Chapter 92: Beneath the Western Forest

Chapter 92: Chapter 92: Beneath the Western Forest

Dozens of eyes stared at Arin from the darkness. He stopped breathing for a moment. The tunnel was wide, but the thing ahead occupied just enough of it to make it feel constricted. The eyes were scattered at different heights, some near the floor and others high above his head.

At first, Arin thought there were multiple creatures. Then the thing moved and all the eyes moved with it. His expression changed. "You have got to be kidding me."

"I would prefer that you assume I am not responsible for this either," Arene answered immediately. "Not helping," he said. "I was establishing responsibility," she replied. The creature took another step forward, making the tunnel tremble.

Loose stones fell from the ceiling as something huge shifted. Arin raised the light in his palm and it stretched further down the tunnel. A gigantic head emerged, similar to the one they killed above but only loosely. That one had been big, this one was monstrous.

The head alone was nearly the size of a small building, its face covered in thick plates of blackened hide with more than twenty eyes in uneven rows. Several horns twisted backwards from its skull and its mouth opened slightly to reveal jagged teeth. Arin instinctively stepped back. "That thing had children?"

"I suppose that depends on whether you wish to call the creature above a child," Arene paused. "It looked fully grown," Arin said. "Then perhaps this is a much older specimen," she replied. "You’re making this worse."

The creature let out a low rumble that vibrated in Arin’s chest, surrounding it with mana. He activated Dungeon Sense and the passage became clearer. He sensed stone, roots, blood, old bones, and multiple branching tunnels. Its presence flooded the entire area and its mana was different from its offspring’s.

While the smaller creature had reinforced individual body parts when attacking, this one did not. Its mana remained everywhere at once, dense, stable, and overwhelming. "Don’t tell me," Arin said. "I cannot accurately determine its strength," Arene answered carefully.

"Of course you can’t," he sighed. The creature moved again and Arin didn’t waste time. "Dungeon Authority Reinforcement." Mana surged through his body as he turned and ran.

The beast roared and shook the tunnel. Arin heard stone crack behind him and something enormous giving chase. "Why is everything fast despite being gigantic?!" "I do not believe mass is obligated to respect your expectations," Arene said.

"Arene!" "Running seems more important than arguing with me," she replied. Arin pushed forward, spreading Dungeon Perception. A branching path appeared ahead. The right tunnel went downwards, while the left continued upwards.

He chose left and the creature slammed against the walls behind him, sending chunks of stone flying. One hit Arin’s back and sent him stumbling, but he kept running. The passage narrowed ahead and he hoped the monster could not follow.

He forced himself through a gap between two walls and a massive impact shook the tunnel from the other side. Arin looked back and saw one enormous eye appear through the opening, then another. The creature could not pass and Arin exhaled, "Finally."

The wall exploded. A claw tore through the stone and he ran again as the tunnel opened into a much larger chamber. He stopped near the edge and looked down at a cavern stretching far below the forest. Glowing minerals cast pale blue light across the area.

Natural pillars jutted from the ground with pools reflecting the glow, but that was not what caught his attention. Thousands of bones decorated the ground, some from animals, some far bigger, and several resembling humans. His expression darkened.

"So this thing really has been attacking people," he said. "Likely," Arene replied. "Then we’re killing it," Arin declared. "I was going to suggest that survival should remain the priority," she said.

"I can do both," he said. "You say that often," she noted. The creature crashed into the chamber behind him, scattering loose rock. Arin rolled aside as a huge claw slammed down, creating a crater.

He raised one hand, "Dungeon Manipulation!" Stone surged up beneath the creature’s leg, but the beast barely moved. "Oh," Arin muttered. The monster struck and Arin formed a barrier.

"Dungeon Barrier Formation!" A translucent wall appeared but was instantly shattered by the claw. Arin was thrown across the chamber, rolling to a stop near a pile of bones. Pain flared across his ribs.

"Your left side is injured," Arene said sharply. "I noticed," he gritted. "Two ribs may be fractured," she added. "That’s less helpful," he groaned.

The creature approached slowly, no longer rushing. It had realized Arin could not easily run. "So now you’re confident," he muttered. The monster lowered its head and mana swirled in its mouth.

Arin recognized the attack from its offspring, but this time the mana gathered was several times greater. "No," he forced himself up as the beam fired. He jumped behind a massive pillar as the beam destroyed it.

He was thrown by the explosion, heat licking his arm, and landed on one knee, breath ragged. "Arene," he called. "Yes," she answered. "Tell me something useful."

"The creature’s mana becomes unstable immediately after releasing that attack," she informed him. "How long?" "Less than three seconds." "That’s enough," Arin said. "That statement is questionable," she countered.

The monster prepared another attack and Arin waited, eyes on its chest. Dungeon Sense expanded, searching for a central mana core, but found nothing obvious. Unlike the offspring, this creature did not channel through one single core.

