Throughout the following month, adventurers launched two more expeditions to the seventeenth floor. They learn a lot about it, but still didn’t have any good idea how to conquer it. The first problem was asserting how many golems there are. Because Dungeon Mistress populated the forest with golem squirrels, there was no way to tell which mote of magic energy was a threat and which one was not. And the golems designed to fight were incredibly dangerous. The wolf golems were aggressive and attacked adventurers immediately when they spotted them. Thankfully, there was only one at the time, and its silver armour made it easy to find. But it doesn’t matter, because the main fighting golems were the exact opposite. Golem riflemen, or ‘The Faceless One,’ as the adventurers call them, were hiding everywhere, and they shot spells at adventurers relentlessly. While they were low-level spells, it doesn’t mean there weren't any casualties. Burns, broken limbs, and painful bruises happen frequently. Spells were weak, but because they activated when hitting the target, there wasn’t a way to be properly prepared. And illusion magic was a bane for the mages. They were harmless, but because they bypassed the mage shields, and alveys were something disgusting or nasty, breaking the mage's concentration and, in consequence, their protective spells.

  In the newest tavern in the underground part of On Taram town, people gathered to discuss how to deal with the newest floor.

  “So, now that everyone is here, let us start.” Lucius, adventurer’s guild master, started. “We need to devise a plan for how to deal with the newest floor. The usual method with a shield wall is not good enough.”

  “Bah. I heard that those spells are low-level. You just need more armour and more enchantments and press forward.” Said the dwarven knight. His name was Yosdreck, and he was the commander of a platoon of royal knights from the Wohrum dwarven kingdom. All of them wore heavy full plate armours, and all their gear was enchanted to the brim.

  “Go there and try. Your ass would be kicked faster than I can spell my name.” Crall scoffed.

  “Regretably, adventurer Crall is a bit right,” Serator interjected to stop the pointless arguing. “While spells are harmless for anyone with decent armour, especially in full plate, they are too fast. Also, while you spot one and try to catch him, another is shooting at you, and sometimes a wolf appears to help him run away. There is no way to push further than a few hundred steps into the forest.”

  “We need to add more mages or sun elves to the teams. One well-aimed spell or javelin and a golem would stop running.” Nonisa shrugged.

  “It’s not that easy. We need to keep a tight formation all the time. It’s hard to do inside the forest, and for one extra person, we would need two or three people with shields.” Nurmela disagrees.”

  “My men are ready to assist.” General Alluin answered. He was appointed as the leader of the sun elf community, which slowly grows next to the dungeon. “But I, with my warriors, am thinking about trying something different. We want to try hunting.”

  “Hunting?” Lucius asked.

  “Yes. We want to try to see if sneaking could work.”

  “Interesting.” Adventurer’s guild master mused. “With the help of your companions, it could work. I’m looking forward to your success. Maybe other scouts and adventurers would be able to imitate you?”

  “Can’t say. We don’t have anything solid for now. I expect to try the usual things and improvise later.”

  “Then, we have two approaches. Adventurers would try to refine their shield formation and add more ranged attackers. And sun elves, and anyone interested in trying, would see if they can hunt down some golems.” Lucius concluded.

  A week later, another expedition reached the seventeenth floor. The adventurers immediately organize themselves to see if the changes in their approach will have an effect. For now, they decided to cram only three mages inside the box of shields. One was responsible for supporting warriors, while the other two were casting spells when any golem would be spotted. The results were mixed. They managed to make more progress than before. So it was a promising approach. However, the scale of destruction made by exploding spells was problematic. A few times, they were close to causing a wildfire. Only a swift cast of a few water and ice spells stopped the catastrophe from happening. The gains from the fight were moderately better. Adventurers gain some extra rewards from golems, but collateral damage to the foliage makes them lose some opportunities for gathering herbs.

  “I think it works,” Nonisa said by the end of the day when adventurers returned to the safe zone. She was a strong proponent of that approach.

  “Expect that we almost set the forest on fire,” Crall answered.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Details.” She waved her hand. “After a few more tries, we will get the hang of it.”

  “Or burn alive in wildfire.” Nurmela quipped.

