Chapter—Inside the Dungeon
Vielbond moved deeper into the dungeon.
The cave walls were uneven, glowing faintly with blue lines of aura that pulsed like veins. The deeper they went, the quieter it became—too quiet.
Arika walked lazily, hands folded behind her head.
"Ugh… this cave is boring," she complained. "We've been walking forever and nothing's happening."
One teammate replied cautiously, "Arika, we should be happy we haven't run into trouble yet."
She scoffed. "C-rank dungeon my foot."
They continued forward.
Suddenly—
A scream echoed from ahead.
Everyone froze.
"Did you hear that?" Klare asked quietly.
They ran toward the sound.
Not far ahead, bodies were scattered across the stone floor.
Men and women from other guilds lay wounded, some unconscious, others barely breathing.
Klare rushed forward and checked their pulses.
"They're alive," he said. "But badly injured."
A Vielbond member and Klare knelt down and began channeling aura, but even then the wounds were severe.
"Who did this…?" someone whispered.
Before anyone could answer—
A man came running from deeper inside the dungeon.
"RUN!" he screamed. "RUN! THEY'RE TOO STRONG!"
Arika grabbed his arm. "Who are 'they'?"
The man's eyes widened in terror as he looked behind her. Without answering, he broke free and ran toward the exit.
Slowly, everyone turned.
From the darker region of the dungeon, something was approaching.
---
Elsewhere, Aurafiest advanced carefully.
Uno muttered angrily, "Why did you stop me back there? I would've taught that girl a lesson."
Luke replied calmly, "Same reason as yesterday. We're here to explore the dungeon—not fight people."
Suddenly, the same man burst past them, shouting, "Run! They'll kill you!"
Liod caught him. "What happened?"
"There are countless strong monsters inside!" the man cried. "Too strong! Everyone's get woundeddue to that monster!"
Before they could ask more, he ran toward the exit.
Luke narrowed his eyes.
"I think we should move ahead."
---
Back with Vielbond—
Monsters resembling warped bats emerged from the shadows. Their wings were jagged, bodies formed of condensed aura.
Arika grinned. "Now this is getting interesting."
They fought.
One monster fell—then another appeared.
And another.
"They're endless!" someone shouted.
Klare frowned. "Something's wrong."
The fight intensified.
Suddenly, a monster lunged toward Arika from her blind spot.
She didn't have time to react.
She shut her eyes—
BOOM.
The monster was destroyed mid-air.
Arika opened her eyes to see Uno, aura sphere still fading from his hand.
"Now I think you need our help," Uno said.
Arika was speechless.
But then replied arrogantly"I was just going to defeat that one but thankyou".
Aurafiest joined the battle.
---
The dungeon turned into chaos.
As Aurafiest and Vielbond fought together, the monsters kept coming.
Uno saved Arika again when another attacked from behind.
Luke protected Marin, destroying a creature before it could strike.
Liod fought relentlessly, but the numbers never decreased.
Klare, despite his introverted nature, showed exceptional combat skill.
But exhaustion began to show.
Arika was wounded badly during one clash.
Klare tried to reach her—but couldn't.
Uno rushed in, grabbed Arika, and pulled her away from the swarm.
"Why did you bring me here?" Arika protested weakly. "I want to fight!"
Uno snapped, "Shut up, speaking machine! This isn't fun—this is real battle. You're wounded."
He added firmly, "We're not losing anyone."
Those words struck Arika deeply.
---
Luke kept fighting—but something felt wrong.
The monsters kept coming.
Then—
He use his power.
A panel appeared.
Monster: ???
Category: ???
Luke's eyes widened.
Even the system doesn't recognize them…?
When I fought with devil it shown be about devil bht this time....
Then he noticed something.
Among the monster, one monster felt different,surrounded by all monster.
When he see toward that one,
Another panel appeared.
Monster: Warbat
Category: C-rank
Item: Illusioner
Luke understood instantly.
There's only one real monster… the rest are illusions created by item illusioner.There system showed nothing about illusions.
---
Luke fought his way to Marin.
"Marin," he said urgently, "all these monsters are surrounding one core monster. That one's the leader."
Marin hesitated. "Are you sure?"
Luke nodded. "I think I am."
"Then let's try," Marin said.
They pushed forward.
Klare joined them.
The three focused their attacks on the Warbat. Unlike the others, it resisted strongly.
"This one's different," Klare confirmed."I think defeating him shkukd work."
After a long, brutal battle—
Klare unleashed a powerful aura sphere.
The Warbat shattered.
Instantly, all illusions start to vanish with the war bat.
Silence filled the dungeon.
---
The Mysterious Item lying
On the ground lay a cylindrical object.
Marin asked, "What is that?"
Luke picked it up.
His panel displayed:
Item: Illusioner
Effect: Creates multiple illusions of an entity
He hid his reaction that he knows all.
"I don't know," Luke replied calmly. "There are two buttons."
He pressed one.
A perfect illusion of Luke appeared beside him.
Marin and Klare froze.
Then replied"Thats the reason and secret of monster."
Luke seen his illusion which was perfectly similar to him.
Then Luke pressed the second button.
The illusion vanished.
Now they understood everything.
Luke placed the item in the bag.
"I don't see any path beyond this," he said. "This must be the dungeon's core reward."
---
Rescue and Exit
Uno looked around. "What about the wounded?"
"We'll inform the medical team," Luke said. "The dungeon is safe now."
Chika and Uno stayed behind to help evacuate the injured.
Arika limped forward.
She stumbled—
Uno caught her again.
"There's someone whose mouth and legs work more than needed," he said irritably.
Luke cut in, "This isn't the time to fight."
Luke,Marin ,Liod ,Klare exited the dugeon and sent Medicam team inside dugeon.
Arika who was wounded denied the help of medical team saying she is fine now.
Later, as they exited—
Arika tripped again.
Uno sighed angrily. "You're really troublesome."
He lifted her onto his back.
Arika felt warmth spread through her chest.
Chika watched silently, jealousy flickering—but she dismissed it as her imagination.
Rescue teams arrived.
Everyone was evacuated safely.
The dungeon was cleared.
No monsters remained.
No illusions persisted.
But one question remained—
Who cleared the dungeon?
Is it Aurafiest?
Or Vielbond?
Or both…?
Who clear the dugeon?
---
End of Chapter