Fayde wasn't entirely sure how many days they had been down in the dungeon, but if he had to guess, he'd say it had been about a week.
It wasn't as if the dungeon was so massive that it took seven days just to reach the fourth floor. The dungeon was indeed massive, but it was the constant fighting, exploring, and the need to rest that had consumed so much time.
By now, he imagined the first two floors had been entirely swept of monsters. His party, along with Iron Will, had wiped out a large portion of the third floor as well. There might still be a few monsters hiding in the corners somewhere, but that wasn't their concern anymore. There were adventuring parties assigned to sweeping, and they weren't one of them.
Their party had spent about a day exploring the fourth floor. They were trying to locate the passageway that led down to the fifth floor, and they were also trying to clear out monsters near the area in case they needed to escape later. Surprisingly, after a full day of exploring, they had found no traces of monsters at all, and they had decided to camp relatively close to the entrance leading downward.
Calling it a camp was generous. They had a small fire going, and they laid out furs to sleep on. It wasn't wise to bring a lot of junk while exploring a dungeon, so they carried only the bare essentials. Since none of them wanted to eat monster lizard meat, they brought plenty of dried and salted strips of meat. There wasn't a lot of variety, but it was enough to keep them going.
Fayde tore off a strip of dried meat and chewed in silence. It was tough, salty, and completely joyless, just calories to stay alive. After days of the same flavor, it was beginning to taste like old leather. He missed hot food. Hell, he missed anything warm and fresh. He'd kill for a stew, or even a half-burnt loaf of bread that wasn't dry as dust.
While they sat around the fire, a solemn atmosphere settled over the group. They weren't physically tired, but the dungeon was beginning to wear on their minds. To lighten the mood, Fayde decided to start a conversation.
"Do you think there are no monsters on this floor because they were that large group we fought on the third floor?"
It was something that had crossed his mind more than once. One of his thoughts about dungeons was whether monsters could move from one floor to another. If an invasion force had been sent out from the dungeon, then it stood to reason they must be able to move between floors. The fact that the fourth floor seemed empty might support that idea.
"It's possible. We haven't seen a single monster on this floor since we got here," Tris said. She still sounded somewhat lively as she answered him.
"Not many adventurers in the Northern Kingdoms have explored dungeons, so there isn't much information about monster behavior in them," said Reia.
Fayde nodded thoughtfully and rubbed his chin. "It's a shame that the Northern Kingdoms are so backwards when it comes to dungeon exploration and adventuring in general. I heard the Empire is much more efficient and knowledgeable in this area."
"If you ask me, the Northern Kingdoms are backwards in every area. The Kingdom of La'gun is nothing but a kingdom of filthy Humans sleeping in their own waste."
She scoffed and tossed a bit of dried meat toward the fire.
"They can barely feed their own people, and that Human town, Enrain, is a dump."
Her words were harsh, but Fayde felt they weren't far from the truth.
"Like the Beastkin live any better? They live in tents out in the dirt. They barely have anything you could call a civilization," Tris snapped back, clearly angry.
"Tch, don't compare me with those Beastkin, I am a princ—"
"Eh, that's enough!" Fayde cut Allein off before she said something she couldn't take back.
"Hmph, fine." Allein realized her mistake and shut up.
Tris looked at Allein with interest, much to Fayde's annoyance.
It wasn't that he didn't trust Tris. She was an important member of the party, and his first Human friend in this world. There was still a lot he didn't know about her, or about Allein for that matter, but there were some secrets that just shouldn't be shared.
Tris didn't like Beastkin very much either, and of course, Allein and her brother hated Humans. Fayde wasn't happy about any of that, but he did his best to keep the peace between them.
Reia had quietly watched the argument without joining in. She was a little different from most Beastkin. She still carried some of the resentment that many of her kind held toward Humanity, but at the same time, she wanted to be accepted by them. That contradiction made her stand out.
Fayde decided to steer the conversation back to something safer.
"Anyway, in the Empire, they put a lot of resources and manpower into conquering dungeons. It seems like they give their adventurers a lot more support, and they're way better organized. I heard they even build temporary villages outside of dungeons and don't leave until they're completely cleared out. The government also posts big reward requests for adventurers willing to explore them."
"Hmm, the Northern Kingdoms just can't compete economically with the Empire, not individually anyway," Reia replied. "Some of the kingdoms do organize expeditions like this one, but it's mostly done by enterprising individuals, not the government. This one was almost entirely organized by Orban. He told me he reached out to merchants all over the kingdom, and only a handful were willing to take the risk. The rewards are higher, but so are the dangers."
