A while before the impending battle with the killer ants enced, Draco had expertly structed a reasonably substantial mound of earth, molded through the application of earth magic, at the ter of the room.

  When they had first ehe dungeon, he was sceptical about the use of his elemental magic, more precisely earth magi the dungeon.

  He initially thought that, the utilization of earth-based magic within the fines of the dungeon would prove to be an arduous endeavour.

  Nearly every grain of soil therein was intrinsically lio the very fabric of the dungeon itself.

  sequently, wieldih magic would be akin to wrestling for dominion over a segment of the dungeon's own corporeal form, an endeavor that should be almost impossible or would drain siderable amount of mind to perform.

  Fortunately, he quickly discovered that the dungeon's awareness did not permeate every individual particle of sand and stohat prised its structure.

  Using his knowledge of the series and a few experiments in the past week.

  He came to the clusion that, as long as the manipution of the earth did not encroach upon areas of critical importance or inflict signifit damage to the dungeon floor, the dungeon would not react with undue severity.

  Should the dungeon perceive his as as a threat, a juggernaut would likely be summoo address the disturbance.

  Additionally he had also learned something new about his magic during the past week in the dungeon.

  His mind trol method normally involved him, stretg and moulding his internal energy to create elemental effects that he desired.

  But there was always some form of resistahat expended a part of the energy inteo fuel a spell.

  This in turn reduced the spell potency by a signifit amount.

  After receiving falna and expl the dungeon, he had e to realize that his energy wasn’t beied but was acclimating with natural elemental energy.

  Because he viewed it as a form of resistance, he basically lost energy to nature without using it.

  He hadn’t yet learned how to utilize this in his favour, but it was something that he inteo experiment with iure.

  ……………………………………………………………

  The mound Draco had structed was to serve a strategic purpose, providing Dimitra and Vasiliki, the team's primary ranged batants, with a elevated vantage point from which to effectively leverage their respective skills.

  The ground-based fighters, meanwhile, were anized into pairs: Vasileios and Cir, Eleni and Nikoos, and Draco apanied by Michalis.

  Vasileios, with his ability to tank a lot of damage, would work in tandem with Cir, who could deliver the finishing blows with her spear.

  Eleni, with her swift sword strikes and speed-enhang abilities, could incapacitate the killer ants, while Nikoos' spiked maul could provide the decisive finishing touches.

  Draco, with his all rounded options, chose to keep a watchful eye oemperamental Michalis, whose fighting style relied ohy, yet deadly, attacks.

  Vasiliki's ability could slow and freeze targets would plement Dimitra's precise archery skills, allowing them to work in tao elimihe threat posed by the killer ants.

  With this strategic deployment and the tactical advantage afforded by the earth-based mound, the team appeared poised to front the impending onsught of the killer ants.

  As the killer ants swarmed into the room, the party quickly took their positions around the mound of earth that Draco had erected.

  Vasileios and Cir took their stance, Vasileios readying his shield to absorb the ants' blows while Cir gripped her spear, waiting for the opportune moment to strike.

  Eleni, with her swift movements, stood alongside Nikoos, her long sword at the ready, while Nikoos hefted his spiked maul, prepared to pulverize any ant that dared to approach.

  Draced over at Michalis,

  "Don’t do more than necessary, Michalis," Draco warned, his voice tinged with .

  Michalis nodded, his eyes narrowed on his first target.

  "Don't worry, Draii," he replied, a wry smile pying on his lips.

  "I've learned my lesson." he added.

  On the mound, Dimitra nocked an arrow, her keen eyes sing the battlefield. Vasiliki stood beside her, her hands glowing with the icy power of her frost magibsp;

  "Get ready, Dimitra," Vasiliki called out, her voice ringing with a sense ency. "I'll slow them down, and you take the shots." she said.

  Dimitra nodded, her fiightening around the b.

  "I'm ready when you are." she said.

  The killer ants surged forward, their chitinous exoskeletons gleaming in the dim light of the dungeon.

  The air was filled with the deafening sound of their screeg and the rhythmic pounding of their many legs.

  "Now, Vasiliki!" Dimitra shouted, as the ants drew closer.

  Vasiliki jured a ring of thin slippery ice sheets over the area, slowing the ants' advanbsp;

  Dimitra's arrows sang through the air, eae finding its mark and felling the is one by one.

  Anyone she couldn’t finish off, Vasiliki impaled with ice spikes.

  On the ground, the melee fighters sprang into a.

  Vasileios braced himself, his shield raised high as some ants crashed against it.

  Cir darted in, her spear fshing as she struck with precision, aiming for the vulnerable joints of the ants' carapaces.

