Chapter 216: Entering The Whispering Caves Dungeon, Meeting The Rookies Again?!

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Vladimir and Riven stepped into the Whispering Caves Dungeon to conquer it and conquer the dungeon core.

Because of how vast it was and how dark everything seemed, it was rather hard to locate where the dungeon core could be.

Thus, Riven chose to opt for the option of relying on his Psionic Avatar’s Supernatural Senses, combining them with his ever-growing Mana Aura and the power of his Shadow which he was possessing right now.

"I can sense a strong trail of mana that leads deeper into this dungeon," Riven spoke through his Shadow Self, narrowing his crimson eyes as he studied the thick, oppressive air around them. "Then it gathers into a massive sphere of mana, or a signature perhaps? That’s where the dungeon core is too. Looks like the Boss guards it. So it’s as I imagined, even if they’re not that intelligent, most monsters guard the dungeon core by nature, even the boss."

"I guess we cannot keep avoiding conflict. This long corridor that leads there is full to the brim of monsters," said Vladimir, shaking his head with clear annoyance. "So you’re ready or what?"

"That’s the question I should be asking you," Riven smiled faintly. "I’m always ready."

The red-haired former cultist of Fenrir glared at Riven with open annoyance and quickly stepped forward, blurring from where he stood and appearing further down the tunnel. He threw a middle finger over his shoulder. "Then hurry the hell up, or I’ll beat you on getting to the boss!"

"Hah, be careful or you’ll get chomped down by it!" Riven teased him lightly before leaping forward to follow.

As they ran, a large swarm of creatures detected them approaching. The monsters heard their rapid footsteps even when both men tried to move as stealthily as possible. The Whispering Caves were well known for their inhabitants, which loved whispering and talking to one another in low, rasping tones that echoed endlessly through the stone.

"GRAAAR!"

"GRYKIAGH!"

"SHEKOOH!"

They spoke in a harsh foreign language and were covered in rough red scales from head to toe. Most stood around twice as tall as a normal human, with small curved horns and a fully reptilian appearance.

Kobolds.

The beasts charged with sudden fury, using their superior physical musculature and agility to close the distance in just a single second. They thrust their poison-tipped spears forward with deadly intent.

Both Riven and Vladimir quickly and easily avoided the attacks, leaping away from the first four before descending again. Vladimir transformed his hands into sharp werewolf claws, beginning to master the ability to transform different parts of his body at will.

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!

He unleashed a powerful assassination technique. Dozens of crimson slashes cut through the Kobolds in rapid succession. The D-Rank pseudo-intelligent monsters screamed in pain and collapsed onto the cold stone floor, dead.

The remaining ones grew furious and charged straight at the red-haired executioner, only for three sharp ghostly blades to pierce their chests and hearts. The blades destroyed them from the inside out as dark flames erupted from their eyes and jaws.

"Gryaaaack!"

"Gruuoogghh...!"

"Shyaaaagghh!"

They hissed in agony and then collapsed onto the floor, completely dead. Riven calmly stored the corpses in his Shadow Self’s void and continued stealthily walking deeper into the dungeon’s interior with Vladimir at his side.

As they dove deeper, they began to find scattered bonfires and flickering torches. There were also the bodies of smaller monsters hanging from the walls or even being slowly roasted over open flames.

Not too far from that area, they reached a deeper cavern section where the faint cries of... people could be heard.

Vladimir slowly entered a small side room, Riven closely behind. Inside they found a group of hunters collapsed on the floor, tightly tied with sharp vines and covered in bleeding wounds.

"Hmm! Aggh!" One of them managed to remove the vines from his mouth and began begging for help. "Please help!!!"

Vladimir sighed heavily. "What sort of dumbasses are you to get captured by Kobolds?!"

"...?" Riven raised an eyebrow in confusion as he stepped closer. "Wait, I know these people... Don’t tell me... Ah, seriously?"

He facepalmed as he recognized them all. The tall young man begging for help wore torn-down heavy armor. He was blonde with blue eyes.

Then there was the slender girl with blue hair, the archer, and... a healer with blonde hair who remained unconscious. Riven could not believe they were so poorly prepared that they had been captured by simple Kobolds.

"You know these rookies?" Vladimir raised an eyebrow.

"Acquaintances... I planned to contact the blonde girl over there..." Riven sighed again. "But wow, you guys are really quite something. You barely managed to survive the last dungeon and now you came to this one, which is way smaller and way less dangerous, and still got captured?!"

"R-Riven?"

"It’s him!"

"Oh, Riven!"

"H-Help..."

They did not completely see how different he looked because he had covered himself in a black cloak made of living shadows, and his Shadow Self was also wearing a full set of SS Rank armor. Still, they recognized his personality and voice immediately.

Riven facepalmed again and sighed deeply. "You guys are really going to get killed at this rate. And you didn’t even get a new party member like I suggested!"

"W-We...! We... we wanted to make money..."

"Sorry..."

"The Kobolds were too tough..."

"They used poison to catch us off-guard!"

Riven shook his head and walked toward them. He noticed there were two more groups of hunters in the same room — at least eight more people in total — all poisoned and barely capable of moving due to the paralysis.

"Okay, hang in there. I will synthesize the poison and make a cure," said Riven, beginning to absorb samples of the toxin until he suddenly stopped. Vladimir had gone high on alert outside the room.

"ROOAARRR!"

"KRESHIEKEEEEE!"

"KUGAAAAHH!"

Loud roars echoed from the corridor beyond.

"Riven, there’s more coming!" Vladimir screamed.

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