Chapter 44. Forcing the Dungeon Boss to Emerge.

When confronted with the task of breaking everything in sight, one can inadvertently succumb to rage. The idea of breaking the islands seemed absurd at first. After all, one wrong move, and we could find ourselves surrounded by spiders in the swamp. However, once the decision was made to act, it had to be done boldly. As many may have guessed, or perhaps not, I took an axe from my inventory and began clearing the forests. Each island had just over a dozen trees, making it easy to cut them down, especially using the "striking blow." I used just over 5 mana each time, which replenished in 3 seconds.

I demolished the first island in just a minute, the next in about 50 seconds, and the speed only increased from there. Immersing myself completely in the task, I didn't even notice how quickly the islands changed around me. After just over 50 islands, I noticed Arman approaching. He was rushing toward me, muttering something angrily under his breath.

"What the hell are you thinking?" he exclaimed, grabbing me by the collar and staring into my eyes.

"What happened?" I quickly responded with my counter-question.

"What happened? Why did you tell them to destroy the islands? They've already demolished 16 islands, what are we going to do next?" With the same expression on his face, he continued bombarding me with questions, and his face and the anger in his voice made it clear just how furious he was.

"I sent you a bird with a note, explaining everything. We need to destroy the islands until the dungeon boss appears," I replied hesitantly. I didn't know how to react to his anger; for me, he was a friend who appeared out of nowhere, although it would be more accurate to say a friend inherited from that 'Temir.'

"Where do you get such confidence in the plan? What if the boss doesn't appear, and we end up sitting in the swamp waiting for it?" Arman asked, staring at me even more intensely, and a little more, and his spit that flew out with every word would reach me.

"Let's do this, then. Leave just over 10 islands in that direction; I'll destroy the rest. Deal?" I asked, infusing my tone with the utmost friendliness.

"How many islands have you destroyed?" Arman asked, as if ready to bury me under one of those islands. Perhaps I should have asked him before starting the action, but what could I do now?

"Well, around 50, maybe a little more," I mumbled in response, nervously lowering my gaze and slowly scratching my head.

"What?! 50?!???" Arman shouted a few words. Because of his scream, I straightened up and tried to look him in the eyes, but due to the pressure, I lowered my gaze again. Nevertheless, a few drops touched my clothes, although who cares at the moment.

"Well, it wasn't difficult; it took only half a minute for one island," I said, slowly taking a step back to avoid the subsequent drops that could hit me.

"UUUUFFFFFFFFFF." Arman exhaled slowly, after which he said, "Okay, what's done is done, but don't you think it's better to just cut the tops of the trees instead of breaking the islands?"

Perhaps due to the extensive experience he gained in dungeons, he managed to calm down and express his question about my plan. That's why I could start the conversation normally.

"Maybe that's true, but unfortunately, after the spider silk disappeared, the remnants of the trees slowly sink into the swamp, and as a result, the island simply disappears," I replied, already looking at his calm face. Nevertheless, the difference between a nervous and calm Arman is significant. At other times, he felt like an older brother who would support you anytime, but when he's angry, the only feeling that arises in me is a sense of remorse, making me want to escape from him.

"Understood, then there's no way out. Considering that the spider we encountered also broke the island, it's possible that the disappearance of the islands directly affects the appearance of the boss. So let's do as you said, but let's leave at least a few islands aside," Arman said, finally agreeing with me. As Arman himself said earlier, what's done cannot be undone, so let's hope that my plan is correct.

"I even have some places in mind that are worth preserving," I said, pointing in a certain direction.

In that direction is an island where the found Ever ability is stored. It will undoubtedly be useful to us here, so we should pass it on to that girl—what's her name? Saule? I need to make sure she goes to that island, but how? Yes! Adil, he seems to have fallen in love with her, so he won't mind walking with her to that island. All that remains is to pull it off casually. After thinking for a bit, the further script of the conversation with Arman came to my mind.

"You know," I said with a slight smile, barely holding back laughter, "Adil seems to have fallen in love."

"Huh? In love? I've never heard of such a thing. Tell me, go on," Arman said with a slight smile after the embarrassment. I understand why he momentarily fell into a stupor; no one would expect such a development in the conversation.

