191 - The City Beyond the Map

The expedition continued east along the ancient road as darkness settled over the volcanic mountains. The faint orange glow they had seen from the Blackstone Gate grew brighter with every kilometer, but it still refused to reveal its source. It wasn't the uneven flicker of a volcanic eruption or the scattered lights of a small settlement. From a distance, it looked almost like a continuous band of warm light stretching across the horizon.

Kael repeatedly compared the landscape with his old records, becoming increasingly uncertain as they traveled. According to the maps preserved in Veyra, the eastern route beyond the Blackstone Gate had once been considered impassable. The old road continued for roughly eighty kilometers before disappearing from every surviving record. Nothing had been documented beyond it—not a city, not a fortress, not even a recognized monster territory.

Yet someone was clearly living there.

By the time the expedition reached the edge of the eastern valley, the road descended into a broad plain. The volcanic terrain gradually gave way to dark soil covered with short silver-green grass. The change was so sudden that Ara stopped to examine the ground.

"The volcanic mana concentration has dropped by almost half," she said.

Subin looked across the plain. "Then we've left the primary volcanic territory."

"Not completely. There's still volcanic energy beneath the surface, but it's being mixed with another mana type."

Kael looked uncomfortable.

"What kind?"

Ara shook her head. "I don't know yet."

The answer was enough to make everyone more attentive.

They continued.

The orange glow finally revealed itself.

It came from a city.

A massive city.

Dark stone walls stretched across the plain for several kilometers, reinforced with towers that rose higher than anything they had seen in Veyra or Ember Basin. Hundreds of lights burned along the walls and within the city, but none appeared to come from ordinary fire. They were crystal lamps, each emitting a soft amber glow.

Beyond the outer walls stood enormous fields.

Not empty land.

Crops.

Thousands of rows of plants grew beneath the night sky, illuminated by artificial mana lamps. Further behind them were workshops, storage buildings, water channels, and residential districts.

The city was not surviving in the wilderness.

It was thriving.

Jae-hyun stared at it.

"That's not a small settlement."

"No," Liu Wei said. "It's a major civilization."

Kael unfolded his old map one final time.

There was nothing there.

Not even a name.

The expedition approached the main road leading toward the city.

They had barely traveled another kilometer when several figures appeared ahead.

At first they looked human.

Then the distance closed enough for the expedition to notice the differences.

They were humanoid, but taller than humans, with dark bronze skin and faint lines of glowing mana running along their arms and necks. Their armor was made from layered black metal, and each carried a long weapon resembling a combination of spear and sword.

The group spread across the road.

Their leader stepped forward.

"Stop."

The translation device attached to Ara's equipment produced the word in understandable language.

Subin stopped.

The guard studied them carefully.

"You are not from the eastern territories."

"No," Subin replied. "We're travelers."

The guard's eyes moved over their equipment, weapons, armor, and mana signatures.

"From where?"

Kael answered.

"Ember Basin."

The guard's expression changed slightly.

"Ember Basin is far west."

"We know."

"How did you cross the Blackstone Gate?"

"We used the old road."

The guard exchanged a glance with the others.

"Nobody uses that road."

"We did."

For several seconds, nobody spoke.

Finally, the guard raised his hand, and the soldiers lowered their weapons slightly.

"You will come with us."

Jae-hyun looked at Subin.

"That's not exactly an invitation."

"No," Subin said. "But they're not attacking us."

They were escorted toward the city.

The closer they came, the more impressive it became. The walls were built from enormous blocks of dark stone reinforced with crystalline material. Unlike the ancient structures beneath Cinder Crown, however, these walls were clearly maintained. The crystalline lines were clean, the towers were occupied, and guards patrolled every section.

Inside the city, the expedition encountered a population unlike anything they had seen in the World Dungeon.

Humanoid residents walked alongside strange beasts. Merchants sold glowing fruits, crystal containers, metal weapons, and materials harvested from monsters. Mana-powered carts traveled through wide streets while craftsmen worked inside open workshops.

Nobody seemed frightened of the expedition.

They were curious.

Children pointed at Subin's sword.

Several warriors watched Liu Wei and Jae-hyun closely.

A group of merchants began whispering when they saw Rafael's armor.

Their arrival was clearly unusual, but the city was accustomed to travelers.

The guards eventually brought them into a large administrative building near the center of the city.

There, they met a woman wearing a long dark coat reinforced with silver plates.

She appeared human at first glance, but her eyes carried the same faint golden glow as the city's mana lamps.

"I am Lady Seraphine, Keeper of Eastwatch," she said through the translation system. "You may call this city Eastwatch."

