Chapter 9: First Visitors

It had been a week since Chase had encountered the members of Lorelei guild. During that time, he made his [Lurkers] hunt in the nearby areas—completely avoiding the ominous humans. He was intent on gambling with his theory.

[Good…they haven’t found me yet. I should gather as much miasma as possible.]

Even with the limited movement in hunting nearby animals, Chase had managed to gather a decent amount of miasma. The prickling sensation of the soon to come confrontation with the guild brought him to the edge. He still had not found even a speck of evidence on the whereabouts of the ore.

[There is only one monster infested area in Rei Mountain…my dungeon.]

Chase ordered all of his lurkers to check every nook and cranny of his dungeon body. He was desperate. He did not want to die yet.

[Keep searching! Excavate the walls if needed! It should be here! It should be here!!]

He was close to hysterical. As a breath of fresh air, he viewed his dungeon’s status panel.

Dungeon OverviewName:Marcus DungeonLevel:2Number of Floors:1Miasma:2011Pulse:62%Biologicals:1603Non-Biologicals:0SkillsWill of the DungeonPassiveAllows [Chase Marcus], master of the dungeon, to manipulate miasma. Enables the master to control all of the dungeon at will.Floor CreationMiasma: 1750Creates another dungeon floor.

Miasma consumed increases per level.

Variety of floors that can be created increases per level.ReconstructMiasma: 3/meterAllows [Chase Marcus] to reconstruct the dungeon at will.Dungeon Lurker EvolutionMiasma: VariableAllows [Chase Marcus] to transform those inside the dungeon into [Dungeon Lurkers]. Consumed miasma varies per monster.Nest CreationMiasma: VariableAllows [Chase Marcus] to create a nest for his [Dungeon Lurkers]. Consumed miasma varies per nest.Dungeon Floor Boss CreationMiasma: VariableAllows [Chase Marcus] to create a [Boss] type [Lurker] inside the [Dungeon]. Each boss is fixed to the floor it is from. Consumed miasma varies per [Boss] created.Miasma Concentration:1.5%

[Could this even stop those guys?]

As if giving an answer to his question, an ominous window popped up.

Foreign entities has entered [Marcus Dungeon]’s vicinity!

<>

Still using the body of [Silver Cerberus], open-mouthed and with his face distorted, he immediately fled away from the dungeon’s entrance. It was the fastest escape he had done since he was alive.

[Only a week?! They found this place in such a short amount of time! Damn it. I have not even found the auromicum ores yet!]

Chase left the body of his [Boss] type [Lurker] and immediately switched to dungeon overview mode. He then spoke towards [Silver Cerberus].

[Go to room 12. Await my orders. Take half of the [Canines] with you.]

Yes. Master.

[Silver Cerberus] immediately obeyed and scurried towards room 12. Chase ordered half of the [Canines] to also gather at room 12. It was, after all, a conveniently placed one and was pretty accessible. No matter what path the enemy took, [Silver Cerberus] and its pack would be able to immediately respond.

[You won’t conquer me. Shitlings.]

****

“Finally~” A man with shiny bald head spoke. Dusting off the dirt on his leather garb, he placed a foot on the mound located before the entrance. His eyes sharply scrutinized the dungeon before him. “This must be dungeon.”

“Mura. Den.” The red-haired man from before spoke. With a subtle smirk, he pointed towards the dungeon’s entrance. “Scout. Come back after you’ve confirmed that it’s a dungeon.”

The two guys named Mura and Den looked at each other and nodded. Both knew that Rei Mountain was a relatively peaceful area. With confident strides, they entered the dark abode.

This dungeon is not here before. It must be relatively new.

After entering a short pathway, they then entered a small room. It was room one of [Marcus Dungeon]. What greeted them was a surprising emptiness. Nothing but the dark abyss was what embraced their entirety.

No one’s here.

“Den. Let’s delve deeper?” Mura asked. Vigilantly eyeing the pathway in front of them, a hand of his was grasping the hilt of his sword—ready to slash away at any incoming enemies.

Den nodded and made the first stride forward. With a dagger held in his right hand, he casted his magic.

“Lumina”

An orb of light the size of a marble flew above his head, illuminating their immediate vicinity. The silver-black wall glimmered under the translucent azure light. Just a couple of meters away was an opening that seemed to entice their curiosity. They entered. The path was 6 meters wide—enough for nine average men to pass through side by side. The ceiling spanned a height of ten meters from the ground.

