Chapter 56: Another Soul Points Coming (part 1)

Chapter 56: Chapter 56: Another Soul Points Coming (part 1)

They had brought back proof that the dungeon was worth entering.

And once word began spreading through Hetin Town, it would be almost impossible to stop the rumors.

The dungeon had just gained its first real reputation.

And that reputation would soon attract many more people.

----

The next morning, Ragnar finally opened his eyes.

The events of the previous day had been rather entertaining. He stretched his enormous body before getting out of the bed, feeling completely refreshed. His four-meter-tall figure made the room seem noticeably smaller, and when he stood up, his shadow covered most of the floor.

Behind him, Veyra was still sleeping soundlessly on the bed.

She had apparently decided that there was no reason to wake up early, especially since there was nothing urgent happening inside the dungeon. Ragnar glanced at her for a moment before quietly leaving the room. He had no intention of disturbing her sleep. There was plenty of time for her to wake up later.

He walked out of the room and eventually arrived at the throne room.

He sat down on his obsidian throne, leaning back comfortably as he prepared to check the dungeon’s current situation.

However, before he could even open the Dungeon tab, a familiar notification suddenly appeared before him.

[Intruder detected.]

Ragnar’s eyes immediately lit up.

"Oh?"

He straightened slightly, another notification appeared.

[Number of intruders: 30.]

Ragnar’s expression changed into a pleased smile.

"Thirty?"

That was considerably more than he had expected.

The previous group had only consisted of ten adventurers, but apparently, their return to Hetin Town had already caused the rumors surrounding the dungeon to spread. The enchanted sword had done exactly what Ragnar wanted. Rather than simply making people afraid of the dungeon, it had made them curious.

And curiosity was exactly what he needed.

Ragnar immediately opened the magical projection and looked toward the entrance hall.

Thirty adventurers were currently standing inside.

What surprised Ragnar was that they weren’t a single party.

There were several different groups gathered together, each maintaining some distance from the others.

Some carried swords and shields, while others had bows, staffs, and various adventuring equipment. A few of them were talking among themselves while others were carefully examining the surroundings.

Ragnar couldn’t help but laugh.

"Good timing."

His eyes gleamed with anticipation.

"It’s time to harvest some Soul Points again."

The last group had given him ten Soul Points.

Ten.

It wasn’t a huge amount, but it had been enough to show Ragnar that adventurers could become a reliable source of Souls. If these twenty adventurers were even slightly stronger than the previous group, there was a good chance he could obtain a considerable number of Soul Points from them.

Ragnar opened his status.

[Soul Points: 10]

His gaze immediately shifted toward the dungeon upgrade option.

The second floor was still locked, the requirement remained fifty Soul Points.

Ragnar had already been thinking about it since the previous day.

Once he obtained enough Souls, he surely buy the second floor this time.

Ragnar leaned back against his throne.

"Let’s see how much you guys can give me."

Meanwhile, inside the entrance hall, the twenty adventurers had already begun preparing themselves.

They had come from different groups, but their objective was the same.

The dungeon.

The previous survivors had returned with an enchanted sword, and that single discovery had been enough to convince many people that the dungeon was worth investigating despite the danger.

Of course, they hadn’t forgotten the fact that a lot of adventurers had died.

That was precisely why they had come in larger numbers.

If ten people had barely survived the first battle, then thirty should have a much better chance.

At least, that was what they believed.

One of the adventurers looked around at the others.

"So, everyone understands the plan, right?"

A swordsman nodded.

"We stay together until we know what we’re dealing with."

"Exactly."

Another adventurer tightened the straps around his shield.

"If we encounter monsters, nobody rushes ahead."

A few people nodded in agreement.

However, not everyone seemed equally cautious.

A young man carrying a bow looked toward the huge door-like structure inside the hall.

"So this is the entrance?"

"Looks like it."

"I heard the previous group found the nest of spiders."

"And five of them died."

The young archer swallowed.

"Yeah."

He glanced at the other adventurers around him.

One of the adventurers eventually stepped forward.

"Enough talking."

He drew his sword.

"We came here for treasure. Let’s go."

Another group followed.

Then another.

One by one, the adventurers began walking toward the huge door-like structure inside the hall.

The first group passed through.

The second followed.

Soon, all thirty adventurers had entered the dungeon.

Ragnar watched their movements through the magical projection, a satisfied expression appearing on his face.

"Here they come."

He had already arranged the dungeon accordingly.

The thirty adventurers had entered together, but it didn’t take long before the dungeon began doing exactly what Ragnar intended.

At first, they moved as one large group.

They walked cautiously through the corridors, checking every corner and watching the floor for anything suspicious. Several adventurers marked the walls with chalk so they could recognize their path if they needed to retreat.

However, after passing through several intersections, they encountered their first problem.

Three different corridors appeared ahead of them.

One went left.

One went straight.

One went right.

"Which way?"

The adventurers stopped. A few people looked behind them.

The corridor they had just walked through looked exactly like every other corridor.

One adventurer frowned.

"We don’t have a choice to go separately."

Everyone nodded.

There was little reason to remain in one massive group now that they had reached the deeper part of the dungeon. Thirty adventurers moving through the same narrow corridors would only make it difficult to fight properly, and more importantly, it would make it harder to search the dungeon efficiently.

The groups had not come here as a single party in the first place. They were adventurers from different groups, each with their own goals, leaders, and ideas about how to explore the unknown dungeon.

After a brief discussion, they finally agreed to separate.