Chapter 155: Dungeon Core

Huh? Really? But Qiu Nuoya hadn’t done anything.

Ah! It was the staff!

Realizing that the staff was responsible for the incredible power of Mochi’s attack, Qiu Nuoya shuddered at the thought that he had acquired something truly outrageous.

So that’s how it works? The power of my magic, plus the staff’s attack power enhancement, multiplied by Mochi’s attack amplification skill, results in a massive boost to its attack power!?

"Just imagine if you had done that with an advanced spell. It gives me chills. If you had cast Crimson Circle back there, this entire area might have been reduced to a scorched wasteland. We might have ended up as charred corpses ourselves."

"Hey! Don’t say scary things like that!"

"Hey! The key! The key dropped!"

Over by the Imoogi floating near the beach, Igor was holding up a small, golden-glowing key and waving it excitedly from side to side.

Mochi had somehow turned into an absolutely terrifying battle maniac, but at least they had successfully obtained the key.

Qiu Nuoya and the others joined Igor, then headed toward the shrine.

As for the Imoogi, Mochi devoured it in the blink of an eye.

He must have been hungry.

The Imoogi’s bones apparently weren’t to Mochi’s liking, because it spat them back out. Qiu Nuoya collected them so they could at least help cover the cost of food.

Seriously, Mochi’s appetite is getting more and more outrageous. It’s starting to scare me a little.

After successfully obtaining the key, the group inserted it into the keyhole of the stone monument enshrined within the shrine.

Still, it was a keyhole in a stone monument, not a door. Would inserting the key cause the monument to move? Or would a door somewhere else open?

Qiu Nuoya watched nervously, waiting to see what would happen.

Then, with a deep vwoom, something seemed to activate. A wave of magical energy flowed across the ground beneath their feet, and Qiu Nuoya instinctively jumped backward. "What..."

"Nuoya, what is it?"

"I can feel a strange wave of magical energy coming from beneath our feet."

The magical wave spread outward in a circle, with the shrine at its center. At the same time, the stone monument began to glow, and luminous characters appeared across its surface. The glowing writing then spread from the monument onto the ground.

"Whoa, what the hell is this?"

"Presumably, inserting the key into the monument activated the magic circle that had been hidden here. But why..."

"Why what!? More importantly, shouldn’t we get out of here!?"

"It’s already too late to escape."

The moment Viktor said that, Qiu Nuoya’s entire field of vision suddenly turned pitch-black.

There had been no impact. The scenery that had been visible just moments ago had simply vanished, replaced by an endless darkness stretching out before them.

"Wait... Someone, say something!"

"Oh, that voice. Is that Nuoya?" Igor’s voice came from somewhere nearby.

"It seems we have been transported somewhere. Light." With the sharp snap of his fingers that Viktor always made when casting simple magic, his figure appeared in the distance.

Qiu Nuoya followed Viktor’s example and snapped his fingers. A small light appeared at his fingertips, illuminating the surrounding area.

Viktor was now clearly visible in the light, and Igor was standing nearby, so Qiu Nuoya could see him as well. However, he could not see Warren or Long anywhere.

As for Mochi, it was tucked away in its usual spot.

"Warren! Long!"

"Nuoya."

"Whoa!"

A voice suddenly came from behind him, making Qiu Nuoya jump.

"Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you."

"No, it’s fine. Sorry, I didn’t notice you."

Apparently, Warren had been standing behind Qiu Nuoya the entire time. Since Qiu Nuoya had been shining his light mostly ahead of himself, he simply had not noticed Warren there.

[ Hey, Master, there’s some kind of door over here. ]

Just then, Long’s voice came from somewhere in the distance.

The Light spell did not illuminate a particularly wide area, so Qiu Nuoya could not see Long at all. Yet Long seemed to have no trouble seeing in the darkness, because he was telling Qiu Nuoya that he had found a door.

"Sorry, Long, where are you? What door..."

Before Qiu Nuoya could finish, a thin beam of light appeared in the direction he was looking.

Everyone turned their attention toward it, searching for the source of the light.

It was coming from the narrow gap of a slightly opened door. Long was standing in front of it, apparently trying to open it.

"Long! Don’t just open it like that! It could be dangerous! There might be a trap!"

[ Huh? There isn’t any trap here. This is obviously the end point. ]

With that, Long pushed the door wide open in one swift motion.

At once, light flooded the entire area. The brightness was so intense that Qiu Nuoya’s vision went white, making it impossible to see what was in front of him.

"Long, what do you mean by ’the end point’!?"

[ What else could it mean? The dungeon core. ]

Qiu Nuoya endured the glare and looked around through narrowed eyes.

But why?

If they had really conquered the 48th floor, the next floor should be the 49th. It had also been said that Dungeon Castle had more than fifty floors. According to that, the dungeon core, which was supposed to be located on the lowest floor, should not be here at all.

Yet what Qiu Nuoya saw before him was unmistakably a massive core.

A huge gemstone-like stone floated in the center of the room, glowing brightly as it slowly spun in place.

"Is this... the dungeon core?"

The room containing the dungeon core was the complete opposite of the room they had been transported into. It was a pure white space.

The dungeon core itself emitted an intense light, but the white walls made the room seem even brighter.

Long strode straight into the dazzling white room and soon disappeared from sight.

"Wait, Long! You’re not supposed to go off on your own!"