"Claire at your left!" Lilia called out as she fired a ball of condensed wind at a ten foot long armor plated cobra.

The attack wasn't strong enough to kill it, but that wasn't what Lilia was aiming to do. Lilia needed a fast moving spell more than a lethal one if she was to prevent Claire from being attacked by the mana beast. The spell collided with the snake and stunned it as it was knocked to the ground. Then as the snake started to get up Claire severed its head with her flaming sword. Claire looked to Lilia and nodded her thanks before continuing to battle. Lilia then cast several small tornado spells from atop Grawder, who just crunched down on another armored snake with his mighty jaws.

Upon Lilia's recovery Curtis offered to allow Lilia to ride on Grawder while he walked. Initially his excuse was so that she could be safer while they pressed forward and she continued to regain her strength. However they were now on day four inside the dungeon and were on the ninth level, and Lilia was still riding on Grawder's back. It had been an intense four days as they, with the exception of the first day, plowed through three levels a day, so no one seemed to put much thought into Curtis's actions towards Lilia. Although not much thought was really needed, as it was pretty obvious he at least had a crush on her.

There hadn't been any other serious injuries since Lilia's. Lilia's near death experience was a wake up call for them all to the reality of their situation. Whether it be they were now scared, or determined to ensure no one else got hurt like that again was a matter of the individual, but the results from everyone was the same. They were not the same teens that walked into the dungeon for there summer vacation, they were now at the mindset that they were adventurers, and each of them took individual responsibility to ensure they were all going to walk out of there together.

The battle raged on between the young adventures and the cobra knights, with the augmenters bearing the brunt of the assault. The metal exoskeleton of the snakes gave then a high resistance to most spells, more powerful spells could be used, however conjurers below a light orange core would run out of mana too quickly with these numbers. Being able to use metal magic, Elijah was the only conjurer whose spells were capable of killing them without excessive mana consumption. This left Claire, Curtis, and Art pushing themselves to their limits to protect the conjurers, with Grawder and Tess being the last line of defense. Tess was only able to combat these mana beast at close range due to her staff being bladed and her grandfather's training, although despite her staff being as sharp as any sword, it was still wood, and could wear down quickly in a prolonged battle. They had moved themselves against the wall of the cave to limit the area they had to cover, and thankfully they learned fire magic was exceptionally effective on these snakes, so with the three augmenters capable of using fire magic they were able to hold the line fairly well, with only a few getting by them.

Elijah had created a modified version of his metal snake to include a series of spikes along its tail, with the tip being more so bladed like a sword. With a whip of the tail several of the spikes shot out and pierced through several of the snakes, while another swing cut down several more snakes.

"Cover me, I have a spell I think that will be able thin them out," Arthur called out as the waves of snakes appeared to be endless.

They all agreed and the conjurors' spells began to more so cover Arthur's position. Arthur sheathed his sword and began focusing fire mana into his sword. He had tried a similar version of the spell with wind magic in Widows Crypt several months ago, resulting in him dislocating his shoulder. Since then Arthur had modified the spell a bit to make it more controlled, so he was hoping for better results this time. Once Arthur felt that sufficient mana had built up he took a step forward and drew his sword, releasing a wave of yellow fire that grew wider as it moved away from the party. The first snakes to be hit by the fiery wave were on the ground dead while still burning. As the wave continued it lost strength, leaving some flailing on the ground as they were on fire, and the further ones just being burned but still alive. The remaining snakes clearly lost their will to continue and burrowed back underground to hide.

"You couldn't have used that sooner?" Feyrith asked as they all took in the aftermath of the spell. Meanwhile Sylvie jumped out from the group to the snakes and started eating the beast cores, as Grawder was eating the snakes whole.

"Haha," Arthur chuckled lightly. "Well last time I used a variation of that spell it worked too good and left me with a dislocated shoulder."

