Training continued as usual the following day.
Each day, there would be a separate training session that only took up a few hours in the morning. Afterwards, the students would take a long break and go to the Grand Stage for their battle with Monsters.
That was the new arrangement for the effective growth of every student.
The training was for them to acclimate to their new Levels, which meant more advanced or prolonged use of their abilities.
And, the practical session was meant for the students to grind Levels.
Once they were done with everything, it would be around 1:00 PM, and so the students were free to spend the day as they wished.
Some spent it in the Town, exploring more in the market, or just taking strolls around.
Others chose to remain in their rooms or enjoy the grandeur of the Royal Capital.
Some spent it training and trying to better themselves.
There was one that spent her time in the Library.
However, out of all the twenty-eight students, one existed who didn't fit into any of these boxes.
He indeed left for town, but he didn't do so to hang around.
No… his goal was different.
"Hehehe… hehehehe… hahahahaha!!!"
A young man in a dark cloak and black mask that resembled a skull was standing at the entrance of a cave-like construction.
There was no one present, so the area was deserted.
"I'm finally back here…" His voice hummed as he gave a slight smirk underneath his mask.
Thanks to the suspicion that a dangerous monster was lurking around in the Royal Dungeon, the Royal Council ceased all mining activities within the Dungeon.
With Mining temporarily halted, processing and refining soon followed.
Before long, the once bustling Royal Dungeon grounds had become deserted—almost in an eerie manner.
'Looks like they also got rid of that barrier that surrounded the Refinery…'
Considering the fact that there was no work ongoing, it would be a waste to consistently use Mana Crystals.
No poisonous gas or loud noise was currently being leaked.
Everywhere was just dead silent and clear.
Since Rey had never seen the place like this before, it initially appeared strange.
He was used to it now, though.
'Well… let's venture in…'
Rey ventured into the darkness, his perception already dialed up to eleven. All his senses were heightened, and he was already prepared for any form of defense should the need call for it.
It was already the second day of training, and while he had come here the previous day, it was mostly for investigation purposes.
He didn't actually descend past the Eighth Floor.
'It's just as Lucielle and Brutus said. The Hobs and DarkWolves are no more…'
Rey never saw their bodies, so he assumed that they were probably burned up by Lucielle's Magic.
'The same applies to the Monkey Monsters.'
As a result of that, he wasn't able to investigate any further to confirm everything that Lucielle and Brutus had said.
Still, Rey saw enough to convince him of the truth.
All the minerals and resources that should have been present on the Floors had been stripped away.
… Everything!
'I shouldn't get too riled up. Brutus and his team will handle that. I should just focus on grinding Levels.'
The biggest concern Rey had when returning here was that he'd encounter Brutus. However, after donning his dark mask and concealing his identity, he felt a little more anonymous.
His senses were also perked up so he would be able to detect any approaching individual—or individuals as the case may be.
With these preparations already made, Rey doubted he would be caught off-guard.
'If I sense Brutus close to me, I'll just hide or something.' That was his line of reasoning.
Rey was also concerned about what his actions would cause if they found more dead Monsters that he had killed, but after thinking on it for too long, he could only offer one solution.
'I'll burn their corpses. That should hide the evidence, I suppose…'
He considered taking away the minerals, since the Royal Council already suspected the creature they were looking for to be that kind of monster, but Rey just couldn't do it with a clean conscience.
Besides, he considered his current wealth enough at the moment.
There was no need to get too greedy.
At least, when it came to money.
'Maybe I'll encounter the one truly responsible if I stay here long enough…'
That said, killing Monsters and Leveling Up was his top priority.
Curfew was 8:00 PM, so he could legitimately walk through the front gates of the Royal Estate without a need to sneak out.
It took less than an hour to get here, and less to return, which meant he had the usual five hours for training.
'I better make it count!'
And so, as Rey ventured deeper into the depths of the Dungeon, aiming for the 9th Floor, he only thought of how to get stronger.
'This should be my new arrangement…'
***********
The Ninth Floor was by far the strangest one out of everything Rey had ever seen before in that it was freezing cold.
'Oof…' Rey felt a tinge of jitters visiting his body, but that didn't last long since his [Full Resistance] came into play.
The Ninth Floor felt like a land of eternal blizzards, and it was covered in Ice Fragments that stuck out walls like jagged blades.
The icicles hanging from the ceiling appeared to be more akin to long white spears than icicles, considering their length.
As they stood imposingly above Rey, he felt like they could fall on him at any moment.
As a result, ended up being a lot more vigilant than he would normally be.
'I wonder if I'll find any Monsters here…'
There was a good chance that Brutus and his team had killed all the Monsters here in their quest for the dangerous Monsterwho had invaded the upper Floors.
'But from what I saw, there doesn't seem to be any place that a Monster could have used to come to the Upper Floors…'
Maybe they had a [Phase] Skill, or something to that effect, but Rey honestly felt like that was 'reaching.'
Monsters preferred operating in their natural habitat, and other than the nomadic types, they would never leave their domains.
All Dungeon Monsters were evolutionarily predisposed to remain in their territory.
'Why would a Lower Floor Monster come to a Floor near the surface…?'
Still, the Royal Council had to take precautions, and they couldn't see any other alternative that best explained the situation.
'I just hope this investigation doesn't end up affecting my Leveling…'
Somehow, Rey doubted that would be the case.
'The entire goal of the investigation is to make the Floor safe enough for us to come in and Level Up. I don't think Brutus would kill Monsters meant for our purposes…'
He couldn't be sure until he saw for himself, though.
"GRUUUUUU!!"
As if reading his mind, a beast landed from the ceiling with a loud growl.
It had furry white skin, similar to the White Monkey Monsters, but this monster resembled an albino BigFoot more than anything else.
It had a savage expression on its face, which Rey considered to mean one thing.
"Wanna fight?"
*
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Thanks for reading!
Honestly, it's been too long since we've come here!
I've missed the Dungeon.
