Don't Worry, I Will Be Right Back...

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As Frank's party adventurer even further through the Dark Lair Dungeon, Frank asked a few questions to Annabelle, regarding knowledge that he still lacked in detail.

"Ah, Dungeon Boss? There is one! I remember my mother saying that it was often different for every party… But I believe that we might be far from that place yet. Sometimes Adventurers come to explore here for days only to reach that floor, according to mommy…" said Annabelle.

"Oh? It is different all the time?" asked Frank.

"Yeah, mother said that it is never the same boss for a certain group… The Dungeon Boss is usually a bigger version of the monsters that we find in here… Like a Goblin, a Gian Scorpion, Demon Rats, Slimes, and so on… Are you planning to defeat it? I don't think we can, and also we would need to explore the place the entire day, and in a few hours we have to get back home…" said Annabelle.

"I know, but we could one day come to slay the Boss if we prepare provisions and all," said Frank.

"Oh, yeah! It would be amazing if we could defeat the Boss, the corpse alone would cost a fortune!" said Asterion.

"A fortune in money… I think it would cost several gold coins!" said Hilvera.

"Ah, with that money, imagine what we could not buy!" said Annabelle, who seemed to be as greedy as her mother.

"Although I am guessing that using such money to increase your cultivation is recommended, right?" asked Frank.

"Ah… Well, yeah, but you could also buy even a house with it! Or a small piece of land, of only a few meters, I believe…" said Annabelle.

"So Adventurers capable of defeating a Boss can rank up that much money?" asked Frank.

"Yeah, although that money is nothing for higher-ranked cultivation resources, so Adventurers who are strong enough would often want to move to another town where there are bigger and stronger dungeons to keep growing stronger themselves," said Annabelle.

"I see, you're just a resourceful as your mother, Annabelle," said Frank with a gentle smile, as he entangled a Goblin before it could stab him from behind, capturing it alive.

"Ah, nice catch, Aniki!" said Asterion.

"Finish it off, this should be the last one. Who could have thought that we would come across a small nest of goblins?" said Frank.

"Alright!" said Asterion, cutting the head off the Goblin with his axe through his superhuman strength given to him by his ancient minotaur bloodline.

Clash!

"That weird guy that put the Goblin quest will give us a lot of money! And, conveniently, we can save the Goblins on Frank's spatial magic inventory!" said Hilvera, cleaning the blood off her body, as she had slain several Goblins with the help of her brother.

"Although I burned some to a crisp… oops," said Annabelle.

"You three did very well. Although it has been three hours since we entered the Dungeon, all of you had earned a lot of experience in real combat. Hilvera and Asterion in specific are becoming less clumsy while fighting, although I still have to support you a lot," said Frank.

"We'll make sure to catch up with you, Aniki!" said Asterion.

"Yeah, we'll get strong as you, so you can rely on us!" said Hilvera.

"Well, I am already quite strong myself, fufu," said Annabelle.

"Don't get cocky, Annabelle. Without my Mana, you would not be able to constantly use your spells as you did now… However, by transferring my mana to you three while you used it all, your max amount of Mana Points has increased quite a bit. This is what I would call 'Mana Training' in a way. Also, your Magic Points increased a bit as you leveled up, giving you higher Mana Regeneration," said Frank.

"Oh, so this is why my Mana feels a bit vaster?" asked Asterion.

"Amazing, the power of a Hero made even us strong!" said Hilvera.

"Although you two have not learned any Wind Attribute Spell aside from the Gust that Frank gave to you…" said Annabelle.

"Perhaps they need to learn more about the theory of magic, the teacher that is coming in a few days should help them get to make their own spell," said Frank.

"Yeah, we'll make sure to study a lot too," said Asterion.

"I am very excited about meeting that witch! I wonder how much she knows about magic," said Hilvera.

As Frank saved the corpses of the Goblins, the party had slain and found two slimes, three Demon Rats, and another Giant Scorpion. The only thing they needed was a Mandragora, a plant-type monster that roamed the dungeon screaming at its victims, however, it was a very rare monster, so it was understandable that they couldn't find it even after a bit more than three hours of dungeon diving.

"(Well, I can come here to grind more Mana Cores alone at night… Ah well, not completely alone, Ruby will come too)" thought Frank, as Ruby rested on his shoulder, her strong bite and powerful breath had helped the kids a lot as well through the whole adventuring.

