Chapter 51: Another Adventurers Group

Chapter 51: Chapter 51: Another Adventurers Group

For someone who spent most of his time dealing with dungeon affairs, managing his subordinates, and thinking about how to make his territory stronger, having a quiet morning like this was rare.

Ragnar walked through the corridor with his hands behind his back, his footsteps echoing softly against the stone walls. The dungeon had changed considerably since he first arrived in this world.

What had once been an empty and lifeless place was now filled with rooms, corridors, living quarters, training areas, storage chambers, and numerous other structures created for the growing population within his dungeon. Every time he walked through these halls, he could see evidence of how much it had developed.

Eventually, he reached the main chamber. The throne room was far larger than the other areas of the dungeon, its high ceiling disappearing into darkness above.

Massive stone pillars supported the chamber, while faint magical lights illuminated the surroundings. At the far end stood the throne that represented the authority of the dungeon’s master.

Ragnar walked toward it without saying a word.

The moment he sat down, his entire presence seemed to change.

He leaned comfortably against the back of the throne and rested one arm against its side, his eyes slowly scanning the chamber.

From this position, everything felt different. He could see the entrances, the surrounding corridors, and the various paths leading deeper into the dungeon.

This was his territory, his home. A faint smile appeared on Ragnar’s face.

"Not bad."

He had never imagined that a place he once considered nothing more than a dungeon from a game would eventually become something like this.

Before he could enjoy the silence for long, footsteps came from behind him.

Alix glanced over.

Veyra entered the throne room.

She walked toward him without any hesitation, her expression calm and relaxed. Unlike her usual playful attitude, there was something particularly peaceful about her today.

She stopped beside the throne.

"You’re already here."

"I was wondering when you’d come out."

Veyra raised an eyebrow.

"You were waiting for me?"

"Of course."

A faint smile appeared on her face.

Without asking permission, Veyra sat down beside him.

The throne had originally been designed for a single person, but Ragnar had long since stopped caring about such details. He shifted slightly, giving her enough room to sit comfortably beside him.

Veyra settled against the throne and crossed her legs.

-----

Not far from the dungeon, ten adventurers were making their way through the dense forest.

The trees around them were enormous, their thick branches blocking most of the sunlight and casting long shadows across the forest floor.

The deeper they went, the quieter the surroundings became. Even the usual sounds of birds and small beasts seemed to have disappeared, leaving only the rustling of leaves beneath their boots and the occasional snap of a branch beneath someone’s foot.

At the front of the group, a man in his early thirties stopped and unfolded a worn map.

He was dressed in light leather armor, with a short sword hanging from his waist and a bow strapped across his back.

His eyes moved carefully across the markings on the map before he raised his head and examined the forest ahead.

"According to the information we received, it should be somewhere around here."

The other nine adventurers gathered around him.

They were a relatively balanced group. There were swordsmen, a shield bearer, two mages, an archer, a healer, and several adventurers who specialized in scouting and close combat.

None of them looked particularly weak, but none carried the presence of an elite adventurer either.

They had come here because of a newly discovered dungeon.

Normally, discovering a dungeon would be considered excellent news for adventurers.

However, this particular dungeon had already attracted attention for a very different reason.

The expedition team sent to investigate it had disappeared. A young woman wearing mage robes glanced toward the thick forest ahead before speaking.

"Are you sure this is okay?"

The man holding the map looked at her.

"What do you mean?"

"I heard the expedition team that was supposed to grade this dungeon never returned."

Her voice became more serious.

"We’re going into an unknown dungeon with an unknown danger. We don’t even know what level it is. We don’t know what monsters are inside, and we don’t know whether the first expedition was killed by the dungeon itself or by something else."

The group became quiet. Nobody immediately disagreed with her, they had all heard the rumors.

But rather than discouraging everyone, the disappearance had attracted even more people.

After all, if a dungeon was dangerous enough to kill an experienced expedition team, there was a good chance it contained something valuable.

One of the warriors suddenly laughed.

"Isn’t that better for us?"

The mage looked at him.

"Better?"

"Of course."

He rested his hand on the hilt of his sword and grinned.

"If the dungeon was weak, the guild would have already graded it and every adventurer in the region would be fighting over the best treasures. But if the expedition team never returned..."

His grin widened.

"That just means nobody knows what’s inside."

The archer frowned.

"Or it means whatever is inside killed them."

"That’s why we’re going in prepared."

The swordsman patted the sword at his waist.

"And if there are strong monsters inside, we’ll kill them and take whatever they were guarding."

Another adventurer laughed.

"Exactly. Unknown dungeon means unknown danger, but it also means unknown treasure."

The healer sighed.

"You people always think about treasure first."

"Because that’s how adventurers get rich."

The group laughed.

Even the woman who had raised the concern couldn’t help but smile slightly.

Their tension eased, but the uneasiness never completely disappeared.

The leader folded the map and placed it inside his coat.

"Enough joking around. From this point onward, everyone stays alert."

His expression became serious.

"We don’t know what we’re dealing with. If the dungeon is stronger than we expected, we retreat. Nobody tries to be a hero."

The shield bearer nodded.

"Understood."

"Good."

The leader looked around at everyone.

"Stay within sight of each other. The forest is getting strangely quiet."

That immediately caught the attention of the others.