Chapter 18 — Dungeon Boss

Chapter 18 — Dungeon Boss

Well, there’s nothing else to do anyway. I’ll go for a little walk. And pick some raspberries. If I’m lucky—maybe peppers too. Here, in this ravine, there are a lot of raspberry bushes. And near the dungeon there were plenty as well.

But I already ate all the ripe ones a while ago.

So now I’ll have to go farther. Farther from camp. Because near the dungeon only green, still unripe berries are left.

So, what happened to the dungeon? Why can’t I go in?

I have a few theories.

But… there’s one that’s the most unpleasant.

Maybe the dungeon just got tired of me going in too often.

I really was going there every hour and clearing it out to zero.

If you imagine the dungeon is… well, let’s say, “alive,” or at least has something like a consciousness… then I would probably look like some kind of pest to it.

If I were the dungeon, and some guy came in every hour or two and wiped out every monster I’d worked hard to “create”… yeah, I’d get angry too.

Most likely, I’d even try to kill him.

Well… if I were the dungeon.

But there’s another side to it.

For a dungeon to grow, it needs adventurers.

That rule seems logical.

In web novels, in games—and generally in System worlds—the growth of a dungeon depends on people entering it, not necessarily dying in it.

Yes, sometimes it ties to adventurers dying inside… but I don’t think that’s required.

At least… I hope not.

And the dungeon really was growing.

The monsters got stronger, the boss leveled up, treasure chests appeared.

In other words, the process was moving the right way.

Then why am I being kept out?

There’s another theory.

Much better than the previous one.

In some stories, when a dungeon begins to shift to a new stage, the entrance closes.

As if it’s “sleeping” or “restructuring.”

It adds new rooms, new monsters, a new floor.

Maybe… that’s exactly what’s happening now?

I hope so.

I really hope so.

Oh! Peaches!

On the other side of the river, among the bushes, I spotted a small peach tree.

It was short, but there were about ten… maybe fifteen fruits hanging on it.

And they looked… perfectly ripe.

I stepped to the very edge of the bank, focused, and jumped.

Whoosh—and I was already on the other side.

A five-meter jump is no problem for me now.

If I really tried, I think I could even do seven.

I walked up to the peach tree. It was only a bit taller than me, but the peaches themselves were unexpectedly large for such a little tree—almost the size of my fist.

I examined them closely.

Yes, most were ripe… well, almost.

On some the skin was still firm, the flesh hard—they needed a couple more days to ripen.

Over these days I’ve learned a little about judging ripeness:

the best peaches feel just a touch soft to the hand and smell stronger, and they taste much sweeter than the under-ripe ones.

I picked the ripest ones.

“One, two… five… six,” I counted them in my hands.

That’s more than enough for today.

Let the rest hang.

Let the sun do its work another day or two. Then I’ll come back and take them—in absolutely perfect condition.

I gave the tree one last look, carefully put the peaches into a pouch, and exhaled:

“All right. Time to head back.”

--

I ate two peaches on the way—sweet, juicy, warm from the sun. I laid the rest in the tent, carefully, so they wouldn’t bruise, and headed for the dungeon entrance.

A little nervous, I stepped closer. Slowly reached my hand toward the spot where the invisible wall had been.

The barrier was gone.

I let out a breath.

Yeah… looks like I really can go in now.

I took a few steps forward.

Ahead was that same thick darkness—but I already knew it was only an illusion, not real night.

I gripped my sword’s hilt tighter with both hands and walked farther.

And the moment I crossed that dark barrier, as if passing through a veil, the space around me changed.

The darkness dissolved, and I found myself in the familiar dungeon passage.

But it was no longer quite the way I remembered it.

The first thing that hit my eye—it was much brighter.

Not blindingly bright, no.

But now the walls and floor were clearly visible, without that unpleasant sensation where your vision has to adapt after sunlight outside.

Before, when I entered during the day, my eyes needed time to adjust to the dimness after the bright light outside.

I had to stand and wait until everything stopped swimming.

But now everything was visible at once—crisp and clear.

Yes, before it took time for the eyes to get used to the darker lighting compared to outdoors.

But now everything was clearly visible immediately.

And right away I noticed two rabbits ahead.

