"But first, I need to find an alternate route and reach the exit," Palest muttered quietly to himself, his words fading into the musty air of the dungeon.
He scratched his head and surveyed the complex dungeon, his mind racing to discover an alternative path to the exit.
This place was serious, he realized. The creatures lurking in these depths were highly skilled—they possessed strategies beyond what he had encountered before.
Earlier, they sent a weaker creature to test Palest and his crew, just to assess their abilities. But suddenly, they unleashed a much stronger opponent.
That's when Palest realized they were being evaluated by these creatures.
As if that wasn't enough, a wave of similar creatures was sent to attack them. It seemed like a continuous test, designed to expose any weaknesses within the group. It became clear that not everyone was as strong as others.
Some struggled to defeat those monsters, and it became evident that some individuals were falling behind.
To make matters worse, the creatures employed a cunning tactic. They targeted one of the knights and focused their attacks on him.
"Damn it!"
Palest cursed quietly, realizing he had to step up and defend his comrade.
That was when the creatures went all out!
The pressure was immense. These creatures weren't just strong—they were also intelligent and skilled.
Surviving this ordeal felt like trying to win a rigged game.
"Damn it!"
Palest's frustration erupted, serving as an outlet for his diminishing confidence.
"I have never encountered dungeon beasts this cunning at such a low level. What kind of dungeon did that brat lead us to?"
In his experience with other dungeons, these minions should not work together and would even compete with each other for food. However, the creatures in this dungeon made him doubt himself, questioning whether he had what it took to escape alive.
The entire situation was disheartening, like an endless rollercoaster ride.
However, Palest refused to give up.
"I'll definitely figure this out!" he muttered confidently to himself, filled with unwavering determination.
But then, at the intersection, he saw a horde of creatures staring at him relentlessly.
"Should I?" He asked himself, but then, the creature howled near his deceased knights! Suddenly, a huge pressure descended once again.
Palest hesitated briefly before swiftly veering to the right, knowing that side had no prying eyes and troublesome creatures.
He ran and ran, repeating the cycle over and over. But something felt strange. "Why aren't they chasing me? And howling anymore too?" he wondered aloud. When he looked back, he saw those countless eyes still there, urging him onward.
Finally, he arrived at a massive door. Palest's dungeon-savvy instincts kicked in, telling him that there was more to it than met the eye.
"Are they planning something?" he pondered, scratching his head. In the shadows, he noticed a group of creatures' eyes drawing nearer, silently coaxing him inside.
With the creatures drawing nearer, Palest grew even more perplexed. "Surely these creatures, being intelligent, wouldn't allow me to enter so casually, right?" he pondered.
"Could this be another trap that doesn't align with their usual cunning?" he questioned himself.
At that moment, his eyes widened. "I've got it!" he exclaimed, his gaze suddenly filled with enlightenment.
"Perhaps their intention was to make me confront this horde of creatures by frightening me with a typical boss room scenario."
Aware of the cunning nature of these creatures, Palest vowed never to fall into their trap again.
He took a deep breath, smiled, and stepped forward. Miraculously, the door swung open, inviting him in. Without hesitation, he crossed the threshold.
'Floor guardian room? I am prepared,' he mumbled to himself, and the creatures that were following him began to fade as the door closed again.
Little did he know that as the door closed behind him, the creatures emerged from the shadows.
However, their once-mighty bodies had withered, and one by one, they crumbled to the ground, defeated.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
…
Emberon wiped the sweat from his forehead with his claw-like hands, feeling the tension building inside him.
The fourth floor of the dungeon required silence, and he needed to execute his strategy flawlessly.
In front of him, a screen displayed the layout of his dungeon, marked with red and yellow dots.
If someone were observing Emberon, they would have felt relieved upon seeing the red dots. However, he was alone, without an audience to witness his efforts. There was no external reaction on his face, just a determined expression.
Moreover, even if there were people or creatures around him, it was doubtful that Emberon would react to them.
"Fortunately, he entered when all my dracanines were exhausted," Emberon muttered, acknowledging the success of his plan.
In front of him, the red dots representing his minions held different meanings: 'O' indicated being alive, 'X' meant being dead, and '---' signified exhaustion.
All of his dracanines were exhausted.
Emberon had relied on the Death Howl skill possessed by his dracanines on the first floor. This skill allowed them to release a powerful howl that put immense pressure on their targets before weakening them.
However, there was a catch. Within thirty seconds, their energy would deplete, rendering them vulnerable even to the weakest creatures.
"Humans are terrifying," he whispered.
The strategy was simple: orchestrate the first attack, test the intruder, unleash the first wave, and manipulate and misdirect them towards the boss room.
If Emberon hadn't devoured the memories of the first human he consumed and utilized the knowledge gained, he would have been clueless, even with the assistance of the system.
He would have been like a forest monkey holding a grenade, unaware of its danger.
However, Emberon's focus shifted to the gate, and a serious expression crossed his face. "That human included," he mumbled, aware of the risks involved.
Every step of his plan had been carefully calculated, from the timing of the howling to the moments of misdirection and the suspense of being surrounded by ferocious beasts.
It was a high-risk gamble, and there was a chance that the intruder would discover the weakened state of the dungeon dracanines once the howling ceased.
Fortunately, the intruder was a cunning man who would prioritize self-preservation over his comrades, so Emberon had read him and could take a chance on his decision.
Essentially, Emberon's success depended on his knowledge of his own creatures and the intricacies of his dungeon. He had to utilize this knowledge if the intruder decided to retreat.
"Hopefully, Steelteeth will take care of him," Emberon added, his voice filled with calculated anticipation.
"And I hope Steelteeth listened to me," he added again.
The intruder's fearless demeanor suggested familiarity with such encounters, as if he had experienced them countless times or had a well-thought-out plan.