They stood just before the entrance to Kobal’s lair. They had checked and rechecked their equipment, run through various scenarios and were now quietly watching the large goblin’s movements before they finally attacked.

The Dungeon Boss would take no notice of them until they entered the cavern or attacked. From what they could see, Kobal simply wandered around the far side of his lair, occasionally swinging his axe down on a large insect and then pulling it over by its campfire.

It was the first time they had seen any monster actually cook its food. Even the smaller goblins ate the insects raw, but Kobal was certainly different from his weaker brethren. Cooking showed a certain intelligence that Serist De could not ignore. They had gone over various ideas, such as trying to communicate with the Dungeon Boss. Maybe tricking the monster could give them an edge. The problem was, they knew nothing about goblins aside from their malicious demeanor and their love of eating bugs. They had to scrap the idea and tuck it away for later.

From what they did know about goblins however was that they couldn’t afford to let anyone but Ferris attack first. The way the goblins focused solely on their attackers made it clear that Ferris had to gain its attention first. Aside from a few combat scenarios, Ferris would have to save his Dash and Wind’s Call spells incase the goblin decided to turn his attention towards someone less able to mitigate the damage.

After a few quick discussions, the team stepped into the cavern. Ferris walked forward while the rest of the team followed five steps behind and spread out. They all felt the nervous energy building as they observed the Dungeon Boss and it was finally time to put their plans into motion.

Ferris had already taken ten steps into the lair and he was not even a quarter way through the large cavern. The lair was relatively sparse aside from the small camp at the far end where Kobal ate. They hadn’t seen him sleep yet but there was obviously some type of bed near the fire.

He walked slowly; his large sword tightly gripped in his hands. Ferris was quite larger than Kobal, easily towering over the goblin, but even he was a little scared. He was still a kid by tower standards and even though he was more knowledgeable than most his age when it came to dungeons and magic, he lacked the experience of a seasoned Adventures.

Ferris never talked about it, but at first, he hated the idea of being the Tank. When Ferris and Dante first met in the orphanage, he was loud and boisterous but it was all to cover up the fact that he was scared. He was only five when he came to the orphanage and he still remembered being brought to the orphanage gates by his aunt. He couldn’t remember her name now or how she looked, but he remembered the feeling of being alone.

Dante was a huge help to Ferris, instantly welcoming him to his new home. They had become fast friends and, as children often do, he quickly forgot about his circumstances leading him there. When the first classes started, Dante and Ferris learned about Adventurers together. Ferris had bragged, saying he would be their teams Tank but he really didn’t want to be. When the teachers showed them the formations and had them attack the teachers, he had been so nervous that he tripped over his own two feet. The teacher swung down at his prone form and Ferris squeezed his eyes shut in fear. Then the sound of wood striking caused Ferris to look up. Dante had jumped over Ferris and blocked the teachers strike. He remembered when Dante looked down at him with a casual smile saying, “You protect us and we protect you.” That small moment had been a turning point in Ferris’ life. How could he possibly fear being a Tank when his friends were watching his back?

He had just reached the center of the cavern when Kobal turned towards the group. The Dungeon Boss started snarling and waving his axe, speaking in a language Ferris didn’t understand. “That rules out communication at least.” Ferris thought with a smirk settling on his face.

“Hey small, green and ugly!” Ferris yelled out cheerfully. “I can’t understand a thing your saying but if you want to surrender, I think we can accommodate you.”

Kobal didn’t show any understanding to Ferris and instead, pointed his rusty two-handed axe at him. The gesture looked to be one of a challenge as the goblin set himself into a fighting stance. Ferris shrugged, settling into his own fighting stance. He needed to take the first few swings anyways and this was a perfect excuse. Ferris rushed towards the five-foot goblin. He was still a little nervous, but the moment he ran forward, his fear evaporated. His focus settling fully on the Dungeon Boss.

Dante watched the exchange with amusement. Ferris was acting like his usual self which eased Dante’s mind. His Essence Pulse was still active as he made sure there were no ambushing monsters nearby. He couldn’t sense any other monsters but his Empath ability triggered as the Dungeon Boss watched Ferris settle into his fighting stance.

Kobal was…happy? That confused Dante since the Dungeon Boss’ initial reaction to Ferris was to yell angrily at him.

“Why the switch in attitude?” Dante wondered. He watched closely as Ferris closed the distance. Then Dante saw it. It was quick, but Kobal’s red eyes flickered down at the ground just before Ferris. Dante looked and noticed the ground between them looked just slightly off color. He knew Ferris had no chance of stopping his momentum before he crossed the area so he did the only thing he could think of.