"Just like my rival to make spells too powerful for he himself to be able to handle completely," Feyrith replied as some of them shook their heads at the idea of him being Arthur's rival.

All eyes eventually landed on Elijah's snake, lying on the ground deformed from the intense flames.

"Hey Elijah, nice thinking on those upgrades to your snake," Arthur commented as he thought about how much of a help it was.

"Thanks," Elijah replied as he was catching his breath still. "The only problem is it's really hard to aim the spikes and then make new ones in the middle of a battle. Hey! Don't you dare Sylvie!" Elijah yelled as Sylvie started to eat a B class cobra knight he had managed to kill. "Sylvie back away from that beast core, I need it!" Elijah ran over just as Sylvie ran off to a group of smaller cobra knights to eat them.

"Well we didn't wipe them out, so we should probably get out of here. Is it safe to assume you all want to finish this dungeon?" Arthur asked. Just about everyone gave him a look that screamed, 'do you really need us to answer that'. "Hahaha alright, let's get going then. We'll find a good spot and stop to rest before we take on the last level."

With that everyone started moving towards the exit, except for Grawder and Sylvie, who wanted to finish their meal first. The party left the ninth level and began making their way to the tenth. A good ways down they found a small pool of water that was being fed from a small trickle of water from a crack in the rock wall, most likely from the first level. There they decided to stop and rest as they awaited their bonds to return. Normally Curtis wouldn't have liked leaving Grawder by himself like that, but considering he was feeding with a dragon it did put him at ease. They sat by the pool drinking water, eating, absorbing mana, and overall just resting as they waited. After about an hour or so Grawder and Sylvie came strolling back, with Sylvie having a satisfied look on her face.

A little while later they continued to move again. They encountered several mana beasts along the way, some bigger and formidable, some small and just attacking because they got too close to its nest. Eventually they arrived at a large entrance with long vines hanging down obscuring the view past them. With a slash of his sword Arthur cut an opening in the vines large enough for them all to walk through.

The final level was at least twice as large as the first level, with numerous naturally forming stone pillars supporting the ceiling. The pillars themselves had moss growing up them, along with woody vines that branched out at the top and intertwined with vines from other pillars as leaves grew from them making the pillars look like trees. Along with the leaves grew bioluminescent flowers in neon yellow, orange, and red, depending on the pillar they grew from. Along the ground were several different bioluminescent mushrooms and flowers of varying colors. All of these plants together created sufficient lighting that, despite not being as bright as the sun, allowed them all to see fairly well.

"You know, this place would be pretty beautiful if not for the mana beasts that are probably sizing us up for lunch," Feyrith commented as he looked around.

"Yeah well, keep your eyes open for those mana beasts," Claire commented as she was looking around. "I have no intention of becoming lunch."

"Where are they anyways? I would have expected to see something by now," Lilia asked atop Grawder.

"Somebody pick something, that set the spider monkeys off on the first level," Tess commented.

"Nobody pick anything," Arthur ordered. "I can feel a bunch of eyes on us, I think they're waiting for something before they attack."

"Waiting for what?" Curtis asked as he tightened his grip on his swords.

"Most likely the Alpha to make the first move. Enough adventures have come down here that they've probably learned a good way to attack, or maybe a certain spot. Even the lowest level mana beast can learn some basics over time," Elijah explained.

Soon after, a loud roar was heard, and everyone prepared for battle. Three mana beasts resembling gorillas dropped down from the pillars, most likely hiding in the vines. They had silver fur and were close to twelve feet tall, with arms bigger around than Grawder that were plated in bone with bone spikes coming out at the knuckles. Two long fangs stuck out from their bottom jaw, and when they roared their bottom jaw split in half. The mana beasts were angrily beating on the ground as they roared at them in an effort to assert their dominance. Arthur and the others were surrounded except for at the front which was wide open. However that opening soon closed as well, as a fourth gorilla jumped down and landed in front of them. This one was significantly taller, maybe twenty feet, with a crest on its head that resembled a crown.

