That had been quite the fun fight for the party. As all fights that brought them close to death, pushed them to their limits, even if a little, and made them take things a bit seriously, usually were. Granted, this was generally because the party held back from the very beginning, much like they had done this time around.

  It went without saying that if Adriana had actually used a technique, along with the other two, the fight wouldn't have been much of a fight. Even so, they had still burned quite the amount of mana, and their bodies were that much more slightly refined.

  Advancement was all about using pure mana to push your body refinement forward, thus allowing for much greater amounts of mana to be used. The entire thing was essentially an ever-repeating cycle of taking in mana, refining it, using it, then having that refined mana refine your body so one could use more mana. The entire process was simple, but anyone trying to advance the ranks knew it was painful. The trio had more or less reached the maximum that they could push their bodies by refining without combat all the way back when they were Low D Rank.

  See, the deeper one went into refinement, the worse the pain got until most individuals were forced to stop; this process even extended to most monsters. And even after spending a couple of years undergoing various other training, said training did not really help the party advance in rank. At least not directly; instead, learning to fight and utilize their abilities would help them stay alive in combat, enabling them to advance in rank by continuously engaging in battle.

  Because, as anyone eventually found, when in combat, adrenaline allowed them to reduce the pain they felt. This pain reduction also extended to the pain one felt when mana burned their bodies. Of course, not all fights were created equal, and if the people in question didn't truly feel threatened, thus reducing their adrenaline, the pain would be worse. Which is why fights with legitimate dangers were the best for advancement.

  This had been a problem for the trio for a little bit once they realized how powerful they could be. After all, if they could finish fights in record time without using barely any pure or godly mana, then they wouldn’t advance. This was especially true when using techniques which only amplified their power. Thankfully, the party realized that if they held back and waited until the fight truly became dangerous, their adrenaline would kick in, allowing them to use pure mana while reducing the pain they would feel, which was often soul-deep, as their ethereal organ expanded. Granted, soul pain from expansion didn’t last for long, at least not until they progressed from one rank to another, or so the party was told.

  Anyway, when it came down to it, the party tended to be fairly relaxed for most fights, since if they let things get dangerous, then that was good for them. Even so, they still ended up using some pure mana every now and then since a little bit didn't hurt for long. All of this to say that though things had gotten a bit hairy with the fight against the Beast Lord, it had been uncontrollably under control, at least until that last attack, where Alexion had gotten really close to death, and he had unleashed something he usually left as a last resort.

  “Fuck that hurts!” The other two heard Alexion curse as they approached.

  “That’s what you get for playing around,” Arctur told him jokingly.

  “Oh gods, you okay!?” Adriana said as she tackled him with a hug, realizing too late that perhaps that wasn’t the best.

  “Sorry!”

  “Ow! I am okay, Adri, just hurting like hell,” Alexion told her as the mermaid let go. The elf’s body still felt like it was on fire, and even if he had stopped sizzling on the outside, his insides were not recovered.

  “Guys, apparently, Otterson was a Boss, and the other two were Mini-Bosses,” Arctur said, changing the subject after he looked at the two notifications.

  “What?” The other said in unison, still not having bothered to check their notifications, since Alexion’s mind was occupied by pain and Adrianas by Alexion.

  “That’s what the dungeon calls the Beast Lords, at least with this system of illusions that it has. Well, the Beast Lord is the Boss, and the other two, by process of elimination, have to be Mini-Bosses. I am assuming because they are weaker, and therefore are mini-versions?” Arctur added. The green man's last words were posed as an open question, to see if the other two agreed. Hearing their friend's words, Adriana and Alex checked their notifications.

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  ?? Crystal Notice ??

  Achievement Acquired: Definitely Not a Minion!

  Description: Defeat your first Mini-Boss.

  ??

  ?? Crystal Notice ??

  Achievement Acquired: Boss Slayer.

  Description: Defeat your first Boss.

  ??

  “That seems about right, Art,” Alexion told him, agreeing with his friend's theory.

  “Yeah, I agree, and since we are on the topic, what do we think of these so-called mini-bosses? I don’t remember feeling such strong monsters last time we met Otterson.”

  “True, I mean, we didn’t have to get truly serious, well, Alex did right at the very end, but even then, how is a normal party supposed to handle that fight?”

