"Alright? Nothing changed from that thousand..."

All this cheese from the tower gave nothing but a constant headache. No doubt.

[8th floor]

"Above!"

Instinctively, I blocked a foreign attack with my wing. Medium-sized mosquitoes were rampant on this floor. Large bodies, small, silent wings.

Garvus sensed them by their smell, sometimes falling victim to their attacks. We roamed through all these floors, killing everything in sight.

[Cave Mosquito Level 15!]

Next came the slime mixed with goblins. This dungeon was designed for dumb people. It was so simple; I didn't even understand why I needed to go further.

From the darkness on the left, a dagger flew, blocked by a sandy shield. I sliced the throats of several goblins, and the slime was consumed in my stomach.

And the slime tasted good, reminiscent of sour lemon without sugar.

"Two goblins behind..."

I turned easily, slicing two goblins to pieces.

[You killed the Cave Mosquito!]

[You killed a Goblin Hunter!]

[You killed a Goblin Hunter!]

[You killed a Cave Mosquito Guard!]

Thus, the 8th floor ended. The guard yielded 20 experience points and 500 gold. The purge was over. My level was 19, and I wanted to reach a round number, but after several floors and a whole crowd of monsters, the level remained unchanged.

"Have I reached the maximum? Maybe that's why it's so easy on these floors..."

[Acquired skill: Blade!]

[Blade - your limbs are so sharp, they can cut flesh.]

I was convinced that my wings had become as sharp as daggers. Developing my speed, my wings could indeed replace any weapon.

Entering the 9th floor, a new notification appeared before me.

[You entered the Waiting Room! You can rest here as long as you want and then continue!]

Everything seemed different on this floor. The warm cave was filled with hot springs. It was a reward for those who went to the end.

— Disgusting...

Garvus followed silently, looking around. He was curious about this place, even amazed.

— Garvus, while we're here, get into this water... — I said calmly, looking at the boiling spring.

I stood by a huge lake, boiling with energy from the crystals inside. This place was filled with an enormous amount of energy; even I could feel the threads of magic emanating from the springs.

Garvus nodded silently, slowly entering the spring, emitting weak, whimpering sounds from his wounds. This water seeped into the blood, healing wounds even there.

I watched from the side. It took time; the wounds healed slowly, restoring Garvus's skin. It took at least two hours. I sat waiting, sitting on my backside.

— My lord!

I jumped up, opening my eyes. I had fallen asleep waiting for my protector. I hadn't slept for a long time, as we had only wandered through this dungeon.

"Oh... you're healed..."

I said, through sleepy eyes. I got up, looking at Garvus, now clean. A faint smile appeared on his face.

I turned to the huge gates. They looked different. Huge, red, with a flower engraved on them.

As soon as I tried to open the doors, I saw a large inscription in golden letters.

"Only the death of one can release you from here..."

I sighed heavily. The doors slowly opened. As soon as we entered, the doors evaporated, leaving us on a huge field inside the cave.

This place looked like a huge arena for entertainment. On my side stood a huge dragon statue. At the other end was a stone monk, pointing a spear at this dragon.

"This looks like an arena! Damn!"

As soon as I stepped onto the territory, long tendrils began to emerge from the ground with a crash.

"Hey!"

Upon closer inspection, in the middle of the dungeon, a huge, bloodthirsty rose bud slowly emerged. I hastened, trying to fend off its tendrils with my wings.

"It's agile..." I thought.

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Garvus stepped forward, showing his grin. I looked at him with a stern gaze.

— Save your strength for now. Step back and dodge if it gets too bad. I'll tell you what to do.

Garvus remained silent, nodding. He didn't want to leave his master alone, stepping back.

When I returned to Garvus, the floral pot stopped attacking, returning to its natural state and examining me with its single eye.

[Dungeon Guardian, Giant Rose (Red)]

This monster had no level; the rose was several times larger than me.

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Finally!"

I licked my lips, my gaze pierced the flower. I began to act very quickly, rushing to the monster and cutting each of its tendrils, dodging sharp blades.

Each strike of my feathers left deep cuts in the roots trying to grab me. Tendrils from different sides tried to grab me, pushing me into a corner.

— Argh!

I tried to restrain the tendrils with my wings, but there were too many of them. They tried to press me to the ground, exerting more and more pressure.

The rose was very strong, attacking from a distance. However, it didn't like losing a few limbs, spilling green goo.

I could anticipate the attacks, but their strength was overwhelming. The flower was indeed formidable.

"Someone is stronger than me! I need to fix that!"

I broke free from the strong grip of the tendrils, raging and hurling my feathers. They were sharp, and I used speed to penetrate the flower's defenses.

[Dungeon Enemy... 5%]

The title reached 5% on damage, boosting my strength. I felt incredible pleasure fighting such an opponent.

The tendrils of this creature tried to wrap around me again, but I created shields of sand to dodge. However, the shields didn't last long, breaking from the pressure of these tentacles.

While I continued to fight, Garvus held back, ready to intervene at any moment.

His eyes sparkled with excitement, and I knew he was ready to help me if the situation became critical.

My concentration was at its limit, and I accurately attacked each tendril, aiming to weaken the enemy.

I was exhausted, reaching my limit, covered in bruises, wounds, and scratches from the thorns. I breathed heavily, trying to reach this creature.

Finally, after a tense struggle, the last tendril shattered, and the giant rose withered, falling to the ground with a loud crash.

Bang!

The flower bud fell off the roots, shriveling up and closing its single eye.

I felt such ecstasy that my legs couldn't hold me, and I fell to the ground, covered in bruises.

