Chapter 192: The Hidden Dungeon From Seven Years Ago

"Pick up your sword, Natia," Stella ordered as she stepped down from the carriage, her gaze sweeping across the dead trees before settling on the jagged stone pillars standing a few hundred steps away.

Natia retrieved her silver sword, pushed the canteen into her backpack, and jumped down after her master.

The moment her boots touched the broken road, she glanced around at the blackened forest, her grip tightening around the sword’s hilt as she asked, "What should we do, Master?"

Stella furrowed her brows and muttered, "Why are you nervous when I am standing right beside you? Are you looking down on your master?"

Natia’s fingers tightened further, and she shot her master an exasperated look. "This is not the time for jokes!"

"Tch, talk about being a mood killer," Stella said, clicking her tongue as she continued examining their surroundings.

"Leader, I think there are already more than enough things to kill the mood around here, except my sister," the carriage driver remarked as he climbed down and approached the horses.

Stella turned toward him. "How are the horses?"

The young man let out a deep, dejected sigh and ran a hand through his short blonde hair before answering, "Dead."

Natia blinked several times, momentarily unable to understand what she had heard.

"What?"

"It’s common for ordinary animals to die when they enter a hidden dungeon," the young man explained, crouching beside one of the horses to examine its lifeless body. "Mages speculate that it happens because of the shock caused by the sudden change in environment, although nobody has managed to prove it."

Stella took a few steps forward, her boots scraping against the cracked road, and glanced at the stone pillars again. "So, male Natia, what do you think we should do?"

The young man looked up at her and forced out a cough. "Just because we are twins and lookalike does not mean I am merely a male version of my sister."

"I bet if you wore her dress, no one would think you were a man," Stella replied.

"Perhaps, but I still would not be as beautiful as her."

"Agreed."

Natia stared at her master before turning toward her brother, her expression growing increasingly bewildered. "What are you two talking about? Gideon, stop humouring her."

"Humouring? He wishes," Stella scoffed as she finally turned away from them. "If he were any good at that, he would not have needed the head start."

Both twins fell silent, their expressions turning embarrassed as they exchanged a brief glance and forced out awkward coughs.

Gideon eventually returned to the matter at hand.

"We need to determine the grade of this hidden dungeon first. To leave, we will have to imprint a Riftstone with the blood of the monsters inhabiting it. Once the stone recognizes the blood, we should be able to use it to walk out of this place."

"Correct. It is wonderful that you are the one with brains," Stella said.

"Master!"

"Fine, fine. Let’s go." Stella waved away Natia’s protest, turned left, and began walking toward the barrier.

Natia hurried after her, with Gideon following close behind, and the three soon disappeared beneath the twisted branches.

As they moved deeper into the forest, Stella kept glancing toward the jagged stone pillars, occasionally narrowing her eyes as though trying to see something hidden beyond them.

"What a strange place..." she mumbled, slowing her pace when the trees began to thin.

The forest had an unnatural stillness to it. There were no birds, insects, or rustling leaves, and even the wind seemed unable to penetrate the dead branches overhead.

Beneath their feet, the road grew increasingly uneven, its cracked surface giving way to patches of black soil that looked as though they had been burned for centuries.

Before long, a scraping sound came from between the trees, followed by the heavy thud of something dragging itself across the ground.

Natia immediately drew her sword, and Gideon reached for an arrow as several figures emerged from the darkness.

They resembled humanoid trees, with twisted wooden limbs and rotting veins running across their bodies, while their hollow faces contained nothing but patches of dark, decaying bark.

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"Warrior monsters," Gideon said, drawing his bowstring. "There are five of them."

"Leave them to me," Natia replied, stepping forward as crimson Aura gathered around her silver blade.

The nearest monster lunged at her, swinging an elongated wooden arm toward her head, but Natia ducked beneath the attack and cut through its knee.

Before its heavy body could crash into her, she twisted her waist and drove her sword through its neck, sending its severed head rolling across the ground.

Another monster approached from her right, its claws tearing through the dead undergrowth as it tried to surround her. However, an arrow struck its shoulder and forced it to stagger sideways, giving Natia enough time to turn and slash across its chest.

"Watch your left!" Gideon shouted.

Natia immediately shifted her weight, and a third monster’s claws scraped across her shoulder instead of piercing her back.

She retaliated with a horizontal swing, cutting through its wooden torso, while Gideon continued firing from behind her, each arrow striking a joint or forcing an approaching monster to change direction.

Although he lacked the talent to become a swordsman, Gideon had spent years learning how to support his sister.

He had once considered pursuing the arcane arts, but the thought of leaving Natia to chase her dream alone had made him abandon that path. Instead, he learned whatever he could to help her become a Sword Saint, even if it meant remaining a supporting hand rather than standing at the forefront himself.

