Chapter 100: The Dungeon Master Takes a Quest 1

Chapter 100: Chapter 100: The Dungeon Master Takes a Quest 1

Arin halted just before the dungeon entrance, his boots kicking up a small cloud of dust. Rayan had already passed the inspection and waited just beyond the gate. Dev stood behind him with a heavy shield resting against one shoulder. Nisha and Tara waited on either side of the stone archway, scanning the crowd. Saira looked back over her shoulder at Arin with a questioning look.

"What now?" Saira’s voice cut through the noise of the checkpoint. Arin glanced toward the quest board beside the Guild outpost. "I want one more thing before we go in." Adnan followed his gaze and narrowed his eyes.

"A quest?" Adnan asked the obvious question. "Information," Arin answered, his tone more serious than before. That was what he wanted more than money right now. The board was filled with requests tied to the Ravengard Dungeon, from material collection to escort work and map assignments.

Most of them were mundane and not worth their time. Arin ignored those and took a step closer to the board. Arene spoke in his mind, her voice calm and curious. "Looking for something specific?" "Something that forces us to actually inspect the dungeon instead of just fighting whatever appears," Arin replied silently.

"You could simply explore," Arene pointed out. "I could," Arin admitted, "but since the Guild is paying people to investigate, someone has noticed a pattern." That caught Arene’s attention. "Reasonable," she said. Arin smiled slightly at the rare compliment.

"Was that a compliment?" "Do not become distracted," Arene warned. His eyes continued to scan the parchment sheets until one particular request caught his attention. It was an investigation request for the upper dungeon routes, asking for confirmation of displaced monsters and unusual territorial changes. The reward was seventy silver, the risk was listed as low to moderate, and the note said three reports remained unverified.

Arin pulled the request off the board. "This one," he said, holding it up. Adnan read over his shoulder and muttered, "Monster displacement." "Exactly," Arin replied. Rayan walked back toward them from the entrance, having heard the conversation.

"We already heard about that yesterday," Rayan said. "Which is why I want the quest," Arin answered. "You think something is wrong?" Rayan frowned. "I think enough adventurers have noticed the same thing that the Guild is now paying people to confirm it," Arin explained. Tara stepped closer and studied the paper.

"That does not necessarily mean it is dangerous," she said. "No," Arin agreed, "but it does mean something has changed." Ayan gave a small nod from behind them. "Then gathering information before travelling deeper would be useful," he added. Saira sighed loudly and crossed her arms.

"Fine, but if this turns out to be another underground monster nest, I’m blaming you." "You blamed me last time," Arin said. "Correct," Saira replied without hesitation. Arin brought the request to the Guild official stationed nearby. The man glanced over Arin’s adventurer card before looking at the request.

"You’re taking this?" the official asked. "Yes," Arin answered. "F-Rank?" the man said, raising an eyebrow. Arin smiled calmly. "Still," he said.

The man stared at him for a moment before looking at the people behind him. He saw two full parties, including Ayan, Saira, Adnan, and Rayan’s group. His expression changed slightly, becoming more serious. "You’re travelling together?" he asked. "For now," Arin replied.

The man stamped the request with a heavy thud. "Fine, the assignment is simple," he said, "several monster species have been appearing outside their normal territories." "We need confirmation before the Guild changes the route warnings," he continued. "What kind of monsters?" Arin asked. The official pulled out a report from under the counter.

"Stone Crawlers were seen near the first rest route and they’re normally much deeper," he read. "A group encountered Cave Wolves near the eastern mineral path." "Yesterday someone claimed they saw a Grave Spider on the upper level." Arin’s expression changed instantly at those words. Rayan reacted too and stepped forward.

"Grave Spider?" Arin asked sharply. "That’s not an upper-floor monster," Rayan said. "Exactly," the official replied, looking tired. "We haven’t confirmed it yet," he added. Arin took the report from his hands.

"Any attacks?" Arin asked. "Two injured parties," the official answered. "Deaths?" Arin asked again. "None confirmed," the man said. "Missing adventurers?" Arin pressed.

