Chapter 103: Training in the S-Rank Dungeon
Even though Ryan had managed to rescue the dwarves from the tower’s basement and recruit Runa, the talented but obsessive blacksmith, the work in the mining city had ended with the total destruction of the bandit base.
The journey back to the safe zone was swift, flying over the terrain under the protection of Karol’s magic while leaving behind the problems with the local guild and the doubts of the liberated dwarves.
The group remained stable in the air, with Irina and Runa still processing the magnitude of the power Ryan had displayed when he brought down the tower with a single blow.
Ryan’s priority was to return to the hidden base to put Runa to work on the relic needed to move the entire village before their enemies closed in on them.
The flight was steady, taking advantage of the air currents Karol skillfully manipulated so that exhaustion wouldn’t halt the group’s progress.
"Are you talking about going to the S-rank dungeon?" Irina asked, trying to keep her balance while Karol’s magic held her firmly in the air.
"That’s right. Knowing Helen, she probably hasn’t left the place while training with Beatrice," Ryan replied with a pragmatic tone, watching the landscape change beneath them as they approached the rift area.
It wasn’t an empty assumption; Helen always looked for any excuse not to sit still when levels were involved, and Beatrice wasn’t one to hand out breaks.
’By the way, how is a demon supposed to get stronger? What kind of training are they doing?’ The thought crossed Ryan’s mind for an instant.
Runa, who had been clutching her heavy blacksmithing equipment throughout the journey, cut in with a tone of voice that showed growing disbelief at the mention of the dungeon’s rank.
"An S-rank dungeon? Who are you people, really?" the dwarf asked, looking at Ryan with a mix of suspicion and wonder.
She watched them as if searching for some sign that it was all a bad joke, but the serious expressions on those present gave her little room for doubt.
Karol, enjoying the advantage given by her total control of the flight, drifted toward her with a mocking and superior smile.
"Come now, you’re not thinking of chickening out already, Lady Runa? I thought dwarves were braver than that," the mage replied provokingly.
"I’m not afraid," she immediately protested, although her fingers gripped the straps of her backpack tightly and the sweat on her forehead gave away her internal agitation. "It’s just that I wasn’t expecting something like this... no, nothing with you lot is normal anymore."
Karol laughed, unusually happy at the dwarf’s comment, as if chaos were her natural habitat.
Luego giró el rostro hacia Ryan y le sonrió de forma traviesa mientras le guiñaba un ojo, manteniendo su mirada fija en la de él por un segundo más de lo necesario.
"I wonder why that is," Karol murmured, directing her words straight at Ryan with an intent that the others chose to ignore for the moment.
Without saying anything more, Ryan made a gesture with his hand and the group began to elevate with strength toward the summit, passing the dense layer of clouds that hid the sky.
There, floating in the bluish void, they finally spotted the dimensional rift. It pulsed with that peculiar aura, a blend of violet and blue that distorted the light around it.
They passed through the rift without stopping. The change in atmosphere was instantaneous; the air grew heavy, thick with a mana density so high it made breathing difficult for those unaccustomed to high-rank zones.
Runa was visibly sweating and, although she tried to hide her agitation by adjusting her equipment straps.
Upon landing on the stone platform at the entrance, the group stayed close to Ryan.
The environment was cold and charged with a static energy that made the hair on their arms stand up.
The first thing they spotted was Ryan’s wyvern, resting near the stone pillars that marked the start of the dungeon’s first level.
"If the wyvern is here, then they must be somewhere inside the dungeon," Ryan commented, watching the creature that barely lifted its head to acknowledge his presence before returning to its lethargy.
Runa scanned the ancient stone walls that seemed to absorb the little light they generated.
"This is the first time I’ve ever entered an S-rank dungeon. I never thought I’d even see one in my life," she whispered, feeling the weight of the place’s legend upon her shoulders.
Irina also commented something similar, as it was her first time visiting a place of such magnitude, and even the fact that she had flown with Karol’s magic was an experience she was still processing.
Then she laughed subtly and murmured to herself in a very low tone that was barely audible to the others.
"There is no time to be bored when you’re with Ryan."
