Inside the starting chamber, Cyrus and the others were making their final preparations after entering the dungeon.
Cyrus did not immediately order them forward.
The starting chamber was a safe zone. No monsters, no other adventurers, and no direct interference from the dungeon. At least so far, it was still the only place where they could quietly sort out their gear.
He needed to confirm things one more time.
Not how prepared they were.
How much they still had left to use.
The armor on Blake was something they had bought in a hurry. It was crude, heavy, and the seams did not sit right. The replacement longsword in his hand was even worse. The blade was too front-heavy, and each swing would lag half a beat behind.
Blake clearly knew that too.
“This piece of crap is pissing me off.”
No one answered him.
Jessup had brought more potions than last time, but that did not mean they had more room to maneuver.
Quite the opposite.
Needing to carry more consumables meant they could no longer expect to solve this through ordinary methods.
Sanna’s steel cable was the same.
It was thicker than the thin chain she normally used, and the links had been reinforced, but it was not something she handled smoothly. Against that gatekeeper, if her control was even one breath too slow, there might not be a second chance.
Darm’s replacement greatshield was thick enough.
But the last shield had been thick enough too.
And it had still been split apart.
Cyrus’s gaze swept over the others, a trace of dissatisfaction surfacing in his eyes.
Blackstone Town was too small.
So small that finding truly suitable equipment on short notice was impossible. Greer was watching the Guild channels as well. For any supplies that could be obtained through Guild channels, just going through the procedure would be enough to delay them by a day and a half.
“So?” Blake finally spoke. “Are we still rushing straight at the gatekeeper later?”
Sanna rolled her eyes.
“You dumb brute, did you not get beaten badly enough last time?”
Blake’s hand immediately closed around the hilt of his sword.
“Damn it, I’ll make you regret that—”
“Enough.”
Cyrus cut him off coldly.
Blake shut up at once.
Cyrus looked at Sanna.
“The information you gathered earlier.”
The teasing faded from Sanna’s face, and she answered in an even tone.
“There’s more than one side path in the canyon. According to those adventurers, each path has at least one boss at the end.”
She paused, then continued.
“The one with the giant wooden club is deep in the second side path. Upper Black Iron-level strength. Very strong, but not exactly agile. Rayne’s party handled it once, and the method has already spread.”
Jessup added in a low voice.
“Bonecrusher.”
Sanna nodded.
“As for the dual-blade boss, there’s very little information. Most people only know it’s fast and that it can speak. Beyond that, there aren’t many details.”
Cyrus did not hesitate for long.
They lacked information on the dual-blade boss, and its level was higher. If they touched it now, the cost could not be estimated.
Bonecrusher was different.
Upper Black Iron-level strength. Clear weaknesses. A method that had already been tested. More importantly, during their last attempt, it really had been moved by the dungeon to provide support.
If the dungeon could move bosses around, that meant it only had so many cards to play.
As long as they removed the easiest card first, the core would be that much closer to being exposed.
Blake grinned.
“So we’re going after that club-swinging idiot first?”
“Yes.”
Cyrus walked toward the exit.
“Move quickly.”
“This time, we cut off the limbs it keeps reaching out with. Then we’ll see what it has left to stop us.”
They walked out of the starting chamber.
Dry wind blew against them, carrying the roughness of dust and sand. Fine gravel was swept up by the wind and rolled down the slope with a soft rustling sound before vanishing into the depths of the canyon.
Blake had only taken a few steps forward when he suddenly stopped.
“Hey, wait.”
He raised a hand and pointed ahead, his tone filled with obvious confusion.
“Were those things there before?”
Cyrus followed his hand and looked over.
At some point, a row of small stone rooms had appeared in the rock walls on both sides of the canyon entrance.
The rooms were arranged neatly, each embedded into the stone wall. A pale-blue, semi-transparent light screen covered the outside of every room like a barrier, separating inside from outside. Through the light screens, the interiors looked almost empty. Each contained only a stone bed, a low stone table, and a pitiful handful of simple furnishings.
No matter how one looked at them, there was only one answer.
Cells.
That was the first judgment that surfaced in Cyrus’s mind.