“Dash Ferris! Dash!” Dante yelled. Ferris’ Dash could cover ten feet easily. He didn’t actually touch the ground when he Dashed. Instead, he leaped forward and his spell pushed him forward at great speed, only a half foot off the ground. When Dante had called out to Ferris, Ferris didn’t question it but instead cast Dash immediately.

Ferris flew forwards, his Dash spell tripling his speed and carrying him over the ground. He didn’t have time to aim towards the goblin but he was close enough on course and his sword had plenty of reach. The look of confusion on the goblins face confirmed that Dante had noticed something wrong and Ferris felt a smile touch his lips as he pulled back his sword, preparing to strike.

Dante watched Ferris cast his Dash and moved towards the off colored ground. When he was a few feet away, he could just barely see the false floor. It was tricky and easily missed, but if you paid attention, you would notice the thin sheet rock on the ground. Dante followed the rock with his eyes and saw the sheet rock reached each end of the cavern. It was only five feet across to the other side but that was more than enough to trap an unsuspecting Adventurer running across.

Dante summoned a mace and smashed the ground, the sheet rock easily giving way. What hid underneath was a drop leading down into darkness. Dante shuddered at the thought of how many Adventures died to a simple trap such as this. He looked up to see Kelsi next to him.

“That is a messed-up trap.” She said with a grim look on her face. Gretta and Jami walked closer and looked as well.

The clash of steel brought them out of their investigation of the trap as Ferris’ sword collided with Kobal’s axe. Ferris had used the full momentum of his Dash to strike at the goblin but somehow, the goblin had raised his axe in time and deflected the strike. Ferris set his back towards the opposite wall and raised his sword to the goblin.

“Hey Kobal.” Ferris yelled. “What is green, ugly and smells like a toilet?”

The goblin roared at Ferris, spittle flying from its mouth and rushed Ferris with his axe held high.

“Oh, so you’ve heard this joke before.” Ferris said casually as he raised his sword. This time, Ferris held his ground, letting the Dungeon Boss come to him.

Dante watched as Ferris lured the goblin away so that the rest of the team could jump over the trap. Sadly, the area Ferris was leading him to was out of range of Gretta’s spells. They jumped easily over the trap and Dante summoned his swords, leading the rest of the team forward.

Ferris was surprised by the goblin’s strength. He was blocking the large swings of the axe but just barely. The goblin also had a habit of swinging at his legs which kept Ferris moving away. He had positioned Kobal so that his back would be towards his team mates but he was already having trouble dealing with the Dungeon Boss.

Dante moved quickly behind Kobal. The monster had shown its intelligence with the trap and its acting to lure the Adventures in. He could set up for a quick slash to the back of its green neck but Dante remembered something that Senior Instructor Williams had told him. “No dual wielder finishes their enemy in one blow. It’s a war of attrition.” If this Boss really was clever and noticed Dante was behind him, he would expect an attack to the neck. Dante quietly moved in to position and attacked.

Kobal had noticed that Ferris had looked over his shoulder. He grinned inwardly. Kobal knew that all Adventurers were the same. You give them an easy target and they fall for it every time. Kobal was shocked and angry that the large Adventurer didn’t fall into the pit trap but it sometimes happened, but for some reason, every team of Adventurers he had fought always tried to kill him in one blow. It made them predictable and he would take advantage of these pathetic humans.

He waited another moment and then swung his axe at large Adventurer’s legs. He had dodged backwards just as Kobal expected, giving him just enough time to turn around, swinging his axe to behead the sneaky Adventurer behind him. When he completed his swing however, he hit nothing but air and no Adventurer was to be seen.

Dante smirked as the goblin’s axe swung overhead. Dante had come in low, swinging at the back of Kobals knees. When the goblin completed his turn, Dante’s swords slashed out, drawing thick red lines across the goblin’s legs. Dante let his momentum carry him past as he rolled to safety.

Ferris cast Dash again. Two Dash spells would take a significant chunk out of his magic but this second Dash was only half the distance needed. He cast his spell and moved quickly, thrusting his claymore forward, successfully impaling the goblin through its lower back and out its stomach. It wasn’t a killing blow but Ferris aimed for where the armor looked weakest.

Kobal felt the sudden pain in his legs followed quickly by more pain in his back. He looked down to see the sword sticking out of his stomach. For the lesser goblins, they would shriek and run away, but Kobal was not a lesser goblin. He was a Dungeon Boss, the strongest of goblins and he felt his anger boil in him like a furnace that had burned out of control.