My heavy breathing was interrupted by a sadistic smile on my beak.

[You killed the guardian of the Giant Rose!]

[+10 experience points!]

[+5 white runes]

[Level up!]

[+5 to HP and Energy!]

[+5 experience points!]

[Level up!]

[+5 to HP and Energy!]

[+5 experience points!]

I reached level 20, my life indicators exceeded 200 points of health. It was a huge number, even very, and I was able to rise a couple of levels by killing this guardian.

"Oh! Exactly!"

[Experience: 55]

First, I started to increase my characteristics; it was already routine, like at work.

HP: 245/245 Energy: 175/175

Strength: 160, Intelligence: 88

Defense: 63 [+15] = 78

Agility: 75 [+25] = 100

Stamina: 87 [+15] = 102

Wisdom: 55 [+15] = 70

[0 Points]

In addition to this, several notifications appeared before my eyes. I received rewards, and they were truly real.

During the time I had to be here, I received really bad rewards. I thought I wouldn't come back.

[Item: Giant Rose Thorn]

Item class: C+

Type: Sword

+30 to Strength

Description: The Giant Rose Thorn has a sturdy handle made from the root itself. The sharp blade has several sharp teeth capable of inflicting a huge, open wound.

Price: 50,000 Gears

— "Open Wound" effect: by inflicting mortal wounds on the victim, it will begin to bleed. This effect can weaken the opponent.

— "Rose Parry” effect: parrying or defending with the sword may summon a shield of thorns. This effect is applied to the sword, protecting against strong blows.

"Wow! Expensive stuff. Maybe I should sell it?" — I looked at this sword in my inventory.

— My lord! — Garvus quickly ran up to me, studying me with his gaze, puzzled.

— Yes! Yes! — I slowly got up, leaning on Garvus with my wing, grunting to myself.

[Reward: 400 Gears!]

[Reward: Echidna Key (20th floor)]

In an instant, a portal formed under our paws, and we were thrown back to where we jumped into the portal.

Thud!

I shook my beak, rising from under Garvus's white bulk.

"Are you alive there?"

"Yes, master!" He rose on all fours, turning towards me.

"I don't know what we're going to do next."

I dryly replied, looking at Garvus, who silently watched me, taking my words as a command. He constantly nodded silently when I finished each sentence.

...Sniff..sniff..

"Is something wrong?" I asked Garvus, who smelled something.

"No, master. I think it's my smell. I should wash somewhere..."

The fox's tail trembled at these words; he perceived it as a rude remark towards himself.

"It's not your smell..." I leaned against Garvus. He didn't have any smell at all, just soft fur.

"Okay, let's move on. I don't want to wander around this forest."

I wanted to get out of here; it was another world, surely there were many interesting places to explore besides the forest.

"Master, I think we shouldn't show ourselves to others..."

Garvus became smarter; his words were logical. We weren't human. Just wild magical beasts.

Garvus's impassive gaze interrupted me.

"Okay, then let's find time to just explore the forest."

Garvus weakly smiled, nodding his head.

"Great, now a little fox is following me..." I sighed heavily.

I only saw a little fox in Garvus, what I found in the forest. I tried to listen to his advice; they sounded convincing.

Appearance: Ashen Fox

Name: Garvus

Level: 15/50

HP: 145/145

Energy: 80/80

Strength: 45

Intelligence: 25+5

Defense: 60

Agility: 87

Stamina: 100

Wisdom: 71

Development Path: God

Titles: [Defender 2.lvl], [Unwavering Courage 4.lvl]

Skills: [Sharp Teeth 5.lvl], [Sharp Claws 4.lvl], [Silent Stealth 5.lvl], [Howl 3.lvl], [Dialect 4.lvl]

Other abilities: [Obsession.1 lvl]

Garvus stats increased after who knows how long since we started fighting the Echidna, and still...

"You're still young..."

"Do you want to eat?"

I looked at Garvus silent face. He walked behind me, guarding my back.

He shook his head negatively.

"Well, yes, eating goblins for who knows how long, you're unlikely to be hungry..."

As we continued walking, I also began to smell decaying flesh with my beak.

— He was right...

I turned around, following the smell. It intensified all the time. Coming to the place, I saw a man's head without eyes.

—What a disgusting sight...

The corpse was half-eaten, a full guy missing the left side of his abdomen. All internal organs were already being eaten by corpse worms.

Crunch.. Crunch...

— Garvus, did you see this?

I turned to the fox, watching him finish the leftovers. My eyes wrinkled from the unpleasant sensation.

— Ugh! Spit out that crap!

Garvus immediately raised his head, looking straight at me. He opened his mouth demonstratively, and the mass spilled onto the ground.

— I wish you could wash your mouth with soap...

I continued walking next to Garvus, making sure he stopped eating people. The traces of corpses led to a camp, a misty campfire, weak smoke rising up. Everything was scattered as if these people were in a hurry somewhere.

— What happened here? Master?

Garvus asked quietly, leaning towards me.

I approached the spear, picking up one of its parts. It was broken in two, like the iron sword stuck in the man's head.

I sighed weekly.

Crunch.. Crunch...

"I told you, if you don't understand it that way, I'll hit you on the head..."

Garvus quickly spat out what he picked up with his mouth.

— Cough... Cough...

In the distance, a faint cough was heard, coming from somewhere above. Our worried looks crossed with Garvus; he understood what I was about to do.

— Master... Please don't...

Garvus slowly leaned down.

I ran my wing over his snowy fur. Garvus sat aside, waiting for my instructions. He was ready to run up at any moment, watching me.

I slowly walked towards the coughing sounds.