But why would a dungeon need cells?
“A trap?” Sanna frowned, staring at the stone rooms for a few seconds. “No. Doesn’t really look like it.”
Jessup raised a hand to his temple. After a moment, he spoke.
“No obvious mana reaction.”
Meaning that, at least for now, they were not active.
Blake snorted, his tone carrying a hint of contempt.
“This dungeon sure loves its little tricks.”
He bared his teeth in a grin.
“What, does it actually think it can throw us in there and lock us up? Can it even do that?”
Cyrus did not answer.
His gaze remained on the new facilities.
The fact that the dungeon had added new structures meant it really was still changing.
That did not surprise him.
But these things had not activated, had not blocked the road, and had shown no direct threat.
In that case, they were not a problem that needed to be dealt with now.
At least, not a priority.
“Leave them.”
Cyrus spoke flatly.
His gaze returned to the depths of the canyon.
There were bosses there. The gatekeeper. And the one thing in this dungeon that was truly worth money.
The core.
As soon as he thought of that core possibly waiting at the end of this path, the displeasure in his eyes was pressed down by something deeper.
Greed.
Cold, clear-headed greed, with almost no need to hide itself.
“Clear the other bosses first, then deal with the core.”
He paused, his tone unchanged.
“Everything else can wait.”
With that, he strode forward.
The other four exchanged glances, said nothing more, and quickly followed.
◆ ◆ ◆
Inside the Core Chamber, Owen watched the monitoring image, and his entire core brightened faintly. Enjoying the story?
“Yes. Yes.”
He spoke slowly.
“Keep looking.”
On the monitoring image, Cyrus’s party had already passed the newly built confinement rooms and was heading deeper into the canyon.
Owen watched their backs.
If he still had human lips, the corners would probably have been twitching upward already.
“Blackstone Dungeon’s exclusive single rooms.”
He gave a soft hum.
“Stone bed, stone table, white bread and milk. Full package included.”
The Core Chamber fell silent for an instant.
Then Owen’s tone suddenly became cheerful.
“The rooms are already booked.”
Another second passed.
Only then did his voice slowly sink.
“Now I’m just waiting for you to check in.”
Cyrus’s party soon pushed all the way to the end of the second side path.
They were more than twice as fast as Rayne’s party had been.
The scattered desiccated guards that appeared along the way could not stop them at all. Darm held the front and smashed enemies aside by force. Blake finished them off from the flank. Sanna’s steel cable lashed out from the side from time to time, dragging down anything that tried to get close. Jessup’s violet arcane missiles targeted joints and skulls with precision.
They almost steamrolled the entire side path.
Owen was not surprised at all.
After all, this was the party that had almost taken down Cassandre. If guards at this level could stop them, that would be the strange part.
At the end of the side path, the heavy stone door slowly opened.
Behind it was an enclosed circular prison.
Bonecrusher crouched in the center as always, the giant wooden club in its hand dragging diagonally across the ground, as if waiting for the next group of intruders.
“Poor Bonecrusher. It’s about to get beaten up again.”
Owen muttered.
Last time, Bonecrusher had only been able to unleash that monstrous strength, comparable to Bronze-level power, without restraint because its two Bronze-level buddies had tied down the other adventurers.
Now, it was fighting alone.
The scene could only be described as tragic.
Its heavy but slow attacks simply could not disrupt Cyrus’s party’s offensive.
Especially Cyrus. He was like a cold venomous snake, always moving close around Bonecrusher. The twin daggers in his hands danced into afterimages, rapidly carving wound after wound across its body.
Bonecrusher grew more and more furious.
But every time it tried to swing its giant wooden club, Darm would forcefully block the angle, or Sanna’s steel cable would pull it half an inch off course.
Half an inch.
For Bonecrusher, that should not have changed much at all.
But for Cyrus, it was already enough.
Jessup’s violet arcane missiles flew one after another, aimed specifically at Bonecrusher’s head, shoulders, and neck. Each explosion made its massive body pause for a fraction of a moment.
The battle had lasted less than five minutes when Bonecrusher was beaten down to one knee.
Even the giant wooden club in its hand had not yet had time to break.
