appears, even though, when I was younger and still an adventurer, I might have been tempted by the rewards. But now that I've retired and started a family, I have everything I could want.

"It's time to get serious."

When I passed through the dungeon entrance, everything changed. It was as if I had entered a new world. It has already been confirmed that on the first floor, apart from some resources, there is no sign of life or traps.

While admiring the surroundings, I followed the path to the second floor based on my memory. Even while conserving energy, finding it was quick and simple.

Upon reaching the second floor, I decided to warm up. As I ran towards the entrance to the third floor, I eliminated all the monsters that crossed my path. The key to dealing with kobolds is not letting them call the pack, and staying alert to your surroundings, eliminating the chance of surprise attacks, which makes it a relatively easy floor to handle.

Since I focused on eliminating only the monsters I encountered on my way to the next floors, I didn't spend much time exploring each floor. I quickly reached the eighth floor, taking into account the time I spent resting, it took me only two and a half hours to get there.

Since the eighth floor has not been fully explored, I'll have to spend extra time searching for the entrance to the next floor.

The eighth floor, unlike the previous ones, features a structure or something similar. When I entered, I was surrounded by a wall, which seemed to be there to protect against monster attacks.

As I was ready to cross the wall, something different happened.

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"Omael, it seems one of them is getting serious now. Can you go and try to stop him?"

"No problem, master."

While we were almost letting our guard down, a change occurred in the dungeon. Despite some people seriously challenging the dungeon, the vast majority of them were focused on fully exploring each floor.

This time, someone is progressing through each floor with remarkable ease, which made me a bit apprehensive, considering that there are still more than ten days for the dungeon to become firmly established in that world.

During these two days, we discovered that we could hear and understand what is said inside the dungeon, even though they speak a different and strange language. When they are inside the dungeon, what they say seems to be automatically translated.

"Let's see how he fares while fighting a raid boss."

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A winged being emerged from the forest and is heading towards the wall, and the way it behaves seems different from the other dungeon monsters.

"Raid boss, the dungeon was too easy."

When he appeared, he was walking calmly, but when his eyes met mine, he spread his majestic wings and began to glide in my direction.

Staying calm, I knew I had to prepare to defend myself and, if possible, counterattack.

As if he didn't care about me, he simply landed gracefully on the wall, keeping a safe distance from me.

"Hello."

I think I'm hallucinating; I swear I heard him greet me.

This made me even more alert, taking advantage of his distraction, I decided to attack.

Although he was completely calm and composed, his agility and skill allowed him to easily dodge my blows and maintain a distance.

With a graceful movement, he flew upward, increasing the distance between us even further.

After he reached a certain distance, he decided to retaliate, raising his hands and, with an elegant movement, began to cast a series of spells. Incandescent fireballs flew in my direction, while water spears materialized in the air, and stone bullets were shot at me.

As the fireballs approached, I decided to roll on the ground to avoid the impact. Even though I dodged the fireball without much difficulty, I continued to dodge and defend myself from the water spears and stone bullets.

My mind was constantly working, searching for openings and planning my next moves, trying to effectively dodge the attacks while getting closer to him, doing my best not to compromise my chances.

That's why I don't like fighting flying monsters.

The situation didn't seem entirely impossible, and little by little, I was getting used to it. In one of those moments, I managed to counterattack, using one of the few spells I know.

I decided to launch several air blades toward his wings, and while he dodged most of them, one of the air blades managed to hit one of his wings.

This created an opening, reducing the number of projectiles I had to dodge, allowing me a moment to catch my breath and continue the counterattack.

As I cast more spells, I noticed him using a different magic to heal himself as if it were nothing.

"Angel," that's when I remembered the species of my opponent.

The battle continued with the angel maintaining the advantage, trying to wear me down slowly. Each of his attacks became more intense, but he seemed to be enjoying prolonging the duel, effortlessly avoiding my attacks, his wings radiating with a divine aura.

Despite my disadvantages, it's not the first time, and I believe it won't be the last time that I find myself in an unfavorable situation. As long as I stay calm and don't give up, there will be a chance to turn the situation around.

"This is quite fun. I think I've learned enough. It's time to finish this."

While I was planning my counterattack, I heard him speaking again.

"Well, I was going to try a more passive approach and ask about your objective."

Realizing that I wasn't hallucinating and that if I hadn't attacked at that moment, the situation would have been completely different, I felt a slight regret.

"I'm sorry. I never imagined a Boss just wanted to talk. My objective is simply to discover the number of floors in the dungeon."

When I replied, he stopped attacking me for a moment and continued to pay attention to me. Seeing this, I decided to explain everything to him and see if I could get some information.