The cavernous depths of the Lost Fortress of Mendol became harder and harder the more floors they went down on. While the enemies largely didn’t change in their types or species, with only a few additions every ten floors or so, their levels were increasing rapidly. Marcus and Stella both easily dealt with the enemies they were facing, even if they were now largely at gold rank, with only very few silver ranks at floor 70.

  But Alice, who was now lagging behind them, was struggling further and further. It was soon clear that the problem was only going to grow as the trio went deeper, as there were now a few platinum-rank monsters that appeared that only Marcus and Stella could deal with. Right now, they were dealing with exactly that type of monster.

  It was a golden rattlesnake, a famous monster that was a nightmare to most adventurers in this world and only really seen in the most dangerous dungeons and areas with high mana concentration. The monster was gargantuan, almost similar in size to the hydras that Marcus and Stella fought back then at Almarche when he first got to this world.

  Unlike those monsters, though, the golden rattlesnake was on land, and inside the dungeon’s tight passageways, it slithered efficiently and with such high speed that most warriors would be better off retreating before its gigantic maw ate them whole. Its thick golden skin was also difficult to pierce.

  “I’ll try to weaken it,” Marcus said, standing in front of Stella and Alice. “I think Alice will benefit the most from killing this, so Stella, protect her. Do you have a skill with you that can pierce that?”

  “Yes,” Alice said, her breathing ragged. “I still have enough mana to activate it too. But…”

  She nervously laughed as the monster rushed toward them. “One swipe of that thing’s body, and I’m probably going to have all of my bones cracked and organs ruptured.”

  “Doesn’t sound like a good way to go,” Marcus joked. “Try not to die then.”

  Then, off he went, meeting the golden rattlesnake head-on. The monster tried to fire a pulse of concentrated mana straight at him, but he dodged it with ease using rapid footwork that allowed him to flank it to the right side in seconds. Behind him, an explosion struck near Stella and Alice, but they both dodged it easily.

  Platinum-rank monsters are no joke.

  The snake, clearly threatened by his speed, turned to Marcus, its jaws wide open as it tried to bite him. He even allowed it to lunge one close attack near him, but he disappeared in a flash as the monster bit hard on empty air. Confused, the monster looked to the left and right before Marcus dove from high up with his rapiers readied.

  He activated his signature skill this time.

  [Swift Blade].

  Taking care not to immediately kill the monster, Marcus drove his swords straight at the golden rattlesnake’s. He zoomed through its body, cutting and slicing in all directions nearly simultaneously. Blood splashed and spurted out of the monster’s torn flesh as it let out a guttural scream that rattled the walls of the dungeon.

  On the side, Stella began firing beams of light at the monster’s central body, punching clear holes that left cauterized flesh once it pierced cleanly through. The monster slowed down to a halt, its head dropping momentarily on the floor. While brutal, though, Marcus and Stella only largely dealt superficial damage to the bastard.

  The snake, determined to avoid dying, therefore continued to fight back. Knowing that Marcus was a difficult and impossible target to chase, it therefore lunged straight in Stella’s direction. The [Saint] steeled herself as she cast multiple protective barriers around her, while the snake conducted its desperate charge.

  “Now!” Marcus shouted, standing on the side of the dungeon’s hallway.

  “On it,” Alice charged forward on the right flank of the monster. Instead of using her sword, she seemed to have sliced her palm with a dagger. Blood rushed out of her broken pale skin, crackling red lights coming from it as it rushed out rapidly and solidified in what appeared to be a massive reddish lance.

  [Hardblood Arts: Sanguine Lance]!

  The lance elongated itself to nearly four times the standard length of normal lances as she closed in on the monster, stabbing straight into the head of the monster right before it reached Stella. It would have been enough to cut cleanly through the golden rattlesnake’s head from one end to another, had it not been due to its tough skin and body.

  As a result, Alice only managed to drive her lance halfway through. The monster thrashed violently, attempting to throw her away while she was holding her lance, but Alice’s lance quickly dissipated as the monster raised its head upward, and she rolled through the floor on her back.

  The blood from her lance quickly reformed on her right hand, right as she was below the monster, and with a tired grin, it shot forward, stabbing and piercing the monster cleanly from the bottom to the top. When she was done, it was almost like her hardblood lance barbecued the monster, the lance itself planted on the roof of the dungeon.

  A whistle came from Marcus as he walked toward Alice.

  “Whew…I’ve never seen vampiric magic that good,” Marcus said. “Wouldn’t that have required a lot of blood?”

  “The skill uses mana and my blood to create that weapon, yes.” Alice stood up before dusting her dress and armor off as her lance quickly disappeared, causing the monster to plop down on the floor with a powerful thud. “Whew…I think I’m tapped out now. A shame.”

  Stella rushed behind Alice.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “You did well over there!” Stella’s eyes shone proudly. “That was a level 65 monster, you know? Considering how you’re only at gold rank, that’s beyond impressive.”

  “I actually didn’t have any other skill or spell that could pierce it,” Alice continued to exhale tiredly. “If that one didn’t work, I would have been in a very bad place.”

  “That’s…true.” Stella seemed disconcerted about that thought.

  “At the very least, I’m now at level 50!” At this, Alice fully smiled. “It’s all thanks to the both of you. I can’t wait to see my full performance once I’m fully healed and rested. My strength, speed, and dexterity stats all improved so much in just a day.”

  “Now that I think about it,” Marcus spoke up behind Alice. “How long would it take to get to those levels normally?”

