Kind Demon King

(You conquered the fourth floor of Wolf King’s Tomb. You can pass the fourth floor without battle next time you visit here.)

(You carry mana compatible with this dungeon. All stats increases by 1.)

Strength 22

Agility 20

Vitality 22

Mana 8

Charisma 12

Defense 14

I shook my body. Snow and ice fell from my armor. I raised my head to look at the night sky. Yeah, night sky. A full moon greeted me. Due to mana space could get stupid like this. We were still inside the dungeon yet it looked like we were in an open area. We managed to conquer the fourth floor.

“If I conquer every floor my stats will increase by 10.” I thought to myself. I could feel myself getting stronger as we got deeper. Of course, enemies also got stronger. Especially the bosses. I looked at where the boss was slain. Fourth-floor boss was very different than the first one. It was a translucent, giant, blue wolf. It teleported around, turned fully invisible, and started blizzards when it howled.

“I hate enemies like this,” Percavel said as he shook off. He was truly a golden retriever. Though I could understand his frustration. Attacks without mana had decreased effect on the boss. That made me basically useless while others had to use large amounts of mana to kill it.

“Nothing we can use for now. Mostly potions,” Blanche said. She was looking at the chest drop. Shame. I hoped for another useful item.

“We will rest. We spent too much mana and energy on this boss.”

Blanche created a magical barrier. I helped set up the tents. We used sleeping bags Blanche carried in her bag of holding but seeing that this dungeon was way colder, a tent and sleeping bag were both required to not freeze to death when sleeping.

“You are pretty good at setting up tents,” Percavel said, and I could practically hear his tail wagging.

“I had a lot of practice.”

“Which army were you in?”

That question caught me off guard.

“None. Why did you think that?”

“I fought in battles before. When we were setting up the camps I only saw veterans set up as fast as you.”

“Hunting, actually. I was a hunter before.”

Did he fight in battles before? He was older than he looked then. Then again, this world’s civilization level was Middle Ages. I wouldn’t be surprised if he fought when he was just a teenager. I mean, I was in the body of a 16-year-old, and yet here I was so I guess people started fighting here earlier.

“Did you learn how to use a bow during your hunts?”

“Yes.”

“What about the sword? You are pretty good with it.”

I understand that he just wanted to talk. He was stressed out and just looked for human interaction. It was very normal. But currently, I wanted to rest and look at my increased stats. I just gave him cold shoulder and let him talk. He left after seeing me not answer back. Blanche didn’t give out many items from the drops so I didn’t have items to check except my weapons. Speaking of her… She looked more and more nervous. Okay, she looked the same but I caught slips in her voice and behavior from time to time. Her cold and collected turned into just being mean or downright impatient. Why?

“Is she breaking under pressure?”

No. While nearly all battles we have been through were hard, no fatal wounds landed on our group. We managed to defeat all of them. I checked the food and equipment too and they were fine.

“Maybe I am just overthinking it.”

I mean, this woman cut down a man when I first met her just because he wasn’t up to her standards. But my time with her told me otherwise…

“It smells so good!”

“You always say the same thing.”

I said to Percavel as I stirred up the dish I was making.

“Because it is true every time.”

The cooking duty fell on me. The items required were already on the bag of holdings Blanche and Duncan brought. Meat, biscuits, cheese, limited amounts of vegetables, and dried fruits. Blanche even brought spices and yeah, the spices in this world were limited. We even harvested some mushrooms which could be eaten after Agatha cleansed them. With all that, I made a nutritious stew this time. I tried to mix things up and not make the same things all the time to make it not too boring but my options were limited.

“You should see me when I have better conditions. This is nothing.”

I felt a hand on my shoulder.

“Then maybe I should hire a chef when this ends.”

Blanche said with a playfulness I didn’t expect from her. Maybe she was just hungry and got cranky because of that?

“As long as I paid well and have good working conditions, I am down.”

I answered with a smile. My smile died down as I heard Duncan spit on the ground.

“Only reason you find this guy’s cooking good is that we are in a dungeon.”

Of course, he had to talk.

“You don’t have to eat if you don’t want.”

“You have one job and you want to even slack off at that?”

Fucking asshole. I guess this is my karma for messing with Arslan. But come on, I messed with him because it was funny. This guy is just an asshole! Still, I didn’t say anything. This guy… Through the time I fought with this guy, I became sure of something: He was strong. Strong enough to defeat 10 of me in direct combat and that’s if I fight him in the optimal conditions. I also need him to conquer this dungeon. So, I just had to bear with his bullshit.

(You conquered the fifth floor of Wolf King’s Tomb. You can pass the fifth floor without battle next time you visit here.)

(You carry mana compatible with this dungeon. All stats increases by 1.)

(You conquered the sixth floor of Wolf King’s Tomb. You can pass the sixth floor without battle next time you visit here.)

(You carry mana compatible with this dungeon. All stats increases by 1.)

At least 5 days should have passed since we entered this dungeon. Maybe more maybe less, it is hard to say when you are in a dungeon with its own sky and roof. Goddamnit, no matter how many days passed, I was too tired to walk on thigh-high snow! I wasn’t alone in my feelings since everyone was grumpy since we entered this floor. Well, grumpier. Yes, that was the seventh floor. Endless fields covered with snow. Nothing but an empty sky except an annoyingly bright full moon to accompany us, it was boring.

“They are here!”

“Not this shit again!”

While we had a lot of annoying mobs and bosses, seventh-floor mobs deserved the title of “Most annoying” ones. Now, hold on to your butts.

WOLVES (Yes, we are not breaking free from our furry concept.) FUSED WITH SHARKS EXCEPT THEY SWIM IN THE SNOW

Fucking amazing. I was pretty sure I watched a bad movie with a limited budget, horrible effects and even worse acting about this exact topic. The problem was they had immense stealth abilities that kept them hidden even from Blanche’s mana detection until one tried to chomp a leg or an arm from one of us. Yeah, they were small, smaller than worgs but one of them bit off Percavel’s armor clean off! With half of his thigh, I might add. I guess I should have told that first.

(Monstrous Strength is activated. Strength is increased by 25 for 135 seconds.)

I roared while grabbing one from its tail and slamming it into another one.

“Fuck you, bitch!”

I said as their crystal-like spines pierced each other. Moving in this snow-covered land was a burden by itself. And having to be careful in case of an ambush every second? Finally beating them down was refreshing.

“Can’t I have a little bit fun?!!”

A giant wolf-shark jumped in the air. Its giant shadow caused me to wonder if the concept of night existed in this cursed place. I also noticed how slow I had gotten in the snow. Blanche must have noticed that too since she grabbed me by my collar and threw me to the side. The Giant slammed to the ground causing snow to spread all around it. That said snow nearly buried me but I managed to get on my feet.

“Is this thing the boss?”

Duncan shouted.

“Probably!”

Blanche answered. Goddamnit, what about Percavel and Agatha?

“We must regroup! Blanche!”

I shouted as a small one nearly bit my arm clean off. The giant one moved, creating waves of snow to disturb our balance.