  “I would say that they were added after the event started, probably as an extra surprise, since it was obvious we would be fighting, but the so-called boss alone would be a tough challenge, especially underwater. So, that leaves three things, well, two, now that I think about it,” Alexion told them, going silent as he pondered.

  “Ugh, just tell us, why do you have to be like this?” Adriana told her boyfriend, knowing damn well he was stalling to mess with them. Of course, that was what Alexion wanted, and after hearing he had annoyed her enough, he gave her a playful grin and explained himself.

  “Okay, so at first, I was thinking that maybe the dungeon changes the strength of the Beast Lords based on who they were fighting, but it can’t be; otherwise, we would have had a different fight on our hands.”

  “Yeah, that makes sense. If the boss had been strengthened to fight us, then we would have actually had to get serious,” Arctur agreed.

  “Indeed, now, my second idea is that the dungeon doesn’t like us, and has made this fight harder to strike at us for some reason.”

  Hearing Alexion’s second reason, the three friends fell silent, exchanging glances and looking around their surroundings before smiling and then laughing hysterically at the idea.

  “Can you believe that!? An all-powerful entity who made all of this, mad at three D Rankers!?” Alexion burst out laughing as he gestured to his surroundings, underscoring the absurdity of his statement. Naturally, Alexion’s antics made the trio laugh harder.

  Finally, as they were getting themselves under control, Adriana let out a satisfied sigh as she asked the all-important follow-up question.

  “Alright, seriously, why are we thinking this happened?”

  “It's because of the quest,” Arctur answered right as Alexion was about to open his mouth, gaining an annoyed and unhappy look from the elf.

  “Huh, that makes sense. So, you really think that our fishing quest is increasing the difficulty of the whole event?”

  “Yes,” Alexion said hurriedly, his eyes never having left Arctur, “I think it's another way for the dungeon to increase the difficulty of Ribbiton winning the event, or maybe and something I just thought of,” Alexion paused sticking his tongue at Arctur before continuing, “Maybe it is because of us losing two Beast Lords during the last phase.”

  “Huh, that last bit is a much better reason, but I can see both being possible,” Arctur told Alexion, the faintest smile still on his face after messing with the elf.

  “Well, if it is, then I think both are somewhat easy to confirm, though, do we even care if things are harder?” Adriana said as she asked a truly important question.

  “No, the harder the better; however, if it's because of the quest, it might be best we keep quiet in case other people get upset at us for making things harder. Granted, we might not be the only ones doing the quest, but still, why rock the boat?

  “Hmm, I say we confirm whether or not it’s the boss thing, and if it isn’t, then we say nothing,” Arctur said, passing his idea by his two friends, who were quick to agree.

  “Works for me,” Alexion told him while rolling one of his shoulders.

  “Sure, but for now, let's head back to the surface so Alex can rest,” Adriana declared, not giving them any room for argument, even if Alex tried.

  “I am fi-” Alex got out, right before the mermaid placed her hand on his mouth and began dragging him upwards, Arctur shaking his head slightly as he watched the two leave in a blur, Alexion trying to tear away her hand from his mouth but failing miserably.

  “He never learns,” The green man said as he stirred the magic of his ring to follow.

  Dan had to admit that he enjoyed watching the trio fight. Unlike most adventurers, who he already knew had run-of-the-mill magic, often trying to stick to the norms, the trio, among a few others, had cool things to show him. Sadly, that didn’t extend to three certain idiots, but he watched them for the laughs and nothing else. Meanwhile, he looked forward to what bullshit thing the three friends would pull off, just like the elf had done.

  Dan had no clue what the guy had done, but he had felt the spike of godly mana, which let him know it wasn’t some basic thing. Now, could Dan do some poking around and find out everything about the trio? Yes he could. However, he wouldn’t. Dan liked surprises, which was why he was often the dungeon master back on Earth; after all, nothing was more surprising than the absolute bullshit that players would try to pull off and often get away with.

  Speaking of players, Dan had been listening to the conversation between the three friends, and though at first he felt called out, his annoyance quickly turned to amusement as the trio dismissed the real reason why their fights were harder. So, instead of smiting them, Dan had been a good godlike entity and had laughed with them, all the while looking forward to the next boss fight the trio would do, as he planned to empower some more minions, once again.