As he watched the scene before him, Cain grinned from ear to ear.
"Hehehe, this time the dungeon will be different."
Before, he only had 2 hours to set monsters and traps, making it a pretty simple and easy dungeon. But this time, he set the dungeon carefully, using the 3 days he had to prepare. He was confident that it would be harder and more challenging than the last time.
Now the first floor was a labyrinth with traps, enemies, and puzzles. There would be two hidden treasure rooms. But of course, there were also dangerous traps that would kill the intruders in a matter of seconds. The dungeon's monster wasn't too dangerous, though.
"A slime?"
Rias and her party encountered a monster immediately after they entered the cave. They were greeted by an amorphous blob-like creature with a greenish tint. It moved slowly and seemed harmless enough. Issei stepped closer to take a look, curious as to what it was. Then...
"Grooooooo!"
A big green slime dropped from the ceiling and splashed onto him. He was swallowed whole and panicked.
"Waaaaaaah! President, save me!!"
"Oh no! Ise!" Kiba shouted, rushing over to help his friend. He unsheathed his sword and slashed at the monster.
Unfortunately, he wasn't able to do any damage. The cut immediately closed back up, regenerating. The slime then stretched out two tentacles toward Kiba who slashed it again.
"Hmph!" Koneko jumped in, smashing the tentacles. However, they simply grew back again.
"Let's get him out first!" Sona said. She created a magic circle on her hands and water sprayed from the circle.
Rias and Akeno also did the same and soon Issei was freed. But the slime wasn't dead.
"Groooooooo!!!"
It roared, spitting a ball of gloo towards Koneko. It exploded in midair, showering everyone with green goop.
"Ew, what's this?!" Akeno cried out as the liquid seeped into her clothes.
"Kya!" Rias exclaimed when she realized her uniform was soaked. The slime's tentacle reached out for her but was stopped by Sona, who had created an ice wall.
"Everyone, get away from the monster! I will deal with it myself." she commanded, summoning a water blade in her right hand.
Sona slashed the slime's tentacles with the water blade. The tentacle fell to the ground and quickly dissolved into nothingness.
Seeing her magic worked, the other devil girls started casting spells. Akeno, being the Queen of thunder magic in Rias' peerage, began to conjure up bolts of electricity and shot them at the slime. Her attacks were powerful and killed the second slime in one go.
Slurp~
"Wow, they realized it quickly." Cain muttered as he slurped the cola he bought from the dungeon store. "Slimes are versatile, aren't they? 200 Coins for 20 perfect mobs for the first floor. They are pretty resistant to punch and slash, but weak against magic."
Not only that, they were also made from liquid that made clothes transparent.
After thinking about it, lust and happiness were also emotions that would give him coins. He wondered if there were other ways he could earn coins besides fear and adrenaline.
With Issei being there, Cain thought he surely would get more coins if he did this. As a matter of fact, he could see Issei almost drooled when Rias and Akeno's clothes got wet earlier.
Maybe he needed to experiment a bit more?
***
The party defeated the green slime in less than 5 minutes, but it cost them quite a bit of energy to do so. However, being a Devil, they didn't need much rest and soon they were back up on their feet again.
"I thought I'd have to use my Boosted Gear," Issei said as he looked at the remains of the slime. "I guess I don't have to worry too much about it."
"I agree, but we need to be careful," Sona replied calmly, "That monster... Slimes? So it's real that monsters from the game appeared in this place. And they could only be killed with magic, making it troublesome for people who couldn't use it."
"Yep! But that's what makes it interesting! I wonder if this place really is a game or something." Issei's excitement showed no signs of fading even after he'd just been attacked.
"It's not. This is real," Sona stated firmly. "I'm concerned about what will happen if these creatures escape into town. Unlike Stray Devils, they are monsters that attack without a reason. They might even attack innocent people."
"Oh... Yeah, you're right..." Issei scratched the back of his head. "Then we really have to investigate this place carefully and thoroughly. We don't want to miss any details that might cause trouble later on."
