?Archer heard the gate behind them slam close, causing Kassandra to smirk, ”What a strange trio we are,” she said. ”A Dragon, Kraken, and Mosasaur in an underground city full of creepy creatures and vicious monsters.”

”Shut up, Kass,” he replied with a chuckle. ”We could go anywhere and be fine unless a group of Demigods lurks in the shadows.”

The Kraken Princess giggled at his words as they continued walking down the tunnel until they started crossing the bridge, causing the Death Witch to stop and comment, ”I smell water. It’s far away, but it’s there.”

”Trust you to smell that sea lizard,” Kassandra teased, which earned her a glare.

”Shut up, octopus. Squirm under our husband and scream like a Howling Monkey,” Lucrezia retorted, causing the Kraken Princess to go red.

Archer laughed at the two girls’ banter before they continued walking down the pitch-black tunnel. Thanks to their eyesight, the three could still see, and when they got deeper, they started seeing dwarf, orc, and creepy humanoid corpses.

After half an hour, they reached the first chamber. When they got closer, Lucrezia poked him, ”Something’s coming from the tunnel in front of us,” she said. ”They will be here in ten minutes.”

When he heard this, Archer turned to the blonde girl. ”Let them come and die, Luce,” he said. ”We can check this place out before moving on.”

The two girls nodded before entering the chamber, which turned out to be a dwarven guard post. In the center of the room, they found a rotted table and old weapons hanging on the walls while paper and scrolls crumbled on the shelves that lined one side.

Kassandra stepped in and started coughing as the dust rushed straight up her nose, earning her a laugh from the other two. Archer walked over to her and rubbed the Kraken girl’s back, earning a smile.

The three searched the room, but Archer and Lucrezia found nothing until they heard a loud crash. The crash caused them to spin around, and they saw Kassandra throwing a large cupboard across the room.

When she did that, it revealed a secret room full of chests. Archer’s eyes widened in surprise, but that soon changed into greed. With a brilliant smile, the Kraken Princess motioned to him, ”Come check this out, husband.”

Archer entered the room and spotted a dozen chests of gold, silver, and copper coins. He happily took all the wealth for himself and stored it in his Item Box just as roars suddenly erupted from the corridor, causing Kassandra to rush out of the room.

Not long after she did that, they started hearing booms as a fight started. Archer rushed out, followed by Lucrezia, only to see the black-haired girl throwing a large orc down the corridor they came from, causing the creature’s body to crash through even more.

When witnessing the scene, Archer burst into laughter before drawing a deep breath and unleashing his Dragon’s Breath. The flames were funneled into an even more intense attack thanks to the narrow stone corridors.

The flames incinerated the enemy horde, reducing them to nothing but ash. Kassandra and Lucrezia cheered for him as they pressed onward, ignoring the burning flesh scent that took over the tunnel.

Passing another abandoned guard post, they soon arrived at a bridge leading to the city’s first layer. He remembered from a book he read in his past that dwarf cities were built in layers, with the nobility residing at the deepest levels while the common folk lived above.

The three walked across the bridge after scanning their surroundings and finding nothing. While doing that, Lucrezia looked over the edge and sniffed the air, causing him to question, as he joined her, ”What are you doing, Luce?”

”I can smell water,” she answered. ”And it’s seawater, which is strange.”

Archer’s eyebrow raised as he suggested, ”Thrylos probably has an underground sea.”

”It does, but there’s no access to it from the Underrealm,” Lucrezia said before turning to him, ”Can I have a look, please, Arch? I can use the domain to rejoin you when I’ve explored a little.”

He nodded, ”Go on then, but take this.” He handed her a bracelet with a red gem that matched her eyes. ”If anything goes wrong, use it to go to the domain and let me know by sending mana into it and thinking about me.”

Lucrezia nodded with a sweet smile as she pecked him on the cheek and turned toward Kassandra, to whom she said bye. When she did that, she leaped off the bridge and vanished into the darkness below.

The Kraken girl remarked when they were alone, ”What a weird girl.”

Archer laughed before the two entered the city, only to be creeped out as bones lined the streets. After seeing that, they scanned the entrance to see roads stretching off in different directions and an old fountain that had stopped functioning long ago.

