"Are you sure?" Elain had never heard Albrot so concerned before. But what they had just been told had unsettled him, and she was right there with him. Just the hint of the implications was starting to scare her.

"Yes, Guild Master. We have recovered a moonlight rose from the seventh floor." Sliva was just back from the Dungeon and had reported the find before anything else. Her team were under the care of the healers. She looked battered and tired. The fight had been more than any had expected.

"What happened." His tone was severe and broke no foolery.

"My team went straight to the seventh floor. We discovered two large doors. It is far larger than found elsewhere in the Dungeon. Opening them revealed a large hall-type room carpeted with moss and different wall decorations. Torches illuminated the room." She gave them the overview before getting to the meat of the report. "A single ogre armoured, with mace and shield, was sitting on a throne. As we opened the doors, it had stood and started towards us."

"More detail on the ogre's gear," Albrot asked.

"Crude patchwork armour with an iron helmet. The shield was a door found in the surface structures. The mace showed some skill in its creation." Albrot grunted at her description and motioned for her to continue.

"We engage the ogre. Elron and I lay down arrows as Dayon and Halo flanked. Out mage, Asta was in reserve." She continued. Elian knew it was a good formation to take on such a target.

"It's reaction." Albrot was handling this whole conversation for the Guild and was recording it. This was going to cause another storm amongst the Guild higher-ups.

"It used its shield to block our arrows as it advanced but was tracking my team members flanking it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I witnessed its head moving to keep a rough location of the others."

"Then?"

"Asta cast her first spell to create an opening. Dayo used a taunt skill to attract its attention. It tried to resist, but it was snared. It triggered the first of its skills and used [Charge] to catch Dayon. He was forced to use his own…"

She went on to break down the battle and what had happened. Elian noticed Albrot tense several times as magic, and the number of skills used was reviewed. Sliva's admittance of using the skill [Death Touched Arrow] was another surprise. Such skills were only used in extreme situations, but from the report, they might not have made it out of that room if she had not. Albrot interjected a few questions here and there for clarification.

She continued to speak, imagining the team's final attacks, which brought down the ogre. By the end, Elain was gripping her desk edge. The power of this Dungeon monster was terrifying.

"… We explored the room and found no other means of leaving. Behind the throne, we discovered a raised section with the rose growing from it."

"Is that all?" He asked, knowing that the interview and report were almost over.

"Yes, Guild Master. We left the Dungeon, and I reported straight to you."

"Thank you, Team Leader Sliva'Elania Fellonia. That will be all."

She said nothing more but nodded to them and left the room. Albrot depowered the recording crystal but left the anti-scrying one active. He repositioned the chair he was sitting on before Elian's desk.

"I swear I can hear Rickle laughing at us all." He rubbed his head as he spoke.

"How are we going to handle this?" Elian asked. She had never expected something like this, even with this Dungeons ability to surprise.

"We are not going to be able to keep this quiet. Sliva will report this to her people as soon as she is at their trade mission here. Then it will leak and spread like wildfire across a grass plain in high summer."

"A Moonlight Rose, blooming outside the full moons." Elian leaned back as she spoke, looking at the rafters. "That alone will bring every high-ranking team and individual here."

"Not just human ones," Albrot added the other thing she was thinking about.

"What value is one these days?" Elian had never bothered to find out as she never expected to need to know.

"They undervalued it. It is more like a hundred gold."

"A full platinum!" Now, she looked at him in shock. He stared back at her.

"We will need help now." He said with a sigh.

"Who can help us?"

"I'm going to have to talk to the boss, " he grimaced, saying the words aloud.

"Better you than me." It was not a flippant comment, as Elian had met her once and vowed to avoid another encounter as long as possible.

"What are the non-human numbers now?" Albrot asked this regularly to stay informed.

"Ninety-four. We should have a team of Minoars going into the Dungeon today." She looked down at a sheet of vellum to confirm the numbers.

