"Wake up, it's time to advance!

" Nathan woke up his party members.

The group stirred as they were forcefully withdrawn from their blissful sleep into the harsh reality of the Dungeon they were in.

"Ah, how long were we out for?

" Jack muttered, rubbing his eyes as he received consciousness.

"I'd say approximately 5 hours… Not long, but enough to get decent rest.

" Nathan responded.

The rest yawned and stretched as they rose on their feet, smacking their lips as they cleaned their watery eyes. Nathan looked at all of them and smiled, suddenly he felt like their caretaker… A weird feeling indeed.

This took him back to his plan to marry Marie. He was supposed to do so after he and the party challenged the Forest of Monsters. However, after the entire incident with the Minotaurs, he decided to postpone it and get enough money to last them for a long time without needing to work as Adventurers.

He thought raiding Rio's house would cut it. He would get countless treasures and if he was lucky, some Relics. He would sell them for a fortune and elope with Marie, living the life of their dreams.

That hope was shattered now. All he could do was keep his head low and find ways to safely make money to care for himself and his lover.

"G-Good morning Sir Nathan…. H-How w-was your n-night…?

"

Nathan turned behind him as he heard the familiar voice call out to him. His eyes met Lydia, the one who greeted him so warmly. As their eyes met, Nathan felt a tinge of embarrassment and discomfort welling from within him.

"O-Oh… You too…

" He muttered.

She smiled shyly and nodded impulsively, quickly rushing away. She also seemed nervous, more so than usual.

The rest of the party looked at the reaction of both Nathan and Nadia and wondered among themselves what could have caused such awkward responses.

Though everyone else still seemed oblivious of what could have transpired between the two, Jack had a gut feeling, making him develop a sly look. He rushed to Nathan's side and rested his hands on his shoulder while playfully taking him away from the rest of the group.

"Yo, brooo! What's up with you and Nadia?

" Jack whispered with raised eyebrows.

He had a wide, excited grin and a gleam in his eyes filled with curiosity. As the oldest of the group, he was mature enough to sense that something had changed between the two of them, and he had to get to the bottom of it.

"W-What are you talking about?

" Nathan asked, doing a poor job of hiding his flustered state.

"C'mon man! Just tell me… Something is definitely up between you two. Nadia greeting you out of nowhere like that, and your reaction toward her… When did that start happening?

" Jack pushed.

"Stop it, man. Nothing happened. You must still be drowsy. Besides, we're in a Dungeon. It's a dangerous place. You should get silly ideas like that out of your head.

"

Nathan quickly retained his composure, shrugging Jack off his shoulder, while giving him a serious look. This way, he would prove he wasn't joking. This made Jack smile knowingly.

"Y-Yeah. You're right. It's my bad. Haha. I wouldn't want to be thinking silly thoughts and get distracted while fighting the monsters after all

" Jack said cheerily.

"Good, looks like you understand.

" Nathan smiled calmly.

"Oh, I understand, all right.

" Jack thought to himself.

He knew something was definitely going on, but he also realized that if he pushed further, he might not obtain any information. The only way he could get to the bottom of things was by observation.

It wasn't like he had any malicious intentions, but he was always a curious lad, and so to satisfy this curiosity, he was willing to dedicate himself to finding things out.

"Let us proceed…

" Nathan said as he looked in the direction of all the members of the group while trying to avoid eye contact with Lydia.

"Yeah!

" They responded with determination and proceeded to continue their journey.

After everyone packed up their luggage, giving it to Puck, they proceeded to the 2nd Floor's final arena… The Boss Room!

"I let you all rest yesterday because we'll need all our energy for this battle,

" Nathan said to everyone.

"This is it, everyone. The Boss Room. We'll be facing more of these as we advance to even higher floors. Once we defeat this monster and proceed, we'll hardly have any long period of rest. Are you all ready?

"

The group looked nervous as Nathan talked. However, his soothing tone, his reassuring smile, and his confident aura made them believe in him.

