"…I…" Cynthia hesitated, staring at the pudgy man before her, unsure whether she should agree to his request. Seeing that Jonathan had sensed her hesitation and was about to turn and leave, she quickly nodded. "I agree… I agree. Please take me with you!"
She stood up and walked to Jonathan's side.
John saw the scene from a distance and shook his head in pity.
"Such a lustful man. What is beauty in the presence of a monster? He definitely won't survive long," John said, already marking Jonathan off among those who wouldn't survive long as a Hunter.
He thought Jonathan had fallen for Cynthia's beauty, which was why he had taken her along. To think a beautiful woman didn't know how to utilise her beauty was nothing short of foolishness.
Others might be unaware, or choose not to, for personal volition, but those who could use it were the most dangerous of them all.
Still, John hoped that he had a way to protect himself from being backstabbed, or else it wouldn't take long for a woman like Cynthia to reap the fruits of his labour.
After all, why would she enter a Level One Dungeon, like the Abandoned Orphanage, without a White Illumination Stone?
Someone like Kelvin was much more dependable because he at least provided some value.
Kelvin also shook his head in disappointment at the scene and, at the same time, looked at Jonathan with disgust.
Jonathan noticed the look they directed his way, but paid it no mind; it wasn't the first time he had been looked at that way. All that mattered was that he could conquer this dungeon and emerge alive.
The only one who didn't bother to look back was Vanessa, who was already walking ahead of the group with her sword drawn.
The others drew their weapons as well, grasping them tightly in their hands.
As soon as the entire group stepped out under the light bulb, the light flickered off. The only illumination in the hallway came from the glow of the white stones, stretching five meters in radius around them.
Surprisingly, the light didn't cast any shadows around them.
By overlapping the light at the edges, they were able to illuminate about fifteen meters in radius. The sight was nothing short of magical.
Jonathan held his shield up as he walked behind the group.
Suddenly, they heard the sound of hurried footsteps at the other end of the hallway.
"He's coming," Kelvin said.
"Shh! Lower your voice," John immediately sealed his lips with his hand, glaring at him.
"He will test our strength first, then attempt to scare us off with a few attacks. Everyone, brace yourselves," he muttered almost quietly.
Yet his voice carried clearly to the group. He had become the unelected leader. He tightly clenched his longsword.
The footsteps grew louder, sounding increasingly hurried.
Then, they stopped.
The group froze as well.
SWIISSH!!
CLANGG!!
A cutlass with a large blade with sharp jagged edges, chains wrapped around the handle, shot from the darkness, heading straight for Vanessa.
Vanessa quickly dodged to the side and swung her spear beside her, knocking the cutlass mid-strike and changing its direction.
The cutlass was quickly pulled back into the darkness before it could touch the ground.
Vanessa sighed in relief. She raised her spear once more, ready to defend against any attack.
The sound of footsteps echoed beside them again. They knew the footsteps were fake, meant to create distractions, because the Caretaker could walk through shadows, so why would it need to make its own steps?
Suddenly, the hallway became silent as the footsteps vanished.
SWIISSHH!!
The cutlass shot out of the darkness once more, and this time, heading straight for Kelvin. However, before the attack could reach him, John swung his blade forward, deflecting the cutlass away.
John staggered back from the force of the attack. He frowned deeply.
The cutlass was quickly pulled back into the darkness once more, as though the chains themselves were alive.
"Don't stand in front of an attack and look at it. Raise your weapon and defend yourself, or move out of the way," John said, glaring at Kelvin.
Kelvin gulped. He nodded in understanding and wiped the beads of sweat that had gathered on his forehead. He held his staff in his right hand and his dagger in the other, assuring himself that he would be ready the next time the monster attacked.
SWISSHHH!!
The next attack came quickly, this time heading straight for John.
CLANG!! CLANG!!
John deflected the cutlass and quickly found an opening to grab the chains before they could return to the Caretaker. He stepped to the side and stabbed the cutlass into one of the wooden doors.
Perhaps due to the building's lack of upkeep, the cutlass punctured through. If the Caretaker now attempted to pull the door, it certainly wouldn't be able to use force without disturbing the inhabitants inside.
The only way to retrieve it would be to remove the cutlass slowly. However, with them standing in front of the door, the Caretaker would have to wait until they left with the light before attempting anything.
"It's too difficult to fight it head-on, so we might as well temporarily stall it for the big trap," John said.
The others nodded in agreement at his quick thinking. They swiftly moved forward, their steps hurried as the sound of the cutlass being slowly pulled through the punctured door frame resounded behind them.
They climbed the stairs, quickly arriving at the second floor.
They found the fifth room, opened the door, and entered.
Then, they shut the door behind them.
"The Caretaker is not only afraid of light and will do anything to avoid it, but it is also afraid of fire, which is the source of light. As long as we can soak this whole room with gasoline and trap it inside, we can quickly destroy the item box and conquer this dungeon," John said, taking a small transparent bottle filled with gasoline from a utility bag hanging on his waist.
He turned to look at Kelvin and Cynthia. "Don't tell me you couldn't afford that either?"
