The points of Intelligence were already helping me process the trauma of the fight. No, not really. A five-percent increase was barely noticeable. But I wished it would, just to make it go away faster. The System had no Willpower Attribute but it was a mix of Intelligence and Wisdom. To affect one's mind, the effect had to account for one's mental faculties.

But I still had a job to do. Alice wanted me to reach level ten. I put my weight on the wounded leg. It hurt but nothing beyond what I could manage. The real issue was the ruined shin guard and pants. It painted a nice fleshy target for enemies to latch on.

"Are you okay?" The Guild Master asked.

"Yeah. It's only a bit breezy now that my shin is exposed."

"Do you still want to go on?" Alice asked.

"Yeah. I gained a level, by the way. Nine to go."

"Atta, boy. Let's go onward."

I took the lead. Part of me wanted to ask why Alice vanished during the fight but she was right next to me all the time. Not interfering or helping was the right choice. It didn't take away from the Experience points I earned from the enemies. With the level difference between us, most creatures would be worth close to nothing if she barely touched them. The System allowed one to piggyback on a stronger friend's kills to power level but the level difference needed to be low.

We crossed almost a kilometer of tunnels in silence before Alice said something.

"Those horrors are the strongest monsters of this first floor."

"Good to know."

"We should head for the boss room. Let's descend a floor. This one was picked clean by other delvers."

The Dungeon was big but not infinite. Each floor extended for several square kilometers but the amount of people roaming these tunnels was big on any given day. And if its purpose was to feed on people who died, why bother spawning monsters when people killers, or PK's were everywhere, more than happy to feed the Dungeon?

The second floor was less crowded because one needed to cross the boss room to reach it. Ninety percent of the time, the room had a boss monster inside and you needed to defeat it to open the doors on the other side. After a boss was killed, a small window of time existed where people who didn't participate in the fight could safely cross and descend.

However, those who killed a boss were most likely stronger than those that didn't even had the courage to get inside and try their luck. The victorious delvers could hold the boss room and do whatever they wanted, from not letting anyone cross to charging a toll fee. Lawless as the Dungeon was, others had to rely on wits and charms (of the mundane or magical variety) to get by. Some paid, some didn't. Few attacked.

Fighting inside the boss room was the epitome of stupidity. In most cases, the Dungeon couldn't make changes to its tunnels or spawn monsters too close to a person. With a strong aura like Alice's, it could reach hundreds of meters. But inside the boss room? The Dungeon could respawn the boss on top of stragglers, after a few minutes of the last boss kill. And when the boss spawned, the doors closed. Period.

The Dungeon placed the first-floor boss room at the end of a large room seemingly made out of stonework. The ceiling hung forty feet above the floor, supported by four round pillars. Several tunnels led into this room. The eerie glow was replaced by bright light similar to daylight and several parties camped in the space. It was a safe zone, as safe as one can make inside a man-eating living hole in the ground. The number of groups and witnesses present kept the most finicky of PK's in check.

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We walked into the hall and drew the attention of everyone. The reason was simple. Alice was right beside me. Alice was a beautiful elf. She was beautiful for elf standards, which meant that for mere mortals, she was the closest to perfection they would ever lay their eyes upon. And she was the Guild Master for the Adventurer's Guild. More than half of the people in here were members.

I could see backs shooting straight, contraband being put away, and even some rubbing a finger on their teeth to clean it up. She beat them not only in looks, authority, but also in raw power. In a fight against everyone here against Alice, my money was on her. I tried not to wilt under so many envious gazes but it was impossible.

A bold and daring soul approached. A bard wearing colorful and fancy clothes, impeccably clean. Ignoring me, he addressed Alice directly. I had no idea if he was human, half-elf, or full elf.

"Guild Master. Such a honor to have you down here with the rest of us," He said with a mocking smile and a pitiful bow.

A jester and a clown, then. And no, I wasn't envious. But he really pulled it off, looking more goofy than offensive, drawing attention. Such was the power of high Charisma. Every subtle movement or muscle twitch, every intonation of every syllable that escaped his mouth, everything conveyed what he wanted people to see and think about him.

Which meant he wanted me to feel envious of how he could captivate Alice's attention. That realization more than halved the effectiveness of his Charisma and that's why sharp wits were the best defense against the raw uses of that Attribute.

"Clotilde," Alice replied coldly. Her disdain sent shivers up my spine. "I'm impressed to find you down here and not in some palace licking a King's boots."

Take that, you joker. If the defense is sharp wits, you are before a master.

I clenched my teeth and moved a bit away. Even though spells weren't flying or arms weren't wrestling, standing near these two as they measured their peacock feathers was going to mess with my mind. Humans were social creatures, after all.

"I need to wait for them to step on dog shit, so I have something to lick off of them," Clotilde replied as nonchalant as someone commenting on the weather. "And all Kings I've visited recently were cat people."

Some actual cat people in the audience took offense to that. But I was puzzled. Did he mean that Kings who were dog people stepped on their own shit, or that... never mind. I took another step away.

"I'm going to transmute you into a frog," Alice threatened. "Again."

Clotilde broke down into a fit of laughter and chortles. It took two minutes for him to recompose himself. "Not today, my old friend. But let me give you one nugget of wisdom."

"Spare me," Alice rolled her eyes.

"I wouldn't be so eager to throw away young talent," he glanced at me and I looked away. "Like before."

"Fuck off, Clotilde."

"Not on a flimsy tip like the last one. Do you know who told the Guild that Liliane Fade was pregnant? The Demon King. Do you have any idea how much he hates the Fade witches? If I sat on the vaunt~ed, es~teemed," his voice oozed sarcasm and derision, "Guild Council, I would guide our decisions by the saying, 'the enemy of my enemy is my ally of occasion'."

He made a dramatic hand movement, ending in a goofy pose. "Instead, you do the opposite! Toodles!"

The clown burst into a cloud of streamers and glittery smoke that shone with its own light. A gust of wind blew the cloud away from Alice. When the smoke cleared and the streamers fell to the ground, I could see that Alice was livid. Furious. Pissed. And crying.

I, along with everyone who heard Clotilde's declaration, took several minutes to unravel what the jester said. I had a hard time believing that everything he said was true and not the fabrication of a deranged mind but Alice's reaction told me all I needed to know. To see her have an emotional breakdown in public was heartbreaking. Knowing that my father died because of the Demon King's machinations had my head spinning.

Clotilde came down here to attack Alice. I had no doubt of that. But what could I do? Fuck. This delve had me so focused on System statistics that I forgot the basics of human decency. I was so focused on countering the effects of Clotilde's sky-high Charisma that it slipped past me. I approached Alice and hugged her. She hugged me back, leaning down to rest her head on my shoulder and bawl her brains out.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled.

"Don't. The clown was just pulling your leg."

"Clotilde didn't lie. He has a Perk that lets his target know that."

"Is he one of the old monsters?"

She nodded and hummed in affirmation. Moments later, she recomposed herself.

"Let's get in line to kill the boss. Here's what we will do."

We approached the closed boss door. The next group conceded their spot in the line for us. All parties behind them also voiced their agreement.

"Okay, everyone," Alice spoke, her magic projecting her voice to the whole room. "Whoever wants a free pass to the second floor, line up. After I defeat the boss, everyone is to rush toward the stairs down in lockstep. I know everyone who's here. Don't PK and I won't have to hunt you down and put you out like the filthy roach you are."