Since Reia was close to Orban, she usually had more insight into how the Guild in Enrain operated. She must have spoken with him about the expedition when Fayde wasn't around. He had known it was difficult to organize, and there had been talk about it during the trip, but he hadn't realized Orban had put it all together personally. He had assumed there was at least some backing from the local lord or the government. Maybe the local lord did provide support in exchange for a cut of the rewards later on.
"I can see how this expedition will benefit the people involved once we conquer the dungeon," Fayde said.
He let the thought hang there for a moment, rubbing the back of his neck.
"But I still can't help feeling like this whole expedition is woefully inefficient. How many times has Enrain been attacked before they finally put this together? How many small villages or even towns have been wiped out by these invasions? I guess there's no point in complaining about it now, but the kingdoms really are run like garbage."
He hadn't meant to sound so bitter, but the words just came out. He wasn't a fan of monarchies or feudal lords. Unless he was the one in charge, of course.
"There's nothing that can be done about it," Tris said quietly.
She was right, of course. Unless something drastically changed in the Northern Kingdoms, there wasn't much hope for improvement. They kept talking while they ate, but eventually the fire was put out and the group settled in to sleep. The watch order had already been decided, and their rest went uninterrupted. No monsters showed up, and the dungeon remained eerily quiet.
Once they were all awake, they gathered their things and made their way to the passage leading down to the fifth floor. According to what they'd been told by the Diviner, this was the final floor of the dungeon.
"This floor is strange."
Reia was the first to say it aloud, but Fayde had been thinking the same thing.
"My sentiments exactly, Reia."
The stairs leading down to the fifth floor opened into a wide expanse of ancient ruins. At the center stood an enormous stone temple that reminded Fayde of the Mayan pyramids from Earth. The walls and floor seemed to glow faintly, and the air felt charged with something strange. It wasn't just the scale or the silence. It was like the dungeon itself was watching them, aware of every step they took.
After checking the area around the stairwell, Fayde turned toward Tris.
"It looks like one giant battlefield. Tris, can you scout the area around the temple? We'll wait here until you return."
She gave a quick nod and disappeared into the ruins.
"I've been feeling something ever since we first entered the dungeon," Fayde said, eyes still on the temple. "But on this floor, it's stronger. Allein, what about you?"
Allein didn't answer right away. Her posture was tense, her expression guarded.
"I don't know, Fayde. This is my first time in a dungeon, but... it feels familiar. It's similar to the way you feel to me."
Fayde blinked. Similar to the way I feel...?
That caught his attention. He looked around again, taking in the strange glow clinging to the walls. It reminded him of the black mist he absorbed from monsters, only thinner and more transparent, like it was diluted.
He'd heard her say things like that before, but this time it struck a little deeper.
Could it be the dungeon recognizes me somehow? The thought was absurd, but not entirely dismissible. If his presence resonated with this place, whatever this place truly was, then maybe he wasn't just a visitor. Maybe he was part of it.
"Allein, do you see anything strange about the walls?"
She narrowed her eyes, then shook her head. "No. I feel something, but I don't see anything."
He nodded. That lined up with what he expected. None of them could ever see the mist like he could.
"Reia, how about you? Do you feel anything?"
She paused, scanning the room.
"A little. It's faint. I thought it might be my imagination."
So Reia could sense it, just not as clearly as Allein could. He also suspected Nes might be able to as well. However, it seemed that only he could actually see the mist. There had to be some connection between this energy, the dungeons, and the monsters. He had felt off for a while now, and this place only amplified it. Maybe he was still absorbing that energy, even now. The thought was unsettling, but it didn't seem to be hurting him.
He was still thinking through the possibilities when Tris returned.
"There's a large group of lizardmen at the base of the temple," she said. "I think that's where the dungeon boss is. Probably inside. I couldn't get close enough to count, but it's at least as many as we fought before. Maybe more. I didn't see the boss."
That was enough to go on. They would have to plan carefully.
"You did good, Tris. Let's rest for a bit, then we'll come up with a plan."
At least they had the element of surprise on their side.
"Do you think they know we're here?" Fayde asked. "We've been pushing through nonstop. Maybe some of them warned the ones below."
"They didn't seem to be on high alert," Tris replied. "I don't think they know."
"That's a relief then," Fayde said, nodding slowly. "The monsters on the fourth floor must've heard the horns from the lizardmen we fought on the third and rushed to respond. I guess they didn't bother warning anyone else lower down. Good thing they're not exactly tactical geniuses."
As he started forming a plan, he had Tris give a clearer picture of the terrain she had seen. According to her, the massive temple sat at the heart of the floor, surrounded on all sides by ancient ruins. Crumbling structures, broken pillars, and winding paths stretched in every direction. It was a maze, but one with plenty of places to hide. Even if the lizardmen gave chase, it wouldn't be hard to shake them.
