186 - The Cinderhorn Ravager

Subin's sword descended along the line he had chosen, meeting the Cinderhorn Ravager's charge at the precise moment its weight shifted forward.

The impact was not loud.

There was only a sharp metallic sound as Simple Edge struck the creature's right horn.

A fracture appeared.

The Ravager's momentum carried it past Subin, but the damaged horn broke away several meters later and crashed against the canyon wall. The creature stumbled, recovered almost immediately, and turned with surprising speed.

Subin watched the broken horn lying on the ground.

The cut had not destroyed the creature's armor or severed its head. Instead, he had targeted the point where the horn's internal mana circulation changed direction.

The observation confirmed what he had sensed during the first exchange.

Its strength came from the interaction between its body and the volcanic environment.

The Ravager roared.

Heat surged through the canyon.

The exposed wound on its horn began glowing, and molten material flowed across the fracture as the creature attempted to regenerate it.

Ara shouted from behind the engineers.

"Don't let it rebuild that horn!"

Subin was already moving.

He stepped forward before the regeneration could complete.

The Ravager swung its head.

Subin slipped underneath the attack and drove Simple Edge into the joint beneath its jaw.

The blade penetrated several centimeters before resistance stopped it.

The creature twisted violently.

Subin released his grip with one hand, allowing the sword to remain embedded for a fraction of a second while he used the creature's movement to reposition himself. He pulled the blade free and moved away just as the Ravager's front legs smashed into the ground.

The canyon shook.

Yerin attacked next.

Her spear pierced the exposed section beneath the creature's shoulder armor, forcing it to turn away from Subin. Jae-hyun used the opening to strike the opposite flank, while Rafael held the creature's attention long enough for the engineers to move toward the canyon wall.

Kael shouted an order.

"Keep it away from the passage!"

The engineers obeyed.

They weren't fighters of Subin's level, but they understood the terrain. Several placed crystalline anchors along the canyon walls, creating a temporary barrier that prevented the Ravager from reaching the narrow passage behind them.

The creature slammed into the barrier.

One anchor shattered.

Another began cracking.

Rafael's expression hardened.

"We don't have much time."

Subin looked at the Ravager.

The creature wasn't simply strong.

It adapted.

Every time they attacked the same area, the surrounding armor thickened and redirected its mana.

He had encountered similar principles before, but the Ravager's body was much more aggressive about using them.

Subin raised Simple Edge.

The sword felt light in his hand.

His breathing slowed.

He didn't need more force.

He needed a better line.

The Ravager charged again.

This time, Subin didn't move immediately.

He waited until the creature entered the narrowest part of the canyon.

Then he stepped.

The sword moved once.

Simple Edge passed beneath the creature's jaw, following the same wound he had created earlier.

The second strike entered deeper.

The Ravager's charge faltered.

Subin rotated his wrist and changed the angle of the blade inside the wound, cutting across the mana channel rather than trying to overpower the armor surrounding it.

The creature recoiled.

Yerin immediately thrust her spear into the opening.

Jae-hyun followed from the opposite side.

Rafael struck the ground with his shield, sending a defensive shockwave into the creature's legs and disrupting its balance.

The combined assault finally forced the Ravager backward.

It staggered toward the open section of the canyon.

Subin advanced.

The creature's remaining horn began glowing.

A concentrated wave of heat formed around its head.

Ara shouted.

"Subin, move!"

He didn't retreat.

He recognized the attack.

The Ravager was compressing the heat and mana gathered around its skull into a single forward burst.

Subin lowered his center of gravity.

Simple Edge remained pointed toward the creature.

The heat exploded.

The canyon disappeared inside a wave of red light.

Rafael's barrier absorbed most of the blast before collapsing. Several engineers fell to the ground, and the remaining crystalline anchors shattered.

Yerin was thrown backward.

Jae-hyun rolled across the stone and stopped against the canyon wall.

Subin remained standing.

His coat was scorched.

His left arm burned from the heat.

But he had stayed within the attack rather than outside it.

The Ravager had exposed its chest.

Subin moved.

His sword cut forward.

The first strike opened the outer armor.

The second entered the chest.

The third followed the same path and reached the central mana channel.

The creature froze.

Its enormous body trembled.

The red glow beneath its armor began fading.

Subin withdrew the sword.

The Cinderhorn Ravager collapsed.

The canyon became silent except for the sound of falling stones.

Subin stood beside the creature for several seconds.

Its breathing was weak but steady.

He had deliberately avoided destroying its core.

Kael approached cautiously.

"You could have killed it."

"Yes."

"Why didn't you?"

Subin looked at the unconscious creature.

"It attacked us. We stopped it."

That was enough.

Kael nodded.

The engineers checked the Ravager from a safe distance before confirming that it was alive.

Ara approached Subin.

"Your arm."

He looked down.

The sleeve was burned through, exposing reddened skin underneath.

"It's fine."

Yerin gave him a skeptical look.

"You say that too easily."

"It's not serious."

She examined the injury anyway and applied a cooling compound from the expedition's medical supplies.

Subin didn't argue.

Once the team recovered, Kael led them deeper into the canyon.

The damaged regulation structure was less than ten kilometers away.

The route became increasingly unstable.

Several sections of the ground had collapsed, exposing underground channels filled with glowing red mana. The expedition crossed them carefully, using the crystalline anchors carried by the engineers to reinforce unstable sections.

Eventually, they reached a massive underground chamber.

The structure was far larger than the one beneath the western road.

Black stone pillars rose from the floor and disappeared into the ceiling. Hundreds of narrow channels carried volcanic mana through the chamber, converging toward a central platform.

