206. The Lost Civilization (III)

“Dairen?!” Snow was amazed at what she was seeing before her. Rows upon rows of undead were present, fighting tightly inside the walls. When one monster fell down dead, another took its place, rising from the ground like weeds. She was baffled at the amount of undead she was seeing before them. How was this possible?

The last time she had seen him use such ability, he could only control a group of two hundred; even if she didn’t count, the amount of undead could easily surpass a thousand.

Each and every one of the undead were hacking and tearing the Hellhounds apart. From the dead monsters, another took its place, pushing them forward. They spilled out from the entrance, overrunning the monsters in waves.

“That’s just crazy.” Mike was beside her, crossing his arm in front of him. “I swear I don’t want to fight him in a large-scale battle.” He chuckled, pleased with what he was seeing.

Snow silently agreed. The amount of undead that Dairen controlled was considered dangerous.

So far, he was lucky that the religious fanatics hadn’t made a move, which she was grateful for.

“I don’t think we need to do anything for a while and just follow behind.” Mike was ready to scale down and meet up with Mike. “I swear, the amount of experience points he’s probably getting right now is insane. Those tides of monsters probably feeding him in the millions.” He talked to himself.

“Better him than them.” Snow pointed out. “Let us hope it's enough when we meet whatever is living at the end of this dungeon.”

“I’m with you both.”

Snow walked over towards the edge. She squatted down and started her descent downward—her hand and feet, grabbing onto the jagged rock.

Mr. Rogers flew down effortlessly with Red in his arms. He landed gracefully and let down Red.

“Thanks,” Red said a bit bashfully.

“You’re welcome.”

Both of them stood, watching the battle before them with curiosity. Only Red started to chant, casting a few fireballs here and there on the areas that the monsters broke through.

Snow eventually came down the cliff. Her shoulder muscles were a bit sore, but she was ready to fight if need be.

Dairen, who was busy casting spells and shooting his arrow, eventually wiped out the last of the Hellhounds. He placed his bow on his back, pulling his hair back.

“Dairen!” Snow shouted, waving her hand over her head.

Dairen turned around, surprised to see them before them.

“Snow?”

Snow walked over. They stood in silence before she gave him a big hug. “I’m glad to see that you are alright.”

Dairen blushed, “S-same.” He coughed.

Pulling apart, she couldn’t help but ask. She took a good look at Dairen to see if there were any other problems. “How are you able to summon so many undead?”

Dairen scratched his cheeks. He was a bit embarrassed still from her intense gaze that made him look away. He stuttered. “The Hellhounds give me a new undead to summon, and the waves have been giving me a lot more experience. I need to level up my skill. This is like the best hunting ground for me.”

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It was. The number of monsters pouring out of the tunnel gave him a lot more control over who could take how many. Plus, Dairen’s summons weren’t just a simple undead skeleton. Each and every one of them had a high volume of dark magical energy that seeped out of their very core. Mixed with powerful armors made from the skins and bones of their enemies.

Snow was impressed. She could tell that he has grown exponentially to the point where she wondered how it was possible in such a short amount of time. It was almost like a miracle.

“I always found some useful things pouring through the dungeon floor.” Dairen brought up his hand, where three different golden rings inlaid with simple gemstones were present. They were emeralds, ruby, and topaz, that were inlaid into the ring.

Snow grabbed his hand, flipping it over a few times to get a better look at it. Something about the ring was sinister. The amount of dark energy inside the three rings made her uncomfortable, almost hair raising to the point where she wanted to destroy it.

When Dairen saw how uncomfortable she was, he pulled back his hand. “These rings are useful in amplifying my dark magic. Which I am grateful for. It honestly feels a third of my magical power right now.”

“That makes sense.” Snow started to step back, but Dairen didn’t let her go. Instead, he pulled her in a bit too close that this time she couldn’t help but panic inside.

For a moment, Snow thought she saw a smirk appear on Dairen’s face.

Opening her mouth to speak, Snow squeaked out a partial word before she was interrupted.