"Her name seems to be Asel; I think it's worth helping them a bit," I said, making a pensive grimace, trying to hide the smile.

"Do you think so? I think it's not worth it. We're in a dungeon, and I need him to fight with a clear head, not in love nonsense," Arman said seriously, thinking for a moment. The leader's vein is showing itself; he can calmly decide what is important and what is not.

"Perhaps, but the islands where you want to send the wounded need to be checked. Let the two of them do it together, especially since she has abilities related to fire; she will help him," I said seriously but still maintaining a slight smirk.

"If we limit ourselves to that, then let them go," he replied with a kind smile. As expected of him, if everything is correctly outlined, he will agree.

We chatted a bit more, and then I pointed in the direction they should go. Taking the Red Arrow, I headed towards the other islands. Now I had the task of demolishing the islands until the boss appeared and, at the same time, clearing them in a way that I could reach their group. The task is simultaneously easy and challenging to execute, but no matter; we'll manage.

Continuation of the story from Adil's perspective.

After parting ways with Temir, we followed the bird and headed towards Arman's group. Along the way, we tried to destroy the islets used for transportation. In total, we managed to destroy just over ten islets, and it took us about half an hour. On one hand, it was fun because, in such a challenging situation, you want to release accumulated "steam." By the way, thanks to this, I discovered that Saule has a very strong fire ability. It took her just over a minute to burn a bundle of trees, although she could only do it twice for now. In the future, with an increase in mana, she will undoubtedly be able to do more.

With a good mood, I led the group to Arman. However, he wasn't pleased with our arrival, especially considering that we were smashing islets on our way to him. Honestly, I was disappointed, but not for long, as Asel tried to support me. Although it didn't change the situation, her support warmed my heart. As for the angered Arman, he set out to find Temir, or rather, he met him. Literally half a minute after our conversation, the instigator of the plan appeared.

Although I couldn't hear their conversation, it was a shock to see how quickly Arman, who was furious just moments ago, cooled down. If it were me, I'd probably be listening to Arman for about an hour, and then I would still apologize to him for several hours. What can I say? That's the difference between a friend and a subordinate, although I thought I had already become his friend. I would even shed a tear over this situation, but Asel, standing nearby, lifted my spirits. A bit later, Arman approached with a smile and immediately addressed me.

"Adil, go with Saule to the islets on the outer circle. Explore them and prepare for the arrival of the first group," Arman said, addressing me.

"Uh... Yes, of course," I said after a moment of hesitation. I didn't expect to be sent with her to explore the islets. It's a bit dubious, but at least it's time alone...

Continuation of the main story.

Now I need to quickly resolve the situation with the islands. While I moved between them, destroying in my mind, an idea occurred to me, and I turned to Ever.

"Can we create a map like in my game?" I asked her expectantly.

"You can see the area you have explored before. It will be visible to you just like in the game, you can say that the picture will be the same as when you explored it," she replied.

"Seriously?! As usual, I don't notice the main thing. Okay, thanks, Ever," I said, slightly confused.

According to her words, all I needed to do was move the image given by the birds. So, I opened my status, in which the image of the map was in the same place as in the game. The image was small but strongly resembled a map. I don't know how I didn't notice it before. Clicking on the map in front of me, a projection appeared, covered in shadow just like in the game, resembling the "fog of war."

The open map in front of me was incredibly realistic. The image on it could be zoomed in, just like in any search maps, with one difference - image clarity. You could even see patterns on the trees, albeit only at the tops. If the bird were a little lower at that moment, I'm sure I could have seen even tracks.

After playing with the map, I turned to Ever.

"Ever, can you do something like marks on the map?" I asked her.

"Yes, I can," she replied briefly.

"Then please put marks so that I walk around the islands in a spiral and end up near Arman's group," I said, inspired and barely holding back a broad smile. The very thought that I now had something like a navigator is amazing.

"Of course, I'll do it right away," she said, after which marks in the form of flags began to appear on the map.

After the marks appeared, I mentally addressed the Red Arrow that was following me. Thanks to the connection I had with the summoned birds, my thoughts quickly reached them. In this case, I mentally asked the bird to follow the flags set by Ever. Upon reaching a flag, it should wait for my appearance and so on, until we reach Arman.

