"Okay, I'm sensing one Monster up ahead. Think it's the Boss Room?" Wondered Will uncertainly, a fair amount of time having passed since we entered the Dungeon.
"Could be, we have covered quite a bit of distance at this point," I replied thoughtfully.
"Yes, that's true, it's likely that we're at least close to the end of this Dungeon," Nodded Lector in agreement.
"This sure is a strange Dungeon, huh? I think the number of Monsters we encountered was probably a bit less than the amount we typically run into in regular Mid Level Dungeons, and it's so different to what we're used to that it's honestly kinda unsettling.
Like, what was with that underground stream that Kai and Ferna fell into? Do all Dungeons have that, is it only a thing in Irregular Dungeons, or is it exclusive to this particular one?" Frowned Elicia, as we continued on.
"Yeah, good question. We should report it to the Chairwoman after we're done...there was a pretty massive amount of Mana Crystals down there," I recalled, stretching my arms out.
"There really was, I've never seen such a heavy concentration of Mana Crystals in a Mid Level Dungeon," Spoke up Ferna.
"Nice, that means we'll be getting a larger amount of money since the profits from the Mana Crystals will be higher," Grinned Will in response.
"Well, it'll be pretty difficult to mine all those crystals, considering what a deep drop it is. Unless there's a Teleporter or a Wind Mage who can fly, it'll be tough to get down there, mine all the Mana Crystals and then get back up," I reasoned objectively.
"Good point. Teleporters are the rarest Hunter Class, not counting Arcane Classes, I seriously doubt there are any Teleporters among the Cleaners. And only Ace Wind Mages can fly, so that's possibly even rarer than Teleporters," Pointed out Lector with a nod.
"By the way, we're almost there, guys. Less than twenty meters away and closing in," Will called out.
"Got it," I replied, as I drew out my blade.
Each variation of the Mid Level evolution of Harpies have their own separate subsequent evolution.
Wind and Electric Harpies evolve into High Level Monsters called Rocs and Thunderbirds, respectively.
And Flame Harpies evolve into a Critical Level species called Phoenixes.
I'm really hoping this Dungeon Boss is a Phoenix...as I discovered when I fought that Water Wyvern, Critical Level Monsters net me a pretty substantial amount of points, even after my gains through my Gluttony Skills slowed down.
And since this Dungeon hasn't had a whole lot of Monsters, I really haven't gained all that many points to put into my stats.
As we continued through the last stretch of the Dungeon, it wasn't long before the cavernous space narrowed into a small corridor, a large chamber coming into sight on the other side of the pathway.
I looked around as we stepped out of the corridor, my gaze turning up before I spotted a figure near the ceiling of the space, perched across a jagged stalactite, its talons dug into the rocky spike.
It looked just like the Electric Harpies, except that it was about twice as big.
So, the Boss is a Thunderbird...not quite what I was hoping for, but let's hope that it's at least strong enough to put up a decent fight.
It let out a sharp, threatening screech as we entered the Boss Room, electric sparks crackling around its body, before it let go of its perch and spread out its wings, hovering in the air.
Suddenly, a blinding flash of electric light erupted around it as it coated its entire body in intense, crackling lightning, before unleashing a rapid, streaky blast of lightning down towards us from its beak.
I swiftly stepped forward and extended out Drain, raising it in front of my and expanding the jaws, consuming the lightning right as the Thunderbird came swooping down towards me, the lightning wrapped around its body intensifying as it closed in on me.
I whipped my blade across as it drove its talons down towards my head, a screech ringing out as I deflecting the thrust of its talon, severing a couple of the toes on its right foot as my blade sliced through.
The Monster quickly flew back up, the lightning around its body searing the wounds on its foot shut and stemming the bleeding, before it threw back its head and let out a sharp, deafening screech, several intense, crackling streaks of lightning erupting around its body.
The streaks of concentrated lightning hit the ground, dancing across the rocky floor with immense speed and intensity, converging in towards us rapidly.
"
Damn it, I wanted to savor this, but if this thing has wide, area of effect attacks at its disposal, I'll need to end this quickly.
"
The lightning around the Thunderbird destabilized and fluctated as it tried to resist the effect of Command, before it flew down and landed in front of me, trembling as it strained against the effect.
I then expanded the jaws of Ravage as much as I could, engulfing the Monster's head and the upper half of its torso, before snapping the jaws shut.
Blood burst out like a fountain and splattered across the ground as I tore off the top third of its body, the lightning dissipating and fading away as it fell over and collapsed onto the ground with a soft thud.
A wide puddle of blood began to form as blood gushed out of its body, right as I consumed what was left of it with Ravage, swallowing up every bit of it except for its Core, the blood that had spilled out, and a few shedded feathers.
"Wow, Thunderbirds are supposed to be pretty tough, being at the upper end of High Level Threats, but you took it down so easily," Remarked Lector in awe.
"Yeah, you barely even moved from your spot," Added Elicia.
"Not gonna lie, this Irregular Dungeon was kinda underwhelming. Though, it definitely would've been a lot tougher to get through without Kai," Smiled Will wryly.
"We got through it pretty quickly too, and it shouldn't take too long to get back out," Spoke up Ferna, as she checked the time.
"Yeah, and now that it's over, let's head back out. Some Irregular Dungeons disappear faster, so we should report our completion of the Quest ASAP," I remarked, as I sheathed my blade.