She hadn't scouted the entire floor, not in the time she had, but what she described matched the layout where they were now. That meant the entire floor was probably similar, and that gave him an idea.
"Okay. Then hit and run tactics should work well here. We've got plenty of cover, and since this is the last floor, we probably won't run into any other groups of monsters. If Tris is right and they're all clustered around the temple, we're not going to be dealing with random stragglers. The numbers might be similar to what we faced on the third floor, but this time, we won't be charging in with a frontal assault."
He glanced at everyone to make sure they were paying attention.
"This terrain works in our favor. We've got enough magic power to inflict serious damage from a distance, and we don't need to stay put to do it. So we'll split into three groups. Nes and Allein will be one. Tris, you'll be working solo. Reia and I will form the third group."
No one objected, so he kept going.
"Nes, Allein, you take the west side of the temple. Reia and I will circle around to the east. Tris, you'll hit them from the front after Reia and Allein let off a round of Fireballs. They won't be able to tell where the spells came from exactly, so they'll be disoriented for a bit. That's when you come in. Fire as many arrows as you can to draw their attention, then fall back. Lead them toward the stairs. Don't let them catch you."
He turned to Allein. "Once you've launched the Fireball, you and Nes retreat toward the stairs too. Reia and I will do the same."
He gave them all a moment to picture it.
"If everything goes right, they'll split up trying to chase us in three different directions. Once they're scattered, we regroup at the stairs, take out the ones chasing Tris, and then pick off the others one group at a time. The lizardmen aren't smart. They'll fall for it."
He looked around at the others again. No one spoke.
"If you spot a commander, make them a priority target, but don't stick your neck out. The most important thing is making it back to the fourth floor stairs."
He didn't want to say it out loud, but they'd be screwed if even one group got pinned down.
Fayde looked at each of them in turn, making sure they were following. He didn't want anyone hesitating once the fighting began.
"I understand the plan," Allein said, "but why is it so important we make it back to the fourth-floor stairs?"
"That's a good question," Fayde replied. "We're outnumbered. If things go bad, we need a way out. If we can retreat to the fourth floor, we can regroup and try again. And those stairs? They're narrow. That means if we absolutely have to fight, we can hold them off there for a while. It gives us a fallback position."
He scanned their faces once more. No one else raised a concern.
"Any other questions?"
Everyone shook their heads.
"Then, good luck. Don't take any unnecessary risks. If you're in danger, quickly retreat."
They split up without hesitation, each moving toward their assigned position. Fayde and Reia circled wide to approach the eastern side of the temple, keeping their distance to avoid detection.
They couldn't find a spot with a direct line of sight to the enemy base, but they did come across a collapsed stone structure that offered enough cover to hide behind.
Crumbled stone pillars jutted from the ground like broken teeth. A faint breeze stirred the dust around them, and the scent of scorched moss clung to the air, an odd smell, like something magical had burned here long ago.
Fayde crouched low, peeking through a narrow gap between the fallen rocks.
Thank you, dungeon, for giving us a battlefield this advantageous, he thought to himself.
If this had been an open field or something like that, there was no way they could've pulled this off alone. Hit-and-run would have been their only hope, and even then, it probably wouldn't have worked.
"Reia, are you okay? You ready to do this?"
He knew she was. Reia had been adventuring far longer than him. She was more experienced, more skilled. Still, he had to ask.
"You don't need to worry about me," she said, giving him a calm look. "Just make sure you don't do anything reckless."
Fayde exhaled sharply. He hated that kind of response. This was clearly a dangerous situation. Was it really so strange to worry?
She wasn't just a party member to him anymore. Somewhere along the way, Reia had become something more. A part of his life he couldn't imagine being without. In this world that still felt so foreign, she was a rare sense of stability.
"Just be careful, okay?"
She smiled at him with a soft chuckle. "If something happens to me, what would you do?"
Fayde blinked. His heart kicked up in his chest.
"What kind of question is that to ask..."
He trailed off, unsure how to answer. She had blindsided him with that one. Before he could find the words, her expression shifted. There was something sad in her eyes now, quiet and serious.
"Fayde, if we make it out of here... no, once we make it out of here, there's something I want to talk to you about."
He turned to look at her, brows raised slightly.
Of course. Of course she would say something like that now, right before a big fight.
Wasn't that exactly how flags were triggered in stories?
"You're worrying me more by talking like that," he said with a shaky breath. "We're going to make it out. When we do, you can tell me anything you want. Okay? Are you getting your magic ready?"
"Yes. I'll start chanting now."
His mind was still spinning from what she said, but he forced the thoughts down. He would deal with them later. For now, there was only the fight ahead.