Like the mini-boss room, the true boss room looked more like a cave than a man-made construct, with uneven walls and sharp edges here and there. A shallow pool of water took up the center of the space, with a pedestal holding a large orb in its middle. The orb gave off a pale blue light that, coupled with several large braziers that hung off the walls and lit up as Scarlett entered, lent the cave an oddly calm, but mysterious atmosphere.

There was no boss to be seen. Though that was to be expected. Scarlett looked to her right, where there was another entrance like hers. A moment later, Fynn appeared in it. His head turned towards her, a relieved but hesitant expression appearing on his face. Soon, Garside and Allyssa exited beside him.

Garside closed his eyes for a second, hand pressed to his chest. “My Lady…I am relieved to see that you are well,” he said, and the three of them began making their way to her. The butler froze a few steps from her, staring down at her side.

While the injury Scarlett had gotten from the warg had been healed almost immediately after, the blood still remained.

“Miss Hale’s healing has already dealt with it,” she said as the man looked up at her. “There is no need to worry.”

She glanced back into the room she’d just exited. “Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the others. Shin, especially, might require further aid.”

Allyssa immediately stepped forward. “What happened? Is he okay?”

“For now, yes. Miss Hale saw to that. But I do not know when he will regain consciousness.” Scarlett examined Allyssa and the two others. “It appears you fared far better than us.”

She felt like she’d just run an Olympic marathon, but none of them had even the slightest cut.

Allyssa leaned over, peering into the room behind Scarlett. “There was a big wolf on our end, but Garside handled it quickly. We were worried about you guys.”

Scarlett blinked, looking at the butler.

So even a level 55 mini-boss didn’t stand a chance against him? That probably put him somewhere along the upper echelons of A-ranked Shielders. Much higher than she would’ve dared hope. Especially with how ridiculously humble the man was at times. Maybe she didn’t have to worry as much about the upcoming boss fight as she’d feared.

She noticed Fynn looking between her and the orb at the center of the room.

“Fynn,” she said.

He instantly focused his attention on her.

“I will not disparage you for what happened.” She turned an eye towards Garside. She suspected Fynn had already received a thorough interrogation on the subject, and she wasn’t interested in delving further into the subject at the moment. There wasn’t any point in trying to argue with those deranged ancestors of his right now, either. “The matter of why it happened can be saved for another time. I understand you need to start the trial soon; however, I ask that you wait a short while longer, if possible.”

He fiddled with the ring on his finger. “I’m not sure. They’re telling me to…” he trailed off.

His eyes went to Scarlett’s side. After a few seconds, a determined look appeared on his face. “I’ll try my best,” he said with a serious nod.

“Good. It will not take long.”

Scarlett led them inside the mini-boss room behind her. Allyssa gasped as she got closer to Shin, finding him bloody and half-pinned under the warg’s body. Scarlett ordered Fynn to lift it off him, as Allyssa picked up Shin’s sword and shield. Together, they then brought the young man into the main boss room at Scarlett’s command and leaned him against a wall. They couldn’t leave him back there, even if he was unconscious.

They tried prodding Rosa awake too, but the spent woman only roused for a few seconds before falling asleep again, so Fynn ended up carrying her out as well. The bard was drained even more than Scarlett, it seemed. A mix of mana exhaustion and getting possessed was the most likely cause. Honestly, Scarlett would have loved to lie down and rest as well, but she didn’t have that option.

After they’d ensured those two were taken care of, everyone’s attention turned to the boss room itself.

“Do we still have to take this…trial?” Allyssa asked, staring at the glowing orb at the center. “If it’s as dangerous as you said, and we only have the four of us…” She looked back at Shin and Rosa. “Would we even be able to keep them safe?”

“We do not have much choice, at this point,” Scarlett answered. “It is our only means of leaving. And ignoring it risks another incident like the one in the chamber before.”

Who knows what Fynn’s ancestors would do if they just stopped here?

“If that is the case.” Garside stepped in front of Scarlett. “I ask that you do not take part in the coming battle, my Lady.”

She arched an eyebrow at him. “You do not even know the level of danger we will face. Yet you believe it wise to lower our fighting capability in a situation such as ours?”

“That is why I am asking this, my Lady.” He lowered his head. “You may seek to hide it, but this last clash has exhausted you. Were you to take part in your current state, I fear that an even worse fate would befall you. I will exercise all my efforts so that you do not have to worry, so I beg you, my Lady. Please rest.”

She stared at the man.

