The Demon

Chapter 3

Inside the dungeon.

They're up against a lizard-like monster. This monster moves quickly, and its claws are sharp enough to kill you if you let your guard down.

Their party's leader, Ben Aquino, served as their leader, and thanks to him, they didn't endure too much hardship. His commanding abilities were exceptional.

The formation they used was also incredible.

Ben gave Wendy the order to apply her buffing ability to each of them.

The skill [Blessing] was activated by Wendy as she raised her staff.

[Blessing]

A buff skill that allows the user to give the targets an additional 10% vitality, 10% strength, and 10% agility.

The mana cost is 30.

Fifteen minutes cooldown period.

Ben screamed and thrust his shield in front of him. He used his skill [Battle Cry].

[Battle Cry]

A taunt skill that allows the user to mock the enemy while gathering enemies around him.

Provides the user with an additional 5% vitality.

The mana cost is 50.

Twenty minutes cooldown period.

Both Jacob and Caleb supported their leader by utilizing their individual skills, and while guarding they also killed it with their weapons.

Joe drew his dagger and used the [Shadow Walk] skill to sneak up on the monsters and disable their movements.

[Shadow Walk]

A skill that allows the user to blend into their surroundings and conceal all traces of their presence, effectively making them physically and magically invisible.

The mana cost is 50.

Five minutes cooldown period.

Ashley used her staff, she used [Fireball] skill to burn her enemies to ashes.

[Fireball]

A skill that deals fire damage while disregarding physical defense.

The mana cost is 50.

There is no cooldown. It depends on the user's mana.

Mike took his bow and he grabbed his arrow from his back. With his marksmanship, he killed his opponent. He precisely targeted his opponent using his [Bullseye] skill.

[Bullseye]

A skill that consistently hits the target.

Provides an additional 10% strength to the user.

The mana cost is 25.

Cooldown time is twenty minutes for every five shots.

While Jarred protected Shaine with nothing but his worn-down short sword, Shaine in the back continuously healed his teammates with [Heal].

[Heal]

A skill for restoring health and healing injuries.

The mana cost is 100.

There is no cooldown. It is determined by the user's mana.

Ben then eliminated the final monster after they had eliminated all of the others.

Their hunt was flawless thanks to Ben. He was a great hunter and a great leader. His teammates complimented him.

Jarred only defeated one monster that was on par with him, but even then, he had to struggle to defeat it and suffered damage from it.

"Are you okay, Jarred?" she asked and immediately healed him.

"Let me heal you." she said with a worried expression.

"Thank you," he responded.

He then noticed Ben staring at him with a disgusted expression on his face. He quickly shifted his gaze away from him.

"Tsk! What a waste." Ben muttered, clicking his tongue.

He made a decision to rest his team for the time being because they had been fighting for nearly 10 hours since entering the dungeon.

"All right, let's rest for now, and we'll raid the boss tomorrow," Ben told his group.

They were all in agreement.

When they had finished eating, Ben called Mike and asked him to meet him because he needed to talk.

Other hunters are puzzled as to what they are talking about. Mike returned and was immediately questioned by them.

"Mr. Mike, what are you two talking about?" Ashley inquired.

"It's nothing important." he said with a smile.

"..."

Joe looked at him from a distance. He was aware of what Ben and Mike had discussed earlier, but he decided to remain silent because it was not his concern.

Later on that evening, after the hunters had all gone to bed, someone sneakily approached Jarred and left him a note.

***

The following morning, Jarred awoke earlier than the rest of the group and found a note in his belongings. He opened it and began reading.

'Be cautious of your surroundings; someone will die today.' Don't tell anyone else.'

He was both shocked and terrified when he read the note. He then put the note in his pocket and wondered who had given him the note.

Then, one by one, the other hunters awoke.

After they were done preparing, they marched to the boss room and were approached by a wave of monsters. Just like yesterday, they killed all the monsters without them dying, but Jarred was injured, as usual. Then Shaine healed him.

They saw the boss's room. In front of them was a massive and sturdy door.

"Wow, what a massive door!"

The size and thickness of the door astounded them all.

They decided to take a short break before the boss fight. They also double-checked their equipment and replenished their mana.

