Ethan observed his guests through his [Observe] spell as they battled Citron. Although the spell's intended purpose was to track Alicia’s whereabouts, the screen actually dispyed events happening around her from a wide angle. Because of this, Ethan used the skill to watch the fight and analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the party members.

  To Ethan’s surprise, the adventurer party defeated Citron without any casualties. He had anticipated that Citron would manage to thin out their numbers or possibly take out one or two of the stronger members. But no—these adventurers were more coordinated and stronger than the previous group that had attacked him. Ethan closed the [Observe] screen as they began to set up a temporary camp in the boss chamber on the first floor while a few of them started mining the mana stone cluster that had grown near the staircase to the second floor. There was no point in watching over them as they rested.

  At the end of the fight, when Citron fell, Ethan received a notification screen. The screen dispyed a message indicating that Citron had fallen. It also provided information about the various spells and abilities used to defeat Citron, detailing how much damage each adventurer had dealt. In total, Raul dealt the most damage with his arrows, followed closely by their leader, Throne, in second pce. The third pce was a tie between Lisa, the mage, and Alex, the warrior.

  “Well… the results are expected. These rankings are useful. Now I know whom I have to take out first during my fight.” Ethan thought to himself. “Their damage output was impressive.”

  But Ethan knew that the damage inflicted did not tell the whole story of the fight. He was particurly impressed by their defender, Dale, who had literally saved the entire party multiple times during that battle. He defended against Citron’s energy beam attack. Ethan had not thought Dale would survive that encounter. Not only did he survive, but he also made Citron turn his attention away from the party and shoot the beam directly at him. Additionally, he saved the entire party from falling debris using his barrier skills. “I could use a powerful defender like him,” Ethan murmured to himself. “I have to keep him alive and convert him ter.”

  Ethan repyed the entire fight in his mind once again. The party members employed various skills and abilities during the battle. Ethan attempted to mimic one of the most frequently used skills of their mage, Lisa. He extended his palm forward and focused, trying to replicate the pattern of the magic circle that formed before her hand. Slowly but surely, a flickering light appeared before Ethan’s outstretched hand. The light particle moved at his command, weaving a pattern in the air.

  First, there was a circle. Inside the circle, there was a smaller circle. Within the smaller circle was a triangle, its three angles touching the inner circle’s perimeter. Inside the triangle was another smaller circle, whose perimeter touched all three sides of the inner triangle. Once he could visualize the entire pattern forming, Ethan opened his eyes and chanted, “[Fireball].” A magnificent crimson ball of fire unched from the palm of his hand and soared into the void before him.

  Ethan gazed at his palm in wonder. “So this is how it is,” he excimed. “The pattern converts my mana into the spell I’m casting. Calling out the name of the spell initiates the conversion process.” He felt a surge of happiness, like a child discovering a new toy. But as always, his excitement faded, and his mind began racing. He hadn’t woven any mana circle while casting his spells. Ethan recalled casting [Dark Nova] and [Shadow Maelstrom] during his battle with the adventurers. Those spells didn’t require any magical patterns. Even when he converted Alicia using [Demonic Conversion], there was no pattern involved. Could it be that his spells function differently?

  “I will figure it out ter. But this is fun. I have learned to cast [Fireball].” Ethan spoke in his demonic voice. “Casters are not so bad after all. Let’s try a few more spells.”

  Alex swung his greatsword in a mighty arc. The zombie's head flew off its shoulders, but its headless body still stumbled forward with filing arms. Its cws were still capable of tearing apart human flesh. From behind him, Lisa muttered, “[Incinerate],” and a ball of fire rushed toward the headless body, narrowly missing Alex. The fireball crashed into the zombie’s torso. The body ignited in an instant, fmes consuming the decaying flesh and reducing it to nothing more than a pile of ash.

  “Hey, watch where you're shooting!" Alex shouted. "You crazy mage, you almost hit me with that!”

  “I can’t help it if you stand right before my target.” Lisa shrugged innocently.

