The following morning Alex woke up feeling completely refreshed, almost as if he had been reborn. Sleeping beside him were two beautiful creatures he would stop at nothing to protect.
Because he didn't wish to wake them up yet, Alex silently left the bed.
After freshening up, Alex stepped into the hall for breakfast. There, Gracier, Alice were sitting with the others.
''Good Morning, everyone.''
''Good Morning, Big brother.''
''Morning! Alex.''
Everyone responded as though they knew what happened last night; none asked why Maria and Artemia didn't come down. However, fifteen minutes after Alex appeared, Artemia and Maria stepped into the hall as well; they looked more beautiful than usual. Together the family ate their breakfast before departing.
On this floor, you don't have to take a mission to ascend; this floor was like a SafeZone where anyone could rest before continuing. The group boarded a big airship that took them to the smallest island, where a teleportation gate was awaiting them.
''I wish I could have stayed a bit longer,'' Eri mumbled while giving the airship one last glance; everybody knows why she said those words; she got enough of playing in the sky.
''Let's go!" Alex said before turning around, paying the entrance fee, and walked into the golden portal, the others also did the same thing, and soon they disappeared into the golden portal.
When the group reappeared again, they were in the middle of a bustling city square.
''Where is this?" Alex wondered while checking his surroundings when suddenly his heart started pounding.
Ba------dump!
Ba------dump!
Maria was the first one to notice that something was not right as Alex stood there clutching his chest, and his breathing was rough.
''Alex, what is the problem?''
Finally, the others noticed the abnormality; they immediately helped Alex toward a nearby bench after seeing that he could not walk independently.
Fifteen minutes later, Alex was back to normal again; his back was drenched in sweat.
''How are you feeling?" Maria asked, worried.
''Don't worry, I'm fine. I feel something. The thing that called me into this tower must not be far from here.''
The girls were surprised, but they didn't probe any further.
''Noire, take Alice with you, and you two will go search for the other. Meanwhile, Eri, Eris will form a team to search in the vicinity. Lilith, Maria, and Artemia will form another team. Gracier will be with me. Apart from Noire and Alice, the others rendezvous here in five hours.''
The girls nodded, and the teams were quickly formed, with Noire and Alice leaving first, followed by Eri and Eris, then Maria and the two princesses.
Alex and his sister were the last to leave. They searched for any trace of their friends for hours, but unfortunately, they found nothing. Like this, five hours passed in a flash, and now they were back at the rendezvous point.
''We found nothing.'' Alex declared and judged by the other's expressions; they also didn't find anything.
''Ah! Well, at least we acquired some information. This city is called Ares.''
''Like the God war?" To lighten the mood, Eri asked with a smile, and the others nodded.
''There is a high-level dungeon outside of the city, in the no end forest. It is where most people are. While we found nothing here and even in the vicinity of the dungeon, maybe it will change if we enter the dungeon. It would be difficult; it's said that you need to conquer at least five floors before leaving, and the most dangerous thing about this dungeon is that it would send people to a random floor. Should we try? The rewards are extremely generous, people say.''
''If it's dangerous, then it will be fun. Big brother, let's go; maybe sister Luna, or big brother Leon is waiting for us inside the dungeon.'' Gracier was eager to enter this dungeon; exploring a dungeon together with her brother would be fun; there was no doubt about it.
''You are right; we searched everywhere except in the dungeon. I'm also itching for some action. Why not go for dungeon conquering? Who knows how deep we can go.''
''Yay! Big brother is the best.'' Gracier jumped on Alex and kissed him on the cheek. The others couldn't help but smile, seeing her so happy.
After sending Noire and Alice a message telling them to join them once they found something, Alex and the group departed toward the dungeon; this dungeon had the same name as the city, the Ares Dungeon.
At the same time, a young man with golden hair and an eye patch walked into the Ares Dungeon; he wore a glove that covered his entire arm, a white glove, and his hand was a black sword.
Twenty minutes later, Alex's group arrived, and after paying the entrance fee, they entered the dungeon. After passing through the first-floor door, the group appeared in the middle of a forest.
Rustle! Rustle!
Immediately after they appeared, they heard a rustling sound, and before they knew it, they became surrounded by a group of lizardmen.
''Wow! Eager to die, are we?" Gracier said before cracking her neck. She immediately attacked by sending a fireball forward; Maria also attacked by sending an ice ball.
Red and blue light burst forth, creating a powerful shockwave. The surrounding lizardmen soldiers could not withstand the shockwave, and the ones closest to them were torn apart. Those who were slightly further away were sent staggering.
Unfortunately for them Alex and the others were already before them; because it was a long time since he used his knives, Alex didn't use his guns. However, his knives, the level 90 lizardmen, were massacred instantly; those still hiding in the back thinking of sneak attack fled in fear.
''Let's follow them; maybe we will find something interesting,'' Alex said before kicking the ground and shooting forward like a missile.
Not to lose, Maria and Artemia also shot forward like a missile, chasing after Alex.
''How childish!" Eri mumbled but still chased after them; Eris couldn't only shake her head, thinking that this girl was not honest with herself.