"I hate levelling."

  No, that wasn't right. I hated the feeling of levelling. Another young group of cocky adventurers charged down to the seventh floor to claim the moonlight rose as their prize and promptly got annihilated by Krag. This took me over the essence threshold to my next floor and level.

  I looked around my core room to find Larry and Puck standing guard while I went through the levelling process. The doors to Krag's hall were also open, but he was still sitting on his throne, uninterested in anything. I took a few minutes to check over the Dungeon and found that everything was still locked down, waiting for me to reopen it. Nothing was amiss or out of place, and all my minions seemed ready to start their roles again.

  When I looked outside, it was still night. I unlocked the doors and shifted my focus back to my core room. Larry and Puck were heading back up the stairs, and Krag had gotten up and closed his doors.

  "Let's get started then."

  I reached down into the ground and started to expand. Below me, there was now solid rock and occasionally different mineral deposits. The first thing I did was to claim an area big enough to act as the new core room, and then I carved out a space ready for when I moved down.

  When this was done, I started to go east.

  I planned everything out and prepared all the minions as much as I could in advance. Making the floor should not take long.

  ## ## ## ## ##

  Minvar was leading her team down the stairs. Although the Dungeon had opened several days ago, the eighth floor had only become accessible today. Her team waited for the order to escort Assessor Searider through the new floor, and today was that day. They had used the time to check and recheck all their supplies and gear.

  They were more cautious than before when they first entered this Dungeon. When they had first come here, they had been mostly arrogant and cocky, expecting a push over as they were a silver grade team—the months they had spent with this Dungeon had changed their attitudes completely.

  Brutun was the most notable of these changes. He had become so fixated on fighting the ogre on the 7th floor that he was becoming a liability to the team as a whole. Thankfully, one of their elders was visiting on a trading mission and had a [War Disciplinarian] with them. She had removed her team from rotation and handed him over to get his anger into check. Thankfully, the winter was quiet, allowing him to be re-introduced to the concepts of control and focus.

  Brutun still hungered to defeat the ogre in a one-on-one battle but had learned to temper his aggression once more. He had apologised to the team for his reckless and arrogant behaviour while nursing the bruises from his time with the [War Disciplinarian].

  Minvar was secretly glad she had been approached to explore this new floor, as it would take her whole team's attention from the seventh. They had become quite adept at fighting the ogre, but it was constantly improving as well, and she was worried that if they spent too many times fighting it, it might surprise them one day with a move they'd never seen before, and not all of them would return.

  The only issue she had with exploring this new floor was the assessor himself. He tried to hide his dislike for non-humans, but she knew he was not happy to be assigned them. However, she and her team were professionals and dealt with his dislike. She knew it would be the same if they were a human team in her people's lands. The Folly and its effects were still being felt over three centuries later.

  They did not take long to walk down the stairwell to the bottom. They came out into the same room that marked the end of the stairs. Here, they found their first change from the normal layout. The room only had one egress facing east.

  "That's new." While speaking in the human tongue, Strix pointed to the doorway as Minvar instructed them to do when on this mission. "There are always doors nearby."

  "Stay focused. Xurak is taking point." Minvar got them into action.

  The room seemed no different from before, with blue moss growing on the walls and abandoned slabs of stone stacked around it. Strix was right in his observations that the Dungeon generally showed you the exit from the floor boss's room on most floors, with the eighth being the notable exception.

  Xurak stepped forward and inspected the short corridor leading into the next room. He tapped a few areas with the pommel of his sword but seemed satisfied that no traps were present. He stepped forward and walked a short distance. He spent several moments looking into the next room before motioning to Minvar to come up. It was a bit cramped, but they both could stay inside the doorway and observe the next room.

  Room, again, is the wrong word for it. She realised it was another cavern. Blue moss covered the ceiling and walls. The ground was covered in long grass, similar to the sixth floor. She was at first worried that they would be fighting more snakes but then noticed something moving on the other side of the cavern. It stepped out of a patch of shadow which had hidden it from her. She quickly realised it was another boar, but this one was markedly different from the ones upstairs on the 3rd. Its hide was much more rigid and looked like armour, while its tusks were much more prominent and sharper.

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  She turned back to her team, who was waiting with the assessor. "One boar different from the ones upstairs. It appears to be improved or using a different element."

  Her team didn't say anything but nodded, knowing that there was probably more going on, but they had not yet encountered it. They would await her orders on how to proceed.

  "Heavies going first. Xurak will try to flank. Nyminar and I will stay in support and act as needed." It was almost standard battle play, and they all knew what they were required to do.

  They spent a few minutes getting themselves organised, and when they were ready, Brutun led the way. He walked into the room confident but not as arrogant as he once was. Strix and Devaus quickly emerged from the small hallway and took position on either side of him, forming a rough shield wall. As soon as the boar saw them, it squealed in outrage and charged forward.

