Too Painful, Too Painful

The Zane Dungeon, the Chapel of Anticipation.

The adventurers recruited by Te Pi looked at each other, wondering why someone seemed to be missing.

The recruited individuals are all highly skilled. Although the Warrior Country has recently been plagued by a bad atmosphere, some people have not been greatly affected.

These adventurers are an elite team, with excellent teamwork and strong capabilities. They can protect ordinary people in the perilous Zane Dungeon without any problems, not to mention that their employer Te Pi, is also quite powerful.

I believe this dungeon exploration trip will be a pleasant journey for both sides.

But the only problem is:

Where did the boss go?

Even the strongest adventurers in the team couldn't help but be puzzled at this moment.

What do they do if Te Pi isn't around?

Meanwhile, Te Pi was inside the Sellia Crystal Tunnel, questioning his existence.

The method of dealing with this small "maze" was almost ingrained in his muscle memory. Therefore, even though he was confused both physically and mentally, he did not make the slightest sound to attract the crystal miners, and even the Rotten Kindred on the wooden roof could not detect its existence.

The reason for his confusion is obvious—why is he still in here?

"Difficult," he covered his mouth, correcting his habit of talking to himself, and said to himself:

Does that mean that if you're kicked out of the dungeon from a certain place, you'll reappear there the next time you enter?

He immediately dismissed the idea himself, because it was clearly wrong. He was kicked out of the dungeon outside the Sellia Crystal Tunnel, so if he were to reappear, he should be inside Caelid.

A thought suddenly popped into his mind:

Could it be that the Teleportation Trap's effects haven't actually dissipated yet?!

He had thought that the blessing would be like a campfire, where he could rest and cleanse himself of the negative effects, but he was clearly overthinking it; the blessing didn't seem to be able to remove the effects of the Teleportation Trap.

Wrong!

I didn't rest at Cifu's place at all three days ago!

I just touched the blessing briefly as I passed by and ran outside. I'm not even sure if I actually touched the blessing; I may have just hurriedly passed by it.

Having stumbled upon the truth by accident, Te Pi was at a loss for what expression to make.

Things have come to this.

"Well."

He sighed deeply, drew his plain longsword—forged solely for killing enemies without any fancy decorations—and pulled out his armor-piercing hammer, designed to target hardened enemies like miners. With a look of utter despair on his face, he stormed out of the cabin.

I wonder how long it will take for me to be able to get out after this major upgrade.

While it's fun to trick others, it's definitely not a pleasant experience to be tricked in return.

Just as Te Pi was once again struggling in the Sellia Crystal Tunnel, another team that was going against him arrived.

"Lake, ruins, then, this treasure chest in front must be Teleportation Trap. I've done my research; the Zane Dungeon likes to disguise all sorts of traps as treasure chests."

Wearing heavy, chubby armor and looking like a miniature Smough, Ge Ha De stood confidently in front of the treasure chest that would teleport people to the Sellia Crystal Tunnel. He put his hands on his hips and said smugly, and the knights behind him applauded as if they had seen the sun.

Unlike Te Pi, who hires adventurers, Ge Ha De has his own respectable knights at home, so he doesn't need to waste money.

After entering the Zane Dungeon, their experience was no different from You Fei's. They first woke up in the Chapel of Anticipation, then were either killed by the Grafted Noble or fell off a cliff by a trap. During the fall, they watched a movie, woke up, and went up to Limgrave. After this process, they could explore at their leisure.

Upon arriving in Limgrave, Ge Ha De didn't even glance at the White Mask beside him. He excitedly ran towards Lake Agheel, which was clearly visible from the cliff. He then naturally found the ruins where the Teleportation Trap chest was hidden, which was called the Dragon Breath Ruins.

The journey was incredibly smooth.

However, unlike Ge Ha De, who was completely absorbed in the legendary, valuable mine, most of the knights were still unable to extricate themselves from the images they had seen when they fell off the cliff.

Among the knights, there were many who had seen previous footage of the Zane Dungeon, but this time they had a different feeling.

Watching a movie while falling is incredibly thrilling!

I really hope this experience can be repeated; it's much more exhilarating than bungee jumping.

"Is it enough to just open it?"

Ge Ha De opened the treasure chest, and the Teleportation Trap immediately spewed out mist, enveloping the entire basement.

Before long, they arrived at the small wooden house in the Sellia Crystal Tunnel. The sudden appearance of ten people made the room seem somewhat cramped and narrow.

Ge Ha De spotted the minerals outside the cabin at a glance; the beautiful clusters of crystals glittered in his eyes.

Just then, a crystal miner passed by and, seeing the monster's slow movements and thin body, immediately concluded that it posed no threat. He then commanded his valiant knights to charge forward and defeat the monster, thus reclaiming this treasure trove full of ore for him.

While the knights went out to wreak havoc, Ge Ha De stayed in the cabin to ponder.

"Although we've found this place, it only puts me and Te Pi on the same starting line. I still need to find more useful things."

He remembered that the intelligence brought by the spy also mentioned that when Te Pi was in the mine, he seemed to be focused on escaping and did not explore it much.

"Perhaps, if my knights and I explore this place further and find the treasure that Te Pi couldn't find, we can defeat him!"

