Chapter Ninety

"Every dungeon in Avalon usually has a stark separation between each of its floors," Aelor explained, "You've seen what that means earlier, as one floor's monsters won't be found where they're not supposed to. Floor one will always have floor one monsters while floor two will always have floor two monsters. That's how it's supposed to be,"

Aelor and Edward were currently walking to Aelor's clan, though they were talking in hushed voices. Edward had already extinguished his flame— though he was still able to see through the darkness just fine. As Aelor couldn't hear any monsters near him, he took the time to talk to Edward.

"Yet that didn't happen this time?" Edward asked. Aelor shook his head.

"No. Only a dozen or so reasons exist for floor monsters to migrate. One reason is if a dungeon breaks, which is what happens when it isn't entered in a few hundred years. When that happens, every single monster will leave the dungeon all at once and destroy the surface. Of course, though, that rarely happens," Aelor explained.

"What happened in this one?"

"New residents," Aelor told him, "The monsters of the eighth floor were pushed out by a stronger type of creature— a race of frozen yetis. You should know that the boss at the bottom of a dungeon will affect the entire dungeon as a whole, though it can change if another monster takes the mantle as the dungeon boss. Before the yetis, the boss of the eighth floor was a champion of dark magic and curses. Therefore, all of the monsters of the dungeon shared the same strengths. Back then, my clan specialized in assassination and stealth. We were warriors made of shadow. Our bodies were capable of great things. Back then we weren't frozen, nor were we undead."

"And then the yetis came?"

"Yes. With their arrival, the entire dungeon changed. Everything froze and all of the monsters became skeletons. My clan— which once was capable of great feats— became ordinary soldiers who didn't know how to fight outside of darkness. If the eighth floor's champions weren't suffering from the same sudden change, we might've been wiped out. It's been a few thousand years since then, yet my clan still suffers greatly."

'Damn, he's old,' Edward thought to himself, though he didn't dare speak aloud.

"It's been several thousand years, yet the champions haven't killed you all? How?"

"Oh, they have," Aelor smiled, "We've been respawning too fast for them to keep us all dead permanently. I've been killed by a champion a few thousand times, so I'm quite used to defeat. The only reason we're even trying to keep them away is so we have a place to relax and grow. Without an opportunity to grow stronger, we won't be able to resist. Come, we're getting close."

—

An hour or so later, Edward and Aelor finally arrived at the clan. Unfortunately for Edward, they didn't run into any skeleton champions on the way. As they arrived, Edward saw two skeletons guarding the entrance to the clan. Each of them surrounded a large iron door and watched as Aelor approached.

Edward's attention was stolen by the door, however, as he instantly recognized it. Its tall and wide frame was indistinguishable from the boss rooms of previous rooms, though it appeared much older. The frost covering its frame was thinner, revealing a blanket of rust that covered the door like a second layer of skin.

"Aelor, who's that?" One of the guards asked as they approached. Edward looked away from the door and turned to the guard.

"This is…" Aelor spoke, but he froze only moments later. Edward smiled and stepped forward. Then, he put his hand to his chest and gave a small bow. He wasn't sure how to act in front of these guards, but he wanted to appear cordial and easy to approach.

"My name is Edward Colt," He spoke before straightening his posture once more, "I've come to look for my friends— humans who go by the names of Brandon, Markus, and Leila. There is also another— a creature that goes by the name of Ikarus. I was told your clan may be able to help me find them should I help you with a problem of yours."

He chose not to mention Ikarus's nature as a dragon, for now, considering Dragons were a rare species to see. He wasn't sure if the skeletons would treat Edward well if there was a dragon mixed in the equation. For all he knew, they might attempt to kidnap Ikarus and use him for their own purposes.

The guards were silent as they listened to Edward. After a moment, one of them looked to Aelor, "Aelor, you're responsible for this human while he's inside the clan. Watch him closely or the chief will hear about you."

"Sure, sure," Aelor shrugged, "Let us in, please?"

The guards nodded, then pushed the door open. As the doors swung open, they revealed a room of similar size to the massive arena on the third floor— when the gorilla empowered the entire room. No veil of shadow blocked Edward's eyes as they walked in, nor were there deadly spikes placed in deep moats along the edge of the room.

Unlike the rooms of previous boss monsters, however, this one had hundreds of skeletons walking around. Various sized tents were set up around the boss room like a miniature city— the largest of which were placed around the center of the room. In total, there must have been half a thousand tents and nearly as many skeletons— all of which wore leather armor and carried various rusty weapons.

"Why are there so many monsters?" Edward immediately gasped. He looked at Aelor, "The previous floors only had a hundred or so! Why are there half a thousand here?"

"The number of monsters increases with each floor, obviously," Aelor replied with a distant expression, "Now that we're here, though, it's time for you to meet the chief. Prepare yourself, he's a bit old-fashioned."