Chapter 426 - 425: Profit From The Dungeon

Chapter 426: Chapter 425: Profit From The Dungeon

She gently ran her fingers across the smooth crystal embedded within the staff.

"It feels..."

"So much easier to channel Qi."

Even Gareth smiled.

This expedition had already exceeded every expectation.

They hadn’t even reached the deeper sections of the tomb.

Yet the treasures before them were already enough to completely change the future of every member of the party.

"If we leave now..." Lyra whispered.

"We’ve already made more money than in the last five years combined."

Gareth nodded.

"We’ve earned enough."

"Let’s return."

Nobody objected.

For veteran adventurers, knowing when to stop was often more valuable than bravery.

One by one, they packed only what they could reasonably carry.

No one became greedy.

No one attempted to empty the chamber.

They had learned long ago that excessive greed often led to disaster.

After making one final inspection of the room, Gareth gestured toward the entrance.

"Let’s head back."

The group immediately retraced their steps.

Or at least, they tried to.

After several minutes of walking, Gareth suddenly stopped.

His expression stiffened.

"...Something’s wrong."

The corridor ahead, wasn’t the one they had entered through.

The cracked walls were different.

The murals had changed.

Even the floor no longer bore their footprints.

Cedric frowned.

"Impossible."

"I memorized the route."

"We’ve been walking in a straight line."

Rowan looked behind them.

"...Captain."

Gareth turned.

The passage they had just come through... Had disappeared.

In its place stood a solid stone wall. No doorway, no tunnel.

A heavy silence settled over the group.

Mira’s voice trembled slightly.

"...We’re trapped."

Cedric immediately began examining the walls with several detection spells.

Runes briefly flashed across the ancient stone before fading once more.

His expression gradually turned pale.

"...It’s a spatial formation."

"The tomb rearranges its passages."

"We’re no longer following the original path."

Gareth remained remarkably calm despite the situation.

"Then we find another exit."

For hours, they searched.

Every corridor led to another chamber.

Every chamber connected to yet another maze of passages.

Whenever they believed they had found the way out...

The walls shifted.

The corridors changed.

The tomb itself seemed alive.

As time passed, their confidence slowly gave way to exhaustion.

Their food began to run low.

Their spiritual energy steadily diminished.

Even worse, the deeper they wandered, the stronger the monsters inhabiting the tomb became.

Each battle drained more of their remaining strength.

Healing medicines were consumed.

Spirit stones were exhausted.

Bandages accumulated around old wounds.

The priceless treasures they had celebrated only hours earlier gradually became a burden, their weight serving as a cruel reminder that wealth meant little if one could not leave alive.

Eventually, Gareth looked around at his companions.

Their armor was damaged.

Their breathing had become uneven.

Even Cedric’s spells had grown noticeably weaker.

The veteran adventurer tightened his grip on his shield.

"...We underestimated this place."

No one argued.

They all understood.

The dungeon had welcomed them with generous rewards.

But beneath that promise of fortune...

It concealed dangers far beyond what a small adventuring party like theirs could overcome.

In the end, the ancient tomb claimed every intruder who could not overcome its trials.

The five companions who had entered together never returned to the surface.

Outside the dungeon, the crowds continued to arrive, unaware that deep beneath the crimson wasteland, another adventuring party had become one more forgotten Chapter in the history of the ancient ruins.

----

Over the following days...

The excitement surrounding the newly discovered dungeon only continued to grow.

Every sunrise brought another wave of adventurers to the capital.

Mercenary companies marched through the city gates carrying banners from distant towns.

Independent adventurers traveled alone, hoping to stumble upon a fortunate encounter.

Merchant caravans followed close behind, transporting food, medicines, armor, and replacement weapons to meet the ever-increasing demand.

The once-quiet capital had transformed into the busiest city in the kingdom.

Every inn was fully occupied.

Restaurants remained crowded from morning until midnight.

Blacksmiths worked without rest repairing damaged equipment brought back by returning adventurers.

Alchemy shops sold out of healing pills almost as quickly as they could produce them.

The dungeon had become the beating heart of the kingdom’s economy.

Money flowed through the city like a river.

Yet...

Alongside prosperity...

Came tragedy.

Every evening, the guards stationed at the Dungeon Hall quietly updated a large wooden board near the entrance.

