Lloyd activated [Radiant Presence], [Immovable Ramparts], and [Noble Shield] Class Skills, as well as his [Law of the Jungle Roots] Bond Skill, his tower shield glowing bright as the Rose Queen Scorpion’s claw came swinging towards him.

The level 142 Scorpion was absolutely titanic in size, and each of its massive pincers was thirty feet long and probably weighed 10 tons.

The force of the monstrous blow echoed through Lloyd’s entire body, but because of his skills, he didn’t budge an inch, showing that the Exalted Paladin Class really was deserving of its reputation as the most powerful Tank Class of all. The tip of the monster’s pincer even broke off as it hit the unmovable shield.

But a Tank is nothing more than a wall, and even the strongest wall will fall if not properly manned. 

While Lloyd held its attention, the others took the opportunity to strike. A melee fighting going for each of its legs, aiming for the unarmored joints, while the crossbowman focused on the monster’s eyes.

Scarlet slashed at the monster’s left side, unleashing her [Arcane Wind Blade], the Skill she gained when she progressed to a 5th Tier Class. The wave of sharpened arcane power nearly cleaved one of the legs off in a single hit.

While the others were months away from their next Class Change, Scarlet’s otherworldly mana regeneration had caused her to reach it first.

It really was insane. Most people who took the gambit would take 5~8 years in order to reach Tier 4, making them as strong as a normal Tier 5. Scarlet had reached Tier 5 in 4 months, and in a hybrid class no less. Her power was easily on the level of a high end Tier 6.

Of course, when it comes to raw damage…

“RAHH!!!” A lion’s roar was coming from Charles and the boy jumped up into the air with his absolutely massive sword. With a 15 foot blade and 4 foot long handle, it was easily quadruple the boy’s size and weight. But because of his Monster Hunter Class’s [Heavy Weapon Specialist] Skill, Charles could swing the thing around as if it was a normal two-hand sword, and while his speed suffered, making it difficult to fight lighter and faster targets, something like the giant Scorpion was much less able to dodge, even if it wasn’t hobbled.

Charles had jumped high above the monster, only for a transparent blue shield to appear in his path, courtesy of Scarlet, which he then used as a platform to kick off of, flying down towards the monster at full speed.

The blade glowed red, mana flames leaking out of it as Charles activated his Class Skill, [Meteor Slash].

The attack landed square in the monster’s back, and pieces of shell and blood went flying in all directions as Charles blasted straight through the beast’s outer shell at high speeds.

The Scorpion let out a shirl hissing sound as its body shook, spasming from the aftershock of the blow hitting his central nervous system. Charles clung to the sword, which was still lodged in the monster’s back, even as the monster tried to shake him off. 

Letting out another shout, the young nobleman started to use his [Elemental Weapon Arts], sending jolt after jolt of electricity into the monster’s body, trying to further mess with its mortar controls.

But the charges weren’t strong enough, and the monster swung down at him with its stinger. “Look out!” Lloyd shouted, but before he or Charles could react, Isaka tackled Charles out of the way, causing the scorpion’s tail to slam into its own body instead.

...Not the most well planned move.

The massive stinger pushed the sword that was still stuck in its body deeper, down through the monster’s spin, leaving its tail completely paralyzed.

“Its pincers are still live, but it can’t move! Let’s hit it from the sides! Lloyd, draw its attention for a little longer!” Scarlet shouted as they all reorganized to finish off the crippled monster.

And Lloyd did just as he was told, drawing attacks from the monster while the others got into position. 

After all, he was the Tank.

---

 

“So much for the big bad boss of level 19.” Andy joked as the monster finally stopped moving and they all received their experience rewards, Lloyd growing from level 102 to level 109.

His level had more than doubled in the last three weeks. Something he really hadn’t been expecting.

Even after seeing the Lady Scarlet’s fight against Alexander, Lloyd had been under the impression that he would be the one carrying the team. He thought that he would be sacrificing his own growth while waiting for them to catch up in six or seven years.

