The Fourth Floor

"Treasure chest! Look, there's a treasure chest over there!"

On the first floor of the dungeon, several novice adventurers were cautiously exploring ahead when one of them suddenly spotted a stone chest covered in mycelium in a corner and cried out excitedly.

"Be careful. I heard dungeon treasure chests are guarded by monsters."

"That's right. We can't let our guard down. So many people have already lost their lives in this dungeon."

"I heard even several of Margery Town's strongest adventurer parties died deep within the dungeon."

The novice adventurers warned one another and gripped their weapons tightly, as though they were clutching their final lifeline. Even so, none of them were willing to give up the treasure chest right before their eyes.

What adventurer didn't take risks?

Click~

With a forceful pry from a longsword, the stone chest opened. The novice adventurers exchanged glances before cautiously leaning over to peer inside.

"It's treasure! No danger!"

The most excited novice stepped forward and pulled out a brand-new leather armor from the chest, his face filled with delight at gaining treasure.

The others looked at one another, then stepped forward to take out the remaining refined steel longsword and pair of iron boots. Seeing the equipment in their hands, all the novice adventurers smiled.

These brand-new pieces of equipment were all forged from high-quality refined steel, completely different from the junk they carried. Whether they used them themselves or sold them to a blacksmith shop, they would fetch a good price.

"Should we keep exploring?"

After putting away the items from the chest, a young man in the party spoke up.

"Let's withdraw for now. It's getting late."

The oldest adventurer in the party shook his head. They had been in the dungeon for quite some time. After all, they had not been among the first batch of adventurers to enter it. By his estimate, it was probably already evening outside.

"All right."

Seeing that his companions were already satisfied, the young man who still wanted to continue exploring nodded reluctantly. Exploring the dungeon alone was practically suicide.

Meanwhile, in different areas of the dungeon's first floor, many adventurer parties discovered treasure chests in corners. Some chose to stop exploring for the moment and leave the dungeon, but even more were blinded by greed and ventured deeper inside.

"If you don't bait the fishing spot, you won't catch many fish even if there are fish."

Deep within the third floor, Luo Ao smiled as he observed everything through his spiritual power. He was like a patient fisherman, and those treasure chests were the bait he had scattered.

Moreover, Luo Ao had deliberately placed more treasure chests in areas where novice adventurers gathered, all to give the adventurers outside an illusion: if even novice adventurers could find treasure chests, then wouldn't seasoned veterans like them, who possessed skills and had adventured for years, find even more?

"Still, the Adventurers' Guild of this world reacted remarkably quickly."

Luo Ao shifted his gaze toward the dungeon entrance. There was a cavern the size of a football field there, and countless workers were currently streaming in from outside like ants, carrying construction materials. A sturdy adventurer camp was rising from the ground at a visible pace.

Outside the dungeon, plans were already underway for a brand-new town.

From the workers' casual conversations, Luo Ao learned that less than half an hour after the dungeon had appeared, the Adventurers' Guild in Margery Town had already issued a large number of dungeon exploration quests.

The reason so many novice adventurers had come to the dungeon now was largely thanks to the Adventurers' Guild's efforts.

As for Korien Os, the lord of this town, as a nobleman, he certainly wanted to monopolize the entire dungeon. But when faced with the Adventurers' Guild, a colossal organization spread across the entire continent, he could only grit his teeth and yield.

Unless Korien Os's knights successfully conquered the dungeon and took control of its core, the dungeon would not truly belong to him.

Before that, the Adventurers' Guild and the local lord could only maintain a cooperative relationship.

"Interesting. It seems there are still many things in this world that I don't know."

Luo Ao silently sorted through and organized all the information he had overheard, allowing himself to gain a deeper understanding of this world. After all, the knowledge that automatically surfaced in his mind was merely common sense. For more information about this world, Luo Ao would have to learn it himself.

But for now, the most important thing was to grow stronger as quickly as possible. Only when the dungeon possessed more floors and greater power would Luo Ao have the chance to explore this world.

A night passed.

The dungeon's first floor had already been thoroughly mapped out after countless adventurers explored through the night. The map even marked the distribution of monsters in different areas.

The second floor was no longer exclusive to the lord's knight party. Adventurer parties confident in their own strength also poured into the second floor, exploring the new area, constantly searching for treasure chests, and hunting all kinds of monsters.

[Primordial Power +36.34]

"Enough!"

Luo Ao looked at the newly gained Primordial Power on the panel. Compared to the previous day, it had increased by 6.34. That increase had come from the coins and several magic items contributed by the adventurers who had died in the dungeon yesterday.

"Level up."

By devouring the flesh and souls of adventurers, Luo Ao had been only twenty experience points away from leveling up. As the missing experience was filled, the entire dungeon began to shake violently.

On the first and second floors, the many adventurers who were exploring and fighting were startled by the sudden tremors. Several unlucky novice adventurers fell to the ground and were killed when monsters seized the opportunity.

At the end of the dungeon's third floor, a brand-new floor continuously opened up from the void.

[Level lv4 (0/500)]

As the new floor appeared, Luo Ao could clearly feel his power continuously growing stronger. This new power was filled with the aura of water and poison, entirely different from the attributes provided by the previous three cavern floors.

With a thought, Luo Ao's true body, the great orb of light, instantly shifted to the room at the deepest part of the fourth floor. Of course, he did not forget the treasure he had accumulated in the warehouse next door.

"Huh? The fourth floor isn't a cavern?"

At the very center of the fourth floor, Luo Ao appeared atop a giant tree several hundred meters tall. His spiritual sense swept across the entire floor. The fourth floor was even larger than the first three combined.

The entire floor consisted of an endless putrid swamp. Dark purple poisonous miasma filled the air, reducing visibility to less than a few meters. The ground was covered in rotting, foul-smelling sludge, blanketed by a layer of aquatic grass.

Above the swamp, the canopy covering most of the fourth floor hung down countless aerial roots covered in barbs. They were like venomous snakes hidden within the thick fog. Once someone was entangled by those roots, the barbs would pierce their body, turning them into nourishment for the giant tree's growth.