Frank's party then slowly made their way back to the entrance of the dungeon through the trail of thread that Frank had left, and while doing so, Annabelle mentioned something important.

"Hmm… We didn't come across any Treasure Chest, how unlucky…" she said.

"Treasure chest?" asked Frank.

"Oh yeah! Mother says that Treasure Chests are the prizes of a dungeon! What the Goddess of Chaos gives to us as a reward for our bravery in risking our lives inside these places. Treasure Chests are magical artifacts, which often contain special items created by the Divine Power of the Dungeon connected to the Goddess. There might be special weapons or equipment, potions, gold, silver, or bronze coins, and even the most prized of items, Grimoires!" said Annabelle.

"Ah, like the one that Frank gave to us?" asked Asterion.

"Those amazing books that let us learn spells!" said Hilvera.

"Well, I think so. They are special items, books, which can grant a spell to any magus automatically… As long as you are compatible with the spell attribute and its strength, that's it! They are often treasured by everyone. After all, it could change your whole life if you get a special spell that makes you vastly stronger than before, right?" asked Annabelle, despite her age, she was a very smart girl.

"Yeah! Those Grimoires that Frank-kun gave us to let us awaken our Mana Cores, and pretty much changed our whole lives!" said Asterion.

"Indeed, they're miraculous items that bring change to anyone's lives. And I guess that if you are not compatible, someone else within the party might be, or it can also be sold for a fortune!" said Hilvera.

"That's right, it's all about the money!" said Annabelle.

"Grimoires are quite intriguing items. I wonder how they truly work… (And if Abraddon can make some? Well, I remember him saying that he can't create items or other things, so probably not)" said Frank.

"They work by the divine power of the Gods, they're gifts from them to make us stronger, of course!" said Annabelle.

"(It could be said that my Ability lets me treat any Spell or Technique Book as a Grimoire, I guess?)" thought Frank.

"(Now that I think about it, I still got some Gust Books I acquired from last night bat beating. I was thinking about selling them, but maybe giving one to Ruby or Ginseng could be a better idea… Though I wonder if they are compatible… Though my System seems to make anything compatible with me, it might not be the case for others…)" wondered Frank.

"Hmm… Where could a mandragora be?" wondered Hilvera, as she glanced around the corridors as the party slowly walked back to the entrance.

"It's weird, I can almost feel as if someone was looking at us a bit earlier, were those another adventurer party?" wondered Annabelle, who had sharp senses compared to the twin minotaur.

"Seriously?" asked Asterion.

"Oh? So you could tell, Annabelle? Indeed, we were actually being pursued by a group of four very shady guys… And- oh, they just fell into the trap I settled earlier," said Frank.

"Trap? Oh! You mean when you created a bunch of threads and stuck them to the floor?" asked Asterion.

"Hm, as long as they're connected to my body like this, I can share my Spells with them, and I have a particular one that can mask presence and let things camouflage. It seems that I was enough for them to fall for them and be entangled and bind into the ground…" said Frank, as he glanced several meters away at the four pursuers through his Overseeing Light Eye combined with Stealth, Camouflage, and Silence.

In fact, Frank had been spying on them since even before entering the Dungeon through this floating eye made of light, and the thugs never realized this.

"That's a bit scary, what if they were thieves?" asked Hilvera.

"They exactly are thieves, Hilvera… (Hm, the best course of action would be to… kill them and save their corpses inside of my Inventory to leave no trails… I hate to sound edgy, but this is a realistic approach if I don't want that organization they belong to track us down and kill us afterward…)" said Frank, as his eyes suddenly lose some of their light, he had become incredibly serious.

"E-Eh?!" asked Annabelle.

"Thieves…?" asked Hilvera.

"B-But that's… against the law! …Right, Aniki?" asked Asterion.

"Indeed, Asterion. But it is obvious that people do not care about the law, nor there is much law enforcement in this place aside from the church… Well, I will go talk with them and convince them of not being evil again… Ruby, take care of them," said Frank, as Ruby jumped out of his shoulder and grew in size, accompanying the three kids.

"W-Well, good luck…" said Hilvera.

"Beat them, Aniki!" said Asterion.

"You really don't want us to accompany you?" asked Annabelle.

"No, I will be fine, relax. It will be a short trip," said Frank, running through the corridors at a speed that the kids could barely perceive.

Of course, Frank lied to them.

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