How wrong he had been.

Lloyd had believed that Charles, Isaka and ‘Bran’ would all one day become strong, but had thought that they would need to depend on him till then. He’d even been somewhat counting on it. For him to become the center of their group, the way that King Edmar had been the center of the Big 10.

He’d even been thrilled to find out Scarlet’s true identity, since people saw her as being similar to the ‘Oracle’ and her supporting him would be seen as another similarity between him and the King by the Heroic Faction.

He was quickly realizing that he wasn’t only not as far ahead of them as he had once expected, but that he wouldn’t remain ahead of them for long.

“Don’t be arrogant. If we hadn’t dealt with its children first and lured it into a wide open area, things would not have been so simple.” Charles said as he retrieved his primary weapon and returned his fall back sword to its sheath. He was completely covered in blood from the retrieval, but wasn’t about to leave the sword in there for long. “It seems that for our current selves, level 140 monsters are still a challenge. ...A challenge, but doable, under the right conditions.”

The Rose Queen Scorpion was easily the strongest monster in the upper levels of the Dungeon, and had been confirmed as responsible for 8 deaths the previous year alone. Though since it never stayed in one place for long, the army had never managed to hunt it down, the way it would with any other monster of that kind of power in the upper levels.

It was only because of Scarlet’s skills that they managed to get the jump on it, rather than the other way around. But even so, the fight wasn’t easy. It was the strongest thing above floor 20, and not by a small margin.

“Our strategy relies a little too heavily on Lloyd’s defenses to distract the enemy. While it works well for single monsters, we need a way of handling groups.” Scarlet said, getting a wince out of Lloyd.

Charles had openly endorsed him, but that endorsement was for the sake of a girl who was under the protection of his house. If the girl married, the reason behind his support would vanish with it. Isaka made it no secret that he didn’t like Lloyd in the slightest, and while Scarlet had been kind to him, she wasn’t exactly supporting him either.

By the way things were looking, Scarlet would be a Tier 6 by the next year, and her stats would be surpassing his own. If she managed to get her Class Level up to 150, she’d be able to become a Tier 7 before exiting the Academy. After that, the gap between the two of them would be reversed.

He had not taken on the gambit himself because he didn’t believe it was possible for him to reach a high Tier Class in time if he could. There was no way that Lloyd could have ever predicted this. Mehal, the Oathless Knight, was considered a monster by reaching Tier 6 at the age of 25. But compared to Scarlet, his growth was like a slug’s.

Lloyd needed them. He needed their help if he was going to become King, but why would any of them help him? Why would they even keep him around, once they got stronger.

...If they abandoned him, he would once again be left with nothing. Just like when his promised retainers left him for going against his family. If they did, how was he ever going to keep his promise to Kate and Cath?

“If we can handle one level 140, that means we are ready to move on to a deeper level. Let’s grab its magic crystal and head back to base for tonight and regain our strength.” Charles said to the group. 

“Sound’s good. We could all use some rest after this one.” Isaka nodded in agreement.

“Well, not all of us.” Sidney said, smirking a bit in Scarlet’s direction. “I’m sure Scarlet will be up all night as usual.”

It was meant as just a playful tease, but it turned awkward as Scarlet didn’t immediately react and just sort of looked away from them. “...Yeah. I guess I will be.”

“...Did I say something wrong?” Sidney asked quietly as Scarlet started to walk away.

“What makes you say that?” Charles asked, confused, not seeing any change in Scarlet’s behavior.

“...Never mind.”

---

 

Scarlet stood in front of her bed, a bed that she had never once used before, despite having gone through all the trouble of transporting it down into the Labyrinth.

She had stripped off her mana regenerating clothes, and for the first time in ages, was in just normal clothes, a pair of pajamas she had made for herself.

She felt more than a little anxious as she held the veil of the Draught of Dreamless Sleep in her hands. The weight of it felt greater than any weapon she’d ever swung, as her palms began to sweat.

“You okay?” Branwen asked her as she tried to work up her courage.