It contained only a few simple records.

Exploration Parties Registered

Exploration Parties Returned

Confirmed Casualties

At first, only a few names appeared.

People looked at the board, sighed quietly, and continued with their business.

After all, death was an accepted risk for every adventurer.

No one entered a dungeon believing it was safe.

One week later... The list had doubled.

Two weeks later... It doubled again.

Entire parties disappeared without leaving behind a single survivor.

Some explorers returned missing companions.

Others came back carrying only the belongings of their fallen friends.

Occasionally...

A lone survivor would stagger out of the spatial gate, covered in blood and barely conscious.

Their haunted eyes told stories they could scarcely describe.

Yet even after witnessing such scenes...

The line leading toward the Dungeon Hall remained just as long the following morning.

Because for every story of death...

There was another story of unimaginable fortune.

One adventurer returned carrying a Tier 4 spear.

Another discovered a rare medicinal herb growing beneath one of the black cliffs.

A small mercenary company became famous after bringing back several Tier 4 artifacts from an abandoned fortress hidden among the rocky valleys.

Their successes spread throughout the kingdom far faster than tales of failure.

Hope, Was always louder than fear.

As more explorers ventured into the dungeon, another business unexpectedly began to flourish.

Maps.

At first, they were nothing more than crude sketches drawn onto worn parchment.

Simple landmarks.

A strangely shaped black mountain.

A dried riverbed.

The location of monster nests.

Safe paths between ruined cities.

As the number of expeditions increased, these hand-drawn maps became more detailed.

Experienced adventurers carefully recorded everything they encountered before copying their findings onto fresh parchment.

Some sold them for only a few silver coins.

Others charged several gold coins for maps containing valuable information.

Soon, entire stalls appeared near the Dungeon Hall.

Rows of wooden tables displayed rolled parchments of every quality imaginable.

A middle-aged merchant loudly called out to passing adventurers.

"Fresh maps!"

"Updated yesterday!"

"Known monster territories marked clearly!"

"Ruins discovered by veteran explorers!"

"Only three gold coins!"

Beside him, another merchant shouted even louder.

"Don’t waste your life wandering blindly!"

"Our maps include water sources and safe camping locations!"

Several adventurers immediately gathered around the stalls.

One young adventurer unrolled a map across a wooden table.

"...This section here."

"Is this accurate?"

The merchant confidently nodded.

"My own brother explored that region."

"Every landmark has been confirmed."

"If you follow that route, you’ll avoid at least three known monster territories."

The cultivator glanced at his companions.

Three gold coins was expensive.

But compared to risking their lives wandering through an unfamiliar wasteland...

It was a bargain.

Without another word, he paid.

Business continued throughout the day.

Some merchants made more money selling information than many adventurers earned by entering the dungeon themselves.

Information, had become its own form of treasure.

----

Inside the royal palace...

The spacious working chamber was unusually quiet.

Warm sunlight streamed through the enormous windows, illuminating shelves filled with documents and detailed maps of the kingdom.

Several reports lay neatly organized across the large wooden desk.

Military reports.

Economic reports.

Construction reports.

Dungeon reports.

One after another, they had been delivered by officials throughout the morning.

Alix sat comfortably in his chair.

Unlike before, there was no mountain of paperwork waiting for him.

At that moment, his gaze wasn’t fixed on the reports.

Instead, translucent blue screen floated silently before him.

Only he could see it.

The familiar System window shimmered faintly as lines of information appeared one after another.

Gold Coins: 33,635,242

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"Twenty million..."

Even Alix couldn’t help feeling satisfied.

The dungeon had become exactly what he had envisioned.

An endless source of wealth.

Every entrance fee.

Every tax collected from merchants.

Every shop established around the Dungeon Hall.

Every service operating within the rapidly expanding district.

The number continued increasing every single day without him lifting a finger.

His fingers lightly tapped the armrest of his chair.

Several expensive blueprints immediately came to mind.

The shadows near one corner of the room suddenly rippled.

Without the slightest warning...

A dark silhouette silently emerged from the darkness itself.

It was as though the shadows had come alive.

Not even the palace guards outside the chamber had noticed anyone entering.

The figure took several silent steps forward before lowering himself onto one knee.

"My Lord."

It was Zurrak.