A minute passed since the guard fell into one of the many cracks that opened up around him.
The fight was over, they had won. Even so, none of the three moved. As if they couldn't believe what had happened.
Puff
Suddenly, Kenzo fell to the ground, exhausted from the fight. Even though the actual time they've been fighting doesn't exceed ten minutes, the intensity of the match made them feel like they've been fighting for ten hours.
Puff
And, as if the magic had worn off, Ryu collapsed soon after
“Ha…haha…hahahahaHAHAHAHAHA”
As if he was possessed, he started laughing non-stop shortly after Ryu hit the ground. Seeing Ryu, Kenzo, and Zack started laughing soon after.
The crumbling floor was filled with the sound of the laughter of the three of them.
Right now, they didn't care that they were in the middle of a constantly shaking dungeon. Still, it's not like only one particular area of the dungeon was shaking, and they were too deep in the dungeon to try to reach the exit.
No matter where they go, the risk is more or less the same.
The important thing is that they are alive. Zack was amazed. They had fought an enemy beyond their league, and they had survived.
All the books Zack had read about classes had one thing in common: The difference in tiers is absolute. It doesn't matter what kind of class a person has. If that person is tier 2, and you're not, don't provoke him.
More than once some arrogant warrior has been beaten by a tier 2 blacksmith for trying to leave his shop without paying.
In fact, Zack knows that the main reason they were able to survive was pure luck. His opponent thought that he knew all of Zack's spells, and precisely because of this, every time Zack cast a new spell, the element of surprise gave Zack the opportunity to act. Also, for some strange reason, the guard barely used skills.
Zack isn't naive enough to think that he didn't have the abilities that could have knocked them out instantly, but he didn't use them for some reason. If Kenzo and Ryu have abilities relative to their class, it's impossible for the guard not to have them. But without a doubt, the most important reason why they are still breathing is because they were severely underestimated. And not only at the beginning of the fight.
Except for a moment mid-fight when they inflicted a wound on the guard's arm, the guard didn't fight as hard as he could to get rid of them but tried to get rid of them with as few injuries as possible. It is precisely for this reason that his last trick worked. If he had wanted to, Zack is convinced that his opponent could have survived a real fireball if he had faced them head-on. Instead, he decided to dodge it, convinced that there was nothing they could do to defeat him.
His enemy was confident in his victory from start to finish, and that is why they are still alive.
It is not known exactly how much time has passed since they were laid to rest. Just when Zack thought they should start moving, the dungeon began to stop shaking.
Zack's attention was diverted elsewhere. As the tremors subsided, Zack felt small explosions of mana in various areas of the floor where they were.
“We have to go” Zack said, his face turning pale by the minute.
(If that's what I think it is, then they could be in danger before long)
"What? Why?" Ryu asked confused.
They had just fought and were tired, the best thing they could do now is to find a place to rest and try to get out of the dungeon once they have recovered their energy.
"NOW!" Zack said as he turned around and started running in the direction of the stairs to the second floor.
"It is urgent?" Kenzo asked seriously as they approached.
Zack nodded his head while continuing to run.
“If I am correct, we probably have a major problem on our hands” Seeing Zack's response, Ryu and Kenzo didn't say anything else.
"Uah" Zack exclaimed surprised to see Kenzo picking him up.
Once Kenzo had a good hold on him, Ryu and Kenzo bolted for the exit.
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It must be said that the speed of a magician, at least running, can never be compared to that of a warrior. While Zack felt the wind on his face, his thoughts were occupied with something else more important.
(I hope we get out in time)
…
In another part of the dungeon, the hero Yamato and his companions were also rushing towards the exit.
"Why do we have to leave? We were halfway through! If you expect me to do it again, you are dreaming!" Tatsu's complaints echoed throughout the dungeon as he and his group fell back.
In response to Tatsu's voice, clearly, non-human voices began to be heard from the way they had come.
"Be quiet!" Lorelei yelled. Although she also didn't know why they were heading for the exit, She is sure that Tatsu's voice isn't helping them right now.
"What did you say?!" replied Tatsu aggressively.
"Tatsu is right. Going back now doesn't make much sense” Seto responded to Tatsu's question.
The only ones not participating in the discussion were Yamato and the captain of the guards, who seemed to be processing this situation.
"Captain, why are we retreating?" Yamato asked quietly, ignoring the bickering of his classmates.
The captain of the guard continued directing them to the exit, despite their protests.
“The situation has changed. I can't contact the other groups or the outside. Whatever is going on, especially after those men in black attack, is too dangerous. What we should do now is regroup with the others, and analyze the situation"
"Do you have any idea what's going on?" Yamato continued. Despite his strict family upbringing, obeying orders without knowing the reasons for them was never his strong point.