"Are you all ready?" Ben inquired.

They nodded as they swallowed their saliva.

"All right, I'll open the door now."

Ben easily opened the door, and they were astounded by his strength.

Jarred, whose combat skills weren't anything to be proud of, and Shaine, who lacked any kind of combat skills, were at the very back of the group.

"Shaine, I...I'm really sorry." Jarred scratched the back of his head.

"About what?"

"Whenever I get hurt, you always get me better, and whenever I'm here, I always drag the team down with me."

"I'm fine. You don't need to be concerned about that." she assured him.

Jarred smiled as he looked at Shaine.

All of them ran inside. It was pitch black. You can't see anything inside. When all of them entered the room, the door automatically closed.

Creeeaaak

BANG!

When they heard it, they were all taken aback because normally, even in the boss's room, the door wouldn't be closed. Why is that not the case now?

"What?! Is this a trap? " Ashley exclaimed and was surprised.

They were all perplexed and even asked Ben what was going on here right now.

"What happened?"

"I'm not sure." Ben replied.

The torches on the wall began to alternately burn. They can clearly see the looks in the room when all of the torches are lit.

It wasn't a large room, but rather a dome.

The interior looked like a palace.

"Whoa!" Jacob exclaimed in awe.

"Over there! T-there!"

The hunters all heard it and looked to where Jacob pointed.

At that point, they noticed a human-like monster appear in the center of the room. Its head was adorned with two horns. He was dressed nicely in a suit and looked quite presentable.

"Welcome to my palace, humans; my name is Estaros, a noble-class demon." he said.

"I am the boss of this so-called dungeon." he continued.

When they discovered he was a demon, they were all terrified, afraid that some of them would become weak and fall to their knees.

Jarred was one of them. Because he was terrified, he vomited.

"Blaargh!"

"D-Don't tell me this is.."

He suddenly realized that he was in a red dungeon. He inquired of Ben about it.

"M-Mr. Ben, could this be a red dungeon?"

When Jarred asked Ben, the others heard it as well. They have lost all hope at that point.

"K-kyaaaaah!"

Shaine screamed, her face deathly pale.

"I shouldn't have entered this dungeon in the first place," Ashley regretted.

As a result of the shock, someone cried, vomited, and even collapsed.

"Sob... sob... sob..."

Jarred noticed Shaine crying and comforted her.

"It's okay. We can get out here. The other hunters are strong."

He tapped her shoulder and pretended to be fine.

"All you have to do is believe in our party, and I will protect you no matter what," he said.

"Ms. Shaine, please be strong! Heal and wake the collapsed person."

Ben commanded her in a loud voice.

Shaine was confused about what to do. She then looked at Jarred, and Jarred looked back and nodded.

Ben then started taking his battle stance, holding his shield and mace.

"Everyone, be strong, I'm here." he says, encouraging his teammates to fight.

"Y-yeah." they all agreed.

"With Mr. Ben on our side, there's nothing to be afraid of." Jacob added.

They all get to their feet and form their battle formation.

Ben is in the lead, with Jacob and Caleb flanking him on either side.

Wendy and Ashley were in the center, and Jarred and Shaine were further back.

Joe, the assassin, and Mike were also in front of the mages.

"Tut-tut," the demon said, clicking his tongue and shaking his head.

"I believe you have misunderstood me, humans," the demon said.

"What do you me-"

Ben came to a halt in the middle of his sentence when he noticed the demon raise his hands.

He snapped his fingers, and Caleb's body burst from within, disappearing without a trace, leaving only his blood all over the place. He appears to have been hit by a large, invisible object.

SPLATTER!

"Huh?"

Ben looked into his side and saw nothing but Caleb's blood all over the place.

"k-kyaaaaaakk!!"

Ashley screamed at the top of her lungs.

"N-no, I don't want to die; please help me."

Wendy sobbed uncontrollably.

THUD

Ben and the others fell to their knees, Ben's eyes wide open from fear of what was happening.

"You're all my possessions, my toys." Estaros said, grinning at them.

"What are you saying?" Jarred asked the demon.

"When all of you enter this dungeon, you all become my possessions; you can't escape here, even from me," he said, villainously laughing.