Chapter 368: The Tree's Dungeon - Part 3

The meeting was arranged as soon as Elena had finished giving her initial report, although it took some time for everyone to gather.

Kael was still unconscious, and since nobody knew when he would wake up, they decided that waiting for him was not an option.

Lyra sat beside Elena, her arms crossed as she watched the others take their seats.

Seraphina sat quietly on the opposite side of the table, while Iris stood behind her with her arms folded. Leon was seated beside them, looking more serious than usual.

Officer Tyson entered last, carrying several folders under his arm.

“Sorry for taking so long. There were several things I needed to—”

He stopped when he noticed Lyra staring at him. Her expression was filled with curiosity but something else as well that made him nervous.

“What?”

Lyra tilted her head.

“Do we really need a normal human here?”

Tyson’s expression froze.

“…Excuse me? I suddenly feel offended.”

“I mean, this is a meeting about what happened to Kael, right? Things are about to get dangerous, so are you sure you want to get involved with all of this? It would be safer for you not to be here…”

Tyson’s eyebrow twitched.

“I see. So, after all the work I’ve done for you people, I’m now being told that I’m useless because I’m a normal human?”

He placed the folders on the table a little harder than necessary.

“I did not say useless.”

Lyra shrugged, trying to lessen the tension in the situation. But she was well-aware that she had messed up as well. But her pride did not allow her to back down.

“I just want to make sure you don’t pull us back and get hurt-“

“Lyra, stop acting jealous. Besides, it would be better to have someone from this world present. Officer Tyson may not possess magic, but he has knowledge that the rest of us do not.”

Seraphina immediately interrupted her before the conversation could turn into an argument.

Lyra glanced at her, knowing that Seraphina was right. So she remained quiet causing Officer Tyson to sigh at her childishness.

He opened one of the folders.

“I have already started looking into similar reports. There have been several unusual dungeon-related incidents since the appearance of the system, but nothing quite like what Lyra and Kael experienced.”

Lyra leaned back in her chair, realizing that it was better to seek this external help for now.

“Fine. I guess we are keeping you around.”

She sounded slightly annoyed, but she did not argue further.

“Thank you for your permission I did not ask for. Now, allow me to continue where I left off.”

Elena covered her mouth, barely hiding a laugh. She looked amused at what was happening while Iris glanced at him before looking back toward Lyra to check if she was angry or not.

“So, what exactly happened after you disappeared?”

Lyra’s expression immediately became more serious.

She explained everything from the beginning, including how Kael had suddenly started acting strangely, how he had been drawn toward the tree-like object, and how his magic had been swallowed when he tried to escape.

She also explained how the tree had continued following them no matter how far she ran.

“And then Elena appeared through a portal. She pulled us out before that thing could swallow us.”

Lyra finished. And Elena took it as her cue to start talking.

“I found them after using too much energy on my end. It almost felt like I was hitting a wall most of the time. It was a pure coincidence I was able to find anything.”

“Which brings us to the most important problem. You said that you were only in there for a few hours at max?”

Leon said. He looked toward Lyra, his eyes narrowed in concentration.

“Yes.”

Lyra frowned and confirmed those words.

“But a week passed in the outside world. That means the place was not following the normal flow of time. Or at least, not the same flow of time as this world.”

Elena said and Officer Tyson began writing notes.

“Could it have been another dimension?”

“Possibly.”

“Or another dungeon?”

Elena shook her head.

“I don’t think so.”

Everyone became silent.

“Why?”

Elena hesitated before answering.

“Because there was no dungeon core.”

Lyra’s expression immediately hardened.

“And if there was no core…”

“Then whatever that place was, it wasn’t functioning like a normal dungeon.”

Seraphina slowly looked toward the others.

“So what was that tree?”

Nobody answered.

Even Tyson stopped writing.

Lyra glanced toward the door where Kael was resting in another room.

“I don’t know. It could have been the core, but I am sure Kael would have known if that were to be the case and told me.”

She clenched her hands before she continued to speak.

“But whatever it was, it wanted Kael. And Kael even started to act strange as soon as we got closer to the thing.”

The room fell silent once again.

They all looked toward Kael, who was still asleep and showed no signs of waking up anytime soon.

If there was one person who had the answers to what was happening, it was likely him. But until he woke up, it was up to them to hold the fort down.

*Sigh*

“Well, we can worry about all that later. For now, there is another pressing matter that we have to tackle – the shareholder’s meeting. This will be the first time our sponsors will be coming here to talk to you all. Ugh, why did this have to happen at such a crucial time?”

Officer Tyson looked stressed and the dark-circles under his eyes told everyone that he had likely not slept in a few days.

But the problem was still not over so he had to keep working.

“The shareholder meeting? You mean the one Kael was supposed to attend? But he’s still asleep…that means…”

Slowly, everyone started to get the meaning behind Officer Tyson’s words and why he looked so tired. Kael, the one who was supposed to head this meeting, was currently unconscious. So what is going to happen now?

The Black Sheep of the Clan is a Supreme God – search for it

The Black Sheep of the Clan is a Supreme God – search for it