After leaving the dungeon, all the guards on their regular shift swiftly swarmed the team. They bombarded Ganek and Sevaris with questions about what happened and how things went inside the dungeon. Even with the secrecy surrounding their objective, a special team with mages and Naka was such a big event that everyone among the guard already had a different idea of what was going on.
"I asked you guys to keep the fact that we would fight the Sky Ruler Spawn a secret, did I not?" Naka side-eyed the two guards.
"You fought the Sky Rulers?" Whotur gasped.
"I told you that's what they were doing!" another guard said.
"Who would believe such a crazy idea?"
"So you are calling the captain crazy?"
"What? No! I would never!"
"Shut up. I wanna hear what they have to say."
Naka sighed, "I guess there is no point in keeping it a secret anymore. Yes, we have fought against the Sky Ruler Spawn. That's the name of the monsters that come from the mountain in the dungeon, and we defeated a large number of them. However, that was only possible due to the help of the humans. Without them, we are unable to even touch the creatures."
"How strong were they?"
"They were weaker than expected. However, since they can damage us and we cannot damage them, any one of us would be ultimately killed if left to fight one of them on our own. Not just that, but they seem to get stronger when fighting against one of us." Naka continued, "No one else is to attempt fighting those creatures. We survived because of our planning and, most importantly, the humans. If any of you stalls to see the Sky Ruler Spawns during your shift, you will wish they had killed you. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, ma'am!" The entire guard cried at one. Even Sevaris and Ganek joined.
Silah pushed through the group and saw how neither Hera nor Blue was hurt. There were some minor cuts and bruises, but nothing like what happened with Hera's armor after the first time they fought against the griffons. She got closer to Hera and smiled, just to let her know she was there. Even if people knew they were together, public displays of affection were still off the table.
The guard kept asking question after question, and Naka did her best to reply to all of them, but at one point, she couldn't take it anymore, "Enough, this is still not over, and we have much to do. Return to your posts. You can ask more about this later. For the members of the team, follow me."
Despite their curiosity, everyone moved away from the captain. Hera and the others walked over to a more secluded area. Pyrrick created a soundproof barrier, much like the one Ogryn had deployed the first time Rutigan met with the humans. Again, this was just a safety measure, so the other guard members wouldn't eavesdrop and get any ideas. Hera was having trouble understanding why the need for this degree of secrecy, but she wasn't going to be the one to object, especially not now that things seemed to be going smoothly.
The first thing they did was show Silah all their weapons and armor, or at least all that had any direct contact with the griffons. Ganek didn't have any scratches on his armor, and Sevaris never managed to hit a Sky Ruler Spawn and trigger its barrier. Naka's armor was still spotless. It was the last piece of equipment Rutigan convinced Kahala to make before she stopped taking requests. According to Silah, Naka was very private about the attributes even if she never understood why. Still, it had the highest the defense rating she ever saw, adding that with the captain's skills, that would increase her defense, and it was almost impossible for something to break through it. Naka's sword, however, had a few issues. Apparently, whatever she hit had corrosive properties that shaved away the edge of the blade. The same could be said for Ganek's battleaxe. That was only present in the weapons that struck the cloud barrier. Hera and Blue's weapons had no issues whatsoever.
They discussed what worked and improved their strategy to fight the griffons. Now that everyone was aware of what could happen when one of the dwarves hit the monsters, it was easier to avoid dangerous situations. After one hour had gone by, they entered the dungeon again. This time, Silah would go inside to see what could happen with their weapons and help carry the drops. They would always leave one Sky Ruler Spawn alive until the end and run back to the cave before finishing the wave. Hera and Blue shared their idea that this could lead to the hard mode dungeon, and explained what that would mean for the guard. Naka was worried at first since that could mean the other dwarves would be able to enter a dangerous place, but after they explained that you could only enter the hard mode if you unlocked it yourself and that you had to do that once per week, she relaxed.
Hera's argument for using the hard mode had to do with increased leveling speed and the enemies they would find. If it was a harder version of the current Sky Ruler's Spawn, it would go a long way in preparing the humans for their eventual challenge against the version outside. She also said that the dungeon could have more sheep for them to face and that those creatures would have different types of drops, maybe even better wool or meat.
The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
"This hard mode might be beneficial, I agree. However, if we discover it, only those who are willing will go. I'm not forcing anyone to follow us. That includes you too, Lerynn," Naka said.
"Really?" Lerryn's face lit up. Everyone knew he wasn't that happy about the current situation. He was only there because he was the best healer in the entire guard, but he mostly stayed outside the dungeon, only helping the wounded outside.
"Really, but I still maintain what I told you earlier. If your aim is to become stronger, this should be the best place to do so. Just like it will be for the humans."