“Where do we go?”

They were greeted by an intersection that created four paths—one was towards the dungeon’s entrance. They still have not encountered a monster yet.

“Hmmm…” Den scratched his bushy chin and replied. “My guts is telling me that we should go right.”

“We have it your way then. Let’s go.”

The two took the path to the right. After a few minutes, they arrived at a room about the same size as before. The marble-sized ball of light gave a picture of multiple shadows clustered at the right corner.

“Its…moving.” Mura uttered. He then took out his sword from the scabbard.

~shhhrrkkk

Multiple ~shhhrrkkk sounds resounded throughout the room. Inaudible sounds were made as the little creatures huddled together surrounded the two uninvited guests. The ball of light illuminated the reddish-black creatures that now spanned four inches each.

“Ants?! What the hell is up with their size?” Mura exclaimed as he channeled a portion of his mana into his sword. The piece of metal glowed a dim crimson color.

“So this really is a dungeon huh? It’s been a long time since I’ve seen one.” Den mumbled. Taking out another dagger from his waist, he awaited the creatures to pounce at them. The stale air amplified the little creatures ~shhhrkk sounds.

~SHHHRRKK!!

With their pincers wide open, the [Needle Ants] scurried forward. The two surrounded men brandished their weapons and kept hacking at the little creatures left and right. With the advantage of number, some [Ants] successfully came into contact with the two’s bodies. Using their [Ant Strength], they bit their lower limbs with full force—tearing away a portion of the flesh.

“Blaze!”

Mura had casted his magic. His sword that formerly glimmered faint crimson became a scorching inferno. In each of his strikes, the nearby [Ants] were charred and decimated. Den did his part and hacked away at the assaulting [Ants] that still surrounded them. The little creatures seemed to have no end in number.

“These creatures are pretty weak, but there’s too many of them!” Den exclaimed as he dodged a furious charge from a group of [Ants] on his right. Stomping his boots-cladded feet, he kicked at the cluster of [Ants] on his left.

“Salamander!”

A ball of fire the size of a fist flew from Mura and hit the [Ants]. The little creatures screeched in hardly audible cries as their bodies crumbled to dust. The stale air was filled with humid blaze. After some minutes of struggle, the two had finally decimated the [Ants] that resided in the room.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Whew! That was close!” Mura exclaimed as he fell down the ground. Half of his mana had already been consumed after the fight. “We should head back. The boss stated that we should report it immediately to him if we confirmed that this one’s a dungeon.”

“Yeah. Let’s—”

Den stopped in his words as his gaze darted towards the pathway that was several meters before them. With wide eyes, the two of them watched as multitudes of rats with golden tails appeared before them. The rats tilted their petite heads as they gazed at the two men sitting at the center of the room.

“G-Gold?!”

~Scamper

The rats scampered away in fear after the utterance of the word. With greedy eyes, the two gazed at each other as they each gave a nod. With wry smiles forming on their slightly wrinkled skin, they stood up and dusted their garbs.

~Whistle

Mura whistled as he watched the remaining rats dart away towards the pathway. The glimmer of high quality gold was unmistakable even from their distance.

“Den, still ready to fight? How about a few golden rats in tow when we get back to the kingdom?” Mura asked in a mischievous tone. Licking his lower lips, he longingly gazed at what’s beyond the winding path.

During dungeon explorations, gemstones and expensive materials were dropped by [Dungeon Lurkers]. Though the body of the [Lurkers] itself turned to dusts, they sometimes leave behind some items. This was one of the reasons why dungeon diving was popular. Adventurers often treated low-leveled dungeons as some sort of treasury.

“Of course. Heh~ Heh~” Den responded. Gripping his daggers, he walked towards the path towards the next room. Mura was beside him.

The two entered and illuminated the abysmal path that spanned several meters. After a while, they were then greeted by another intersection. They took the left side and found out that it was a dead end.

“It’s actually hard to breathe in this place. Damn.” Mura muttered as they went back to the previous fork. Taking a turn towards the left, they walked for another couple of minutes and entered another small room. Just like before, clusters of ants greeted their arrival.

