"My bet is that the water goes on in a cycle," Nero explained. "It seeps through the marsh, drops down the cliffs, flows down the river... Or may I say down the river but up the canyon? Then it should reach the swamp level somewhere a mile in that direction and then seep through the marsh again."

Nero had one huge advantage over his last delve. His new goggles allowed him to see Essence flowing through the Dungeon. The safe entrance zone soaked the Essence brought in through the portal and the energy flowed deeper into the Dungeon. For this Dungeon, in particular, it spread in all directions from the entrance but it circled around in the canyon, growing stronger as it moved up.

"That doesn't make sense! Water shouldn't flow up!" Altia protested, unable to reconcile what she heard with her worldviews.

"Only one way to find out," Rodther parted the couple before their mood dropped another level. "Let's keep going and see where it leads."

They broke into a jog and followed the edge of the swamp. The river sounded closer and closer and soon the fireball-dried swamp gave way to soggy soil. They stopped.

"I hear a waterfall," Nero said. At the puzzled faces of his party members, he felt how deep the gap between his Attributes and theirs was. He felt he was holding them back from leveling up and getting their second-tier Classes.

"Let's check it. The sooner we clear this Dungeon, the sooner we can go back to our lives," Altia grumbled.

She was in a bad mood ever since their dinner with the Dean. She didn't take the news very well. Another problem for another day. They vented their frustrations on the slimes they found along the way.

Half an hour of trekking over wet and soft loam later, the canyon vanished, became a cliff, and finally, a thirty-foot waterfall into a small pond from which small streams went on to soak the marsh. They walked carefully around the pond, wary of some new enemy. On the other side, a tall and seemingly impassable cliff marked the end of the Dungeon. Also easy for Nero to spot because no Essence was flowing past the wall. All the energy in the Dungeon seemed to flow into flowed to the waterfall and pond.

"There are your sister and the girls," Rodther pointed out.

They waved and after a quick jog gathered in front of the pond. The water was crystal clear, which made no sense. As soon as the small streams one could cross with a wide step without getting wet traveled five yards from the pond, the water got brackishly green. Nero shared his findings with the party.

"I believe the true boss of this Dungeon is hidden either in the waterfall or the pond," he concluded. "The name is wrong. The pudding cube is not the boss but the ones that named this Dungeon probably didn't know that."

Crystal nodded. "Interesting theory. Now, how does one fight the true boss?"

"Maybe we need to draw its attention," Moira suggested. "There seems to be a cave behind the waterfall."

Nero said, "Give me some room." The party withdrew several steps as Nero drew his rifle and switched classes to summon ammunition. Then he asked Moira to help him aim where she sensed the cave and fired. The lightning and ice discharged on the veil of water, parting it for a moment. The bullet, however, flew into the cave and disappeared. The only sign it didn't vanish in the water was the loud ricochet echoes coming from the cave under the roar of the waterfall.

"Seems empty," Rodther said, too soon.

The waterfall was suddenly lit up from behind with a white cool light. The light seemed to suck in the dim autumn sunlight that permeated the Dungeon's fake skies. A deep and faint throbbing rang from the very bowels of the earth underneath them, disturbing the mud as the pond's waters were agitated enough by the waterfall.

"Or not," Moira elbowed the ietermahue leathery-scaled torso.

"Incoming enemies," Crystal's commanding shout dispelled the last dregs of their easygoing demeanor. Her posture demanded obeisance. "Prepare yourselves. I sense dozens. Moira, we need to use the cave as a chokepoint. Nero..."

She hesitated in giving orders to the perceived party leader. Nero smiled. "It shall be done, elder sister," He replied and activated his bayonet. He jogged around the pond to meet the nereid sergeant as the frontline. Nero knew he had more than double the average Vigor of the party. With Altia's potions backing him, he could take on the whole host of monsters stomping their way up the tunnel if not by the fact he couldn't physically block the entrance entirely.

Nero turned on [Mind Library] to record the combat. He willed his shield to spread out and take the size of a targe. It was a bit unwieldy but he could use the bayonet rifle in one hand as a makeshift short spear. He stood a half-step ahead of the nereid, with his shield covering part of her right flank. Moira playfully tapped the edge of his shield with her sword, prompting the contraption to sprout a forest of sharp spikes.

"Watch out. The shield has automated features," Nero warned with a serious tone.

Moira muted answer was drowned by the waterfall behind them. The light became stronger and shone down on them. Nero's shield sprouted a plate and intercepted an attack. The metal became red-hot, eliciting a yelp of surprise from the duo.

Nero frantically switched the lens on his goggles to find one that could let him perceive something behind the glare. Once he did, he shouted a warning. "A blob of Anima is ahead. Too strong to be anything but the boss!"

Another glow and another burning pane as the shield automated defenses blocked the incoming attack.

"It strikes at the range,' Moira shouted, exasperated. "I doubt it will close in melee. We're going to be trampled."

