After collecting all the wing and eggshell pieces the boss left behind, we turned combat mode off and allowed some R & R for ourselves.

Mittens found a nice spot next to the wall and crouched. I thought at first that it would not sleep, but it seems bugs need to catch the zs as much as people. I take out a round cushion for the rat crew and the bedding for the rest of the party. I don't want them inside Helen's bedroll tonight.

We make a light meal, discuss how to spend the skill points and what went right or wrong in the previous fights. I am saving all my points right now. I really want to know if there is another title for hoarding unspent skill points. Fifty feels like a low hanging fruit right now.

I am in a corner messing with my status, and the girls go sightsee the geode. They are talking a lot, but I think this is what girls do. Zahariel is playing 'catch the cherub' with the rats and mittens is eating some bug meat we gave it. Everyone returns afterward and we get ready for sleeping.

I lay down to sleep and Helen approaches me. "Can I stay with you tonight again?"

"Of course you can. Always, my love. Is there something troubling you?" She looks concerned with something.

She sits with her back leaning on me. "After we finish the guild's assignment, what are we doing?"

"I want to go south and meet Shraaizar and the other monsters. Probably spend the winter with them."

"Do you think the town will be safe with this dungeon close by?" There is a hint of fear in her voice.

"Are you worried about your family's safety?" She nods.

"I don't know how the dungeon will react during the winter season. The cold should make normal bugs lethargic or even send them to hibernation, but there are species resistant to cold and maybe some that thrive in that kind of environment. Maybe this act of clearing the first five floors will force the dungeon to replenish the roster and this would mean fewer monsters outside." I place a hand over her belly like a wide belt and pull her closer to me. "What do you want to do about them? Do you want to stay behind?"

She grabs my hand and shakes her head. "No. I want to stay with you. Father and brother are strong and it would be unfair for me to make them move again. The baby is coming and it will be bad to travel now."

"I got an idea. But I don't know if they will agree to it."

"What is it?"

"Let's train your family to raise their levels and abilities, just as we are doing now. I can also make some magic gear for them."

Marcy overhears our conversation and comes to give her opinion. "Helen, don't worry about your family. I will stay behind with them during the winter." There is a hint of resignation in Marcy's voice. The looks that both girls share shows some bitterness. "I already promised to deliver and take care of the baby. But getting some Grendel brand magic gear sounds delicious."

"Thank you, Marcy. I couldn't ask for a better friend." Helen replies with sadness in her voice.

She then lays her bedroll and sits next to me without any ceremony. "Mind sharing the big guy? He is so warm."

Helen locks arms with Marcy and I pat both of their heads. "Welcome aboard." Marcy smiles when I pat her head. Is it that good?

It is then Zahariel's turn to use me as a living headboard. "I have been alone for millennia. Let me have some too."

And then with everyone huddled together like a litter of puppies, our second 'day' of dungeon exploration ends. Having people to rely on is not a bad feeling. Not at all.

After breaking camp and eating fresh bread and fruit for breakfast, we made our way to the fourth floor. It was designed as a filter for the brave. The tunnels look like a dry sewer system made of cut stone bricks. What kind of bug inhabits this place?

One guess.

"AAAAAA, get away from meeeeee!"

"C'mon big G, it is just some cockroaches. Stop running! I can't shoot if you make me laugh this much!"

Marcy keeps mocking me, but my lovely bride acts to save me.

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"{Earth Wall}! Mittens, attack it now!"

"Tic tic tic!" Mittens swing its scythes and cut down dozens of dog-sized cockroaches that crashed into the earth wall Helen created.

I am reluctant to admit, but I was never able to face these disgusting vermin. Not in this life, not in the previous one.

"Abandon the quest, I pay the penalty! Please, no more!"

Zahariel comes next to me and pats my knee. "And the hero's weakness is finally revealed." Not you too.

"No can do. We are no longer doing this for the guild, we are doing this for the safety of Helen's parents! Cheer up."

"Fine! We are doing it but I am pulling out all stops. Set title: Burned one! {Immolation Aura}!" The spell I learned at level 5 Fire Magic. It does AOE damage in a small area to anything around, including the caster. With the burn damage taken reduced by 75% thanks to the title, It is manageable.

