“AAAAAH!”

“TEEEEEH!”

Lakshman and Ondine cut down more monsters within the zone they had entered. Indra also fought but he was paying more attention to them than really fighting. Watching them, he smiled at seeing their proficient skill at taking down the enemies.

“Impressive,” he would mutter.

“Dad, behind you!”

At Lakshman’s shout, Indra quickly swung around and cut down the monster. The monsters they fought against were Black Wolves. They had high speed and sharp fangs that could cut their skin and bone with little effort.

“Phew!” Lakshman said and he cleared the sweat off his forehead.

All the Black Wolves lying on the ground and blood gushing out of their wounds. Lakshman, Ondine and Indra gathered once they checked to make sure all the monsters were dead. Then the passageway to move forward opened up to them.

“That was tough!” Lakshman said as they continued onwards.

“It sure was,” Ondine agreed. “They had strong bodies and they tend to tackle us a lot.”

“They do that, it’s their speciality,” Indra said.

“Dad, you seemed to watch us more than fight them,” Lakshman said.

“Ah, I was just impressed by your progress,” Indra said with a grin. “This is already F4.”

It has been some time since they entered the Monster Dungeon. Since entering, they have defeated every single monster that got in their way. It turned out; each floor had different type of monsters for them to face. Lakshman and Ondine fought against these monsters and developed their skills.

“Now that you mention it, it does seem like my fighting skills sort of... improved,” Lakshman said, as he looked at his sword.

“Me too,” Ondine said, glancing at her two swords at her side. “I somehow can move more freely with the sword.”

“Exactly!” Indra said, grinning broadly. “Live combat helps improve your weapon skills. Practice is good but constant combat helps improve skills.”

“I guess that’s true,” Lakshman said.

“There is no guessing! It’s the truth! Take it from me, an experienced warrior!” Indra said and thumped himself on the chest.

While talking, they arrived at the next Magic Circles. They stepped on the Blue Magic Circle and they were teleported in a veil of blue light. Then the blue veil vanished and they found themselves standing in another underground cavern.

“How many underground caverns are there?” Lakshman asked out of curiosity.

“Countless,” Indra said before asking “Would you believe me if I told you that?”

“It’s hard not to,” Lakshman said and Indra smiled.

“I am curious about one thing though,” Ondine said.

“Curious about what, Ondine?” Lakshman asked.

“At each floor we defeat monster, right?” she asked.

“That’s right,” he said. “We’ve been doing that in all the floors up till now.”

“Well, I wonder... do the monsters return?” she asked.

“Do they return?” he asked with a puzzled expression. “What do you mean?”

“What I’m asking is... do the monsters resurrect after some time?”

“Yes,” Indra said. “After a certain amount of time, the monsters in each floor resurrect. As for how it happens... I have no clue at all.”

“Oh, I see,” she said and nodded in understanding. “So, if we go back up the floors, we will find new monsters?”

“Not immediately, but yes, you would find monsters,” Indra said with a nod. “You won’t even find the corpses of the monsters we defeated earlier. It is quite intriguing, but that’s not something adventurers care about. There are monsters to be killed and we kill them. That’s all there is to it.”

“So simple minded,” Lakshman muttered.

“It’s to not complicate things,” Indra said, looking sternly at his son. “You should remember to not mix complicated stuff when you don’t need to.”

“Ah, right, sorry dad,” Lakshman said in an apologetic tone.

Then they reached another zone and saw Two-Horned Rabbits inside it. These were the monsters they originally came to collect. Their mission was to collect 15 Two-Horned Rabbits and deliver them to an alchemist by the name Madran Liviand.

“Alright, this is it!” Indra said in a business-like tone. “I count around twenty. Ok! Let’s defeat these things and return home without prize!”

“Dad, we’re supposed to capture their bodies, right?” Lakshman asked.

“That’s correct,” Indra said.

“Should they be alive or dead?”

“Well... it wasn’t clear in the request the alchemist made,” Indra said and doubt formed in his face. “Hmm...”

“What do you normally do normally?”

“Normally we would just kill them. It’s become a default for the adventurers to do on regular basis.”

“Then, we should kill them?” Ondine asked with a puzzled expression on her face.

“Perhaps, but... what if the alchemist needs them alive?” Lakshman asked doubtfully.

“Good point...” Indra said then he shrugged his shoulder. “You know what? Let’s just kill the darn things and go on home.”

“But-!”

“There’s no point in thinking too deep about this kind of silly thing,” Indra said. “Besides, my brain is starting to hurt.”

“Dad, you’re too simple,” Lakshman muttered.

“Simple is good!” Indra said crossly. “Simple keeps you from getting distracted!”

“Ok, I got it.”

And so, they decided on killing the monsters. As soon as they stepped into the zone, all the monsters turned around. There was a moment’s pause where they simply stared at the intruders. Then, making loud noises, they charged at them.

“Here we go!” Indra shouted as the horde of monsters drew nearer.

Lakshman and Ondine jumped into the air and landed in different parts of the zone. Indra struck out his sword and five rabbits got skewered by their heads. He swung his sword around and threw the limp bodies aside. Then he resumed stabbing and slashing at the monsters.

Lakshman was having a harder time fighting the monsters. The Two-Horned Rabbit was quick and had an agile body. To matter even more complex, the two horns on its head made it difficult for him to stab at it. Each time he went for the kill, the deadly horns caused him to jump out of the way.

