Chapter 65: Dungeon [1]

Looking at the entrance to the dungeon, Adam confirmed that the information he had received was not false. According to reports, the monsters inside did not exceed rank I or II.

A slight white vapor escaped from his lips as he exhaled.

He did not open the door immediately. Instead, he stood still for a minute, carefully observing his surroundings and making sure there was no danger nearby.

Only when he was satisfied did he bend down and touch the dungeon door.

Upon contact, the surface emitted a faint coppery glow. The symbols and runes engraved on it began to fade, disintegrating into tiny particles of mana.

The door opened.

Behind it, an earthen staircase descended into darkness.

Adam tilted his head slightly, signaling Zev to go down first.

Zev nodded silently and began to descend, placing one hand on the wall to keep his balance. Adam followed closely behind, without saying a word.

As they descended, the passage became increasingly dark and narrow.

Finally, the stairs ended.

In front of them stretched a narrow corridor, dimly lit by natural mana stones embedded in the walls.

The atmosphere was dry. There was no trace of moisture.

Only moss and weeds grow between the cracks in the rock.

And an awkward silence.

Adam glanced sideways at Zev. The young man didn’t seem nervous in the least.

Well… considering his past, that wasn’t surprising.

After all, having your own mother hand you your sister’s remains wasn’t something anyone could forget.

Adam drew the sword from his belt and handed it to him.

“You will explore this dungeon. With this weapon, you will be able to defend yourself against monsters.”

Zev took the sword and looked at it silently. The confusion on his face was evident.

It was as if he were asking without words, “How was I supposed to use something like this?”

Adam sighed before explaining:

“I brought you here so you could gain experience. If I had brought Renna, you wouldn’t be able to improve. The help of a mage is too great… especially hers.”

He paused briefly.

“She is a fire mage, after all.”

Then he placed a hand on her shoulder, looking into those empty, emotionless eyes.

“Although the real reason I brought you here is so that you can grow stronger… and protect your current life. Because without strength, all you will have left are regrets.”

Zev nodded without changing his expression.

“You talk like those old men in town.”

Adam was silent for a moment.

Then he let out a vibrant laugh.

“You’re right… I can sound like an old man.”

His smile faded.

“But I’m still right. If you have strength, you can dictate your own laws. If not… all you can do is bow your head and accept everything, like a pig waiting for scraps.”

Feeling Zev’s gaze fixed on him, Adam felt slightly uncomfortable.

It was as if he were talking to his past self.

A strange feeling.

After a few seconds, he spoke again.

“You can start.”

Zev didn’t respond.

He began walking down the wide dungeon corridor, illuminated by natural mana stones embedded in the walls.

Adam followed a few steps behind.

…

As they walked down the hallway, Zev looked at Adam, who had been silent the whole way.

He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again. He was about to ask him something, but decided not to. He was very curious about Adam’s experiences.

How had he become someone like that? What had he gone through to become that way? How could he be so calm? However, an absurd idea crossed Zev’s mind.

Was Adam someone who had lived for many years and taken over this young body?

Zev shook his head. There was no time to dwell on trivialities. He had to concentrate.

Zev’s right boot sank just a centimeter into a loose tile. That was enough.

Click!

The sharp, metallic sound echoed down the hallway like a sentence. The air seemed to stand still, thick as oil, permeated with the smell of ancient dust and rust.

Then, a high-pitched whistle cut through the silence like a knife.

Arrows descended from the darkness of the ceiling, swift and sharp, buzzing like swarms of killer wasps, capturing the dim light of the mana stones in lethal flashes.

Zev tensed instantly, every muscle in his body becoming a cable about to snap. But it wasn’t fear that paralyzed him; it was an animal alertness that awakened his senses.

Arrows. They’re coming from the ceiling. Left. Right.

The first whistle grazed his ear like a deadly kiss. A sharp, brief pain made him feel the warm blood running down his neck. It was nothing more than a scratch, but the burning sensation heated his nerves.

The air filled with a buzzing sound, black rain falling from the shadows. Zev leaped forward, striking the ground with his feet as he zigzagged to dodge, but the arrows were like swarms of wasps.

A metal tip tore into his shoulder. Another scratched his side, digging in just enough to make him growl. Blood spurted out, thick and hot, soaking his clothes. His face contorted in pain, but he didn’t stop.

His body, though fast, was not invincible. An arrow pierced his thigh, and this time the pain was explosive. He gasped, feeling the cold metal embedded in his flesh, but he gritted his teeth and kept moving, now slower, more clumsy.

Every step was a struggle. Blood stained the floor behind him, leaving a dark, sticky trail.

…

After walking down the hallway for a few minutes, they arrived at a large hall lit by mana stones.

Completely intact, he looked at Zev, who was seriously injured by the traps he had activated.

“What is that?”

Zev asked quietly, unconsciously backing away.

In the middle of the large hall, permeated by the stench of rotten flesh and dense humidity, lay a monster.

Zev felt the air thicken in his lungs when he saw it: a monstrous tarantula two and a half meters long, its body black as freshly spilled tar, its hairy legs bristling.

But it wasn’t just that.

It wasn’t the legs, or the size, or even the way its chelicerae dripped an amber liquid that corroded the ground with a hiss of toxic vapor.

It was the head.

Where there should have been a spider’s cephalothorax, the decomposed face of a man emerged.

Sallow, sticky skin stretched over bones that threatened to snap at the slightest movement. The eyes were empty sockets, wells of infinite blackness where something writhed, white worms swollen with pus, tangled like hungry larvae.

The mouth, a twisted slit, let out a trickle of thick, blackish-green saliva.

His jaw dislocated with a crack of torn tendons, and a scream burst from his throat.

“KYYEE!!!”

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