Chapter 163: The SS-Rank Dungeon Report

Liam felt the wind immediately.

A cool breeze brushed against his face the moment he stepped out of the enormous tower located on the outskirts of the city.

He stood still for a few seconds.

The smell of the air.

The distant sound of vehicles.

The blue sky.

Everything was exactly as he remembered.

This was his world.

Liam took a deep breath and let out a sigh.

"We’re home..."

Beside him, Lydia also stepped out of the tower.

She raised her head and looked around.

"We made it, darling."

Liam smiled.

After so many hours inside that strange dungeon, they had finally returned.

In front of them, their companions were waiting.

Emily, Carol, Jordan, Chuck, and Lena had exited a few seconds earlier and were now gathered near the entrance.

"Finally!"

Emily raised both arms.

"We’re outside!"

Chuck dropped to his knees.

"I never want to go into such a strange dungeon ever again."

Lena let out a small laugh.

"That’s what you say now."

"I mean it completely seriously."

While everyone was celebrating, Liam heard a sound behind them.

The enormous stone door began to close.

Everyone turned around.

The entrance to the tower slowly closed until it disappeared completely.

As if it had never been there.

Lena’s eyes widened.

"What just happened?"

No one answered.

Everyone stared at the empty ground.

"I have no idea," Emily said.

Carol shook her head.

"Me neither."

Chuck looked around.

"Are dungeons supposed to do that?"

Liam didn’t have an answer either.

However, for the first time since they had entered, he didn’t care that much.

They had gotten out, and that was what mattered.

Jordan remained a little apart from the others.

His expression was somewhat sad as he stared at the place where the tower’s door had disappeared.

Liam immediately understood what he was thinking.

The small orange-furred sub-boss, his new friend.

Jordan had been forced to leave it behind.

Carol seemed to notice as well.

"Hey, Jordan."

Jordan looked up.

"What?"

"I have chips in my SUV."

Jordan’s eyes lit up.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

The sadness disappeared from his face almost immediately.

"Let’s go!"

Jordan started walking toward the SUV.

Chuck burst out laughing.

"I can’t believe it! Chips really do solve all your problems!"

Jordan shrugged.

"They’re important."

Lydia looked at the tower that no longer existed.

"Don’t you guys feel like something is strange?"

Everyone looked at her.

"What?" Emily asked.

Lydia pointed toward the dungeon.

"The lightning."

Liam raised his head.

She was right.

When they had arrived, enormous violet bolts of lightning had constantly surrounded the tower.

Now there wasn’t a single one left.

However, there was something else.

The feeling that place gave off was different.

A sort of pressure remained in the air.

Liam frowned.

Emily also seemed to have noticed it.

"Do you think those lightning bolts had something to do with the dungeon’s evolution?"

Liam didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he used [Call].

’Pix, do you have an explanation?’

The response appeared directly in the system chat.

[Pix: Yes.]

[Pix: The lightning bolts were part of the alteration the dungeon was undergoing.]

[Pix: Once the evolution was complete, they were no longer necessary and disappeared.]

Liam nodded.

’I understand.’

That was important information he would have to add to the report.

Liam looked at the others.

"Well, I think we’re done for today."

Everyone looked at him.

"If you want, you can head straight home. I’m going back to the guild headquarters to write the report and turn it in."

Emily smiled.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Get some rest. After everything we went through, you’ve earned it."

Carol nodded.

"Thanks, Boss."

"Good work, everyone."

"Good work, Boss."

Lena raised a hand.

"That was quite a strange mission."

"That’s an understatement," Chuck replied.

Jordan was already eating chips.

"I had a pretty good time."

Everyone looked at him.

"Of course you had a good time," Carol said.

Jordan smiled.

However, Lena looked up at the sky.

"Wait..."

Everyone followed her gaze.

The sun was still shining.

Lena frowned.

"Isn’t it strange that it’s still daytime?"

Liam stood still, thinking about the temporal alteration.

That was something Pix had mentioned.

He quickly took out his phone and checked the date. Then he checked the time.

His eyes widened slightly.

It was the same day they had entered.

