Chapter 102: Entering Dunestia’s Royal Dungeon

Two days later, Chris, Aelia, and the twins were getting ready to head to the entrance of the Royal Dungeon.

They had almost finished preparing when a sudden knock came from the door.

"Come in," Chris said.

The door opened, and Aldric stepped inside, accompanied by a cloaked figure.

Chris raised an eyebrow and was about to ask who the newcomer was when the person removed their hood, revealing Queen Amara.

Chris smirked. "What a great honor to have the Queen visit my humble residence."

The twins immediately turned toward her, their eyes widening with excitement. It was their first time seeing the Queen in person.

"Your Majesty!" Astra and Stella greeted her respectfully, practically bouncing with excitement.

Aelia also offered her a polite smile. "It’s a pleasure to see you again, Your Majesty."

Amara nodded in response to their greetings, while Chris simply shook his head and continued checking his belongings.

"As agreed, I will be entering the dungeon with you," Amara announced. "Of course, we will be doing so in secret."

The twins immediately turned toward Chris.

"Big bad man! Why didn’t you tell us the queen was coming with us?" Astra demanded.

"Yeah! Why didn’t you say anything?" Stella added.

Chris glanced at them before casually replying, "I didn’t think it was important." He paused for a moment, then looked at the two girls. "I also forgot."

Everyone stared at him.

Aelia looked at him in disbelief, while the twins seemed completely dumbfounded. Even Aldric couldn’t help but twitch his mouth.

Chris, however, paid no attention to their reactions. He simply turned toward Amara. "Should we leave?"

Amara smiled faintly. "Yes. However, we will be among the last to enter. There’s no need to attract unnecessary attention."

Chris nodded without much interest. He didn’t particularly care whether they entered first or last.

Together, they left the residence and headed toward the flying birds Aldric had brought with him. After mounting them, they took off and flew toward the Royal Dungeon.

The entrance was located just outside the capital, and they arrived shortly afterward.

A large number of tents had been erected around the entrance, with hundreds of soldiers stationed throughout the area. From above, Chris could also see hundreds of people gathered near the portal, most of them youngsters preparing to enter the dungeon.

They descended in front of one of the tents before entering.

Once inside, they took their seats and waited. Aldric, however, excused himself shortly afterward, explaining that he needed to make an announcement before the dungeon officially opened.

After he left, Amara suddenly turned toward Chris.

"There’s something we should discuss before entering. I suggest that we form a party."

Chris raised an eyebrow. "A party?"

"Is there a problem?"

"Not exactly, but forming a party isn’t necessarily advantageous."

When multiple people form a party, the experience gained from killing monsters is divided equally among all members. However, there’s another limitation.

The experience requirements are determined by the strongest member of the party. If a Level 40 and a Level 60 individual form a party, the system will treat everyone as Level 60.

This means the weaker members will need to kill monsters far above their level to gain experience, and even then, the experience will be divided among everyone.

Since Astra and Stella were both below Level 50, forming a party would make it considerably harder for them to level up.

Previously, the only person he was forming a party with was Aelia while they were traveling the Wilds, as their levels were close to each other.

Amara smiled before reaching into her Storage Ring. She took out a small talisman and casually tossed it toward Chris.

He caught it and examined it with a confused expression before scanning it with his system.

[Experience Booster - III.]

[Once activated, increases the experience gain of the party by x2.5 for 24 hours.]

Chris’s eyes widened slightly.

He had naturally heard of Experience Boosters before, but they were incredibly rare. They were so uncommon that even people with enough money to buy one often couldn’t find any for sale. Whenever someone managed to obtain one, they would usually use it immediately.

The Experience Boosters also only worked in formed parties, and not for individuals, so he wasn’t too interested in them before.

He began calculating the benefits in his head.

The booster increased the party’s experience gain by two and a half times, but they would still have to divide the resulting experience among five members.

Even with the booster, his own progress would be considerably slower.

However, there was another way to look at it.

Aelia and the twins couldn’t match his killing speed, especially when he had Azreon fighting alongside him. If they formed a party and used the booster, he would sacrifice some of his own progress while greatly increasing theirs.

Chris glanced at Aelia and the twins for a moment before looking back at Amara. After a brief pause, he nodded.

"Alright. Let’s form a party."

Amara smiled as if she had expected that answer.

Aelia and the twins approached to examine the talisman. Their eyes widened when they realized what it was, but their surprise quickly turned into concern as they understood what Chris had just agreed to.

"Wait, Chris! You don’t have to do that," Aelia said.

"Yeah! Big bad man, you should keep your experience for yourself!" Astra protested.

"That’s right! We can level up on our own," Stella added.

Chris shook his head. "I’ve already made my decision. Besides, it’s not like I’m going to stop getting stronger just because I share some experience with you."

He didn’t give them an opportunity to argue further. Instead, he opened his system and sent the party invitations.

The others quickly accepted, and the party was formed.

Amara then reached into her Storage Ring again and took out five devices that looked like cellphones, each equipped with an antenna. She distributed one to everyone.

Chris examined his device with curiosity. "What’s this?"

"Tracking devices," Amara explained. "They will allow us to locate one another after entering the dungeon. Since everyone is teleported to a different location, it would be difficult to find each other otherwise."