  The sun elves' approach was the exact opposite of the adventurers' approach. They used the commotion made by the bombardment of spells to sneak inside the forest. They formed pairs of warriors, supported by their spirit animals, and slowly crawled in search of the golems. It wasn’t easy, but soon the first golems were destroyed. The method was easy. Elves approached the target from two sides, and when they got a good spot to throw javelins, they attacked. It was possible because the golems had light chainmail armour instead of plate armour like on the other floors. Additionally, spears had simple enchantments for durability and piercing.

  Hunters gains were similar to the adventurers. The problem lay in the fact that two people couldn’t carry too much. Javelins often had to be thrown away after use.

  However, things changed on the second day. One of the elves loses her javelin at the very beginning. It was something taken into account, and her partner didn’t attack to preserve his own to be able to hunt at least one more golem. But she came up with a crazy idea that would probably get her scolded for wasting bullets. The golem guns are useless because they cannot be taken off the floor. Only the contents of their bags and parts of the golem were designated as the prize. But it was possible to use them. Nobody does this because the upper floor is much better for shooting practice. No one there shot at the adventurers.

  But the elven huntress decided to give it a try. Her partner looked at her curiously.

  “Don’t tell me you never wanted to try it.” She whispered, and he chuckled. He couldn’t deny her accusation.

  The first golem they found was a wolf. It didn’t spot them yet. She crouched behind the tree and carefully aimed, and when she was sure, pulled the trigger.

  When they returned, they had eight bags and four rifles. Commotion erupted immediately. All people surrounded them to learn their secret.

  “We used rifles for hunting them,” Hutress explained.

  “We think that it could be a secret for this floor. It was almost too easy.” Her partner added.

  Adventurers looked at each other, realizing their mistake. For now, they were trying to catch the golems. But they shoot at them from concealed positions, and from a range of a few hundred steps. There wasn’t a way to catch them, especially when others were attacking them simultaneously. What if you don't have to chase them, but destroy them from afar?

  From the next day, adventurers try to add riflemen to their formation. The main problem was a lack of people experienced in using rifles. The sun elves joined them because the two-man team couldn't carry much, and half of the valuable finds had to be thrown away. Wolf golems were also problematic because they would rush in when attacked. Therefore, having a few people with shields who could block attacks or help transport loot was very useful. Nonisa was a little grumpy because she couldn’t let loose, but the fast pace of progress of the team attracted the attention of many wolves, so she still had some targets to shoot at.

  The expedition failed to reach the upper floor exit before its supplies ran out. When they returned and presented bags full of bullets, chainmails taken from the wolves, and other small and big valuable trinkets, they found themself surrounded by anyone free. It was the first successful expedition on the newest floor, and all adventurers wanted to know the secret of how they did it. But the answer disappointed them. Only adventurers using ranged weapons have skills helping with the use of rifles, not to mention a lack of opportunity to learn how to use them in the first place.

  “Well, Dungeon Mistress. It turns out your secret was revealed.” Grand Forge Master said to Naomi a few days after the return of the expedition. Both of them sit in the forge next to the tavern on the fifth floor, resting after a day of work.

  “What secret?” She asked, surprised.

  “About how to deal with your golems on the seventeenth floor.”

  “Oh, you are talking about using the rifles? It wasn’t a secret. Just a riddle.” Naomi answered.

  “And now we all know the answer.”

  “So what. Tell me. How many people know how to use the guns?”

  “Oh. Right, I forgot it was a tricky answer. Still, I was expecting something more complicated or unusual.”

  “Try outsmart smart people yourself,” Naomi answered, without revealing any information about the final challenge on the floor.

  It took two months for adventurers to reach the end of the forest. At this point, dedicated adventurers and sun elves became so proficient in sneaking and using rifles that regular adventurers were able to move through the woods relatively easily. Another thing was splitting responsibilities. Shooters were dealing with riflemen golems, and the rest of the adventurers were dealing with wolves.

  Today, for the first time, a group of three finally reached the end of the forest. They were sent here deliberately as the scouting party.

  “I think we are near. There is a lot of light between the trunks.” One sun elf observed.

  “Agree. But we need to be careful.” A human female answered.

  And they were. Slowly, they crawl from one tree to another. constantly looking for hidden golems and traps. It takes some time before they reach the edge of the forest.

  “We're screwed,” Observed a female scout lying on the ground and partially hidden behind the tree.

  In front of them was an area of barren land with only a few stumps. About a thousand paces away, the golem shooters were waiting for them. Hidden in a trench, ready to shoot if anything exits the forest. And behind them were four more rows of the golems.