Before Karrakas could say more, the sound of a low thud reached their ears.

The three of them perked up, their gaze immediately snapping to the arch. A second later, another low thud reached their ears.

"What the heck is that?" Melody whispered, even though they were on the other side of the courtyard.

"That’s the guardian beast," Karrakas said, his tone at a normal volume. "It’s called the Guidebot."

The sound of another low thud reached their ears. Whatever beast this was, each step it took was a second apart, and with the sound reaching their ears, that meant it had to be big and heavy.

Lukas narrowed his eyes as they waited. The name of the beast was Guidebot, not Guardbot. And from what he knew, beasts names were closely related to what the beast could do. So, what does this mean?

He glanced at Karrakas from the corner of his eyes. "What rank is it?"

"I don’t know," Karrakas answered.

"What do you mean you don’t know?"

"Guidebots are just like every other beast out there. They come in different ranks depending on what the dungeon thinks will constitute a challenge to you." The guide sighed. "At this point, I won’t be surprised if the dungeon decides to send an A-rank Guidebot."

None of them said anything to that. Afterall, they’ve been mowing down everything the dungeon had been throwing at them.

They kept their eyes on the arch as the thuds kept getting closer. Then the beast walked into view.

The first thing they noted was the height. The beast was three metres tall, with its head just a few inches away from scraping the arch as it walked through.

But that wasn’t even the most notable thing about it.

Just like the other beasts they’d encountered in this dungeon, the Guidebot was covered by a thin patch of skin from head to toe, but where other beasts were lean, the Guidebot was jagged.

Several metal parts jutted from its body at various odd angles, making it look like it had been through a lot of torture. Some of the metals were covered tightly by skin, but some had pierced through the skin, visible for all to see.

The beast was a bit slim around the shoulders, with its arm growing in size from the elbow downwards, before tapering off in five huge and wickedly sharp claws. Its legs were different, their size huge, making the beast look like a weird pyramid.

Each foot was almost as large as its entire torso, making every step it took feel slow. Every combination of it put together somehow made the beast look fearsome instead of comical.

Its aura radiated out of it, declaring it for all to know that the beast was C-rank.

Lukas couldn’t help but sigh in relief. He still hadn’t faced anything higher than C-rank, so he wasn’t sure of how he’d fare. The only reason he was even thriving right now was his absurdly high stats.

And he was sure that if Akira had still been with them, the dungeon would’ve sent a B-rank. He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry about that as he stared at the beast.

The Guidebot stood in front of the arch like a security guard, its head moving this way and that on high alert.

Thankfully, they were hidden along the wall on the other side of the courtyard, so even though the dungeon itself knew they were there, the beast didn’t spot them.

Karrakas turned to look at Lukas, a brow raised. "So, what’s the plan?"

Lukas stared at the Guidebot for a few seconds before speaking. "We won’t be fighting it."

Karrakas blinked in surprise. "If we won’t be fighting it, how are we going to pass through the arched road? And remember, the streets could shift at any time."

"I didn’t say we’re not going to pass through. I only meant that we won’t be the ones to fight the beast personally."

"Oh..." A wide grin appeared on Melody’s face as she realized what Lukas meant. "That’s actually a fight I’d like to see."

Karrakas’ gaze went from Lukas to Melody, then back to Lukas with suspicion in his eyes. "What are you two talking about?"

Instead of answering, Lukas simply reached into his spatial ring, retrieving the [Monster Ball]. He stretched the red [Item] in front of him, and activated it.

His mana left him in a huge wave, then the Spiked Turtle was drawn out of the ball, expanding in size, until it filled half of the courtyard.

Its shell was still half healed, but the Turtle wasn’t exactly a slouch. The moment it was out in the open, it met eyes with the Guidebot.

The Guidebot sprung into action, moving its hand faster than it had a right to. Before the three of them had processed what it was doing, there was a muffled thump, and its five claws on its right hand tore through the air towards the Turtle’s head.

But this time, the Turtle had space to maneuver. It immediately withdrew its head into its shell, the claws passing overhead to slam into the shell, where they buried themselves a few inches deep.

If they’d actually hit one of the cracks, they would’ve caused significant damage to the Turtle. It was clear that unlike the C-rank Automatons, the Guidebot was a high tier C-rank beast.

But unfortunately, it had used up any grace it had before the turtle. And its one attempt to kill the turtle was what had sealed its fate.

Three spikes burst from the Turtle’s shell, blurring through the air to slam into the Guidebot.

While they were both relatively slow creatures, the Guidebot had no great defense. The spikes tore through its body, sending broken metal scattering in all directions.

The beast’s upper body was blown away, and the lower body stumbled backwards. There was a moment of silence, before the lower body slumped to the ground.

Ding!

[You have killed a C-rank Clockwork Guidebot.]