The man paused for a long second. Arin noticed the hesitation immediately. "Three," the official finally said. Adnan looked at Arin with wide eyes. "The same three from the board?" he asked.

The official’s eyes narrowed slightly. "You noticed," he said. "Hard not to," Arin replied. He folded the report and put it in his pocket. "Did they disappear before or after these monster movements started?" he asked.

The official hesitated again before answering. "After," he said quietly. That was enough for Arin. His interest sharpened visibly. Arene spoke quietly in his mind.

"Correlation is not proof," she warned. "I know," Arin answered internally, "but it is something." He turned toward the others and held up the stamped quest. "We take the quest," he announced. Rayan nodded immediately.

"Works for me," Rayan said. Tara smiled slightly at Arin. "You really haven’t changed," she said. "What do you mean?" Arin asked. "You still walk toward strange problems voluntarily," she replied.

"I call it gathering intelligence," Arin said with a grin. "You called it curiosity last time," Tara countered. "That was before I became sophisticated," Arin replied. Tara laughed and Saira stared at both of them. Arin noticed Saira’s look again.

He pointed at Saira accusingly. "Stop," he said. "I didn’t say anything," she replied. "You keep doing that," Arin said. "Doing what?" she asked.

"Looking," Arin said. "You’re very sensitive today," Saira replied. Arin walked toward the dungeon entrance without another word. Behind him Tara was still smiling, which was mildly distracting. The dungeon fixed that problem quickly.

The air changed the moment they stepped inside. It was cooler and heavier than the air outside. The dungeon smelled of stone, moisture, and raw mana. Blue crystals grew naturally from the walls and illuminated the first corridor with faint light. Arin felt the Dungeon Master’s Mark warm beneath his clothes.

Then something else happened without his conscious control. Dungeon Sense activated on its own. He stopped abruptly in the middle of the corridor. Arene reacted immediately in his mind. "You felt that," she said.

"Yeah," Arin whispered. The dungeon was different from the Elven Dungeon and different from the artificial dungeon. It was different from every structure he had encountered since receiving the Mark. Yet something about it felt familiar, not the place itself but the logic behind it. The walls carried patterns and mana flowed through specific channels beneath the stone.

The pathways were not random and Arin could almost feel the intentions behind the layout. It was not clear, but it was enough to make his skin prickle. "Arin?" Tara called, standing beside him. "You stopped again," she said. "I’m fine," he replied quickly.

Ayan looked at him closely with narrowed eyes. "Your Authority reacted?" he asked quietly. Arin nodded slightly without speaking. "Yeah," he admitted. Rayan lowered his voice and asked, "Is that bad?"

"I don’t know yet," Arin answered honestly. Saira smiled without humor from behind him. "Wonderful," she muttered. They continued down the crowded upper route. Several adventurer groups passed them in both directions, some carrying materials and others looking freshly arrived.

Nothing seemed unusual, which bothered Arin more than it should have. The quest existed because something had changed, yet the dungeon looked completely normal. Too normal, in fact, for a place with so many reports. They followed the main passage until the corridor divided into three separate routes. Adnan unfolded the map he had bought the day before.

"Left leads toward the first rest zone," he said. "Right goes to a resource path and center continues downward." Arin crouched down and placed his fingers against the cold stone. "What are you doing?" Dev asked, confused. "Looking," Arin answered simply.

"At the floor?" Dev asked again. "Yes," Arin said, closing his eyes. Dungeon Sense spread outward from his fingertips. He felt footprints, old blood, scratches, and thick mana residue everywhere. Too much activity made the information messy, so he narrowed his focus to monster traces.

Most traces belonged to smaller dungeon creatures that lived near the entrance. Then he found something heavier, a pattern of deep marks crossing from the central passage toward the left path. Arin stood up abruptly. "Something came up from deeper inside," he said. Rayan looked at the floor and frowned.

"I can’t see anything," Rayan admitted. "You wouldn’t," Arin replied. Dev raised an eyebrow at that. "That’s comforting," he muttered sarcastically. Arin followed the faint traces, which were old enough that ordinary tracking would have missed them.