"What did you say?" Runa asked, being right next to her and only hearing an unintelligible murmur.
"It’s nothing," Irina answered quickly, recovering her usual composure and taking a step forward.
Ryan advanced through the main hallway without wasting time. The three of them followed closely as they entered the labyrinthine structure.
The path was unusually clear; there was no sign of the lesser enemies that usually patrolled the entrance, indicating a systematic clearing of the area.
They reached the first-floor boss chamber because the path was unobstructed, as in these progression dungeons, the direct route tended to be free of intermediate bosses if the route was known.
When they entered the great hall, the scene stopped them cold. A silhouette stood in the middle of the boss chamber, holding a sword firmly. It was Helen.
"Helen!" Karol shouted, trying to catch her attention with force.
But the shout didn’t reach her, or perhaps Helen was simply too focused to let outside noise break her state of meditation combative.
Her body was tense, but she didn’t move from her spot, like a steel statue. Suddenly, another silhouette appeared rapidly at different points in the room and vanished immediately in a blur of speed that defied human sight.
Clang. The metallic sound of a weapon clashing with Helen’s sword echoed throughout the room.
Helen had her eyes closed, relying solely on her other senses to detect the trajectory of the invisible attacks.
Another flash of impact appeared to her right, and then another from behind in less than a second. Helen barely moved, making only the minimum adjustments necessary to block the impacts coming from all directions.
"What is that sound?" Irina asked in confusion, unable to see what was hitting her companion’s steel.
Just like her, Runa was equally lost, staring into the empty air with her mouth slightly open at what looked like a fight against a ghost.
Ryan smiled at the evident improvement in the performance of both warriors.
"I suppose you can’t see it, but... it’s the clash of weapons between Beatrice and Helen," he explained calmly.
’Beatrice has grown stronger,’ Ryan thought while observing the demon’s movement patterns.
Her speed was now comparable to that of a high-rank assassin, forcing Helen to react purely on instinct and mana flow.
"Impossible, how can she move so fast!" Runa said, her shock only increasing with every second.
For her level of perception, the movements were nonexistent, only sparks bursting out of nowhere in the middle of the room.
Then Beatrice stopped for an instant on the dungeon ceiling, her feet on the surface as if she were stuck to it, defying gravity in an unnatural way.
She extended her hands in a fluid motion, and a large web of poisonous metal threads surrounded Helen’s body in a heartbeat.
When she pulled hard on the cables, Helen’s silhouette was violently ripped to pieces by the pressure of the cutting threads.
"Ah! Wha— she killed her!" Runa screamed, stepping back with pure horror on her face.
"Calm down, it was just an afterimage," Ryan commented unperturbed, keeping his arms crossed as his eyes followed the real body.
And the clash of weapons echoed once more with brutal force in the center of the room, shaking the air.
Helen was now at the same height as Beatrice, having jumped at the precise moment to counterattack in the air.
She clashed her heavy sword against Beatrice’s dagger in mid-air, both warriors measuring their strength.
Beatrice didn’t stay locked in the clash for long. With a sharp flick of her wrist, she pushed off Helen’s heavy blade and vanished into the dark shadows of the vaulted ceiling once more.
Helen landed on the stone floor with a controlled thud, but she didn’t stop to catch her breath for even a second.
She instinctively swung her massive sword in a wide, lethal arc behind her just as Beatrice materialized from thin air, her poisoned daggers aiming directly for the back of Helen’s neck.
The sheer speed of the exchange was staggering to witness.
To Runa and Irina, the fight had become a chaotic dance of flickering silver light and violet sparks.
Every time steel met steel, a visible shockwave rippled through the chamber, forcing the dust on the floor to swirl in violent patterns.
Beatrice moved like a relentless gale, appearing and disappearing in the blink of an eye, while Helen stood her ground like an unmovable mountain, her blade moving in precise, bone-chilling blurs to intercept every single strike.
"I can’t even see them anymore. It’s like they’ve turned into ghosts," Runa whispered, her eyes darting frantically across the room in a vain attempt to follow the action.
Ryan narrowed his eyes, tracking every micro-movement with ease.