We keep advancing deeper in the dungeon, and the deeper we go, the stronger the monsters are.
We have encountered Goblins, Orcs, Ogres, Cyclopes, some tiger-like monsters, Giant Centipede, and Giant Rats. Although if we took a different route, we will encounter other type of monsters.
Now, unlike before, there's only one path to take. We're in a room deep in the dungeon, and the path to take is visible right in front of us. But there's a monster protecting this room. It's a Werewolf.
"Shelia, is he your relative?" I asked jokingly.
If the monster is part of the tribe, then he will know that I'm the king. Though I don't think I have seen this one before.
"No. It's the first time I see him. And look! He has a tail in his Werewolf form! That mean he should be as strong as Grandpa, right?" Shelia said.
I want to continue chatting, but the Werewolf attacked us all of a sudden. He swung his claws from distance and his attack will reach us soon.
"Get down!" I shouted.
Everyone gets down after hearing my shout, except for Shelia who noticed the attack and jumped with me.
Well, at least we know the Werewolf is not friendly.
"Roy, I think the system in this dungeon is different. Any monsters in here only have one goal which is to stop intruder. Even if they should be a race that have intellect like the Werewolves, they won't stop attacking even their own kind. And I don't think this one has intellect. In any case, it's good to encounter Werewolf here. You are an expert in fighting in closed space after all." Victoria explained.
Well, seeing how he doesn't try to interact at all with us who have Shelia on our side, I guess Victoria is right. Then, let's defeat him and progress to the boss room!
But Shelia seems to want something.
"Roy, wait! I want to fight him alone. I want to see how strong I am now." Shelia said.
It seems like she wanted to test her strength against a real Werewolf. One strong enough to have grown his tail on his Werewolf form.
"Sure. But if I see you in danger, we'll help you right away." I said to Shelia.
Then she faces the Werewolf alone, and we just watched her while relaxing and sitting on Blobbysofa.
The dungeon Werewolf fought Shelia. He's stronger than Shelia, but Shelia is faster. Seems like even if they have tails, Werewolves like Shelia who has her own will is much stronger. I guess I won't have a turn here.
I just need to worry about their stray attacks. I'll prepare Victoria to transform into a wall just in case.
Since the battle is just a one on one match, the dungeon Werewolf decided to no longer use his long-distance attack. The two of them exchanging punches, kicks, and claws.
Even though Shelia is faster, she's not used in fighting in this closed space, so she got hit several times. She needs to get used to it.
Little by little, Shelia learned how to fight in this closed space. The dungeon Werewolf got hit t over and over again, while his attack started to miss a lot.
The winner is obvious.
It took a while, but Shelia is the last one standing. We applauded her for her victory, and Kayla healed her right away.
"Do you need some rest?" I asked Shelia if she want to take some rest.
"No need. I can go on." Shelia replied.
Well, if she says she can go on, then let's continue.
"I can't see through that area. It must be near the center of the volcano since I feel it's getting hotter. And the mana is too dense that I can't see through even though I just upgraded my Divine Vision. Let's be careful. I'll create a portal right away as soon as I sense danger."
This way, whatever the danger is, we will be able to escape.
We entered the path, and we reached a plain area. This should be the center of the volcano, but there's no lava here. Instead, it's a grassy plain. Next to the path we take, there are other paths reaching to the plain. Seems like those are the paths we will arrive from if we took different way.
And in the center of the plain, there's a sword stabbed to the ground. Is that the treasure of this dungeon?
"A sword! A legendary sword that protagonist will take and use against evil!" Victoria shouted happily.
"That's just a story. Let's see… There's nothing strange about the sword other than it being stabbed to the ground. I'll try pulling it out."
I take a step forward, and grab the handle of the sword. The sword is light, but I carefully pulled it out from the ground. There's no rust in the blade, so at least this sword should be some kind of magical item.
I pulled out the sword, and in that instant, I feel the ground moving. It's an earthquake!
More importantly, under the hole the sword was stabbed, I can see lava even without using my Divine Vision!
This is dangerous, so I stabbed the sword right back at the hole. The rumbling stopped right away.
"…what was that?" Angela asked.
"It seems like once the sword is pulled, the volcano will erupt. It might even cause the dungeon to be destroyed. Let's keep the sword here for now. Tomorrow, I'll get Sam's appraiser to appraise this sword here." I said.
With Jeremy's appraisal, we should be able to figure what this sword is.
"Tsk! You almost become a swordsman there if that sword is better than your spear."
Let's ignore Victoria's words. It's better to safe than sorry.
"Well, let's go back now. We can come back to this dungeon again and travel through different route and map the whole dungeon. Shelia, will you come with us or will you return to your home?"
"I'll go with you! The meals are more delicious over there!" Shelia shouted in excitement.
I guess that mean she's staying over.
I opened a portal and we return back to Cassau in an instant.
After gathering everyone, including Jeremy, and also after kidnapping Albert from his duty, I told everyone about the dungeon and the sword.
"So, that sword is like a seal to stop the dungeon from being destroyed, right? Now, can I go back?"
Since Albert not in the mood to chat, I kicked him into a portal that goes to the maids' room. I hope Marie will get angry at him.
"So, Jeremy, will you come with me tomorrow to appraise the sword?" I asked Jeremy.
"Sure. Since you haven't been diving for a while, I'm free most of the time."
And so, we returned back to the dungeon the next day.
Everyone also joined after listening that the dungeon is good for training.
I brought everyone to the first goblins' room where there are several paths to take.
"From now, we'll split and map the dungeon according to the path you take. Shelia, you will follow Candy, while Angela will follow Kayla. As for the rest, decide on your own. I'll take Jeremy with me through yesterday's path. How good is your magic, Jeremy?"
"I'm a non-combatant. Please protect me."
As expected. Well, the reason I choose the same path as yesterday is because that's the path I know to be the safest at the moment. I am confident in protecting him until we reach the sword.
And the reason I take everyone to the entrance of the dungeon is also for everyone to map the dungeon. If the strongest monster is about the same strength as the dungeon Werewolf, they should be able to take care of it themselves. With Angela in one group and Shelia in the other, they will be able to take care of most monsters.
I think splitting Candy and Shirley is also better. Oh? They really end up splitting. Well, that's good.
"Well then, I will wait at the end of the dungeon. Good luck, everyone!"
I transformed some Blobbies into a cart and put Jeremy in the cart. It's faster this way.
The monsters I encountered, are defeated instantly, and we reached the plain soon after.
"So, this is the sword. Please wait for a while until I finished appraising it." Jeremy said while checking on the stabbed sword.
I took a nap while waiting for him to finish and for everyone to arrive, and got woken up when Jeremy finished appraising. Everyone also has arrived while I'm sleeping and wanted to listen to Jeremy's appraisal.
"This sword is a sealing sword. It's light, strong, but not sharp. I don't think it's good for fighting, but I'm not a swordsman so I don't know. This sword is here to seal this volcano from erupting. And the special ability of this sword is to summon monsters again and again until the mana near the sword fully disappear. Once there's no monsters reappear any longer, the power of this sword will disappear and the volcano will erupt. Probably this whole island will disappear." Jeremy explained.
"Well, I guess that mean we can train here until monsters stop appearing. Once the rate of monsters' reappearance slowed down, we'll stop using this place for training. If we enter the dungeon every day, how long will it take until the mana around the sword disappear?" I asked.
"Hmm… I think it's a hundred years."
"…we don't have to worry about anything and train here as much as we like. Let's go home now."
And that's how we got a good training location. Though the limit is just in how many times I can open a portal. But I think my magic will increase soon. I feel like I will reach intermediate level in my air element soon.