“Then are the three of us going, Toby-sama, and Harold-sama?”

-There’s Xeon!

“Oh yeah. We can start with four people.”

“right. It would be comfortable to think of it as a party of four.”

It’s been a really long time since I’ve played a party game.

When he was a cadet at the academy and when his Hunter level was low, he would not be bored in a party and battle.

However, after gaining some experience and growing up, I mostly fought alone, unless I was attacking a gate with a high level of difficulty or facing a boss-level monster.

‘Actually, it’s ambiguous to call it a party play.’

If it’s a normal party, each other fills each other’s lacking parts and fights together.

However, it can be said that the current members hardly need to fill in the missing parts.

Harold is a warrior so talented that he is the leader of a combat team, so he has the ability to solve everything by himself.

Toby also had a different field, but had the strength not to be pushed by such a Harold.

‘If I have to put it that way, it’s like taking a bus.’

Of course, I don’t intend to just watch.

If a strong opponent comes out, it will be an opportunity to raise my stats, and even if it is not, it was not right for me to just watch it.

“How long do you think it will take to clear the dungeon? If it takes a long time, shouldn’t we prepare in advance?”

“Well? I don’t think it will take long. And it doesn’t require any preparation.”

As Toby flapped his wings lightly, a small pouch appeared in front of him.

“Now, open this.”

A pocket slightly larger than the palm of your hand.

But the moment I opened the bag, I couldn’t help but be a little surprised.

“This… .”

The pockets were filled with various foods and various items.

“It’s a magic bag I made by applying magic. I tend to travel a lot, so it’s convenient to put a lot of things inside so I don’t have to prepare later. There are several pockets like this, so I don’t think there’s anything to worry about.”

As Toby said, it was a very convenient-looking pocket.

“Then it would be all right if we started right away.”

Anyway, moving is quick if you use the space movement magic circle, and there was nothing to prepare, so there was no need to hesitate.

“But it’s a party today, so it’s okay to enjoy it a little more and go tomorrow.”

“no. I’ve already had enough rest, so I’ll go right away.”

“If you do, I will be grateful.”

We went to see Harold and had a conversation.

“It’s a dark mage’s dungeon… Interesting. I will join you too.”

Harold decides to join without hesitation.

Since Harold had also joined, there was nothing more to worry about.

I told the other party and the blue bear clan that I would go on a short exploration and left the village.

* * *

Whoops.

The place they arrived through the magic circle was a large lake.

To be precise, an abandoned building built near a lake.

“Is this a dungeon?”

“There’s a dungeon hidden in the basement of an abandoned building over there.”

“Well… .”

I slowly looked around.

A spacious mansion that seems to have once boasted quite splendid majesty.

But now it was damaged to such an extent that it was difficult to find a intact place.

‘Maybe a large-scale battle took place.’

It was impossible to explain the scars of the building and the pits left all over the ground, simply because it was old and collapsed.

However, what is unusual is that there are no signs of battle, such as dead bodies or weapons, anywhere.

The corpse will rot and disappear over time, but things like weapons should remain, but I couldn’t see any of that part.

“They say this is the mansion of the notorious warlock Delune Briden 70 years ago.”

I don’t know who.

In the first place, there was no way that I, who had just arrived in the demon realm, could know about the person from 70 years ago.

But it seemed fitting that he was a fairly famous figure.

I could tell from Harold’s reaction.

“Did you just say Delune?”

Harold let out a shallow exclamation in surprise.

Harold, who usually doesn’t show his emotions well, didn’t seem like a normal person to the extent that he reacted like that.

“Right. I guess you’ve heard of it too.”

“That’s right. I know that he has a great notoriety.”

“Like normal warlocks, Delune also studied the aura of death and is known to have achieved great results. Perhaps there are traces of that in this dungeon.”

After hearing the story, I was a little worried.

A dungeon left by a black magician who surprised even Harold.

I thought it might be more dangerous than expected.

However, I was able to ease my worries with Toby’s words that followed.

“Of course, this is one of the many bases he has made, so there may be nothing special about it. The difficulty is likely to be low as well. Actually, I think so too.”

“Then why are you trying to explore?”

“Because there might be clues about other bases. Now, let’s go to the entrance of the dungeon.”

We entered the mansion.

– It’s very quiet.

“Of course. Because no one lives there.”

The inside of the mansion was surprisingly clean.

No, it was empty.

There were no furniture or ornaments to be seen in the spacious mansion, as if no one had ever lived there.

No traces of battle outside were visible inside.

There was nothing special about it, except for a slightly cool feeling.

However.

“This is the entrance to the dungeon.”

paper weave.

The moment Toby arrived at the dungeon entrance, the atmosphere changed.

A huge iron gate that exudes black energy.

Dark demonic energy flowed from the wide open door.

“I can’t see anything.”

The door is open, but the figure inside is hidden by the black fog and cannot be seen at all.

And in front of the door, the barrier Toby said was blocking us.

＜A living being, you cannot cross this place. The moment you cross over, you will reach death.＞

A bit of an eerie warning.

Certainly, no matter how strong a being was, hearing such words would make him reluctant to step in.

Judging from the energy felt beyond the barrier, it wasn’t bluffing.

“Now, everything depends on Xeon. Can you help me?”

“What if Xeon is in danger?”