  Draco had warned Vasileios against using his taunt skill, the range was quite rge and could potentially pull the aggro of more than what he could currently handle.

  Eleni's sword was a blur of motion, her speed-boosted strikes cutting deep into the ants' bodies.

  Nikoos followed closely, his spiked maul smashing through the ants' defenses, crushing their exoskeletons with devastating force.

  While Drad Michalis moved in tandem, Draco adjusting his style to plement Michalis.

  Draco's earth magic summoned jagged spikes from the ground, impaling the ants or severing some limbs, while Michalis danced between them, his daggers slig through their soft underbellies.

  The battle raged on, the air thick with the acrid st of the ants' acidic blood and the sound of g steel and shattering chitin.

  ………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  It didn't take long before the first wave of killer ants was over.

  As pnned, Draco had left one survivor, and the familia rested briefly while the lone killer ant squealed in distress, releasing pheromoo summon its panions.

  True to their expectations, the wave of killer ants soon arrived, and the familia repeated the process.

  By the fourth wave, Draoticed a signifit dee in the number of killer ants attag them.

  This meant they were eliminating the monsters faster than the dungeon could spawn them around their area, rendering their strategy less effective.

  They could have tihe onsught for a while longer, but Draco was ed that lingering in one pce for too long might attrawatention from other adventurers.

  Closing his eyes, he sent out an energy pulse, sensing for any updated locations of nearby monsters and adventurers.

  'Doesn't seem like anyone will get here within a few minutes. We should probably move away from here. With this many magic stones on the ground, who knows what might happen,' he thought.

  With his mind made up, Draco then walked up to the st killer ant and swiftly elimi.

  "Why?" Cir asked in fusion.

  "We are moving to the floor," Draco replied.

  "Dimitra, Nikoos, you two help me gather the magic stones," he requested.

  "Hmm," they both responded, springing into a.

  Dimitra also used the opportunity to retrieve her arrows from the ground.

  ………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  "Ugh, my back is killing me," Michalis pined while seated on the floor, juggling his throwing knives.

  "You're always doing or saying something annoying. Why?" Vasiliki asked, exasperated.

  "Well, someone's got to keep us eained," Michalis tered.

  "You should probably stop that. If you get seriously injured, we'll have to waste aire healing potion on you," Vasiliki said.

  "Tsk, like I would screw up with my throwing knives," Michalis replied, fident in his skills.

  "Well, I'm a bit eained," Cir said, chug at the exge.

  "See? Someoually appreciates my art," Michalis said, a bit happier that he had gained Cir's attention.

  "You never know," Vasileios interjected, cautioning Michalis.

  "Why are you both trying to jinx me? Aren't you eai—" Michalis didn't get to finish his sentence, as he got distracted and caught one of his throwing knives on the wrong side, earning him a small cut on his palm.

  "See, I told you…….s" Vasiliki said, but was cut off by Michalis.

  "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, I 't hear you!" Michalis yelled, c his ears. She was the st person he wao hear those words from.

  "Pfff," Cir just chuckled at their antics, while Eleni watched in amusement, secretly mung on some street snacks that she had snut.

  " I get some?" Vasileios whispered to Eleni, his eyes drawn to the delicious-looking treats.

  Eleni looked around to make sure no one else was watg, then handed Vasileios a small handful.

  "Sure, but only a little," she replied, mindful of not drawing too much attention to their snag.

  "Sniff, sniff. Hey, Eleni, what's that delightful smell, and what did you just give Vasileios?" Cir whispered, a sly smile on her fabsp;

  She had beely watg Eleni but was hesitant to ask for any of the snacks herself.

  "Tsk, just take it," Eleni muttered in annoyance, handing Cir a handful of the meager snacks that remained.

  She was clearly dejected at having to share the scarce provisions.

  Satisfied with the small morsel, Cir then turned her attention baichalis and Vasiliki, who seemed to be engaged in a sibling squabble.

  "Are you doing like a big baby?" Vasiliki asked, her tone dripping with pyful sarcasm as Michalis had finally stopped his loud yelling.

  "Get off my case. The wound is small, a simple lick should heal it," Michalis replied dismissively, proceeding to nguidly lick the minor cut on his palm.

  "Didn't Draii warn us about lig wounds? Something about bac….bacteria getting in and making you sick," Vasiliki tered, a mischievous glint in her eyes as she took evident pleasure in needling her elder brother.

  Michalis scoffed, flexing his muscur arms in a dispy of bravado.

  "Well, as you see, I'm still strong ahy," he decred proudly.