Cyrus stood before it and gave a cold laugh.
His hands turned.
The two daggers spun through a beautiful flourish in his palms.
Then he stepped forward sharply and drove both daggers straight into Bonecrusher’s eye sockets.
Bonecrusher let out an enraged roar.
It had just prepared to stand when Darm stepped forward, slamming the full face of his greatshield into its chest.
Bang!
Bonecrusher was smashed back down on the spot.
Blake instantly seized the chance. He grinned, gripped his sword with both hands, and stepped forward.
“I’ll be taking the head!”
His blade fell.
Bonecrusher’s head rolled to the ground.
Its massive body froze for an instant, then gradually dissolved into blue motes of light and scattered.
However, nothing appeared on the ground.
No magic crystal. No drops. Even its giant wooden club vanished without a trace.
It was so clean that it was as if the battle had never happened.
The prison fell silent for an instant.
“…What the hell is going on?”
Blake grabbed at his hair and roared.
Bonecrusher had not given them much trouble.
The monstrous strength it took such pride in had been unable to come into play under Darm’s shield and the rest of the party’s restraints.
Every time it tried to counterattack, Cyrus had accurately seized the opening and suppressed it further.
Even so, it was still a boss.
And a boss was supposed to bring rewards.
They had still spent stamina to kill it. Jessup had used quite a bit of mana, and Sanna’s steel cable had even warped slightly from being pulled several times.
Those costs were not large, but they were real.
Killing a boss and getting nothing from it made no sense no matter how they looked at it.
Sanna frowned and immediately crouched down, sweeping her hand back and forth over the spot where Bonecrusher had disappeared. She even carefully checked the gaps between several nearby stone tiles.
Her movements grew slower and slower.
Her expression sank bit by bit.
Cyrus’s face, meanwhile, had darkened to a terrifying degree.
Just as their expressions were growing uglier, Owen finally failed to hold back inside the Core Chamber and let out a nasty laugh.
“Hmph.”
“Rayne’s party fought their way here scared out of their minds. I gave them every reward they deserved.”
“But you?”
Owen stared at the five figures in the image, and a puff of stone dust burst from the cracks in his core.
“You want to tear down my house, and you still expect treasure from me?”
“Dream on.”
◆ ◆ ◆
Since defeating bosses gave them no drops, continuing to clear the other side paths had lost its meaning.
Worse, the gear in their hands would not last much longer.
Notches had begun to appear along the edge of Blake’s replacement longsword. Sanna’s steel cable could still be used, but the repeated pulling had warped it slightly. Several obvious dents had appeared on the surface of Darm’s greatshield.
None of these losses were unbearable.
But if they went on to deal with that dual-blade boss, the one whose information was unclear, things would be different.
If they won, there would be no reward.
If they lost, they would waste supplies.
Even setting aside the lack of rewards, if a few more pieces of equipment broke, they would not even need to bother facing the gatekeeper.
No matter how Cyrus calculated it, the exchange was not worth it.
So he quickly made a decision.
“We’re not fighting the dual-blade boss.”
He suppressed his anger and spoke in a low voice.
“We go straight to the gatekeeper.”
For once, Blake kept a serious face and nodded.
It was the best choice they had right now.
Besides, they did not have much of a retreat left.
They had basically scraped together everything Blackstone Town had available. If they wanted to truly replenish equipment and potions, they would need to go to another town, or even a farther city.
But by the time they made that trip and returned, the Guild’s order would more or less have arrived.
At that point, forget destroying the core.
Whether they could enter this dungeon again would be a problem.
So this was no longer an ordinary attempt.
It was their last desperate gamble.
Since they could come back to life, they did not need to fear injury.
Since rewards were cut off, they did not need rewards.
As long as they defeated the gatekeeper, broke into the Core Chamber, and destroyed the core, everything would end.
Cyrus’s eyes grew colder and colder.
It did not matter how many tricks the dungeon could play.
As long as the core shattered, all of its rules would stop with it.
They headed straight into the depths of the canyon.
The wooden stockade along the way did not even hold them back for two minutes.
The Garrison Captain stationed inside had just charged out when Darm slammed it aside. Blake stepped forward and cut off its head with one swing.