"What are they?" Feyrith asked.

"King Apes, B ranked mana beasts," Clair replied. "And I'd say the one in front of us is the alpha."

"I'd also say, based on his size, he's probably a low A rank," Arthur added.

"I thought you said the mana beasts here were supposed to top out at B rank," Lilia questioned.

"They were, but as an adventurer things almost never go as planned," Arthur replied.

The Alpha King Ape appeared to be sizing them all up, and then locked eyes on Arthur, acknowledging him as the leader.

"Claire, Lilia, Kathyln, you three take the Alpha, the rest of us will handle the other three," Arthur instructed.

"Are you crazy? How are we supposed to fight that?" Lilia asked as her voice shook.

"The three of you are enough to take on this one, but don't worry, Elijah and I will be keeping an eye on all of you. So if things get out of hand, we'll step in to help," Arthur replied.

Claire and Kathyln walked forward confidently as Lilia slid down from Grawder.

"Thank you for letting me ride Grawder Curtis, but I think he should stay and help you now," Lilia said with a slight bow.

"No, you're going to be battling against an A class mana beast, you're going to need the help," Curtis urged.

"Thank you, but I'll have Claire and Kathyln against the one, while who knows how much help you'll have against these other three. So don't worry about me," Lilia then turned and began to walk away. "I'll be ok."

As the three girls stepped forward the King Ape Alpha continued roaring at them all, but none backed down or showed any fear. Adrenaline was rushing through all their bodies as they all mentally prepared for their toughest battle as adventurers. As they stood in front of the party preparing to strike, the alpha was beating its chest and slamming its massive fists into the ground, and through all this, Claire noticed something.

"Arthur, it doesn't even look like he's even looking at us. I think he's focused on you," Claire said with a nervous amused tone.

"Really? Well that's good for you then, this way he won't see your opening attacks," Arthur replied as he stared down one of the other giant gorillas.

Everyone stood there ready to attack, waiting for Claire and her team to make the first move and start the battle off. The gorillas continued their roars and slamming their fists on the ground in an attempt to intimidate the adventurers and assert their dominance. The conjurers had their spells ready, and as the alpha brought its mighty fists down...

"Now!" Claire called out as she lunged forward at impressive speed, her reaper pulled back and ready to strike.

The fists struck the ground sending a good deal of dirt into the air. Lilia created a powerful wind to clear the dirt out of the way and blow it right into the gorillas face and blinded it. Meanwhile Kathyln launched several ice spears which were swatted away as the beast brought its hands up to its face in instinct from the dirt in its eyes. This left the beast's chest wide open for attack, and Claire took advantage as she attacked with a slashing manner with her flaming sword. The Alpha roared out in pain as the three others did the same from everyone else's attack.

Tess, Curtis, and Grawder were working together on the beast to the rear, with Elijah and Feyrith taking the one on the left, leaving Arthur alone with the one on the right. Everyone was battling excellently together, showing Arthur's idea of random team training for everyone to have been worth their time.

Arthur finished off his beast first and moved on to help Feyrith and Elijah since they seemed to be struggling the most. By the time Arthur was done helping Elijah and Feyrith, Tess had used her plant magic to, with the help of Grawder, forced their beast to the ground, where Curtis severed its head. They were all a bit winded, except for Arthur, and all held back as they watched some impressive team work by Claire, Kathyln, and Lilia.

Claire was for the most part staying on the offensive, with Kathyln and Lilia alternating between offensive and defensive attacks to support Claire and keep her from getting hurt too badly, and only sustained some minor cuts and bruises from indirect hits. However stamina was becoming a real problem, as all three of them were starting to feel the strain of an extended battle against the powerful beast.

"If it's too much let us know, some of us can come help," Arthur called out, seeing how tired they were looking.