  Brutun stode forward to meet it with his great shield, which was glowing as he activated one of his skills. The boar impacted him, and they all heard a grunt and his shield creaking under the force of the impact, but he stood steadfast. Strix and Devaus moved to flank the boar, but Minvar was concerned that this was too easy. Her fears were proven when suddenly Strix grunted in pain and started limping.

  "Something else is in the grass. I've just been bitten. Whatever it was just tore right through my armour." He called out.

  "More snakes?" Devaus asked.

  "No, I don't think so, but whatever it was, it was small and fast."

  They're all looking around, apart from the three fighting the boar. It was Xurak who saw the other monster. "There are rats in the tall grass. But I've never seen their likes before."

  "How many?" Minvar demanded.

  "Cannot say but several," Xurak called out.

  Brutun was engaged with the boar and could not participate in keeping an eye out for the rats. Brutun and the boar were locked in combat, but it was clear that Brutun held the advantage in the fight. The others were trying to keep an eye on the boar and the grass for danger. Nyminar cried out in pain as she was bitten. One got behind her and jumped onto her leg, biting deep. She tried to strike back at it but had jumped off and scampered back into the grass to hide itself.

  "Strix, Devaus, help look out for the rats. Brutun can handle the boar." Minvar ordered.

  Her team changed their attention to the grass and the attacking rats striking from it. This allowed them to identify the rats as they approached quickly, and several were killed over the next few moments. Brutun roared as he struck the fatal blow on the boar. Devaus was bitten before he struck and killed the last of the rats.

  They knew the fight was over as there was a flash, and the reward for victory was supplied.

  "Xurak, collect the reward. All the wounded were checked by Nyminar. The rats might carry disease," Minvar ordered. She walked over to the assessor, standing in the doorway, taking notes of everything that had happened. "It is safe to enter now, Assessor Searider."

  "Thank you, Team Captain Minvar." Searider entered the cabin and made his way over to the boar's body. Minvar followed him and was soon joined by Xurak as Brutun watched on.

  "What have we got, Xurak?" Minvar asked.

  "Forty-two copper coins and these two boar tusks." He showed her the rewards.

  "Hmmm…. Have a look at the boar and rats." Minvar took stock of what they had gained, put them away, and did as she instructed.

  "Nyminar?" Minvar asked.

  "Light wounds, nothing major. No signs of infection," She reported.

  Minvar looked around the cavern, which was similar to the sixth floor. This was the first time they had encountered more than one type of monster on the floor, let alone in the same room. She did not know what to make of it right then, but she wondered if this was a bad sign for moving forward.

  "Minvar." Xurak Drew her attention back to the body of the boar.

  "Report, Xurak."

  "What I think we're looking at is a modified version of the floor boss from the third floor. Its size and strength mirror the one up there, but instead of being infused with shadow, it is infused with earth mana." He began explaining to her what he was seeing. "The boar hide is far more rigid and rock-like, making it far tougher. As you can see, the tusks have been altered and are larger, with crystalline elements now."

  "Brutun, did you see it use any abilities or skills?" She asked the [Vanguard].

  "It triggered the skill [Charge] and used a similar ability to the floor boss on the fifth floor, making it tougher when I struck it." He said as he went over the fight in his head. Minvar was happy to see this as it showed that his retraining was working.

  "What of the rats?" She asked.

  "Not much to say about them. They have a slight camouflage ability similar to the snakes in the Dungeon, and their teeth show the greatest alteration. They have been altered to allow them to pierce through armour. Speed and endurance are not much. Combining them with the boar allows them to ambush and to be a distraction." Xurak held up one's body as he spoke, pointing out the fur, a strange green, and the enlarged teeth, which were more like crystals.

  "Assessor Searider, what are your thoughts?" She asked the human present.

  "I agree with your teammate's assessment. This floor does not currently rate a higher or equal grade as the one above."

  "Very well, we continue then."

  She organised her team quite quickly, and they noted the door on the southern end of the cavern. If this floor matched the others, that would be the exit from the floor boss's room. On the northern side of the cavern, facing in a western direction, was another exit, which they made their way to. Xurak was in the lead, watching for any traps or surprises.

  The next cavern's environment was similar to the first rough layout. The most significant difference was the two boars that moved around the grass, investigating different things on the ground.

  Minvar observed the two boars and the rest of the cavern from the doorway. Once satisfied with what she could see, she returned to a team and began giving them their orders.

  "Heavies to lead the way again. There are two boars this time. They will attack us the minute we go in. Expect rats to be in the grass, so stay aware. We should have those boars engaged with us, and when they do, the rats are most likely to start to attack us." She told them. They nodded, understanding her orders and what was about to happen. "Support will protect the heavies as they engage the boars. Stay aware out there and keep each other safe."

  Her team chorused with confirmation and understanding. Brutun and the others got in position, and then, when they were ready, they entered the cavern.