I run through the tunnels aggroing the bugs and burning them at the same time, screaming like a maniac.

Skill Fire Resistance level 4 acquired.

I am going in the direction of the B-rank presence I felt with Locate Treasure. At least this time the tunnels are just a maze with little dead ends. The tunnel ahead is pitch black and I can't see anything past it. I try to stop but halting 1,100 lb of rampaging troll.

The tunnel ends at the side of a cliff in a big natural cave. There is a 40-foot drop until the ground.

"Grendel!" Helen yells from above. I haven't broken any bones, but everything is aching. And I am still burning. Time to dismiss the spell. 30% of max HP burned.

"I am OK!" Suddenly a huge roar echoes and a brief spurt of flames flare up at the back of the cave. "Yet!"

"Hold tight, we are coming down," Helen's voice is distressed.

"Stay up there, It will be safer. All of you have ranged attacks anyway. Can I get some light?"

Zahariel lights up the cave and I wish the light was never lit.

B-rank boss of the 4th floor. Dragon Cockroach. It has the size of a school bus, with a gator-like head attached directly to the body in place of the normal insect head. Two long barbed antennae sprout from its forehead. Six insect limbs propel it forward but right now it is flying on big insect wings. A scaly tail is swinging freely behind it but it ends in two long antennae-like spikes like it would in a cockroach's butt.

It bears its slitted eyes on me and licks the jagged teeth that go all around its mouth. It looks hungry. it is drooling. It reminds me that I am cursed to be extra tasty for both dragons and bugs.

I'm frozen in place. This eldritch horror has surely walked all over some colossal dung and is full of filthy fantasy germs.

It charges at me with a mind-boggling speed and its jaws wide open. I cover my head with both arms crossed and flinch in despair. I close my eyes dreading what is to come. That thing is going to eat me and it will like it.

Time freezes and I imagine its barbed legs crawling over me. I hear its buzzing wings approaching. It lands. The antennae touch me. I shiver and scream in panic.

There is some snapping noise nearby, but all I can notice are the antennae and the breath closing in on me. It reeks. It bites a chunk off of my arm. Chewing sounds. More noise, rumbling. The tongue wraps around my waist and pulls me in. It shakes up and down. The teeth touch my flesh and... stops.

There is a muffled noise and everything is still. Did I die again? No. I am still struggling to breathe, but this cockroach stench is hard to take in. I am nauseated.

Beelzebub's Hive B4 cleared. Guild card updated.

Helen (Monster Tamer) has gained 5 levels!

Marcy (Mystic Archer) has gained 4 levels!

Zahariel (Magician) has gained 3+5 levels!

Grendel (Super Villager) has gained 4+5 levels!

57 skill points added.

"How long are you going to stay there?" Someone taps my shoulder.

Nothing happens for what seems like an eternity. I'm not even wounded anymore.

"Mittens, please get Grendel out of there." The jaw opens and I roll outside.

"Open your eyes, big guy. It is already over. The big scary bug is dead."

I open my eyes and right next to me is the Dragon Cockroach with the top of its skull split open. One leg is still twitching.

"What happened?"

"The bloody thing was so distracted eating you that we killed it without it even knowing what hit it." Marcy is having the time of her life. I am glad she doesn't have a camera, or those images would haunt me forever.

"Mittens finished it! Nice boy!" Marcy is praising her red mantis pet.

"Are you hurt anywhere?"

"Only my dignity, Zahariel. Thanks."

After going to the far side of the cave, I take a magical quick bath to remove the bug fluids from me. Water jet and Immolation aura.

"Hey, check this out! There is treasure here!" Marcy calls from the other side of the cave.

"Hey Mittens, nice job! Now eat all you can of this thing. Don't forget the pemadra, boy. Go!" I fetch the bloody mantis on the boss corpse. It looks at me, looks at Helen, she nods and it happily dives in. We can tell its mood from the clattering of its jaws.

Helen gets next to me and voices concern, "Are you fine? Why are you passing on a B-rank core?"

"There is no way I am putting that thing in my mouth. Just the thought makes me sick. Besides, it will make Mittens happier and stronger."

I just want to get out of this floor the fastest possible!