After a long trek down the corridor, we made it back to base camp a few hours later.

The curse on the vertical passage had also been lifted. As I pushed open the manhole cover and climbed out, a familiar safe point greeted me. I let out a long sigh of relief.

"We made it back alive..."

The possibility of getting ambushed by a stage boss in such a place had never crossed my mind, and it was a lot to process.

Physical fatigue aside, the mental strain was just as heavy.

'Well, the dungeon is the monster's base, so it's only natural to expect an ambush. But a stage boss coming directly is crossing the line.'

The balance of the game, which had already gone haywire, was once again fluctuating.

We needed to come up with a plan. The moment I returned to Crossroad, I was going to grab that Director bastard by the collar and give him a piece of my mind.

At that moment, my party members, also bearing the signs of exhaustion, began to ascend one by one through the vertical passage.

I managed to muster a weary smile for my party members.

"You all worked hard."

The four of them lined up in front of me, their faces still bearing grim expressions.

"Hey, don't make such a face! It's only natural we lost to that monster."

If we had won, that would have been the real shocker. That would have been truly shameless.

"It's my fault that..."

Lucas, with his head hung low, murmured in a stifled voice.

"I exposed our leader to the enemy. I failed as an escort."

"Hey, it's not that you weren't good enough."

If a SSR grade was inadequate, where did that leave me, a holder of trash stats worse than an N grade? Should I be banging my head in some corner? Huh?

However, it seemed Lucas had no intention of stopping his self-blame.

His lips pressed tightly together, he kept his head bowed.

Next to him, Damien was looking down at his smashed crossbow.

"I...I could track that vampire with my eyes. But my body couldn't react in time."

Tracking it with his eyes? That was quite a feat.

"Just by using the eyes... There are things that can't be accomplished."

Damien, with a clenched fist and a determined face, looked at me.

"I will train my body, my Lord. Even if it's just to make better use of these eyes...!"

"..."

I was secretly surprised. I hadn't expected Damien to be the first to say something like this.

Next to him, Evangeline gritted her teeth, holding up her shield.

"I can block it next time."

"His attack? Really?"

"Of course. Unlike the Sniper, I couldn't trace the path of the attack with my eyes, but I could intuitively sense which direction it was coming from."

Evangeline opened her sharp green eyes wide.

"My hesitation in trusting my instincts and not moving accordingly led to our defeat."

Instincts.

Did this have something to do with Evangeline's unique trait [Crossroad]?

She couldn't have triggered it this time as she didn't have her unique equipment.

"Next time, it won't just be about blocking. I'll smash that vampire bastard's jaw with my shield."

Evangeline growled ferociously.

"Just wait and see. Next time, definitely."

Lastly, Junior shrugged her shoulders.

"It seems like the magic is completely above my head."

The Vampire King was apparently at a much higher level than the SSR grade genius mage.

"I've never seen such a concise magic formula. He nullified my magic in an instant... He isn't sitting on that throne for nothing."

Immediately afterward, Junior cracked a smile.

"But thanks to that, I've got a hint."

"A hint?"

"Yes. I never knew such an application existed... I should be thankful to that vampire. Thanks to him, I've gained valuable knowledge."

Had she learned something by being bested by Celendion?

I looked around at my party members. It seemed like they all had some sort of realization.

Celendion probably came to me because she had a question and casually overpowered my party members in the process.

But that might have provided an opportunity for my party members to become stronger.

"By any means necessary."

Lucas gritted his teeth.

"Next time we encounter him, by any means necessary... I will stand in front of you, my Lord. I won't care about the means."

I wanted to say something to dissuade him, but I simply nodded instead.

"I trust you, Lucas."

I decided not to undermine my knight's resolve.

Instead, I hoped this resolution would hone his edge even more.

No matter how you dress it up, a defeat is a defeat.

I mulled over the bitter taste, reflecting on my actions, confident that this experience would make us stronger.

"Hey, chicks!"

That's when we saw it. The dwarf blacksmith, Kellibey, was trudging towards us with heavy steps.

"You crazy kids! I heard you ran off to the Colosseum on the Path of the Overlord! How did you make it back alive?!"

Kellibey chuckled, charging towards us. Then, he noticed our expressions weren't exactly radiant.

His voice became cautious.

"What happened? Did you fail?"

"We've conquered the Colosseum, Master."

I shrugged.

"But what came after was the problem."

"What came after?"

"The Vampire King came himself. We each got a solid hit."

Kellibey's eyes bulged.

"What, what?! Celendion, himself?!"

As Kellibey tried to ask more, I handed him a bag of dark crystals.

Kellibey, stunned, accepted it.

"Kellibey. These weapons are important. Please take good care of it."

I spoke earnestly.

"We must behead that monstrous creature. But the reality is, we lack power. Therefore, the weapon you craft for us is more important than anything."

"Hehehe."

After opening the bag and letting out a soft chuckle, Kellibey winked at me.

"The materials are all here. Good. I'll start right away. What type of weapon should I craft?"

"A longsword. A cavalry lance. And."

I glanced at Damien and declared.

"Arrows."

Kellibey jumped up, utterly surprised.

"What? Arrows? You rich kid! You want to waste this precious material on arrows?!"

"Exactly."

I didn't hesitate.

"If it can be used to kill the Vampire King, is it really useless? If there's something more precious, I'd gladly sacrifice it."

"..."

"So, no more chit-chat. Please craft the highest quality weapon."

Kellibey, who had been gazing at me, suddenly burst into laughter.

"Alright, alright! Just as you said. If it can kill Celendion, there's no need to spare the materials."

