Chapter 125: Harpy Eagle and Its Tiger Cubs (1)

The staircase continued downward. Each step seemed to take them deeper into a frozen cave. The air was cold—too cold.

Zaid moved forward slowly, followed by Erick and John. None of them spoke.

They had made it through the first floor; even though they’d suffered injuries, it had been the easiest and most pleasant part of the journey for them. They’d survived the Dungeon Guardians, a group that was hard to kill.

But the feeling beneath them was different.

Zaid could sense it clearly. What awaited them down there was much more powerful.

’I wonder if that means it’s more dangerous,’ he thought.

More power didn’t always mean more danger.

"There are a lot of them," Valia whispered.

Zaid nodded. He could feel it, too.

"Can you count them?"

"No... But they’re not very far apart."

"You mean the third floor is like the second floor—a concentrated, single-room environment?"

"Probably," she nodded.

Zaid found that interesting, though it might mean less experience. However, he didn’t worry about it and continued descending.

After a couple of minutes, the staircase ended, and the three of them finally set foot on the third floor.

The scene they encountered was completely different. It wasn’t a cave, or many caves, nor was it a desert.

It was a vast underground forest.

Giant trees grew around a dark lake. Their roots pierced through the rock and spread out in every direction. There were small rocky hills and vast open spaces between them.

All over the place, trickling down the walls, there was blood. An absurd amount of blood.

Some of it seemed to be flowing through small, natural channels that ran down from the walls.

John frowned. "Blood?"

Erick found it strange, too. "Didn’t you hear anything about this in town?"

"No. I couldn’t find much information about the third floor. I mean, it makes sense. Almost no one decides to run an entire dungeon because, either way, they gain the same amount of experience whether they kill a level 11 beast or a level 30 one," John said.

Most hunters focus on leveling up by killing the weakest beasts in their tier, since that way they avoid a lot of trouble. It’s a cowardly way to go about it, but it’s valid.

Only someone as crazy as Zaid—or the pair following him—would come up with the brilliant idea of clearing an entire dungeon.

Zaid stood there, looking around him.

’Do you know where the blood is coming from?’ he asked Valia mentally.

She shook her head. ’It seems to be coming from above.’

’How strange...’

Then he heard a roar. It was faint and somewhat distant, but it grew into a more powerful roar.

The entire third floor seemed to respond, with a gentle tremor that rippled through the waters of the dark lake.

A creature emerged from among the trees.

A tiger cub.

Although calling it a cub was almost an insult. It was over two meters long. Its body was muscular, and its fangs jutted out from its jaw. It had dark spots on its golden fur.

And behind him... A Sand Golem.

No. A Dungeon Guardian.

John turned pale. "These guys again?"

The golem fixed its gaze on them, as did the tiger.

"If it were just one..." Erick swallowed hard, sensing the danger.

Many more appeared.

One. Two. Five. Ten...

The yellow eyes of the tiger cubs glinted among the trees and their shadows. Each one had a Golem behind it, as if they were their guardians.

Zaid narrowed his eyes.

"I see, so that’s what it is."

"What?" Erick turned to look at him.

"This blood dripping from the ceiling is food for these pups. It comes from the first floor. Putting that blood on that altar was actually meant to feed them and make them stronger," Zaid said.

"What?" Erick was stunned. "You mean we’ve been feeding our own enemies?"

Zaid simply nodded.

"And this dungeon was built to protect them."

John’s eyes lit up with understanding. "I see. So what I heard was true after all..."

"What?" Zaid and Erick turned to look at him.

"It was just a rumor, but people said that the boss of this place adopted a lot of tiger cubs, but fed them in a strange way. Some believed they were fed the bodies of the creatures on the first floor and that the second floor was just to protect them."

"I see," Zaid nodded. "I guess the way to make it appear is to kill them, right?"

"That’s what they said," John nodded.

Suddenly, a collective roar answered them.

The cubs quickly rushed into battle.

"They’re coming!" John took up a fighting stance.

Erick gripped his sword tightly.

Zaid stepped forward. "Don’t split up!"

The first tiger arrived.

Erick raised his sword and blocked the attack.

CLANG!

The claws struck the blade head-on. The impact made his arms tremble.

"It’s strong."

The tiger opened its mouth, its jaws coming face-to-face with Erick’s small head.

John appeared from the side and landed four consecutive blows. Even though he was much weaker than the cub, his talent activated twice in the same spot.

The cub’s blood splattered on him.

The tiger roared and struck him with its hind legs.

John was sent flying.

"John!"

Erick regained his composure and attacked the tiger again. However, just then, a golem appeared in the middle.

BOOM!

His sword struck the Golem’s fist, and Erick rolled across the ground, losing all his momentum. He even felt a bone snap.

Zaid ran toward them and leaped over the Golem. His fist struck the Golem’s head directly.

BOOM!

The head exploded, and the body staggered.

"Focus on the tigers!" Zaid ordered, summoning his daggers immediately.

He dropped down onto the Cub beneath him; his daggers encircled the creature’s neck and decapitated it.

[You have defeated a Tiger Cub: Level 17.]

[XP gained.]

Zaid barely had time to read it.

Several of the cubs surrounded him. "Tsk, you’re all really annoying," Zaid complained.

"These bastards are endless!" John shouted.

"You just kill as many as you can," Zaid told him, before focusing on what was in front of him.

Immediately, the battle descended into chaos.