"HA!"

A multitude of skeletons that were crowding around Garvin's shield were all pushed away with the heft of his arm. Gavin himself was unscathed as a result of the heavy leather armor he wore.

Even though adventurers were relatively well off compared to average citizens that still didn't mean they could afford full metal armor. Gavin himself didn't seem to care that much about getting new armor. He said that metal was a hassle to take care of. Kotori could see that his leather armor was well maintain despite it's worn look.

A pig-sized ball of fire roared past and struck another throng of a skeleton near them. The explosion instantly shattered their fragile bodies. Bones flew everywhere and clattered against the ground echoing throughout the ruins they were in.

Norbert would flit around the battlefield and pick up the occasional coin or rusty sword the skeletons would leave behind before they turned to dust and their mana dissipated.

Kotori had observed the loot Norbert was picking up and saw that the coins were old and faded with no semblance of any marking. The swords themselves were sold for scrap metal.

Kotori watched their trio and their surprising teamwork. Although it was unlikely that they had worked together for that long it didn't seem like they had any trouble meshing together.

She herself was standing at the sidelines with Amelie and her Spirits. Although she could also fight she wasn't really in the mood to do so and also didn't feel like giving the kingdom any her of labor if she had to. The skeletons were actually quite weak in comparison to her but they could be dangerous in large groups which is how they spawned in this dungeon.

Skeleton

Race: [Dungeon beast] Age: 0   

HP: 10

Mana: 0

Agility:  2

Strength: 10

Defense:  7

Karma: [N/A]

Skills: None

Traits: None

She still thought it was interesting that skeletons would spawn in the first place. The process as to how dungeons monsters spawned and what determined it was still lost on her. Skeletons would seem apt in these ruins but they were completely artificial.

Incidentally, the dungeon they were in was a "cave ruins" type which meant that the main enemies would be these skeletons, cave rats, and higher ranking undead. They had already run into a few skeletons captains who were higher stated and able to control other skeletons to some extent. Not that it mattered since the orders they gave were very rudimentary. All of it amounted to

"Run in and hit invaders"

Which wasn't much different from the skeleton's base behavior in the first place...

Amelie and Kotori continued to watch the adventurers make quick work of the Skeletons in the section of the ruin they were in. They themselves were chatting while eating small snacks. Shu had made a small table and chairs and they were relaxing while the others were doing their work.

Since Kotori and Amelie wouldn't be able to profit off this dungeon run they simply told Gavin and Co to take all the loot for themselves. This was why the other adventurers didn't bother them while they sat in the corner. Kotori would occasionally activate [Hunter] and give some MonMochi to Shu and Umi. The amount of mana the Skeleton had was pitiful and thus she didn't bother trying to eat them herself.

"They've got good coordination," Kotori remarked

"Mhmm" Amelie said as she crunched down on a small biscuit.

The ruin had a very symmetrical layout with a steadily descending floor and each time they descended another floor Kotori would have Shu set up their table and chairs in a corner and they would watch.

[Dungeons exploring is quite relaxing when you don't have to work] Kotori thought.

She herself was a lazy person and quite liked this arrangement. Shu and Umi seemed to take the role of manservant and maid like this and would often hold their bags and fill the small clay plate they had with more snacks. If Kotori was thirsty Umi would use some of the water in her body to pour a cup for her.

Kotori had not ordered them to do this. It seemed that both of the spirits insisted on doing.

[Well, it's not hurting anybody and they seem to enjoy it so I guess I'll let them keep doing this] She thought

The adventurers had finally finished up this section and floor of the ruin and were now moving on.

They were chatting amongst themselves. Kotori eavesdropped a bit of their conversation and learned that they were talking about the bar they were going to frequent that night. Apparently, Norbert was quite partial to a waitress by the name of Yulia there.

The next few floors were rather simple and straightforward like the other ones and they continued deeper.

Eventually, they reached a dead end.

Well, to call it a "Dead end" would be incorrect.

They had finished their room and walked into a large hallway. The Hallway was markedly different than the stone caverns and rooms they were in. The Hallway had an extremely high ceiling and tiled floors. The floor was very clean which was unusual considering the fact that there was no one who would bother to clean a dungeon in the first place. At the end of the hallway was a large double door. The door had several inscriptions on it and depictions of armies and monsters locked in heated battles.

Gavin and the other immediately turned back upon seeing the hallway and the doors;

Now, the floors in a dungeon would get steadily harder as the mana concentration in the area increased, and thus the deeper you went the harder monsters you would find.

Although Gavin, Delvin, and Norbert seemed able to take on their current floor they still didn't seem to want anything to do with the hallway and the door.

"Wait wait wait" Kotori called out

"Why aren't we taking on this part of the dungeons"

Gavin looked at them with a knowing glance.

"You young'un don't know about this room"

He tapped the ground with his shield.

"Past this hallway is the boss room, it can be considered the source of the dungeon. For one, it's bad manners to take it since the dungeon stops existing, and second, the boss in there is insanely strong. Don't let the skeletons fool you. The boss in there is a real handful, not even that Yooma was able to take it down."

The other adventurers nodded their heads.

"I was there and I can say that monster is strong enough that the King's Queen would not be able to take it down"

Delvin added

[Queen?] Kotori thought?

This was a thought that was quickly followed by another

[Sounds tasty!]