Her mana was depleted, yes. She was pushing herself to remain standing, yes. And there wasn’t any more of Rosa’s magic to keep her full of energy, like on their trek here. She was, in essence, dead weight. But just staying back and doing nothing wasn’t an alternative when their lives were at stake. She had, at the very least, planned on trying to push her limits and assist with the odd Aqua Mine or two. It felt wrong, in more ways than one, to just leave it all up to others.

Was that why the thought of him being right annoyed her so?

In hindsight, maybe planning to take part was a monumentally poor idea. She was more liable to annoy the boss and put herself in danger than anything else. Simple Aqua Mines certainly wouldn’t do any damage. And Garside was strong. Maybe they stood a chance, even without her.

It might have been the mental fatigue at work, thinking she could do much to help now. That felt like a better excuse than blaming it on the system traits this time.

…She didn’t always have to be in control, did she? Maybe she could view it as delegating.

“Very well,” she said and stepped over to the back wall. Lowering herself to the ground, she placed her hands on her lap as she took in the three others. “I pray that you will overcome this trial.”

Allyssa suddenly looked nervous at her words, but Garside gave a clean bow. “I will not disappoint, my Lady.”

Fynn started moving towards the pool at the center of the room. Water splattered around his feet as he walked up to the orb, stretching out his right hand. The ring on his finger took on a bright blue glow, matching the light of the orb. Above, a translucent figure began forming, soon taking the shape of a wolf made of the same blue light. It looked majestic, its radiance scattering across the cave in thin trails, illuminating the entire space. Standing still in the air, the wolf’s head turned down at Fynn, and a powerful howl echoed out.

The trial had started.

Perhaps it was because of the exhaustion, but Scarlett could barely keep up with what happened. Fynn leaped at the boss, the wind around the room soaring with him, yet the boss sprang through the air and effortlessly eluded him. The two began a game of cat and mouse, darting around the space faster than Scarlett would have thought possible.

What was most shocking, however, was that the boss was almost entirely on the defensive. Every time it stopped for even a moment to retaliate, it was met by a blast of searing hot flames. Scarlett could practically see the heat coming off them, even from where she sat.

She wasn’t sure if Garside was using a spell or if it was just pure pyrokinesis—if she were to guess, it was a manifest spell of some sort—but the precision of his attacks was impeccable, even when he kept watch of the battle from a good distance away. And while his magic didn’t appear to deal heavy damage to the wolf, it was as if he was using it to direct the movements of both the boss and Fynn, keeping strict control of the battlefield.

Occasionally, the boss paused for brief moments to let out short howls—often incurring more injuries from both Fynn and Garside—which caused several smaller light wolves to come into being around the room. But Allyssa, who seemed to have trouble keeping up with the boss itself, distracted many of them with her crossbow, before slowly picking them off with the help of Garside’s magic and her alchemical concoctions.

This was a level of coordination that Scarlett and her party had never even come close to. And it was all because of Garside’s constant direction of events, as he let the others make perfect use of their skills. He seemed to have an even better understanding of their capabilities than Scarlett did, and this would only have been the second time he fought alongside either of the two.

He really had underplayed his skill.

She watched on as the fight continued. The light of the wolf boss gradually faded as Fynn and Garside wore it down with their attacks, and Fynn’s control of his surroundings seemed to develop as the fighting progressed. He also made more and more frequent use of the [Claws of Tempest] ability that he’d learned, along with [Gale of Blades] — an ability that creates blades of wind that tears through enemies. Yet another example of an ability Scarlett recognized, but hadn’t been aware he knew. And it was clear, even to her untrained eyes, that his mastery of the abilities was improving dramatically right now. It was as if he was in a trance, hunting after the boss.

After about fifteen minutes, it had reached a point where the boss had faded to be not much more than a shadow of its former self. Fynn was the one to strike the last blow. Caging it in an array of intensive flames, Garside locked the boss in so that Fynn could leap up, winds howling with him, and slash at the neck of the wolf. His claws tore straight through its body, and it disappeared into a mote of lights that surged into Fynn as he landed in the shallow water beneath.

Scarlett stared at the sight, taking it all in. A problem she’d spent almost a whole week worrying herself to death over had been solved just like that. In a long battle of attrition, with minimal fanfare. If it hadn’t been for the situation with Rosa, she would almost have felt ridiculous calling this a real dungeon run.

To think Garside was that strong.

Honestly, if it just came to power, she’d gauge him to be somewhere in the low 60s or high 50s range, level-wise. That’s the same level this boss had been, but it was originally expected to be fought by a team of level 50s. And even then, it was supposed to be a hard fight.

