What is it?

It wasn't long before Kyle and Bragg were fighting against another monster, but his time there was more of them. For the first time, the whole team was able to participate together in the battle.

The further they progressed on the floor, the more intense the fights became. The battles were no longer just sneak attacks, but battles against hordes of monsters while being sneak attacked.

So far, Kyle didn't feel like the battle on this floor was particularly challenging. He worked together with others to develop teamwork and save energy for the potentially hard fights to come.

Kyle's relaxed fighting allowed him to notice some strange things about the floor.

There were strange purple metallic lines running along the walls at the point where the roof and walls intersected.

At first, he decided it was probably just a design element, but the more he observed them; the more he felt like they might have a function.

During one break between battles, he approached the metallic lines and realized it was a type of metal or alloy he had never encountered before.

That wasn't unusual for this world. He encountered a lot of things he had never seen before. There were things that weren't in any of the books from Miras.

"Hey, Gramps, do you know what these metallic lines are? Mr. Davenport's book doesn't mention a metal like this. I get the feeling they serve a function. Maybe it's part of a formation?"

"It doesn't look familiar. I can't tell what kind of metal or formation this might be. It's almost like a powerline or something," Gramps said.

"Hmm, I'm worried about what this does," Kyle said.

"Okay, I get it but don't be a wuss. If you don't know what it is you'll just have to move forward and find out. Just be careful," Gramps said unsympathetically as usual.

"Can you let me know if those almighty masters of yours know what it is?" Kyle was frustrated.

Kyle sighed, Gramps didn't respond to his request. No response from him either meant he was ignoring him or he just chose not to respond. There was nothing he could do but be careful.

"Stop for a moment!" Kyle said. He ran to the back and talked with Major and Kim.

"Do any of you know what kind of metal that is?" Kyle pointed out the metal. Gilbrew was called over too after Major and Kim couldn't identify it.

Eventually, everyone looked at it but no one knew anything.

"Be careful, I have a bad feeling about it," Kyle said.

The group reformed and went forward. By the end of the first day in the dungeon, they arrived in front of the floor boss.

The monster guarding the stairs to the next floor looked like an 8' tall white demon. It breathed in and out a blue flame. Its taloned hands dripped with a red liquid.

"Blue Fire Devil Man," Kyle announced to the group. There were actually several types of Fire Devil Men. Their innate fire's color determined the heat of the fire and how powerful this monster is.

Blue Fire is one of the hottest fires for the Fire Devil Man. The red liquid was a poison that burned inside of person as soon as it entered the bloodstream.

Even Bragg was hesitant to go toe to toe with the creature. It was best to fight this monster at a distance, but it was fast, and keeping it away from you was hard.

Kyle used his HUD to determine the strength of the creature.

This creature is mighty, and their only hope is to kill it together as a team. Kyle wasn't strong enough or fast enough to make much of a difference with this creature if he attacked it on his own.

"Bragg, come here!" Bragg ran over to Kyle who took his shields and seemed to activate something in the shield and then added five gems to each shield.

"Don't let it through!" Kyle commanded Bragg. Just as he was going to object, the creature seemed to realize something and viciously attacked.

Bragg jumped in front of it and tried to block it. Surprisingly, when it attacked him its claws were deflected.

The creature attacked again, but even in places the shields didn't cover; its claws couldn't penetrate. Bragg was shocked and looked at Kyle.

"You're the shield!" Kyle yelled to Bragg. Understanding his meaning, Bragg utilized all of his shielding techniques and strategies.

He had to defend against the creature and to keep it from moving forward. Kyle needed the time to prepare everyone for the coming battle.

"Shadow Sis, I need you to get this on the creature without it noticing you, can you do it?" Kyle looked at Shadow Sis who nodded quietly. He handed her a black cloth sticky patch.

He looked at her brother Shadow Bow who didn't object. Kyle didn't know if that was a result of the slave seal or if he was confident in his sister's abilities. He hoped it was the latter.

"Riley, down and up."

"Shadow Bow, add this to your arrows," Kyle handed a bag of white powder to him.

"Gilbrew, I need you to use these spells against the creature."

"Major, Kim, I need you to come with Riley and me to attack the creature. If it opens its mouth to shoot fire at us, please throw this into its mouth,"

Kyle handed them a sack filled with little red balls. They looked like candy.

"This won't be easy, but if we work together we can kill it! After this battle, the 20th floor will belong to us. Shadow Sis, once you've done your part, I need you to fetch the soldiers.

Have them pack up the camp and join us here." Kyle gave his order to Shadow Sis but she was still under the slave seal of the Baron. She looked at Major for confirmation of the order.

"Do as he says," Major commanded.

"Alright, keep your eyes open and don't let it touch you with its claws or you'll die. Attack!"

Kyle, Rylie, Major, and Kim ran toward the creature to attack and Shadow Sis melted into the shadows along with her brother.

Gilbrew prepared to attack using the spells Kyle gave him. This was going to be the scariest battle yet.

*****************************************************

We've started with 87 power stones and only need 13 more power stones to reach our first bonus chapter goal. We're nearly there!

Today's power stone heroes are: HeDuchennevg, lover_of_Milfs, Timestronaut, matteo_briccolani

Thank you all for your support! This book wouldn't be possible without you.

--Straythought