Kael looked at her.

"Eastwatch?"

"Yes."

He glanced toward Subin.

"The city isn't on any of our maps."

Seraphine smiled faintly.

"Your maps are old."

Kael unfolded his records.

"How old?"

"Some of them?"

She considered the question.

"Several hundred years."

The room became quiet.

Ara immediately understood the significance.

Veyra's records were not merely incomplete.

They were ancient compared with the actual development of the region.

Seraphine gestured toward the map.

"Your people have only recently begun entering the Great Passage. You are still using information preserved by civilizations that have already changed."

Subin remained calm.

"How far does your territory extend?"

"Far enough that we rarely need to leave it."

"How large is Eastwatch?"

Seraphine looked amused.

"Large enough to maintain twelve agricultural districts, seven mining territories, four military settlements, and three major roads."

Rafael raised an eyebrow.

"You're self-sufficient?"

"Almost."

"What do you lack?"

Seraphine's expression became more serious.

"Reliable mana."

Ara immediately focused on her.

"What do you mean?"

"The eastern mana network has been declining."

Subin's attention sharpened.

"Since when?"

"Several months."

"How much?"

"Enough that our southern farms have already reduced production."

Ara looked at Subin.

The connection was obvious.

The eastern channel.

The damaged Blackstone Gate.

The migration.

Eastwatch's declining mana.

All of them could be part of the same geographical problem.

Seraphine continued.

"We initially believed the problem came from the western volcanic territories."

Kael stepped forward.

"We found damaged regulators near Ember Basin."

Seraphine's expression changed.

"You came from Ember Basin?"

"Yes."

"Then perhaps you can answer something for me."

She walked toward a large map mounted on the wall and pointed toward an eastern section.

"There is an ancient mana route running beneath this territory. It once supplied several regions beyond Eastwatch. Three months ago, its flow began weakening."

Ara studied the map.

"Where does the route go?"

Seraphine pointed farther east.

"Beyond our territory."

"What's there?"

"We don't know."

Subin looked at her.

"You've never explored it?"

"We have."

"Then why don't you know?"

"Because the route is underground."

Seraphine's expression hardened.

"Every expedition we sent beyond the eastern boundary encountered the same problem."

"What problem?"

"The mana route disappears beneath the ground."

Jae-hyun frowned.

"Disappears?"

"Not physically. The tunnel continues. But the mana stops flowing."

Ara immediately moved toward the map.

"Where?"

Seraphine indicated a point nearly two hundred kilometers east of Eastwatch.

"The last functioning regulator is here."

She tapped the map.

"And beyond that?"

Seraphine looked toward the eastern horizon.

"Nothing we have been able to reach."

Subin studied the map.

The location wasn't random.

It was almost directly along the same underground network that carried mana from Cinder Crown toward Crossroads.

The implication was clear.

The eastern channel extended far beyond the territory they had previously understood.

And its condition was worsening.

Subin pointed at the map.

"We're going there."

Seraphine looked at him.

"You just arrived."

"We've already encountered the damaged section."

"And you intend to repair it?"

"If possible."

Seraphine studied him for several seconds.

Then she smiled.

"Perhaps your arrival isn't as inconvenient as I first thought."

Kael looked at Subin.

"We should report this to Director Kang."

Ara was already activating the communication device.

But before she could establish the connection, the entire building trembled.

The lamps flickered.

A deep vibration passed through the floor.

Outside, alarms began ringing.

Seraphine's expression changed instantly.

"Not again."

She moved toward the window.

The expedition followed.

Far beyond the eastern wall, a massive column of dust was rising from the ground.

The earth had split open.

And the creatures that had been migrating east were suddenly running again.

This time, they weren't moving toward Eastwatch.

They were fleeing past it.

Straight toward the city.

Seraphine turned toward the guards.

"Close the eastern gates."

The soldiers rushed out.

Subin drew Simple Edge.

Yerin tightened her grip on her spear.

Ara looked at her instruments, then froze.

"Subin."

"What?"

"The mana flow beneath the city just changed."

"How?"

She stared at the readings.

"It's increasing."

Subin looked toward the distant rupture.

The ground continued to shake.

Something was moving beneath the eastern plain.

Not one creature.

A mass.

And whatever was coming was traveling directly along the underground mana route.

Seraphine's voice became cold.

"Eastwatch has never seen anything like this."

Subin stepped toward the gate.

"Then we'll see it together."

The eastern wall shook again.

A section of the distant plain collapsed.

And from beneath the earth, something enormous began to rise.