At the center stood a huge crystalline mechanism.

Several sections were broken.

One of the main channels had cracked open, releasing an uncontrolled stream of energy.

Kael stared at it.

"This is worse than the reports."

Ara moved closer.

"The regulation core is damaged."

"Can it be repaired?"

She studied the structure.

"Not completely."

Kael frowned.

"Then what can we do?"

"We can reduce the pressure."

Ara pointed toward three secondary channels.

"They're blocked. If we clear them, the excess mana will have somewhere else to flow."

Kael immediately ordered the engineers to prepare.

Subin studied the structure while they worked.

The design reminded him of the ancient mechanisms beneath other regions, but there was a significant difference.

This structure wasn't designed to control the entire volcanic region.

It was one component in a much larger network.

The mana entering the chamber came from the mountains.

The regulated energy then traveled toward Ember Basin and several smaller territories.

If the core failed, the pressure would move elsewhere.

It could trigger more collapses.

Subin looked at Ara.

"How many structures like this exist?"

"At least seven in this region."

"And they all regulate different channels?"

"Yes."

"So repairing one won't solve the problem."

Ara shook her head.

"It will only stabilize this section."

Subin nodded.

"Then that's what we do."

The engineers worked for nearly two hours.

The first blocked channel opened successfully.

A surge of red mana passed through it, shaking the entire chamber.

The second channel required them to remove several massive stone fragments manually.

The third was almost completely destroyed.

Subin eventually stepped toward it.

"There isn't enough space to clear it."

Kael frowned.

"Then we'll have to widen it."

Subin looked at the surrounding stone.

The passage was too unstable for explosives.

A single mistake could collapse the entire chamber.

He drew Simple Edge.

Ara immediately understood.

"Can you cut it without damaging the structure?"

"I'll try."

Subin approached the blocked channel.

The sword moved in a controlled arc.

A thin section of stone separated from the wall.

He cut again.

Another section fell away.

He continued, carefully following the natural fracture lines rather than forcing the blade through the entire mass.

His swordsmanship had changed over the years.

Earlier, he would have relied on raw precision.

Now he could understand the material itself through the movement of the sword.

Each cut became a response to what the previous cut revealed.

The final piece fell.

The channel opened.

Mana rushed through it.

The entire chamber shook.

Everyone braced themselves.

For several seconds, the structure seemed ready to collapse.

Then the pressure began to decrease.

The red glow around the central core softened.

Ara checked her equipment.

"Flow is stabilizing."

Kael exhaled.

"How much?"

"Enough to prevent immediate failure."

Subin looked at the damaged core.

"What about the long term?"

Ara shook her head.

"It needs proper repair."

Kael looked disappointed.

"But the structure won't collapse today."

"Correct."

That was the practical result they needed.

They had not solved the region's larger problem.

They had prevented one damaged regulator from becoming another disaster.

As the team prepared to leave, Ara noticed something on the far side of the chamber.

"Subin."

A section of the wall had collapsed.

Behind it was another passage.

They approached carefully.

The passage was old, but unlike the main chamber, it showed no signs of damage.

Kael looked at the markings.

"This wasn't on our maps."

Subin examined the symbols.

They resembled those on the Crossroads pillars.

Ara activated her scanner.

"The passage extends north."

"How far?"

"The readings aren't clear."

Kael frowned.

"That direction leads toward Cinder Crown."

The name changed the atmosphere immediately.

Cinder Crown was the dangerous inner region beyond Ember Basin.

Kael continued.

"Nobody uses this passage."

Subin looked into the darkness.

"Then we won't use it today."

Jae-hyun laughed.

"Good."

The expedition turned away.

There was no reason to explore an unknown route simply because it existed.

Their objective had been to investigate the damaged regulator.

They had completed it.

Outside the chamber, the volcanic sky had changed.

The ash clouds were thinning.

For the first time since entering the region, the distant mountains were clearly visible.

Several peaks glowed beneath the dark sky.

The expedition returned toward Ember Basin.

On the way back, they passed the unconscious Cinderhorn Ravager.

The creature had disappeared.

Only deep tracks remained where it had moved away from the canyon.

Kael noticed them.

"It survived."

Subin nodded.

"Good."

By the time they reached Ember Basin, the city had already received the report about the stabilized regulator.

Kael's engineers immediately began preparing a larger repair expedition.

The information gathered by the Earth team would allow them to inspect the remaining structures more systematically.

Subin stood on a high platform overlooking the city.

Below him, the workshops continued operating.

The volcanic region was dangerous, but it wasn't chaotic.

It had its own balance.

Creatures adapted to the heat.

Civilizations built around the mana flows.

Ancient structures regulated the energy moving beneath the mountains.

When one part weakened, other parts began reacting.

The migration wasn't necessarily caused by one enemy.

The region itself was under pressure.

Ara joined him.

"We should report everything to Director Kang."

"Yes."

"Especially the structures."

Subin nodded.

"If Earth is going to establish routes through the World Dungeon, we need to understand these systems."

Ara looked toward the mountains.

"There's something else."

"What?"

"The Crossroads map showed the Volcanic Region as one major area."

She held up her updated map.

"But it isn't one region."

Subin looked at it.

Ember Basin occupied the outer section.

Cinder Crown lay deeper inside.

Several smaller territories existed between them.

And beyond Cinder Crown, the map showed nothing.

The expedition had only reached the edge.

Subin smiled slightly.

"Then we keep going."

Far beyond Ember Basin, the largest volcanic peak released a column of fire into the night sky.

The expedition had entered the Volcanic Region.

Now they had a reason to explore deeper.

The road toward Cinder Crown had begun.