The days went by without a hitch. We decided to split the whole party so that we could do a day-by-day rotation in exploring the dungeon.
Like what the information had stated, the dungeon spawns did get stronger as time went by, causing our exploration to slowly stagnate.
Fortunately, we also encountered minerals and ores from the dungeon, so it wasn't entirely a loss as far as profits are concerned.
"White, are you done there?" Anna called out. "Right. I'll be there soon," I replied back, sheathing my sword.
As we got deeper into the dungeon, it became more gothic in nature. The purple-like veins that illuminated from the crevices of the walls began to appear larger and darker, while the walls became more black.
I don't know how long it would take for us to arrive at the dungeon boss' floor, but it certainly feels like that boss is getting stronger by the minute.
Just as I was thinking so, we were greeted by an opening of a smooth dome-like structure. At its center is a giant crystal that shone radiantly, exuding kaleidoscopic lights.
Below it is the origin of the shallow crevices that shone the purple light that illuminated the whole dome and dungeon. The purple light illuminating from the crevices also rose to the walls of the dome, making it seems as if purple roots growing upwards.
But what really caught our attention was the beast guarding it. Around three meters in length and two meters in height, it reminded me of the kobolds, but more muscular and actually walking in all fours.
"Took us eighteen days to find it, and we finally did," a thrilled smile shone on Cyrill's face. "The boss appears to be a third-grade. We better report this first and wait for orders," Leyla spoke up. We all nodded in agreement before we set out of the dungeon.
For this day, it's only Anna, Cyrill, Leyla, and I who are on duty for the dungeon. The two new adventurers, Lester and Alfen, are with Denis, and Brandon.
Although Sean is supposedly the leader, the baron decided to only include him in cases where it is necessary to deploy him. Sean wanted to argue with this decision, but SItri and I stopped him as the baron's choice made sense.
If an heir from a prominent family were to die on the lands of another noble, problems would appear one after another from both sides. It was the same in my world, so we explained it to Sean.
He seems to have understood that, but I guess it's his battle-maniac blood that got him sad with the decision. As for me, I did my constant routine and was able to increase my mana quality from orange to yellow.
I'm sure Velxia would be surprised if he knew my mana quality went up by only four weeks. Fortunately, no one here knows of that since I've only been using my sword ever since I first set foot in this dungeon.
While doing that, I also took an hour and a half to teach Sean some of my skills every morning. I didn't have to turn him into a master, but learning to be a more precise and thorough swordsman against other swordsmen is enough.
We headed back to the baron's mansion when we encountered Alfen and Lester sparring against each other. "What's this? Why are they battling?" I voiced my concern.
Sean had his arms crossed as he watched their mock battle but turned to my attention as soon as he heard my voice. "They both consented so even if we try to intervene, nothing would change," Sean explained with a weary expression, "What's up, has anything good happened?
"We found the dungeon boss," I responded nonchalantly, keeping my attention to Alfen and Lester. Although duels or mock battle's between individuals are not acknowledged, they are not entirely prohibited since we were able to do the tests like how Sean tested the adventurers but traditionally speaking, duels between individuals are unpopular.
However, something else did concern me. According to the papers, I read back then from the baron, it seems that it's only possible if both parties consented, similar to a standardized duel.
From what I'm seeing now, why would Alfen accept a match against Lester when he looks so outmatched by the guy? "Wait, are you serious?" Sean asks back, referring to my earlier statement about the boss dungeon.
"That's right. Leyla and Cyrill are reporting to the baron now and Sitri took Anna for who knows why," I responded. Though the latter would probably be about cooking and baking, Sean wasn't invited on any of those so saying that would cause unnecessary trouble.
I kind of feel bad for him, being unable to eat her sister's delicious sweets, but he's a noble heir so he has responsibilities. I nodded in my head with that thought in mind.
"I'll go see the baron now. Take care of those two alright," Sean said as he waved his hand. Sean probably hasn't noticed it, but Lester had been holding back a little because he was watching the two of them.
But now that Sean had left, Lester began to become more aggressive, pushing Alfen back at a great pace. Lester swung his longsword horizontally on Alfen's neck level, but Alfen is able to defend against it.
Unfortunately, because of the difference in strength and size, Alfen lost his balance from Lester's strike, giving Lester the opportunity to kick Alfen in the guts. The man fell to the ground, coughing up his own saliva, as Lester tried to follow his attack up by kicking the already fallen guy.
"That's enough," I called out in a serious tone but kept my expression calm. I wouldn't have called out if it didn't get too violent, but Lester almost crossed a line when he almost did an excessive use of force by attacking a fallen opponent.
For a moment, I felt Lester's scornful gaze. But as soon as I switched my expression to a serious one and looked at him, the man turned his head and scratched his hair before giving out a dry laugh. "Sorry, I got carried away there," Lester said as he extended his hand to the fallen Alfen.
"It's fine," Alfen responded, but he didn't look into Lester's face as he pushed himself up before dusting off his clothes. I could almost see a vein pop out from Lester's temple as he put his hand down and walked away.
I walked closer to Alfen, examining the extent of his injuries. "Need help going to the infirmary?" I asked. It was probably because I felt disgusted by Lester's attitude which reminded me of the noble's from my old world that I felt sympathy for Alfen.
"Ah, I'm fine, really," He responded with a weak smile. His trembling wrist caught my attention but if he says he's okay, then I guess I can sate some of my curiosities.
"Why did you take that match? From the looks of it, you were clearly outmatched even from the beginning," I asked. Contrary to Lester's delighted expression earlier, Alfen didn't look as happy as the former did.
From the stats and rank alone, it was already obvious who's superior between the two, yet he still consented to the mock battle. "No. It was me who asked for a match against him."
Lester's unexpected surprise left me wide-eyed. I don't know if he's courageous or a fool, but he should have thought things through first.
"Why's that? Ah, you don't really have to tell me if you don't want to though." I'm certainly curious, but I would prefer to respect his choices and ask only with his consent.
After a brief silence, Alfen opened his mouth. "You pretty much saved me, so I don't really mind telling you," He said with a thin smile. It reminded me of Sophia's smile when she looks at me so it kind of feels like I'm being treated like a child again.
Then again, there are a lot of benefits to being a child, so I'm not really against it.
Alfen sat back on the ground before opening his mouth. "He... he's just too much. At first, I tried to distance myself from him, but his bullish personality didn't allow for that."
"Does Sean know that?" I asked. Since our parties are on rotation duties, we don't really see much of each other. On the other hand, Sean should be knowledgeable of problems like this.
Alfen shook his head at my question. "It's fine. We'll probably find the boss floor soon, so it doesn't matter now," Alfen said with a thin smile.
I thought of telling this to Sean, but Alfen did have a point. Since I would also like to get out of this place as soon as possible, adding more problems would just hinder that.
"If you say so," I responded, "by the way, your right. We found the boss floor earlier." After informing him, his face instantly brightened up.
I stood up and dusted my buttocks. It would have been unnecessary to do so because of my raincoats' repulsion enhancement, but I did so anyway out of habit.
"I'll go rest now. You might want to follow Sean and the rest to the Baron's office, but take care of yourself first," I said before taking my leave.
He then responded with a nod before standing up and taking his leave. I felt a little guilty keeping his case a secret, but I did so anyway since we both gain something we want from it. With that thought in mind, I recalled some information I previously learned.
From the books and papers I've read before, they'll first need to notify the guild of the dungeon floor before taking action, so Brandon's party would still have one final duty tomorrow before our combined party takes on the boss on the next day.
If all goes accordingly, then we can leave after four days. With that in mind, I joined Sitri and the others in the kitchen for early dinner and to rest.