The leader of the guards looked at Yamato for a moment, continuing to move towards the exit. No one else could see his face due to walking in front of the group.
“Perhaps” replied the captain “I have never experienced anything similar, but one of my subordinates once told me a similar story. If the situation is what I think it is, we should get out of here as soon as possible"
"What is that situation?" Tatsu asked, impatient that the guard wasn't more clear.
Upon hearing the guard's words, Tatsu, Seto, and Lorelei stopped arguing to listen to what he had to say.
The captain sighed internally, he wished they would stop asking questions and focus on getting out of there, but apparently, it was too much to ask.
“As I said, I'm not entirely sure. After all, the situation is similar, not the same” he looked at his map for a moment to see if they were heading in the right direction. It's really hard to find your way around when the terrain around you is constantly changing.
"Sage"
"Yeah?" Seto responded to the captain's call.
"Since the tremors started, have you noticed anything strange?"
Tatsu seemed to want to protest not answering his question, but a look from Yamato was enough to silence him.
Seto thought for a moment. Nothing about this situation was normal. Even so, if I had to say the strangest thing that I have noticed, it would be…
"The mana density"
"What do you mean?" Tatsu asked irritably. Solving puzzles was never his forte.
"Since the tremors started, the mana density has increased steadily"
"And what is that supposed to mean?!" Tatsu was about to explode. Does someone want to tell me right away what's going on?!”
If Tatsu could look at the guard captain's face right now, he would meet with eyes full of disappointment. Like a teacher who sees his student protest because he doesn't understand something that he already explained 5 times.
"If I'm right right now there's going to be a…"
…
“…Dungeon `Promotion?” Ryu repeated what Zack was explaining to them, while they tried to get to the second floor as soon as possible.
“That's right” Zack replied, still in Kenzo's arms. Any other time, he would ask Kenzo to put him down, but there is no time for that.
“As you may know, dungeons are divided into ranks, based on the number of floors they have. Every twenty floors the dungeon increases one rank. Starting from D rank, which has a maximum of twenty floors, up to S rank, which has one hundred floors. Up to here do you have any doubts?”
They both shook their heads. Their instructor had already explained the essentials of the dungeons. Seeing this, Zack continued.
Seeing this, Zack continued.
“Under normal circumstances, once a dungeon has reached the maximum number of floors, the dungeon has exhausted its potential. These types of dungeons are especially popular because it means that you will stop making changes. Dungeons that have not yet formed all their possible floors can change the layout of traps, the number of monsters, etc... Complete dungeons cannot do that, so adventurers don't have to worry about surprises that don't show up on their maps”
“However, on rare occasions, it is possible for the dungeon to spawn an extra floor, and thus rank up. That's dungeon´s promotion” Zack explained as they got closer to the exit.
“Hmm. So, what does it matter if a dungeon has one floor?” Ryu asked confused. It's not like a floor is too important either. A glance at Kenzo's face showed that he thought the same way. Zack raised his hands to his head. Exasperated that they still don't get it
“Of course it's important. If it wasn't, dungeons wouldn't be divided into ranks"
“Though you haven't noticed, the mana in the dungeon has increased exponentially. The higher the mana, the more powerful the monsters inside will be” Zack pointed around.
"Ooh" Kenzo said. It seems that his doubts had finally been resolved.
“But then why are we running? I mean, we're on the third floor. Even though the monsters are stronger, I don't see why you don't want us to face them” Kenzo's words made a certain sense, they are still very close to the surface. And, what does it matter if the monsters get a little stronger, that won't be enough to stop them.
Right?
The stairs appeared in the distance. Zack could hardly pay attention to what his companions were saying. Behind him, he could feel explosions of mana surging throughout the floor. That could only mean that monsters were constantly being summoned, using the leftover mana from the evolution.
“Let me explain it to you in another way” Zack said as fast as he could.
“Imagine that you are playing a video game. There are no tiers or anything like that. The lowest level is level 1, and the highest is level one hundred" Ryu and Kenzo nodded.
“The dungeons in the game are divided into D, C, B, A, and S, every 20 levels” Zack continued. Ryu and Kenzo nodded again. Until now the explanation was fairly simple.
“What level do you think the first monster you encounter in a C-rank dungeon will be?”
"Of course, it would be level twent..." The words Ryu was going to utter got stuck in his mouth, and his entire body began to sweat. Kenzo said nothing, but the complexion on his face was getting paler with each step. Just as they entered the stairs. Zack felt a strong mana explosion behind him.