"Hehe…hehehe…Ah, it's been a long time since I had a challenge like this. I must deal with you first so that I will explain this dungeon a little more."
Luca did not get what Rook was saying at first. Science has classified dungeon expansion as a natural phenomenon that could occur at any moment.
But the wave of power that washed over Luca extended toward the dungeon. He felt the extent of the dungeon digging deeper into reality.
"You…are expanding this dungeon further. How is that possible?"
Rook grinned at the bewildered expression Luca showed him. It always felt exhilarating to have unaware humans look shocked at his display of power.
"Is this your first time seeing something like this? You must have been dealing with low-level meat up till now. Once you gain a certain level, any demon can extend their dungeon further whenever they want to."
"I will not allow you or that delicious girl to get out of my reach. This shall be a grave for both of you."
Rook promised before he cut off his power. He had reached the limit of his ability.
For now, that was.
Extending the dungeon had a limit and a cooldown that needed to be respected. The stronger a demon, the lower the countdown was for these conditions. But unfortunately, even their king was not spared from this condition.
"Now, shall we, our play? I want to finish early and chase down my meal."
Rook grinned before he attacked. His shadows formed solid masses, and Luca had to break the ground. It dispersed the shadows and broke their formation.
But the danger was far from over. The surroundings bound Luca, not allowing him to use his electricity safely.
'Ah fuck. I am so fucked now.'
...
"Oh god! Is this a dungeon expansion? I never thought I would experience this in my life."
The female worker looked around with a concerned expression on her face. This was her first time being dispatched to emergency relief operations. She was not sure what was considered normal and what was not.
On the other hand, her partner was an experienced relief worker who had seen various situations.
He had never experienced a dungeon expansion but had heard about it before.
"We have no time to waste. This dungeon expansion means that the difficulty of this dungeon has risen to a level. It will take some for the headquarters to notice this change."
Rachael had heard about dungeon expansions before. It was a scarce phenomenon where a dungeon changed level. It was impossible to tell why this happened and what it meant.
But a few things could be concluded by looking at the evidence provided to her right now.
"Something must be trying to break into this dungeon. Its influence could have caused this dungeon to evolve."
Rachael tried to remember all the cases regarding dungeon upgrades. And they all had a few common points.
They all originated in urban places and had low-risk ceilings initially. But once they were explored, they all had a boss monster that did not belong to the original dungeon level, causing the dungeon's overall level to rise.
"It is a popular theory among the relief workers, but we do not regard it highly. We know nothing about dungeons in the first place. So, trying to make theories we cannot prove will not help us."
The male worker was a critical thinker. He did not deny Rachael's words but did not believe them either.
At first, he seemed satisfied with his rebuttal, but then he noticed Rachael and considered her age. A sudden flush covered his face, and the man coughed into his hand.
"I mean, that was a good theory. You have a good head on your shoulder and seem like a bright child. I will leave you alive. Do you trust me?"
The man asked with a bright grin on his face. He wanted Rachael to reply positively. And he waited…and waited some more.
Rachael continued to look back at him with an unnerving expression.
Ultimately, the female relief worker intervened and held Rachael's hand. She glared at her partner, causing the man to pull himself together.
"Let's find a shelter first. We both might be relief workers, but we have never been dispatched to a dungeon higher than D class. This dungeon has likely evolved into a C-class dungeon. We cannot be sure what kind of monsters we will face."
The female worker reminded the pair just in time. A monster turned the corner, and its huge body looked fierce. He noticed the trio and let out a hungry cry.
Luckily for them, another monster obstructed the first one's path, and they crashed. That ensured a fight between those two parties.
But the danger of their situation did not lessen even one degree.
"Let's run toward the sideyard. There is a sports building with an underground bunker."
Rachael was glad she remembered about the bunker. It was the safest place for now. But not because of the reasons most people would think.
That bunker had a few explosive supplies stored for emergencies. Although Rachael needed more limb coordination or training to use them, these relief workers differed from her.
"This school has a relief bunker? That's…a surprise. Not many common schools have a fun for a relief bunker."
The relief worker sounded surprised. Rachael had not thought of this before, but it was a surprise that their school's relief bunker was functional.
It is not only functional but also maintained and looked after.
With how greedy their principal and staff were, it would not be a surprise if they had sold all the supplies and now the bunker remained empty.
The duo standing before Rachael likely thought the same as her. But still, this was a risk they needed to take.
"You said that the bunker was in the sport's building? Can you lead us to that building?"
The male worker asked, and Rachael and his partner looked at him with concerned eyes.
"What's wrong? Why are you looking at me with concerned faces?"
The relief worker asked as he looked at Rachael and his partner. Rachael shook her head while the female worker decided to tell her partner the truth.
"Seol, there is only one building other than the school building on the premises. Surely, you can put two and two together."
The female worker asked. Seol pouted at being called out, but he did not get a chance to reply. The monster that won the previous fight cried out in triumph and began to look around for them.
"Let's run. We are near the building, so we might reach it before the monster catches up."
Seol snapped out of his embarrassed headspace and began to run. The female worker picked up Rachael, and they dashed along the way.
"Fenny, take care of the monsters on our right. They are all low-level ones, and I will guide you. Here, give the kid over to me."
Rachael's ownership was changed from Fenny to Seol. Once her hands were free, Fenny moved before Seol, and her body began to flash.
She had a fire ability, which was helpful against these low-level insects. Most of them burned when they met the flames.
Charred bodies remained behind once the flames were exhausted, and the dust claimed the remains. Fenny was fast, and she hit hard when she needed to.
"Fenny, there are three on the right. They will attack you in 3…2…1…now…and now on the left in about 5 seconds…"
Rachael could see why these two had been assigned as partners. Seol's abilities gave him enchanted senses while Fenny hit hard.
Their third partner had entered the school in search of other survivors, so Rachael did not know of his ability.
They finally reached the sports building, but Fenny turned around outside. She aimed her flames at the biggest monster in the field.
She was about to fire when Seol stopped her.
"Fenny, don't attack it. It's resistant to fire, and you will attract its attention if you shoot it."
Seol reminded Fenny, and she clenched her fist before dropping it. This was not a favorable position for her.
"Tsk, fine. I will stop not attacking the monster. But I will remain out here to keep an eye on other monsters. You go in and find the bunker."
Many smaller insect monsters had spotted them already. They curiously approached the sports building but fell victim to Fenny's flames.
No matter how many she burned, these monsters seemed to have no end. Fenny killed one, only to find two in its place. If this remained, then the fight would never end.
And maybe it was her delusion, but these monsters seemed to be getting more and more powerful by the second. She had to put in extra effort to burn a few of these monsters.
'Tsk, this is annoying.'
Fenny felt her body becoming tired, and it ached. The burden of her abilities was catching up with her.
"Not yet. I can still squeeze out a little more power. I can keep the fire barrier up."
Fenny's desire burned brightly. She used what she had to create a firewall and hoped it would be enough.
It worked, and the monsters stopped.
'I did it. Now we have a little bit of time to plan…'
A monster crossed the wall of fire without a single scratch. And then another crossed over. And then another.
Fenny's flames were not hot enough to stop the onslaught of these insects.
"No way! Are they already resistant enough to my flames? That should not be possible…"
Fenny was in shock. It caused the intensity of her power to lower, and a monster pierced her heart.
It all happened in a single second. No one could have seen it coming.
'Am I going to die? Is this the end? No! I don't want that. I have so much to live for…'
"FENNY, KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN."
Fenny looked back at her partner. Seol finally emerged from the building, holding an artifact in his hand. But it was already too late for Fenny to hold on. Her life was slipping away from her body.
This was her end.