Kobal tore away from Ferris, letting the sword rip out of his side. Blood gushed from the wound and intestines were hanging out of his side as well. He knew the two Adventurers were still behind him but he couldn’t kill them in his state. The three other Adventurers though looked weaker. He smiled evilly and charged towards the remaining members of Serist De.

Ferris instantly cast Wind’s Call but the Dungeon Boss was fast and Ferris missed him by inches. Dante raced after him and Ferris followed close behind.

Jasmi and Gretta cast their spells at the enraged Dungeon Boss but it didn’t seem to affect him. The goblin was beyond pain at the moment and would try to kill as many as he could before dying. Gretta resorted to her throwing daggers, striking the goblin in the arms to hinder its strength. Jasmi cast Death’s Grip and gasped when the goblin tore through the trap without slowing. She pulled out her daggers and rushed to meet the Dungeon Boss. She couldn’t let Gretta come into close combat with the goblin given her lack of defense and would rely on her speed to avoid the goblins axe until Dante and Ferris could catch up.

She moved forward and Kobal gratefully accepted the challenge. He moved with ferocity but his strength was useless if he didn’t hit his target. He swung his axe viciously, attempting to cut the weak looking Adventurer in half…and missed. Jasmi danced to the side and ducked underneath the swing. Her daggers reached out and cut the other side of his stomach, leaving a large trail of blood on the ground. She pivoted as the goblin stumbled past her. She sighted the exposed neck and leaped forward, sinking her daggers in to the base of its neck, cutting in deeply.

She was caught off guard as the goblin didn’t die, but instead, turned and batted her away. She fell to the ground hard and her daggers were still in Kobal’s neck, leaving her empty handed. Kobal staggered towards her. He needed to kill at least one of these Adventurers before he died. He could feel his life force waning but he had enough strength to lift his axe, preparing to cut the downed Adventurer in two. Then darkness overtook him.

From the side, Kelsi had charged up her staff with her magic. She had decided to call the spell Healer’s Revenge. Her staff turned from looking dark and glass like to a radiant yellow glow. She swung at the back of the goblin’s head as it moved towards Jasmi. The staff flew through the air and connected with the green scalp. The Life magic was pushed into the goblin, tearing through its body and destroying its brain. Kobal was dead before he hit the floor.

Serist De quickly checked each other over for injuries. Once Kelsi had cleared them, the group celebrated their victory.

“Nice job seeing that trap, Dante.” Ferris said as he looked over to the side where Dante had smashed the sheet rock. “That fall would have ruined my entrance.”

Dante smiled at Ferris. “Well it’s not like we have another meat shield lying around.”

Jasmi and Gretta both snorted and laughed at the pair. Jasmi turned to Gretta.

“Good job on settling everyone’s nerves.” Jasmi told her. “That humming you do really does help in stressful situations.”

Gretta blushed. Ferris and Dante stood shocked. They hadn’t even noticed.

“I couldn’t even tell Gretta!” Ferris said.

“She is getting sneakier and sneakier each day.” Jasmi said with a smile.

Gretta scoffed. “I am not sneaky! And don’t think I didn’t notice you running forward to intercept the Boss. You were getting his attention to buy Kelsi and I more time.”

It was Jasmi’s turn to blush.

“And the last hit was ridiculous Kelsi!” Dante exclaimed. “Took him out in one shot.”

Kelsi poked down at the dead goblin with her staff. “I’m really happy that I’m more useful than healing.”

“Yeah.” Ferris said sarcastically. “Because healing is completely useless.”

Kelsi blushed and punched Ferris in the shoulder.

“I hate to break up this touching moment.” Williams said in an annoyed tone. “But if you sweet cuddly kittens are done, how ‘bout you grab the crystal.”

Dante quickly moved and harvested the crystal. It was easy since the Boss was all torn up but since it was more humanoid than the other monsters they had faced, it disturbed him a little.

The crystal wasn’t the biggest they had found but instead of glowing light blue, it glowed light green.

Dante handed the crystal over to the Instructor. “Why is it green?”

Williams checked his essence detector while he answered. “Green essence crystals are just crystals with more compacted Essence shoved into them.” He held up the crystal, showing it to the group. “This crystal here holds five times the amount of a normal essence crystal the same size.”

“So, does that mean we passed?” Kelsi asked excitedly.

Williams gave a gruff smile. “Passed and then some. Your total Essence is eight hundred and seventy-four.