Another Dual-Blade Executioner was stopped by Cyrus.
The next second, Cyrus abruptly shifted sideways and opened a lane.
Behind him, Jessup’s face was pale. More than a dozen violet arcane missiles gathered around him and fired all at once, tearing through the Dual-Blade Executioner.
The entire camp was smashed through in under two minutes.
Cyrus did not even stop to confirm the results.
He had only one target left.
The gatekeeper.
Soon, the circular plaza appeared before them once more.
It was the same place they had visited not long ago.
The towering knight still stood silently at the center of the plaza.
But this time, the moment the five of them stepped onto the edge of the plaza, their feet stopped at the same time.
Something was wrong.
The pressure was wrong.
Compared to this morning, the armor on the gate boss had undergone an obvious change.
The once-ordinary gray armor now bore lines of dim magical patterns that had not been there before. Those gray-white markings spread along the breastplate, pauldrons, and arms, slowly lighting in the gaps between the plates.
It was only standing there.
Yet the danger radiating from it already pressed down on them.
Blake’s expression changed at once.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!”
His voice even cracked.
“How long has it been since this morning? How the hell did this thing get stronger?”
No one answered him.
Because they had all been rendered speechless by the sight before them.
They had come here with a pile of half-broken gear, trying to force one last attempt.
They had almost no room to spare.
And now, even the gatekeeper had grown stronger.
Did they really still have a chance?
“Calm down!”
Cyrus’s icy voice rang out.
Blake gritted his teeth and looked at him. Sanna and Jessup turned their gazes over at the same time.
Cyrus did not look at them.
His eyes never left the gatekeeper. The greed in his gaze had been stirred by anger, burning even more fiercely in the depths.
“It got stronger.”
He gave a cold laugh.
“So that means we have even less reason to retreat.”
The muscles in Blake’s face twitched.
“You serious?”
“There is nothing left in town for us to resupply with.”
Cyrus’s voice was cold.
“And the Guild will not give us a second chance.”
That sentence made everyone fall silent.
Cyrus slowly drew his twin daggers.
“We have resurrection anyway.”
His voice was very calm. Calm as if he were stating something obvious.
“No matter how badly we’re injured this time, no matter how much we use up, we bring it down.”
He paused.
His gaze swept over their faces one by one.
“As long as we break into the Core Chamber, the core is ours.”
“When that happens, everyone gets a share.”
After those words fell, the fire in Blake’s eyes finally reignited.
The kind of greed that could drive his whole body forward.
The others said nothing more and silently nodded.
Darm drew in a deep breath and charged toward Cassandre.
Cyrus and Blake followed close behind. Sanna circled toward Cassandre’s rear with her steel cable, while Jessup uncorked several potion bottles at once and poured them all down his throat. The pallor on his face was gradually replaced by an unnatural flush.
In the next heartbeat, a gray fog gate sealed their path back like an uninvited ghost.
◆ ◆ ◆
Inside the Core Chamber, Owen watched the fog gate descend, and his entire core began pulsing with light.
The cracks across his surface itched fiercely, as if a pile of fine sand were rolling around inside them. He wanted nothing more than to roll straight off the altar and smash himself around a few times to calm down.
Not much time had passed since morning.
But he could hardly wait.
He could hardly wait to see Cyrus and the others get thoroughly beaten down by Cassandre.
And he could hardly wait to see their faces after they revived and realized they had not returned to the starting chamber, but had been locked inside the confinement rooms instead.
Just thinking about it almost made him laugh out loud.
But not yet.
He could not laugh yet.
“This still isn’t the time to pop the champagne.”
After saying that, Owen issued an order to The Whisperer, having it stand by outside the stone archway leading to the plaza.
This time, however, he did not plan to send The Whisperer directly in to support.
“I upgraded Cassandre, after all. I should at least give it a chance to show off!”
Owen forced down his excitement and tried to restore calm to the Core Chamber.
Then he tried to speak in a cold, deep voice.
“Let these invaders receive the punishment they deserve, my knight!”
A few seconds later, Owen’s pained groan echoed through the Core Chamber.
“Fuck! That was so cringe!”