Chapter 21: Into Dungeon X (2)

Chapter Twenty One

Traveling to the designated location where Dungeon X was located took quite some time. After all, the dungeon was situated in a neighboring city.

Just like Mole City, the city was a Level One City known as Crane City. However, unlike Mole City, Crane City was almost completely vacant.

Dungeon X was located barely several meters away from the city itself. Due to the countless rumors and terrifying news surrounding the dungeon, most of the people living in Crane City had already fled in panic, afraid of what their fate would be the moment that dungeon finally broke.

The dungeon was said to be a death dungeon. Hundreds of awakened warriors had already entered it, yet not even a single bone had been left behind.

If that same dungeon were to break, Crane City, which barely had any powerful awakened warriors remaining, would undoubtedly be wiped out in an instant.

That was why the entire city seemed almost completely deserted.

"So this is Dungeon X..."

Orion stood before the swirling blue gateway. Above the gate was a large green number. 10.

It signified that this was a Level Ten Dungeon.

Orion frowned slightly. He had not even entered the dungeon yet, and he was already feeling uncomfortable just standing before it.

This is strange... Orion thought silently.

There was hardly any danger Orion had faced before that could make him feel this level of unease.

Whenever he encountered a dangerous opponent, Orion was usually excited rather than scared. And in cases where the danger was beyond what he could normally handle, he would feel fear and a strong sense of danger.

But this time... He felt neither. Instead, there was only an indescribable sense of unease.

It was subtle, almost impossible to notice. Yet Orion’s instincts had always been sharp, and he was certain that something was wrong.

The problem was that he couldn’t tell exactly what inside this dungeon was making him feel this way.

Orion remained immersed in his thoughts when he suddenly heard the sound of approaching footsteps.

Turning his head, he saw several people arriving at the location. From their battle gear and the powerful auras surrounding them, it was more than obvious that they were warriors.

And not ordinary warriors either. They were high-level awakened warriors.

Their numbers were staggering, to say the least. More than twenty people were already gathered at the location, including Orion.

Yet even then, more and more warriors continued arriving.

So many high-level warriors... Just for a Level Ten Dungeon?

Orion’s gaze became grim as he turned back toward the dungeon gateway.

"Dungeon X... just what kind of danger are you hiding?"

"Hey, what is a no-level like yourself doing here?"

A deep and annoying voice suddenly rang in Orion’s ears.

Orion turned his head and saw a bald-headed man walking toward him. From the aura radiating from the man’s body, Orion could immediately tell that he was far stronger than himself.

He was probably close to Level Ten. Compared to Level Zero like Orion, the difference in strength between them was enormous.

And from the disdain in the man’s eyes and the disgust in his tone, Orion could already tell that this man was looking for trouble.

Still, Orion didn’t want to attract any unnecessary problems. He simply ignored the man and continued staring at Dungeon X, not even bothering to answer his question.

"Are you deaf?"

The bald man spoke again.

"What is a piece of trash like you doing on this raid?"

He looked at Orion with even greater disdain. The fact that a Level Zero like Orion dared to stand in the same place as him made the man want to explode with anger.

Such a lowlife trash didn’t belong in the same place as him.

Yet Orion simply continued examining the dungeon gateway. His mind was already occupied with analyzing the dungeon and planning his possible moves and strategies.

Seeing that the no-level warrior wasn’t even paying him any attention, the bald man finally exploded with rage.

He reached out and roughly grabbed Orion by the collar.

"How dare a lowlife like yourself ignore me? Are you tired of living?"

Orion didn’t reply. Instead, his hand slowly clenched into a fist at his side, while his head remained lowered.

"What is it?" The bald man sneered. "Can’t say a word? Cat got your tongue?"

Orion’s grey eyes slowly began to glow with a cold light.

Then he finally spoke.

"Get your hands off me."

"And if I don’t?" The bald man grinned mockingly.

Orion’s hand slowly moved toward his dagger. His fingers wrapped around the hilt, ready to strike.

The bald man was still sneering. He had no idea that the person he was messing with could be described as nothing short of a psycho when it came to fighting.

Orion’s hand tightened around the hilt of his dagger, his fingers ready to draw it and strike straight toward the bald man’s throat.

Higher level or not, there was no way that man could survive a direct strike from him.

But before Orion could make his move, another hand suddenly clenched around the bald man’s wrist.

Creak!

A sharp cry of pain escaped the man’s mouth as his expression twisted. He glared at the newcomer with rage.

"Old man... are you seeking death?"

Orion’s hand immediately left his dagger as he turned to look.

