The party chose the werewolf dungeon as their next destination for dungeon diving. It was equal in strength to the orc dungeon but had the added challenge of being set within the enclosed walls of a castle.
Bastion had struggled to corral the orcs into focusing solely on him, so he figured the tighter space of the werewolf dungeon would work to his advantage.
Additionally, the dungeon had reportedly grown significantly more difficult after interference from the demon worshipers.
Bastion saw this as an opportunity to challenge himself. His current limit was early Rank 1 monsters with a focused status, and he was eager to push beyond that.
The werewolves in the dungeon were close range fighters with high Dexterity and Vitality. Monsters of this type could be overwhelmed by skills enhanced with Reinforce or wiped out through magical bombardment, which Lilia specialized in.
Normally, Rank 1 monsters were only hunted by Rank 1 adventurers, but Bastion and Elyra's enhanced stats more than compensated for the otherwise insurmountable gap. They were still weaker of course but the difference in strength could be overcome with technique, terrain, and cooperation.
"This is better than the last two dungeons we've been running," Lilia commented.
"Agreed. I'm actually feeling nostalgic," Bastion added.
"It's unkempt," Elyra complained.
"It's a dungeon, Eli. It probably doesn't have maids."
The party had just entered the dungeon, emerging from a castle hallway complete with carpeted floors, decorative paintings, marble busts, and ornate chandeliers. All unkempt and decaying with age, much to Elyra's disgust.
Outside the window, a garden shimmered under the eerie glow of a blood red moon, while a shadowy forest loomed beyond the castle walls. The dark stone walls appeared cold and worn, their gloom blending with the night sky to create an ominous and unsettling atmosphere.
Elyra attempted to step outside through the window but was blocked by an invisible wall.
"It seems the dungeon is limited to the hallways," Lilia observed.
"Good. Fighting in a hallway is much easier."
They moved forward and soon encountered their first opponents, Living Armor.
Both sides of the hallway were flanked by rows of over a dozen suits of armor. Based on Elyra's senses, each was infused with dark mana, animating them for battle.
Bastion stepped forward, and the two dozen suits of armor turned to face the group in perfect sync. They raised their weapons and formed a tight defensive formation, blocking the way ahead.
"It's a decent formation, at least," Bastion remarked, lashing out with his whip sword.
His opening attack was parried by both targets with surprising coordination.
"Decent fighters as well."
He could have ended the battle quickly with Diamond Rain and Diamond Shatter, but Bastion didn't bother wasting mana. He charged forward, opening with a Shield Bash that knocked back the front line and exposed the flanks.
Elyra pounced on the left flank while Lilia bombarded the right with a volley of Ice Arrows.
Meanwhile, Bastion pressed ahead, landing another Shield Bash to push the formation even further back, trusting his companions to hold the flanks.
The Living Armor retaliated with sweeping halberd strikes and attempts to reform their formation, but the strength of Shield Bash lay in its wide area of effect. The technique worked by manipulating air resistance to unleash a blast of compressed air, disrupting enemies in a broad radius.
At level 3, the skill could strike three Living Armor in formation at once, a truly effective knockback ability that served as the bread and butter of Bastion's tanking style.
The Living Armor were no pushovers, though. Even the ones Bastion dismantled eventually began to rise again.
"Use magic to dispel the mana from the armor," Lilia called out.
"Oh, I see," Bastion replied before casting light upon the nearest suit.
With a hiss, the dark mana began to dissipate, leaving only an empty shell of armor clattering to the floor. The spoils consisted of well-crafted but basic steel armor and weapons, which Bastion collected for smithing practice.
As for the decorations, while they could be taken and sold as art pieces, this was a recurring dungeon. These items had likely already flooded the market and lost much of their value.
Eventually, the group cleared the first hallway of monsters. So, the party pressed on.
Their next encounter was with werewolf butlers and maids, which Elyra dispatched with a vengeance.
"You should be ashamed of yourselves," she scolded after ambushing a werewolf maid with a Backstab, followed by a swift beheading.
"Shouldn't we tell her those maids probably never actually clean?" Lilia whispered. "This isn't a real castle after all."
"Shhh. Don't agitate her further," Bastion whispered back.
Upon entering the next hallway, they found more werewolves on guard and alert. There would be no ambush this time.
With a howl, the werewolves charged forward recklessly.
Bastion met their charge with one of his own, opening with a Shield Bash that sent the frontliners flying and broke their formation. Elyra and Lilia wasted no time, capitalizing on the chaos to strike with ruthless precision.
