Chapter 229

They entered the dungeon one by one.

Monde, the [Paladin], went first. The moment his boots crossed the threshold, golden light unfurled from his body, forming a translucent barrier that settled over the group like a second skin. Only then did he signal the others to follow.

Kana stepped in next.

So did the fear.

Every single one of them stiffened the instant they crossed into the mid-high level dungeon. Muscles locked. Breaths caught in their throats. It wasn’t the heat, nor the eerie crimson glow bleeding from the walls and floor.

It was the sound.

A woman’s laughter echoed through the dungeon.

It was light. Almost playful. Too clean, too smooth to belong in a place like this. The sound rolled through the stone corridors, rebounding endlessly, as if the dungeon itself were laughing with her.

Ha… ha… ha…

It faded.

Then, moments later, it began again.

Ha… ha… ha…

No footsteps followed it. No presence revealed itself. Just the laughter, repeating endlessly, pausing for a heartbeat or two before returning, unchanged.

“…Feels like it’s recorded like—” Kana muttered.

She frowned slightly, as if searching for a word she didn’t quite understand herself.

The walls were etched with old symbols and faded murals, their grooves filled with a dull crimson light that vibrating faintly, like veins beneath skin. The ground mirrored it, stone tiles etched in rigid patterns, each seam glowing softly as though heat lived just beneath the surface.

Then—

Crack.

A tile near the wall shattered without warning.

A column of fire erupted upward, roaring for a brief second before vanishing as suddenly as it appeared. Some sort of heatwave washed over them, sharp and suffocating.

Leo, Rin, and Adam reacted on instinct, shields snapping up in unison, metal ringing as they braced.

“…This dungeon feels cursed,” Kier muttered from the back, eyes narrowed. “Are you sure this is mid-high level?”

“That’s what the assessment said,” Kana replied, her gaze never leaving the floor ahead. “Leo’s father bought the right to enter after verifying it.”

She exhaled slowly. “But I agree. This feels closer to high-level. We kill a few mobs to get a feel, then retreat.”

As they moved forward, the laughter followed them.

Always distant. Always present.

Tall pillars lined the corridor, each carved with figures worn smooth by time. Symbols ran along the walls like written prayers or warnings long forgotten.

Elle slowed, eyes widening as she traced the patterns. “This… this isn’t just a dungeon. This might be an old temple.”

The realization settled heavily over the group.

Tiles along the sides would occasionally crack, erupting in sudden bursts of flame. But the central path, a narrow strip of darker stone, remained untouched. Safe.

Or so it seemed.

Creak.

The sound was soft. Almost polite.

Adam froze.

The tile beneath his boot sank downward by a fraction of an inch.

Kana’s eyes widened. “Move—!”

Too late.

Flames exploded from the walls on both sides, horizontal torrents of fire roaring straight toward them. The heat slammed into the group like a living thing.

“I got this.”

Suri stepped forward, staff sweeping through the air. Pure mana surged outward, forming a translucent bluish barrier just as the flames collided with it.

The barrier flared, flickering violently, but held.

Fire washed around them, light dancing wildly across their faces before fading back into the walls as if nothing had happened.

Silence returned.

The laughter of the woman echoed again.

Adam swallowed hard, forcing a shaky smile as he turned around. “What a nasty trap.”

Every single person was glaring at him.

He cleared his throat, “I’m sorry. I’ll be more careful.”

Kana didn’t relax her stance.

This dungeon hadn’t even shown them its monsters yet.

And it was already trying to kill them.

….

The laughter followed them.

It seeped through the ancient hall like smoke, curling along the ceiling, slipping between the pillars, echoing until it became impossible to tell where it came from. A woman’s voice. Light. Mocking. Endless.

Kana and her company stood before a massive stone door embedded at the far end of the hall.

It towered over them, easily twice a man’s height, its surface carved with worn reliefs of figures locked in worship or despair. The crimson glow from the dungeon’s veins bled faintly into the grooves, making the carvings seem almost alive, as if they were watching.

“My scouts can’t get inside.” Suri lowered her staff, frowning. “This enchanted door is blocking them completely.” She glanced at the empty space beyond the threshold. “But… I didn’t see any monsters here.”

“That’s what worries me.” Kana crouched and produced her picklocks. “This area is supposed to be a safe zone. No traps. No dungeon monsters.” She frowned. “That’s what the records say.”

A lie, then. Or something had changed.

Several of the boys approached the door. Boris raised his fist and knocked once, twice. The sound echoed dully, swallowed by the stone.

“I don’t think my [Cleave] is going to do anything to this,” he muttered.

Kana slid a thin metallic pick into the ancient keyhole. She leaned close, pressing her ear against the cold stone while carefully probing the mechanism within.

The laughter continued.

Ha… ha… ha…

Minutes stretched.

Then longer.

Eventually, some of them sat down, backs against pillars or walls, trying to conserve energy. Kier and Monde helped the boys pitch a small tent to the side, treating the place like what it truly was. A rest area. High-level dungeons demanded patience as much as strength.

“Kana…” Yuri approached quietly, lowering her voice. “Are you sure you can open it?”

Kana didn’t look back. “We don’t have a [Thief].” She adjusted the angle of the pick. “This will take time. I can pick locks, just… not as quick as them.”

Her fingers were steady, but her brow furrowed. The lock resisted her in subtle ways, mechanisms shifting as if responding to her touch. Too reactive. Too aware.

Thorne, unaffected by the tension, circled the hall restlessly, tail swaying as if enjoying the oppressive heat radiating behind the stones.

Then—

Click.

The sound was soft.