The beam fired and Arin moved. The attack tore through the chamber and the mana inside the creature fluctuated afterward. Several points weakened at once, not one. Not one, but multiple. He understood.

"The eyes," Arin said. "What?" Arene reacted. "The eyes aren’t just eyes," he explained. Each cluster acted as a secondary channel, distributing power through dozens of nodes. That was why its mana remained stable.

"Interesting," Arene said. "Glad you’re enjoying yourself," Arin muttered as the creature swung its head. He sprinted sideways, reinforcing his legs and jumping onto a stone formation.

The beast turned and Arin raised his weapon. "Dungeon Authority Reinforcement." Mana coated the blade as he jumped and the creature snapped at him. He twisted midair, landing against its face and stabbing an eye.

The monster screamed and black blood sprayed as Arin ripped the weapon free. The creature shook violently and Arin lost his grip, thrown into the cavern wall. His vision blurred. "Arin!" Arene shouted.

"I’m fine," he said. "You are visibly not fine," she said. "Temporary problem," he insisted. The monster clawed at its injured face, several eyes flickering as its mana shifted.

"That hurt you," Arin smiled despite the pain. He stood again and the creature roared. This time he attacked first, spreading Dungeon Manipulation. He didn’t try to move the monster, that had failed. Instead, he changed the battlefield.

Several pillars cracked and parts of the floor raised or fell. The creature stumbled as the ground gave way under its leg. Arin moved along the raised stone and struck another eye, then another. The monster thrashed, one claw nearly catching him, but he ducked.

The second claw caught his shoulder and sent him flying, his weapon slipping from his hand. He landed hard, blood filling his mouth. The creature charged and Arin looked for his weapon. Too far. He raised both hands, "Dungeon Barrier Formation!"

A barrier appeared and stopped it, then another, then another, each shattering but slowing it. Enough. Arin rolled aside as its head slammed into the wall. He grabbed his weapon as the beast pulled free, several injured eyes permanently closed. Its mana was no longer stable.

"Your attacks are disrupting the channels," Arene said quickly. "I figured," Arin said. "If enough are destroyed, the mana circulation may collapse." "How many?" "I do not know." "Fantastic."

The creature roared again and Arin stopped fighting directly, studying the pattern instead. Dungeon Sovereign activated and pain struck his head. The ability began analyzing everything: the offspring, the reinforcement, the mana beam, the multiple channels, the movements, the eye connections.

Information flooded his mind, too much at once. "Do not force it!" Arene shouted. "I need the pattern," Arin strained. "You are injured!" "I know!" The world slowed in his perception as his understanding sharpened.

He saw it. The monster wasn’t using dozens of independent channels. They were connected. Destroying random eyes weakened it, but destroying specific ones would collapse entire sections. He released Dungeon Sovereign, pain exploding behind his eyes.

He staggered but knew where to strike. "Three," he whispered. "Three eyes." "The central chain," Arene understood. "Exactly." Three eyes formed a line along the left side of its skull and Arin rushed forward.

The creature attacked, but he slid beneath its claw. First eye, slash. Second, stab. The beast screamed and turned as Arin jumped onto its lowered horn. Third eye, he drove the weapon straight through it and the creature froze.

Mana surged inside its body, every remaining eye widening, then its flow collapsed. The monster staggered, its legs buckled, and Arin jumped away. The enormous creature crashed into the cavern floor, dust covering everything.

Arin remained still, waiting. The thing twitched once, then stopped. Silence returned and Arin breathed heavily. "Arene," he called. "I am checking," she replied.

"Please tell me," he said. A System window appeared: [Monster Threat] [Target Eliminated] [Quest Completed]. Arin almost laughed, "Finally."

Then...

[Reward Acquired]

[Monster Creation and Control]

[Restricted Function Partially Unlocked]

[Monster Management: Limited Access]

appeared. "That sounds important," he said. "It is," Arene confirmed.

"Can we celebrate after I leave the underground death nest?" "That would be sensible," she agreed. Arin looked around, the body filling most of the cavern. He still needed to find Ayan, Saira, and Adnan.

"Can you locate the surface?" "Not directly. Your Dungeon Perception can map nearby tunnels, but range is limited." "Then we start walking," Arin decided. Before he could move, something flickered at the edge of his vision.

Another System window appeared, but it had no quest heading, no reward, and no System border. Just words. Arin’s expression changed. "Arene, did you make this?" "No."

The words remained suspended:

[Find me.]

Then a second line appeared:

[Dungeon Master.]

His grip tightened. Then a third line appeared:

[Caelan.]

The message vanished, leaving the cavern silent.

"That did not come from the System," Arene said quietly. Arin looked towards the dark tunnels ahead, wiping blood from his mouth. "Yeah," he said.

"I figured."