Chapter 490: Two Paths to the Core [ 1 ]

The moment Sage stepped beyond the enormous stone archway, he realized that the dungeon’s interior was nothing like the ancient ruins they had investigated several days earlier.

A vast underground passage stretched before them, its ceiling rising so high that the faint blue crystals embedded in the stone barely illuminated the darkness overhead.

Massive pillars supported the passage at irregular intervals, their surfaces covered in weathered carvings that appeared far older than the ruins outside.

The air was cold and unusually heavy, carrying the faint scent of damp stone and something Sage couldn’t quite identify.

More importantly, the mana concentration was extraordinary.

Even without deliberately sensing his surroundings, Sage could feel the dense mana pressing against his body. It was considerably stronger than anything he had encountered in the dungeons around Evergreen.

"Well, this is certainly impressive," Sage remarked, looking toward the distant darkness. "From the outside, I was expecting a rather ordinary hole in the ground. Apparently, someone decided to build an entire underground kingdom instead."

Leon drew his sword and stepped ahead of the group. "Stay alert, everyone. We don’t know what kind of creatures inhabit this place, and the entrance is no guarantee of safety."

Rowan crouched beside a shallow depression in the stone floor, examining several marks that crossed the passage.

After running his fingers along one of them, he glanced toward Leon. "Something large passed through here recently. Several creatures, judging by the overlapping tracks. They’re heading deeper into the dungeon."

"How large?" Lucan asked, shifting his grip on his weapon.

"Large enough that I wouldn’t recommend meeting them in a narrow corridor," Rowan replied. "The impressions are deep, and whatever made them appears to possess considerable weight."

Mina immediately leaned forward to examine the marks. "Then they must be strong! Uncle Sage, can we go find them?"

Sage looked down at the excited girl with an expression of profound disappointment. "Mina, we’ve been inside this dungeon for less than five minutes, and you’re already trying to arrange a fight with something that might swallow you whole."

"Then I’ll just cut my way out," Mina replied confidently.

"That’s not nearly as reassuring as you think it is," Sage muttered.

Leon chuckled before gesturing toward the passage ahead. "The Guildmaster is right. Our objective isn’t to hunt monsters. We should avoid unnecessary battles until we understand the dungeon’s layout."

Mina reluctantly agreed, although the disappointment on her face suggested that she considered avoiding powerful monsters a terrible waste of an opportunity.

The expedition continued deeper into the passage, maintaining a formation with Leon at the front, Rowan slightly behind him, and Lucan protecting the rear. Iris walked beside Sage, occasionally pausing to examine the glowing crystals or the strange carvings decorating the pillars.

After several minutes, the passage widened into an enormous circular chamber.

At least a dozen corridors branched away from it, each disappearing into darkness.

A shallow pool occupied the center, its perfectly still surface reflecting the blue light from the surrounding crystals. Several ancient statues stood around the chamber, depicting armored figures whose faces had long since been worn away.

Sage slowly surveyed the surroundings. The chamber was larger than the entire courtyard of some noble estates he had visited.

"Interesting," Iris murmured, approaching one of the pillars. "The mana currents here aren’t flowing naturally."

Sage turned toward her. "What do you mean?"

Iris placed her palm against the cold stone and closed her eyes briefly. "Mana usually spreads through a dungeon according to the formations and environments within it. But here, several currents are converging toward the same region before separating again. It’s almost as though this chamber serves as a junction."

"Could that tell us which direction leads deeper?" Rowan asked.

"Possibly," Iris answered. "Although I’d need more time to understand the pattern."

Rowan examined the corridors before turning toward Sage. "Guildmaster, we should map this chamber before choosing a route. With this many passages, it would be easy to lose our way."

"Agreed," Sage replied. "And I’d rather not spend the next three days wandering in circles while Mina complains about the lack of monsters."

"I wouldn’t complain about that!" Mina protested.

Sage raised an eyebrow. "You complained about it approximately thirty seconds ago."

"That was different!"

"Naturally."

While Rowan began recording the chamber’s layout, Sage moved toward the central pool and studied its dark surface. His expression remained relaxed, but his thoughts were occupied by a far more important question.

Where exactly is the Dungeon Core?

He had already claimed numerous dungeons throughout Evergreen, but Greyfen was on an entirely different scale.

The immense interior, extraordinary mana concentration, and number of branching passages suggested that locating the core through ordinary exploration could take an unreasonable amount of time.

And time was precisely what he didn’t have.

The mercenaries outside had already dispatched messengers toward the Royal Capital. Once the powerful noble Houses learned what had appeared in Greyfen, they would undoubtedly begin mobilizing their own forces.

Sage needed to secure ownership before that happened.

As though responding to his thoughts, a familiar translucent interface appeared before his eyes.

[Ding!]

[Unclaimed Dungeon Detected!]

[Dungeon: Greyfen]

[Current Status: Unclaimed]

[Dungeon Core Location: Undetermined]

[Guildmaster has entered the dungeon’s interior.]

[Analyzing available Dungeon Core access routes...]

Sage’s eyes sharpened slightly.

Finally.

He maintained his position beside the pool, ensuring that none of his companions noticed his attention shifting toward something they couldn’t see.

Several moments passed before another notification appeared.

[Ding!]

[Analysis Complete!]

[Two routes to the Dungeon Core have been identified.]

[Route One: Standard Exploration Route]

[Progress through the dungeon’s ordinary floors until reaching the passage connected to the Dungeon Core Chamber.]

[Estimated Difficulty: Extreme]

[Warning: Greyfen contains an exceptionally large number of floors. The deeper regions possess dangers far beyond the capabilities of the current expedition.]

[Route Two: Hidden Claiming Route]

[Locate the concealed teleportation entrance within the dungeon’s initial region.]

[The teleportation formation leads to a separate claiming area containing five special trial floors.]

[Clear all five trials to unlock the Dungeon Core Chamber.]

[Defeat the Dungeon Core Guardian to gain access to the Dungeon Core.]

[Note: The Dungeon Core Guardian is separate from the dungeon’s Ultimate Dungeon Boss.]

Sage read the information twice.

Then he nearly laughed.

Hundreds of floors, dangerous monsters, and an unknown number of powerful enemies? Absolutely not.

He had no intention of spending months exploring the dungeon merely to reach its core. Worse, the deeper floors might contain creatures capable of overwhelming even Leon.

The second route, however, was another matter entirely.

Five special trial floors and a Guardian.

That was still dangerous, but at least it offered a realistic possibility of success.