~shhhrrkk

Without further speech, the two of them dashed forward and hacked at the [Ants] that surrounded them. Mura casted his fire magic and scorched multiple enemies at once. Den used his dual wielding skill and decimated the [Ants] one after another. After some more minutes, the two annihilated the [Ants] inside the room.

“Huff* Huff* Maru…” Den spoke. He was panting as he glanced towards the man on his right. “We should turn back. It’s too dangerous to move any further inside this dungeon.”

Maru was also heavily panting. He had almost depleted his mana. “Yeah. I guess we shou—”

~shriek

A high pitched sound cut off his words. Glancing towards the source, they were agape when a horde of glimmering gold ornamented the entire room. Multitudes of rats that was far numerous than before had appeared.

“What the hell…”

The two were stunned speechless.

They had never seen such amount of fortune before. The bodies of the [Fortune Rats] spanned around eight inches each—the tail itself which was made of gold spanned eleven inches in length. Around a hundred and fifty of such creatures were in front of them right now.

Mura gulped. “Being rich is no sin—right?”

“Y-yeah.” Den replied. Their greed overpowered their rational thoughts.

~Scamper

The [Fortune Rats] immediately scampered away as the two walked on their feet. With their weapons still held on their hands ever so tightly, they traversed the path the [Rats] fled to. With no surprise, they were again greeted by an intersecting road. They chose the path towards their right. After a few minutes, another fork had appeared. This time, they traversed the one on their left. A room which was the size of the previous ones had again greeted them. Though this time, familiar creatures from before greeted them.

With drooling mouths and occasional growls, the monsters that resembled wild dogs that they had met from the outside before surrounded them from all directions. The figure that accompanied the rabid creatures sent shivers down their sweaty bodies.

With three heads and three tails, the creature with silver fur gazed at them with murderous eyes. Its body was almost thrice that of those [Canines] behind it. Just from a single glance, the two men knew that it was no ordinary monster.

“A D-dungeon boss? What is it doing here?” Mura exclaimed. He gripped his sword as he channeled the last bit of mana left on his body.

“I-I t-told you! We should h-have t-turned back that time!” Den stuttered. He too gripped his daggers as he tried his best to buckle his shaking knees.

“Shut up! Now’s not the time for that!”

~GRUUAAH!!

[Silver Cerberus] roared as the pack of [Canines] dashed towards the aghast men. Using its skill [Blink], it immediately positioned itself right next to the man named Den. Opening its jaw wide, it bit out the flesh out of the man’s neck. It happened in a quick instance, as quick the blink of an eye.

~Splatter

“Den!!” Mura shouted as he watched the lifeless corpse of his comrade fall down the murky ground. With the man’s magic Lumina gone, the abyss embraced Mura as he stared at the silver-yellow eyes of the creatures that illuminated the darkness.

“S-shit! S-shit! SHIT!!”

Cries of anguish resounded throughout the entire room as Mura’s body was torn from limb to limb.

****

[Stop.]

Chase uttered. He did not want for the [Canines] to completely decimate the corpses. Forming a diabolical smile on his non-existent face, he viewed the status panel of the two.

Den MilliardRank:CPotential Miasma700A member of Lorelei Guild. Specializing in light magic, he was one of the innumerable scouts of the organization.

Mura ShantyRank:C+Potential Miasma800A member of Lorelei Guild. Specializing in heat magic, he was a low ranking warrior of the guild. Addicted to gambling, he had accumulated a large debt back in the kingdom.

[Sweet~]

[That’s what you get when you let greed take over. Fools.]

Chase would have rolled on the floor and shook his hips in joy if he had a body. Affectionately gazing at the now dead bodies of the two members of the famed guild, he tried to do some experiments.

[Transform these two into [Lurkers].]

You cannot convert them into [Dungeon Lurkers].

A higher Dungeon level is required.

[Damn. Okay, convert them into miasma then.]

A greenish hue pierced through the dead bodies. Afterwards, the bodies slowly disintegrated into tiny particles of dim azure light and were sucked by the walls of the dungeon.

You have acquired 1500 miasma!

Your dungeon level has increased by one!

Miasma concentration has increased from 1.5% to 2.0%.

A new floor has been unlocked!

The floor type [Forest] is now available!

[HAHAHAHA! Great! Just Great!]

Chase licked his non-existent lower lips.

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