Chapter 236: Fuck, another cave?

After getting a briefing on everything they needed to know, including the dungeon, its rules, and what they could expect inside, all of them finally set out... on their way to the dungeon.

For a second, Lucian had thought that they would be going through public transport, but to his surprise...

The squad had a vehicle of their own, and after Jake showed off their SUV to Lucian as if it were his own vehicle for absolutely no reason, all of them entered before driving away from the Association.

A few people who had just exited the building noticed them. Some of them clearly wanted to approach them, especially the pair who had caused quite a ruckus only a few minutes ago.

But despite their curiosity, none of them actually approached.

None of them had the guts or the courage to actually speak against the man who had almost killed a person.

...

About 30 minutes later...

The SUV finally stopped.

The area surrounding the dungeon had already been cleared out, and almost all the people living nearby had been evacuated, making sure there were as few civilians as possible around the location.

Thankfully, it was just an F Rank dungeon.

If it had been a high-ranking dungeon for some unfortunate reason... then things could have been far more troublesome, and depending on the dungeon’s rank and the monsters inside, they might’ve needed to evacuate the entire district.

Perhaps even the entire city.

Several guards were stationed around the area, preventing ordinary civilians from getting any closer. A few barricades had been placed around the entrance as well, while several Association members stood nearby, keeping watch.

Seeing a group of people walking towards it, the guards immediately moved forward and tried to stop them, but the moment Isaac showed their official Association cards, they let them go, already having been informed about their arrival.

Isaac nodded before continuing forward with the others.

A few guards couldn’t help but glance towards the man and woman wearing unusual—no, unusually formal clothing as they neared the dungeon.

And as if knowing what the others were thinking about—

"I already told you, but you should wear some gear over those clothes if you want to protect yourselves," Isaac spoke while walking, since he had already mentioned that to Lucian and Selene before.

Unlike them, the rest were wearing reinforced clothing and carrying bags over their shoulders containing supplies and equipment... while these two were wearing the same formal, noble clothes from before.

"And I already told you... we’re fine this way." Lucian replied dismissively.

Hearing this, Isaac grumbled to himself before turning towards Selene.

"I thought at least one of you would be smart, but..." he sighed.

She was wearing an assassin-like outfit, with a dark cloak hanging behind her, almost as though it had been created from darkness itself.

It looked more practical than Lucian’s suit, but still far from proper dungeon gear.

As for weapons, none of them knew exactly how... but both Lucian and Selene already had one in their hands after exiting the SUV, almost as though they had appeared out of nowhere.

Jake tried asking, but Lucian dodged his questions with his words, even making the man forget what he was about to ask.

Selene, meanwhile, already had a couple of small knives hidden around her boots and on her waist—given to her by Kanna herself. Along with that, two longer daggers rested beside her waist as well, both of them given to her by Lucian from his inventory.

As for Lucian...

An ordinary-looking sword rested in his hand. It wasn’t particularly flashy, perhaps even having a somewhat dull appearance compared to his crisp attire.

The group continued forward.

Only after reaching the portal did they stop, standing a few meters away from the swirling mass of light that twisted and rotated, as though space itself had been distorted and forced into a single point.

The surface of the portal seemed almost liquid, yet there was no actual liquid in there. It was just mana—dense mana rippling into and out of it.

"You don’t seem surprised by a portal..." Jennifer muttered after noticing Lucian’s calm expression.

Lucian simply shrugged his shoulders.

He had already entered a dungeon once and had even cleared it on his own, so seeing another portal, he wasn’t exactly surprised.

Though it wasn’t the same for Selene, who was seeing one for the first time in her entire life.

Her eyes widened slightly beneath her mask as she observed the phenomenon before her. The way the light twisted around itself, how the surrounding mana reacted... violently, chaotically.

She had already seen her fair share of strange things—even her son drinking another woman’s blood—but never had she seen anything like this before.

It reminded her somewhat of Selthia’s portal, but at the same time... it was completely different.

Her gaze remained fixed on it.

It was strangely beautiful... and at the same time, even a bit unsettling, knowing that monsters existed on the other side.

Her surprise was completely hidden behind her mask, and noticing her entranced by the view...

Lucian looked at her for a moment before gently tapping her shoulder.

"Shall we?"

Selene’s attention immediately shifted towards him.

She gave a slow nod, feeling slight nervousness inside her, perhaps even apprehension.

She hadn’t ever fought monsters before, never entered a dungeon... and now, she was about to step into one.

...

The moment they stepped inside the portal... everyone’s view shifted.

For a brief instant, Selene felt her surroundings distort, a strange sensation passing through her as the world itself seemed to warp around her.

And then... she, along with all of them, found themselves inside a—

"Fuck, another cave."

Jake’s curse echoed loudly through the narrow passage, bouncing off the stone walls before slowly fading deeper into the darkness.

"Shh...!"

Isaac immediately glared at him, raising a finger towards his lips.

Jake’s mouth instantly snapped shut.

’I hate caves already.’ Lucian thought while looking around.

He couldn’t help but curse inwardly as he saw the familiar rocky walls that reminded him far too much of the goblin dungeon he had entered before.

At least this cave was somewhat larger than the previous one, drier, without any patchy ground, and they could move relatively more easily without bumping into each other, allowing them to fight without being restricted too much.

Still... it was a fucking cave.

"This’ll be tough, but let’s go ahead."

Isaac’s serious yet low voice broke the silence. He looked towards the two newcomers before continuing.

