“Men, we shall now set forth to defeat the evil that had fallen on our land. Steal your hearts-”

“You mean steel.” Prilus cut through Maya’s impromptu speech.

“Yes, that, for we shall face one of the hardest encounters we have faced before. We shall come victorious!”

The adventurers and knights accompanying us all looked at each other, clearly confused. Prilus facepalmed, Solicea smiled wryly, and Emori gave Maya a serious nod.

“She defeated you,” I whispered to Prilus.

“Don’t need to rub that in.” Prilus glared at me. I shrugged, then went ahead and dragged Maya off to the side. Prilus sighed and took the center stage.

“Sorry about that. We shall now depart.”

“There's no flair!” Maya booed from the sides.

“Shut up!”

Leading the group, we set off toward the dungeon on the knights’ carriages. Many other students watched us as we departed. Maya did a little wave, and the girls staying at school all cheered for her.

It hasn't been a week and she already has fans.

I guess no one could resist her charm. I, the prince, Emori, Maya, and Solicea sat in the lead carriage, while everyone else followed us. There were four other carriages behind us, each filled with four to six people.

“How many people are with us?” I asked.

“Twenty five, including us,” Prilus answered. “Five students, fifteen knights, and ten adventurers.”

“Their levels?”

Prilus frowned. “The knights are around fifty, the adventurers sixty. One of them is seventy two.”

The knights were trained to fight human enemies, in case of an invasion from other kingdoms. They didn’t kill monsters all that much, but their fighting techniques tend to be more refined. The adventurers’, on the other hand, kill monsters. Most monsters had predictable attack patterns, so they tend to rely more on pure strength.

“What is the strength of the party that took on the monster originally?”

“A party of ten, around fifty to sixty.”

“So no pushover, either.”

We have twice their strength, with me and Maya being far more powerful. It shouldn’t be an issue.

“Pril- I mean, Your Highness.”

“You really have no respect for me, do you?” Prilus grunted.

Yeah, no. I honestly wish I could say that to his face.

“Do we really need those formalities?” Emori said.

Prilus turned to Emori, causing her to shrink.

“Umm…”

“Fine, just call me whatever you want,” Prilus huffed, turning away to look at the sights.

“So, Prilus.”

“Absolutely no hesitation, huh?”

“We should talk strategy.”

Prilus turned back toward me.

“Is there anything more you can tell us about the monster?”

“It's a tiger. Most magic didn’t work on it, and its body was too sturdy to be damaged by regular sword.”

“Hmm… I see…”

Back on Earth, you could go online to see if anyone had tips on how to defeat the monster. In this world, no such system exists. This meant I needed to go in and properly study the attack pattern first. I wouldn’t want to risk the others getting harmed in the fight.

“I think it's best if I and Maya went in first for reconnaissance, the rest of you wait for our report.”

“Will you two be alright?” Solicea asked in worry.

“Don’t worry. Worst case scenario, we’ll die together.”

“Di- Di- Die?” Emori shrunk from fear.

“She’s joking. You’re a princess, act like one,” Prilus scolded.

“Sor- I mean, thank you for reminding me.”

Prilus raised his eyebrow but said nothing else.

“... Who says I'm joking?” Maya said with a serious expression. Her lips were still flat, but her eyes were filled with determination. Determination for what? That I didn't know.

Her words caused Emori to shiver while Prilus heaved a heavy sigh.

The dungeon itself wasn't located far from the city, maybe one of the reasons why people were worried about this monster.

We arrived in front of the dungeon. To my surprise, this ‘new’ dungeon is actually a familiar one. I did several missions there in my past life. Dense foliage grew near the entrance, with a small path cut through. Maybe the trees covered it from the road, thus why they only rediscovered it now. I hid the knowledge from my group. The entrance was around two people tall, with a width enough for three people to walk side by side. It was common for dungeons to have that kind of size. There were many rumors regarding these dungeons. One said that dungeons were built by giants, the people that ruled these lands before humans. Whether that was true or not was uncertain. It did explain the size, but that’s it.

We stepped inside, remaining on guard, but found no monsters. The party that came before us had cleared the way, and new monsters hadn’t settled in yet.

The walk to the boss room didn’t take long, as it was located at the same level as the entrance, meaning all we needed to do was walk straight ahead.

“Stop.” I signaled to the rest of the party. At the end of the hallway, a monster slept. It was a massive green tiger. The tiger had sharp fangs appearing out from its mouth, with two long tails. Its paws had five sharp claws.

