Shrines and Seals, an Expanding Worldview

"Under my wise leadership, the Zane Dungeon has achieved remarkable results time and again."

"The Farron Undead Legion have successfully escaped the crisis of being sidelined, and the reduced difficulty and increased rewards have regained their popularity."

"Lake Liurnia has ushered in a period of great change. Elves and professors have personally funded the attraction of adventurers for me, and the opening of blacksmiths and the underground has made this area thrive."

"The Great Tomb and the Forest are operating smoothly, and both the Roguelike and the hunting have gained a group of loyal followers."

"The Gourmet Area goes without saying; it's one of the key reasons why Sion has become so popular. The combination of food and Pokémon makes this place more relaxing than any other resort."

"Bede City's economic benefits have increased countless times because of my efforts, and the entire region is thriving and full of vitality, therefore..."

Gong Qiying looked at the two corpses placed in front of him, his face darkening, and muttered to himself:

"So how could such a heinous incident still occur?"

The two corpses belonged to Geralt Shadow and another adventurer, respectively. Both of them had peaceful faces, as if they had fallen into a deep sleep. At this point, you might think their deaths were alright? But all their bones were gone.

His whole body was limp and weak, like a lump of flesh.

Gong Qiying covered the two corpses, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

He had seen many feuds between adventurers; in dungeons, adventurers often fought and even started stabbing each other over disputes over loot. But he had never seen anything so cruel, especially since the person deliberately came to the dungeon to dispose of the body.

The two died in bizarre circumstances, resembling some kind of cult ritual. By chance, Gong Qiying discovered that both of them possessed Unique Talent.

A closer look reveals an even more coincidental truth: both individuals' Unique Talent happen to be related to speed.

Geralt's nickname "Shadowless" comes from his Unique Talent that allows him to leap thousands of meters in an instant. Although there is a cooldown period, it is quite useful in actual combat. He often mingled with several Exploration Team of the Adventurers' Guild, leaving some impression on Gong Qiying.

Another adventurer remained unknown. His Unique Talent was similar to [Miriam's Disappearance], but without the "invincibility frame." It was equivalent to an instant invisibility spell plus a teleport. This person was a true lone wolf adventurer who never showed his talent to others. It was only because Gong Qiying, who was spying on the dungeon every day, discovered his little secret.

Why is this massacre targeting individuals with Unique Talent? Is it some kind of evil religious ritual?

He repeatedly watched the photos taken on the day the body was disposed of. The person who disposed of the body covered himself up completely, with a hood and a mask, but a strand of brown hair still peeked out in a few frames.

He had memorized the man's build and gait so well that he would recognize him most likely if they met on the street.

But what do you do once you've identified it?

First, we need to figure out the objective, and then decide based on the situation: whether to kill them directly, hand them over to the guards or the guild, or ignore them altogether.

That said, Geralt was quite a figure in the guild, so why is he just gone like that, without any reaction from the guild?

To take it a step further and be more conspiratorial, maybe the guild was behind this.

Gong Qiying stored the physical characteristics of the body dumper in the dungeon panel, so that it would automatically alert him if someone with similar characteristics appeared.

He didn't have much time to go out and stroll around; the daily maintenance and various modifications to the underground city still took a lot of time.

Then, new problems arose.

He pulled out a letter, a bluish-green one, a color he had never received before.

This letter was received when he first opened Lake Liurnia to adventurers; it came from the "Unicorn Dungeon".

The other party claimed to be a member of the Astar Alliance, and Gong Qiying later went to the Alliance to verify this, and found that it was true.

The letter was very simple, concise and clear, consisting of only one sentence.

The seal on the Shrine in Eagle Capital Dungeon has loosened. Should we send troops together to suppress it?

The seal on the Shrine has loosened?

Gong Qiying stroked the Shrine beneath him, which he had been using as a chair, and recalled that when he first became Godwyn, he tried to unlock the Shrine, but the dungeon prompted him with "insufficient permissions".

Even though I've now been upgraded to level three permissions, it still prompts me that I don't have enough.

Later, he understood the true purpose of the Shrine and the dungeon lord from the Knowledge Crystal left behind by Gide.

Each dungeon seals away a calamity that has vanished from the land.

These calamities could be evil monsters, warlike races, diseases, or even some kind of concept.

Without exception, they had all caused major disasters, but as they were sealed in the dungeon, all living beings lost their memories of them, just like the demons eaten by the Chainsaw Man.

How were these beings sealed away? I don't know; perhaps it was done by the gods.

The dungeon lord collects Spirit Power to maintain the dungeon and uses Spirit Power to perpetuate the seal. The lord himself is also a wedge in the seal, which is why he cannot leave.

However, the seal may occasionally loosen, and some of the sealed beings may escape. If the dungeon cannot eliminate them in time, they may return to the earth!

When he first learned of this news, Gong Qiying dared not sit on his Shrine anymore, but after further research and communication with the Astar Alliance, he realized that...

