Alabaster Atrium

"What do we do for 15 minutes?" Martell asked.

"Get some rest? It's been a while since I had a proper nap. Lend me your lap, Illumca."

"Gladly!" her earlier grumpiness was quickly replaced by cheer as the girl with centipede robe laid her head upon the dark elf's lap.

Nick watched as the three unlikely companions were left to their own business. With Connie peacefully sleeping on top of Illumca's lap and Martell sitting at the side with his knees hugged to his chest.

He then looked at the other hunters that had been staring at them for a while now and gestured awkwardly to let them know everything was fine.

After Akira's party entered the dungeon, 15 minutes came and went and they entered the dungeon.

The first chamber they entered was a large Atrium where a large statue of a buxom Goddess resided. She bore a halfway tilted pot from which spring water flowed and fell into the rectangular pool below. The base of the pool itself was not deep. Only enough to wet the knee.

There was a hole at the top of the chamber where sunlight came through and shone upon them, giving the place a calming effect.

Illumca gazed into the pool admiring the mosaic of a youthful man on a hunt alongside his dogs made of colored pieces of glass under the water.

Connie ran his fingers along the statue's leg with understanding. "Not marble. Alabaster. So this is how it got the name."

Nick nodded. "The dungeon used to start from the entrance where we came from. However, as hunters started coming in, half of the first floor became a safe zone. Which is where we are. At the time of its discovery, the statue had shattered into pieces and the pool was covered with mud piled over hundreds of years. The First King ordered it to be restored and the function of the Atrium returned to what it was supposed to be."

He gazed upon the Goddess' cold alabaster eyes and spoke her name, "And this is Junnaveil, the Goddess of Water. Patron Goddess of Calendia."

"I heard about her. Legend says that she fell in love with the First King and granted him her blessings," Martell said.

"Is this him?" Illumca pointed at the mosaic underwater.

"Yes. The pool used to be empty, but the First King's son ordered an artist to create the mosaic you see there," Nick harrumphed, not hiding his distaste at the royalty's self-aggrandizement. "Before we go down to the dungeon, I have to ask this first."

He stared at Connie with a doubtful look. "Are you sure you're going to fight in that? The dark elf and the beastfolk boy are fine with the leather armor, but that's just silk, isn't it?"

"It is. I think it looks good on me, don't you think?" She did a small twirl with a teasing look. "Don't worry, this robe I'm wearing is stronger than you think."

"Your funeral. Let's move on. At the end of the stone stairs there is where the dungeon begins. Do not let your guard down."

The moment they stepped a foot beyond the stairs, Connie and her party were now truly in the dungeon. There was an air of danger all around them, a distinct clamminess that stick to the skin.

The air was cold and damp. Illumca noticed that the floor was built out of rectangular bricks while the walls and ceilings seemed to be carved out of solid rock. There were bits of moss growing on them.

Nick naturally took the lead as they advanced through the first floor. He moved without hesitation with the assured speed of someone who knew the way.

Martell innocently questioned him about this. Bluntly he answered. "I've been here more times than I have taken a shit. I could guide you up to the Boss Room with my eyes closed. Though doing that is just you signing your own death warrant. The monsters here are not as weak as the ones out in the forest or the Training Dungeon."

Just as he said, the monsters here are considerably stronger.

The first monsters they ran into were hobgoblins and creatures similar to large rats with the addition of horns and scales on their backs.

"Bilge Rats," Nick snickered when he saw them. He was about to draw his sword when Connie spoke out. "Leave this to us."

"Hmm?" he looked at her dubiously, but he remembered the things she did recently and backed down with a shrug.

The blonde-haired girl gestured to Illumca and Martell while saying. "I'll guard the back. You two, go out there and get some experience."

"You're not going to fight?!" The beastfolk boy cried out in surprise.

"Of course not! These kinds of enemies are too lackluster for me. You have a knife, don't you? Get stabbing or no dinner for you!" Connie flourished an apple from her right sleeve and bit into it. She made a shooing gesture as she masticated the sweet fruit. "Go on now. Have fun!"

Without a complain, Illumca threw herself into the fray. Slicing and dicing as she wove her path forward. Martell followed behind, a knife held in his hand.

It turned out that despite his frail looking body, Martell had a good survival instinct. He never seemed to go close to the enemies, allowing them to approach first before stabbing them where it hurt the most then backing up, harassing them. After they were finished, Nick stabbed into their chest and dug out a piece of small crystal. He held it out with his thumb and forefinger.

"This is an Essence Crystal. Creatures lower than a level 10 wouldn't have them. It could be used as proof of subjugation and sold to the guild. Or you can attach them to weapons by giving them to blacksmiths. This one is earth element. You can see from the yellow color inside." he threw it over to Martell and gestured for him to help him gather them. "It's usually placed near the heart."

"Hmm," Connie plunged her hand into one of the hobgoblin's chest and felt something sharp and hard, pulling it out with a squelching sound. "Essence Crystal…eh?"

