Mara had another bruise along her thigh.
Gareth’s shield arm ached, and Elias had already used nearly half of his available mana.
June still had enough healing magic to continue, but not enough to waste.
The barn stood directly ahead, its large doors open to reveal a dark interior.
Gareth stopped, glancing up at them.
“That has to be the boss room.”
Mara pulled one knife from her holster.
“Probably another sheep.”
Elias looked toward the doorway.
“A bigger sheep.”
June smiled faintly.
“Maybe one we can pet.”
Mara pointed at her.
“See?
She understands.”
Something moved inside the barn.
The sound of a hoof striking packed earth echoed through the doorway, followed by another.
The Horned Ram stepped into the light.
The beast was nearly as tall as Gareth at the shoulder.
Thick gray-white wool covered its body, and two enormous curled horns framed its head.
It lowered itself slightly.
Elias stared, his eyes widening slightly.
“That is significantly more sheep than I expected.”
Gareth lifted his shield.
“Get in formation!”
Without waiting for an announcement, the ram suddenly charged.
It crossed the distance between them with terrifying speed, and Gareth barely had time to brace before the horns slammed into his shield.
The impact lifted him off his feet.
He hit the grass several feet behind the others and rolled onto his side.
“Gareth!”
June rushed toward him.
The ram turned toward the rest of the party, but Mara moved first.
She slashed across its flank while Elias fired a bolt of magic toward its head.
The spell struck its wool and dispersed.
Elias frowned.
“What?”
A faint sheen spread across the ram’s body.
[Woolen Guard.]
Zion watched from above, fascinated.
He had never seen the skill activate before.
“That’s actually pretty good,” he muttered with approval.
The ram spun toward Mara, forcing her backward, then released a loud cry that carried across the pasture.
“BAAA!”
Every nearby sheep lifted its head.
Zion’s excitement immediately shifted into concern.
Across the field, several remaining sheep began running toward the barn.
[Call the Flock activated.]
Mara saw them first, nearly dropping her weapon.
“You have got to be kidding me.”
Gareth pushed himself upright while June healed the worst of the damage to his ribs.
“Elias, stop the sheep.
Mara, stay on the boss.”
“What about you?”
Gareth raised his shield again.
“I’m going to make sure that thing doesn’t hit anyone else like that.”
He charged.
This time, he did not try to meet the ram head-on.
At the last moment, Gareth shifted sideways and angled his shield.
The ram struck the metal and slid past him.
Mara attacked immediately, driving her knife beneath the thick wool near its shoulder.
The ram cried out.
Elias turned toward the approaching sheep and raised his staff.
A wide blast of blue energy spread across the field and sent three of them tumbling through the grass.
One vanished, but the others kept running.
June moved behind Gareth.
“Your left side.”
“I know.”
“You have a cracked rib.”
“I know.”
“You keep saying that.”
The ram charged again.
Gareth planted his feet, but this time he was ready.
The horns struck his shield, and instead of trying to stop the force completely, he let himself slide backward with it.
His boots tore through the grass.
Mara circled behind the ram.
“Now!”
Elias abandoned the remaining sheep long enough to fire another spell.
The bolt struck the wound Mara had opened.
The Horned Ram staggered, and the glow of Woolen Guard flickered across its body.
Gareth saw the opening.
He stepped forward and drove the edge of his shield into the side of its head.
The ram collapsed onto one knee.
Mara jumped onto its back and drove both knives down between its shoulders.
The boss released one final, surprisingly small cry.
“Baa…”
Then its body dissolved into white smoke.
For several seconds, no one moved.
Gareth lowered his shield while Mara remained crouched where the ram had disappeared.
Elias stared at his staff, and June finally sat down in the grass.
“We won?” June asked.
Mara looked around.
“I think so.”
The remaining sheep had stopped charging the moment the boss disappeared.
They wandered away like the battle had never happened.
A bright notification appeared in front of the party.
[Floor 1 cleared.]
Elias grinned.
“There we go.”
Gareth finally let himself relax.
The fight had been harder than expected, especially for the first floor of a newly formed dungeon, but they had cleared it.
Mara stood and looked around the barn.
“Where’s the chest?”
The others followed her gaze.
Nothing had appeared where the boss fell.
There were no coins scattered across the grass, no item glowing beside the barn, and no treasure chest waiting near the exit.
Mara stepped inside and started checking the stalls.
“Maybe it’s hidden.”
Zion watched her move hay aside.
“What is she doing?”
Elias joined her and tapped the wooden walls with the end of his staff while Gareth inspected the spot where the ram had disappeared.
June simply waited near the entrance.
Zion became more confused the longer they searched.
Mara checked behind a feeding trough, then crouched near one of the walls.
Finally, she returned to the others.
“No chest.”
Elias frowned.
“Maybe there’s a hidden completion reward somewhere else on the floor.”
“Do you want to search the entire pasture?”
He looked back toward the hills.
“Not particularly.”
Mara crossed her arms.
“That fight bruised half my body.”
June nodded.
“And I used most of my mana.”
Zion listened carefully.
Why were they complaining?
They had won.
Wasn’t that what adventurers wanted?
Elias looked back toward the barn.
“It’s a new dungeon.
Maybe the treasure system hasn’t developed yet.”
Mara sighed.
“Then it needs to develop quickly.”
Zion paused.
Treasure system?
The words sounded vaguely familiar.
He opened the Dungeon Store and, for the first time, actually looked through the Structures section.
[Treasure Chest]
[Loot Table]
[Reward Placement]
He froze.
“Oh.”
He had not added any treasure.
Why would he?
These people were entering his home, killing his monsters, and working their way toward the room where he lived.
Rewarding them for doing it had never even crossed his mind.
Outside the barn, Elias adjusted the strap on his bag.
“Let’s come back tomorrow.”
Mara looked at him.
“Seriously?”
“We already know the floor now.
It’ll be faster the second time.”
“And if there’s still no loot?”
Elias shrugged.
“Then this dungeon is as good as dead.
No one is going to keep coming somewhere that doesn’t reward the effort.”
Zion felt another invisible arrow strike directly through his skull.
Dead.
Why did everything somehow come back to him dying?
The party began walking toward the exit while Zion stared after them and reopened the store.
Treasure suddenly looked much less like a gift and much more like advertising.
If visitors stopped coming, he stopped earning essence.
If he stopped earning essence, he couldn’t build more floors.
Which meant he actually needed them to come back.
Zion hated that realization.
A notification appeared before he could start checking prices.
[First Floor Clear recorded.]
[First Clear Bonus: 300 Essence.]
His attention snapped toward the new total.
Then several more notifications appeared.
[Dungeon activity milestone reached.]
[Basic Traps unlocked.]
[Tier F Monster Contracts unlocked.]
[Basic Treasure Systems unlocked.]
[Floor Expansion unlocked.]
For a moment, Zion completely forgot about the departing adventurers.
He opened Floor Expansion.
[Additional Floor]
[Cost: 500 Essence.]
“Five hundred?” That was a lot.
He checked Personal Advancement next.
Clatter still waited near the top, while several stat upgrades had finally become available.
[Clatter – 25 Essence.]
[Strength +1 – 50 Essence.]
[Vitality +1 – 50 Essence.]
Zion looked at the prices for only a few seconds before closing the menu.
One extra point of vitality wasn’t going to save him from being crushed.
But another floor meant an entire additional layer they would have to survive before they ever saw him.
There was no comparison.
Floor 1 had fallen, which meant one floor was clearly not enough.
He reopened Floor Expansion and focused on the purchase option.
[Purchase additional floor?]
“Yes.”
New floor!
Yahoo!