With both of the guardian monsters now dead, everyone took a few minutes to rest. Mickey recovered his shield, which had a few dents in it thanks to the Hobgoblin Warrior. Tsubasa also decided to take the Hobgoblin Warrior's halbard for himself, but no one object as those that could didn't use halbards and those that wanted it were afraid of Tsubasa. Xavier recovered the dagger he threw at the monster, and took out the copper water bottles and handed them out.
"Where did you get this?!" Tsubasa asked in surprise as he tasted the water inside the copper bottles. He had thought it was the juice from one of the fruits inside the bottles, hence his surprise.
"I bought them from the store." Xavier said while drinking some water, making Tsubasa glare at him angrily
"Not the copper bottles you asshat." Tsubasa said
"We found a river." Mickey said
"Where?" Tsubasa asked, turning towards Mickey
"Maybe if we make it out of this I'll tell you." Xavier said, drinking half the water in the bottle with a satisfied smile, making Tsubasa even angrier, but he didn't press it any further, and tried figuring it out himself. He quickly guessed that the river was either West or East as those were the places they spent the most time. He had no idea how big either section was, but he was willing to wonder both sections in order to gain a valuable resource like fresh water.
'Maybe not the West though.' He thought as he drank the water with a contented smile. With them seemingly having quite a bit of time for themselves before they entered the door, Xavier decided to do something he hasn't done in years....draw. He drew the monsters he has seen so far and things he has observed about them, as well as hypotheses that he had. He also drew the dungeons he has encountered so far and detailed what he has seen and experienced in each one.
"You're pretty good at that." Maria said as she watched him draw the obsidian tower of the "Obsidian Ruins". Xavier didn't look up at her, and continued drawing.
"I know that you are still angry with me and I know what I did was stupid, so please, can you stop with the silent treatment? I'm sorry ok." She said with a sad look in her eyes and Xavier sighed
"I admit, I may have overreacted a bit, but my reaction was justified. I'm not angry anymore, but if you want me to forgive you, then there is something you must promise me." Xavier said, as he continued to draw
"Anything." Maria said
"Think about your actions before you do them. Or else the next time you do something like that, we won't get lucky." Xavier said
"Don't worry, I will." Maria said and Xavier nodded his head.
"Hey guys, check this out." Anna said, as she stood near the large metal door, and they quickly gather around.
"What is it?" Rosie asked, and Anna looked a bit nervous
"Place your hand on the door." She said and they looked at her in confusion but followed her instructions. The door was wide enough for all of them to place their hand on it, and so they did.
"Only 5 challengers may enter the boss room."
Xavier's eyes turned cold as he realized why Anna was so nervous. Everyone was here for one reason and one reason only, to claim whatever fantastical reward was inside the "Boss Chest" to increase their chances of survival in this place. But with only five being allowed inside the boss room, that means that half the people here won't be able to claim the rewards.
"So, who's going to go in?" Bella asked looking around at everyone.
"Isn't that obvious? Maria, Mickey, Tsubasa, Rosie and myself." Xavier said, and everyone turned towards him, some of their gazes a bit hostile.
"Oh, how convenient is it that their are four persons from your team and only one from the Rising Dragons." Barry said coldly
"Oh trust me, I'm not basing the team off bias, I am simply bringing the strongest people here with me. Tell me, if you guys couldn't even help us against the Hobgoblin Warrior then how do you expect to face the boss? And something tells me that the boss is a more ferocious warrior than the Hobgoblin Warrior?" Xavier said, looking at the image of the goblin on the door. It didn't take much thought to realize that that creature was what they would face inside. Barry knew what Xavier said was undeniable, but he couldn't let such rewards slide.
"I want to-" Barry started, but Xavier cut him off
"No, you'll only slow us down and will most likely die. If you insist on this further, then you can always challenge one of us for our position. Prove to us that you are stronger than anyone of the five of us, and more deserving to go into that boss room." Xavier said, looking at him as if daring him to challenge one of them. Barry's eyes briefly glanced landed on Rosie, but the idea quickly left his head. While she wasn't as much of a monster as Mickey, Maria and Xavier, she wasn't too far off, unlike him who was lagging far behind.
"Well, I'm waiting." Xavier said and Barry simply clicked his tongue and turned away.
"Good, now that the candidates have been decided, are you guys ready?" Xavier asked, looking at the four other candidates and they nodded their heads.
"Do you wish to enter the boss room?"
"Yes" "No"
"Yes." Xavier said and a dull yellow light was emitted from the middle of the double doors where both doors met. The door opened inward, and a wave of stale wind exited the boss room, forcing everyone to cover their faces. The room was dark, and the bloodlust was thick in the air, the five of them looked at each other before cautiously entering the darkness. As soon as all of them were inside, the door slammed shut, stopping anyone from following behind them.