Chris nodded, looking at the device more carefully. He hadn’t known such things existed.

Amara tilted her head in confusion. "Didn’t you enter Narta’s Royal Dungeon? Didn’t they give you one of these?"

Chris shook his head. "No. I had no idea they existed."

Amara gave him a strange look but didn’t question him further.

"Well, make sure you keep it with you. It should make finding each other much easier."

"Thanks," Chris replied before storing the device in his storage ring.

Not long afterward, Aldric’s booming voice echoed from outside the tent.

"Silence, everyone! I have an announcement to make!"

The conversations gradually died down as everyone turned their attention toward him.

Aldric nodded in satisfaction before continuing.

"Welcome, everyone, to the opening of the Royal Dungeon of Dunestia!"

Cheers immediately erupted from the gathered youngsters.

"Before you enter the dungeon, there are a few rules you need to keep in mind. First, everyone must possess an entrance badge to enter."

The crowd nodded. Most of them had already been informed about the rules beforehand.

"Second..." Aldric continued, going through the remaining regulations while everyone listened carefully.

He explained the restrictions, the importance of following their assigned guardians, and the procedures for leaving the dungeon.

"And finally, anything you obtain inside the dungeon belongs entirely to you. The royal family will not demand that you hand over any of your discoveries or rewards."

The cheering grew even louder. The youngsters and their guardians were clearly eager to enter.

"Now," Aldric said, clapping his hands. "Does anyone have any questions?"

A young woman suddenly raised her hand.

Aldric looked in her direction. She was wearing glasses and appeared to be in her early twenties.

"Yes?"

The woman adjusted her glasses before speaking. "We are all aware of what happened during the opening of Narta’s Royal Dungeon."

Several people around her nodded. It seemed that many others were interested in the same subject.

She continued, "Because of some unexpected events, many promising youngsters lost their lives inside. I would like to know whether the officials of Dunestia have made any security improvements or have plans to prevent something similar from happening again."

Aldric nodded, seemingly expecting such a question.

"What happened in Narta was truly unfortunate. Many lives were lost, and there’s no denying that. However, those who managed to survive and leave the dungeon improved by leaps and bounds. I can confidently say that the overall strength of Narta’s younger generation has increased considerably compared to previous generations."

The crowd nodded in agreement.

"But that doesn’t mean we intend to ignore the dangers," Aldric continued. "As you already know, every group of youngsters will have an experienced guardian accompanying them inside. In addition, the royal family has deployed numerous veteran soldiers who will enter independently. Their only responsibility will be to ensure your safety."

Many of the youngsters sighed in relief.

"There is, however, one more announcement I would like to make."

Aldric suddenly smiled.

"Ashen Rain and Ice Veil will also be entering the dungeon. I believe that should give you a little more confidence."

For a moment, the crowd fell silent.

Then, the entire area erupted.

"YEEEEES!"

"WOOOHOOO!"

"I CAN MEET THEM! HOW LUCKY!"

The youngsters began cheering excitedly, with some even jumping in place.

Inside the tent, Chris frowned in confusion before turning toward Amara.

"What in the world is this?"

Amara just smiled teasingly. "What? We just used your names to give the youngsters a little more confidence. What’s the problem?"

Chris pinched the bridge of his nose. "That’s not really what I’m talking about."

"Then what are you talking about?" she asked innocently.

"You clearly know what I’m asking!" Chris slammed his hand against the table. "Why in the world are they cheering for us? Aren’t we supposed to be some kind of terrorists who kill people without regard for anyone?"

Amara chuckled. "That’s what you think. These youngsters see you as heroes who are fighting against corruption."

Chris stared at her in disbelief. He had never expected people to see him that way.

Aelia giggled and gently patted his back. "Isn’t that a good thing?"

Chris sighed and slumped back into his chair. "I don’t want to be famous."

"Well, that’s not up to you anymore," Amara replied with a smile.

Chris shot her an annoyed look, but she only seemed more amused.

Not long afterward, Aldric’s voice boomed from outside again.

"Now, without further ado, please line up to enter the dungeon!"

The youngsters immediately began moving toward the entrance, eager to start their adventure.

About an hour later, Aldric finally returned to their tent.

"It’s done, Your Majesty."

Amara nodded before putting her hood back on and standing up. "Then let’s go. It’s our turn."

"Yeeeey!" The twins cheered excitedly as they jumped out of their seats and hurried after her.

Chris and Aelia followed behind them.

After leaving the tent, they walked toward the portal without attracting much attention. Once they passed through, Chris felt the familiar sensation of space twisting around him.

A moment later, he opened his eyes.

He found himself standing in the middle of a dense forest. Tall trees stretched toward the sky, while the distant sounds of beasts echoed through the wilderness.

Chris looked around before taking a deep breath. A wide smile gradually appeared on his face.

"Aaaaaah! The sweet smell of prey..."

He extended his Beast Pouch.

*ROOOAR!*

Azreon appeared in front of him almost instantly.

Chris jumped onto the dragon’s back before taking out the tracking device Amara had given him. He examined its screen, trying to figure out how it worked.

"Now, let’s see where they are."