  “Normally?” Alice raised an eyebrow before placing a hand on her chin. “Let’s see…the thing is, without the two of you covering for me, I would have to only fight lower-level monsters, all while training myself routinely each day.”

  “And?”

  “Well…it would take me four to eight months to go from level 47 to 50 in that case,” Alice declared. “That platinum-rank golden rattlesnake alone seems to have given me nearly two levels, for example. That was only possible because you two weakened it considerably. I’d be a dead woman otherwise.”

  “I see…”

  “Thank you so much, Sir Marcus!” Alice bowed at him. “And to you too, Stella. I really didn’t expect that I’d get so much from this expedition, as I was expecting that I’d just be observing and helping out at gathering loot, but this is so much already. I am happy that I’ll be able to protect the order better because of this.”

  “...Heh,” Marcus laughed. “Think you can push yourself further then? Since the Death God Cult is chasing you and your colleagues, and because Stella and I won’t be close by all the time, what do you think about trying to reach level 55?”

  I wanted Stella to have the boss kill earlier. Marcus thought. But now that I think about it, she and I can go to another, better dungeon somewhere to grind out.

  Alice, on the other hand, would have to protect the Order of Wellness on her own while Marcus and Stella conducted another strike operation against the Death God Cult. Therefore, this dungeon’s XP would be better used if it went to the Order of Wellness’s leader.

  That, and the money for this expedition is for the order anyway. All in all, it helps Stella’s charity.

  Before Marcus could say anything, Stella suddenly spoke up with a bright smile. “I have an ingenious plan. Let her kill the dungeon boss, Marcus.”

  “You know, I'm planning on giving the kill to you,” Marcus said, scratching the back of his head. “Is this fine?”

  “Absolutely. I wasn’t really planning to kill the boss of this dungeon anyway. I really just wanted the money,” Stella said sheepishly. "Thanks regardless for your offer earlier though, I really appreciate it. But my good friend probably needs it more than I do."

  “I see…” Marcus nodded before turning to Alice. “Well, you’re in luck then. Looks like there's a chance that you're getting the dungeon boss kill."

  Quickly, the vampire lady teared up, then she kneeled in front of Marcus while clasping her hands with guilt and regret. “Tell me, tell me! What can I do to have you as a best friend at least? Forget about everything else I did to you! It was all a joke, yes! Let’s start over, shall we?”

  Marcus quickly turned his head away awkwardly.

  “Try not to be a strange woman at least, geez. And say thank you. Where’d you even get the idea that you have to apologize for something suddenly?”

  “O-oh, I see. Thank you so much! A thousand thanks to you, Sir Marcus! Thank you, thank you, thank you—”

  “I get it, shut up!”

  Nearly half a day later, after having plowed through hordes of gold-ranked and a few platinum-ranked monsters, Marcus, Stella, and Alice finally reached the final floor of the Lost Fortress of Mendol. The final chamber had a massive double door on it, with a lock in the middle—a lock that seemingly demanded mana.

  Stella stepped forward, considering her ridiculously high mana capacity, placed her hand on it, and began pouring her mana inside. Marcus had to hold back a bit, as he had used up a good chunk of his mana reserves earlier, mostly at testing out his newfound spells against platinum-ranked monsters.

  Largely, the results were disappointing, which made sense. He was only a silver rank [Mage]. He truly shouldn’t have expected much from his magecraft for now; even if he made good progress, it would be beyond impossible for any normal person to do so. As the doors began opening, a powerful growl came from the interior.

  “Challengers. Thou hast made a grave mistake.”

  Marcus led the trio, striding forward calmly and steadily as he locked eyes with the creature inside the chamber. The chamber was massive, almost reminiscent of a colosseum, well-lit by gemlike crystals hanging on the ceiling and on the walls. The sheer density of mana in the air inside was so overwhelming that many would have passed out from the pressure it would exert on the average mortal.

  In the center was a raised stone platform, with a singular, glowing blue gemstone placed on the heart of said platform, which had elaborate, runic designs etched on it. Marcus’s eyes soon locked onto the two glowing orbs of the draconic creature circling on the platform, its four legs rising to make itself look bigger.

  The monster was made completely out of stone—magically reinforced stone. Strangely, it had two wings, though Marcus doubted that such a golem-like creature that seemed like a dragon statue given life would be able to fly. Regardless, the power it exuded was beyond any other creature in the Lost Fortress.

  Indeed, it was the dungeon’s protector, its boss, the one who protected the dungeon core that controlled the dungeon’s mana, monsters, and their spawn rates. According to Stella, ever since dungeons began ‘spawning’ after the demon horde disappeared, new dungeons, including ancient dungeons, started to possess cores that controlled everything.

  They fetched a high price in the market, as such cores contained so much mana that the highest-tiered ones were capable of supplanting the need of an entire city’s mana crystal consumption for a few months. He imagined this dungeon’s core was going to be the same.

  But before we can take that, we have to deal with that thing.

  The dragon breathed out on the ground, sending plumes of dust straight at Marcus and Stella.

  “Challengers. You will not pass, nor will you leave.”

  The doors behind the trio groaned as they slowly shut back. Marcus only calmly analyzed the monster; Stella looked at Marcus with brief concern on her face before she turned neutral and calm again, while Alice squirmed behind Stella.

  He checked it out with his [Identify] skill.

  [Draconic Earth Elemental: Diamond Rank].

  “Stella, Alice, stay back please,” Marcus said as he drew out his swords. “Don’t get hit. Not even once. As I’ve said before, I’ll deal with the worst.”