The villainous young master just wants to live a Buddhist-like life.

　Coincidentally, the same thing happened in the fifth room.

　It wasn't until the sixth room that a new monster appeared.

　On the high platform, in front of the transparent jar, a humanoid monster sat cross-legged with its arms crossed.

　Unlike the atmosphere of the previous rooms, this sixth room was filled with a sense of desolation and impending doom.

　Dak looked up and frowned slightly.

　The humanoid monster wore a straw hat that tilted downwards, obscuring its entire face.

　It was dressed in black cloth, and its body shape was similar to that of a human, making it almost impossible to tell the difference.

　Behind it, a broadsword, extremely long, was slung diagonally.

　In this world of swords, magic, and sorcery, Darke actually sensed the spirit of ancient knights-errant in these monsters.

　He was astonished by this and developed a slight interest in the monster.

　"Could this be the level boss?"

　"But this doesn't seem like the final room where the level boss is located..."

　"I feel like something's not right."

　Just as Dark was pondering, the humanoid demon sitting cross-legged on the high platform moved first.

　It withdrew its hand, lifted the brim of its conical hat, and finally revealed a pair of eyes—below the eyes, it wore a black metal mask.

　Its eyes are very strange, with an inverted triangle etched in the center of each eyeball.

　Black pupils, golden triangles.

　This makes it particularly eye-catching.

　……

　Staring into those eyes, Dark felt a chill creep down his spine, causing him to instinctively reach into his wallet.

　But the monster's gaze quickly shifted from him and fixed on the lion beast.

　Then the humanoid demon slowly stood up and beckoned to the lion beast.

　This action alone is enough to surprise people.

　This is something no irrational monster could do.

　The lion-like beast narrowed its eyes and whispered, "Master, is it provoking me?"

　Dark's lips curled up, his interest growing: "It seems so."

　The lion-mon asked in confusion, "Then what should I do next?"

　Dark gave him the answer: "Accept the challenge."

　"I'll take this way." Gatomon stepped forward and stood guard in front of Dark.

　The lion beast nodded and walked out of the passage.

　Its eyes were bright and piercing, revealing a fighting spirit even stronger than when it was dealing with ordinary monsters.

　The opponent's star rating is mostly higher than its own, but it is not afraid.

　After studying during the holiday, it has long since broken free from its old ways of thinking.

　Star rating doesn't determine anything; there are huge differences between magical spirits.

　The three-dimensional attributes are merely a reflection of basic strength.

　Powerful technique can unleash the full potential of a single unit of strength; this is what constitutes a skill.

　Victory or defeat is never a matter of comparing on paper.

　After stepping off five stone slabs, the lion beast reached out and drew the "Holy Sword" from its scabbard, pointing it at the humanoid monster on the high platform.

　The humanoid monster let out a soft, repetitive laugh, then raised its hand and grabbed the hilt of the broadsword on its back.

　It is less than 1.8 meters tall, but the broadsword on its back is over two meters long, with a thick back, an extremely wide blade, and an incredibly sharp edge!

　"Shh-"

　The humanoid monster drew its broadsword, then pulled it upwards, causing it to fly out of its sheath and soar into the sky.

　Then, the humanoid monster exerted force with its feet, leaped into the air, and actually soared straight into the sky, firmly grasped the hilt of the sword, and slashed down fiercely in front of it!

　This slash, aimed at the air, was undeniably defiant.

　The sword energy bursting forth from the blade was like a tidal wave; with a single slash, the air surged and billowed.

　The ground is shattered!

　……

　Has it started over there?

　Finally, inside the room, a rat-like monster appeared at the edge of a pool filled with red liquid.

　It sits like a human on a stone stool, with its slender legs crossed, a cigarette made of sleeping grass between its hands, and the smoke it exhales transforms into various shapes.

　After taking a deep breath, it raised its head and looked at the wall opposite the pool with a relaxed expression.

　The armored humanoid figure, pressed against the wall and chained in the center in a cross shape, has quietly opened its scarlet eyes.

　"What's your name?"

　The mouse asked leisurely, with a rather composed and elegant air.

　The armored humanoid stared intently at the seemingly weak rat monster, with bulging veins throbbing around its eyes.

　The fresh blood in the pool flowed upstream along its beast-like paws and was absorbed by its skin.

　Its decaying, withered body gradually recovered under the soaking of the crimson liquid, and long-lost power surged through its limbs.

