Chapter 230

A few minutes earlier.

Kier considered himself a veteran.

He had survived dungeons whose names alone carried weight, places spoken of in lowered voices among adventurers. Once, years ago, he had taken part in the raid of the infamous Fruit Dungeon, a place where even the simple traps seemed eager to kill you. The pressure there, the constant sense of being watched by something ancient and hungry, reminded him painfully of what lay before him now.

The moment his boots touched the dungeon floor, he knew.

This place was bad news.

Heat pressed against his skin, thick and suffocating, yet a chill crept down his spine. Sweat gathered at his temples, cold despite the oppressive air. Not to mention the women's laughter that made all of them paused. His instincts tightened, honed by years of survival, whispering warnings faster than thought. 

Of course, instincts could be wrong.

Until the first monster appeared.

Kier’s breath caught.

It was the first time. A monster he did not recognize. Not its shape, not its presence, not the twisted way different mana properties clung to its body. It was wrong in a way that went beyond unfamiliar. Like something stitched together from memories of other creatures.

His rapier sword slid free of its sheath.

Skill half-cast, mana coiled and ready, Kier positioned himself to intervene at a moment’s notice. One mistake. One scream. One misstep from the students, and he would move without hesitation.

He never did.

Because they didn’t panic.

Kana’s voice cut through the dungeon, steady and precise. Not loud. Not desperate. Just certain. Yuri followed seamlessly, layering support without hesitation. Leo and Adam moved as if they had rehearsed this exact exchange a hundred times. Boris struck with controlled aggression with Andel fast lance strikes, while Suri’s magic landed where it mattered most.

They listened.

Not blindly. Not fearfully.

They trusted the leader of their group. Kana.

Kier felt his own body respond, muscles tensing, breath syncing to Kana’s rhythm. His feet nearly moved on their own, answering her commands as if she were issuing them to him as well.

Fear faded.

Not because the monster was weak.

Kana stood at the center of it all, not with overwhelming power, but with clarity. She guided the fight like an invisible hand, positioning allies, anticipating movements. It was unsettling. As if she could see the monster’s intent before it acted. As if its weaknesses revealed themselves to her without effort.

The others were exceptional. Better than many full-fledged adventurers Kier had fought beside.

Some of them, given time, might surpass him.

And still, the monster refused to fall easily.

Minutes dragged on. Regeneration punished every mistake. Each opening had to be earned. When the creature finally collapsed, nearly half an hour had passed.

Kier’s jaw tightened.

First monster.

That thought alone weighed heavily on him.

A dungeon that demanded this much effort at the very beginning was never kind deeper in. If more creatures like that lurked ahead… if they came in numbers…

He turned his head.

Monde stood frozen, a some sort of holy weapon in hand, eyes wide with disbelief. The surprise on his face mirrored Kier’s own unease, perhaps even surpassing it. He, too, had not expected this.

Kier looked back at the students.

Young. Inexperienced by years alone.

And yet standing unbroken, breathing hard but uninjured.

He knew the danger lies ahead. But he was more curious about the students. If they could show him more glimpse of the next generation capabilities.

…..

The moment the humongous stone door sealed shut, the dungeon seemed to exhale.

Or perhaps it was them.

Several breaths escaped at once, sharp and shaky, echoing against the crimson-lit stone. Weapons lowered, shoulders sagged, and for the first time since the laughter began, silence pressed in without teeth.

Yuri was the first to break it.

“We shouldn’t continue,” she said, voice tight despite her best effort to sound composed. “Taking down just one of those things nearly drained us mentally. Hundreds of them… swarming?” She shook her head. “That isn’t a fight. That’s suicide.”

No one argued.

Suri sat down heavily against the wall, staff resting across her knees. Sweat dampened her bangs, sticking strands of hair to her forehead. “When I sensed them rushing toward us earlier, it felt like a wave. But…” She frowned, eyes unfocused as she replayed the image in her mind. “They weren’t like that orc. Most of them are too small. Skeleton-like. Similar to Roy’s summons.”

“A few wore cloaks,” Suri continued. “Humanoid size. I couldn’t see what was underneath. Whatever they are, they’re different.”

Kana tilted her head, pondering for a moment.

“That’s what I expected to find in this dungeon,” she said slowly. “Not that thing earlier.”

Toby raised his hand like they were back in class, then quickly cleared his throat, embarrassed. “The orc was… wrong. I felt something before it vanished. A residue. A curse, maybe, but not a simple one. But I definitely detected a few cursed-like skills in that monster’s body before it vanished.”

He swallowed and pressed on. “Its body wasn’t natural. It was stitched together. Not physically. What I know for sure is that something was binding them. Something we had no idea.”

Kana nodded once. “I recognized its left arm. The size and color, the muscle density, even the mana flow. It resembled a minotaur’s.”

Elle’s fingers tightened around her staff. “And the regeneration. That wasn’t normal. It was close to a troll’s passive recovery.”

Boris let out a low whistle. “So it hits like a bruiser, tanks like a monster, and heals like it doesn’t care about pain.”

He scratched his head. “That sounds like a boss to me.”

Kana shook her head.

“If it were the boss, we’d know.” Her gaze flicked downward as she opened her status window, scanning it with practiced speed. “No text of god. No confirmation. And most importantly—”

She looked up at them.

“No damage. A dungeon boss at this level should be able to give us a few scratches.”

They all instinctively checked themselves. No blood. No burns. No lingering pain. Not even a torn sleeve.

The woman's laughter echoed again, faint but closer than before, as if mocking their conclusion.

