This was a dungeon with terrain completely different from Barbarian Bull Grassland.
It was like a tropical rainforest sealed beneath the earth.
Black marsh water, reeking of decay, stretched beneath their feet. Bubbles occasionally rose to the surface and burst, releasing a pungent, poisonous gas.
Tall, oddly shaped trees rose from the ground, their layers of branches and leaves almost completely obscuring the "sky."
If the energy dome, which glowed a constant, dim white and resembled the underside of an inverted bowl, could be called a sky.
The few patches of land above the marsh were soft and slippery, creaking underfoot.
"Form a defensive formation. Stay alert, and watch your footing and the treetops!"
Jin Chang'en, the team leader, spoke in a booming voice.
His seven teammates moved at his command, swiftly taking their positions.
They formed a stable, seven-sided defensive perimeter around Jin Chang'en.
They kept a suitable distance from one another, close enough to provide mutual support without hampering each other's movements.
Although Jin Chang'en's Hunter rank was only high D-Rank, his ability, "Life Chain," made him the team's tactical core.
He could form an energy link with his teammates, distributing the impact and damage suffered by any one member among everyone linked.
The exact effect depended on his magic level, as well as the number of linked teammates and their magic levels.
With the team working in close coordination, their overall damage resistance was astonishing. They even dared to face off against some ordinary C-rank monsters.
"Captain, something's not right."
The team's scout was a lean young man with sharp eyes.
At that moment, a pale blue magical glow veiled his eyes as he sensed the surrounding energy.
A note of confusion entered his voice:
"It's... very quiet around here. I can barely detect any noticeable magical fluctuations from monsters."
"No monster fluctuations?"
Jin Chang'en furrowed his brow.
Normally, when a raid team entered a dungeon—especially one that hadn't undergone any preliminary clearing—they would immediately become the target of every native monster.
But here, the silence was unnerving.
"Could that illegal Hunter who went in ahead of us have cleared out the area?"
Jin Chang'en guessed, then shook his head.
"Even if he's that strong, there's no way he could leave behind no signs of battle at all. And it's even less likely that he cleaned up every last body, right?"
The scout was just as baffled. His magical vision swept over the dark forest and marsh.
Then, by chance, he turned his gaze toward a more distant area, about ten kilometers away.
The pale blue glow in his eyes suddenly surged, and his face lit up with incredulous delight!
"C-Captain!!!"
His voice trembled with excitement as he pointed into the distance.
"Over... over there! I've detected an extremely rich, high-concentration, stable magic source! This dungeon... has a Magic Stone Mine!!!"
"A Magic Stone Mine?!"
Those words crashed into the team like a boulder dropped into a calm lake, sending shockwaves through everyone!
Only Jin Chang'en had ever been fortunate enough to see one in person.
The others had only heard of this extraordinarily precious resource through rumors and records.
"A Magic Stone Mine formed in a D-class Dungeon?"
Jin Chang'en was shaken too. Though elated, the caution of an experienced Hunter kept a trace of doubt in his mind.
The only time he'd encountered a Magic Stone Mine was years ago, when he was an assistant accompanying a powerful team that included a B-class Hunter. They'd discovered it in a B-class Dungeon.
He'd walked away from that experience with a fortune of tens of millions!
That money had also laid the foundation for him to form his own raid team.
"Captain, are we going?"
The burly man carrying an enormous battle-axe breathed heavily, his eyes fixed on the distance. Excitement, longing, and a hint of pleading mingled in his gaze.
The shortfall in his daughter's surgery costs weighed on him like a mountain.
And the mine before them might be his only chance to move that mountain.
The other teammates all turned their eyes to Jin Chang'en. Though they said nothing, their eagerness and hope were plain to see.
Jin Chang'en's gaze passed over each familiar face, lingering for a moment on the burly man with the great axe.
He rapidly weighed his options.
The risks were unknown, but the rewards were staggering.
That illegal Hunter might be an unexpected variable, but Jin Chang'en had a coordinated eight-person raid team—and his own "Life Chain."
After a brief silence, Jin Chang'en lifted his head. His gaze turned sharp and resolute as he looked toward the source of the Magic Stone Mine's magical fluctuations.
"Let's go! How could we pass up a chance like this?" His voice was firm and decisive. "We came here to clear this dungeon in the first place. Any resources we find belong to us!"
As for the illegal Hunter who'd entered ahead of them...
A faint, cold glint flashed in Jin Chang'en's eyes.
His earlier talk of a rescue had been nothing more than a way to maintain his image as captain in front of the team.
When faced with enormous riches capable of changing everyone's fate, any potential rival was an obstacle.
If the other man had the sense to leave on his own, Jin Chang'en could pretend he hadn't seen him.
But if he didn't know what was good for him, or even dared to covet the Magic Stone Mine...
Heh.
This deep, silent rainforest marsh would make a fine resting place.
"Destination: the Magic Stone Mine! Keep formation and move at full speed!"
Jin Chang'en gave the order.
The entire raid team immediately formed a tight defensive formation around Jin Chang'en and hurried toward the tempting source of magic in the distance.
However, they failed to notice the countless shadows stirring in the dark marsh around them.
Swamp Monster Fish, their mouths full of sharp teeth, were tearing ravenously into the battered corpses that had sunk into the mire.
Most of the corpses had the features of Lizardmen, but every one of them had suffered the same grisly fate: their heads had been smashed apart like watermelons struck by a sledgehammer.
The murky water, stained dark red with blood, was slowly covered over by the churning sludge.