"Are you sure we won't get lost in this place…" Jenny looked around anxiously as she touched a hair that fell on her forehead.

"Don't worry, you may not know this but I am an expert at hunting and tracking prey." Alexander walked in front of the group as he led them through the dungeon tunnels

"But isn't this your first time in this place?" A short girl whispered as she walked right next to Jenny. This girl had bronze skin and rough features that made it clear that she was of the dwarf race..

The girls couldn't help but look at Charlotte

Charlotte was supposed to be the leader of the group, even if no one said so, it was taken for granted for them

But now it seemed as if Alexander was the leader here

While Alexander was moving randomly with them, Charlotte was walking a few steps behind him and didn't object or ask anything throughout their journey

That's why none of them dared to speak more, because they were afraid of Charlotte's reaction

They knew that following Alexander was currently Charlotte's choice, so they had to keep quiet and just do what she wanted

Charlotte was the star of the academy, a role model for all the girls, while she was the target that all the boys sought to obtain at any cost.

While the new student had a mysterious background, most of the current news indicated that he was from a very wealthy family from the south

Unlike the northern regions which were stable, the southern regions were often tense due to the shared borders with other countries, so the southern noble families often received continuous financial and military support from the capital to defend the southern borders, and thus the noble families from the south were able to acquire a large number of experts and create influential pressure groups that could influence the decisions of the capital.

That's why everyone expected that the new student would come from one of these super families

So none of these girls dared to do something stupid like disturbing these important figures

With all these considerations, the safest option was to remain silent and follow orders without any objection that might lead to dire consequences

Alexander suddenly stopped and put his hand on his waist as he sighed tiredly, "We've been walking for a long time, do you want to rest for a while?"

The girls let out a sigh of relief when Alexander made this suggestion

This was just a field training exercise that didn't involve any grades for the yearly total

So they didn't have to push themselves too hard

As the girls were preparing the place so they could have a snack here, Charlotte was looking at Alexander with a raised eyebrow

She didn't know what exactly Alexander was doing

All they had done since they came in was wander around without a specific goal

Could it be that he couldn't find anything related to that curse?

Fears gradually began to rise inside Charlotte's heart

This mission was her last hope to cure her mother and remove the curse that had plagued their family for years

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That's why she kept quiet and continued to let Alexander do whatever he wanted since they entered here

However, he didn't seem to have made any progress in finding the curse

With all these disturbing thoughts, Charlotte couldn't help but shoot a strong look at him

Her questioning gaze was so strong that Alexander felt as if it was piercing him

While the girls were preparing the place by spreading a square piece of cloth on the floor for them to sit on, Alexander approached one of the bags carrying supplies and picked up a bag of crispy potato chips and began eating them, making an appetizing crunching sound.

Then he moved randomly, approaching one of the walls without stopping eating.

Suddenly, Alexander tripped over a stone on the ground, and his forehead hit the wall.

Alexander's body bounced back as a result of the blow, and he fell on his buttocks.

"Marco!"

The girls rushed towards him and helped him stand on his feet.

"Seriously!" Charlotte approached him and began to feel exhausted as a result of her gradual loss of hope.

"Hmm?..." Jenny looked around in confusion, "Do you hear that?"

Everyone focused as they realized that there was a faint sound coming from around them

The sound started out faintly and then gradually grew louder

It sounded like many gears turning in unison

When the sound became loud enough they could see the exact location where the sound was coming from

Everyone turned to the wall that Alexander's forehead had hit a moment ago.

"What is that?" A dwarf girl with braided hair asked

"Calm down, Ada..." Charlotte tried to calm the girls down when she saw their anxiety

Then the brick that Alexander's head had hit started to move backwards causing an action that eventually moved the rest of the surrounding bricks

The bricks of the wall began to rearrange themselves mechanically, creating a wide tunnel whose end could not be clearly seen due to the lack of lighting.