"Shall we start a new count?" I said aloud after using a "striking blow" on the axe, cutting down trees.

Continuation of the story from Adil's perspective.

Having split up and being alone with Saule, we set out to explore the islands. I don't know what we are supposed to study because, based on the experience of previous islands, there is essentially nothing here. Before, crystals protruding from the islands were visible occasionally, but now they seem to have disappeared. Although it is a disturbing phenomenon, it is quite acceptable for such dungeons. Interestingly, the bird that was supposed to follow Arman suddenly appeared above our heads. At first, due to surprise, I couldn't decide what to do, but then I got worried because I expected news to be transmitted through the bird. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, the bird never landed, so we continued to move between the islands.

At some point, the bird suddenly dived down and stopped near a decrepit tree. At first, I didn't pay attention to it because I was engaged in a conversation with Saule, but after her comment about the bird's behavior, I had to distract myself. Approaching the bird, I noticed an incomprehensible pattern on the tree, as if drawn by nature on the tree bark. It depicted a wave colliding with other waves, turning into one.

Surprised by the discovery, I called Saule to look at the drawing. Approaching the drawing, like me, she was fascinated by it, but then she suddenly pressed her body against it. After that, the drawing lit up with a new color, a bright red, as if burning the drawing and the tree itself.

"Are you okay?" I asked her, worried. The drawing is gone, but I was concerned about Saule, who suddenly collapsed onto the tree.

"Yeah..." she replied uncertainly. Then she added, "It seems like someone pushed me from behind towards the drawing," saying it with embarrassment.

"Wait!" I exclaimed accidentally when I remembered the bird standing on the side.

Turning my gaze, I didn't see the bird; it literally disappeared.

"Are you sure someone pushed you?" I asked her seriously.

"Maybe," she replied just as uncertainly as before.

"I think it was a bird summoned by Temir," I said in my usual manner. After all, Temir somehow mentioned that he can see what his birds see, but if that's the case, why did he do it?

"Can you promise not to tell anyone about what happened for now?" I said seriously but, after thinking for a moment, asked her, "Do you feel anything? Maybe something appeared in your status?" I asked her several questions, remembering the drawing.

"I don't think so, but I can check my status. Give me a few seconds," she said.

After some time, she excitedly reported, "I gained a new ability! It's A+ level, and its name is 'Material Resonance,'" she exclaimed loudly, unable to control her voice. Her tone indicated how happy she was about it. I can say that I'm

Continuation of the main story.

In total, Ever marked a little over 130 islands, possibly even around 140. The exact number was not crucial; what mattered was that I had already annihilated about 90 islands, and if we counted the previous ones, it would be over 140 small islands personally destroyed by me. It's not that it was challenging, but the sheer number exhilarated me. Everything was going smoothly until the same roar echoed, the one we heard when we first entered the dungeon.

The roar I heard only fueled my determination to destroy, as the boss was showing signs of aggression. If he disapproved of what I was doing, it meant I needed to try even harder. And so, I continued with even greater zeal to obliterate the islands. Soon, it could be said that we now had a broken chessboard, meaning the players would have to show themselves.

Unfortunately, instead of the key player, I encountered a guardian, apparently protecting the queen's tranquility. Although, on one hand, I felt sorry for the spider since it no longer posed as much threat to me as its first comrade, the battle ended quickly. With one strike, I managed to sever its hind abdomen, rendering it immobile for a short time. Then, I proceeded to destroy its key legs and, afterward, simply finished off the immobilized creature.

Having finished with the spider and exchanged its body for points, I continued to crush more islands. However, the fewer islands remained, the more frequently guardian spiders appeared. By the time there were only 7 marks left on the map, not counting the other 10 islands, I had been attacked by about 12 guardian spiders. In total, I earned just over 16,000 points, and considering the gathered loot, it amounted to 22,000 points. Now, regarding experience, I gained 35,000, but in the end, I only received 23 levels, not the expected 35. It turns out that after the 30th level, each advancement requires 2000 points, up to the 50th level. Beyond that, from the 50th to the 100th level, it takes 3000 points per level.

While I joyfully destroyed islands and, at the same time, guardian spiders, a creature had already been observing me, whose mere presence would make anyone tremble.