Chapter 105

From the very moment they arrived on the second floor, battles occurred everywhere. Scattered throughout were monsters such as the sturdy Earth Golems, eerie creatures like Ghouls, and Agile-batter, a C-class monster that was closely related to bats.

Yet this was no actual threat to any of them. As all of their party consisted of experienced C-rank adventurers and above, they swiftly filled their respective roles.

Not to mention, they were led by Rumi, a newly named martial artist; with her unique weapon and knightly arts, her chaotic aura was reassuring.

"On your right." Said the mousy red-haired Sajae while shooting flames from his GUM, an abbreviation of Gear Under Magic.

To the average person, it was quite hard to tell that Sajae was actually a martial artist. However, for Naell it was obvious those bullets were not mana.

He was using a weapon that seemed to "release" fire, whilst his aura served the purpose of coating his GUM.

It was innovative as Sajae's aura was on the weaker side thus he had to depend on other means to fight well. Knowing his own nimbleness, he designed an apparatus that suited both his combat style, and mysterious source of fire.

On the other hand, there was the long blond-haired Drhys, a mage that was truly using his mana to amplify his physical strength.

Even with Taglagas being known for its magic knights, Drhys was an anomaly as his body was as sturdy as a natural martial artist.

Hence, Naell's curiosity was piqued towards the two- first with how Sajae could create pure fire, and second with Drhys' mana usage.

'I ought to ask later.' He thought.

Although, as impressive the duo and Rumi may be, Naell and Owly were in no way inferior to them.

Owly was beginning to show the signs of awakening; wisdom-wise, he was showcasing the talent of his mother. His feathers, which were often discarded after performing his spells, could now hover around him, amounting to five and even ten of it at once.

This gave him more leisure to defend, attack, and seal simultaneously. And it was all thanks to Naell's crystallized snow concept which he decided to copy.

On the other hand, Naell was certainly much colder to enemies now. He still refrained from killing, yet perhaps it was because of his apparent laziness in performing the rites of purification.

Even his friends believe that he could now brutally overpower his foe, ending any farce as soon as possible.

Still, as strong as they all were, it took them hours before they finally reached the end of the second floor. That then confirmed their speculations, that the dungeon was by no means an easy one.

Usually, a dungeon would have 2 floors at most, and adventurers would rush to its end. It was risky but for experienced adventurers, that was typical.

However, some deviated from the norm, such was the case at that moment where the dungeon had an usually vast ancient cave-like structure.

In that moment, Tersec the secretary ogled what he had written thus far in their Guild log.

Location: ALAWENTA

[ ] Visible

[ ] On land

[ ] On air

[ ] In water

[ ] Others: __________

[X] Hidden

[ ] By: Dark Magic

[ ] Untouched [ ] Raided [ ] Disturbed by other means: __________

Guild Statement:

The dungeon is at least Level - B

It is 'Artificial in Nature'

It is Newly discovered and under investigation

For one, as the dungeon was unlike those that were randomly generated by the will of Lucile, the Guild noted that it was artificial in nature. Further, as it exceeded the average 2 floors that most dungeons had, they easily classified it as level B- in accordance with the widely accepted dungeon ratings of Mundo.

Naell noticed Tersec occasionally writing in the guild log. Upon taking a peek at the words on the document, he was reminded of a brief tidbit in Arts and Magic; Level C dungeons were suited for beginners. Still, E-rank adventurers could only venture to the first floor under the supervision of no less than one (1) experienced D-rank adventurer.

D-rank adventurers could only go to the second floor, with one or more C-rank adventurers in their party. Not only were F-rank adventurers and below not allowed to enter, C-rank adventurers could only gain access to level B dungeons after gaining enough experience.

As for level A, only A-rank and veteran B-rank adventurers could attempt to traverse into them, and finally for the ones they called, level S, only the named and experienced martial artists and mages could venture into such a place.

"So far, only two places were classified as such, and are already a place that no other beings could enter normally, HOOT." Said Owly while munching a marshmallow which he heated on the fire they made.

Currently, their team was in the safe point between the second floor and the third floor. While the scouts went ahead to survey the area, several members of the support team accompanied them at a safe distance, while the others were tasked to set up the place and contact the guild for regular updates.

Also, since they were the pioneering adventurers of the dungeon, it was also their task to set up the safe point between floors.

"Those two dungeons would be The Lair of Dragons and Land of Fairies, both of which were solely made by their own kind." Replied Rumi with a noticeable twinkle in her eyes.

Owly then replied, "You are right, HOOT." If there was one thing the bird noticed about the fair lady, it was that her childish demeanor was often triggered at the slight mention of battle or strong beings.

"They did us in well, those dragons and fairies." Said Missy as she tried to sneakily drink from a wooden flask.

"Right, some said that before those very said places, many adventurers perished." Replied Esiv who took the bottle from the now pouting Missy.

As they were waiting for the two teams, they had all finished setting up the tent in which they could rest. All of them were now seated and sharing stories for the owl to hear.

Their eagerness to converse with Owly only reminded Naell that it truly was unordinary to come upon a talking beast. Not to mention, Drhys and Sajae with all their adventures, had various exciting stories to tell.

Although, if it was up to Naell, he would certainly prefer if they went on their business and slept in the comfy bed he was missing. Yet even he knew that rushing was a bad idea.

Rumi then after sipping some herbs she brought, took a glance at the two scholars and spoke, "Anyway, it appears the rumors are indeed true between the two of you. With powers akin to the likes—"

She then subtly side-glanced towards Naell and Owly yet neither seemed to notice. They were busy arguing about the marshmallow.

"Of us." She continued, referring to her named status.

Sajae and Drhys only nodded and thanked her for her compliment. The guild leader then inquired, "How is it that you can produce those flames with your weapon, Sajae? Did you maybe study under the Star family?"

"Yeah, and if you're a magic knight, Drhys, where's your weapon?" Added on Esiv.

Sajae was the one who first explained and told his story. "There's a chance you've heard of this, but I'm from the Continent of Spring."

All their eyes remained focused on him, yet disappointment flashed across their faces when he smiled before speaking, "And you wouldn't believe the rest even if I told you."

Because of that, they then looked to Drhys, hoping for enlightenment, yet he too was not inclined to share his unique ability. With a neutral tone he began to say his famous words, "I'm actually from the North."

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Volume 1's Drawn Cast: https://www.patreon.com/posts/65136761 ; v ;)

The post is titled "Character Portraits WiP" Under the "Arts" tag at patreon.com/nezothecat . It's free for public viewing and is a work in progress that will soon have every character we've introduced in TNBS thus far ' ')/

Thanks for reading everyone!