　Long time no see...

　Why do you feel this way?

　Groot Dulles felt a surge of emotion, like a blood tide, rising within his calm heart.

　"Hey, what's your name?" the mouse urged again.

　Groot Dulles then answered with the name that had always lingered in its only memory: "Groot Dulles!"

　The rat demon's expression changed instantly.

　……

　Each boss in the St. Marian dungeon is not something that appears out of nowhere.

　They are all manifestations of history, leaving a significant mark on the wheel of time.

　The same goes for Groot Dulles.

　Although it has lost its memories of when it was alive.

　But the name will be remembered forever.

　As the pipes were successively shut off, the red liquid in the pool could no longer keep up with its absorption rate.

　It felt a thirst for this, and every cell in its body seemed to be shouting and screaming, driving it to find a substitute.

　Blood, or something else.

　Thinking is a very troublesome thing.

　Groot felt his mind was still stiff, and he was doing his best to suppress the madness surging from the depths of his heart.

　It appears calm on the surface, but it is always on the verge of exploding.

　"You know my name?"

　Groot Dulles watched silently as the rat emerged from the shadows, lost in thought.

　After several changes in expression, the rat demon's expression calmed down. It then stared with its round little eyes and said in a high-pitched voice that it no longer tried to hide, "Of course I know."

　Groot said calmly, "Tell me, what does it mean?"

　The rat monster said, "Join us."

　Groot frowned and said, "What?"

　The rat demon stuffed the cigarette made from the Dreamweed into its mouth and swallowed it whole, saying, "Life or death, you have two paths before you."

　Gertrude grinned and laughed.

　The laughter grew louder and louder, gradually turning into madness.

　What gave you the courage to threaten me?

　……

　Groot Dulles, an orc swordsman who was already famous throughout the continent a century ago.

　……

　The sixth room.

　The humanoid monster wielding a broadsword was now engaged in battle with the lion beast.

　Although it is a very foolish thing to "fairly duel" with monsters in the dungeon.

　But this humanoid monster gives off a very different feeling.

　Its every move is imbued with "rationality." Both its outward appearance and its inner nature demonstrate that it possesses basic intelligence.

　Dungeon monsters are generally divided into three levels based on their intelligence level.

　Ordinary monsters with an intelligence level of less than 2, elite monsters with an intelligence level of more than 2, and tiered bosses with an intelligence level close to 3.

　It's not because of a high level of intelligence that they are powerful, but because of a high social class that they are intelligent.

　Although Dark had only encountered a level boss once during his dungeon run last semester, the two-headed demon Taren Leon Keynes Sat had left a very deep impression on him.

　Moreover, the abyssal monster he encountered in the hidden space clearly possessed extremely high basic intelligence.

　If we assume that the abyssal monster was also a boss from a higher level, then could this humanoid monster wielding a broadsword really be the boss of the tenth level?

　Dak simply stood at the entrance of the passage and continued to observe.

　The humanoid monster was completely covered up, so much so that he could not deduce its species based on its physical characteristics.

　However, the aura it exudes, and the basic ability level it demonstrated in its battle with Leomon, undoubtedly place it at the sixth star level.

　The sixth star is still in the second tier.

　In dungeons, there are very few bosses with a second tier.

　The battle between the humanoid monster and the lion beast intensified.

　Although there is a slight difference in basic attributes between the two, Leomon's "Holy Sword" makes up for this difference.

　While the humanoid monster's broadsword is also a sharp weapon, it is clearly no match for the "Holy Sword".

　A balance on paper means that both sides are on the same starting line.

　Who will win?

　"Lionmon, I guess."

　Tailmon responded casually.

　The moment it finished speaking, the battle in the hall lost its balance.

　The humanoid monster began to use its abilities in the clash of swords, black tentacles emerging from its sleeves and wrapping around the broadsword like bandages.

　"boom!"

　The tentacles were completely imprinted on the blade, and jet-black flames burst forth.

　The lion's eyes lit up. Without flinching or dodging, the "single sword sheath" in its hand also burst forth with holy light, clashing against the pitch-black flames.

　The attributes of light and darkness are mutually restraining.

　The "Holy Sword" has an additional 50% advantage against dark attributes.

　But the pitch-black flames were clearly not ordinary; they seemed to have an additional resistance to light.

　Then, after a head-on clash, the holy light of the "Holy Sword" quickly gained the upper hand, overwhelming the dark flames.