Dante did some quick math. They had just over four hundred Essence after all the goblins they faced on the second level, which meant that the Dungeon Boss was worth around four hundred and fifty Essence.

“Now since you passed, I can give you some advice.” Williams continued. “Dungeon Bosses usually have treasure. I would check that camp of his before we leave.”

The team cheered loudly and rushed to retrieve their gear and search Kobal’s camp.

Dante moved towards the camp, carefully looking for any other traps but he didn’t notice any. Near the campfire, there was a large pile of chitin from the goblin’s steady diet of insects. The only other thing of note was the large scraps of dirty cloth and furs that was probably the Dungeon Boss’ bed. Dante wrinkled his nose and summoned a spear to sift through the bedding without touching it. After a few minutes, he felt his spear hit something solid. He moved the cloth out of the way to find a small iron chest. He carefully picked it up and headed back to his team.

They looked at the box with eager eyes. The Instructors couldn’t hold back their smiles. Every Adventurer remembers the first time they received loot, especially when it wasn’t essence crystals. Treasure like this could only be found when killing a Dungeon Boss and since their spawning was random, many Adventurers waited months, sometimes years before claiming it. These kids however, received it before even becoming full fledged Adventurers.

Kelsi carefully opened the chest, being wary of any traps, but the lid opened easily. She pulled out five necklaces, each with different symbols on it. The chains were made of beautiful mithril links and the enchantments were lined in gold and placed in mithril shielded plates. It looked almost like the Serist De Emblem.

The Historian stepped forward. “I can identify those for you if you wish.” Kelsi quickly handed them over and the Historian studied the necklaces.

“Simply amazing.” She said in awe. “These enchantments are nothing like I have ever seen and the fact that they are mithril is astounding as well.”

“Why is that, Historian Louis?” Gretta asked.

The Historian gave her a warm smile. “Mithril is not a natural metal found in our world. It can only be found in the dungeons. Rarely do Adventures find mithril veins but rarer yet does a dungeon use it as a reward. The small amount of mithril that I used to make your emblems was something only the Academy or wealthy merchants could have access to.”

“So, what do the enchantments do?” Ferris asked, still looking at the necklaces in the Historians hands.

She pulled one out and handed it to Ferris. “This one allows you to fly if you have the Wind Affinity.” Ferris shouted in joy as the others laughed at him. It was Ferris’ dream to fly ever since becoming a Wind Mage. The Historian quickly interrupted him.

“All I can tell is that it lets you fly. You will need to test it carefully to find it’s limitation.” She said, looking sternly at Ferris. He gulped and nodded quickly.

She pulled another necklace out and handed it to Gretta. “This enchantment creates a sound barrier. It’s much alike to your vibration barrier you have worked on but this allows you to encompass a greater area, five meters if I am correct. It will protect against anything of substance but also drowns out sound, creating a bubble of silence.”

Gretta took the necklace and quickly put it on. She had been lacking a way to protect herself and now she could as well as protect others.

The Historian handed the next necklace to Kelsi. “This necklace increases your healing range…by a large amount. I only know one other Mage who can heal at these distances. It is a treasure any healer would hold dear to. That mixed with your Perception ability will almost ensure your teams safety.”

Kelsi stared at the necklace. She had to be at least a few feet away when healing, but now she could truly save her friends lives, even if she wasn’t as close. She quickly put it on.

The next necklace went to Jasmi. “Death Mages are rare and those that survive are masters at truly knowing themselves. This necklace will allow you pass through to the spirit realm. The spirit realm is full of memories, allowing you to find answers to the questions you seek. If you didn’t possess the will to deal with that, I would have strongly advised you to never use it, but I have seen your determination young lady. Use it carefully.

Jasmi felt the tears well up and brushed them aside, smiling at the Historian.

“And as for you.” The Historian said in an exasperated manner at Dante causing him to wince and eliciting a chuckle from his friends. “I have no idea what this necklace does since Essence Mages are all but myth! Take it to Instructor Telis and she might be able to shine some light.”

Dante took the necklace and placed it in his ring. He could barely hear the Historian’s mumbling as she walked away.

“…I swear that boy is going to blow himself up….”

Dante smiled but hid it quickly. Head Historian Louis really was a softy at heart. He wouldn’t tell her that though.

“Alright. Let’s pack up and get out of here.” Williams bellowed.

The group quickly packed and followed the Instructors. They had passed their Advancement Trials. Soon they would be given the title of Adventures.