I am the Demon King of the Dungeon!

"I made it! I made it! I made it!" Renn lay on the ground, excitedly waving his fist. "Third time! Third time clearing the level! Next time I can go straight to the third floor!"

Arthas kept thinking about the boss battle he had just fought. The initial cooperation, followed by the revelation of his trump card, gave him a sense of exhilaration reminiscent of playing MMORPGs in his past life. No wonder adventurers flocked to the area.

"It didn't cast a curse on the entire group in the end." Oris looked at the necromancer's corpse and said with lingering fear, "If it had, all three of us would have died here."

"Maybe it's lost its magic?"

"...Whatever makes you happy."

Just then, the necromancer's "corpse" slowly dissipated, leaving behind a treasure chest.

This was Arthas's first drop mechanism, created to enhance the dungeon experience for adventurers. Other dungeons followed suit, and it remained popular on the continent of Asgard for nearly a hundred years.

"It's here! It's here!" Renn jumped up instantly, rushed over, and squatted in front of the treasure chest, rubbing his hands together. "Let me open it?"

"Wait!" Oris walked over and stopped her, saying, "Why are you driving? Why am I driving?"

"Of course I'll drive it! You drove it last time and brought out a bunch of junk."

"You weren't much better last time either, so I'll drive this time!"

"No way! You're too clumsy!"

"What does opening a treasure chest have to do with your hands?!"

"Of course! You know what luck is, right?!"

Arthas listened to the pointless conversation from behind the two men with a blank expression, then stepped forward and decisively opened the treasure chest.

"Click".

The moment the lid was opened, a pale green fluorescent light emanated from the box and swirled twice in the air.

Raine and Oris both shut up and peered into the chest. The inside of the chest was lined with a layer of black velvet, on which the spoils were neatly arranged.

A short sword with a faint green glow on its blade and a dark green cat's-eye stone inlaid in its hilt; a dark gray leather armor with a soft feel to the touch; and a neatly folded parchment.

Renn was the first to reach out, pick up the short sword, weigh it in his hand, and exclaimed in surprise, "What a treasure! Is this the Fang of the Undead or the Fang of the Shadow?"

"I don't know, they look exactly the same, the only difference is the enchantment." Olis leaned closer, looking at the short sword, and said, "We'll have to take it back for an appraisal to know."

"Mine! Mine!" Renn hugged the short sword to his chest. "I needed a secondary weapon, and this is perfect!"

"Who said you got it?" Oris raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you even ask Dick first?"

"He's so strong! What does he need a short sword for?" Renn asked like a possessive puppy, "To pick his teeth?"

"...Alright then."

Oliss was too lazy to complain. She reached out and picked up the gray leather armor. The outer layer was finely crafted, and the inner lining was some kind of soft, unidentified fur that felt warm to the touch.

"This is the Shadow Leather Armor, a second-tier set."

"Dick, do you want it?" Oris handed over the leather armor and asked, "It'll be perfect for changing out of what you're wearing..."

"No need, you wear it." Arthas shook his head and refused, "Your clothes have been cut by the skeleton, you should change them first. The one I'm wearing isn't damaged yet, and my set isn't complete either. Give it to me next time you have some."

"Okay." Olis didn't hesitate. She stuffed the Shadow Leather Armor into her backpack and reached into the box to pick up the parchment.

Unfold.

The parchment was covered in dense, tadpole-like writing in the Undead language, with a translation in Common language thoughtfully included beside it, the handwriting so neat it looked as if it had been measured with a ruler:

[Dark Hemcas Level 2 - Proof of Completion]

This proves that—

The adventurer party "Blank" has completed its third raid.

Note: Please fill in the team name in the blank.

According to the rules, the team is now qualified to directly access the third floor. On their next visit, please use the right-hand branch passage directly and do not need to repeat the challenge.

Yours sincerely.

salute.

—The second floor boss, the necromancer.

Signature: [A perfectly drawn signature, stamped with a skull and crossbones seal next to it]

Arthas's lips twitched slightly when he saw the signature. It was drawn so precisely; he must have practiced it countless times.

