Half an hour later...
Corrupted Ogre Dungeon, lowest floor.
East side.
Kael sliced open an ogre, cleaving it in half as both sides of the body fell on either side of the floor.
He swiped his sword across the air, cleaning it quickly before sheathing it again.
Right now, Kael, Agneil, and his two guards were in the center of what looked to be an underground civilization.
Huts made of stone were everywhere across the several thousand feet wide underground chamber they were in.
They were ogre homes, guarded by streets, ponds, gardens, and more. It wasn't lively, but there were still rogue ogres here and there that were still alive.
Agneil shook his head, "Where the hell is the boss? We have been traveling for ages and we still haven't found the boss room..."
Kael didn't say anything, continuing forward as Agneil and the others followed him.
Now that they all had separated from the other members of Ace, Kael took it upon himself to take the lead.
Agneil was no longer confident in his ability, since these ogres posed too much of a threat to him due to their unpredictable nature.
Even Kael noticed just how different their nature was compared to ogres that he had fought in the past.
'These ogres are unique. Usually, ogres are big dumb idiots that run towards their death. But these ones... they are agile. They have some sort of fear instilled within them, and their fighting tactics are like guerrilla warfare. Hiding in locations, planning sneak attacks, running away if they get caught. It just doesn't make sense... but it makes them much more dangerous.'
"If I'm not mistaken, we have been traveling towards what seems to be the center of this dungeon." Kael said, continuing to walk through the streets of the abandoned city.
Agneil raised a brow, "How the hell do you know that?" He emphasized the 'you.' "We've been walking in a random direction underground this entire time..."
Kael didn't hesitate to reply, but he didn't bat his eye from the forward path. He was zoned in, ready to enter combat at any second.
"As an experienced Hunter, you must trust your own skills to get you out of dungeons sometimes—not a map or Spirit Energy power. You have to map out the dungeon in your head as you move. And from my estimates, we have been circling a single location for a while. But, we have been getting closer and closer—like a shrinking spiral."
As Kael paused, Agneil narrowed his eyes, trying to comprehend what the Hunter before him was saying.
"Chances are, we are heading straight towards the center of the dungeon. Of course, we could also be being led to some random location. But... I heavily doubt that is the case."
Agneil nodded, "Huh... I guess that makes sense."
"And speaking of the center," Kael said, "I believe we are here." He looked up at a door atop a staircase.
The doorway was at the very end of the underground city. Kael and the other three had explored several rooms, completed multiple puzzles, and had even gone through an entire labyrinth before finally arriving to this location.
Sure, this city was a massive epicenter of the dungeon. However, getting here was clearly something heavily defended and only intended for ogres.
Still, they were done now.
Within seconds, all four men faced the large 20-foot stone door before them.
With a blast of the heel of his sword, Kael pushed the door wide open.
Inside, he was met with a completely different setting.
Instead of being crafted from chiseled stone, this place was wild and raw. It was clearly not overtaken by the ogres.
Or even if it was, it was left in its natural state. It was a giant cavern chamber that was round with a flat floor.
Amber crystals shimmering in an array of bright colors glimmered off of the walls, illuminating the massive 200 by 200 square feet sized room.
There was a pond in the middle that was about 100 feet in diameter all around, and it was bright blue.
Its surface was almost crystallized by the amount of light bouncing off of it from the walls.
There were piles of ogre bones every 30 or so feet that reached up to a human's head in height.
And on top of all of this, there was also a hole at the very top center of the room that was completely closed off by a water-like reflective surface.
Kael immediately furrowed his brows. He felt a horrible sense of bloodlust and death emitting from this place.
'Hmm... this room's history has been engrained into the air itself.' He looked around, 'There must have been a large battle here...'
*5 Minutes Prior*
Ince, Scarlet, and Roby had stumbled into an unfamiliar looking room. They had been searching for the center room, just like Kael.
However, their path was different. Currently, they were stuck inside of another labyrinth.
However, this maze led them deeper and deeper down into the cave—which wasn't what they were expecting.
However, the good thing about their path was that there were no stray beasts left to kill.
Still, it took them a while to get to an area that looked different from the rest of the maze, which all looked so similar that it was making them go crazy.
This room was less of a room, and more of a dead end to their downwards path.
They had checked all other directions up above, and right now, this was the only available path.
So, what was the problem? Well... the path was consumed by water.
It was filled with bright water—a dead end unless they chose to swim through.
"We have to go back." Scarlet said, taking a step back, "I guess we chose the wrong path."
Ince immediately replied: "No. We have checked every other possible way. If not this way, we can consider ourselves completely lost and defeated by this dungeon."
Roby raised a brow in confusion, "Are you saying we are going to swim? Who knows how long this water tunnel is..."
Ince turned, "Good point." She smirked at Roby, "Go and check for me."
Roby's eyes widened, "W-what!?"
"What? You don't want to follow your leader's orders anymore?" Ince said, her tone more serious.
"We-well... h-have Scarlet do it or something!" Roby exclaimed in slight fear.
"Huh!?" Scarlet turned, "Don't flip this onto me, you fatass. Go and check!"
Ince shook her head, "If one of you two don't go right now, I'll throw you both in there." She said in a nonchalant tone.
Roby and Scarlet both knew how serious Ince was, so, Roby stepped forward.
'Fuck... fuck this! When I first joined this team, I wanted to take advantage of others to get ahead... but now, I wish I had never joined in the first place. What's the point of being rich and powerful if you have to live under a damn tyrant!' Roby was cursing in his head as he dipped his toes in the water.
Taking a deep breath, he dove in...