The stalactites hanging above the cave's ceiling were becoming more and more stacked up.
Spikey web traps were in place around their route. The ominous abstain of monsters was such an oddity sticking out like a sore thumb even Fargil can tell there's something wrong yet he can't exactly pinpoint what it was.
Evidently, the dungeon the joint cooperation of Fargil and Maqirelle's side were exploring beneath the deeper coves of the northern mountains somewhere around the Alfura Continent.
Their destination was already shown on their map but Fargil was sure there exists no route nor a dungeon existing in the region they were trying to investigate for rare materials.
After all, Fargil learned and memorized the entire landscape and map routes of Alfahim Kingdom, including the fastest passages in nodes and places for skirmishes.
Deception and manipulation may fly over his head sometimes, but none can escape his wisdom in already knowing his own kingdom's overall geography
"Heya there! You're a support main eh?" Maqirelle approaches Fargil who's scouting behind the rest of the group so he can fulfill his role. "Having your gameplay rough today as well? Can't be helped. Prejudice against support-main like you are prevalent so be safe alright?"
At first, Fargil wasn't paying attention to Maqirelle since he was busy cracking up what the top player of Alfahim Kingdom was boiling behind the scenes.
Though, when he realized it, Maqirelle's kind gesture really sounded like she cared for him. Usually, Fargil would take insults and get scoffed at before, during, and after a dungeon-grinding farm session.
Taking whatever his toxic teammates had to say somewhat became his comfort, and the thought of a girl, especially Maqirelle sharing her apparent respect for him, had put blushes on his cheeks that he had to separate himself from the main expedition group a few meters away.
And the more Fargil gets separated, his mind would be clouded in a haze of thoughts until he realizes what Maqirelle was really plotting with the rest of them.
"A test... So Maqirelle created this dungeon for that purpose. Is she really serious she's assessing the most competitive layer here then?"
There are few things Fargil was certain about why he's confident Maqirelle owned the dungeon: first, the dungeon map Maqirelle showed on her version of Alfahim Kingdom's navigation was inaccurate.
Second, no one else can tell except Fargil that the rest of them were being monitored by a status sheet gathering spell by an external caster laying low above the cave. His pinky ring, the Ring of Deception manipulates data, and it can see past manipulation and status distribution oversight which could place his foes an advantage.
Lastly, the reason why there weren't monsters nor material clumps starting from the entrance down to level 50 was that a powerful Raid Boss was awaiting them on the 70th floor.
Fargil can't determine what it was though, but his proficiency in magic detection and far-range insight he gets by cultivating support skills had enabled him to realize there's a powerful foe awaiting them on the specific floor he scanned from.
Still, there are a few things that don't add to his hypothesis. Raid Boss are powerful monsters that are strong enough to go toe-to-toe with a Sovereign-ranked player, second to the World Boss that requires a minimum of 100 players for a single run.
Either way, Raid Boss are enemies that should inhabit the wilderness or mostly generate inside dungeons.
Although, they never spawn within an artificial dungeon so in the simplest deduction; Maqirelle managed to generate a Raid Boss in her dungeon, or she dragged one inside of it just so she could test them all at once, which naturally should be impossible under normal circumstances.
"Maqirelle... She's a force to be reckoned with for sure. I'll take your gesture as a challenge. Show me what you're made of, Dark Maiden."
Fargil accepted Maqirelle's resolve, and he would challenge the Top Player of Alfahim Kingdom who remained the highest for years since release.