But the strangest part was the time.

Only fifteen minutes had passed.

Liam looked at the screen again.

Fifteen minutes. Nothing more.

’That can’t be...’

For them, it had been hours.

They had fought creatures.

They had crossed a meadow.

They had rested in a cave.

They had crossed a forest.

They had waited for almost an hour beside the crystal flower.

There had even been moments when Liam had thought they might have spent a day or two inside that dungeon.

But in the outside world...

Only fifteen minutes had passed.

"Darling, what’s wrong?" Lydia asked.

Liam looked up.

"Nothing."

He didn’t want to worry them.

The others didn’t seem to give it much importance either.

After everything they had just experienced, they were probably too exhausted to think about it.

One by one, they began saying their goodbyes.

Emily was the first.

"See you later, Boss."

"Get some rest, Emily."

Carol said goodbye next.

Chuck climbed into his Impala while still chewing gum.

Lena also left, but not before saying goodbye to Liam and Lydia.

Jordan was the last.

"See you."

"Take care, Jordan."

Jordan held up the bag of chips.

"Thanks, Carol."

Carol laughed.

Eventually, everyone went their separate ways.

Liam and Lydia also returned to the guild.

◇◆◇

Several hours later, Liam was sitting in front of his computer.

The office was completely quiet.

Liam typed slowly.

Exploration Report — New Altered S-Rank Dungeon.

He had begun by explaining the dungeon’s initial conditions.

Then he described the alteration.

The evolution into an SS-Rank dungeon.

The temporal alteration.

The strange violet lightning bolts surrounding the tower.

The way different members of the squad had appeared in different parts of the dungeon.

Then he began writing about the gray-skinned humanoid inhabitants.

Beings capable of communicating telepathically.

Their destroyed world.

The war against another species of red-skinned humanoids.

The initial misunderstanding.

Liam stopped.

He read over what he had written again.

’This sounds like something out of a made-up story...’

He continued.

He wrote about the enormous meadow.

The forest.

The different monsters.

The multiple sub-bosses.

The enormous blind mole.

The orange-furred creature.

The portal.

The crystal flower.

The beam of light.

As he wrote, Liam couldn’t help thinking that everything sounded completely surreal.

If someone else had submitted that report, he probably would have thought they were exaggerating.

But everything had really happened.

Liam leaned back in his chair.

"What a strange dungeon..."

He turned his head.

Lydia was lying on the office couch.

She was sleeping soundly.

Her mouth was slightly open.

Liam smiled.

’She’s so beautiful...’

After everything they had gone through, he hoped she hadn’t had too difficult a time.

But he knew that wasn’t the case.

Her abilities malfunctioning.

The difficulty she had transforming.

Her powers activating on their own.

She had even lost the camera her parents had given her.

Liam lowered his gaze.

’Maybe I should write about it...’

His fingers rested on the keyboard.

He thought about it for several seconds.

But he didn’t know if it was actually related to the dungeon.

Perhaps Lydia’s strange ability malfunctions were a consequence of the alteration.

Or perhaps...

Something else was happening.

Liam looked at his wife again.

’What if it has nothing to do with the dungeon?’

He didn’t want to jump to conclusions without knowing for sure.

In the end, he decided not to add anything to the report.

However, he did want to talk to Lydia when she woke up.

Maybe they could consult Instructor James.

Perhaps he could help them figure out what was happening with her abilities as a scientist.

Liam looked at the screen again.

He was finished.

He saved the document and stood up.

Then he walked over to the printer and pressed the button.

The machine began to operate.

The sound of paper slowly coming out filled the office.

Liam watched the first page as he thought about everything they had experienced.

A dungeon that had evolved.

A temporal alteration.

Beings from another dimension who had communicated with him.

Sub-bosses capable of rivaling S-Rank monsters.

And a strange crystal flower that had been their only way out.

Liam let out a sigh.

"I definitely have a lot to report."

Behind him, Lydia continued sleeping peacefully.

The printer finished producing the final page.

And Liam remained silent, staring at the report that could become one of the strangest documents the guild had ever received.