"Mr. Lucian and Miss Selene, please don’t run around anywhere and stay close. And don’t scream, since that’ll alert the monsters."

They still didn’t know exactly what kind of monsters resided here since the dungeon had formed recently, and though they had an idea, that didn’t make them laid-back, since dungeons were full of surprises.

Their steps began echoing softly through the cave as they moved forward, each footstep seemingly sounding louder than it should have.

Everyone had a serious look on their faces as they continuously looked around, checking the walls while walking forward.

Except for Lucian—whose footsteps made almost no sound, unlike everyone else’s, and if they had looked at him, they would have noticed how calm he looked right now, taking in the view of the cave without the slightest trace of nervousness.

None of them spoke during this time, and only the sound of their footsteps was present.

The cave walls around them were crude and dry, and occasionally... little bits of dust would fall from above them every few seconds with each movement.

After a few more minutes passed in absolute silence, the single path ahead divided into two, and another cave opening appeared on their side.

Isaac raised his hand slightly, causing the others to stop with him.

"Which path should we—"

Step.

Their words instantly died down as the sound of footsteps echoed from ahead.

Everyone’s eyes narrowed slightly, and their expressions turned sharp as they all drew their weapons almost simultaneously, gripping them tightly while at the same time raising their flashlights towards the darkness ahead.

Isaac narrowed his eyes, tightening his grip around his axe.

"Everyone, stay alert."

As the sound of footsteps came closer, after noticing that it was only a weak monster, Lucian shifted his focus onto something else, tapping into his restriction skill.

He wanted to fight and learn from them, from these dungeons and the monsters, and mainly... get a better grasp of his fighting skills.

Not as a C Rank vampire who could easily plummet through the entire dungeon... but as an awakened who would be able to learn something—and more importantly... enjoy the fights to his fulfillment!

[Ding!~]

[Attempting to restrict the host’s stats... Complete.]

[Your rank, along with all your physical stats, has been restricted to F Rank.]

Lucian felt the difference immediately—the same overwhelming sensation of his abilities being locked away.

[STATUS WINDOW]

Name – Lucian Foster/Scarlett

Race – Vampire(Progenitor)

Rank – F (C rank)

Titles – Loved by ######, Killed by his sister, Progenitor of Vampires

Main Bloodlines – Devourer’s Bloodline + Sanguis Noctis Bloodline

Sub Bloodline – Scarlett Bloodline

Affinity – Blood, Fire, Soul

Talent – Transcendental

[Attributes]

Strength – 50 (165)

Agility – 50 (190)

Constitution – 50 (200)

Intelligence – 50 (145)

Will – 50 (215)

Perception – 50 (220)

Charm – 291

Stamina – 50 (460)

Mana – 50 (299)

Attribute Points (AP) – 0

———— ———— ————

"It’s a Kobold."

Isaac’s quiet voice came from the front as he squinted his eyes, trying to make out the creature standing by the outline created by the light of the flash.

But Lucian, with his night vision, immediately saw it.

A creature that was a little more than a metre tall, with a slightly short and lean body, long ears, and brown skin, with faint scale-like structures covering parts of its body, giving it a somewhat rough appearance.

’It almost looks like a goblin, but a bit different.’

Lucian felt a slight nostalgia from the atmosphere and the monster before him, though the difference was that he wasn’t weak or inexperienced right now... and he wasn’t alone either.

"It’s only one; let’s take care of it," Isaac spoke quietly while tilting his weapon towards Ella and Ava.

Both women immediately nodded, understanding the signal.

Lucian watched them without interfering.

In the next instant—

"Go!"

Ella suddenly shot forward. Her body moved quickly through the cave as she rushed directly towards the Kobold, and the moment the monster noticed them—

"Skek!"

The Kobold let out a startled cry, its eyes widening at the sudden appearance of the humans, but then, rather than attacking...

It immediately turned around.

And ran.

Fast.

Its body moved surprisingly quickly through the cave as it desperately tried to escape, barely dodging the dagger slashing towards it.

"Tsk," Ella clicked her tongue, seeing the Kobold outrunning her.

"Ava!" Isaac whispered loudly.

"On it."

Ava, who had closed her eyes briefly, opened them before immediately crouching down, pressing her hand against the stone floor.

In the next moment—

The ground beneath the Kobold began to tremble, and a small, faint fracture appeared beneath it.

"Kraaa!"

The Kobold’s foot sank slightly before it slipped on the ground, lurching forward as it desperately tried to regain its balance.

But before it could—

Ella was already there.

A sharp blade entered the creature’s vision.

Slash!

Ella’s dagger tore across the creature’s chest, causing it to screech loudly, but without wasting even a second, she stabbed again, killing it instantly.

Selene and Lucian silently watched the scene from behind, noticing the ease with which the squad killed the monster.

It was exactly the opposite of how many people hesitated when it came to killing, but this squad seemed used to this kind of thing... perhaps after going through a few dungeons and gaining a fair share of experience in them.

"Let’s harvest its core first, and then we’ll go forward."

Isaac’s serious voice broke through the silence, and Ella moved towards the corpse to do the work without any hesitation, slicing her dagger into its chest and removing the monster core.

While she worked on that, Isaac turned towards the others, his face carrying a little more gravity.

"It seems this is a Kobold’s territory, which... will be somewhat troublesome."

Lucian and Selene tilted their heads, looking a bit confused, and seeing their strangely synchronised reactions...

Isaac began to explain.