They ventured deeper into the first layer and soon found themselves surrounded by a haunting sight. The once bustling streets were now eerily silent, with only the occasional creaking of structures breaking the stillness.

As they walked, Archer couldn’t shake the unease that settled over him like a heavy cloak. He knew the Swarm was behind everything and wanted to hunt the creatures down to wipe them out and earn even more experience.

Kassandra remained by his side, her alert gaze sweeping their surroundings until she abruptly halted while looking down a dark alleyway. He quickly noticed her pause and inquired, “What’s the matter, Kass?”

“There’s a rumbling noise coming from beneath us, and it’s unsettling because its coming from all different directions blocking me from pinpointing it,” she replied. “But ignore it for now and let’s continue on.”

Archer nodded before the couple continued, but that’s when they arrived at the first city square covered in bones. While looking around, they spotted a circle of smaller skeletons wearing dwarven armor surrounded by hundreds of creature’s remains.

Suddenly, the Forsaken emerged from the shadows, launching a vicious ambush. With a primal roar, Archer and Kassandra sprang into action as the black-haired girl slammed her fist into the closest creature’s chest, sending it soaring into a nearby building.

While Kassandra fought with her fists, Archer used his claws and tail to mow down the charging creatures, letting out a creepy screech before rushing in, only to be killed by being decapitated or torn apart.

He was getting frustrated and cast Crown Of Stars, causing several violet motes to appear above him before they rocketed off in the hundreds to annihilate every creature that got too close.

The battle continued until Kassandra killed the last Forsaken when she stomped on its head, causing its skull to break like a watermelon that echoed off the walls. Archer chuckled as the creature’s blood splattered her.

When Archer got close to the Kraken girl, he cast Cleanse on her and the clothes she wore to clean all the blood off before doing the same to himself. Once they were clean, he summoned an army of Stone Men and ordered them to loot everything of value.

With silent agreement, they rushed off, leaving Kassandra confused. She shook her head and commented, ”Why did you summon those things? Can’t we search ourselves?”

Archer shook, ”It would be quicker; otherwise, we’d be searching for hours, if not days,” he said. ”We can eat while waiting,”

Kassandra smiled before the two of them searched for somewhere to relax, but as they traveled down the old road, his senses warned him of an impending attack, causing him to instantly cast Cosmic Shield that blocked the lunge of an Orc Berserker.

When seeing this, Archer cast Eldritch Blast into the creature’s head, causing it to drop to the road with a crash. All this made Kassandra jump before she swung around and spotted even more orcs.

He watched her charge forward and give the enemy a one-

sided beating, causing the orc’s bodies to explode on every impact. Archer was amazed by her anger as she even used one of her tentacles to wipe out a group that tried attacking from the side.

After ten minutes, the Kraken girl wiped out the party of orcs that tried to ambush them, allowing them to continue as they heard battles happening throughout the first layer. Archer didn’t waste any more time and summoned hundreds of Stone Men before ordering them to join the fray.

The constructs rushed throughout the city and joined the battle against the orcs and Forsaken, allowing the duo to relax. They found a bench that was opposite a stagnant pond that was rippling.

Kassandra scanned their surroundings, ”the battles are ending,” she commented as her ears twitched. ”Many of the orcs have fallen to the Stone Men while the Forsaken are fleeing to the second layer.”

A confused expression appeared on Archer’s face as he questioned, ”How do you know that?”

”A Krakens hearing is phenomenal in the water but even better out of it, my husband,” Kassandra explained. ”It’s something to do with our race, but I’m not sure of the details behind it.”

Archer nodded before settling into a seat. He retrieved two meat wraps from his Item Box, passing one to Kassandra. As they ate, the Stone Men busily scoured the first layer for valuables.

The couple ate their food while chatting about the upcoming tournament. Today and tomorrow are the last days of the Frostwinter Festival, which Archer wanted to experience, so the two decided that after clearing this layer, they would head back and check it out.

It took another hour for the Stone Men to complete their task, leaving behind a mountain-sized pile of plunder belonging to Archer. Kassandra couldn’t help but giggle at the pure expression of greed on his face until she playfully pinched him to bring him back to reality.

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