Tafel was hunched over, her palms pressed against her bent knees as she panted for breath. She wasn’t sweating, but she was ejecting thick steam onto the ground from her mouth with every exhalation. Her staff was planted in the ground beside her, and past the staff to her right, Vur was in the same exact pose as Tafel. A vein bulged on Tafel’s forehead as she whipped her head to the side. “You’re not even tired! Why are you doing that!?”

Vur blinked and scratched his nose. “Didn’t you say it was okay for me to copy you?”

Tafel’s expression darkened as she straightened her back. “It’s not okay to copy me when I’m exhausted,” she said and rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands. “It feels like you’re making fun of me.”

“Oh,” Vur said and straightened his back. “You were tired?”

Tafel’s eyes trembled as her fists clenched. “You’re definitely making fun of me right now. When did you become like this? Who taught you how to bully people? Was it Stella? I bet it was Stella.” She nodded and placed her hands on her hips.

“Vur! I’m being falsely accused by a phoenix who gets exhausted after using only four thousand spells!” Stella’s head popped out of Vur’s chest, her eyes as wide as a guilty puppy’s as she looked up at him. Then she twisted around to face Tafel and stuck her tongue out. “I didn’t teach Vur anything. You know he’s brutally honest.”

A low groan rumbled out of Tafel’s throat as she clutched her staff. “Back to practice,” she muttered before giving Vur a dirty look which Stella hid from by retreating back into his chest. Vur looked as if he had been asleep for a week. There was nothing off about him to indicate the fact that he had shot out over a million lightning bolts over the last six hours. At least, she was pretty sure it was a million. “Hey, Vur.”

“Hmm?”

“There should be a focus when you’re training,” Tafel said. “You know how sometimes quality is better than quantity? Instead of focusing on creating more lightning bolts, why don’t you focus on making one lightning bolt as strong as possible?”

Vur tilted his head. “But I do both? I make as many lightning bolts as strong as I can.”

Tafel furrowed her brow. “And you’re not exhausted?” she asked. Was the difference between their mana pools that great? Just because he had four elementals and maybe a fairy supplying him with mana of their own? That … was a pretty valid reason. “Wait, alright. Fine. More importantly, why are you so obsessed with lightning? You don’t even have a lightning elemental.”

“But I do?” Vur asked, raising an eyebrow. He reached into his chest and pulled out a pink egg-shaped object despite Stella’s protests. “See?”

Tafel’s eyes bulged as she bit her lower lip. “That’s not an—”

“And Alice told me I could shoot down a star if I train my lightning enough,” Vur said as he stuck the so-called lightning elemental back into his chest. “Right, Alice?”

Tafel turned around. Mr. Skelly and Alice were approaching them from the garden’s entrance. “Hey,” Alice said, raising one hand in greeting. That hand went to scratch her neck that suddenly became itchy under Tafel’s murderous glare. “Did I say something like that? I’m pretty sure you misheard.”

“No, I’m sure you said I could shoot down a star with lightning if I believe,” Vur said and nodded. He turned towards the yellow rune on his shoulder. “Right?”

“That’s right,” Sheryl said. “I heard everything loud and clear.”

Alice coughed and shrank back under Tafel’s further narrowing eyes. “You know it’ll happen one day if he sticks to it,” she said. “Anyways! I found out the location of a dungeon, courtesy of Apollonia. It has a lot of books and information on demons, including a detailed guide on becoming a demon lord.”

“You just lied to Vur about shooting stars down with lightning,” Tafel said, crossing her arms over her chest, her staff tilting to the side as it was gripped in her hand. “Why would I believe you? Besides, how do you know there’s a guide inside? Demons are a race unique to the central continent. If you wanted to raid a dungeon, you could’ve just asked and we’d’ve said yes. There’s no need to tease me like that.”

“Right, sorry,” Alice mumbled as she lowered her head, avoiding Tafel’s eyes. “Shall we go?”

“Yes,” Tafel said. “It’s been forever since I’ve raided a dungeon. The last one was back in the northern continent with Swirling Winds.”

Vur rubbed his chin. “Dungeon’s a very familiar word….”

“What kind of adventurer are you?” Tafel asked as she wrapped her arm around Vur’s. “A dungeon is a place filled with monsters, a mini-boss, and a final boss that drops great treasures when you conquer them. Usually, there’s something special inside that a lot of adventurers seek that it’s even worth their own lives. Dungeons are exciting places filled with adventure and glory and equally worthy hardships to match them. Conquering a dungeon is the best part about being an adventurer.”

Vur’s brow furrowed. “You mean like Auntie’s place?”

Tafel’s expression froze, the light in her eyes dimming. Her neck creaked as she turned her head to face Vur. “That’s right…,” Tafel murmured. “Auntie does live in a dungeon. In fact, she’s the final boss before you can reach the Fountain of Youth…. And the dragon roost is a dungeon with multiple final bosses that no one’s ever managed to reach yet….” Her head drooped as she released Vur’s arm and whirled around. Mr. Skelly happened to wander into her vision. “And let’s not forget about the graveyard where the fallen heroes are buried in a mire. The final boss these is an elder lich, but the unique part about it is the multiple skeleton knight mini-bosses.”

Vur blinked. “My home’s a dungeon?” he asked and tilted his head. “Does that mean I’m a final boss too?”

“…No.”

“I’m not?”

“No, you’re not,” Tafel said, more firmly this time.

“How come?”

“Because I said so. You’re not allowed to be the final boss of a dungeon. You’re an adventurer like me.”

Alice raised an eyebrow. “You know, I bet if the dwarves saw your palace in the central continent, they’d think it’s a dungeon. Don’t you fit all the requirements? Strange unique race, lots of treasures inside, royalty mini-bosses, and an insecure final boss who’s not quite a demon lord yet.”

“Who’s insecure!?”

Stella’s head popped out of Vur’s chest. She raised both her hands into the air. “My home was a dungeon too!”

Tafel groaned. “We’re adventurers, okay? Just normal adventurers with normal backgrounds raiding a normal dungeon in a normal adventure-like manner.”