"Is this the Boss Room?"
In the dim Dungeon, Gorth scanned the excessively empty room before him in confusion.
It did meet the characteristics of a Boss Room—no lesser monsters and an abnormally vast area—but...
[Where's the monster?]
Gregor looked around. The glow from his lava body illuminated the room, yet there was still nothing there.
"Do we have to go inside to trigger it?" Gorth guessed.
[We'll know if we try.]
The two stepped into the room together. The next moment, the gate behind them crashed down.
"..." x2
Yet the monster they had expected still did not appear...
"Did it bug out?"
Whoosh...
Gorth abruptly turned around. There was still nothing behind him.
[What is it?]
"Just now... I felt like there was something behind me." Gorth looked around uncertainly.
[There is something...]
Gregor immediately expanded his heat perception, but the information it returned made him shake his head.
[I can't sense any living creature.]
Gorth fell silent for a moment, then shook his head as well.
"Maybe I'm just too tense..."
[Yeah... maybe it was an illusion...]
Gregor agreed with that explanation. Just as Gorth relaxed slightly, his tone suddenly rose sharply.
[—You think I'd say that!?]
Gregor abruptly looked up, his molten eyes locked firmly onto the room's ceiling.
Following his gaze, Gorth finally saw it clearly—that was not a ceiling at all!
A massive "white plastic bag" silently covered the entire ceiling of the room.
Its translucent body had blended into the dim surroundings. The emptiness they had felt earlier was only because they had been standing beneath its body the entire time!
"So it's this thing..."
Gorth raised his head and quietly spoke its name.
"Ghost King..."
Having been discovered, the Ghost King no longer hid. The center of its translucent body suddenly tore open, revealing a huge maw filled with profound darkness.
A piercing shriek erupted from within, and countless dangerous crimson energy bullets rained down like a storm of light.
[You want it, or should I?] Gregor's voice remained steady.
"I'll handle it..."
Gorth lightly stomped his foot. Dense darkness instantly spread out, covering the entire floor of the room.
Before the rain of light could fully descend, countless twisted giant trees surged upward from the shadows and crashed straight into it.
"Boom boom boom boom—!"
The rain of light exploded across the sky. The Ghost King's body paused, then became even more translucent and vanished completely from sight.
"Invisibility..."
Gorth did not panic. The shadows beneath his feet churned as if boiling, and vines rapidly crawled across the floor, walls, and even the ceiling.
In the blink of an eye, the entire room was almost completely wrapped in his vines, leaving no blind spots.
[Is the consumption okay? Do you need me to provide energy?]
Gorth shook his head and condensed several seeds as a demonstration.
"They're all stock I nurtured in advance. I still have plenty..."
Before he could finish speaking, the Ghost King reappeared above them.
This time, powerful suction poured from its gaping mouth, intending to swallow the two of them directly into that endless darkness.
"..." x2
Gorth tilted his head. The vines wrapped around their feet instantly tightened, firmly anchoring them in place.
At the same time, while the Ghost King had yet to turn invisible, countless vines shot upward and rapidly expanded into towering trees in midair, stabbing fiercely at it.
However, the expected impalement never happened.
All the giant trees passed through the Ghost King's body without obstruction, colliding with one another behind it in a deafening roar.
"They passed through?"
Gorth froze in shock for a moment. The Ghost King let out a piercing shriek full of mockery.
[Could it be that after materializing, this thing is immune to physical attacks?]
"Immune to physical attacks..."
Gorth muttered, then seemed to recall something.
"Come to think of it... I don't think I've ever used the energy attacks attached to my skill."
[Want to try?]
Gorth nodded. Under his control, crimson energy patterns began appearing across the surfaces of the giant trees.
A teeth-grinding tearing sound came from their tips as grotesque Wendigo skulls emerged one after another.
As the vines themselves were enhanced by the skill, the skulls, which had originally only been half the size of a person, now swelled to nearly five meters.
The skulls opened their jaws. Dark red energy gathered in their mouths, while their hollow eye sockets all locked onto the Ghost King above.
The Ghost King's mocking laughter came to an abrupt stop. Its enormous body instantly became translucent again, trying to conceal itself.
"Not completely brainless, but close."
The next moment, giant trees wrapped layer upon layer around Gregor and Gorth, forming a sturdy shelter.
Then, countless Wendigo skulls attacked at once.
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh—!!!"
Red-black energy claws filled every corner of the room, and violent explosions merged into an unbroken barrage.
The Dungeon trembled, mixed with the Ghost King's pained wails.
Inside the shelter, Gorth and Gregor quietly waited for the rumbling and wailing outside to subside.
When the final explosion faded, the giant trees parted. The Ghost King's huge body had already disappeared, leaving behind only a ruined, enormous Crown.
Gregor stepped forward and tried to pick it up.
[Take it to Number Two. I wonder if she can use this thing to revive the Boss.]
However, his hand passed straight through the Crown as though it were nothing but an illusion.
[Can't touch it!?]
Gorth tried to swallow it with shadows, but failed as well.
"I can't either... But why could we collect the corpses of lesser monsters before?"
[Looks like the Dungeon's rules won't let us exploit that loophole...]
Gregor shook his head and stopped dwelling on it, turning toward the portal that had appeared.