The seal may not loosen for hundreds or even thousands of years, and several generations of dungeon lords may not even have the chance to fight the sealed entity.

The seal on the Shrine is like a background element in the story, rarely appearing in the daily life of the dungeon.

Gong Qiying was incredibly lucky to have encountered this "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity, and when he asked the Unicorn Dungeon why they had chosen him, their answer was:

[Your first Deathmatch was over in just half a day. The boss thinks highly of you. This campaign was basically led by the boss's main force. We just need to show our faces. He only gathered some talented city lords who have emerged in recent years. This is a good opportunity. We might even be able to get some benefits from the boss.]

The so-called leader of the Unicorn Dungeon is called the "Red Fang Dungeon," and its symbol is crimson.

It occupies two entire countries on the map, and even a large part of the Arnor Kingdom!

Without a doubt, this is a hero of the dungeon; no wonder he's called the boss.

The Eagle Capital Dungeon had been dormant for a century, but the seal loosened, and the [Burning Demon] sealed within began to emerge. As a result, the underground city automatically sent out distress signals to the surrounding areas.

Red Fang volunteered to take on this task. As one of the dungeons with the largest area of color, he had enough strength to annihilate this small group of weakened Burning Demon that had escaped.

The reason for inviting Gong Qiying and other talented city lords who emerged this year is probably with the intention of making friends with them.

Since there's a big shot backing him up, Gong Qiying doesn't seem to have any reason not to go. He might even be able to get some benefits from them.

He sought advice from the Astar Alliance, who praised the Red Fang Dungeon as "loyal defenders of humanity" and "strong people of noble character," urging him to seize this opportunity to make their acquaintance.

Even the extreme Astar Alliance praised the other side, so it seems that Red Fang Dungeon's popularity and character are acceptable.

Gong Qiying eventually accepted the invitation.

However, the battle is not yet over. Unicorn Dungeon will notify him when the opening ceremony is held.

So during this time, besides continuing to repair Val and Sein, he also communicated with other Dungeon Lord to make preparations in advance.

That said, what are sealed on the Shrine of Sion and Vaal?

After searching through the Knowledge Crystal, he learned that the one sealed in the Val Dungeon was called the "Bronze Dwarf," and that it was Thane.

Unknown.

The dungeon system doesn't record any information about this.

Why wasn't such important information recorded?

He was able to know about Waal's Sealed Object because of the information left by Gide's creator, Kirici. As for how the other party obtained the information, that is unclear.

The inability to know what the Sealed Object of Sein was made Gong Qiying a little anxious.

"But there shouldn't be any major problems. I doubt I'll even encounter a loosening of the seal before my soul dissipates."

He unknowingly set a goal for himself.

There's another thing, and that's the location of Eagle Capital Dungeon.

It is located near Rold, the capital of the Arnor Kingdom.

From the perspective of administrative divisions, it is located on the edge of Roald's jurisdiction, and is actually quite far from the capital, equivalent to four or five round trips from Bede City to Spring Sun City.

However, what Gong Qiying didn't know was that an organization he had previously crossed paths with was stationed near the Eagle Capital Dungeon—

The Light Eagle Legion.

The Zane Dungeon, the ancient city section above ground.

"Listen to Master Wei En Ma's brilliant magical theories! Sign the supporter list to receive a personal lesson from the master, worth ten gold coins. Don't miss out!"

"Professor Seth from the Magic Association will be giving a lecture in Bed. Sign the supporters' list to receive an admission ticket and a beautifully crafted little item made by the professor himself!"

"Also, if you support Professor Seth, you can't support the elves!"

"Once you support Master Wei En Ma, you can't go on to support an ignorant professor!"

Near the portal, propagandists hired by Wei En Ma and Seth were loudly rallying supporters from both sides, and it looked like they were about to come to blows.

In the Bede City, where new events occur every day, the theoretical debate between the two schools of magic masters is considered big news, naturally attracting a lot of attention.

In their quest for supporters, both sides went to extreme lengths, even more so than the Sun Warrior themselves, actively helping adventurers explore Lake Liurnia.

The academy's underground area is truly a labyrinth, a simple and unadorned labyrinth filled with traps and monsters, and of course, rewards.

The progress inside has now been pushed to the third floor, and adventurers are flocking in upon hearing the news.

Among the crowd pouring into the underground city, there were two people wearing hoods and masks, one of whom had brown hair.

"How are the weapons?"

"It's perfect. The Unique Talent of those two people are just enough to power it. Even the Sword Saint can't keep up with its speed."

"We must send it out before the Sword Saint to increase our chances of winning."

"Don't rush, we finally got our hands on something this amazing."

The brown-haired young man looked at the portal to the Zane Dungeon and said:

"Let's practice in this underground city first."

I'll sort out the events in both dungeons and try to make the later plot more linear, so that all the plot holes in this chapter can be connected into a single storyline later on.