“Stand farther away. The doors are opened. It can chase us out.”

The two massive doors were damaged. One lay on the ground, while the other looked like it could collapse at any moment. Prilus communicated with the leader of the knights, who in turn explained the situation to the rest. As they stayed behind, I and Maya sneaked toward the tiger, stepping carefully. The room seemed to be an auditorium of some kind, with the tiger sleeping in the center.

We minimized our noise. I painted a dark green circle above the tiger’s figure, my wand in my hand.

Once we got close enough, I sent the signal to Maya. She ran straight for the tiger and punched it. Shockwaves traveled through the room, shaking the structure.

Wait, is she that strong?

I didn’t have time to ponder the question as the tiger opened its eyes. It got up to its feet and swung its tail to its side. Maya dodged out of the way.

“What do you think?” I asked while activating Bind. Green vines stretched from the ground, swinging over the tiger and tying it down to the floor. It moved in anger, using its paws to attack and its tail to slice. I concentrated, trying to hold it down.

It's so high level!

“It’s hard, but not impenetrable. I’ll need to get some more punches in.”

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

The tiger roared. It turned its head my way, its dark red eyes staring at me with anger. It continued twisting, its fangs biting through the vines. Eventually, it broke free. It leaped up toward the top row of the auditorium, crushing stones with its weight. It stared at us, ready to attack.

It turned its eyes toward the door, then leaped toward it, blocking our escape route.

“Dammit, looks like it learned something from the previous encounter.”

“Don’t worry. Can you buy me time?” Maya asked.

“How many do you need?”

“Twenty seconds.”

“I’ll give you fifteen.”

“Alright.”

I unleashed Bind, intertwining the spell with Vine. Vine had a similar symbol to Bind, but used sharper vines that are more dangerous for the enemy. The tiger leaped upward, dodging it. Using the wall above the door as a stepping stone, it shot itself toward me. I used Flower Field to create a field of trees and plants, forming a wall. The tiger powered through.

I leaped away, my eyes searching for Maya. She ran to the side, then scaled the auditorium’s seats, running in circles while heading higher upward.

The tiger jumped, chasing after me. I dodged its attacks, wary of its paws and its tail. Its double tail acted like swords, chasing after me. Using Flower Field, I created obstacles. Its tail was strong enough to slice the thick trees into two, before disappearing into nothingness.

How long has it been?

I lost count of the time. I focused on keeping it occupied. It began understanding my pattern, deciding to ignore my Flower Field and chase after me.

I dodged, then used a different spell.

Rose Towers!

Massive roses three people tall sprouted around the auditorium, their sharp thorns stabbing into the tiger’s skin. The tiger howled in pain, but the thorns weren’t sharp enough to do any significant damage.

Magic energy dripped from its skin, painting lines of red. The little streams weren’t enough, so I doubled the amount of roses, making it tough for it to escape. It pushed onward, ripping the roses apart.

I dodged again, then used the spell Vine to strike it with sharp vines. I switched from spell to spell, doing my best to slow down the tiger. Disturb its steps with Flower Field, then block its way with Rose Towers, before striking it with Vine, occasionally attempting to tie it down with Bind.

Surely it's been fifteen seconds!

I looked upward. Maya leaped from the top of the auditorium, flipping her body midair. She used the ceiling to kick herself downward, before flying straight to the tiger with an arm outstretched. She slammed the tiger down to the ground. She leaped off, then punched the tiger’s head. She continued punching and kicking. Smoke filled the room, and after it all settled, the tiger remained on the ground, unmoving.

The group of adventurers rushed into the auditorium, looking in awe.

“What happened to the scouting?” Prilus yelled in exasperation.

“We don’t need it,” Maya replied, before giving one final kick to the monster. The tiger’s body gradually disappeared, the magic energy floating into the sky. Maya leaped away, and I stepped back. The rest of the adventurers absorbed all the magic energy, helping them level up.

“That’s a bit anticlimactic,” Solicea murmured.

“Would you rather have someone be eaten first?” Maya asked nonchalantly. Solicea shook her head vigorously.

“No no no, nothing like that.”

Once the group finished absorbing all the magic energy, we returned to them. Monsters, unlike normal animals, didn’t leave a body after they died. They leave a magic stone instead. A magic stone looked somewhat similar to a regular gem, coming in various different colors.

The tiger's was green, matching its skin. The inside of the stone had a part that was brighter compared to its surrounding. Being a high level enemy, the tiger left behind quite a large stone. I picked it up, observing it. It looked like a normal stone, except…

There’s a demon symbol.

