The new arrivals looked nervous now that they had been abandoned, but the formerly human Worgen Rogue took charge.

"We have come to request access to the dungeon, on behalf of the Whiton Temple branch of the Church. The ten of us are all trainees in their care." She announced.

Niall sighed. If they were appealing on behalf of the church, it didn't matter that they weren't from the Golden Dragon Nation. They would be allowed access. Dungeons were considered Holy Relics, which gave the Church primary rights over them. So, it didn't matter what nation they hailed from, if they were Clerics of the World Dragon, or sent by them, they would be accommodated.

"Alright. The Magic Knights will lead you in. The Dungeon separates entrants into groups of five by order of entry, so sort your groups in advance." The Inquisitor explained.

"What is the challenge level?" She asked.

"Overall, low Commander. A mix of Commander and Ascended Rank Ogres, with Commander Rank bosses. There is minimal magic use, but some of the battle skills of the Ogre Lords are no joke."

The Knights led them into the building, and Johann sighed. "It looks like the discovery is already common knowledge. This can't be something on our end, it must have been a leak on the other side, either in procurement, or in the initial reporting, before your team was sent to clear the area. I'm tempted to say after you arrived. The Witry Mages didn't show up to try to claim it before it stabilized, so they would have found out later, likely from the Drake Riders' movements triggering their Oracle.

But if the word has already spread all through the Clergy, it should be considered an open secret.

That means we're going to have to deal with at least the Newbon Spellblades or demihumans showing up to challenge for a discount on access.

Nobody else would have the guts, I think. The Mage Towers east of the Frost Giants don't need much from us, as they have their own training methods, and the items that come from a dungeon are not usually of much use to Mages who can make their own equipment." The Shining Knight looked significantly more haggard than he had only a day ago, but it was emotional wear. "I don't know much about Newbon. Is it likely to get messy when they arrive?" Karl asked.

"That really depends on the day. Newbon is a majority human magical nation, the largest on the continent, but they have a considerable demihuman population. Every species you can think of, from Elves to Minotaur and Lamia coexists there.

So, when they show up here, their response will greatly depend on the attitude of the group they sent. If it's demihumans, some get along well with humans, some do not. But they respect the human interaction standards, for the most part. So, once a challenge has been decided, the following groups will respect the outcome for a while.

That makes it vitally important that we win the challenges, or they'll send anyone they please to fight in the dungeon, and they won't be polite about it." Johann explained.

Another portal opened, and a smiling Minotaur woman in an undyed leather dress covered in bead work stepped out. "Were you talking about me? My ears are burning, you must have been talking about me." She announced.

"Funny, it's like you had a listening spell active." Ahmad replied, and the nearly three metre tall woman gave him a bright white toothy grin. "Hello again Ahmad. I don't suppose you will reconsider that marriage proposal? I know you're still single."

"And quite content with the situation, thank you, Morrisa."

She actually looked a bit sad at that reply. Perhaps the big woman had a thing for clean cut Catman mages.

"How are we doing this today? Are you going to let my people through, or do we need to beat someone up to make our point?" She asked.

"Or you can just pay the entry fee." Ahmad suggested.

The Minotaur burst into laughter. "I see you haven't lost your sense of humour. Now, should we do this champion on champion, or will you let my people pass?"

"Champions. Do you want conditions?"

"This is a young adult sort of fight, so we can't just let the children go wild. No lethal blows, no cheap shots. One on one."

"With summons." Ahmad countered. "Do I look stupid to you? Don't answer that, humans are too stupid to tell that Minotaurs are all smarter than them. No summons, or that champion of yours is just going to try to assassinate my champion with his beasts."

[She's not as dumb as she looks. But how are you supposed to tell that with those vacant bovine eyes?] Rae asked.

[I think she's actually not as smart as she thinks. She's just a prey species, and she instinctively knows to avoid us.] Hawk added.

[Why won't they let us out? Everyone keeps insulting us and I can't even go out and bite them.] Remi complained.

[Our little snake is getting bloodthirsty. We will have to find you some peaceful reading materials or keep you away from Sister Rae.] Thor joked as Ahmad considered his answer.

Before he could speak, Morrisa turned to Karl. "I am right, am I not? No matter who I send against you, you would have one of your beasts assassinate them while you restrained them."

"Not in a lethal way. We agreed no lethal blows." Karl agreed.

Ahmad reluctantly nodded as he made a decision. "Alright. One on one, no additional attackers. But no flying species on your side."

Karl hadn't considered the fact that they might send a flying opponent against him to try to attack from further than he could cast spells.

"Why don't we make this one fun? Unarmed, melee range only?" The Minotaur Shaman suggested.

"Do you think we're crazy?" Johann laughed.

Karl chuckled. "Actually, I think she might be on to something. We've all seen the flashy skills, maybe a classic knock - down, drag out is just what we need."

"I don't think that you know what you're suggesting." Niall whispered.

"No, the boy has a point. How about this. No more than twice his weight, so my champion doesn't get taken out with a crotch punch. No weapons, no lethal blows, melee range only. No flying." Karl smiled at Johann and the Knight sighed. "Fine, we accept the terms."

Overlord Ahmad laughed. "Well, at least Karl isn't a particularly large guy. He's only about a hundred kilos, so the opponent won't be someone huge."

Morrisa reached back through the portal she had entered through, and grabbed someone, dragging them forward.

He appeared to be a turtle, standing on his back feet, with human shaped legs, but also with a full shell, and armoured plating on top of his head.

"Dammit, I should have expected that. If you want to forfeit, let us know. A Tortollan will not be an easy fight unarmed." Johann sighed.

Karl clapped him on the shoulder. "Don't worry too much. I can throw a punch."

The actual punch wasn't the point of a melee range fight with what was almost certain to be a naturally armoured Monk. Their skills granted them extreme defence, enhanced by their high base durability. Then they had a wide range of attack skills intended for close combat.

But Karl had Brutality to increase his size. Then there were Haste and Terrorize to increase his speed and damage. Bone Crusher was an effective melee attack skill that ignored armour, Shatter added internal damage, and Crushing Blows would add damage to blunt attacks, like fists and Bone Crusher.

If anything, he was at least on even footing with a Monk when he had his barriers up.