Flying over the swamp area that they had been training in, Marcus kept a good eye out for any unwelcome guests that might want to attack them.
Normally most beasts or monsters would not fly over and area for an extended period of time unless they were one of the strongest, since other creatures would often launch attacks at those that flew over their territory.
Luckily Marcus had made it pretty far without incident probably owing to his form that was a replica of an epic grade beast that most others knew to stay away from.
That was however, until a group of some type of flying lizard that were around five to eight feet long, with dark blue and muddy brown scales that blended in well with the swamp began flying towards Marcus in mass.
'Level twenty-one, level nineteen, level twenty-four. None of them are very strong. Either they are very aggressive or very stupid.
Seeing the around fifty lizards coming for him, Macus simply shot out a couple of fire ball spells that incinerated most of them and left the others horribly wounded and scrambling back into the foliage of the swamp.
However, after that Marcus heard a loud roar and a much larger similar looking lizard began flying up towards him looking quite angry.
'Level thirty-nine. It is much larger around twenty feet long. Probably some type of evolution and the boss of the other ones.
Unfortunately, this beast had chosen the wrong person to attack, and with barely a glance Marcus fired off a laser spell and cut the flying lizard boss in half.
The creature then fell back to the ground in a splatter of blood and quickly its former followers jumped on its remains and began eating.
Continuing along Marcus soon made it to the entrance of the intelligent beasts domain without any more difficulties.
"Okay everyone off."
Landing just outside the entrance Marcus had everyone get off of him before he shrunk back down to his normal form as Irene, and they began walking down the tunnels towards the intelligent beast's home.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtTaking the journey leisurely it took them around two hours to arrive but when they did, they saw the numerous young beasts running around and playing.
In the last few days, the area that was largely war torn was already making a recovery along with those that lived there.
'It really is weird that such a place exists in the middle of a dungeon, but this certainly a mysterious world full of things I cannot even image.'
After taking in the area for a bit, Marcus and his group head toward the temporary shelter that had been made for them.
Along the way a number of beasts greeted them like celebrities, and Marcus waved back towards them gaining more of the beasts admiration.
By the time they had made it to the small house that they were using during their stay, Marcus actually found the crimson furred ape named Imre who was also the beasts new leader waiting for them.
"Irene it is good to see you back and in good health, though I suppose that the dungeon does not pose much threat to you anymore."
Nodding his head Marcus responded, "Yes after the fight with the demon not many opponents in the dungeon are much of a challenge, but a few of the stronger ones can still push me a bit."
The two of them engaged in idle small talk for a bit getting up to date on what was happening with each of them, but after a couple minutes, Imre said with a slightly downtrodden look, "So today is the day you will be leaving. We have prepared a going away feast for you, so, if possible, it would be great if you and your companions could attend."
"Yeah, that should be good. We just got back so a bit of rest and then a big meal to regain our strength would not be bad."
With Marcus' agreement Imre told him to head to the tree of wisdom in around two hours before departing to help make preparations.
'Now that that is done, we can sit back and relax a bit.'
Laying down on the soft grass that covered ground, Marcus opened up a story book which he had started on the trip to Lethallan but had not really had the time to read since arriving.
And while he did that the other members of his group decided to get in a short nap, since until just a few hours ago they had been battling hard in the dungeon.
Soon the luminous crystals that simulated the day in this area of the dungeon began to dim, showing that dusk was fast approaching and marking that it was time for their sendoff feast.
Gathering everyone up Marcus led the way to the tree of wisdom where he saw numerous large leaves had been sat out with piles of natural treasures and other edible plants found through the dungeon, along with the occasional piece of meat.
Heading towards the top of the hill Marcus found an area that had been left open for him and his companions to sit next to the strongest of the intelligent beasts.
"Today we send off our friend and savoir Irene along with her companions. She has done much for us so let her last day here be a memorable one."
The beasts then let out a round of cheers and other strange noises before they began digging into the food provided.
Of course, Marcus did not actually plan on this being a final farewell since after the boss fight, he planned on using this area as a base for exploring the dungeon, but after such a rousing speech he decided to being that up later.
Digging into the food, Marcus ate the natural tressures that were provided enjoying their rich flavor quite a bit, though with his stats already being at their maximum received no real benefit from them.
However, Lilia, her companions, and Blitz were getting great gains from the influx of natural tressures and Lilia after having leveled up a couple times had room for more stat growth.
'I wonder what kind of expression I will see on the next person who updates Lilia's ID.'
Marcus could not help imaging the type of shocked faces that might be made by those who saw Lilia's status because at the age of only eleven she was level twenty-five, and her stats were nearing her true potential.
Not even the strongest prodigies raised with care by the kingdom would have this kind of power and Lilia could be considered in a class of her own at this point.
'Now I just need to get her a unique skill or something to push her over the edge.'
Continuing to eat the food provided Marcus was eventually asked to tell stories of his adventures, so he regaled them with the tale of how he fought the boss in the Ocean Bluff Temple dungeon, receiving applause for his theatrical retelling.
The sendoff feasts' merriment continued well into the night but eventually everyone went back to their respective dwelling areas to get some rest, and Marcus and his group were no exception.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmWaking the next day, Marcus gathered everyone up for a quick breakfast before they would head back to Lethallan.
It had been nearly two weeks since they had been back, and Marcus was itching to get to work forging using the plethora of rare and high-quality materials he had obtained.
"Okay I think we are all ready, time to head out."
Exiting the temporary home, they had been staying in, Marcus found Findlyier waiting for them since he would be guiding them to the nearest area to the dungeon's exit.
Following behind the little pixie dragon that had found and recruited Marcus what seemed like so long ago, they soon came to the exit of the intelligent beast's territory.
However, there was also a large congregation of the intelligent beasts waiting to see them off and after one final round of goodbyes, Marcus and his group followed Findlyier into the tunnel.
Coming to the end of the tunnel Marcus and his group thanked Findlyier for guiding them and in return the pixie dragon said, "No need for thanks, you did a great service for us, so helping you get back home is the least I can do. Also, I am glad I decided to approach you now. I nearly passed you by since you emanated such a strong power of darkness, but I am glad I did not. Remember you are always welcome to visit, though I guess once the dungeon resets next year you will have to locate the new portals. Well goodbye and good luck."
After that the pixie dragon Findlyier went on his own way, flying back down the tunnel looking like a little ball of light.
Having said goodbye to the first intelligent beast they met in the dungeon, Marcus and company poked their heads out of the illusory wall and found that as they expected it was a sheer drop down to the bottom.
'This one looks a bit stepper than the others, maybe around two hundred feet down.'
However, a drop of two hundred feet did not mean much to them and the only one that was going to have any problem was Blitz.
Going first Lilia picked up Aurelia and Zareen before jumping off and plummeting towards the ground.
Yet before she hit, she cast her tier one force magic spell control impact and disperse the force of the landing.
Following after her Marcus possessed Blitz and flew down with his tier five iron magic spell landing on the ground easily and then unpossessing Blitz.
"The dungeon's exit should be to the west of here so lets go, we just need to pass through this area before we make it back to the safe zone."