“I knew that, and I prepared everything.”

Toby took a small marble from his bosom.

“This is a crystal ball for communication. You need it to get inside and keep in touch. Also, it has built-in magic to dismantle the barrier and a magic circle that allows you to move to this place in case of emergency, so you should be able to get out if there is a problem.”

It seemed that he had prepared more meticulously than I thought.

‘At this level, there won’t be any problem even if Xeon enters, right?’

I handed the marble to Xeon.

-what’s this?

“It’s something that will help you, so you should have it.”

-okay.

Before coming, he had briefly explained to Xeon.

Zeon flapped his wings and headed in front of the barrier.

-Then I’ll go in.

“Be careful.”

Squeak.

The barrier passed Xeon without any resistance.

There was no reaction to the point of worrying about what might happen.

Zeon, who was looking around, extended a finger.

-There is a glowing magic circle inside.

At that, Toby stepped forward.

“That is the magic circle that forms the barrier. Throw the marble I gave you there.”

-Okay.

Xeon threw the orb in his hand into the magic circle, and soon a change occurred.

paper weave.

A collision of magic that occurs between the magic circle and the orb.

The collision gradually gained momentum and after a while.

Pew!

A shock wave occurred with the sound of an explosion.

At the same time, the barrier in front of my eyes disappeared.

“It seems that the barrier has disappeared.”

“It’s a little futile to solve it so easily.”

“It’s a method that couldn’t have been done if it wasn’t for Xeon.”

Zeon, who contributed the most to dismantling the barrier, returned with a triumphant expression.

– Did I do well?

“okay. Very well done.”

I stroked Xeon’s head and looked around.

Although the barrier disappeared, the energy felt from the huge iron gate was still there.

And I couldn’t even see the figure beyond the iron gate.

“What are you going to do now?”

“I have to go in.”

Toby speaks without hesitation.

In fact, there were no other options.

If you had no intention of entering the dungeon in the first place, you wouldn’t have come here.

With the barrier at the entrance gone, there was no reason to waste time.

“Okay then, let’s all go in.”

We made our way through the door that was shrouded in black mist.

* * *

The moment I passed through the door, I felt everything around me change.

surrounding landscape.

energy flowing through the air.

Even the smell that brushed the tip of my nose, everything was different from before I passed the door.

There was nothing inside the mansion, but there were many things in this dungeon right now.

The most notable among them were the huge altars scattered throughout.

“What is that?”

“I will look into it.”

Toby started looking around the altar.

After a while.

“I’m not sure, but it looks like something was going on.”

“If it is conscious… .”

“It could be a ritual to summon something, or it could have been an experiment with a sacrifice.”

Just listening to the story, it was exactly what black magicians would do.

Toby looked around and opened his mouth slowly.

“And in this case it’s probably an experiment.”

At the same time as Toby’s words ended.

aaa.

Monsters appeared through the ground.

“These are the pitiful bastards who couldn’t find rest even after death.”

The types of monsters were diverse.

But there were commonalities.

that they are all skeletons.

The size, equipped weapons, and colors were all different, but none of them were non-skeletons.

And they were showing their hostility toward us and others in this space.

-Ugh, those guys stink and don’t feel like it.

Xeon burrowed into my arms and acted foolishly.

It was a scene difficult for Xeon to adapt to, as he would have only encountered the blue brown bear clan and animals in the forest.

“I will take the lead.”

Seeing Harold step forward, Toby nodded.

“Okay. Let me cover you with magic from behind.”

Toby could have opened the way in front, but now Toby is hiding his power.

I found out about it, but didn’t seem to want to tell Harold yet.

big!

Soon, an army of skeletons rushed towards us.

But.

Kwaaang!

All the skeletons in front disappeared without a trace at Harold’s lightly swung sword.

It was the power of the white sword energy flowing from the sword.

‘strong.’

I couldn’t think of anything more to evaluate Harold than this.

I knew it was strong.

Because I already had experience with him.

But at that time, I wasn’t doing my best, and I was in the state of restrictions.

But now it was different.

Harold’s strength, which had been revealed, could not be measured with my current level.

Pew!

The sword he swung again destroyed the enemies on the left.

Kwak Kwa Kwa Kwam.

What blew away the skeletons on the right was a huge fire spear.

It was the magic Toby created.

‘I think I’m adjusting it moderately, but Toby’s not easy.’

Cedric and Herculus are the most memorable among the wizards who came to the world of demons.

I hadn’t seen Cedric fighting, and Herculus was a student, so it was hard to compare.

Even excluding the ability level, the level of magic seemed to be much higher than them.

“I don’t think it’s a dungeon that high level.”

“It is still too early to conclude. Isn’t it the beginning of the dungeon in the first place? If you go deep, you never know what kind of guys there might be.”

After lightly blowing away the group of skeletons, Harold and Toby have a leisurely conversation.

Looking at it, I lightly clicked my tongue.

‘I don’t really have anything to do with this.’

-Wow! Everyone fights well.

Xeon is just having fun with the current situation.

Maybe in this party, me and this guy have the same weight.

‘Should I forcefully intervene in battle?’

Harold and Toby showed strong majesty to the point of needless worry.

“Then I will keep going.”

We moved into the dungeon while dealing with the gathering skeletons.