“This is... tough!” he shouted after several minutes of continuous jumping and dodging around the monsters.

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While he jumped once more, he caught the sight of Ondine. She was wielding both of her swords expertly. He saw her block the horns with one sword and stab with the other. In a short while, she had killed several rabbits. He thought she made it look easy.

“Damn,” Lakshman muttered.

He jumped into the air and saw his father cutting down more rabbits. As the rabbits drew near him, he would jump, just high enough to avoid the horns. Then bring his swords down and cut the veins at their necks. Watching Indra perform clean cuts and kills, Lakshman suddenly got an inspiration.

Lakshman landed and stood at the ready. Then he started to yell while he and channelled energy into his legs. Once the rabbits drew nearer, he lifted his right leg and stopped as hard he could onto the ground.

With a band, the ground around him cracked and the rabbits were suddenly lifted into the air. Taking this opportunity, he moved quickly and started slicing and cutting at their necks. Very soon, he had killed off most of the rabbits.

“Nice move!” Indra shouted and gave a thumps-up to his son.

Ondine looked at Lakshman with amazement. She had not thought such a method was possible. With her two swords, she was able to kill the rabbits simply by blocking with one and slicing with the other. She had wondered how Lakshman would fight with only one sword. Watching him efficiently killing the rabbits with little resistance after he stomped on the ground surprised her.

“This is great!” Indra said, cheerfully gathering up the corpses of the dead Two-Horned Rabbits.

“The number of monsters just seems to increase at each floor.”

Ondine cleared her sweat off her face with her shirt sleeves. Then she sighed and looked at Lakshman. He breathed easily and used his hand to wipe the sweat off his forehead. She watched him with a curious expression as he helped gather the bodies.

After a while, they gathered up the bodies and headed out of the zone and into the passageway that opened up once all monsters inside the zone were defeated. They walked for a short while in silence, each tired in their own way to speak. Feeling the urge to ask, Ondine finally gave in.

“By the way, what did you do back there, master?” she asked.

“What I did?” Lakshman said and gave her a blank stare.

“Ah, come on Lucky,” Indra said. “Remember? You kicked the ground and caused those rabbits around you to lift into the air.”

“Oh, that!” Lakshman said, finally understanding what she meant. “I just applied Energy Force into my legs and released it into the ground. Using this, I caused the energy to spread and erupted in the ground, causing the monsters to soar into the air.”

“Ah, I see,” Ondine said and she nodded in understanding.

For a moment, she looked deep in thought. Suddenly her eyes widened and she turned back to Lakshman.

“You can control Energy Force?” she asked, sounding shocked.

“Yes,” he said and smiled at her.

“No way...” she said, looking at Lakshman in astonishment. “You mean to tell me, you are capable of using Weapon Force, Magic Force and Energy Force, all three types of the Force?!”

“That’s right!” Lakshman said and grinned at her.

Ondine simply stared at him with her eyes wide open in disbelief.

“Don’t be so surprised,” Indra said, smiling at her. “We were even more surprised when he could use them on his first try.”

“He was able to use them on his first try?!” Ondine said loudly. “That’s... unbelievable.”

“It’s the truth,” Lakshman said and he looked slightly embarrassed.

“That’s right,” Indra said and suddenly grinned. “Reminds me of the time he couldn’t control them. On his first try, he used Weapon Force and shattered his sword, using Magic Force he cut down our mango tree and applying Energy Force which exploded in his face.”

“Dad...” Lakshman said and he smiled slightly in embarrassment.

“Considering from back then, you’ve made great progress!” Indra said, sounding proud.

Ondine didn’t speak. She simply listened to them talk while absentmindedly walking on. She was shocked to discover her master, Lakshman, was capable of using all three Force types. Remembering the stories she grew up listening to, only the most powerful warriors across the world are capable of wielding all three Force types.

“Look out!”

Indra suddenly shouted and he pulled her towards him. She blinked and staggered slightly as he forcefully pulled her towards him. For a moment, she was confused. Then, the ground light up in yellow light and a Yellow Magic Circle appeared. Her eyes widened in surprise and disbelief.

“That was close!” Indra said before looking at and asking “Are you okay?”

“Y-Yes!” she said and stared at the Yellow Magic Circle.

The magic circle appeared from the spot she had been about to put her leg on. If it weren’t for Indra, she’d have been teleported to a random location in the dungeon. After that, many things could’ve happened and she probably might have died.

Ondine shuddered at the thought of dying in such a miserable way. Lakshman put his arm around her shoulder and, for some strange reason, she became relaxed. Being with her master, Lakshman, somehow eased her uneasiness.

“Take this lesson to mind, you two,” Indra said. “In a dungeon, never stop being on your guard! Otherwise, nasty surprises like that could be the end of you.”

“I understand,” Lakshman and Ondine said and nodded in unison.

“Now... let’s return home and cheer up after a job well done!” Indra said and he suddenly grinned.

After walking for some time, they arrived at the next Magic Circles. This time, they stepped on the Green Magic Circle. Ondine finally relaxed as she stepped in after Indra. She knew it was finally over. She caught sight of Lakshman and she smiled disappearing in a veil of green light.

Lakshman was the last. Just before he stepped into the magic circle, he looked back at the Yellow Magic Circle. It was still glowing and, for some reason, he furrowed his eyes. It seemed something about that magic circle gave him an ominous feeling.

He shook his head to shake away the feeling and stepped on the magic circle. It turned green and he soon disappeared in veil of green light.