Nero withdrew his shield, leaving the two hot plates sticking out. He couldn't fold them in or the shield would be severely damaged. But after a second to rotate them out of the way, he could use his rifle properly. He aimed at the center of mass and hammered his finger in a staccato on the trigger. The rifle unloaded its twenty-four chamber. Nero looked past the dust cloud and the mass of Essence was still there. He started to reload and Moira tapped his shoulder.

"Incoming. It's a stampede!"

He looked up to see a horde of Anima signatures rushing up the tunnel, still behind what should be the boss. Nero sent his rifle to the storage, dropping the summoned ammunition. He immediately fiddled with his Arbitrium to switch Classes.

"Retreat!" Nero shouted. "I'm closing the cave!"

He ran after Moira, casting autonomous [Stone Shape] spells with orders to "cut one-ton bricks off of the cavern roof". After the fourth spell, searing pain hit his back. White spots threatened to cloud his vision. Nero jumped out of the cave, past the waterfall, and fell on the mud bank on the other side of the pond. A red mist enveloped him and his sight returned.

"What happened?" Crystal and Rodther asked almost at the same time while helping Nero back on his feet. Altia kept tossing potions on him, restoring his mana and health with a few points of stamina from her Skills' bonuses.

"Boss is immune to lightning, cold, and physical damage. I am sure I shot it at least ten times," He groaned, trying to focus his mind and concentrate past the pounding headache.

Behind them, the blocks of stone fell down, causing the whole cliff face to crumble and cascade in a mini-avalanche. The water from the river seeped through the stones and into the cave, cutting the pond's feed.

"What will we do--" Altia's question was cut off by a flash of light and what seemed like an explosion on the other side of the landslide. The rocks stirred and some fell but the cave opening was still blocked.

"Should we [Egress]?" Hefalina offered.

"Give me a minute. I need to check what I learned about the boss," Nero said. He entered review mode and watched the fight inside the cave several dozen times, focusing on each sense from different angles. He was astonished how powerful [Mind Library] was. Truly, it added nothing to one's fighting prowess during the combat itself, but as a learning tool, it was unbeatable. Seconds later - to the ones watching him - he spoke again.

"The boss is a will-o-wisp, I think. And the stampede was all the mist goats rushing up the caverns. I could hear bleating and hooves trampling the rock. It is affected by cold and physical attacks but is very resistant. Lightning does nothing."

"Did I tell you I hate this Dungeon?" Altia whined.

"Now it makes sense why they call this the 'Pudding Cube's Swamp', and not 'Murder Light Ball Swamp,'" Rodther whistled.

"Yeah, people enter, find a pudding cube, kill it, and [Egress]," Moira agreed. "And if its beam at this distance through the waterfall opened a hole that big on someone with as much Vigor and armor as Nero, I don't think many defeated the boss and returned to tell the story."

Nero rolled his eyes. His brain was still feeling pain, even though his back was fully healed. "Hundred-seventy-nine," he groaned. The beam was ridiculously overpowered for its level.

Another beam flared behind the rockslide.

"We should [Egress]," Crystal trembled.

"Yes, let's. No use killing that boss. Does everyone has the card slotted? I can't use [Dungeon Breaker]."

"Right. Let's meet outside," Rodther said and triggered his own silver card, followed by Hefalina, Moira, and Crystal."

"What are you up to, husband? I'm not leaving before you," Altia said.

Nero created a transition box and cast an autonomous portal. "Travel closed through the gaps in that landslide. Find the will-o'-wisp creature and engulf it. Dismiss yourself after you captured the monster."

"You're crazy," She pouted.

Nero grinned and flexed his shoulder to test his healed wound. "Maybe. But that boss is too strong. I can use it even if I can't tame him." Another flare, bleats, and Nero felt the portal spell ending. "We're done here. Let's get out. I want to test [Dungeon Breaker], so please give me your hand, milady."

It worked. Trapping the boss in another dimension was as good as killing it, as far as [Dungeon Breaker] was concerned.

"How does it look like?" Nero asked. He was in bed lying on his stomach, as naked as when he was born while Altia examined his wound.

"It is a bit pinkish, but in a week nobody will tell you had a hole an inch deep in your back and we could see the bleached ribs underneath it, stupid husband," Altia replied.

Her verbal ribbing was more to vent her own worries than to scold Nero. She massaged his back, drawing a moan from the young man. She took that as a signal to dedicate all her strength to stretch his muscles and untangle the knots.

She asked, "Do we have to attend classes tomorrow?"

"Yes. I need to craft your accessories. I also need to copy the catalog to my card presses. Do you want to skip? We won't be setting a good example."

"Maybe not," She pondered as she kneaded his deltoids. We can find a good Dungeon to delve at night, just the two of us. Get some time for ourselves."

Nero chuckled, "It's a date. Now, turn around, it is my turn to massage you."

Lights out, curtains dropped. The couple enjoyed some privacy.