She could feel a thin baleful energy coming from within, with traces of earth element. "Does different enemies have different Essence Crystal?"

"Yes. 7 elements in all. Fire, water, earth, wind, lightning, including darkness and light. But these two are not common around these parts. Wait, why am I telling you this?"

Martell smirked. "I think you're more suited to be a teacher than a Paladin."

"Fuck off," he said. There was a trace of embarrassment in his voice. "I'm not good at dealing with kids."

"Yeah, I agree. What kind of teacher looks like a washed-up old man?" Illumca said.

"Ouch."

"Shame you followed the wrong master," she said again.

The veteran Paladin gave a long sigh at the still hostile elf and continued leading the way. Connie gave the crystal a cursory glance before grasping it tightly. She let her energy enter the Essence Crystal and refined the baleful energy, absorbing it. Once she did so, she opened her palm to reveal a clearer Essence Crystal. What she just did was simply a test, she did not think that it would work so well.

The energy inside the crystal is good. If I can absorb more, it will be very beneficial for my cultivation.

"Mistress! Are you coming?"

"Yes. Coming!"

The first floor was nothing too challenging for their skills, but Illumca and Martell managed to gain a couple of levels just going through the motions.

The second floor was the same, only it was less straightforward with paths winding left and right. Nick had to take out a map at this point.

"Made this map myself," he said proudly. "Those shitty things they sell up there don't include the traps. I already mapped the path without traps so we don't have to deal with them."

"So, the Hero's party doesn't know about the traps?" Martell asked.

"They shouldn't be, why?"

"Nothing," the beastfolk boy sniggered, making no attempt to hide the amusement he had.

At the same time, in another part of the dungeon, the Hero's party was being assailed by arrows coming out of the walls of a long and narrow corridor.

Master Kaihaku expertly dodged the incoming arrows, twirling his quarterstaff while carrying the hapless mage in his left arm. The Hero held his shield up while deflecting arrows coming from his left. Hannah, the spear wielder, was an expert in the art of spears thus the speed of the arrows could not misled her sight. Jack ran side to side with his lithe body.

They managed to pass the trap relatively safe with only small bruises. Despite that, Hannah held no small anger at Akira who chose this path.

"Why did you choose this path?! We could have died! Why didn't you use your 'cheat'?!" she said, her irritation was exaggerated. Akira knew that the earlier fight with the noble lady still weighed on her mind. Never mind her, Akira was also still huffy after that meeting with her, however he was still clear-headed enough to reply tactfully.

Jack did not say anything. He told them that the path was dangerous but was ignored. So there was a bit of annoyance in his inaction.

"First of all, we are not so low levelled that we couldn't handle the trap. Second. Using that 'cheat' too much dulls the senses, like Master Gregory said."

Hearing the name of her esteemed Master, the spear wielder relented and calmed down.

Eleanora, who had been let go of the burly Kaihaku's hold asked without reading the room. "S-she was wearing something unusual. I-is that style of clothing something normal here?"

"Not here," Sidonai said, remembering the person wearing the centipede robe. "However, it resembles one of the court dresses of the Old Continent."

"Whoa, geez! Where did you came from, Sidonai? You surprised me!" Akira exclaimed.

"I have my ways. Now about this…noble lady."

"I'd advise you to steer clear of her. She is not someone you want to mess with," Kaihaku advised.

"You must be exaggerating, Master Kaihaku. I've heard rumors about her. A noble playing at being a hunter. She is a low ranked hunter without any talent," Hannah said with a look of annoyance. "That dark elf was different, though. I hate to admit it but a dark elf has a natural gift for magic that we lack."

"U-unfortunately so…it is ingrained i-in their blood."

Not wanting to spend much time in thinking about something that made Hannah's blood boil, Akira told the group to press on.

Sidonai hung back from the group and asked Kaihaku. "I am curious. That noble lady named Cornelia? You and she seemed to have an amicable relationship, yet you are wary of her."

"We simply respect each other as fellow martial artists."

"A noble who is a martial artist. How peculiar. That is not all, I think."

"I…don't know her that well. We have only met two times. But the first meeting I had was enough to know that she is a ruthless person and was not shy to use excessive force."

Sidonai compared Kaihaku's words and Hannah's understanding of the girl and found them to be direct contrast. She also found herself thinking about the sharp rebuttal line to Akira's shallow justice.

She spoke her name, letting it fall from her lips, tasting it with a look of curiosity.

"Cornelia…Asterium…Steelheart."

Illumca and Martell had begun to show signs of exhaustion.

The third level had upped the difficulty level a bit. The monsters were now attacking more vigorously and their sizes were larger than the ones in the floor before. There was also a creature with long tusks wielding a large hammer called ogre whose head almost touched the ceiling.

Nick advised that they had to start picking their fights if they wished to last until their destination.

"When you said floors I thought it would be something easy to navigate," Connie said exasperatedly. "Seems like I made a big mistake on that assumption."

"That's why I told you it would take at least 3 days to navigate. The first and second floor are not that big. But the third and lower are as big as a whole city with traps that will kill less experienced hunter."

