Lux stopped in front of the familiar bronze gate and looked at the name that shone in bold gold letters at the very top of the ranking list.

"Aina Van Goldenslayer," Lux said softly. "Colette is always urging me to marry her so that I can officially become her Big Brother. I wonder, is she the same as Colette?"

Lux tried to imagine a more mature version of Colette and ended up laughing. He just picture the blonde and adorable little Dwarf with an elegant and dignified expression on her face.

"I promised her that I'll meet her sister, so I guess I'll do that before I go to the Human territories," Lux muttered. "I'm sure that after Colette brings up the possibility of marriage, her sister will immediately reject me, leaving her perfect plan in tatters. But, this is for the best. I do not belong in the Dwarven lands of the Gweliven Kingdom."

Lux sighed as he shifted his attention to the entrance of the Dungeon. He then chose Hell Mode and disappeared from where he stood.

The next time Lux opened his eyes, he found himself in what seemed like a creepy forest, illuminated by a red full moon.

"This is a good place to shoot a horror film," Lux commented as he scanned his surroundings.

"Pa?" Eiko tilted her head in confusion because she didn't understand what Lux had just said.

"Don't mind, Eiko. Just keep your eyes peeled for trouble."

"Pa!"

The Elysium Compendium had already activated its exploration mode, showing the map at the upper right corner of Lux's vision.

Lux waved his hand and summoned Diablo, Ishtar, Pazuzu, as well as all of his Skeleton Warriors.

Eiko also summoned her Skeleton warriors, as well as Blackie and Whitey, who hovered beside Lux and were looking at their surroundings with vigilance.

The baby Slime was feeling scared because of the ambiance of the place, so she hid inside Lux's robes, and only peeked out to look at the path they were walking. Although she was already used to having skeletons and the scary Pazuzu around her, she was still afraid of foreign undead monsters, which amused Lux.

The path was quite narrow, and the sides were blocked by towering ash-colored trees that forced the group to move in a tight formation.

Diablo and Pazuzu were at the front, serving as the vanguard, while the Skeletal Fighters were behind them. Lux and Eiko were at the center. Ishtar and the Skeleton Grand Archers were right behind them.

After experiencing the Hell-Mode of the Orc Dominion, Lux no longer underestimated anything with the Hell Mode label. Even though the Bronze Crypt was only an E-Ranked Dungeon and merely served as a training ground for newbies, he still took it seriously.

When Lux took his hundredth step. The ground that was several meters away from him rose up, toppling the Skeletal Fighters that were standing in that position.

Soon, Six Elder Ghouls emerged from the ground and attacked the nearest monster beside them. All of them were peak Rank 1 Monsters, and were only a step away from Rank 2. However, Lux's skeletons were not pushovers either. All of them were Rank 1 Monsters, and they had the advantage when it came to numbers.

Although the surprise attack managed to damage a few of them, the moment the Elder Ghouls appeared, all the Skeleton Fighters dealt with them as if they were in a gang fight.

The pitiful ghouls were immediately neutralized until they collapsed into a pile of dirt, leaving nothing else behind.

The Skeleton Fighters used their sword to disperse the dirt, but they found nothing inside it.

"So stingy," Lux muttered. "Not even leaving a Beast Core behind."

"Pa!" Eiko was also dissatisfied as she looked at the dirt on the ground with beady eyes.

Clearly, she was in the mood to eat some Beast Cores, even if they came from a bunch of zombies.

After the first clash against the monster inside the dungeon, everyone became more alert as they headed deeper in the creepy forest.

Suddenly, the trees around them started to shake, which made Eiko scream in fright before burying herself inside her Papa's robes.

The trees around them suddenly unearthed their roots from the ground and attacked Lux, who was the only living creature inside the dungeon.

'Corrupted Treants,' Lux thought as his Summons formed a defensive encirclement with Lux at the center. "And one Hungering Treant. This dungeon really doesn't pull any punches for newbies."

Corrupted treants were similar to Elder Ghouls, but were more sturdy than them. They were Rank 1 Monsters that were weak against elemental attacks, especially fire, which dealt great damage to them.

The Hungering Treant, on the other hand, was a Rank 2 Monster that was almost as strong as an Orc Berserker. If it was alone, it would take an entire party to bring it down, but with seven Corrupted Treants backing it, it definitely spelles trouble to those who had just stepped into the Apostle Rank.

However, just like the Corrupted Treants were weakest against fire, the Hungering Treant was weak to elemental attacks, making it vulnerable against mages.

Airon, the Nightmare Horse, hurled several fire lances at the Hungering Treant that was trying to reach out to Lux, setting it ablaze.

Blackie and Whitey also unleashed their elemental attacks, dealing significant damage, especially Whitey whose Holy Attacks were very deadly against undead and corrupted creatures.

Once again, the monsters were easily dealt with, as they collapsed in a pile of rotting wood, leaving nothing behind.

"Again?" Lux scratched his head after finding out that no Beast Cores were found from the monsters' remains. "Is this just a coincidence or does my luck just suck?"

Just as Lux was wondering if Iris absorbed all of his luck when they slept together, a terrifying roar echoed through the creepy forest, making the baby Slime inside his robes shudder.

Lux narrowed his eyes as he stared at the North, where a giant black tree was located. It was the place where he needed to go, and the location of the Boss of the Dungeon that was waiting for them.