His archery had improved considerably under Stella’s guidance. She had taken an interest in teaching him, and her skill with a bow had already reached the Elite level.

By the time the final monster collapsed, its body split apart by Natia’s sword, Gideon had fired several arrows, each placed carefully enough to keep their enemies from overwhelming his sister.

Natia shook the rotting substance from her blade and looked toward Stella, who had watched the entire encounter without moving from her position.

"Are we going to keep walking?" Natia asked after catching her breath.

"Of course. Unless you want to spend the rest of your life in this lovely forest," Stella replied, turning away.

Natia sighed but followed, with Gideon offering his sister a reassuring smile as he fell into step beside her.

They continued deeper into the dungeon, encountering several more Warrior-level monsters along the way.

Each time, Natia fought at the front while Gideon supported her from a distance, and Stella remained uninvolved, only occasionally correcting Natia’s stance or pointing out a mistake after a battle had ended.

Eventually, they came across something different.

An imposing figure stood between two dead trees, its body resembling that of the humanoid tree monsters they had fought earlier, but its limbs were thicker and its rotting veins had hardened into jagged spikes.

Its long wooden claws gleamed with dark blue Aura, and the pressure radiating from its body made the surrounding air feel heavier.

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Gideon’s expression changed as he recognized the creature’s strength. "An Exalted monster."

Stella leaned against a nearby tree, folding her arms as she looked at her disciple. "Go kill it."

Natia glanced at her master before taking a slow, steadying breath. Her heart was beating faster than before, but she drew her sword without hesitation and stepped forward.

"Understood."

The monster turned its hollow face toward her and immediately charged, its heavy footsteps shaking loose fragments of bark from the trees around it.

Natia rushed forward to meet it, crimson smoke rolling over her silver sword as she accelerated, while Gideon drew his bow and released an arrow that whistled past her shoulder.

The arrow struck the center of the monster’s chest, but instead of penetrating deeply, its tip snapped against the hardened wood.

Nevertheless, the impact diverted the creature’s attention for a fraction of a second, allowing Natia to close the distance and swing at its waist.

Her sword carved a deep groove through its wooden body, and the force of the blow made the monster stagger sideways, but no blood spilled from the wound.

Stella frowned as she observed the damaged torso. "This one does not have blood either."

The monster retaliated before Natia could withdraw, sweeping its clawed arm toward her abdomen.

She twisted away, but the dark blue Aura coating its claws grazed her side, sending her stumbling several steps.

"Natia!" Gideon shouted, immediately nocking another arrow.

"I am fine!" she answered, forcing herself upright before the monster could press its advantage.

Gideon released two arrows in quick succession.

The first struck the creature’s shoulder, while the second hit its knee, neither causing serious damage but disrupting its movements enough for Natia to rush in again.

She lowered her stance and slashed diagonally across the monster’s thigh, then pivoted on her rear foot and struck the same spot again. Her crimson Aura flared as the silver blade bit deeper, finally severing the thick wooden limb.

The monster lost its balance and slammed into the ground, cracking the brittle surface beneath its body.

Natia didn’t allow herself to relax. She stepped around its flailing arms and brought her sword down against its neck, cutting through the hardened wood until its head separated from its torso.

Even then, she continued striking, severing its remaining limbs to ensure it could no longer attack.

Only after the monster had been reduced to scattered pieces did she finally lower her sword, breathing heavily as sweat trickled down her forehead.

"Good job," Stella praised, pushing herself away from the tree and beginning to walk again.

Natia stared at her master’s retreating back, her exhaustion giving way to disappointment. "You could have at least helped us."

Stella glanced over her shoulder. "You begged me to teach you, and that is precisely what I am doing. You may be traveling with me, but do not forget why you joined me in the first place."

Natia’s expression hardened, and anger briefly flashed in her eyes before she lowered her gaze and nodded. "Understood, Master."

Gideon walked over to his sister and gently patted her back. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

"I am not." Natia shook her head, although she rubbed the place where the monster’s claws had grazed her.

Gideon studied her for another moment before nodding.

Stella watched the twins with a hint of pity in her eyes, but she soon waved her hand to urge them forward. "Stop wasting time and move. We still need to find the Riftstone."

After approximately half an hour, they finally reached where the shimmering barrier would’ve been.

Stella scanned the ground and quickly spotted a dark, stone with invisible cracks running through it.

"There it is."

She approached the Riftstone, drew her sword, and struck it with a controlled swing.

The blade sliced through the surrounding earth and separated a piece of the stone, which she caught before channeling her Aura into its surface.

Stella’s expression darkened.

Natia noticed the change immediately, and her stomach sank as she asked, "What grade is it...?"

Stella clenched her fist around the Riftstone, crushing it into shards, and muttered grimly, "Grade three."