But being around the same level in the game wouldn’t have translated into a curb stomping this big. While Garside himself hadn’t looked overwhelmingly more powerful than the boss, it was clear that his experience more than made up for that. He was used to fighting in groups like this.

Scarlett thought she’d been pretty clever with how she used her magic in some of her fights, but this made her realize that fighting was about a lot more than just pure power and some simple tricks. Now that Kat was gone, she trained all by herself. But if possible, she had to get Garside to teach her. Even if she could only get a basic grasp of how he controlled the battlefield as he did, it might still be worth more than any other practice she could do.

Despite her tiredness, she pushed herself off the ground and closed in on the butler. “An impressive display, Garside. I am glad you came with on this venture.”

He looked back at her and bowed. “Of course, my Lady.”

Walking past him, Scarlett trailed around the edge of the pool of water. She passed by Fynn, who’d fallen to his knees with glowing eyes now, after the light entered him. He’d just cleared the trial, so he would probably stay like that for a while longer.

She continued around the water until reaching the far end of the room, where she stopped before an illustration of a wolf that was carved into the wall. Raising her arms, she pressed her hand against the palm print at the illustration’s center. The wall began moving. Slowly but surely, stone creaking against stone, the wall split and opened into a dark room.

The enchanted glasses allowed her to see fine without having to use her magic, so she entered the small, unlit hollow, and looked around. Lying on a bed of cut stone in front of her was an array of items. Her gaze passed over them from left to right.

[Mark of the Staunch (Epic)] {This ring, fashioned in the likeness of an ancient artifact, bears an air of frigidness and vigor}

It was a ring that looked similar to [Mark of the Gale], yet instead of the pure bone-white of Fynn’s ring, it was grey. Like [Mark of the Gale], however, this ring gave a boost to HP and stamina, as well as some frost resistance. In fact, the boosts from this ring were better than the original, but it had none of the other effects.

It would have been a nice item to have on the way here.

[Garment of Form (Epic)] {Forms of movements once made are engraved into this fabric, begging to flow once more}

This was a set of interwoven, pale green shirts, with lines of black sewn onto it in curious patterns. Scarlett couldn’t quite remember the specific details of this item, but she was sure it had increased agility in the game.

[Fang of Remembrance (Unique)] {This fang once recalled the verses of old, yet now it sits divided and vacant. It longs to become whole, and to once more sing the songs embedded in it}

Her eyes stayed on the fang. It was a dull silver, about the length of her hand, and bent at the top like a wolf’s canine. There were several cracks near its base, as if it had been torn off of what held it before, and running along its sides were a multitude of tiny carvings, symbols, and etchings that were indecipherable to her. This was what Scarlett wanted the most, out of all the things here. Unfortunately, it was useless without its other half.

Evil game design distilled into its purest form. What was even the point of placing it here if you couldn’t get the other half until later?

Still, at least she had one part now.

The next item on the stone was an enormous bow of bent, spiraling bone, as well as a spear of similar make.

[Bow of Ends (Epic)] {The essence of those beings felled by this bow rests within it, awaiting more brethren}

[Spear of Ends (Epic)] {The essence of those beings felled by this spear rests within it, awaiting more brethren}

Frankly, Scarlett had no idea what these did. She’d never used a bow or a spear in the game. If she were to guess, she’d sold them both immediately after getting them in her original playthrough. The descriptions also didn’t help much when it came to giving her details.

She turned to the next item.

[Clasps of the Storm (Epic)] {Blessed by the spirit of winds, these simple accessories hide the fury of the storm}

A pair of round, white marbles with clamps at their ends. It didn’t look like much, but they hefted a pretty considerable boost to aeromancy magic. She had been planning on getting something like it for Fynn before, but these were definitely more powerful than what she’d had in mind.

She examined the rest of the small space. There was a set of stairs that led up a tight stone passage to her left—the only way of getting out of here, now that the boss room had been closed off—but there were no more items. Still, this was a pretty hefty haul.

She looked back into the boss room. Garside stood right outside the opening, and Allyssa was kneeling over Shin and Rosa at the other end of the cave. Scarlett’s gaze shifted to Fynn in his trance.

She supposed that, technically, all of this loot belonged to him. But she was pretty sure he wouldn’t complain even if she were to take it all. Still, she’d talk it over with him later. At the very least, she needed the [Fang of Remembrance]. The rest would all just be a pleasant bonus. But for now, she should gather them up. All the effects would have to be verified as well when they got back to Freybrook.

The next matter should probably be getting out of this dungeon.