Illumca's face showed distress as she tripped up and alerted a horde of enemies that were clearly above her level.

Nick stepped forward with a smug smile while brandishing his shield.

"Heavy Bulwark!"

An almost transparent white shield appeared in front of them, stopping the horde of monsters from advancing. As they struggled to push forward, Nick unholstered one of the many leather balls hanging on his belt and lit it up with the torch.

"Close your eyes!"

"An explosive?!" Illumca shouted.

He did not answer her. He lobbed it to the middle of the gathered monsters. It exploded and a bright light blinded the monsters, staggering them.

Nick quickly charged forward and sunk his short sword into the body of a Bilge Rat, beheaded another, and crushed its head.

Seeing this, Illumca and Martell moved to dispatch of the smaller monsters.

"Shield Bash!" Nick smacked a bear-like monster with his shield and stabbed his sword through its neck. He then spun his shield and deflected an iron club coming in from his left. While the ogre was staggered, he kicked it in the groin and drove the large shield down on its neck as it bent down in pain, crushing the jugular with sheer weight.

His movements were practical and relied on deflection and blocking, attacking only when he was sure that it would be a fatal move.

"Illumca! Don't learn from him," Connie commented as she watched the show. "Your fighting style is not compatible with his. Speed and magic is your main strength. Getting hit is the last thing you want. Find ways to strike at his weakness instead. The parts without armor, the moment when he let his guard down. Martell! Just keep doing what you are doing!"

"Understood!"

Hearing Connie shouting behind him, the Paladin reacted. "Hey, hey! We are a party! Why are you teaching her how to kill me?!"

"I'm her teacher. That's what I do."

Nick smacked an incoming kobold with the side of his shield and activated Shield Bash the moment it hit the wall, crushing its body between a shield and a hard place. He then wiped the gore clean off his shield with the clothes of one of the dead kobolds. "Since when are you a teacher? And to a dark elf to boot?"

She rubbed her chin with her thumb, shrugging. "I have always been a teacher. Just that I haven't found anyone worthy of my teaching."

"Yeah? I bet you don't know about dungeons, though."

"I've been to Training Dungeon."

"The Training Dungeon is a Tamed Dungeon, it already had its Dungeon Core sealed. It's different than an Untamed Dungeon. You see, that is the reason why all Untamed Dungeons are able to replenish all the traps even if the traps are supposed to be one use only."

Hearing this new information, Connie sighed. So many differences with her past life made it rather hard for her to keep up. However, she knew that in order to stay alive and pursue her Dao she must keep learning.

Suddenly, two ogres appeared from behind a nearby bend, attracted by the noise.

"RRAAAAGHRRR!!"

"Two fucking ogres?! Get back!" Nick yelled.

They tore past the dead monsters, swinging their iron hammers around. One swung the hammer at Nick with such force that he was sent flying back. Fortunately, he had managed to raise his shield before it reached him. However the blow shook his innards and he coughed up blood. The other swiped at Illumca and Martell. But a loud whistle caused it to look away from its prey.

Now its eyes were locked at Connie.

It leapt towards her, raising the iron hammer and roared as it swung down the huge thing at the blonde-haired girl.

The impact was so great that the floor was shattered into million pieces and the earth trembled.

The ogre roared with excitement, but then stopped the moment it realized that there was no splotch of blood under its hammer.

With a thin smile, Connie stood on top of the hammer, a tendril of green smoke on her left palm. She blew the smoke towards the Ogre as if blowing a kiss. The smoke entered its orifices and the color of its face suddenly turned pale. It tried to grasp at its neck, gasping for breath before falling down with a loud thud.

With a twist and wave of her hand, the rest of the smoke headed to the other ogre's direction. Unfortunately, it was too stupid to understand the danger of the smoke and immediately fall under the same fate.

It was fast. It was clean. It was…effortless.

"Poison # 31. Breathless," Connie said, her eyes gazing at Illumca's beaming face.

"What was that?" Nick asked in bewilderment. Ogres were not supposed to fall that easily!

"A very simple but effective poison. It's based on poison oak extract mixed with some irritants like powdered Kalal sap. On humans it will be absorbed into the throat via the nose and cause the worst itch that you'll have ever experienced. So bad that people will claw their throat to their death. On monsters, as you can see, it caused the throat to swell so bad that it choked them to death," she said analytically. "Because sometimes, simple is best."

"You…used poison?"

"Yes."

"Are you…really Cornelia?" Using poison is the biggest taboo for a knight. And to Cornelia who once aspired to be the greatest knight in the kingdom, this should be unthinkable.

"I am Cornelia. Through and through," she said with a level tone. "Just…better. Shall we gather the crystals now?"

"Y-yes. Fine."

Nick felt a complicated emotion welling in him. One of expectation, perhaps. Mixed with uncertainty.

This current Connie, perhaps she could be…

He extracted a core from a kobold's chest and shook his head.

No. Let's wait until tonight.