"Knowing them, they will head straight for the fourth or lower."

"They might start on the third for boar hide." Elain countered.

"Unlikely. When are Minoars ever stealthy?"

## ## ## ## ##

"Well, this is new."

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Minotaur's. Six of them.

I watched as they stomped through my fourth floor. They were all broad, standing between six and seven feet. Judging by their physical attributes, the shorter ones were females. If I am right, four males and two females made up the team.

They were all heavily armoured and armed with weapons that most humans would call great weapons. Their armour was a thick plate over a padded cloth. They crushed the spiders with contented ease. They collected silk and coins as they moved from room to room. They talked in rough, brutal language.

They had entered and avoided the first three floors, going straight to the fourth.

It does not take long to reach the cavern holding Queen. They walk straight into her cavern. She attacks from the ceiling, ambushing the first through the doorway, which had walked deeper into the cavern. The male was clad in plate armour and carried a heavy shield with a large, thick steel sword.

She fell on him but was blocked by the shield and pushed away with a grunt as the minotaur turned its body. The minotaur was strong and could stand as she dropped on him. She landed on the ground on her legs; she had tried to knock him over with the angle of her fall. She attacked again as the others rushed into the cavern to help the first.

She tried to overwhelm the first with a [Charge], but the minotaur blocked the attack with his skill. The impact was loud, and the minotaur was pushed back, leaving the stone with its boots scratched. It grunted at the impact,t and its shield looked a bit damaged.

Queen was unable to follow up as she was now on the defensive. The team had no ranged abilities or spellcasters that had been revealed yet. They seemed focused on melee and were trying to surround the floor guardian. She had seen this and was manoeuvring to prevent this.

[Shadow Arms] was activated, slowing one of the attackers while the others pressed on. She summoned her spiderlings next, but they were ignored. Queen was formidable, but her opponents were strong and heavily armed. The weapons were large and began taking a toll. The red health bar was falling fast above her.

She would not last much longer.

A large mace fell and connected with her head almost after I thought it. The blow shattered her chiton and crushed her skull, killing her. The minotaur's gathered their rewards and were speaking to each other.

## ## ## ## ##

"Are you hurt, Brutun?"

"My arm is stiff from the impacts, but my shield protected me from the worst of it. I am ready to continue Minvar." The tallest of the Minoars looked to his team captain, who had asked the question.

Minvar was short for her people. She was just over six feet and well-built. Her fur-covered skin was light brown, and her horns were not very large, but she had learned to accept that. Brutun was an excellent example of the males of her people—seven feet and broad with truly impressive horns. The team [Vanguard] is the first into every battle. His sword was still drawn as he scanned the cavern, alert for dangers.

"That spider was the first to present a challenge!" Strix snorted.

"It was a big one!" Echoed Devas. Both broke out into laughter.

Minvar rolled her eyes. The two [Bulkward] were not brothers, but they acted like foals at every opportunity. She looked to Xurak. Her groups [War Tracker] was a veteran of the army before becoming an adventurer. Scars marred his brown/white hide. He had collected the rewards for the kill, and he was counting the coins. The Dungeon was supplying respectable coinage as its reward.

"Are we continuing?" Nyminar asked. The group's [Combat Healer] was in the least amount of armour after Minvar herself. Nyminar was a great beauty with a snow-white colouring and two well-oiled horns that she had always been jealous of.

"We are. Brutun, take the lead." She ordered.

"Let's hope for a challenge soon. This is too easy." Strix moaned.

"We have three more floors to see, and then we will be done. The Elders want a report as soon as we are finished," Minvar reminded them. That got them moving again.

The next floor was different from the one above: rock and earth. The first room was a cavern not as large as the one that held the floor boss above. Brutun walked forward with no fear but was alert for danger.

The worm ruptured from the sand, striking his leg. It was too close for him to block, so he had to put his faith in his plate. The worm opened its mouth and bit.

