"Grey's team had been battling their way through the dungeon for two hours and fifteen minutes. They had successfully defeated 37 monsters and had managed to rise 15 ranks from the bottom. The top spots were still dominated by the S-Class teams, and no party had yet ventured to the second floor.
Opdu, exhausted and in need of rest to recharge his Qigong, voiced his protest. "How much longer are we going to keep this up? I'm tired!" Leemin, also feeling the strain of their continuous battle, chimed in, "Yes, I'm also very tired. Can't we take a break?"
Grey, considering the physical condition of his teammates, decided to call for a half-hour rest. "Okay, we'll rest for a bit."
Opdu's face lit up at the news, and he jumped for joy. "Yahoo!" However, his loud exclamation earned him a scolding from Hanol, who was keen to avoid attracting any monsters while they were resting. "Don't howl like a dog! Idiot," he snapped."
"Opdu bristled at being called an idiot. "Grr, shut your mouth!" he retorted, sparking a verbal spat between him and Hanol. "Who are you calling a bitch, you mutt?" Hanol shot back, and the two exchanged a flurry of insults.
Unable to bear their quarrel, Lilly intervened. "Hanol, why are you talking like that? And Opdu, why are you behaving like a delinquent?" Chastened, Hanol apologized, "Sorry, Lilly." Opdu followed suit, "If you say so, Lilly-tan." But Hanol couldn't resist adding, "Creep."
"Lilly's plea for peace fell on deaf ears. Seeing this, Grey decided to intervene. "Enough, guys. Let's stop arguing and rest while we can." His words had the desired effect, calming the two quarrelling teammates.
As they rested, a sudden robotic female voice inside their heads startled them. "The first floor is cleared. The stairs to the lower floor will appear soon." The announcement sent a wave of nervousness through the group, with the exception of Grey and Nanthagopal.
Grey pondered their situation. Their primary goal was to accumulate as many points as possible. With 5,000 cadets on the first floor, hunting monsters wouldn't be efficient as most would be hunted by stronger cadets. They had four and a half days left, so staying on the first floor seemed the best option. The dungeon always summoned a boss monster at a set time. If his party could defeat it, they would earn a whopping 100 points, propelling them to the middle of the rankings.
With this plan in mind, Grey addressed his team. "Guys, we're staying on the first floor. We'll hunt the boss when it's summoned again, and in the meantime, we'll hunt other monsters here and there."
His plan prompted thoughtful silence among the team. Christopher broke the silence with a practical concern. "We don't know where the boss room is. What do we do about that?""
Grey had a simple solution to their problem. They had Jisuka, who could tame and manipulate spiders, and she had more than a dozen with her. He turned to her and said, "We have a reliable scout with us, Jisuka. Send your spiders to find the boss room." Jisuka did as Grey asked, and her spiders scattered to search for the boss room.
In the meantime, Grey decided that they should hunt more monsters to accumulate points. "We need to rank above the D-Class cadets at least," he said. His statement was valid. In the academy, F-Class was often looked down upon and bullied by cadets from other classes, and even some instructors. By ranking above stronger classes, they could prove that F-Class also had potential and should not be underestimated.
Twelve hours after the dungeon announcement, the boss respawned. They had also located the boss room. By then, they had killed more than 70 monsters and accumulated 114 points, placing them at the 379th rank.
The team was unsure of what the boss looked like, so they needed to plan accordingly. As always, the spiders did their job well, providing information about the boss. It was a massive Wurm Lord, at least three times larger than a normal wurm, and it didn't have any of the usual weak points.
The team formulated a plan and prepared themselves. Grey, who had rested properly, was ready to use his unique skill, Monkey King's Rage, which could potentially multiply his strength tenfold. However, due to his physical limitations, he could only triple his strength. Opdu had recharged his Qigong energy through meditation. Nanthagopal and Julie prepared their arrows, with Julie using her Gift Detonation on Nanthagopal's arrows. Leemin and Christopher had their mana replenishing potions ready, and the two tanks checked their shields and equipment. Jisuka didn't need to do anything at this point, as it wasn't her time to shine yet.
As usual, Michale and Lilly used their Gifts to taunt the enemy. Michale created an 'Earth Dome' as a shield, while Lilly conjured a 'Mana Barrier' and an 'Armor Shield'. Opdu activated his Gift 'Friction' on his gauntlet, causing it to heat up like lava due to the high temperature generated. His body couldn't handle the heat, so he used his inner energy, Qigong, to strengthen himself. Opdu launched his 'First Fist of Destruction' at the Wurm Lord, creating a hole in the monster and causing it to scream in pain. They initially thought the boss was easier than other wurms, but Opdu's right gauntlet started to melt due to the green gastric acid oozing from the Wurm Lord. Realizing that the Wurm Lord could spit strong acid, they decided to avoid deep attacks.
Grey wanted to finish the fight quickly, so he activated his 'Monkey King's Rage'. A golden aura gradually formed around him, and his eyes also emitted a golden glow. With his white hair, golden eyes, and brown skin, he looked like the protagonist of a novel. He used his pole arts that he learned in UTOPIA and aimed for the Wurm Lord's head with 'Pole Arts: Depth Thrust'. However, he slightly missed and hit its neck instead. The Wurm Lord felt threatened by Grey and tried to escape underground.
Grey asked Michale to use his Earth Dome inwardly under their feet and told all his members to get inside. He knew the Wurm Lord would attack from the ground. He also asked Lilly to create a Mana Barrier under their feet. Julie placed her kunai all over the ground to detonate when the monster came out. Leemin constantly used her gift to buff them, and Hanol used her healing lube on them and sticky lube on the floor to trap the monster.
The Wurm Lord emerged, but before it could attack, it was hit by a rain of arrows from Julie and Nanthagopal. Julie used her Gift 'Detonate' to explode the arrows, severely injuring the Wurm Lord. Grey used his thrust attack again, aiming for its head. The attack landed, scattering the Wurm Lord's head all over the place in a gory scene. With that, they had killed their first Boss monster in their life and their first dungeon. They celebrated their victory, proud of their achievement.