"Sixty... five?" Rasie confirmed. She swallowed hard with difficulty. The hair on the back of her neck stood up instantly. Her heart hammered loudly against her chest. There was a creeping fear, but her eyes flashed with an impatient excitement to see what kind of creature they would face. Rasie chuckled softly with a thin smile.
"I don’t mind," Zaefal said firmly. He gripped the handle of his greatsword so tightly that his knuckles turned white. This is the best opportunity to reach level fifty-one faster , Zaefal thought to himself.
Zaefal made a quick calculation. With Fyar at level forty-one, himself and Rasie at level thirty-five, and Illya at level thirty-two, plus Hasya watching from above, he felt their position was safe enough.
"I don’t mind either," Illya murmured. She looked down, fiddling with the edge of her robe for a moment before looking up with a serious gaze.
"What are its abilities?" Fyar asked. He stood steadily on the back of the owl, his eyes fixed sharply on Hasya.
"Teleportation, a giant hammer, and its power is elemental manipulation of its surroundings," Hasya answered. He folded his arms across his chest with a rare serious expression. "Oh boy, this creature is almost equal to a boss monster in this dungeon. Perhaps slightly on par with a low-level Guardian."
Hasya flicked his fingers. "If you pass this test, I will give you more information. And you will get your final training, which is fighting against me, before we face the dungeon boss!"
"And finally. The weakness is the head. Cut off its head!"
Hasya then fell silent, giving them time to process every word he had spoken.
On par with a low-level Guardian? Slightly equal? Equal to a boss? How many levels will I gain if we defeat this monster? Fyar wondered.
No, besides that, this is the best practice if we ever have to face a Guardian or an enemy equal to those retard from the ’000’ organization. Plus, training with him and extra information. It’s not a bad risk.
Fyar nodded. "Understood."
He pulled back the top of his pistol, ensuring a bullet was in the chamber.
"Thank goodness I bought plenty of ammo from Robert..." Fyar said with a sigh of relief.
"On par with a Guardian," Zaefal muttered softly. He took a deep breath, exhaling slowly to release the tension in his shoulder muscles. Zaefal sheathed his sword briefly to adjust the position of his belt.
"Agh, finally I can hit you legally, huh?!" Rasie shouted. She clenched her fist toward Hasya. "That’s an enticing motivation!"
Illya stepped forward slightly. "Let me heal your wounds first." She reached out both hands, touching Zaefal and Rasie’s shoulders. A faint green light flowed from Illya’s palms, sending a spreading warmth through their bodies.
"Good luck, everyone!" Cyhas said. She stood at the corner of the saddle, wringing her fingers. "Sorry I can’t help with anything."
"Oh, it’s fine!" Rasie replied with a wide smile toward Cyhas.
"Your role was already big enough by saving us and the city, Cyhas," Zaefal added with a quick glance.
"Zaefal is right," Illya said. She turned toward Cyhas and smiled sincerely. "Your role was much bigger than all of ours."
Fyar also nodded. "Don’t underestimate yourself."
Fyar looked at Cyhas with a calm gaze. "Indirectly, you are the one who saved us from Zalvarich’s ritual. If you feel guilty for bringing us here, you’re wrong. Because we are here, we are all growing stronger now."
"Even Rasie found her soulmate in this place."
"Agh?!" Rasie flinched.
Fyar gave a thumbs-up to Cyhas. "You’re the MVP here."
Cyhas’s pupils dilated at the recognition. Her lips trembled slightly. A single tear fell down her dirty cheek. "You guys."
"You guuuyyys." Cyhas then nodded enthusiastically, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.
"Arrival! Arrival!" Hasya shouted excitedly. He pointed downward.
Below them, an ancient ruined cathedral stood in the middle of a white sand desert. The building’s ceiling was shattered, allowing the purple aurora to pierce through into the room. Many long worms or eels slithered in and out of holes in the stone walls. The floor was flooded with a translucent liquid that reflected the purple light from the sky.
Fyar, Illya, Rasie, and Zaefal immediately looked down.
"Down there, the monster is still a statue. But once you enter that building, it will instantly wake up and attack you."
"And if you’re cornered, I’ll come down immediately, okay? Okay, okay, okay? Safe? Safe?"
"Everything’s safe!"
Hasya directed his silver owl to fly low, cutting through the cold night air toward the cathedral. The bird’s wings created a strong wind that blew the sand around the ruins.
Once the bird was low enough, Zaefal, Fyar, Rasie, and Illya stood at the edge of the saddle.
Fyar drew his katana with his right hand. The metal glinted under the aurora light. In his left hand, he held his pistol firmly.
Zaefal drew his sword, positioning the weapon in front of his chest while adjusting his stance.
Illya took several long breaths to calm her heart rate. She stared at the puddle of liquid inside the cathedral.
Rasie did a quick stretch, rolling her shoulders and neck until the bones clicked. She touched her chest, feeling her heart beating rapidly.
"Agh, damn it, I’m so scared! Damn it!" Rasie said with a voice full of excitement.
"Good luck, everyone!" Hasya shouted.
"I’m coming, asshole!" Rasie yelled. She jumped first, her body plunging through the air before landing with a heavy thud on the cathedral sand.
Zaefal followed. He jumped with his sword ready to strike, landing with his knees slightly bent to absorb the impact.
Fyar dropped silently. He landed soundlessly beside Zaefal, his eyes instantly scanning the surroundings.
Illya whispered a short mantra. Her body vanished in a glow of purple light and instantly appeared behind Fyar through her teleportation magic.
In front of them, a black big statue stood frozen before the ruined altar. It wore heavy armor covered in sharp bone spikes. A giant hammer, still made of stone, was gripped in its hand. Long, stiff black hair hung down, partially covering its face.
Slowly, the surface of the statue cracked. A powerful surge of magic radiated outward, creating an intimidating air pressure that swirled the dust and sand on the cathedral floor. The pressure forced Fyar and the others to take a step back to maintain their balance.
The statue’s eyes suddenly flared bright blue. The stone crust on its body shattered into pieces, fully releasing the monster. The creature tilted its head to the left, making a loud cracking sound in its neck bones. It stared at them, then pulled back the corners of its mouth to show a row of neat white teeth in a wide, terrifying grin.
The hammer in its hand now glowed blue, emitting sparks of energy that touched the cathedral floor.