The grunt of pain surprised them all.

"It has pierced my armour." As he spoke, he cut the worm in half with his sword. The head was still attached to his leg. The rest entered, and as soon as it was clear there were no others inspected on the body,

Nyminar pried the head of the [Vanguard] leg. Xurak knew the most about monsters, and it was handed to him.

"Its teeth are not bone but some form of hardened crystal." He held the head and used a dagger to move the teeth for his inspection. "They will be dangerous in numbers."

"Nyminar, are these things on the list?" Minvar asked. She usually would have investigated the local town to see what supplies or monster parts supplied by the Dungeon were in demand, but the regional representative of their people had delayed her.

"Yes, but low down. We can ignore them." Nyminar consulted a list she had produced.

"Very well. Brutun, we head that way." She pointed to the southern doorway. Brutun nodded and started forward. The next room was cleared, and they went to the next. Here, Brutun staggered and fell forward, crashing through a false floor with another grunt.

"What happened, Brutun!" Minvar demanded, managing to hide her concern.

"Tripwire across the exit. It caused me to fall into a pit with spikes with serrated arrowheads." He spoke as he got up. "I am slightly wounded."

Nyminar was at his side, supplying aid as the others entered the room. The two [Bulkward] 's cleared it quickly. Xurak looked over the traps.

"Thoughts?" Minvar asked the elder warrior.

"Simple but well-made and hidden. We should be more careful going forward."

"I will," Brutun answered, indicating he still expected to be the first in every room.

"Very well. We continue as normal for now." She was unhappy, but there was no reason to change.

Brutun walked ahead a little more cautiously now. It was that caution that saved him. As he stepped into the new room, he suddenly turned, raising his shield. He glowed slightly from a skills activation. A half-moon blade impacted him, slicing into his shield and pushing him through back through the loose earth. He stopped the blade and looked down.

It was only a few hair widths from his stomach. His armour would have been hard-pressed to save him from a severe wound.

They cleared that room, and now Xurack led them forward. Room by room, they avoided the traps that the pedestals were and killed every worm that rose to challenge them. Now they had the measure of the, and the worms died to counters as they attacked.

Things changed when they reached the floor boss's room.

Brutun went first flanked by Strix and Devas. From the size of the mound in the room, they were about to fight something big. The boss attacked and did not disappoint.

It triggered a skill as it attacked, allowing it to cross the room quickly. Brutun met it head-on with his own skill, but this time, he was knocked back as his shield let out a loud crack that almost covered his grunt of pain. The other two attacked to distract it. Minvar and Xurack flanked as Nyminar sought to reach the fallen Brutun.

"Keep it distracted. Hit any openings." Minvar ordered. She and the other struck at the boss. It was too large to dodge but tough enough to absorb much of their attacks. Nyminar worked on Brutun.

Devas lost the top third of his shield as the beast bit down and ripped it off. He cursed loudly as Strix used one of his damage improvement skills on his mace, which caused it to glow. His blow cracked the outer shell of the worm.

Minvar was waiting for an opening. Her people trained hard, and the team did not need to announce their skills as other lower-pathed adventurers did. They were rated as a Silver Grade team for a reason.

They battered down the boss, but it was not going quietly. A spell triggered, causing it to glow a dull brown. This made it tougher, dragging out the fight. This did not stop its death. It collapsed dead.

"By the elders, that was tougher!" Strix declared. They were all breathing harder, recovering from using their skills and fighting.

"My shield had been destroyed!" Devaus complained. He pulled off the pack from his back. From within it, he pulled out his spare.

"I, too, will need to replace my shield soon," Brutun said, examining the damage on his own.

"Xurack?" Minvar asked the male who was collecting the reward.

His answer was, "Not bad." She asked no more, as he would fully summarise what they had gained.

I waited for the others to prepare themselves for what was next. "Are we ready?"

They nodded, and they went on to the next floor.