We moved closer to the other zone that had already been explored beforehand. The path was a bit more dangerous this time. I spent almost the whole time killing monsters over and over again. Could so many monsters gathering in one place really be a coincidence? Or is it something more?

  There’s a strange feeling behind all of this. I pull my sword out of the head of a giant fox-like monster. I sense a few more at some distance, so I create a Joyeuse to finish them off before returning to the route. I don’t want to stay too far from the group for long.

  We’ve sacrificed some safety for speed; the group has already faced one or two sudden monsters. Gator keeps moving while sending constant signals to everyone else. It’s a shame we don’t have a third communication stone or know how to read the communication codes.

  We arrive at a heavily populated area filled with monkey-type monsters similar to the ones I fought the first day. I hear several attacks in the distance and approach little by little to finish them off. This place is important for our plan—the location is essential if we want a better view of the cliff where the other leader monster might be.

  At first there were around fifteen monkeys. That number doubled within seconds, and now there are over a hundred of them. They’re appearing from both massive trees; after almost a minute I can no longer tell the exact number.

  I must dodge their poisonous and acidic attacks well. One wrong step and an enormous amount of concentrated mana will fall on me. The monkeys are extremely organized—they fire in volleys and somehow combine their attacks into one.

  I use my ice affinity to freeze parts of the floor where huge green-and-purple puddles have formed. I need to gain as much ground as possible, or I’ll run out of options in just a few minutes.

  I construct fifteen Joyeuse blades to test their power. I throw one at the cluster of mana compressed over several minutes; my ice sword melts almost instantly, but at least it disperses part of the attack and breaks it before vanishing. That was a bad idea—the acid and poison splatter everywhere in small bits.

  Some drops fall on my armor. For now, they don’t break through my defenses, but I move to dodge the next attack and keep watching how my armor reacts. A few seconds later, it manages to pierce the first layer. I use my Imra to annihilate the acid before it reaches my body.

  I shift the mana concentration inside my Joyeuse. A new idea just came to mind. The next concentrated attack from the monsters is intercepted again by one of my swords.

  This time I trigger an internal burst of ice mana inside it—I want to try freezing the acid sphere. The mana inside the sword expands quickly, freezing part of it, while the rest bursts apart into acidic rain again.

  The owl group has been watching from behind; I give them a hand signal to wait. "Well… they shouldn’t be very happy moving around under this acidic and poisonous rain anyway."

  Each sword attempt was something new—some improved the freezing effect a little, others were more aggressive, slicing through the acid sphere almost intact and killing a couple of monsters by accident.

  Almost ten minutes later I decide to stop experimenting. I’ve improved my mana concentration in this short time and now have a clearer idea of how to use spreading freeze. This is something I must practice once I return to school. I want to apply an ice domain like the Yeti leader did! It will be incredibly helpful once I upgrade my banner.

  I stop holding back. I use gravity moderately to divert the acid sphere before it reaches me, and the pressure causes the monkeys to stagger. I take advantage of the opportunity and teleport onto the same branch as them—none of them notices at first.

  They’re all looking downward searching for me. Only one curious monkey to my side raises its head and sees me behind it. It manages to scream half a second before I separate its head from its body. The rest of the monsters turn their heads upward and see my swords covered in their companion’s blood.

  The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  All the monkeys are massacred within seconds. They weren’t physically weak; they were fast and agile, and they could even infuse their claws and fangs with acid. If they had had a bit more strength to pierce my armor, I would’ve been in trouble.

  "Why did you play with them? Is that your thing? Are you finally going crazy?" Yuly, who climbed up using some steps the monkeys had created themselves, asks me.

  I can only roll my eyes. "I wasn’t playing. I was practicing something new."

  "Doing that under acidic rain is very strange, but… did it work? Did you make progress?" I feel genuine curiosity in her questions, along with a judging look for doing it under these conditions.

  "A little. It’ll take me a long time to get where I want to be. This was just a small step." If I want to have gravity, electric, and ice domains inside my Personal World, it will take a long time.

  Just the mana consumption alone could drain me dry in minutes without good control. I’ll keep improving little by little until I can use it when I rank up.

  "You’re still so young, don’t rush. In a few years you’ll be so strong your name alone will make many people tremble." Yuly pats my back and gives me a thumbs-up.

  "That’s the goal." Being strong enough to be feared just by the mention of my name sounds good. That way, people will think twice before attacking me or those around me.

  We hide perfectly among sections of the enormous trees. The monkeys had created small burrows in several ideal spots. We only had to deform the terrain a little to climb more easily.

  Hidden in the tree at the edge of the cliff, I can see several monsters moving from one side to another. Occasionally I see feline-type monsters walking around. They have manes similar to lions and yellow stripes like tigers. I can’t tell their exact size from this distance, but I know one thing: they’re gigantic—close to two meters tall.

  "Do you think the leader is there? Security looks extremely strict." Murill sits beside me.

  "There’s only one way to find out if we don’t want to wait too long." Honestly, I don’t want to wait anymore.

  "I don’t like that way. Watching them for a couple of days seems better to me, and we can act after. Attacking a place like that is risky, and it would be a huge loss if the last leader monster isn’t actually hiding there." I can’t argue against his logic. He’s absolutely right. I’m too used to acting like a lunatic because I’m always alone.

  Murill doesn’t say anything else; he just waits for my answer. After thinking carefully for a few minutes, I reach a conclusion and let out a sigh of defeat. "Fine. Two days. I’ll keep killing monsters around the area to avoid being ambushed from behind and to make sure they can’t call for more reinforcements." At least that will increase our chances of winning.

  "I hope I can introduce you to my children one day. They’ll be happy to call you uncle." I turn to look at his hand and don’t see any wedding ring. He follows my eyes and pulls a necklace out from under his clothes with the ring hanging from it. "I always carry it with me—I only hide it when we fight so I won’t lose it."

  "I’d love to meet your family." We talk a bit more about our lives and families. He’s a very intelligent man, he knows a little about everything, someone I could spend hours talking to. I understand why the group sometimes sees him as a father figure.

  Murill returns to the group to tell them, and at that moment I understand why they sent him to convince me to wait a few days. It’s hard to say no to someone like him—rational and charismatic.

  Without saying anything, I go out for a while to relieve stress by fighting some monsters. I want to keep improving the freezing level of my ice affinity.

  When I return several hours later, I see everyone gathered. Gator is the first to notice me and alerts the rest of the team.

  "You finally came back." Joaki gestures for me to sit with them. "Gator returned just a moment ago from his inspection."

  "I managed to infiltrate fairly close to one of the entrances. I saw more than three dozen feline-type monsters around. All the other monsters seem to follow their orders, and I saw them kill others for no reason." He explains more about the behavior of the monsters—it seems there’s a clear hierarchy between the others and the lion/tiger types.

  "The possibility of it being the place where the leader is hiding is very high. Tomorrow I’ll go to the same spot to observe them all day." We’re possibly facing the final fortress of the dungeon.

  We keep talking for a while about the tactics we should use when attacking, how everyone should move, and where they should position themselves if something unexpected happens. I can see the group’s experience—they spent the entire day exploring the area to improve our chances of survival.

  Tomorrow I’ll continue killing as many monsters as possible. My role in the group is just as important.

  Another day passes. Once again it’s night and I’m sitting with the group. "Today I saw a monster similar to those felines, but this one was larger and looked much stronger. The chances of it being the leader are high. It seems we’re in the right place." Gator arrives with good news. It’s time to get ready—tomorrow we put an end to this dungeon once and for all.