Boss Room...?

If I had to describe that door with my—to put it mildly—limited vocabulary, I’d probably call it "The Entrance to the Boss Room."

The massive double doors were incredibly imposing. Pillar-like braziers stood before them, igniting automatically as we drew near. It was a classic trope in games, but experiencing it in person still made me jump. Had I been alone, I definitely would’ve let out a scream.

As it turned out, the concept of a "boss room" actually exists in this world. On certain milestone floors of a dungeon, powerful monsters often block the path forward. People call these creatures "bosses." It’s surprisingly similar to how things work in video games.

However, to the dungeon itself, a boss is still just a monster. They respawn quite frequently. This meant that if the area beyond those doors was indeed a boss room, there was almost certainly something waiting for us inside, regardless of whether the area was previously unexplored.

"What should we do?" I asked, turning to the group.

Bosses were typically on an entirely different level than the standard monsters found on the same floor. While we could handle the creatures on the Third Floor with a fair amount of leeway, a boss was a different story entirely.

"I want to give it a shot," Rei said with a grin.

I understood the sentiment. This was a boss room in a potentially unmapped zone; the thrill of what we might discover was hard to ignore.

"Even if we do challenge it, it doesn't have to be right this second," Mil countered. Sally nodded in agreement. I suspected Mil was just trying to balance out Rei’s impulsiveness, as she kept stealing excited glances at the door. It was actually Sally who seemed the most composed for once, which was a bit of a rarity.

That left my opinion and Halfa's. When I caught Halfa's eye, she simply tilted her head.

"I don't really know much about this stuff, but if I'm with all of you, I think we'll manage somehow."

Since she had only recently become an adventurer by circumstance, she lacked general dungeon knowledge. It was only natural for her take to be a bit vague.

However, I mostly agreed with her. Judging by the strength of the monsters we'd faced on the Third Floor so far, I didn't think a boss would be completely beyond our capabilities.

"We aren't low on consumables and we’ve got plenty of energy left, so there’s no real reason to put it off until another day," I added.

Thanks to my Storage Ring, our greatest strength was the ability to carry a massive surplus of recovery items. Besides, we’d had such an easy time on this floor that we’d barely used any of our supplies.

In the end, no one voiced a definitive objection. All that was left was for Rei to make the call as our leader.

"Alright. We’ll take a short break here, then head through those doors. It’s ten to one a boss room, so don't let your guard down."

We all voiced our assent.

When I put my weight into the double doors, they began to groan open with a heavy, grinding sound, moving as if by their own accord.

The interior was pitch black, making it impossible to see the back of the room. Our lantern light and Sally’s Floating Light seemed to be swallowed by the gloom, barely illuminating the ground at our feet.

We stepped cautiously into the chamber. A thunderous boom echoed behind us as the doors slammed shut. Our exit was cut off... but we’d expected as much.

Suddenly, the darkness vanished. I couldn't tell where the light was coming from, but the entire room was suddenly illuminated, and our field of vision expanded all at once.

The chamber was much larger than I’d imagined. It felt like it would take more than ten seconds to run from one end to the other, even at a full sprint.

In the center of the room, a white beast sat glaring at us. It looked like a cross between a wolf and a dog, but it was massive—twice my height even while sitting—and a single horn sprouted from its head.

To be blunt, it looked incredibly powerful. The sheer pressure it exuded was incomparable to any monster I’d faced since becoming an adventurer. The only thing that even came close was that creature from my time as an illegal slave—the eerie Black Wolf that had taken my eye.

However, the impression this one gave off was quite different. That Black Wolf had been clad in a sinister aura that invited pure dread. This beast possessed a ferocity, yet it didn't evoke that same sense of revulsion. Instead, there was a dignified, almost divine air about it. Though, perhaps I was just being influenced by its color.

"This is bad," Rei muttered.

"Yeah. This was completely unexpected," Mil replied.

Just as they said, our situation was dire. While it was impossible to accurately measure the strength of a creature we knew nothing about, it was clear that this beast was in a different league. It would be difficult for us to even put up a fight.

"Sally, Halfa! The door?"

"It's no use!"

"It won't budge at all!"

I checked with the two behind me, but their reports weren't promising. Then again, that’s just how boss rooms worked. It was exactly as I’d feared.

It felt like a desperate situation, but I didn't fall into despair. We still had an emergency exit.

"Should we use the Return Crystal?" I proposed.

"Yeah, let's do it," Rei agreed instantly.

The Return Crystal was a rare dungeon-born item. I didn't understand the mechanics behind it, but using it would teleport the party back to the dungeon entrance. It would fail if a monster was too close, but since there was plenty of distance between us and the beast, it should still work.

However, before we could activate the crystal, the white beast moved.

It opened its maw wide—a mouth easily large enough to swallow us whole—and...

"Kuaaa~h."

It let out a long, airy yawn.