  "Well, I didn't say it would happen instantly," Vasiliki retorted, flig her wrist to jure a shard of ice behind Michalis' back, then sliding it across the nape of his neck.

  "Kyaaa, what was that?" Michalis squealed, immediately leaping to his feet and frantically rubbing the back of his nebsp;

  Turning around, he quickly noticed the ice shard on the ground, melting into a puddle.

  The sound of muffled ughter erupted from Cir, Eleni, Vasiliki, and even the usually reserved Vasileios, who couldn't help but chuckle at Michalis' ical rea.

  "You..." Michalis growled, his tone now ced with genuine anger as he gred at Vasiliki.

  "Huh, wanna fight?" Vasiliki taunted, juring a swarm of icicles that circled menagly around her palm.

  Michalis gnervously at Draco, who stared back at him from the distah narrowed eyes, silently warning him not to escate the situation further.

  Clig his tongue in frustration, Michalis muttered, "Tsk, watch your back," already plotting his revenge.

  He then stalked off to a secluded er, seething with rese.

  "Why does it seem like you always mess with Michalis?" Cir asked Vasiliki, both amusement and curiosity ione.

  "Well, for one, I enjoy it," Vasiliki replied, a cold, twisted smile spreading across her face.

  "Pfff, you bad girl," Cir chuckled, shaking her head in a mixture of amusement and disbelief.

  "As the you, I feel the o mess with my older siblings," Vasiliki expined, her tone nont.

  "But as you know, Draii is off-limits. His retaliation is quite scary. The best option is Michalis." Vasiliki paused, turning her gaze to the side.

  "Nikoos is a bit too serious and would probably just ugh it off, while my cute little Vasileios..." She trailed off, casting a sidelong g him.

  Vasileios, who had beely listening i a shiver run down his spine and quickly averted his gaze, his heart rag.

  'That girl is evil,' he thought, 'I have to warher boys.' he decided.

  Turning back to look for Vasiliki, Vasileios found that she had vanished from her previous spot.

  'Where did she go?' he wondered, his ay growing.

  Suddenly, he felt a icy cold hand on the back of his neck, and Vasiliki's chilling breath tickled his ear.

  "Ah, my dear new-favourite brother Vasileios," she purred.

  "You wouldn't happen to have loose lips, would you?" she asked.

  "No," Vasileios replied hastily, shaking his head in response.

  "Too bad," Vasiliki sighed, her grip on his ightening ever so slightly.

  "Then you would have bee the Michalis." With that, she released her hold and Vasileios practically leapt to his feet, hurrying to join Draco, Dimitra, and Nikoos, whathering the magic stones.

  Cir and Eleni, who had withe entire exge, burst out ughing.

  "Pffff hahahaha, what the hell was that?" Cir excimed, her amusement evident.

  Eleni, too, couldn't help but chuckle at the sheer absurdity of the situation, her previous mencholy fotten in the face of Vasiliki's mischievous antics.

  "See, it's quite eaining toying with them," Vasiliki replied, a mischievous smile spreading across her face.

  Cir let out a resigned sigh. "I wish I possessed your bold and daring spirit. I'm afraid I'm not as open as you." she said.

  Vasiliki's eyes twinkled with amusement. "Are you, perce, referring to your little crush on Draii?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

  Cir's cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

  "How did you know?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

  "It's quite obvious, dear Cir," Vasiliki chuckled.

  "The way you gaze at him, it's as pin as day. I daresay, everyone is aware of your affe for our elder brother." She paused, her expression turning pensive.

  "Though, I must admit, Draii is a rather difficult target." she added.

  Cir's brow furrowed with uainty. "What would you suggest I do, then?" she inquired, her voice tinged with a hint of desperation.

  Vasiliki tapped her thoughtfully. "Well, you could start by teasing him a bit, to gain his attention. But I would reeing yhts on an easier mark first." A mischievous grin pyed on her lips.

  "For instance, Michalis might be a more suitable starting point. Even I don't dare to meddle with Draii too much." she advised.

  odded, a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

  "I'll keep that in mind, thank you." she replied.

  'This should help Michalis out a bit. You owe me one, my dear big brother,' Vasiliki thought, a satisfied expression on her face.

  "Oh, and Bahamut-sama is not your only rival, you know, we are too!!" Vasiliki added, her voice ced with amusement, before turning and sauntering away.

  'This is going to be so much fun,' Vasiliki mused, her lips curling into a gleeful smile.

  Eleni, who had been silently the entire exge while enjoying her snacks, shook her head in disbelief.

  'Oh, my, what a truly frightening little sister I have,' she thought, a mixture of amusement and trepidation in her expression.