Page 23

21 Days Left

Since we finished the sixth floor faster than expected, we were able to complete the seventh floor and take a long break within a single day! 

The seventh floor was similar to the sixth floor since we both realised that we could finish the floor quickly by making the main aspect smaller. I know it's cheating... but we would make up for it with the ability to explore the rest of the floor without much danger. 

I mean for the sake of keeping challengers interested, I planned to stock the sixth and seventh floors with rare and valuable treasures. As for monsters... they'd be few and far between on these "easier" floors. The real challenge would come later, like on the ninth or tenth floors. 

"For the eighth floor," Miriel considered, his voice a low whisper as he leaned and turned his body on his sunbathing chair to face me, "How about a gradual transformation to match the boss room? We could introduce some changes on the seventh floor itself, then ramp up the heat, literally, on the eighth and ninth floors. More lava, more fire... and all that stuff..." 

We weren't exactly planning the floors' designs during our break. Our secret location on the first floor was a hidden paradise, far, far away from the dungeon entrance and blessed with a large freshwater lake sparkling under the sun. A pristine white-sand beach encircled the lake, and three sunbathing chairs awaited under the shade of two enormous, colourful umbrellas. It was the perfect spot to relax and recharge before returning to work, but we usually discussed what we wanted to make the floors as well. 

If we didn't have any other idea for the floor, we would just proceed with the design that we mentioned in this break session. It's not the best idea, I know, but who cares? To humans, dungeons are just naturally occurring things that contain treasures and stuff from ancient empires, kingdoms or countries. 

That sounds nice," I replied, forcing a smile as I turned to face his slothful appearance. His usual sharp eyes seemed half-closed... and I can't blame him. These sunbathing chairs... they're made out of my own wing's feathers, which are incredibly soft and nice to the touch. "I'll... uh, I'll go ask Hestia if she wants to be the dungeon boss so we can proceed with this theme idea," I stammered, dreading the conversation. "See you in a bit with good news."

Miriel nodded back and turned away. "Yeah, yeah. I could give you a hand in creating a boss if you fail. Don't worry and give it your all." he cheered me on, raising an arm. 

"Hah," I rolled my eyes as I scoffed at his level of sarcasm. "It's fine, I don't need it." 

"You sure?" I heard him reply. "You might need it~!" 

I flew off towards the first floor's Common Room to head to the fifth floor, where Hestia was training Valentyn. It only took me a minute to track down their "secret" training location. 

The fifth floor was entirely made out of my feathers, but the vegetation and replicated materials were dyed to be more natural. Nevertheless, the floor was currently the warmest in my dungeon, making it a perfect place for Valentyn to be trained. 

Naturally, vampires are creatures of the night, so they're more adapted and used to the cold rather than warmth. They could resist temperatures as cold as negative forty degrees (celsius), but vampires are comfortable in temperatures as low as negative eighty. 

However, their resistance... well, tolerance for warm temperatures is much less impressive than their resistance to the cold. I believe they are comfortable up to the twenties, but I think most vampires would tap out at around fifteenish. 

Now, the fifth floor's average temperature was thirty-eight degrees. Most humans should be able to tolerate it, although if too many challengers die or collapse due to heatstroke, I might have to lower the temperature to thirty degrees. 

Okay, so, when vampire experiences temperatures that they cannot tolerate, such as negative one hundred degrees or just forty degrees, their bodies feel sluggish and their power and reaction time significantly decrease to a fraction of what it was. 

I mean, humans would also feel this in temperatures they cannot tolerate... so it's not unique I guess. But, if one gets used to the sluggish feel, and masters it completely, it results in massive growth in reaction time, like a seventy or eighty per cent increase. 

"Oh! Welcome, Master. I didn't expect you to find this place." Valentyn called out to me. Under the shade of a large tree, Valentyn sat there with visible streaks of sweat all over his body. He wore a thin black tank top instead of his usual black suit and red tie. I don't know why he loves the colour black, however, I admit, black does look good on Valentyn—as he has long silver-white hair. 

"Do you think I'm incapable of doing that?" I questioned, glaring at him.

"Of course not," he hastily replied. "Hestia had created an isolation barrier that she claimed prevents most people from finding our location... I should have expected this, Master. You truly are someone who I look up to." he continued, now with his eyes sparkling. 

I shrugged a little as a response to Valentyn's statements... although, it's a bit tough for me to understand why Valentyn looks up to me in the first place. Now, it's time for the reason why I came here in the first place. 

I turned to Hestia, who was now resting on a log next to Valentyn, listening to the conversation we were having. "So, I was wondering if you wanted to be my dungeon's boss. What do you think?" I asked her. 

Hestia took a moment before she replied. I could tell she thought about it in her mind, whether to accept or decline my request. Of course, she has her pride as a "dragon" and I admit, Large Lizards have large egos and such, like the real Dragons in the Void Realm. 

But then, Hestia also has her pride as my senior as a dungeon master, despite already retiring long ago. 

"Okay, first off, let me say something," Hestia finally spoke after many moments of silence. Valentyn was also quite keen to know her answer, so he carefully listened to every word we exchanged. "Blanoir, please don't bring up the topic of dungeon bosses that casually. It almost went over my head, before I realised we're discussing something extremely important and serious." she nagged me. 

As she complained about my casual tone for everything, I covered my ears as I did not want to hear Hestia's complaints. 

"Don't you cover your ears with your hands!" she yelled out. "Ugh! Fine! I'll do it!" 

"Really?" I gleamed a smile on my face. I also uncovered my ears... it was just an act to annoy Hestia. I wanted to see her reaction. It was a good idea, heh-heh...

Hestia shook her head in disappointment. "I really hate this side of you, Blanoir... let me reiterate this again. I'll be your dungeon's boss only if you properly compensate me monthly. I expect it to be a large quantity of something that would suit me as a dragon." 

I thought about it. It's not a bad deal. Anyway, since I confirmed with Hestia, I'll go back to Miriel and discuss things with him, like her monthly compensation and the eighth and ninth-floor details, along with the boss room on the tenth floor.