  “What?? There is no way I was blocking your path.” Alex protested.

  “Stop fighting, you two.” Olivia intervened, “We’ve got a whole dungeon ahead of us. Save your energy for the enemies that actually want to kill us.”

  “You two should start dating.” Raul passed a cheeky comment. “You two look like a married couple already.”

  “Nonsense!!” Both of them screamed in unison.

  “I see what Raul means. Congratutions, you two.” Frederick ughed. “Well, if you need a Preist, let me know. I will be honored to read the vows.”

  “Shut it, you depraved Preist!” Lisa hissed angrily; a flicker of fme lit up in her eyes.

  “Sorry to spoil the fun, guys…but we have company again.” Throne spoke as a few more zombies appeared in the corridor, slowly walking towards them.

  Raul shot a flurry of arrows towards them. The arrows bsted on impact, scattering their body parts all over the corridor in front of them.

  “Let’s keep moving. It seems if we stop, they just keep on coming.” Raul spoke.

  Everyone agreed and pressed on. After defeating the first boss, Citron, they set up camp on the first floor. Depending on the dungeon’s difficulty, it can take weeks to clear it. As a result, adventurers carry ample food and drink with them during raids. Typically, two or three members who ck confidence in their combat skills carry the essentials on their backs. They also bring extra backpacks to gather mana crystals from the dungeon. After the battle with Citron, they feasted on plenty of wine and meat to celebrate their victory. Then, they slept peacefully for hours, primarily due to the wine.

  Inside the dungeon, there is no way to track day and night cycles. It is also rumored that dungeons exist in a separate pne of existence from the outside world, rendering the concepts of day and night meaningless. Consequently, it was impossible to ascertain how long they truly slept. However, Throne ensured that the group received plenty of rest and fully healed before ascending the stairs to the next floor.

  Just like on the first floor, the zombies on the second floor weren't a huge threat, but their overwhelming numbers were a bit annoying. After a few minutes of fighting and taking down the creatures, they finally reached the end of the corridor.

  “Here come the Wraths,” Throne warned as two pale, almost transparent figures guarding the end of the corridor caught their attention.

  “Let me take care of them," Cynthia rushed forward, letting out a war cry that drew their attention. The wraths emitted a sharp howl and leaped toward her. “[Shield Bash]!" she yelled as her shield glowed, unleashing a shockwave in a small cone-shaped area before her. The shockwave was strong enough to knock both of them back as they collided with each other. "Now! Hit them hard!" she shouted.

  “Nice repelling,” Raul said, sending an arrow toward them, empowered by his "[Piercing Gale]" skill. The arrow, imbued with wind energy, rotated violently at an unimaginable speed and drilled through both the wraths. Their bodies disintegrated in thin air.

  “At st, we’ve made it to the end of this godforsaken hallway,” Dale said, continuing forward. “Great job, Cynthia. You’re picking it up quickly.”

  Cynthia blushed. Dale was the person she admired. After seeing him in action, she idolized him and wanted to follow in his footsteps. She didn’t reveal it to anybody, but she also had a crush on him. A compliment from Dale meant a great deal to her. “Th…Thank you,” she said, with a bright red face.

  Dale moved forward and peeked into the empty room on the right side at the end of the long corridor. “Don’t be so flustered. Your real challenge starts now,” he said as they id eyes on the second-floor boss for the first time.

  Two monstrous gargoyle statues guarded the staircase to the next floor on the opposite side of the hall. Their forms were carved from ancient, weathered rock, darkened with age and streaked with deep cracks that ran like veins of malice across their hulking bodies. They stood over eight feet tall in height. Their broad shoulders made them look like small mountains. Their tattered, bat-like wings stretched outward. Their grotesque faces are frozen in eternal snarls—fang-lined maws twisted into expressions of hatred and hunger. Although their eyes were made of lifeless stone, they seemed to bore into the souls of their enemies.

  “The Twin Gargoyles.” Alicia, who was silent this whole time, spoke in a shaky voice. “They are the second boss of this Dungeon.”