"That's correct. Now, let's go."
As they ventured further into the dungeon, they were faced with multiple branching paths.
"Ugh... It's a maze," Issei complained, looking around. "Last time it was a straight path to the boss room, but now..."
"Yes, Ise-kun. I guess we can't go straight to the boss this time," Kiba agreed with Issei.
"Then we should choose our path. Which one should we go to?" Rias asked, crossing her arms. "There are 4 paths in total. A straight path, a left turn, a right turn, and a back path. We could try to split up and check all four routes but that would be dangerous."
Rias pondered and decided to choose one. She didn't want to risk her entire party in this maze so she decided that they'd take the safest option available. The path at the back.
They began to explore the labyrinth carefully. As they traversed through the corridors of the dungeon, they encountered some traps and more slimes, but nothing too serious or life-threatening yet. The traps were more troublesome than dangerous.
"Ack! Ise-kun, don't step on that."
"What? W-What is this?"
When Issei stepped on the stone floor, he found himself falling down a pitfall trap. Fortunately, the hole wasn't deep enough for him to die, and the others quickly pulled him out.
"T-That was dangerous." He placed his hand on his chest, feeling his heartbeat slowly return to normal.
"I think the traps are getting more and more dangerous as we progress deeper into the labyrinth," Kiba said. He glanced around at all of the traps he'd seen along the way. "I believe the dungeon has these to prevent intruders from going deeper. We must be vigilant."
"You're correct." Sona crossed her arms under her chest. "It's best to slow down. Let's observe the traps before we proceed. We will take care of any slime we see. If we're unlucky, we might get ambushed in the trap."
"I agree." Rias nodded, "Akeno, stay behind Koneko. Yuuto, go ahead and find the path. I will follow right behind you with Sona. Issei, please take the middle."
Everyone agreed to Rias's plan, so they proceeded slowly. Kiba took the lead, while Issei stayed behind. Rias and Sona walked side by side. Kiba found a path and carefully checked it before stepping onto it.
"There is a clearing ahead. Maybe there will be a monster waiting."
"I'll take the front then," Issei said, stepping ahead. His gauntlet was already activated, and he was ready to fight. He moved to the front and peered around the corner.
"Boost!"
The clearing was large, almost as if it had been dug specifically for a monster encounter. The room was wide enough that the group could easily stand in it, and it was long enough that if they wanted to make a quick escape.
In the center, a large monster stood holding an axe. Its skin was green, similar to a goblin, but its body was even bigger than the hobgoblin. Its arms, as thick as a log, filled with muscle, and it was covered in armor that resembled leather.
"It's an orc," Rias whispered and frowned as she recognized the monster.
Orc was a monster famous in RPG and a rather questionable game for their... relationship with women. Orcs were well-known for capturing female knights and using them to satisfy their sexual desire. They were a popular target for those who enjoyed roleplay. Of course, in real life, no one wanted that to happen to them, but it was a very erotic image.
Those who read such stories immediately associated the monster with that bad image. As a result...
"Boost! Boost! Boost!" Issei's gauntlet was shining as he pumped himself to fight.
He gritted his teeth and jumped in front of Issei.
"President's boobs are mine! I won't let a monster like you touch her!!"
"Wow..." Cain was impressed by the pervert on the screen. He could see that Issei had gone to great lengths to protect the girl he loved. The power of lust and greed, indeed. "System, how many Coins did I earn from Issei just now?"
*Ding*
[You earned 50 coins.]
"Ah, not that much. But it's good enough for just one show."
He thought the power of lust and greed should have been more effective.
However, when he thought about it again, the coin he earned was really good. Issei didn't show an intense reaction just now, and he obtained 50 coins from that.
If Issei were to meet a naked girl, he would surely react crazier.
"Let's put that aside for now, and continue watching."
The group had already begun to battle against the Orc.