Kana inhaled slowly, steadying herself, then straightened.

“Here’s the plan,” she said, her tone sharpening into command. “We don’t push forward blindly. We probe.”

She gestured toward the sealed door.

“Suri will scout the other side first. Check the monsters. Confirm whether there are more anomaly-type entities like that orc.”

Suri nodded, already gathering her shadows.

“If there is even one,” Kana continued, “we retreat. Immediately. No arguments.”

Boris and Adam exchanged a glance.

“If there aren’t,” Kana said, eyes locking onto them, “you two become bait. Controlled bait. You draw the mobs near the corner of the door in manageable numbers.”

Adam grinned weakly. “That sounds reassuring.”

“You won’t be alone,” Kana replied. “Everyone else will be positioned for interception. The moment something feels off, we pull back. It should be Toby’s summon but I don’t think Toby’s skeleton will be a good bait for a skeleton mob.”

She paused, letting the weight of her words settle.

“This dungeon is not what the assessment claimed—” Kana said but paused as something moved.

The stone beneath their feet was slick with heat-sweat, faintly glowing veins of crimson light pulsing through the floor like a buried heartbeat. Shadows clung unnaturally to corners and cracks, refusing to disperse no matter how bright their enchanted lamplight hung up to one of the tents. One of those shadows peeled free, thickened, then unfolded into a man.

Lex surfaced from Thorne’s shadow as though the darkness itself had decided to speak.

Thorne shrieked.

The lizard sprang as if the ground had bitten her, claws skittering across stone before she latched onto Boris’s shoulder. Her tail puffed up, scales raised, eyes locked on Lex with pure offense.

“Hey—hey!” Boris staggered, “You need to be careful around her!”

He touched Thorne’s horn,”Are you okay buddy?”

Suri and Rin let out a chuckle at the scene.

Lex straightened calmly, as if he had simply stepped out from behind a pillar instead of the lizard’s shadow. The heat did not seem to touch him. His cloak hung still, untouched by the faint currents of superheated air that stirred Kana’s hair and made Elle’s robe cling uncomfortably to her arms.

“Indeed,” Lex said, voice low but steady. “You’re right.”

The woman’s laughter echoed again.

It came from everywhere and nowhere, bouncing along the curved walls of the ancient hall. 

“This dungeon is unusual,” Lex continued, glancing toward the sealed door. The massive stone slab loomed ahead of them, its surface etched with half-eroded symbols and soot-blackened carvings. Heat bled from its seams, the metal fittings faintly glowing as if freshly forged.

“I went ahead earlier to investigate.”

Kana’s shoulders tightened. She didn’t expect a royal knight would leave them there while fighting the unusual monster. The king sent him here to protect us. Am I mistaken?

“I found old records,” Lex continued. “Books. Journals. Shelves tucked away in one of the inner chambers.”

His gaze sharpened slightly. “Someone lived here.”

A hush fell over the group.

“Not recently,” Lex added. “Years ago. Possibly a decade. Long enough for dust to settle thick. To turn a man into just bones.”

Elle and Yuri gulped.

The woman’s laughter echoed again, louder this time, as if amused.

“I was about to investigate further,” Lex said, then paused. “Until you nearly sealed me inside when you shut the door.”

“You didn’t say where you were going.” Suri said, already munching something.

Lex turned his head slowly. “You are not the king. Nor do any of you possess royal blood. I am not required to report any of my movements.”

The heat pressed closer.

I don’t think I can blame the king. Royal knights have quite strange personalities. Kana grunted. “That’s not the point.”

“Did you see any monsters?” Kana asked. “Anything like the orc?”

Lex shrugged. “No.”

“No?” Elle echoed.

“I mean—I wasn’t interested in them.”

Kana exhaled sharply, the sound swallowed by the cavernous hall. Any fragile hope of clear answers crumbled.

“Alright,” she said at last. “We wait for now.”

She glanced at the door again. Its carvings flickered faintly, the crimson glow beneath the stone pulsing like an eye half-open.

“An hour. Maybe two. Then we check again.”

They sat down slowly.

Waterskins were passed around, the water inside already lukewarm despite being freshly filled. The floor radiated heat through their boots and gloves, seeping into bone. Above them, the ceiling vanished into shadow, too high to see clearly, making the space feel vast.

Kana rested her back against the stone and stared at the door.

Books. Records. A cursed monster that should not exist.

This dungeon wasn’t just dangerous.

It felt unfinished. She sighed. The right word might be modified.

Kana noticed Roy sitting apart from the others.

He was crouched near one of the cracked tiles, tracing symbols into the stone dust with a piece of stone. His shoulders were slumped, his posture small, unusually quiet for someone who usually moved with nervous energy. Faint wisps of unusual cold mana drifted around his hands, dissolving before they could form into anything.

She walked over, boots scraping softly against the stone.

“Roy,” Kana said gently, stopping beside him. “What’s wrong? You feel some ghost around”

He didn’t look up at first.

“Tried using my [Greater Raise Undead] skill on the orc,” he muttered, voice low. “I knew it wouldn’t work… but I still hoped it might.”

He clenched his fingers,“Its bones should’ve been perfect,” Roy continued. “Strong. Dense. Regeneration might still work. If my skill worked…” He exhaled slowly. “It would’ve been a powerful summon.”

Kana lightly tapped his shoulder,”Try it again.” She said,”It didn’t work now but it might work someday.”

There's an upgrade skill after all. Kana thought.

Post note: 
Renamed Roy’s evolved skill to [Greater Raise Undead]
Hope you enjoy the chap! 🙂