267. Dungeon Scan
Blacksmith Nille nodded slowly, the confirmation of a major breach in security settling heavily on him. He removed his hand from Ryan’s mouth.
“Though I haven’t yet figured it out properly yet, I am still working diligently on Her Highness’s command. So, I...” Ryan, seizing the sudden attention, burst forward, unable to contain the knowledge that was consuming him. He had been quietly researching the properties of light and glass since Ravenna first tasked him with it.
Nille said in stern voice “Stop beating around the bush”
“Yes, Master! I think I might know how to disrupt the dungeon core’s mana!” Ryan suddenly blurted out, the audacity of his claim filling the small office with electric tension
Inside the Dungeon, Northern City, Northern Coastline, Kim Island, Kim City, Ancorna Empire
The air in the cavern grew colder, the scent of ozone and chaotic magic thick in the silence left by the Minotaurs' absence. Following a winding passage, the scouting party comprising Ravenna, Marie, and Knight Kalahad, had advanced deeper into the tunnels.
The passage opened into a vast, unsettling space. Here, the floor was not natural rock, but crudely packed earth, and the walls were carved with disturbing, primitive symbols. A small, haphazard village-like structure was instantly recognizable as the Goblin Nest, the heart of this floor’s spawning territory. Steps leading to the next level were built into the cave's far wall, fashioned from rough, stacked stone and wood. The Goblin Nest was practically a small, teeming town, with at least a few thousand goblins milling about, armed with rusty spears and crude bone clubs, patrolling and guarding the only exit upward.
In a distant corner, hidden behind a towering formation of black obsidian rock, the three figures crouched, observing the enemy.
“Master,” Marie whispered, her voice barely audible over the distant, chittering sounds of the goblins. She pointed toward a specific section of the nest: a wide, flat area just beyond the goblin chieftain’s largest hut. “I think I found a good location for the lure.”
[ Reputation System v1.0 ]
User: Ravenna Solarius / Joy Cha Kim
Reputation Level: 79 — (390,478 / 390,900 EXP)↑
Current Reputation Points: 2, 000 RP↑
Titles Unlocked: Raven of the Sun Palace, Unruly Princess, Beast Slayer
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Ravenna, her eyes sharp and calculating, looked at her system panel once then followed Marie’s line of sight, instantly recognizing the tactical potential of the spot. “Good,” she replied, her voice low and edged with satisfaction. “Let’s retrieve the others and finalize the preparations.”
“Yes, Your Highness,” Knight Kalahad affirmed, and the three silently retreated from the corner, moving swiftly and without a sound back toward their temporary base in the main cavern.
Back at the barricaded staging area, Alice quickly looked up as the scouting party emerged from the shadows. Relief washed over her, quickly followed by professional urgency.
“So, how is it?” Alice asked, tucking her rifle under her arm.
“We found the goblin town around the stairs to the next floor just like the other scout reported,” Knight Kalahad reported, taking a quick, restorative sip from his flask. “We confirmed that only goblins seem to be spawning on this floor, so Her Highness’s plan might just work.”
Marie nodded, her earlier anxiety replaced by determined focus. “I found a perfect spot for gathering the goblins with my blessing,” she confirmed, gesturing to a rough map they had made.
Ravenna stepped forward, her daggers gleaming faintly in the light. “Now, the knights only need to lure them all into that designated spot.”
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Looking at the store page, Her lips curved into a chilling, confident smile. “We are not wasting our limited ammunition on a drawn-out skirmish. We will collapse the floor, eliminating the entire level of this dungeon in a single, devastating move.”
Northern City, Northern Coastline, Kim Island, Kim City, Ancorna Empire
The ground trembled constantly beneath the heavy charge of Minotaurs. Dame Aisha, still fighting a desperate rearguard action, watched as a squad of Herptian priests concluded their ritual. A good chunk of rare, specialized flowers: their petals glowing with residual mana, lay scattered on the ground, the sacrifice for the Geomancy and Divination spell required to probe the hostile rift.
Junior Priest Finn, his face pale and strained from the effort, rushed towards the makeshift command post where Dame Aisha and Sarah were coordinating defenses. The noise of Minotaurs breaching the outer line was a constant, terrifying roar.
"Miss Sarah! Here are the results!" Junior Priest Finn shouted over the din, shoving a scribed parchment into her hands.
Sarah's eyes frantically scanned the report, her professional composure instantly dissolving into panic. "The... The Dungeon," she stuttered, her voice thin with terror as she read the numbers.
"What?! Miss Sarah, how many floors is the dungeon? Is it more than two!?" Dame Aisha demanded, her voice sharp with alarm, instantly recognizing the signs of an existential threat. The other knights and officers nearby braced themselves, the number "two" already signaling a major crisis.
Sarah swallowed hard, the sheer magnitude of the number freezing the words in her throat. She looked up at Dame Aisha, her eyes wide with a deep, paralyzing fear that mirrored the cosmic horror of the cultists' attack.
"It... It... it is..." Sarah finally managed, forcing the terrifying truth past her lips. "It's a twenty-floor Dungeon!. The deepest breach on the continent since the Age of Absolution!"