Normal monsters were beings created by irregularities in magic that formed them based on a ‘template’. These monsters didn’t have a reason nor a mind, and followed their template’s instinct to survive. I never saw a tiger like that before, and magic irregularities couldn’t form monsters without a template. While it’s true that monsters often don’t match their templates to the T, this tiger was like an entirely different being.

Could this be a product of the demons?

It would explain why the monster could be that strong and why it looked different from any existing tiger.

I need to talk to the Asytelar.

* ••

Prilus returned to Syla with the knights and adventurers. I thought they would be mad from missing their chance to shine, but it seemed they were happy with the free levels.

Assuming they got any. The magic energy was divided by twenty three, after all.

Me, Maya, Emori, and Solicea remained. I decided to help Emori and Solicea level up.

While the two girls fought a monster, I stood by the wall, observing them in case something went wrong. Maya stood closer, but didn't help directly as she wanted to let the other two gain experience.

Just then, I noticed a familiar crow standing not far from me. I looked up, finding a small gap in the dungeon’s wall. It wasn’t too big, but certainly enough for a bird of that size. The crow, noticing my eyes, spoke through my mind.

“I'm surprised you noticed me.”

“You're not exactly the best at hiding… Plus, you're a crow. You stand out like a sore thumb.”

“That is indeed true… on a side note, it seems that you have something you want to ask?”

“Can I tell the others about the demon king?”

“You could, but try to keep it under the wraps. We don’t want to create panic and confusion.”

“Okay, that’s all. Thanks.”

“No problem.”

I made my way to the girls, who had just finished killing a smaller tiger monster.

“You could be a little more brave, Solicea. You have a spear. You can afford to do more stabby-stabby. Plus your weapon is a water spear. Learn to integrate magic into your attacks.”

“Said the one not using magic at all.”

“I don't need it.” Maya folded her hands. I looked toward Solicea, noticing the spear in her hand.

“Still, that is quite the fancy weapon,” I commented.

“As expected as a noble family weapon,” Maya said.

“... Noble?”

Solicea smiled wryly. “Yeah, I'm from a noble family. You don't have to treat me differently, though.”

“Well, okay then.” I wasn't the type to care about these kinds of things, so I took the offer.

“Oh, yeah, I have an announcement to make.”

At my words, the three turned toward me. I took a breath, then began explaining the Asytelar’s words and the return of the demon king. The three paid great attention to my words.

“And that’s it.”

Silence fell over the dungeon.

“De- de- de- demon king?”

“That’s scary…”

The color was drained from Solicea and Emori’s faces. Maya, meanwhile, simply looked at me and shrugged.

“He was sealed around a hundred years ago, right? If they can seal him back then, we won’t have a problem.”

“The party that sealed him is a party of five, each around level ninety.”

We were greatly outgunned. The only one above their levels was me, at level one hundred. Level one hundred people were extremely rare, and many that existed were no longer in their prime. It was that tough to reach that high of a level. Made me wonder just how I could get this far.

There was one thing that the original party didn’t have, though. If what the Asytelar said about me was true, and I could reach such heights, I would be the only person capable of wielding four elements at the same time. That meant holding four different wands, while keeping four different symbols painted in my vision. I never did that in this world, though, so I kept silent about it.

“If we want to defeat him for sure, we’ll need a larger party with everyone at level one hundred,” Maya pondered.

“Is- is that even possible? The castle mage is at level eighty,” Emori murmured.

Is that something you should spill to outsiders?

“If we can form a team from now, and start training, we should make it in time.”

Asytelar didn’t tell me when the demon king would return, though. Safe to say it wouldn’t be long from now.

“That’s why, we need to start leveling up. We’ll start from us four, then raise our levels while looking for more allies.”

“Are you sure? I’m the lowest of the entire school year.” Solicea twiddled her fingers.

“Don’t worry. As long as you stay close to me, you’ll absorb the magic energy you need quickly enough. You won’t have to touch a monster,” Maya said, luckily not adding any needless joke to her words.

“I still recommend learning to battle, though. It’s not like you can rely just on your magic level,” I added.

“If you’re going to do that, then I won’t back down! I cannot let my subjects handle such a threat alone!” Emori said with all her will. She stomped on the ground, as if planting her commitment. Solicea looked around and sighed.

“I can’t back out now, can I?”

“Alright. We’ll level until dinner, then return after that.”

With newfound commitment, we continue our level grinding.