“Y...Ye… Not really.” Scarlet admitted to her partner. The one who knew her better than anyone else. “I’ve been fearing this for so long that I guess I’m… you know.” 

“If the potion doesn’t work, I’ll wake you right up.” Branwen said, trying to reassure Scarlet.

“Thanks.” Scarlet said, smiling softly as she took the bottle in her hands and pulled out the cork.

Even the smell of it was somewhat calming, though the potion was so tart that it almost made Scarlet gag when she took a gulp. Though after swallowing, the effects of the potion started to settle in and she felt herself getting more and more tired.

While in a foggy state, Scarlet climbed underneath the blankets, and for the first time in decades for her, she willingly closed her eyes and waited for sleep to take her.

---

 

The hands.

The hands were pressing down on her. Holding her still. Squeezing the life out of her. She could feel it as they ran all across her body, violating her.

She wanted to struggle but she couldn’t move. She shouldn’t do anything. She stared up into the darkness that obscured the man’s face as he pressed himself down on her. Her heart was plummeting as she knew what was about to happen. She did her best to struggle against the pressure, but she couldn’t move an inch.

As he leaned in to her, closer and closer, she let out a scream of panic, hoping for someone to hear her and help. Hope… Hope… 

(Scarlet! Wake up! Scarlet!)

Scarlet’s eyes opened as feather’s brushed against her face, and she found herself looking up at a flustered Branwen who was batting her wings against Scarlet in order to wake her up.

“Wha… Huh?” Scarlet looked about her in confusion, wondering where the man had disappeared to. Her arms and legs were throbbing. Her entire body hurt and her mind was in a daze.

(Thank goodness you are awake!) Branwen said, seeing that Scarlet’s eyes had opened and trying to rub her head against the girl’s cheek, and getting her feathers wet with Scarlet’s tears. (You just started screaming! And I wasn’t able to wake you up! That potion was a horrible idea!)

The potion?

Scarlet’s eyes went to the bottle, still more than half full of liquid. Biting her lip, she trembled with both the residual effects of her nightmare, and anger. “Piece of crap!” Scarlet screamed, grabbing the thing and throwing at the wall as hard as she could, causing it to shatter. The act of violence didn’t make her feel any better and she pulled in her legs and began to sob. “Draught of Dreamless Sleep my ass.”

She was stupid to think that it would work.

Potions run off of mana, and she had mana resistance. Her body resisted mana 75 times better than a full grown adult. If the potion would last for 8 hours for a normal person, it would only give her 5 minutes of dreamless sleep. Nothing more than a taste.

But to a starving man, receiving only a taste is maddening.

Scarlet was tired. So very very tired.

For years she had been fooling her mind, body and spirit into thinking that it didn’t need to rest, and now she was reminded as to just what it was that she was unable to have.

More than the muscle soreness from her night terrors, it was the aching of her soul which hurt the most. The wish that she hadn’t received this small reminder of what it was she was missing.

As she cried, Nisien climbed up onto her bed and started to lick the tears off of her cheeks.

Scarlet responded by wrapping her arms around the wolf’s neck and burying her face in his fur. Taking the kind of comfort that can only be provided by the warm fur of a good doggo. 

Even so, it was a long time until she was able to get a hold of herself, and during that time, her cries did not go unnoticed.

Isaka stood outside of her door, his sharp ears having heard her earlier screams, prompting him to go and check on her. And while she was physically fine, she most certainly was not okay.

She was a strong girl, resourceful, and perhaps a bit oblivious. Even if Scarlet herself didn’t recognize it, he owed her a debt which could never be repaid for what to her were just random acts of kindness. But despite all of her positive traits, she was still human. She had her problems, and she had been bottling them up inside.

She’d never admit to anyone that she was having these problems, as she was under the delusion that she would be holding them back if she did. She needed there to be a reason for why she could take a break.

Moving away from Scarlet’s room, Isaka went to speak to Charles. They couldn’t progress like this.

It was time that the entire party took a break from the Labyrinth.