Dungeon Boss

"Do you know anything about a secret passageway? Did the Knight Captain mention anything?" this time Ayato inquired; his tone tinged with curiosity.

"I already told you, no one stays on this floor for an extended period, and there are no maps, so I don't know about any passageway," Agawa responded.

"Maybe we're the only ones who have discovered it. Perhaps it's a shortcut," Miki suggested.

"Or it could be a hidden treasure room," chimed in a former member of the Otaku Group, whose occupation was an assassin.

At the mention of treasure, the eyes of almost everyone lit up with greed and excitement. After all, they were not wealthy individuals, and most of them came from middle-class families. The thought of discovering a room full of treasure had them all buzzing with anticipation.

"Let's go," Kenji declared, motioning for his group to follow him.

"Shouldn't we inform the Knight Captain first?" Agawa interjected, trying to halt their impulsive actions.

"If you want to, you can, but we're leaving," Kenji responded defiantly, and without any other options, Agawa and the rest of their classmates reluctantly followed suit.

As they continued along the dark corridor, their eyes were drawn to something shimmering ahead. Thinking it could be a treasure, their excitement grew as they moved closer. Before them, they discovered a peculiar mineral, emanating a soft blue glow, jutting out from the wall like a blossoming flower. It appeared to be a crystal with an Indigolite embedded at its core. The girls, including Ayase, were captivated by its beauty.

"What could these be?" one of the girls wondered aloud.

"Perhaps they're a rare kind of diamond," another girl speculated.

Kelly, who had been quietly observing, spoke up. "Oh, those are glasz crystals. Quite rare, especially one of this size," he remarked. As his words hung in the air, everyone turned their attention to him, surprised by his knowledge.

"And how do you know that?" someone asked.

Kelly smiled and replied, "What do you think I went to the library for?"

"Tell us more is it worth anything" Reo said his eyes sparkling with greed.

"Glasz crystals were basically a type of raw gemstone. Though they held no special properties, their luster and radiance made them popular among the noble ladies and their daughters. They were often processed into rings, earrings, pendants, and such other jewelry to be given as gifts. Apparently, most girls were overjoyed to receive glasz jewelry as gifts. It was among the top three jewels used in proposal rings. Just think of it as a more expensive diamond ring"

"Who cares? It's beautiful, I want one," Kei exclaimed with infatuation. Her words echoed the sentiments of every girl who had heard Kelly's explanation. The allure of the glasz crystal had captivated them all.

Amidst the enchantment, Daichi smirked and dashed towards the largest crystal, confidently declaring, "Don't worry, if you want it, it will be yours." However, before his hand could make contact, five individuals, sensing impending danger, instinctively shouted at him.

"NO!" "Stop!" "Idiot!" "Don't!" "Shit!"

Agawa, Ayase, Kenji, Ayato, and Kelly sprinted towards Daichi, their warnings falling on deaf ears. It was already too late. The moment Daichi made contact, a magic circle materialized at the heart of the crystal. The trap had been set, targeting anyone foolish enough to touch the glasz crystal. "If it seems too good to be true, then it probably is." That was one of the world's golden rules. The magic circle glowed intensely, expanding to engulf the entire room. It was reminiscent of the fateful day they had been summoned.

"Crap, retreat! Everyone get out, now!" Agawa's words spurred everyone into action, and they all scrambled for the exit... but they didn't make it in time. Light filled the room, and before long white was the only thing anyone could see. Everyone was assailed by a momentary sensation of weightlessness, and they all disappeared from the room.

A few seconds after their disappearance, the Knight Captain, accompanied by a few of his knights, entered the room. His voice carried a cold edge as he questioned, "Is this where we lost their connection?"

"Yes, sir," a knight stammered in response.

"This is a trap room! How did we not know about it?" The Knight Captain's anger flared, but he swiftly regained his composure. "Go, find the rest of the children and ensure their safety. This trap must have led them to lower levels of the dungeon. I will go and rescue them."

With those instructions given, Sir William vanished from the room. He didn't teleport but instead moved with a speed that surpassed human comprehension. As he departed, the other knights followed suit, each carrying out their assigned tasks diligently.

Kelly and the others could feel the atmosphere shift. A moment later, they all fell to the ground with a thud. Kelly groaned in pain as he felt his aching butt, then looked around. Most of his other classmates were still on the ground, but Agawa and Kenji, along with Ayato and the other vanguard fighters, were already on their feet, examining their surroundings. The magic circle from earlier must have contained a teleportation spell.

Kelly and the others had been teleported onto a massive stone bridge. It was around one hundred meters in length. The ceiling also towered a full twenty meters above them. Below the bridge was not a river, but instead a dark abyss with no visible end. The gaping chasm resembled the very pits of hell.

Looking at it sent shivers inside Kelly's body; he suddenly remembered the dream that he had long forgotten and stood there in confusion not knowing what to do he inadvertently glanced towards Kei and saw she was grumpily standing up. Shaking his head, he started observing his surroundings.

Though the bridge was ten meters wide, it had no railing at all, so if someone slipped, there would be nothing to catch their fall. Kelly and the others had been sent to the middle of the bridge. One side of the bridge was a passage heading further in, while stairs leading upward were at the other end. After confirming the situation, Agawa didn't waste much time and curtly barked out orders. "Everyone, get up and head for the stairs! Now!" His voice boomed louder than thunder, and the students hurried to follow his orders.

However, Dungeon's traps were not so easy to escape. They would not be allowed to retreat so easily. New magic circles suddenly appeared on the side of the bridge with stairs leading to upper floors, accompanied by a swirling torrent of dark red mana. The magic circle on the stairs-side were only one meter each, but there were many. The dark red magic circles resembled pools of blood and gave off an ominous feel. They pulsed once, and waves of monsters began pouring forth. From the countless magic circles near the stairs came a horde of skeletons wielding swords, Traum Soldiers. Their empty eye sockets gleamed with the same blood-red light as the circles they came from, and they rolled around like real eyes too.

Within seconds, the stairs were teeming with nearly a hundreds of creatures, and more were still pouring out. Despite their numbers, Kelly thought what was coming out on the passage-side of the bridge was far more of a threat. Suddenly, bestial noises and sounds of footsteps started echoing from the passageway. Everyone waited with bated breath as they saw the creature. It stood on two legs and had some kind of helmet on its head with a big shell covering its whole body to Kelly, the closest thing it resembled was a tortoise from their world.

However, unlike a tortoise, its eyes glowed bright red, it was rather huge about five meters in height, it carried a mighty shell on its back which was very big, metallic and decorated unevenly with very long metallic spikes, whether it was its abdomen, back, groin and even it's head had incredible defense as it clacked its wicked sharp claws and fangs together, flames sprouted from the horn on its helmeted forehead.

Everyone stared at it in slack-jawed horror, and Agawa's terrified whisper resounded surprisingly clearly throughout the room.

"Oh my god... It's... the Dungeon Boss..."