Lerynn nodded, but he didn't seem to be all that worried about leveling up, even with Naka's encouragement. Still, he agreed to at least wait to know what would be inside the hard mode before deciding if he would take part or not. Hera understood his worries. She never participated in a hard mode dungeon, and what everyone said was that these places could be several times harder than the normal mode.
When the locked period ended, the team headed back to the dungeon. They might not have gathered a decent amount of loot, but feathers were something everyone was conscious of. They knew the alternative would make them waste too much time, and despite not having speed as a focus, no one wanted to spend over one hour waiting around for something to happen.
Their next attempt went smoother, but they still could not clear the second wave. After killing the last griffon from the first wave, they headed back to the tunnel, but the monsters were faster. The second wave was more aggressive and more focused on hunting whatever was moving. They would attack random spots on the ground with their spells, and when one of them found the team, it gave a rallying cry that made the entire flock of griffons rush over. The team was close to the tunnel but not close enough to reach a safer location before the Sky Ruler Spawn came crashing down. During their attack, the spells wounded most of the team. Naka got hit with a gust of wind that sent her flying to the side of the mountain. It wasn't enough to injury the captain, but seeing her gasping for air made everyone worried.
Not wanting to take any chances, they left the dungeon again hauling 10kg of chicken and another 200g worth of feathers. It wouldn't be enough to make a full dress as Fethy said she wanted, but it was a nice start. This would also give them more than enough attempts to finish the waves.
During the third attempt, they beat the first, second, and third waves. The dwarves assumed the number of monsters was because of the dungeon, but Hera and Blue got worried. They knew a dungeon would mirror the situation that created it. If there were this many Sky Ruler's Spawn, that meant the number of griffons on the mountain could be much larger than they expected.
On the fourth attempt, they killed all the griffons in the third and fourth waves. However, nothing else came around after it. Hera and Blue explained that some hard mode dungeons could have very complicated requirements to unlock. Fighting off the waves was just the most straightforward idea. It took little convincing for the dwarves to agree to help find the proper method of unlocking the hard mode. After all, none of them had even heard about a hard mode in a dungeon. Unlocking it could bring more benefits to the city. It was an oddly familiar situation. Both Hera and Blue had met people filled with patriotism, willing to spend their entire lives helping their country. This was the same for the dwarves, although it wasn't about helping the kingdom, but about helping its people.
If they left the dungeon now, there would not be enough time to do another run, but the boss and a small flock of sheep were still alive after all the waves. Despite the lack of success in finding the hard mode, they all agreed that they should do their best to fight the sky rulers. The mages had their first taste of chicken during one of their breaks, and now wanted to share the food with everyone. Even though they already had gathered about 70 kg of chicken, it wasn't anywhere near enough for the entire city.
Chasing the last sheep didn't take that long, and Naka, who received Pyrrick's buff, swiftly killed the boss just to see how things would fare. Her blade became strong enough to cut the Plains Sheep like butter, even before shaving off its wool. The effect surprised everyone, including the captain. She never got such a big buff during the dungeon, since there was never a need for the captain to get stronger during the regular runs. When the boss died, Hera leaned over to Blue.
"Did you get the notification?"
"What notification?" Blue looked at Hera with a confused expression.
"The one about clearing the dungeon."
Blue's eye went wide, "I didn't! What does that mean?"
"I think the waves change the requirements to end the dungeon."
"We should tell everyone."
"I'm going to," Hera called the group as they gathered a large piece of meat dropped from the boss, "Guys, I think this is not over."
"What do you mean?" Sevaris asked.
"We didn't get a notification, the sy… I mean, the voice of the mountain didn't say we finished the dungeon. It always does that."
Naka, Sevaris, and Ganek looked at each other and swiftly gathered around the mages, preparing for battle.
"So? How does that mean there is something else to do?" Lija asked.
"This never happened. Not once. Every time we finish the dungeon, the voice of the mountain tells us so. I'm so used to seeing its words that I don't pay attention anymore, but she is right. This isn't how the dungeon is supposed to end," Naka explained.
"What are we missing, then?" Totrak asked.
A loud cry echoed through the plains. It was like the same sound that signaled the start of a new wave but a hundred times louder. The sunlight vanished as massive, dark clouds covered the sky. The cry rang once more. This time it was closer, but more bearable. An enormous 3-meter tall griffon came from above. Its wingspan could easily reach 7 meters. It had reddish arms and legs, and some of its feathers seemed to be between yellow and white, but most of its body was discolored in odds shades of grey and brown. The monster had an exhausted expression, and much of the muscle the other griffons had was gone. It landed in front of the team and roared.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Starved Ruler – Level 8 – 1% (Cloud affinity)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"It's the Sky Ruler!" Lija yelled in a panic.
The dwarves started running away, with Naka barely managing to make them all run in the same direction.
Hera and Blue shared a quick glance and dove towards the fight.