"I have it," Kelvin responded with a smile, pulling a small bottle from his utility bag.
Vanessa, Jonathan, and Cynthia also brought out their gasoline-filled bottles.
They nodded in unspoken agreement and began pouring gasoline along the edges and walls.
Once they were done, they threw the bottles at every corner of the room and retreated to the sides of the door. They let the door shut, but didn't lock it.
One group hid along the wall on one side, the other group on the opposite side.
The light from the White Illumination Stones still illuminated their figures and the surrounding area.
They used handkerchiefs to cover their noses to avoid inhaling the stench.
BANNGG!!
A cutlass smashed through the wooden door, lunging straight into the room.
The door swung open at the same time.
The chains quickly retreated along with the cutlass through the gaping hole in the wooden door as the Caretaker stepped into the room.
SWISSSSH!!
"Do it now!" John shouted. He ran to the door and threw a lighter at the entrance.
On the other side of the room, the gasoline ignited into a raging inferno with a "BOOMM!" that devoured the room.
The others did the same. They rushed to the door, throwing lighters at the entrance and at all four corners of the room.
BBOOMM!!
A crimson flame expanded outward, engulfing the entire room in a blazing inferno.
Then, they swiftly exited and shut the door behind them.
Kelvin wiped the sweat from his forehead and placed a hand over his rapidly beating heart.
The others did the same.
Cynthia could barely support herself as Jonathan helped her stand upright.
Although they had prepared the plan to trap the Caretaker, experiencing it firsthand was on an entirely different level.
"This should trap it and possibly kill it until we find the item box and destroy it," Vanessa said, releasing a deep breath.
John nodded. "Let's go." Now that the Boss was trapped, they needed to destroy the item box as quickly as possible to complete the dungeon.
The others nodded in understanding.
BOOMM!! BANNGG!!
However, just as they were about to rush forward, the door burst open and slammed against the wall on the other side.
To their shock and surprise, a humanoid figure, wrapped in worn bandages, wore a black coat and a hat and walked out of the room. Although the flames slightly blackened his bandages, the Hunters were sharp enough to recognise who it was.
The Caretaker. The Shadow Reaper. The Final Boss of the Level One Dungeon, The Abandoned Orphanage, in which they were currently.
[+10FP]
[+10FP]
[+10FP]
--
[50FP]
As Maximus stepped out of the blazing room, he was momentarily surprised that the fire hadn't harmed him. Though the heat affected him, it wasn't enough to cause any real damage.
If he had remained in the inferno a few moments longer, he would surely have been burned.
However, it had been the original the Dungeon's Final Boss, afraid of light and fire. The flames would have trapped him in the room and probably killed him. Unfortunately for the Hunters, he was not the original Dungeon's Final Boss; they were now facing Maximus, who had taken control.
Another thing Maximus noticed was that, though the doors of the rooms could be easily cracked, destroyed, or set ablaze, they didn't collapse, nor did they affect the adjacent or lower rooms.
'Thank goodness. I don't want the children to leave their rooms.' Maximus thought, sighing inwardly.
Maximus glanced at the status screen as he glared menacingly at the Hunters.
In an instant, he had raked in 50 Fear points.
[Congratulations, you can now use [Fear Points] to increase the proficiency of your status. Please note that the more significant the changes, the higher the cost in Fear Points will be. The amount of Fear Points will also affect your [Reward Extraction] for this Boss Character.]
Meanwhile, the group finally retreated to a safe distance.
"Impossible! How is this possible? Isn't he supposed to be afraid of light and fire?" Vanessa exclaimed, stepping back, her eyes wide in a mix of shock and fear.
"I read the entire dungeon files over and over again. The Caretaker is a Shadow Reaper and is afraid of light and fire. He would do anything to avoid them; the last thing he should do is walk through fire! This… this is not supposed to happen!" John spat, his eyes wide in terror.
"This…" Jonathan paled in fright.
"…Let's get out of here quickly," Kelvin said, breaking free from the frozen terror that had paralysed him.
He grabbed John's hand, holding the luminous white stone, turned around, and immediately raced down the other side of the hallway.
John's mind continued spinning, trying to figure out where they had gone wrong.
Vanessa ran alongside them, expanding the radius of her light. She still had faith that the White Illumination Stone would protect them, even if the Dungeon's Final Boss had defied their expectations.
"Hey, wait for us!" Jonathan shouted, grabbing Cynthia as he ran behind the others, his expression filled with terror.
Maximus watched them flee. He was momentarily stunned that Mr Jonathan was one of the Hunters raiding the dungeon. He hadn't realised Jonathan was a Hunter.
For all he knew, he had been a pudgy, drunken old man with a family barely scraping by. Despite owning an apartment, Maximus found it strange. But seeing the body suit he wore and the various weapons strapped to him, items only available to Hunters, some costing thousands or even millions of rubies, Maximus finally understood the reason why.
Because Maximus hesitated to attack the group, he decided to test the limits of how many Fear Points he could gather. He also didn't want to kill his fellow humans.
However, he knew that if he didn't act, they might pull another trick against him. The consequence of failing the quest was dying along with the Dungeon's Final Boss.