[Let's go, Number Three. Take what we need and head to the next floor.]
Hearing that, Gorth moved to the treasure chest and lamented.
"If we could just take the whole chest with us, wouldn't I not have to open it..."
[Open it already,] Gregor said helplessly.
[You already have the best luck out of all of us.]
"What luck could I possibly have... Luck!!!!"
[What happened!?]
Gorth's complaint instantly turned into a startled cry. Gregor immediately became alert, thinking a new enemy had appeared.
Trembling, Gorth lifted a miniature Crown from the treasure chest, identical in design to the Ghost King Crown on the ground...
Gorth raised his head. His crimson eyes were filled with disbelief, and even his voice trembled.
"Boss."
[...]
"I pulled red."
In the hall, Vane and Ifrit lay sprawled across the table together, boredly blowing at each other's hair.
"Little Fire Dragon..."
"What..."
"I'm so bored..."
"Want to play a game?"
"I'm sick of them..."
"Isn't it really because you're too bad at them, so you got tired of them?"
Vane abruptly raised his head and clutched his chest.
"When did your mouth become so vicious? Where did that little cutie who used to tug at my clothes and ask me questions about everything go!?"
Ifrit quietly looked at him and calmly stated the facts.
"You taught me."
Vane: "..."
"...Am I reaping what I sow?"
At a loss for words, he recalled that he really had not watched his mouth around Little Fire Dragon. In the end, he dejectedly flopped back onto the table.
"Ugh..." x2
The two looked at each other and simultaneously let out bored sighs, like two puddles of liquid.
Just then, the portal in the center of the hall suddenly lit up with a familiar glow.
"Hm?" Vane abruptly raised his head. "At this time...?"
Under their gazes, Gregor and Gorth's figures rapidly emerged from the light.
"Boss, why are you back so soon?" Vane stood up in surprise.
"Based on your previous pace, shouldn't you have only just reached the second floor?"
Gregor and Gorth exchanged a glance and sighed at the same time.
"So, here's what happened..."
After successfully defeating the Ghost King and unexpectedly obtaining a red-quality weapon, the two had been brimming with confidence. They had planned to press onward and directly challenge the third floor.
However, just as Gregor reached out first to touch the dark portal leading to the next floor, something unexpected happened.
A wooden sign appeared without warning, blocking the way between Gregor and the portal.
A line of words was written on the sign with perfect clarity.
[Your free attempts (3/3) have been used up. Please return in seven days.]
Gregor and Gorth: "..."
The two stared at the shoddy notification sign with complicated expressions, unable to decide where to begin complaining.
"So..." Vane's mouth began twitching uncontrollably after hearing their explanation.
"Did a penguin company acquire the Dungeon? Do we have to recharge VIP to keep playing?"
"Looks like it." Gorth nodded, his voice full of helplessness.
[It even... thoughtfully kept count for us.]
Gregor's body radiated even more heat than usual, clearly deeply dissatisfied with this sudden "rule."
Ifrit suddenly raised her hand and said brightly.
"Reporting, Boss! Big Sis seems to have found out about what you did! Number Four contacted Big Sis, but she didn't reply at all."
Gregor's enormous lava body suddenly stiffened. Then he grabbed his twisted demonic horns and let out a despairing howl.
[Gregor: Number Four—!!! Why does even Ifrit know!? What exactly did you tell her!?] [Vane: Boss... at this point, I have to tell the truth. I've led this child astray! Her thinking is extremely dangerous! I request that she be sent back for reforging!] [Gorth: ...I think what most needs reforging is that leaky mouth of yours.] [Gregor: The important thing now is how we explain this to Number Two... How about we go together?]
"Eh?"
Vane suddenly seemed to remember something and smacked his forehead.
"Right, Boss! Number Two told me before to go out and confirm my exact location!"
"Since you're back just in time, I'll leave Little Fire Dragon to you! The mission is important, so I'm off!"
Before he even finished speaking, Vane vanished into the light without giving Gregor time to react.
[Wait...!]
Gregor's outstretched hand grasped nothing but air. He could only angrily slam the ground.
"Boss, I've got something to do, so I'm leaving first. I left the Crown here for you. Give it to Number Two and let her cool off—"
Gorth's rapid-fire words hit him. Gregor abruptly turned his head, only to find that where Gorth had been standing, there was now merely a flicker of fading light.
Gregor: "..."
Ifrit blinked and broke the silence.
"Boss, what are we playing now? Number Four said that if I'm bored, I can grill meat on your back."
Gregor slowly lowered his head, looking at Ifrit as an idea suddenly came to him.
Right! Let this child speak for us!
"[Unknown Flame Demon Roar]"
"Boss, what did you say? You agreed! That's great!"
Gregor: "..."
Forget it... I should just apologize honestly.
Gregor sighed and bent down to pick up the Crown from the floor.
If only I could talk, this wouldn't be so troublesome... huh?
"What's wrong, Boss?"
Seeing Gregor standing completely still, Ifrit curiously bent down as well.
She looked beneath the sofa and immediately met the gaze of an unknown blue creature (probably?).
Unknown creature: "〣( ºΔº )〣"
"Whoa! What the hell is that?!"
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