Everyone looked at what was happening with their mouths open in disbelief

They didn't know what was happening in front of them

"Has anyone ever heard of such a thing before?" Ada asked, but it was clear that her question was directed at Charlotte because they knew Charlotte was the most knowledgeable among them regarding these dungeons.

"I've never heard of secret passages in these dungeons." Charlotte's eyes were still glued to the newly formed passage.

Crunch!

While everyone was drowning in shock, they suddenly heard a crunching sound coming from behind them. When they turned around, they saw Alexander still holding the bag of crisps and eating from it, looking at the secret passage in shock.

"..." Do you still have time to eat chips?

The girls couldn't help but stare strangely at Alexander's forehead that caused the discovery of this secret passage.

It wasn't hard for them to realize that they had discovered something new by accident.

Is it really just a coincidence?... Only Charlotte had some doubts.

She was the only one who knew that Alexander was searching for the location of the curse, so he was moving them through the place.

It was clear that there would be no point in searching in places that had already been explored by others.

So it made sense that there was a secret place that no one had been able to reach before.

And now Alexander had opened a secret passage in a way that was unique to say the least.

This made her look at Alexander suspiciously, thinking that he had done this on purpose but had decided to hide it in his own way.

"Should we go back and inform the instructors?" Jenny was the first to offer a suggestion to address their situation

"This makes sense...."

The two girls quickly agreed to the suggestion

Charlotte was a bit confused, thinking about what to do now that they had found the way to the curse site

"Are you crazy?" Alexander shouted loudly, causing everyone to flinch

"Don't you realize the situation?" Alexander pointed towards the dark tunnel, "Think about it, there might be a treasure inside, if we inform the authorities they will seize the treasure and all we will get is some words of praise."

Treasure?

The girls' eyes lit up when they heard this magic word

Who among them would refuse such a temptation?

The chance to get rich quickly was irresistible to anyone

"But wouldn't it be dangerous if we went alone?" Ada objected, pouring cold water on everyone's heads

"Do you expect to get rich while relaxing on your bed?" Alexander looked at her with disdain, making her feel embarrassed

"No, that's not what I meant." Ada tried to defend herself

"I won't force anyone to go with me..." Alexander moved towards the secret passage, "You can go outside and inform the instructors, but don't expect to get a part of the treasure when I find it."

Seeing Alexander who had already entered the secret passage and Charlotte who followed him without hesitation, the girls' last defense was broken and they began to think once again about their next move.

The three girls looked at each other in tacit agreement and began to move to catch up with Alexander and Charlotte.

None of them wanted to miss the chance to get a treasure no matter how small this chance was, because then biting their fingers in regret would be of no use.

As they went deeper into the place, the lighting began to dim until the place became dark and vision became more difficult.

Luckily, they reached the end of the tunnel where there was a wooden door at the end.

Alexander signaled to his team to stand at a distance behind him and prepare for anything unexpected.

The girls took out their weapons, ready for any surprise attack.

Then Alexander opened the door, but nothing happened.

All that was inside the room was pitch darkness.

Alexander crossed the threshold of the door and took a step into the room.

Crunch!

Then everyone heard the sound of something fragile breaking.

The sound was strange, although they didn't know exactly where the sound was coming from, the pitch darkness gave him a chilling feeling.

Alexander looked down in confusion mixed with some sarcasm, "This sounds like the sound of crispy potato chips breaking. I suddenly feel like eating more potato chips now, hahaha."

Ada spread her hands in front of her chest and lit a medium-sized flame, illuminating her surroundings.

All the girls held their breath when they saw what was piled up on the floor.

The floor of the room was filled with skulls of different shapes and sizes.

Most of these skulls became brittle and began to break due to the age factor.

Seeing this horrific sight, none of them could think of anything but the words Alexander had just said.

The sound of crunchy potato chips cracking...

Alexander turned towards them when he felt their uncomfortable looks, "I think I'll stop eating crunchy things for a while."

".." Don't you think you have more important things to worry about?