Four days after Alex and Cairo explored the Dungeon of Beginnings...
"Do you have plans to challenge the lower floors today?" the Catkin inquired.
"Master... you look very eager today." Alex smiled. "Do you perhaps want to fight another Mini Boss?"
"No," Cairo answered. "I’m just wondering if there are any more Adventurer Parties affiliated with Silent Coffin in the dungeon. Letting them live doesn’t sit well with me."
Alex was quite surprised by his master’s reply. It seemed that after learning of Silent Coffin, Cairo had become hellbent on eliminating the secret organization from the roots.
"Master, just be careful, okay?" Alex said seriously. "They’re not an easy opponent."
"I know." Cairo nodded. "I’ll make sure to let the dungeon erase the evidence so it doesn’t come back to bite me."
The young man was finally able to breathe a little easier after hearing his master’s reply.
Cairo might be strong, but he was still far from becoming the Heaven’s Sword, a title bestowed upon the person all the Catkin Tribes recognized as the strongest Swordsman of their race.
For now, he was still in training, and it would take a few more years before his swordsmanship reached the level where villains would think twice before crossing him.
After having breakfast together, the two set off for the Dungeon of Beginnings. Along the way, they came across Charles, who happened to be running. The trial was drawing near, so they assumed the teenage boy must be training hard as usual.
Once again, the gazes of the three met, and they all exchanged a nod of greeting.
Now that Charles seemed to have grown a little familiar with them, the pair believed it might not be that hard to talk to him in the future.
However, Alex still felt like it wasn’t yet time for them to approach the young man.
’The Hidden Dungeon in the mountain near the village will open in a week,’ Alex thought. ’I’ll talk to Charles after Master and I clear that dungeon.’
The Hidden Dungeon was one of the secrets that Alex and the Eris Brotherhood had discovered after many playthroughs as the NPC, Charles Lambert.
Compared to the Dungeon of Beginnings, this Hidden Dungeon was much more manageable. With enough preparations, even Charles alone could beat it.
After defeating the Boss Monster, players could obtain the Whirlwind Sword from the treasure chest, which granted its wielder the AOE skill, Whirlwind Slash.
This skill was incredibly useful, especially for someone surrounded by monsters, as it allowed them to clear a path for their escape.
When Alex and Cairo entered the Dungeon of Beginnings, the young man immediately activated the Map of Forgotten Paths to locate the hidden treasures and paths inside the dungeon.
To Alex’s dismay, there were no hidden rooms that contained treasure chests this time around.
However, he did not dwell in his disappointment for too long. The young man soon picked himself up and ran toward the hidden path that led to the dungeon’s fourth floor.
This time, he planned to go to the two hidden rooms that he hadn’t had the chance to check the last time they went down there.
After reaching the fourth floor, Cairo asked Alex if the Mini Boss had respawned.
"I don’t see Vraxxis on the map, Master," Alex said. "But there are two hidden rooms that contain treasure chests. Let’s go there first."
Cairo nodded and followed his disciple closely.
As they headed to their destination, they encountered Rotting Treants, Thorn Wolves, and Moss Goblins.
All of them were Rank 2 Monsters, but they no longer posed a threat to the master-disciple pair, who made short work of them.
Alex also noticed that the experience points he gained from fighting such monsters were no longer as high as they used to be.
He had been leveling up like crazy ever since he had entered the Etherion Domain. However, now that he had become a Rank 2 Oathkeeper, he needed to kill at least thirty Rank 2 Monsters before he could level up.
Moreover, since he was fighting alongside Cairo, his experience points were also cut in half.
Of course, Alex wasn’t too bothered by it. Their killing spree was more than twice as fast and effective than it would have been had he been alone. In fact, by the time Alex and Cairo reached the first blue blinking dot on a map, the former once again heard a notification sound inside his head.
The young man glanced at his Status Page and smiled after seeing his stats.
Alex was now a Ranker, who would not be easily defeated even if he were to fight four Goblins at the same time. He had come a long way since his arrival in Arcana.
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Job Class: Oathkeeper
Intelligence - 30 [+3]
Constitution - 70 [+4]
Available Stat Points: 0
Active Skills: Oathkeeper’s Duty, Shield [EX], Shield Bash, Unyielding Pact, Echo of the Sworn, Balance Breaker, Shield Charge
Passive Skills: Improved Stone Throw, Head Shot, Rebuke of Steel.
[Difficulty Level: Hell Mode]
’My Agility is now in the three digits,’ Alex noted. ’I should add more Stat Points to Strength next time I level up.’
With his current stats, Alex could kill most Rank 1 Monsters with a single strike. He could also fight a Rank 3 Monster in a one-on-one battle now.
Although it would take some time, the young man was confident he could win that battle with his current stats.
The only exceptions were Rank 2 Boss Monsters and Mini Bosses.
They were far stronger than monsters of the same rank, so Alex should still be careful when dealing with them.
Just as the young man and the Catkin were about to reach their destination, they stumbled upon a group of five people, which made the two stop in their tracks.
"Oh, a duo on the fourth floor?" The Swordsman of the group smiled. "Both of you must be strong if you can go this far with only the two of you. But I don’t seem to recognize any of you. Are you perhaps new Adventurers?"
"Yes," Alex replied before his Master could say anything. "I hope you don’t mind us."
The group of Adventurers eyed Alex and Cairo for nearly half a minute before deciding to continue their exploration inside the dungeon.
Cairo’s hand rested on the handle of his sword, ready to draw it at any time, just in case the Adventurers attacked them.
Alex couldn’t feel any malice from the Adventurers. But since he didn’t know if they truly were harmless or not, he still made sure to keep his guard up at all times.
"Are they gone, Dim Dim?" Alex inquired.
Dim Dim nodded. "Dim."
"Good." Alex glanced at Cairo. "We’ll be there shortly, Master."
"Okay," the Catkin replied as he followed behind Alex, who ran across the winding paths of the dungeon for two more minutes before arriving at their destination.
Just like before, he looked for any unusual symbols on the wall of the dungeon. When he saw a small emblem, similar to a raindrop, he knew that this was the entrance to the room he was searching for.
After placing his hand on the emblem, a hidden door appeared, which Alex and Cairo calmly entered together.