Kellibey took out something from his pocket to show us.

"I even got this to make your weapons more special."

"What is it...?"

It was a tree branch.

A tree branch emanating a peculiar energy and a crimson aura...

"This is 'Demon's Twig'. It's also known as Mistletoe. It grows only in the deepest dungeons."

"A cursed branch...!"

A rare material item that can be acquired only in the latter half of the game. I swallowed hard.

"If you craft an item using this branch..."

"Ho-ho. Seems you know, Prince of Sprouts."

Kellibey grinned widely and explained.

"If you forge a weapon using this branch as a material... it becomes a cursed blade that significantly reduces the healing ability of those hit."

This blacksmith, he looked so much like Santa Claus.

"There could be no better gift for those vampire bastards."

What Kellibey meant was that he would add an effect to the fortress weapons that reduces healing ability.

This would truly turn the weapons into hard counters against vampires.

Stunned by this unexpected windfall, I pointed at Kellibey's shoulder.

"Did you get hurt getting this?"

Kellibey's shoulder was wrapped in a blood-soaked bandage.

He must have gone to get this while we were away. And got injured in the process.

"Eh, don't talk nonsense! I just scraped it a bit when I tripped earlier. I found this branch on my way back from a short trip."

Annoyed, Kellibey soon cast a heavy gaze on me and the party members.

"This is the only way I can help."

The blacksmith, who had lost all his brothers to Celendion, was unusually serious.

"Kill that monster, no matter what."

***

[Free Exploration Ended!]

[Leveled Up Characters]

- Ash(EX) Lv.34 (↑10)

- Lucas(SSR) Lv.40 (↑2)

- Evangeline(SSR) Lv.40 (↑1)

- Jupiter Junior(SSR) Lv.37 (↑1)

- Damien(N) Lv.35 (↑2) (You can now promote to the 2nd class!)

[Deceased and Injured Characters]

- None

[Acquired Items]

- Dark Crystals: 20 pieces

Summon Scroll: Chimera Origin <Player Skill>

Colosseum Victory Chests: 6

***

As soon as we returned to the Crossroad, the party disbanded.

I sent everyone back to their lodgings.

"Everyone, don't think about anything and just get some rest! Lucas, you too, rest at least until dinner!"

We had been through a two-day schedule, got battered in battles, our pride was scratched, our legs were tired from walking; everyone must've been exhausted.

"Understood. I'll rest a bit and resume escort duties, my lord."

"I'll get some sleep. See you at dinner, senior. Yawn..."

Lucas and Evangeline entered the lord's mansion,

"Call me anytime if you need me, Prince!"

"I need to review today's battle. Well, Your Highness? I'll be waiting for your call."

Damien and Junior returned to the temple and the inn respectively.

I waved at the party members trudging towards their accommodations. Rest well, guys.

"Ugh, I'm beat..."

As soon as I returned to the mansion, I went straight to my room and collapsed onto my bed.

Turns out, the one-on-one with the Vampire King had exhausted my mind more than I thought.

My head was spinning, and my stomach was churning.

'...'

As I thought about him, my consciousness sharpened independently from my condition.

Those red eyes.

Looking down on humans like they were insects, the gaze of a predator.

'To beg for death from a human while looking down on them so. It's outrageous.'

I clenched my teeth and sat up in bed.

Despite the fatigue caking my entire body, I felt like I couldn't rest easy.

'Let's sort out the items I got this time.'

Sitting upright on my bed, I opened my inventory.

The items I obtained from this free exploration weren't half bad.

First, the Summon Scroll: Chimera Origin.

A one-time skill that allows you to summon and command a boss-class monster.

Like the massive Steam Golem that I found useful in Stage 3, I could now summon a Chimera Origin.

'The monster turned to dust from one shot of the Black Queen, so it does feel a bit weak.'

In reality, a Chimera is a powerful monster.

Not as powerful as the massive Steam Golem, but it should be enough to give the vampire guys a run for their money.

'Besides, Chimera's blood is toxic. It's practically poison to the vampires.'

...Even though I theoretically know this, the fact that it got blown away with one shot looms large. It does feel weak. Sigh.

But, an extra card in my hand is always a good thing. I gratefully used the summon scroll to register the skill.

'Next, the Colosseum Victory Chests.'

The Colosseum Dungeon doesn't have separate loot boxes. Instead, they give rewards like this, providing chests directly into the inventory, one for each wave you've beaten.

Had I defeated the Wave 7 Jackal, I would've received a 'Colosseum Championship Chest,' but these six were all I got, since Jackal was skipped due to the event. It's not much, but...

'Luckily, I still have some unopened chests that I saved.'

I took out the chests that I had saved in my inventory.

The chests received as rewards for clearing Stage 4.

Five R-Rank Reward Chests. Two SR-Rank Reward Chests.

I had left them alone because I didn't need any items immediately, but the real reason I hadn't opened these chests was one.

A superstition from my gaming days.

'It feels like opening 10 at once gives better loot!'

Whether it's individual or consecutive, the chance of getting an item remains the same.

Still, opening 10 at a time made me feel like I got gold more often.

I knew this was just a matter of perception, but one couldn't help but succumb to shamanism and totemism while engaging in this box-opening business!

Anyway, I had saved a total of 13 boxes.

I decided to open them all. I cracked open the boxes all at once.

'Please, RNG God! Help me! We're in this together, aren't we?!'

Flash! Flash!

The light spewing from the boxes filled my room.

With all my might, I exclaimed,

"Did I strike gold?!"