The morning of the next day seemed a bit gloomy. When Billy looked through the window of his room, he confirmed what he had thought. It was pouring outside. He slept soundly, so he didn't notice it.
"This is some rain… it never rains this much back home," Alexander said. "What are we going to do? It doesn't look like it is going to stop any time soon."
While Billy could make an umbrella using Earth magic and buy some wooden ones in the nearest shop, the real problem was the fact that the monsters got a bit stronger on that weather… that was a pain in the ass since they finally could enter the third floor.
"Isn't it fine?" Lily asked when they reunited to have breakfast. "We aren't the you who run away from a challenge, after all."
Billy wasn't worried about that, but the fact that the power boost would also add to the difficulty increase of the third level. They didn't know how things would get more difficult, so that unknown factor was the problem. Regardless, that might be a good chance as well for the party as a whole to discover their limitations as of now.
The group headed toward the dungeon, and Billy still was wondering about the boost. He had read that all the dungeon monsters also get stronger at night for one reason or the other, but since no one knew Appraisal, it was hard to tell how much their strength increased. Also, Billy recalled that the third dungeon of that state was located in a pretty hot area… it wasn't desert. Still, it was almost… so, the fire monsters of the dungeon probably had a power boost all the time. In any case, once they entered the dungeon, Billy used Appraisal.
The monsters' status escalated in a rather dangerous way… the creatures on the first floor got a power boost of ten percent, and the on the second floor gained a boost of twenty percent. So, fighting the guardian of the core on a rainy day would be pretty much suicide.
"No wonder we found only a few parties waiting outside…" Kate said after she observed the speed and power of their attacks. "This will be a bit tough on the third level."
Not only did they get a thirty percent boost, but their levels also increased by twenty. The Golems also became more vicious and charged at them when they reached the third level… six of them.
Billy made sure to smash three of them with Earth blocks, but he had to use some more mana since the monsters raised their arms and tried to stop them. The others did their best to defeat the first group of enemies, and while they succeeded, Natalie, Alexander, and Lily were hit by the water arrows. A decent-sized wound was on their limbs, so Billy hurried up to warm things up with his warm breeze made by magic and then put on some bandages after cleaning the wounds like his grandmother taught him.
"Now I understand why some people wear big pieces or armor…" Lily said while making a pained expression.
It was rare for Lily to get wounded, even in training, since she was also taught how to dodge enemy arrows. So, she wasn't used to the pain. In the end, he let her his bracers and his spear to Alexander to make them heal faster.
In the next battle, things ended a bit better because of Sarah. She used both hands to make Earth blocks fall on the most aggressive monsters. Meanwhile, Kate didn't hold back on the use of mana and made her spears spin faster. Still, soon enough, they had to fall back and catch their breath. The fights on the third floor were too intense…
"I guess thinking that we could reach the last floor in three weeks was arrogance…" Alexander said. "I heard that only seventy people can reach this level."
"Don't determine if you can do something by the number of people that can do the same, Alexander," Lily said.
"Right… sorry," Alexander said.
"That being said, I can't say much since I am the least useful against the Golems…" Lily said and then showed an annoyed expression. "Ah! I hate elemental monsters so much!"
Lily's accuracy still was top-notch, but the Golems on the third floor could make their cores more even faster, to the point that even Natalie was having a hard time attacking them. Despite all that, Billy was excited… that was a real challenge that was making everyone use their heads for a change instead of just charging recklessly toward the enemies and attacking.
Cutting of the Golems was also getting a bit difficult, even for Billy, so he had to improve his deck of options against them as well. In any case, that was supposed to be the second easiest dungeon… the third and fourth ones certainly were bound to be a pain in the ass.
"I would bet that the monsters don't even have to try to wound us… since they are fire-type monsters," Billy thought while rubbing his chin thoughtfully.. "Well, as long as they keep me entertained to improve myself, it will be good enough."