They stood right in the middle of the corridor, as if they’d been waiting for me.

The moment I took my first step—

they launched at the same time, hopping toward me.

I didn’t even think.

My sword swung on its own.

One.

Two.

The white silhouettes vanished into the air—

and two magic stones tinked softly onto the stone floor.

[Dungeon monster defeated: Dread Rabbit (Lv. 5) ×2]

[Reward: +50 EXP]

Whoa…

Those two were level five.

Until now, even though the dungeon rabbits’ level had been creeping up, the very first rabbits near the entrance had always been level one.

And now… five right away?

I couldn’t help smiling.

Yeah, looks like the changes were much stronger than I thought.

I stepped into the first room—and it all began at once.

All the rabbits in the room, as if on command, rushed my way.

Only then did I notice: the room was bigger.

Roughly one and a half times wider and longer than before.

The walls seemed to have moved apart. The ceiling was higher.

And there were definitely more rabbits than before.

But… for me, that barely changed anything now.

Yes, there were more of them.

Yes, the room was wider.

But I was far too fast now.

In under ten seconds—the last rabbit disappeared, leaving behind another magic stone that clinked and rolled across the floor.

[Dungeon monster defeated: Dread Rabbit (Lv. 5) ×20, (Lv. 6) ×18, (Lv. 7) ×10, (Lv. 8) ×7, (Lv. 9) ×5, (Lv. 10) ×2]

[Reward: +1,995 EXP]

Sixty-two rabbits in the first room.

And two of them were level ten.

Yes.

Two rabbits the same level as the dungeon boss when I first came here.

My anticipation for what the real boss would be like now shot up.

Shot up a lot.

All right, moving on.

I stepped into the corridor and headed for the second room.

As soon as I crossed the threshold, the fight started immediately.

No pauses.

No “time to look around.”

From every direction rabbits began to leap at me.

White ones.

And… new ones.

Rabbits with black patches on their fur.

They moved faster.

A lot faster than the ordinary ones.

One of them lunged at me so sharply I almost took the hit.

Its teeth skimmed past my elbow, ripping the air.

I grew more cautious. But still… there were no serious difficulties. And in about thirty seconds the last rabbit-monster vanished.

Silence fell over the room.

[Dungeon monster defeated: Dread Rabbit (Lv. 6) ×30, (Lv. 7) ×24, (Lv. 8) ×20, (Lv. 9) ×18, (Lv. 10) ×10, (Lv. 15) ×6]

[Reward: +5,650 EXP]

Oh, looks like these white rabbits with black patches are the same species as the regular white rabbits.

There was no new name in the system message.

And I went on—toward the third room.

That used to be the boss room.

I wonder… is it still the boss room, or did the dungeon change it?

When I walked into the third room, I felt a little disappointed.

Maybe the dungeon hadn’t had time to generate enough monsters yet?

After all, the second room had over a hundred rabbit-monsters.

And here…

Only ten.

Yes, ten rabbits.

White rabbits with black patches.

But the moment they moved toward me—every thought of an easy fight vanished.

Hff… back.

One strike—got one, it disappeared.

Nine left.

Damn, they’re faster.

Step back. Left. Right. Another jump—barely made it. Took two more—minus two.

Ow!

One damn rabbit grazed my side.

Just a little, but the fabric tore, and a warm line of blood crawled across my skin.

Okay… okay… calmly…

Another step—strike—down.

Ow!!!

My arm!

Damn it, I DROPPED MY SWORD.

Six left.

They were bouncing like crazy.

I need to get my sword back.

Now. Otherwise… otherwise I’m done.

One—evade.

Two—evade.

The third—knocked the wind out of me.

“HAVE TO KEEP THE DISTANCE!”

I lunged for the sword.

One rabbit darted right at my feet—I slammed it with my elbow, it tumbled away… but didn’t disappear.

It stood up.

Came again.

They’ll surround me if I’m not faster…

Grab the sword—yes!

Immediate turn—sharp slash—

One gone.

Five left.

Turn—strike.

I cleaved another one right in midair. It vanished before it even hit the ground.

Damn, they’re fast.

Very fast.

Too fast.

Another step back, another jump straight at my face—

Strike!