Suddenly, a claw slammed into Bastion from within the cluster of werewolves, sending him flying back with a deep gash across his shield.
"Rank 1," Bastion warned.
A Rank 1 had been hiding among the crowd and managed to land a powerful blow, severely damaging his armor. Fortunately, it had struck the shield and not his body.
Unwilling to take another risk, Bastion activated Diamond Armor and charged back into the fray with a Shield Bash, scattering the lesser werewolves and isolating the Rank 1.
The werewolf lashed out with claws and teeth, tearing chunks off his diamond plating. Bastion responded with Diamond Edge-enhanced slashes, severing limbs that regenerated shortly after.
Eventually, the creature backed off to give itself time to heal, but Bastion gave no quarter. He followed up with another Charge and Shield Bash, sending the werewolf tumbling down the hallway.
With a swift lash, Bastion wrapped his whip around the werewolf's leg and yanked it backward, launching it straight toward Elyra.
She met the offering with a flurry of slashes, dismantling it limb by limb. The disoriented Rank 1 howled in agony before falling silent and finally dissipating.
"This is much easier than the orc dungeon," Lilia remarked.
"And faster too. We don't have to run around or double back from dead ends. The hallways always have a group of enemies."
"It's not hot," Elyra added.
Unlike the orc dungeon, the werewolf packs here often included more than one Rank 1. Fortunately, the narrow halls allowed Bastion's Shield Bash to restrict their approach, limiting the number of enemies they faced at once. He barely needed to use Taunt.
As a result, the party earned significantly more experience per run compared to the orc dungeon. Combined with the time saved from not having to navigate wide terrain or hunt down scattered monsters, it was a clear improvement over both the goblin and orc dungeons.
And so, the group continued their hunt through the castle's hallways until they reached the boss room, where more than five Rank 1 werewolves awaited them.
"Same strategy?" Bastion asked.
"Can you handle five?" Lilia replied.
"Not if I'm surrounded."
"I'll take on two, Master," Elyra offered.
"It's better if you take them one at a time and focus, while I take the literal beating. Worst case scenario, I can always explode."
"Alright."
Once they settled on a plan, the group stepped through the doors and entered a grand ballroom. Inside, over a hundred guests were dancing and mingling like nobles at a masquerade.
Bastion acted without hesitation. He unleashed Diamond Rain across the entire hall, instantly stopping the music and drawing the attention of the crowd.
As the guests began to howl and shift into their monstrous forms, the diamonds rained down, lightly striking them from above. The spell prioritized quantity over speed, inflicting only minor harm.
Then, with a fierce roar, they surged forward.
Diamond Shatter.
The diamonds exploded in unison, sending razor-sharp shards flying in all directions and tearing through the ballroom floor with a deafening crash. Most of the guests were torn apart in an instant.
Only ten survived, their bodies mangled but still standing.
"There's ten, not five!" Lilia shouted, immediately targeting one and doing her best to keep it frozen and unable to regenerate.
Elyra dashed to another and dismantled it without hesitation.
Bastion surged forward and activated Taunt, drawing the attention of the remaining enemies.
"Why does it smell like wet dog in here?" he quipped.
The werewolves roared and swarmed toward him.
Diamond Armor. Diamond Shatter.
He blocked their initial swipes, then retaliated with an explosion of shards that shredded his attackers.
Afterward, he coated his blade with Diamond Edge and used Slash to sever any limbs within reach.
"Wolfkin demi-humans are better," Bastion taunted, keeping their focus on him.
Apparently, werewolves were not considered demi-humans because they could actively switch between forms through transformation. That ability led them to believe they were superior to demi-humans. It was a sore spot for them, or so their Monster Studies teacher had warned.
Bastion repeated his strategy until the last werewolf was finished off by the girls. He barely survived with his armor completely intact but with near zero mana. It was a close call.
"Even with ten, that wasn't so bad," Lilia said. "Do you think we can take on the vampires?"
"Hell no," Bastion replied immediately. "They regenerate faster, and we'd need a proper Light Mage to finish them off. My free cast light magic is too weak."
The dungeon actually included vampires on the higher floors. It was originally meant for higher ranked adventurers such as the teachers. With the added difficulty caused by the cult, even the staff were hesitant to go any deeper.
Students just called it the werewolf dungeon because those were the primary monsters they faced. In reality, it followed a dark castle theme, filled with undead, vampires, ghosts, living armor, and more.
While they were resting from the boss battle, Lilia suddenly began acting strange.
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