An old man was standing there. His eyes were covered by a dark blindfold, yet one of his hands was firmly gripping the bald man’s wrist.

"Leave the young man be and be on your way."

The old man’s voice was calm and indifferent. He released the bald man’s wrist.

The bald man growled, his face filled with rage as he prepared to attack the old man.

But before he could make a move, someone dressed in a mage robe hurried over.

"I see Senior is already here..."

The newcomer was none other than an elite of the Scourge Guild, the person leading this Dungeon X raid.

He immediately bowed toward the old man, his gaze filled with reverence and respect.

"This junior pays his respects to the Great Blind Swordsman."

"Blind...?"

The bald man, who had been preparing to attack in rage, suddenly froze.

His rage evaporated like smoke. His eyes widened as realization struck him.

Did he nearly commit suicide just now?

Who in the entire region didn’t know who the Blind Swordsman was?

He was one of the few most powerful elite-level warriors below the Master Level.

A renowned awakened warrior whose strength was far beyond his own.

And him? He was only Level Six.

Yet he had nearly challenged the Blind Swordsman.

Cold sweat immediately covered the bald man’s forehead.

The old man, Sir Dwaine, raised an eyebrow as he looked toward him.

"What is it?"

His voice remained calm.

"Want to pick a fight?"

"Me? Pick a fight?"

The bald man immediately shook his head vigorously.

"Never, Senior."

He hurriedly bowed.

"This junior merely wishes to pay his respects."

With those words, the bald man practically vanished, running away as fast as his legs could carry him.

Sir Dwaine simply shook his head before turning toward the mage-robed man.

"When is the raid starting?"

The mage-robed man paused. He looked around at the more than forty people who had already gathered, seemingly searching for a particular person.

After a moment, he shook his head.

"We’re still waiting for the Sky Dancer. When she arrives, we’ll enter."

The old man nodded.

The robed man then turned and left to continue preparing the raid.

Orion remained standing beside Sir Dwaine.

No matter how many times he looked at the old man, one thing was obvious. He was clearly blind.

And yet... He seemed capable of seeing everything around him.

How is that possible? Orion’s eyes narrowed slightly.

His talent, perhaps? That was the only explanation that made sense.

Feeling the gaze on him, Sir Dwaine suddenly turned his head toward Orion.

"Hey, kid. What are you doing here?"

His tone was calm.

"This dungeon is too dangerous for a no-level. I’d advise you to pull out for your own safety."

There was no disgust in his voice. No disdain.

He wasn’t looking down on Orion simply because of his Level Zero status.

Unlike the other high-level warriors, especially the bald-headed man from before, Sir Dwaine seemed to genuinely care about his safety.

Orion bowed his head slightly.

"Thanks for intervening. You saved this junior from danger."

Sir Dwaine shook his head with a faint smile.

"No." He chuckled. "I didn’t save you. I saved that guy from you."

Orion blinked.

Sir Dwaine continued.

"If I hadn’t intervened, he would be dead by now. And you, kid, would be in a lot of trouble."

"Don’t act impulsively like that again."

He paused before continuing.

"If you want to strike, don’t aim for the kill immediately. Doing that will only drag you into unnecessary trouble."

Orion nodded.

He rarely acted impulsively. But he also couldn’t stand the actions of people who looked down on the weak and used their strength to bully others.

They sucked.

Sir Dwaine remained silent for a while before speaking again.

"So, you’re not planning to leave?"

He turned his blindfolded eyes toward Orion.

"This dungeon isn’t a normal dungeon. If you enter, I can’t guarantee that you’ll survive."

Orion remained silent.

It was clear that the old man meant well. But there was no going back now.

He had already made his decision.

A few moments of silence passed between them. Then Sir Dwaine finally spoke.

"Stay close to me when we enter. I’ll try to protect you."

With that, the old man began walking forward.

Orion remained where he was for a moment, processing his words.

Then he followed.

Soon, the entire group had gathered. The Sky Dancer was still nowhere to be seen.

She was apparently known for being late, so after waiting for some time, the group could only decide to enter without her.

The mage-robed man stepped forward and looked at the gathered warriors.

"Everyone, remain vigilant and stay alert."

His voice echoed across the area.

"Dungeon X might be dangerous and filled with mysteries..."

He paused.

"But today..."

His eyes became sharp.

"Today, we shall clear it."

His voice echoed through the surroundings.

The gathered warriors tightened their grips on their weapons.

Then, one after another... They stepped into the swirling blue gateway.

And Orion followed them into Dungeon X.