Renn leaned closer, staring at the parchment for a long time: "Blank? It says we are blank?"

Oris: "Because we didn't register our team name."

Ryan: "Should we report it?"

With a blank expression, Oris asked, "Are you sure you want others to know that your squad is called King Rein...?"

"..." Raine opened his mouth and then closed it again, remaining silent for three seconds before replying, "Let's leave it blank for now."

Olivia folded the parchment and put it into her backpack, then turned and walked toward the exit.

Renn tucked his short sword into his belt, turned around, nudged Arthas with his elbow, and said, "Let's go! Let's go check out the third level together!"

Arthas nodded and followed.

"The entrance to the third level is just ahead," Renn said as they walked. "That's the liveliest place in this dungeon; the high-temperature lava pools are really interesting."

"Interesting?" Arthas had witnessed countless adventurers' actions through the crystal ball, but he couldn't understand the meaning of the challenge. Curious, he asked, "What's so interesting about it?"

Upon hearing this, Renn's eyes lit up, as if a switch had been flipped, and he became excited: "You don't know if this is your first time here, but there's a lava lake on the third floor. It's incredibly hot, but adventurers still love to flock there."

Why?

"A test of fire endurance! Stand by the lava lake and see who can stand the longest. The record holder will have their name engraved on the nearby rock face. The current longest is seventeen minutes!"

"..."

Humans are so fucking boring.

Arthas recalled seeing a group of adventurers standing by a lava pool in the crystal ball, grimacing and sweating profusely. Some couldn't hold on and jumped up screaming, while others gritted their teeth and endured until they were smoking. He had always thought they were practicing fire-attribute skills, but it turned out they were in a competition.

"Some people come specifically to break records."

"Breaking a record?"

"Yes! That seventeen-minute record has been standing for three months, and no one has been able to break it. Several adventurers have come specifically to challenge it, but none of them have lasted more than ten minutes. The worst one stood there for eight minutes before collapsing into the lava."

"...Then we can just go straight back to the temple, right?"

"Yes, it came back after being resurrected, but the second time was even worse. It burned to death after standing for five minutes."

"Will he come again?"

"I don't know if he's mentally unstable, he just kept going like a stubborn mule, and once he even wore a fire helmet," Ryan said with a laugh. "But he only lasted five minutes. Now everyone calls him 'Five Minutes'."

"You...you adventurers, are you here to conquer dungeons, or just to have fun?"

"Both! Strategizing is work and a challenge, but having fun is essential too. A truly excellent dungeon requires mastering both, and Dark Hemcas does it superbly!"

After listening, Arthas finally understood the reason for the third layer of bestsellers; humans really are a race that "loves to court death."

The three walked and talked, and before they knew it, they had reached the vicinity of the entrance to the third floor.

The passage ahead widened considerably, the air was filled with a faint smell of sulfur, and the temperature was much higher than before.

At the end of the passage, several figures could be vaguely seen.

There were not just one or two people, but seven or eight, huddled at the entrance to the third floor, forming a semicircle, as if they were looking at something. Some were whispering to each other, while others were standing on tiptoe to peer inside.

"How can there be so many people?" Renn was taken aback and frowned. "It wasn't this crowded during the day."

The entrance to the third floor was sealed off, and two people, a man and a woman, wearing adventurer's guild uniforms and with golden badges pinned to their chests, stood at the door.

The woman had short hair and a serious expression. She was holding a wooden board with several pieces of paper nailed to it. The man stood in front of the door with his arms crossed, giving off a "this way is blocked" vibe.

"What's going on?" Oris asked the guild members as she walked to the door, "Why won't they let us in?"

The short-haired woman replied seriously, "The third floor is temporarily closed; no one is allowed to enter."

"Closed off? Why?"

"The BOSS is missing." The short-haired woman pointed to the wooden board and said, "We have received instructions from our superiors that the third floor is currently unsupervised. Adventurers are prohibited from entering without a safety assessment."