Bart diligently continued practicing his seismic waves until the sun dipped below the horizon each day. With each passing day, his control over earth improved, becoming more precise and effortless. Eugene, too, immersed himself in his holy magic practice. Despite possessing a wand, he continued to cast spells with his bare hands, a method Rei had taught him. Yet, Eugene often muttered, "There's still something missing."
As for Rei, having mastered the lightning spell, he had been attempting to control animals' minds with it. It was proving incredibly difficult; either the animals would die, or they would become mentally unstable. Over the last few days, Rei had achieved a small breakthrough, managing to make some animals hallucinate about food, but true hypnosis still required an exceptionally high level of concentration.
Rei approached Bart. "Now, Bart, try practicing it with your hands above the ground, just like mages."
"But if I do that, how can I transmit seismic waves?" Bart asked, confused.
"You just have to create seismic waves from a distance," Rei explained patiently.
"Okay," Bart said, intrigued. As Bart began to learn this new technique, a month passed. He was now able to control the earth with remarkable ease, shaping it from a distance. Similarly, Eugene's holy magic strength increased significantly, though he still wasn't entirely satisfied.
"Hey, Bart and Eugene, come here," Rei called out. Bart and Eugene quickly came to him. Tenko jumped onto Rei's shoulder. "How about we tackle a dungeon to test your powers?" Rei proposed.
"A dungeon?" Bart's eyes widened. "But I don't think we're strong enough yet."
"Yes, I too think so," Eugene agreed, a hint of hesitation in his voice.
Rei's expression was firm. "When you go away from your comfort zone, then only you can progress. Otherwise, progressing will be difficult."
Bart sighed, then nodded. "Fine, I will go then." Eugene was still a bit hesitant, but he, too, nodded.
"You are right, I guess," he conceded.
"Meet me at the town square tomorrow," Rei instructed. Bart and Eugene nodded in agreement. That night, Rei and Tenko went to sleep. Ever since Tenko had faced the sentient being in his dream, he hadn't seen it again. However, Rei didn't notice that Tenko's qi stone was getting close to fully turning dark blue.
As the next day dawned, Rei, accompanied by Tenko, meticulously packed his crossbow and Chaos Scepter, along with many other hidden weapons. Fully prepared, they headed to the town square where Bart and Eugene were already waiting. "Okay, let's go," Rei said.
Rei, Bart, and Eugene went to the Hunters' Tower. Rei presented his hunter card, which was of a high enough level to allow him to enter the dungeon with a small group. After securing the permission slip, they walked towards the dungeon entrance. Rei showed the slip to the dungeon guard, who carefully assessed its authenticity. Once satisfied, the guard led them down a set of stairs to the bottom of the dungeon. He opened a large, heavy door and ushered them inside.
"This dungeon looks big and crowded," Bart remarked, looking around the cavernous space.
"And dangerous," Eugene added, his voice a whisper.
Rei walked forward, his stride confident. "Don't dilly-dally. Come in. I have some objectives I want to attain."
"What objectives?" Bart asked, curious.
"I heard that many krystallites and different ores are found in this dungeon. I'm looking for those now. Come on." Just then, cat-like monsters with scythes for claws appeared, hissing as they charged. "Handle it," Rei said to his two trainees.
"Stone Cannon!" Bart shouted. He attacked, sending many pointy stones flying, each aimed at the cats' heads. Some of the agile monsters managed to dodge. Eugene, extending his hand, his palm glowing, formed a cylindrical barrier of holy magic around the cats, trapping them. The barrier had no top cover.
"Earth Spell: Landslide!" Bart roared. He summoned a huge chunk of earth, sending it flying above the barrier. Then, with a mental command, he broke it into smaller, pointy pieces, sending them tumbling down at high speed. Every cat caught within the barrier was instantly impaled and killed by the raining stones.
"You took so much time," Rei commented, though a hint of approval was in his voice. He saw another group of cats approaching. "Let me show you how you kill them." Rei's voice was calm, almost a murmur. "Earth Spikes!" Suddenly, many sharp, pointy spikes erupted from the dungeon floor, piercing all the incoming cats, killing them instantly
As Rei, Eugene, and Bart ventured further, they encountered some Black Rats, even bigger than the cat monsters they had just fought. The rats charged at them, their eyes glinting in the dim light.
"Earth Cage!" Bart commanded. Walls of earth erupted from all four sides, forming a cage around the group of Black Rats, trapping them. However, the Black Rats immediately began gnawing and biting at the walls, slowly breaking through them.
"Holy Magic: Weakening!" Eugene chanted, extending his hand. A golden glow encased the rats, and they visibly began to slow, their movements becoming sluggish. They became weak, unable to do anything against the crumbling walls.
"Earth Fall!" Bart yelled, seizing the opportunity. A massive chunk of earth fell from the dungeon ceiling, landing directly on top of the weakened rats, crushing them.
"Wow, we can kill these monsters so easily!" Bart exclaimed, amazed by their combined strength.
"Yes, I didn't know that," Eugene agreed, a rare smile on his face.
As Bart and Eugene began collecting the monster corpses for loot, Rei simply stated, "Your training worked."
"Why wouldn't it work?" Bart asked, a newfound confidence in his voice.
Rei then saw another group of Black Rats approaching. Bart's eyes gleamed with excitement, ready for another fight, but Rei raised a hand. "Let's give Tenko a chance to kill them." Tenko grinned, jumping from Rei's shoulder and increasing his size. He swiftly ran towards the Black Rats, then unleashed a single, powerful wind slice. With just that one strike, all the Black Rats were instantly killed. Tenko let out a satisfied bark, watching his prey fall to his single, devastating attack.
"You're getting better at hunting, Tenko," Rei praised him.
As the group moved forward, Bart and Eugene spotted some glittering ores. They enthusiastically began extracting them. After assessing the value of the ores, they divided them equally amongst themselves. They then proceeded to the second floor of the dungeon. "You have just been getting warmed up," Rei said, a serious tone in his voice. "Now starts the real fight."