Advanced Professional Squad Enters the Dungeon

The next morning, at dawn.

Adventurer Town.

Amid the astonished gazes of countless adventurers who had just gotten out of bed, a squad of mounted adventurers suddenly appeared. They radiated powerful auras and wore exceptionally fine equipment, every piece seeming to gleam beneath the morning sun.

"Ironblood Thorns? The legendary Ironblood Squad? Why are they here?"

Someone among the adventurers recognized the squad, surprise written all over their face. The Ironblood Squad was an advanced adventurer squad dedicated to serving the great Oss Family. Why would they appear in this border region of the kingdom?

"It must have been the lord who summoned them. After all, he's a member of the Oss Family too."

Another adventurer picked up the conversation. It was no secret that the local lord was named Korien Os. There was a good chance he had realized he could not conquer the Dungeon himself and had asked the main family for help.

"I heard they've already conquered three small Dungeons. Doesn't that mean this Dungeon will be conquered soon too?"

"You're new here, aren't you?"

The adventurer who had just spoken looked curiously at the person beside him, unsure why he would say that.

"Of course. Anyone who's entered this Dungeon knows that's impossible. This Dungeon is completely different from all the previous ones."

After saying that, the adventurer turned and headed for the inn. He needed to gather his teammates and enter the Dungeon as quickly as possible. Though he did not believe the Ironblood Thorns Squad could conquer this Dungeon, the first few layers would not be able to stop them at all.

They could not afford to waste any more time if they did not want all the treasures in the Dungeon's first few layers taken by the Ironblood Thorns Squad.

After the Ironblood Thorns Squad entered the Dungeon, Adventurer Town soon learned that an Advanced Professional squad had gone inside. Adventurers who had originally planned to rest for a few days all rushed into the Dungeon.

The Dungeon entrance was especially lively today.

"They're so fast. This adventurer squad isn't simple!"

At the deepest part of the Seventh Layer, Lucifer, who had been routinely spying on the adventurers, was suddenly drawn to a squad that had just entered the Dungeon. In only a few hours, they had fought their way directly from the first layer to the Fourth Layer.

No matter what monsters they encountered along the way, they were killed in a single strike. Even the Venomous Swamp and Purple Poison Giant Mosquitoes of the Fourth Layer caused them no trouble whatsoever. The Purple Poison Giant Mosquitoes could not even pierce their skin.

"What annoyingly persistent monsters."

On a magic ship, Aik stood on the deck with his arms folded and glanced at a Purple Poison Giant Mosquito that had landed on his arm. A trace of impatience appeared on his handsome face. These monsters could not even break through his defenses, but there were simply too many of them to kill.

Their incessant buzzing was unbearably irritating.

"Monsters I've never seen before. How interesting."

Behind him appeared Mary, a tall, bewitchingly beautiful mage whose figure could not be concealed even by her loose mage robes. She held a Purple Poison Giant Mosquito in her hand, her eyes filled with longing and curiosity toward the unknown.

"But isn't something off about this Dungeon? The first few layers of the three Dungeons we conquered before weren't this difficult."

A burly man in heavy armor, carrying a massive shield, walked over. His eyes beneath his helmet constantly surveyed the surroundings. Although neither the Dungeon environment nor the monsters in the first few layers had affected them in the slightest—

—the strength of these monsters already far exceeded that of ordinary Dungeons. In the three small Dungeons they had conquered before, even ordinary Formal Professionals could delve as deep as the eighth layer. Yet here, the mutated monsters of the first three layers alone were enough to threaten unprepared Formal Professionals.

Such abnormal circumstances made it difficult for him not to take notice.

"Isn't it better if this Dungeon is unusual?"

At that moment, Aik turned to look at his teammates on the deck, a smile full of ambition on his handsome face. If the Oss Family wanted to advance further and become a ducal house, the family needed a Legendary Tier powerhouse.

However, the resources needed to advance to the Legendary Tier in the large Dungeon beneath the royal capital had long been divided among the royal family and several dukes. If the Oss Family wanted to produce a Legendary Tier powerhouse, they could only look to other large Dungeons.

That was also why, after Korien Os sent a letter back to the family, the main family took the matter so seriously and dispatched them at once.

"You're right, Aik."

A half-orc over three meters tall stepped forward, voicing his agreement with Aik. Having been raised by the family since childhood, they had long shared the Oss Family's glory and ruin. If this really was a large Dungeon, it would possess enough resources for the family to produce a Legendary Tier powerhouse.

When that time came, trusted retainers of the family like them would also receive enormous benefits. Perhaps they might even have a chance to advance to Master rank or even the Legendary Tier in the future.

"Aik, there's a group of monsters and a treasure chest ahead."

Suddenly, a phantom appeared on the deck. An assassin cloaked entirely in black appeared, a transparent body faintly visible beneath the robe. A low voice, impossible to identify as male or female, sounded beside them.

"Our goal is to reach the deeper layers of the Dungeon. The first few layers won't have anything especially valuable. Ignore them."

After pondering for a few seconds, Aik decided to pass them by. The things in the upper layers might be quite valuable to ordinary adventurers, but they were not worth wasting time on for his team. Reaching deeper layers was what mattered most now.

"Mm."

The assassin nodded lightly. A faint breeze swept past and lifted the black robe, vaguely revealing a transparent figure beneath it, ghostlike in appearance. Yet he lacked the deathly aura and hostility toward the living unique to undead creatures.

As an adventurer squad carefully cultivated by the Oss Family, all five of Aik's group held more powerful and rare professions. For example, the assassin who had appeared last was a Ghost Assassin.

After advancing to an Advanced Professional, a Ghost Assassin could freely shift between spiritual and physical forms. He could even enter another person's body, and every attack he made inflicted soul damage upon the enemy.

Both his strength and potential far surpassed those of ordinary assassins.

An hour later.

On the outskirts of the Mushroom Jungle, atop a giant mushroom dozens of meters tall, the catfolk assassin who had just finished inspecting the camp suddenly looked downward. A magic ship emerged from the churning dense fog below.

Just as the catfolk assassin was about to take a closer look at the newly arrived adventurers, the blond man standing on the deck suddenly raised his head and looked at him. Even from thousands of meters away, the catfolk assassin felt a surge of terror, and all his fur stood on end.

"That scared me to death, meow!"

Almost instantly, the catfolk assassin hurriedly withdrew his viewpoint and vanished from the spot.

"Aik, what is it?"

"I spotted a little kitty spying on us. Ignore it."

Aik waved a hand to indicate it was nothing, his gaze examining the dreamlike Mushroom Jungle ahead. According to the information Korien Os had given him, the most valuable thing in this Mushroom Forest was a kind of mushroom containing gentle, pure magic power.

Once they had completely conquered this Dungeon and gained control of its core, the family could send people to cultivate and grow Mana Mushrooms.