The alliance members treaded further inwards the dungeon with anxious looks as they realized that they were not alone. Although it wasn't uncommon for people to trespass into dungeons outside their jurisdiction, those cases only mostly occurred in lower ranked dungeons. Entering a dungeon of this level meant one of two things, either you're an idiot who's on a suicide mission or an opportunist who is very confident in their abilities. These thoughts ran through the mind of Reina as she hoped it was the former even though she knew how unlikely that was. The group came across a clearing with four different tunnels and quickly noticed that one of the tunnels had scorch marks and also noticed corpses of dog-like creatures.
"Whoever it is, they're not being very subtle", Norman sneered.
"Or they don't care enough to cover their tracks", Reina said causing the already tense atmosphere of the group to intensify further.
"Get ready, all of you!", commander Bale shouted.
Each individual as if they could read the commander's mind began to move to different positions according to their roles. The tanks formed a circle around the party, those with healing abilities stood behind them ready to swiftly tend to any injuries they would sustain while the other members would deal damage to the incoming creatures. Emerging from the other tunnels snarling at the alliance were canines with pitch black fur, sharp claws and a distinctive silver star on their heads .
"Just our luck, we get one of the most annoying wind creatures in this dungeon", Ryker complained.
"Tempest Wolves", Gus said.
"Can you explain to me again why these wolves are so annoying?", Selina asked playfully.
"You should really read the guild bestiary some time. If I remember correctly it was two years ago, Ryker and I were on what was supposed to be a simple escort mission", he said while holding his arm which had a nasty scar under his sleeves.
"It was going smoothly till we caught the attention of some tempest Wolves that weren't supposed to be there", Ryker interjected.
"That still doesn't explain why you called them annoying though", She said.
"They are annoying because of their numbers. The more there are the stronger their magic gets, and magic proficiency is another issue entirely", Gus explained.
"Is it a wolf pack thing that makes them stronger the more they are?", Felix another member of the Silver Talons asked. He was dark skinned with black hair and light brown eyes and met up with the rest on his way back from scouting the dungeon.
"Who knows, all I can say is that it's a unique ability of this particular monster", Gus responded.
"Here they come", Reina warned the others. As if on cue, the wolves charged at the group with lethal intent invoking the start of a brutal battle against the alliance.
The tanks utilized their flashy taunt skills drawing the immediate ire of the wolves. Tanks were known for their high defensive prowess, they were the only class of mages that could sustain large amounts of damage with almost no danger to their lives. With them keeping the wolves occupied, the rest of the alliance could efficiently reduce their numbers.
"Even if they're stronger in large numbers, they are no match for a force of this caliber", Norman jested.
"True but I still feel uneasy, we shouldn't underestimate this dungeon as we progress", the commander warned.
"The intruders seem to have gone through the tunnel at the far right so that must be where the main treasures are.
Reina, you and your guild members go ahead and catch up with them, we can't let them take the artifact while the rest of us will deal with these wolves and join you as soon as possible", He said further.
"Alright, if any problems arise contact us immediately", Reina said as they sped into the tunnel.
"Hasn't she gotten too full of herself lately, like we'd need her help to deal with monsters of this level", Katrina the vice guild master of the Desert Wolves sneered.
"If only you could have said that to her face", Norman teased but stopped as noticed her glare.
"Let's just finish these monsters first", Norman said although he could still feel her glare. The battle against the wolves continued for a while and after a few hours the last of the wolves fled back into the tunnels.
"From here on, we'll divide our forces into four groups, Norman your guild will move on to assist the Silver Talons while the rest of us will go through the other three tunnels and take out any monsters we find ", commander Bale instructed.
"Good luck commander , we'll meet at the boss's room", Norman said.
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Scores of charred corpses littered the path of the tunnel, they mostly resembled remnants of a forest after a wild fire ravaged it, the only indication that they were once furry creatures was if anyone looked closely at them they'd notice that some of their features.
Unlike most parts of the dungeon so far this tunnel was illuminated by bright clusters of crystals shattered all around.
'He's making this too easy', Rio thought as another tempest wolf dropped a few feet away from him. All his life he had been surrounded with people who had monstrous powers, so seeing Cain's one-sided rampage wasn't as surprising as it would have been for most kids his age.
Noticing Rio's reaction or rather, the absence of one caused Cain's interest in Rio to only grow further.
'Normally, kids he's age wouldn't even be able to remain sane in a dungeon like this yet he's had the same bored look on his face as if he couldn't care less. Just who is this kid?', He wondered.
"So what exactly is your plan?", Cain asked trying to get anything out of Rio.
"Since we've come this far, there's no point in keeping it from you", Rio said.
"I'm not here to fix my mana core. I'm here to find artifacts to build a weapon", He said.
"Hmm... alright", Cain said immediately.
"You don't seem to be upset about the fact that I brought you here under false pretenses", Rio said.
"Well that's because I knew from the start that something was off about your request. It was too easy, almost as if you had done it a few times before you asked me", Cain elaborated.
"If you knew why did you still accept my request?" ,Rio asked.
"Because it was interesting. It was the first time a someone asked me to escort them to a dungeon and with such a determined look at that so I was a bit curious", Cain replied.
After a few moments of silence, Rio simply smirked and said,"it's a personal requirement because of my unique situation. But regardless, I'm sure you can tell, beyond this point is the lair of the dungeon boss..... we'll most likely die".
"Things are finally getting interesting ", Cain said with a devilish grin.