“Okay. enough with the sappiness.” Mr. Rogers said with a clap of his hand. “I know this dungeon won’t be destroyed with the power of love, so let’s get to it.”

Snow pushed apart quickly, almost jumping out his arms. Dairen glared at Mr. Rogers, who snorted with a wicked smile at them.

Dairen straightened himself. “All the monsters in this level should be destroyed,” Dairen spoke, crossing his arms in front of him. He then turned towards his right, “I found a staircase leading further downward.”

“A second floor?” Red asked in surprise. “How deep does this place even go?”

“I don’t know, but the tremors were getting a bit stronger the closer we got.”

“Which is a problem.” Snow was concerned that they would be buried alive. She couldn’t help but look up at the ceiling wall, hoping that it wouldn’t cave in.

“We won’t find out until we descend. Now, shall we?” Mr. Rogers said with glee. He seems to be having a bit too much fun, in Snow’s opinion.

The undead monsters around them sunk into Dairen’s shadow. Leaving behind only five.

“Wait, where is Rodney?” Snow asked; she hadn’t seen him once amid the fight. Was Dairen and Rodney separated since the beginning, or was he dead? She didn’t believe such a strong Player would die so quickly.

“I’m here.” Like a shadow, he stepped out from the darkness, startling Snow.

Snow was impressed at Rodney's skills. He was getting better and better at concealing his presence, making it hard to tell if he was there or not.

“Were you here the whole time?”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you step out earlier?” Snow squinted, wondering what his motive was to startle her like that.

“I was checking a few things around here as well as checking the stairs that lead downward.”

“Did you find anything?” asked Dairen.

“Yes, once we go down, we won’t be able to come back up. I haven’t gone down myself, but there is a strong magical force that reminds me of the time we were fighting in the first dungeon. I remember those markings and found it strange to see it here deep underground.” Rodney was flicking his dagger in his hand and then putting it away.

“A trap?”

“I guess you can call it that.”

Snow remembered such traps before, and she wasn’t a big fan of it.

“I remember playing games in my youth days, where you would have to defeat the dungeon lord in the boss room before you escape.”

“Wait, you’re basing this off of a game?” Red asked, stupefied by Rodney’s answer.

“Yes, this whole dungeon exploration and level up system is game-like; why wouldn’t I?” Rodney silently looked at her, waiting for her answer.

Red didn’t know what to say. She had heard about the infamous Player system that helped them grow exponentially in a short time. People had called it the god’s blessing others cursed them out of pure jealousy that they couldn’t have it themselves.

Most of the ways the Natives could grow rapidly were if they had enough fortitude and magical energy in the first place. Other ways would be through items and weapons, but the Natives grew more slowly than the Players.

“Let’s just assume it's a trap.” Snow cut in; it was pointless to even talk about how cheat-like the Player system was. But, she couldn’t help but realize that Rodney had a point. Some of these dungeons had odd rules that were quite game-like.

Snow was the first to step forward, heading straight towards the stairs. “We go in and deal with this problem. The destruction of the S-Class dungeon is our priority. So, with that being said, let’s go.”

Taking the first step, Snow's body shivered. It was a shiver that she instantly knew what it was. The same feeling that she had when she walked through the gates that kept her trapped.

Without looking back, she trudged forward. With each step, the air around her grew heavy, making breathing a bit uncomfortable.

The stone stairway winded downward. It came to an end, stopping in front of a wooden door that looked ready to fall off its hinges.

Was she ready to fight this monster? No, honestly, she wanted to be back at home, sipping on

some orange juice and looking off from the city view language. Fighting all the time and slaying dangerous monsters wasn’t on her do list. If she could, she would rather let the battle junkies take her place anytime, but that wasn’t going to happen. Heading into the S-Class dungeon was something she knew she had to do.

Pushing open the door, a hot steam burst outwards, making her cough. She took the first step as hot air was present heavily, making her sweat. A deep grumble of voice could be heard growling from the darkness.