Chapter 77: The Lost City of Blood (1)

Together, inside a pitch-black tunnel, a pair of young hunters made their way forward—

a boy and a girl barely eighteen years old, walking hand in hand through the darkness.

The staircase had first descended, then begun to rise again after several minutes of walking.

The path was utterly dark.

Because of that, the young witch Alexa illuminated the way by conjuring a small celestial sphere—a simple floating orb ignited with flickering flame.

But it was small and weak, a reflection of her modest level and limited power.

Its dim fire barely lit anything around them.

She looked frightened and hesitant.

In contrast, the young man Virtz pulled her forward by the hand, pushing ahead without the slightest hesitation.

In his eyes burned a quiet ambition—

a desire to accomplish something…

and truly begin his life as a hunter.

After all, hunting squads ranked below the ninth were not considered true hunters.

They were merely auxiliary teams … support units tasked with duties far removed from real hunting or combat.

The requirement of reaching the Advanced Rank did not apply to people like them.

Even though both Alexa and Virtz possessed the Player System, which allowed them to level up…

Virtz was barely a Skilled knight.

And Alexa was nothing more than a mediocre witch who couldn’t cast any truly powerful spells.

A cowardly mage.

And a talentless knight.

That was the most accurate description of the two of them.

Carefully, they climbed the stairs—

until finally the first beam of light reached them.

It was proof that the end of the passage was near.

After walking through darkness for nearly half an hour, the sight of light made both their faces brighten at the same time.

“Finally! We’re getting out of this suffocating darkness!”

Alexa smiled with visible relief.

Their steps grew quicker now.

They hurried upward—

until at last they emerged from the tunnel.

The moment they stepped out, both of them froze.

Their eyes widened.

Their mouths fell open unconsciously at the sight before them.

This was not a treasure chamber.

It wasn’t even a room.

“This… is a city?” Virtz whispered.

Before them stretched a vast underground city.

It was so enormous that they couldn’t see its end from where they stood.

Its dark, gothic architecture reminded them of their beloved city, Ashvarn.

The resemblance was uncanny.

But the atmosphere here was suffocating.

The smell of ash lingered heavily in the air.

Scorch marks covered the stone everywhere.

And dried blood stained both the ground and the walls.

Grabbing the edge of Virtz’s cloak, Alexa moved closer and hid behind him, her fear obvious.

“Virtz… this isn’t a treasure room.”

“Let’s go back. I have a bad feeling about this…”

Her voice trembled.

Virtz frowned.

“What are you talking about?”

“We just got here. Why would we turn back now?”

He stepped forward, still holding onto his courage.

“You don’t understand, Alexa.”

“You and I just made an incredible discovery.”

“This might be an abandoned city hundreds of years old!”

“Who knows how many valuable things we could find here?”

He was optimistic.

His companion was the opposite.

“What if there are monsters inside?” she argued.

“Isn’t that possible too?”

“And where did all that blood come from?”

Standing near the entrance, she refused to move.

But Virtz immediately dismissed her concerns.

“There can’t be monsters here.”

“Have you ever heard of a dungeon inside another dungeon?”

“That’s impossible.”

The Legacy Dungeon had already been cleared.

And the city before him was connected to it.

Which meant this place couldn’t be another dungeon.

Most likely it was simply an ancient abandoned city.

Still, to reassure her, he sighed and extended his hand toward her.

“I promise we’ll go back after exploring the entrance.”

“Even if there are monsters deeper inside… nothing will happen to us as long as we stay near the beginning.”

Alexa stared at him for a moment.

Then she glanced back at the tunnel behind her.

After a long hesitation…

she nodded and took his hand.

Together, they walked forward.

They passed over the hill from which they had emerged and descended toward the city’s entrance.

With every step forward…

they felt it.

A strange, ancient aura permeating the place.

“I’ve never seen a city like this in my life…” Virtz murmured in awe.

Above them, the sky glittered with stars—

like glass lamps scattered across the heavens.

Beautiful.

Mesmerizing.

Except it wasn’t a sky at all.

It was the ceiling of this vast underground world.

As if an entirely different realm had been built beneath the earth.

Standing before the gate, the two of them stared at the wide street stretching before them.

Gathering their courage, they stepped onto the ancient cobblestone road and slowly moved deeper into the city.

Virtz kept one hand near the hilt of his sword.

Alexa gripped her simple magic staff.

With every step they took, the mysterious aura they had sensed earlier grew stronger.

The atmosphere became darker… heavier.

It felt like a city pulled straight out of a nightmare.

Its streets were narrow and winding.

Towering gothic buildings surrounded them—sharp spires and long windows reminiscent of ancient cathedrals.

Faint gas lamps stood at nearly every corner, casting weak yellow light through thick fog that made the city appear eternally trapped in night.

The fog grew denser the further they walked.

And the strange lamps—whose flames neither of them understood—did nothing to truly illuminate the road.

Stone statues lined the streets.

Massive cathedrals rose above the rooftops like towering shadows.

Iron fences, long staircases, and stone bridges connected the higher districts of the city.

But what caught their attention the most…

was the sheer amount of dried blood.

It stained the streets.

The walls.

The buildings.

The smell of rot and decay tickled their noses.

Every window and door was tightly shut—

as though they were hiding some terrible secret.

And from behind those dark windows…

from behind those sealed doors…

the two of them felt it.

Eyes.

Watching them.

It was as if the city itself were alive …

observing their arrival.

From afar, it resembled an ancient architectural masterpiece.

Yet beneath that beauty lurked a quiet, suffocating terror.

“Let’s go back…”

The words came out in a trembling whisper.

This time it was Virtz, not Alexa.

His courage had already crumbled after advancing only a few meters into the city.

They had barely crossed the first street.

Yet the oppressive dread of the place had already taken hold of them.

The young witch nodded repeatedly, agreeing with him.

She had endured enough.

The tension had become unbearable.

At the same moment, the two of them turned around, intending to run back toward the exit they had left behind them.

But the instant they looked—

their faces twisted in pure horror.

“Impossible…”

Virtz grabbed Alexa’s hand and began running.

Shock was written all over his face—and for good reason.

“I swear the entrance was right behind us,” he said with a shaking voice.

“We barely walked a few meters!”

His companion looked on the verge of collapsing.

“Then why the hell… do I only see narrow streets, dark buildings… and dried blood everywhere?!”

The entrance to the city had vanished.

Completely.

In its place were more streets—more towering buildings stretching endlessly into the gloom.

The path back had disappeared entirely.

It was as if the city itself had shifted, transforming into an ancient, cursed maze.

“W-What do we do now?!”

“We’re trapped!”

Tears formed at the edges of Alexa’s eyes.

Virtz forced himself to stay composed—for her sake.

“Calm down.”

“The exit can’t be far.”

He scanned the streets to the left and right.

Then he started running again, pulling her along.

Every corner they turned…

Every window they passed…

Every door they ran by…

The feeling of those unseen eyes watching them only grew stronger.

The chase continued for a while.

Both of them ran desperately, searching for an escape.

But instead of getting closer to the exit—

they only went deeper into the city.

The place was enormous.

Endless.

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