The Supreme Level Up System

"I knew that underground caves would look like this, but it is quite nerve-wracking…" Aion thought while looking at stalactites.

He didn't know if those could appear underwater under normal circumstances or if they could only appear in dry places due to the erosion of water. Still, looking at the stalactites covered in moss and underwater vegetation made Aion keep his guard up. It seemed that he had a bit of a problem with confined spaces, and he had never realized that before... or maybe it was just the atmosphere that was nerve-wracking.

At first, Aion didn't notice anything. Still, after a while, he noticed that it was pretty hard to block the attacks without proper footing. He had assumed that it was due to his lack of experience, but Aion's first guess was wrong.

As if things weren't troublesome enough, the dungeon kept going diagonally downward for quite a while… At that rate, if the battle lasts for too long, they won't have the chance to retreat before sunset.

"If things get dicey, then I won't have the leisure to hold back anymore…" Aion thought. "It will be a bit, but it can't be helped."

Even without his magic, Aion and the others managed to find a light at the end of the tunnel literally. However, they didn't know if that was a good or a bad thing. Their senses were a bit messed up, but they felt that the end of the aquatic path in the dungeon was there. At the same time, the monsters stopped coming. It was hard to say if that was a good or a bad sign, but Aion wouldn't gain anything just by waiting for something to happen. So, he left the tunnel.

Sauros and Seris quickly followed him, but they only found another tunnel, but without water. They could find traces of the coming and leaving of the monsters but not any other thing.

"I guess half of the original path toward the temple was a test to see who had the will and the means to cross such a dark path," Sauros said. "Back in the day, people wouldn't have the magic tools to cross such a distance while underwater… perhaps your people were the only ones able to do that."

"It doesn't make any sense to create another security layer considering the barrier is already there," Aion said. "Unless… they manage to capture one of us and force them to cooperate. Which would be hard given our powers. Only someone lazy or evil would cooperate with someone that would try to break the temple created by our ancestors…"

"In the last three thousand years, not a single one of her descendants tried that, nor were they captured since they respected their ancestor," Sauros said, "Still, it is hard to say if that would be the same forever.

In her position, Aion wouldn't hope too much from his descendants. Kids nowadays don't respect their elders. Even more so when there are so many people trying to influence saying things like destroying or abandoning the past… Aion wondered if that world would follow the same path once mass information becomes possible.

Putting those troublesome thoughts aside, Aion began to walk with his shield raised. The feeling of using the guardian class or even just by fighting normally while touching the ground was comfortable.

In any case, the group didn't have to walk for too long before they could find the end of that corridor. Even from a distance, they could tell that there was a massive room waiting for them ahead. That couldn't possibly be a good sign… it only meant that a big and troublesome monster was waiting for them.

"It seems that we have arrived… at the den of the guardian," Sauros said. "I guess we have three and half hours before sunset… speaking of sunset…"

"The wall is emitting light, we didn't realize until now, but it sure is weird… unless this corridor was supposed to be part of the temple," Seris added.

"Indeed, at least this is convenient for us…" Sauros said. "Let's rest for half an hour before advancing."

Aion wanted to see where the guardian was. Still, there was a chance that something would happen if they got too close, so it was better to wait for a while before approaching and risking triggering any event.

Usually, people would check their gear and weapons before a fight, but Aion didn't get hit, and his weapons didn't need maintenance. As for the other two, they could create their own weapons, and the gear was covered in runes, so just a bit of water wouldn't change anything. Thanks to that, they saw themselves as bored and anxious about the battle.

"It seems that we aren't going to rest much here…" Saudos said and then sighed. "Facing a dungeon guardian under these conditions is uncharted territory to all of us, after all."

"I wouldn't feel like this if I knew a bit about the guardian… I suppose that is what pioneers feel before they find out about something dangerous and unheard of, like a dungeon that hasn't been cleared yet."

​ Although Aion was a bit tense, he was more worried about revealing all of his cards. He didn't know how information about him leaked, so showing more of his skills might put him in a bad spot. The possibility of losing didn't even cross his mind. He was just going to defeat the enemy, no matter what…

After exactly half an hour, the group got up. They didn't feel that much comfortable at resting in a humid cave, and staying there for longer was a hassle as well, so it was time to start what they had come for…

Aion took the lead with his shield and sword raised and then stepped on the last part of the dungeon. His first reaction was to look above since he didn't find anything… still, something massive dropped from the ceiling, and before he could do that…