"We can handle this," Claire replied as she dodged a massive fist. "In fact I have a plan and we'll be done soon. Lilia, do you have enough mana left to conjure a strong enough wind to force this thing on its face?"

"I think so, but I'll be completely drained after," Lilia replied while breathing heavily.

"That's fine. Kathyln, once it's on the ground can you freeze it's hands and feet to the ground?" Claire asked.

"I can," Kathyln replied as sweat dropped from her face.

"Good, now both of you get ready and wait for my command, I'll get it in position," Claire instructed before running in to bait the beast. Claire charged in and fired a crude version of her uncle's wind bullets. They weren't as powerful or as fast, but they were still effective enough to get the results she wanted. The blast hit the giant gorilla right in the nose, and went up its left nostril. This enraged it even further, and it raised both its fists up to smash Claire with all its might. Seeing this Claire took a wind magic assisted jump back and out of the way. "NOW!" Claire yelled out.

With the King Ape alpha putting so much force into its downward attack, its balance was off, and wouldn't be able to stop itself. A cyclone of wind formed above the massive gorilla, and combined with the force of its downward swing, was enough to force it face first into the ground. The gorilla started to push itself back up against the wind, but Kathyln had already started freezing its hands and feet to the ground. Realizing the position it was in the beast became enraged as it fought to free itself.

"Claire hurry up and kill it! I can't keep this spell up for much longer!" Lilia yelled, as she fought to maintain the spell and Kathyln kept refreezing any cracks that formed in her ice.

With a nod Claire took a sprinter's stance and took off like a rocket with her arms outstretched behind her and her sword engulfed in light yellow flames. Ever since she saw Arthur end the attack at the academy, Claire had been trying to understand the key to Arthur's power. Yes he was a quadra-elemental, but he was still several years younger than her with a mastery of each element higher than almost all of the other students. Not to mention his combat skills that left even many of the professors nervous to ever cross him. Considering his swordsmanship style wouldn't work very well with hers, she focused on trying to understand other aspects of his fighting style, from his terrifying instincts, to the sometimes unique ways he used his magic. This had led her to the development of her own spell, Gale Stomp. Gale Stomp was her take on Arthur's spell Piston Stamp, except using wind magic instead of fire, due to her being stronger with wind magic. This was her first time using this spell in combat, as she had only recently developed it and felt she knew how to use it to its fullest through experimentation.

The beast was staring right at her with rage filled eyes, and when it opened its mouth to roar at her, she used her spell while only a few feet away. Using the spell on both feet, and only a second between each foot, she practically disappeared from everyone's sight as she pointed her blade forward and turned herself into a wind propelled flaming spear. The King Ape's roar ended and it fell back to the ground, with a smoldering hole between the beasts shoulder blades. Claire was seen standing atop its back covered in blood, hair, and some bone fragments from its spine. Claire jumped down off her kill, and began walking rigidly towards the rest of her party.

"That was great Claire, you were amazing," Lilia praised. All Claire could do was force a smile towards her as she continued to walk past.

"Nice work Claire," Arthur praised, then noticed her expression. "Are you ok?"

"The smell, It's too much. I'm trying not to throw up," Claire replied, then pushed her remaining air out through her nose and took a deep breath before through her mouth.

Everyone leaned in a little closer and took a sniff, and could tell what she meant.

"Oh wow that's bad," Curtis commented was he covered his nose and backed away.

"Maybe you should try covering your nose," Tess suggested as she pinched her own.

"It won't help. It's in my nose too," Claire replied and began walking past them. "I'm going to take a bath in one of those pools of water we came across."

"Good idea," Feyrith commented. "Do us all a favor. I doubt even any of these mana beasts would want to even be close to you."

Claire stopped and turned back and glared at Feyrith with wild eyes. "Care to say that again?" Feyrith shook his head nervously as he backed away. "Good," Claire replied and kept on walking.

Curtis quickly removed the beast core from the girl's kill and handed it to Kathyln, then they all followed after Claire.