Hit.

But the second one was already in the air, right above me. I couldn’t swing the blade in time, so I smacked the second with the pommel. It hit the stone floor and froze for an instant. I stomped hard straight down.

Minus two.

Two left.

The last two rabbits jumped at me at the same time.

I cut one in midair with the sword—it flared and vanished.

I slipped sharply to the side from the second.

It hit the ground, instantly twisted, and leapt again right at my chest.

I stepped in, shifted my grip, turned the blade, and delivered another chopping strike.

The last rabbit-monster disappeared in the light.

Hff… that was a lot tougher than I thought.

Good thing they don’t learn and change tactics.

If they adapted even a little, this fight would be something else entirely.

[Dungeon monster defeated: Dread Rabbit (Lv. 24) ×10]

[Reward: +25,000 EXP]

All the rabbits in the third room were level 24.

Which means I got 2,500 EXP for each.

For a total of 25,000 EXP.

Now that’s a difference…

For comparison:

a level-10 rabbit gave 50 EXP.

Fifty.

And a level-24 rabbit—two thousand five hundred.

The difference is colossal.

Although, when you think about it…

By rank that’s perfectly logical.

Level 10 is Rank 0.

Level 24 is already Rank 2.

And yes… the difference in battle felt even bigger than the numbers.

These rabbits were much faster, more aggressive, and their jumps were far sharper.

I created a vial of health potion and drank it.

Yes, I’d only taken a few scratches.

But caution is never a bad idea.

And honestly… with my skill I don’t need to limit myself on health potions.

Right now I have an almost endless supply.

I took a deep breath.

So…

Should I keep going?

If the monsters in the next room are even stronger…

I might have a problem.

No, I can’t back out now.

I have to at least see what’s in the fourth room.

If it’s dangerous—I’ll just run.

That’s what I thought.

I moved down the corridor.

And after a few steps, I froze.

At the end of the corridor stood a door.

Not just an opening like before—

but a large double door, tall, dark, massive.

“Oh… So this is the dungeon boss room, huh?”

The door looked like it was saying by its very presence:

“If you enter—there will be no way back.”

I swallowed.

If I think logically, most likely, the moment I step inside—and the door closes—I won’t be able to get out until the dungeon boss is defeated.

But… that’s not a problem.

I have a special skill—Training Room.

I’ve already tested this before:

I used the skill right inside the dungeon,

even once during the fight with the previous boss—

as an experiment.

And it worked perfectly.

If it gets truly dangerous—I’ll just jump to the Training Room.

Safety, guaranteed.

So everything should be fine.

At least… theoretically.

I walked up to the door.

Slowly reached out and pushed one of the leaves.

It opened surprisingly easily, as if it had been waiting for me.

I stepped in.

And that very second:

THUD.

The doors slammed shut tight behind me.

I raised my eyes forward.

In the center of the room, right on the smooth stone floor, sat a rabbit. White like the others, but with large black patches on its fur.

Only… it was different.

First, its ears didn’t stick up like a normal rabbit’s.

They hung down, soft, fluffy—almost to the ground.

And the ears themselves were huge, larger than seemed reasonable for its body.

Too large, even.

Second… the size.

It sat. Just sat.

But even sitting, its head was almost level with my chest.

This wasn’t just a rabbit.

It was a giant.

It was staring straight at me.

Without moving.

Without blinking.

Just… staring.

I felt my grip on the hilt tighten on its own.

I took one step forward.

Then another.

And then it opened its mouth.

What I saw—

that wasn’t the mouth of a herbivore.

Inside—teeth, nothing but teeth.

Many.

Sharp.

Packed tight.

Like a shark’s.

And the sound.

It didn’t squeak.

Didn’t rasp.

Didn’t make a rabbit’s shriek.

It growled.

The growl was low, deep, very much like a lion’s roar, only shorter, as if pushed out with a breath.

Goosebumps ran up my skin.

My back went cold.

My heart clenched.

My first reflex was to retreat—and I immediately tried to activate the “Training Room” skill.

Nothing.

I tried again:

Still nothing.

I stood in the same place.

In the same room.

Facing the same rabbit.

And the door behind me was shut tight.