Kana exhaled, shoulders sagging slightly in relief. “That was more complex than it should’ve been.” She withdrew the tools slowly. “Almost like the dungeon… upgraded it.”

The massive door began to move.

Stone ground against stone, the sound deep and ancient, vibrating through the floor. Dust rained from the ceiling as a narrow gap opened.

The laughter grew louder.

Not echoing anymore.

Closer.

Everyone snapped into formation.

Weapons drawn. Shields and staff raised.

Roy opened the wooden casket at his side. Pale mana pulsed outward as two skeletons clawed their way into existence, bones clicking as they took position at the frontline beside Leo and Adam.

Suri’s shadows peeled away from her feet, flowing forward like spilled ink.

“There’s something ahead,” she whispered. “One monster. But… I’m not sure what it is.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“It looks like an Orc.” She hesitated. “Wearing broken armor. Humanoid armor. It doesn’t really fit.” A pause. “It has an axe in its left hand.” Another pause, longer this time. “Its right arm… looks like Thorne’s tail.”

Silence followed.

Kana’s expression darkened.

That wasn’t right.

The dungeon assessment mentioned Elite Skeletons. Maybe variations, maybe stronger versions, but still skeletons. Orcs supposedly had nothing to do here and they were in lower dungeon levels.. 

“This is not what I expected.” Kana said quietly. “But it’s only one.”

She raised her voice, sharp and commanding. “We will try to challenge that one monster..”

Her gaze swept across the group, lingering just long enough to make sure everyone understood.

“If it’s stronger than expected, we retreat.” Her voice turned cold. “Without any hesitation.”

The door finished opening.

The laughter became louder echoing across the hall.

They moved low, bodies close to the stone, every breath carefully conserved, unconsciously using the Zia’s ancient breathing techniques though their escort guards and Elle had no idea.

The heat pressed against them as they advanced, the crimson-lit hall stretching forward like the throat of some immense beast. Yuri was the first to act. She raised her hands, eyes glowing faintly as layered support magic washed over the group.

Warmth surged through their limbs. Strength sharpened. Reflexes tightened. Speed almost felt doubled.

Kana did not waste the moment.

She drew an arrow from her quiver and nocked it into the string of her new weapon. The [Old Tempest Bow] hummed softly, eager, as if recognizing the battlefield. When she released, the arrow did not merely fly.

It screamed.

The sound cut through the dungeon like a blade through silk. Faster than anything she had fired before.

The orc twisted at the last instant.

The arrow struck its right arm.

Not pierced. Severed.

The limb split cleanly in half, the tail-like appendage slapping against the stone and writhing for a heartbeat before going still.

For a breath, there was hope.

Then the wound convulsed. 

Flesh bubbled, twisted, and grew. Bone knit itself together with a wet sound as a new arm crawled outward, reforming into the same grotesque tentacle.

“…Regeneration,” someone muttered.

Boris didn’t wait.

He leapt forward with a roar, both hands gripping his weapon as [Cleave] activated. The strike came down with enough force to shatter stone—

—and was caught.

The orc met the blow head-on, axe raised with its left hand. The clash rang through the temple, a thunderous impact that rattled teeth and sent vibrations through the floor. Several of them staggered just from the shockwave.

The monster retaliated instantly.

Adam and Leo were already moving.

They slammed their shields together, forming a wall just as the axe came down. Metal screamed. Both boys slid backward several steps, boots carving lines into the stone, but the blow stopped short of flesh.

An eruption of blue light flared.

Suri’s staff crackled as [Lightning Bolt] erupted from its tip, slamming directly into the orc’s head. Electricity danced across the broken helmet, crawling over its body in snapping arcs.

The orc shook.

Once.

As if annoyed.

It lifted its head, smoke rising from its armor, eyes burning brighter.

“…That did nothing,” Suri whispered.

Roy’s skeletons moved.

One darted low, the other high, blades flashing as they stabbed for joints and gaps in the armor. The former shadow man’s skeleton struck with unnatural precision, aiming for tendons, for weak seams.

Yellow lightning coiled around Andel’s lance as he thrust whenever an opening appeared, sparks bursting with every successful hit.

Then the monster’s right arm elongated.

The tentacle shot outward like a whip, splitting into two paths, aiming straight for Kana and Suri.

Rin reacted instantly.

She stepped forward, shield snapping up just in time. The impact slammed into her with bone-rattling force, but she held, boots digging in as mana reinforced her stance.

Even with numbers.

Even with coordination.

The fight dragged on.

Every wound they inflicted closed too quickly. Every limb they damaged threatened to grow back. Sweat poured. Breathing grew heavy. Kana and Suri maintained pressure from afar, arrows and spells striking relentlessly while the frontline rotated, never letting a single person take the full weight of its attacks.

Finally, with a combined strike, the monster faltered.

It let out a roar that shook dust from the ceiling.

Then it collapsed.

The body convulsed once… twice…

…and began to dissolve.

Blue light consumed it piece by piece until nothing remained.

Toby rushed forward, eyes wide, crouching where the corpse had been moments before. “I think that monster was under some kind of curse—”

Suri swallowed cut in.

“I didn’t see them before,” she said, voice tight. “But now I do.”

Everyone turned to her.

“I don’t see that weird orc among them,” she continued, pale. “But other things. Lots of them.”

Kana’s stomach dropped. “How many?”

Suri didn’t hesitate.

“Hundreds.”

Kana spun toward the door they’d come through. “Everyone! Back to the safe zone!”

Her voice cracked like a whip.

“Now!”

Post note:
Hope you enjoy the chap! 🙂