Chapter 30: Going Inside The Dungeon (part 2)

Chapter 30: Chapter 30: Going Inside The Dungeon (part 2)

Nobody knew what awaited them on the other side, and although they had come prepared, the fate of Kyle’s group was still fresh in everyone’s minds.

Darian raised his sword slightly.

"Stay together."

The adventurers nodded.

Then he stepped through. One after another, the others followed.

The moment the last adventurer disappeared through the entrance, the empty hall once again fell silent.

----

Inside the throne room, Ragnar was sitting comfortably upon his throne.

A large floating screen hovered before him, displaying everything happening inside his dungeon. The image had already changed from the previous view of Kyle’s desperate escape. Now, it showed an entirely different group of humans.

There were many of them.

Far more than the seven hunters who had entered several days ago.

Ragnar leaned forward slightly.

"Oh?"

His eyes moved across the screen.

Darian was at the front, followed by the members of Ironfang and the fifteen additional adventurers sent by the mayor.

They moved cautiously through the first section of the dungeon, weapons ready and their formation considerably more organized than Kyle’s group.

Ragnar counted them again.

"There are twenty-three."

Beside him stood Veyra.

The Crimson Night Demon had her arms folded beneath her chest as she watched the floating screen with great interest. Unlike Ragnar, however, she didn’t seem particularly impressed by the number of humans.

She narrowed her crimson eyes.

"My Lord."

"Hm?"

"These humans are quite numerous."

Ragnar nodded.

"I noticed."

Veyra continued watching the screen.

She glanced toward Ragnar.

"I don’t think the monsters currently inside the dungeon can stop them."

Ragnar wasn’t surprised by her assessment. He had also reached the same conclusion.

The monsters he had purchased so far were useful, but most of them were still low-level creatures.

The wolves, giant spiders, poisonous bats, forest rats, and goblins were dangerous when combined together, especially when they attacked intelligently, but twenty-three experienced adventurers were a completely different matter.

If all of them fought together, the monsters would probably be overwhelmed.

Ragnar didn’t look worried.

Instead, a faint smile appeared on his face.

"That’s okay."

Veyra tilted her head.

"Okay?"

Ragnar leaned back against his throne.

"They don’t need to defeat everyone."

He pointed toward the floating screen.

"I only need their numbers to decrease."

Veyra’s crimson eyes flickered with amusement.

Ragnar thought for a moment.

"If they enter with twenty-three people, then reducing them to around half would already be enough."

Ragnar’s gaze became sharper.

"The dungeon doesn’t have to kill every intruder. As long as the monsters can weaken them enough, I’ll have accomplished what I wanted."

Veyra smiled.

"My Lord is already thinking several steps ahead."

Ragnar shrugged.

"There’s no point in throwing everything I have at them."

He tapped the armrest of his throne.

"Besides, I’ve already spent all eight of my Soul Points."

Ragnar opened his system interface.

The familiar status window appeared before him, showing his current resources.

[Name: Ragnar Lindgren]

[Race: Demon]

[Level: 10]

[Soul Points: 0]

[Dungeon Level: 1]

Ragnar looked at the Soul Points section.

"Zero."

He sighed dramatically.

Veyra’s lips curved upward.

"And what did my Lord purchase?"

Ragnar’s expression immediately became more enthusiastic.

"Monsters."

He opened the shop interface.

"More monsters, traps, and..."

He paused.

"Treasures."

Ragnar had spent six Soul Points purchasing additional monsters and traps to strengthen the dungeon. He had carefully distributed them throughout the various corridors instead of placing everything in one location.

Some monsters had been positioned near intersections.

Others were hiding in dark corners.

Several traps had been placed along paths that looked harmless at first glance.

He had even prepared a few areas where monsters could attack from multiple directions.

The remaining two Soul Points had been spent on something completely different.

Ragnar had purchased small treasures from the system shop and scattered them throughout the dungeon.

Nothing extraordinary.

There were a few low-grade magic stones, several old-looking weapons, some coins, and various miscellaneous treasures.

Ragnar wanted them to look like genuine dungeon rewards.

"If these adventurers find treasures along the way, they’ll become more willing to continue."

Veyra immediately understood.

"You are using greed to lure them deeper."

"Exactly."

Ragnar grinned.

----

The moment Darian stepped deeper into the dungeon, he immediately noticed how difficult it was to see.

The entrance hall had been illuminated by the faint sunlight filtering through the doorway, but that light quickly disappeared as the adventurers moved farther inside. The stone corridors ahead were almost completely swallowed by darkness, with only the faint outlines of the walls visible several meters in front of them.

Darian raised his hand.

"Stop."

The entire group immediately halted. He looked toward the rear.

"Eric."

A young man wearing a white-and-blue robe stepped forward from the center of the formation. Unlike the other adventurers, he carried no sword or spear. Instead, a wooden staff was held firmly in his right hand, a small blue crystal embedded at its tip.

Eric looked toward Darian.

"Yes?"

"We need light."

The young mage nodded.

"Understood."

He planted the bottom of his staff against the stone floor and began chanting.

A faint magical glow immediately gathered around the crystal at the top of his staff.

"Light."

The moment the spell was completed, a bright sphere of white light appeared above them.

It slowly floated upward, illuminating the surrounding corridor.

The darkness was pushed back.

The adventurers could finally see the path ahead clearly.

Several of them sighed in relief.

"Much better."

"I was starting to think we’d have to walk through here blind."

Elric smiled faintly.

"Don’t get too comfortable."

Darian glanced toward him.

"What?"

The mage pointed toward the glowing sphere.

"That light isn’t permanent. I can maintain it for several hours, but if we encounter anything that disrupts magic, we may lose our only reliable source of illumination."

Everyone nodded.

The group continued deeper into the dungeon.

The bright sphere of light floated above them, revealing the ancient stone corridor. Their footsteps echoed against the walls, creating an unsettling rhythm that seemed to follow them wherever they went.