"If Nathan says we can win, then we'll be fine!

" So were their thoughts.

They all responded positively in agreement.

"Then, let's go!

"

As they moved a little further they found it… The gate leading to the Boss Room. It was massive and ominous. The party members could feel an immense amount of pressure emanating from within the gates, most definitely from the boss itself.

They gulped as they steadily approached it until they were directly before the great door. Two statues stood beside the gate, on opposite ends. They held their respective weapons. One had a sword, the other had a shield. They appeared to be old and cracked, having cobwebs and don't all over them.

Lydia stared at them intensely, and somehow she felt like they were somewhat alive. Though that was impossible, perhaps it was her imagination playing tricks on her. She couldn't help but feel it though… That the old, stone eyes of the two statues watched her and her Party intently.

She braced herself and pulled her nerves together, refusing to be fazed by such a scary perception. They had come this far and she wasn't going to pull the team back. She was no liability. She was going to serve as a source of great strength for Nathan, for the Party.

"I can do this! I am strong!

" She assured herself.

Taking her eyes off the dreary statues, she moved forward and matched the lace of everyone else ahead of her.

With deep breaths, they readied themselves as Nathan placed his hands on the gates of the Boss Room. He inhaled sharply and pushed the enormous slabs of stone and metal.

Slowly, it creaked as the gates parted, revealing the brightly lit room. The Party members couldn't see much since the opening was only enough for them to proceed into the large room, and not for them to view everything within from their current position.

They all looked at Nathan expectantly, waiting for his orders, like lost children looking up to their parents for guidance.

He smiled and nodded to them. Taking the lead, while the others followed behind him… Nathan guided his party to their first Boss.

The Fifth Floor

Within a day, we've made considerable progress. The time left before this Dungeon returns to its solitary space is less than 14 days.

While this speed is satisfactory for most Adventurers or even unreal, it's not really impressive to me. We spent most of the time sightseeing since my slaves haven't been in a Dungeon before.

There's also the other reason, so it's not a total waste of time.

"What I'm after is located in the 5th Floor's Boss Room. Let's get a move on. Ana, you'll be taking on this one. Do not disappoint me.

" I smiled.

"Yes, my Lord. I'll definitely show you a good fight!

" She smiled confidently.

Great, now everyone gets a turn at impressing me with their feats and showing off their growth. This way, there won't be any dissatisfaction among them.

Within an hour of rushing through the mobs of the vine-filled dungeon, we finally arrived at the Boss Room. With plant monsters swarming the place, it was easy for Talia to navigate through, shortening the time it would normally take us to reach our destination.

The door leading to the Boss Room was covered with vine extensions. Green branches stick to the door, while they reached when the walls and ceiling, even the floor located near the door, pervading the vicinity

Without a moment's hesitation, Ana opened the door forcefully, tearing off the attached branches on the door to their body around the walls and ceiling.

We ventured in, and as expected, the entire room was filled with flora and several plants… A garden to behold.

"Woowww! So pretty!

" Taliban beamed as she looked around her.

I can understand her amazement. She is a fairy, after all. With close connections to nature, Fairies can resonate their Aspects with them to communicate and control them. A useful Ability, though they mostly use it for their everyday chores.

The green shrubs and colorful flowers which filled everywhere made the atmosphere tranquil, as a pleasant aroma sifted through the air. Glows made by lighting floras made the room look brighter and magical. Such a beautiful place indeed.

However…. A Boss Room is still a Boss Room.

">BOOOOOOM!!!!!<

"

Everyone's eyes immediately darted toward the origin of the sound. Their eyes expressed shock as they witnessed the magnificent and gigantic apparition before them.

"That is…

" Ana muttered.

She had only heard of them in books and more. Shamac had never seen anything like it before, but I can tell from the look on Talia's face… She recognizes this Boss Monster.

"… That is… A Forest Guardian…?!

" Talia muttered with teary eyes.