Chapter 69: It’s Not That Easy
The debris from the shattered minotaur titan still smoldered as the four adventurers stood at the center of the cavern, catching their breath. Shards of bone crumbled underfoot as Serina inspected the glowing fragments with a frown. The necromantic energy that once pulsed within them had finally begun to dissipate.
"Mana’s thinning," she murmured. "But it’s not gone. The deeper we go, the more concentrated it’ll get."
"That thing wasn’t the boss," Inigo said, slinging the now-empty RPG-7 across his back before it disintegrated into system particles. "It was just a gatekeeper. Typical for a dungeon. I didn’t expect this to end so quickly."
Lyra stepped beside him, wiping soot from her bowstring. "This is expected of a dungeon. Enemies will get stronger as we get deeper."
"I know," he replied, withdrawing his M4 Carbine from his inventory, "I hope that this is just a quick dungeon raid,"
With a few quick checks, he toggled the weapon’s rune-safety off and loaded a fresh mag. The rifle, matte black with subtle glowing glyphs along the barrel, hummed softly—his own modified version, courtesy of the Freedom Shop’s upgrades. A small slot on the receiver allowed him to directly channel mana into the chambered rounds, enhancing each bullet with raw energy.
His Desert Eagle hung at his side, freshly polished and loaded. Standard setup. Efficient. Reliable.
Elira, still at the front of the group, nodded silently and resumed her forward position. Serina cast a soft cleansing wave to dissipate the smoke ahead and lit another floating light to guide their way.
They moved deeper into the cave.
This far in, the structure of the dungeon changed.
The walls no longer resembled mere limestone. Instead, they were blackened and charred, as if burned in ancient fire. Strange sigils marked the surface, glowing faintly with eerie blue and red tones. The temperature dropped again, and the air grew heavier.