[ That's right. ] Vlad casually answered.

There was no way for him to hide his skill now. He had unconsciously mentioned to her that he was able to locate anything in the dungeon in the heat of the moment when they had fallen and Alicia had asked him if Caiden and the others were alright.

But not hiding this skill actually had given him benefits since Alicia had became less worried and he also now has an excuse why he was able to casually walk the dungeon as if he had already been there.

[ What does it look like? The lowest floor, I mean... ]

[ Hmm... On the lowest floor, there's a large room filled with unknown materials. There is only one figure of a chair and one of a table's in it so I guess there's only one person who manages this dungeon... ]

Vlad did not check the lowest floor until now. The reason being he's too busy checking out the routes, floors, and monsters of the dungeon. Additionally, he was also constantly checking the status of Caiden and the trio, hence why he didn't have time for checking out the main room. But now that Caiden and the trio had finally regrouped, he finally removed his guard to them and he has now the time to check the room where the dungeon boss is.

He had originally guessed that there should be two dungeon bosses inside seeing how well it was being managed. But now that Alicia's curiosity reaches his, and now that he has the chance, he decided to also check it out and it turns out there were only two beings inside it: a large snake-like monster, and a huge human-like figure with horns.

( Haah... All I can see are figures and outlines though... )

Effective and useful his skill might be, it is not all that powerful. Vlad was only able to see everything inside the room as mere outlines. The furniture, the pillars, the walls, and the two beings that were inside the room, they are all only appears as thin outlines at Vlad's view.

There are three limitations to Vlad's appraisal skill when combined with his mapping and locating skills:

- Won't work if the item or person being appraised is not in the view of the user.

- Using it with a mapping or locating skills, the user will be able to appraise everyone in the range of those skills, but won't be able to appraise their race, job cla.s.ses, and total health.

- Using mapping and locating skills, Vlad won't be able to see the view, looks, and state of the person or item he hasn't seen before, they will only appear as black shadows outlining the real structures of their body - this includes any items, furniture, and any non-living things within the range ( This means Vlad will only able to see the outlines of the creatures or items he hasn't seen before in the game or in this world. )

With his continued use of this skill, he figured out both all of its advantages and downsides.

( I wonder if the boss really is a vampire... I've already seen all the races of Vampires in the game. Does this mean the boss is a creature I've never seen before...? Then what about those rumors about the boss being a Vampire...? ) Vlad was in deep thought.

[ Vlad-san...? ]

[ Hmm...? ] hearing her calls his name, Vlad turned his head to her direction and made a questioning look.

[ Just for me to get ready in the final fight... Can you tell me what is the boss's race...? ] she asked the question Vlad was figuring out what was the answer.

[ I actually don't know... There are limitations to my magic... ]

[ Is that so...? ]

[ Yes. That's why it's better for you to prepare for the worst. ]

( The highest level I detect here with my appraisal is 103. That's definitely the boss. There's no way Alicia and Caiden would win against someone of that level. )

A level that is higher than the hero, Hana. Vlad was expecting that the boss's level would be high, but he never thought that it would be higher than the being that is called the 'hero' of this world.

That was why, despite him still not to the agreement of having Alicia and Caiden as his guide, he was still thankful that he was the one who was to subjugate the boss. It would be dangerous if the hero's party had gone to this dungeon by themselves; they just might not be able to survive.

[ Prepare, huh? I've been prepared for everything this whole time. ] Alicia confidently answered his words.

( Does that include the time you fell into the trap...? )

***

[ Alicia... There're enemies coming. Prepare yourself. ]

[ Yes! ] answering his call, Alicia gripped her staff tight, and as Vlad had mentioned her to do, she had prepared her self.

Slowly, the footsteps of the monsters grew close to where they are.

The sound of steel rods and chains colliding with another. The sound of strings being pulled and loosed. The sound of footsteps cracking on each step. All those sounds resounded in the room of the dungeon they're currently in.

Slowly, they revealed themselves to Alicia and Vlad.

...

...

[ Skeletons...? ]

[ Yes, but they're no normal skeletons. ]

[ I've only seen them in books and I've never actually seen them for real... ]

Both Alicia and Vlad looks at the enemies in front of them quietly.

The enemies in front of them sure are skeletons, but their much larger than any normal skeletons. Each of them has a horn on top of their skulls and the color of their bones differentiates with the normal ones too - they were pale red, like clothes stained with dried out blood.

They're also holding different weapons: s.h.i.+elds, swords, bows, staffs, mazes, etc. The many varieties of their weapons indicate that they work in groups and that they're much intelligent than normal monsters found in the dungeon.

( Really... The level of this dungeon is much higher than the average level of humans that are living in this world... Just with those Antlions, they could seriously wipe out the whole city if the hero's party weren't there... And now we have the foot soldiers of advanced-level dungeons in front of us... Orc Skeletons. )

If normal skeletons were called as the weakest in mid-level dungeons, and Oni's at the high-level -Orc Skeletons are the weakest in the Advanced-level dungeons. But nevertheless, they're much stronger than most monsters players will encounter in almost all dungeons.

[ There're too many... ] Alicia mutters in distress. Her entire body hugging her staff and her legs shaking.

[ Are you afraid, Alicisan? ]

[ That's... No... I've already prepared myself for any situations... I'm not afraid - ]

*Swoos.h.!.+

[ s.h.i.+eld. ]

With her yet to finish her words, an arrow was shot towards Alicia's head, only to be deflected by Vlad's magic.

If Vlad did not use his magic 's.h.i.+eld' to protect her, that arrow will pierce her skull.

[ Please focus. There're enemies in front of us now. Ready your spells. ] Vlad casually said as if nothing had happened.

Hearing his voice, Alicia turned her head towards him. Seeing death comes close to her with just a blink of her eyes, she was left in a state of fear and shock.

[ ... ] still not being able to comprehend what just happened, Alicia was only silent and was not able to respond.

[ What are you waiting for? ]

[ Ah... Ri-Right! I'll chant my spell now! ] regaining her usual self, her eyes turned serious and she raised her staff high and started to chant.

Looking in front of her, she saw that their enemies had already surrounded them and are ready to start their attack. Seeing this, she again stopped herself from chanting her spell.

Their enemies are already surrounding them and she was overwhelmed by fear.

But despite this...

( Vlad-san... Why is he still so calm in this situation...? He's not even preparing a chant or taking out any kind of weapons... ) she thought as she looks at Vlad's face that did not even knit a brow to the sight of their enemies.

( He must've got a lot of experience... I hate to admit and accept it, but... It seems like both Caiden's and Hana's impression of him are correct... I'm already dead if it wasn't for him... )

[ Alicisan, just focus on chanting your spells and I'll deal with the attacks of the enemies. ] instructed Vlad.

( ThThat's right... There's nothing of me to be afraid of when Vlad-san's here... I'll leave my defense to him and I'll focus on my attack! ) with her now gaining the confidence, she started chanting her spell again, and...

[ Flame Magic! Meteor Burst! ]

***

It was the first time that Arthur's face had slipped from her mind. It was the first time she had forgot about anything. Her hatred, confusion, and annoyance, all of them were cleared out from Alicia's mind.

All that was on her head was defeating the enemies in front of her, not minding all the attacks that were coming at her. All of these because she has someone she relies on; someone she trusts.

Yes, in the midst of the battle, she forgot about everything and had trusted the person she had hated the most.

It was the first time Alicia had not treated Vlad as mere trash of a person, but a companion who she can trust her life with.