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel excited, just waiting for the knights to finish clearing out the monsters.

"However, I remember that the Zane Dungeon has a unique feature: even areas located in different countries are interconnected, allowing adventurers to travel freely. What if people from the Arnor Kingdom come here? As the lord, I have to manage these troublesome matters."

The sounds of battle outside gradually subsided. He was about to go out to praise the knights and examine the value of the mine when he suddenly heard a strange noise behind him. He turned around again.

A knight stood behind him, looking completely bewildered, and the two locked eyes.

"Didn't you just go out?" Ge Ha De was startled.

"Oh, how did I get back?" The knight was also at a loss as to why he was in the cabin. Suddenly, he remembered something and exclaimed, "That's right, spikes! This place is full of monsters that can shoot spikes!"

Just as he shouted, knights appeared one after another in the cabin. Their armor was covered with damage from numerous spikes, enough to kill anyone with trypophobia at first glance.

A rustling sound came from outside the cabin; it was the sound of the insects' numerous limbs rubbing against the ground. The next second, one after another, the Rotten Kindred poked their heads out of the cabin door.

At first glance, there seem to be seven or eight of them, right? And there are some that haven't even shown their heads yet!

They burst forth with silk threads, and a white ocean of silk threads violently rushed towards them.

"Don't come any closer!"

Death, rebirth, and then replay.

"So, at least ten of those insect-like monsters were lying in ambush on you, which is why you failed?"

Ge Ha De himself paused for a moment as he spoke. Ten Rotten Kindred? No matter how you look at it, that's too many, isn't it?

The power of the insect silk was ridiculously great. These knights were not bad, and they could be considered fierce warriors. They were able to withstand three or four shots of insect silk before they died. This can be described as having a strong physique.

However, the Rotten Kindred are scattered, and cleaning them up one by one could lead to problems along the way, adding a lot of uncertainty.

"Ha, looks like it's going to be a tough battle." He gritted his teeth.

"My lord, we've already found this place, let's hurry up and find a way out!" Some knights couldn't stand the worm-like appearance of the Rotten Kindred and just wanted to leave.

"Leave? No, we must go deeper!"

Under Ge Ha De's command, the knights devised a tactic and charged out.

However, reality seems to differ from the plan.

"Those spikes are launching too fast! My shield can't withstand them; they're going around the shield!"

"Ugh, these giant bugs are disgusting! I can't stand them!"

"Don't rush at me!"

Inside the mine, you can hear all sorts of noises.

Not only have the number of Rotten Kindred increased and their strength grown due to dynamic balance, but even crystal miners have been enhanced to the point that they can chip open a knight's helmet with a single Mining Pick strike.

Ge Ha De shouted commands, but after dealing with more than half of the monsters, the team was wiped out again.

"Let's start over!"

His eyes were bloodshot with anxiety. He re-formulated his strategy and tactics. Since they could eliminate half of the monsters now, they could annihilate the enemy completely. They had to do it no matter what!

Time and time again, total annihilation; time and time again, replays; in the end, the knights' cries all turned into:

"It's so painful, so painful—"

After an unknown amount of time, and after the team had died four times, they finally managed to clear out the monsters that had infested the mine, and everyone had a relieved expression on their face.

"We can't rest now!"

Ge Ha De circled the now-safe mine, the quantity of minerals being quite considerable, which made his breathing heavy.

If the mines at the beginning are already this rich in resources, then other places might be even more amazing!

"Let's keep going!"

Since their master had made the decision, the remaining knights had no choice but to choose a tunnel to walk through. They didn't know whether the path led out or deeper into the tunnel, but they had to go through it anyway.

The mine is filled with powerful monsters and lurking dangers. People are on high alert after entering the tunnel. However, as they walk, they find that although it is dangerous, it is actually safer than the mine at the beginning.

At least, in a tunnel where you can see the whole scene at a glance, you don't have to worry about being blown up by a worm web that comes from who knows where.

The difficulty has decreased somewhat, so what about the rewards?

"The mineral resources are dwindling." Ge Ha De frowned. The deeper he explored, the fewer minerals he could find, which greatly disappointed him.

However, after getting a closer look, I discovered that although the amount of ore had decreased, the quality had increased!

The most common material found in the mine is low-grade Forging Stone, followed by Cracked Glintstone.

Inside the tunnel, there was even higher quality Cracked Glintstone, and even something rarer— Gravity Stone!

"The Gravity Stone is even more valuable."

Ge Ha De only regretted that he didn't have hundreds of miners following him, and could only leave these valuable ores here.

Following the tracks of the Gravity Stone, they wandered through the winding, interconnected tunnels.

They might not realize it, but if an outsider were observing, they might be able to notice.

It's as if this Gravity Stone is deliberately attracting them to go there?

Gravity Stone

The meteorite fragments found at the site of the meteorite impact were special fragments imbued with Gravity Magic.

Infusing it with magic will trigger a gravitational explosion.

"Sir, the road ahead is blocked by a wooden door."

People arrived at the place with the most Gravity Stone, where a rough and heavy wooden door suddenly appeared. The door was covered with small fragments of Gravity Stone, emitting a faint purple fluctuation of Gravity Magic, and looked very unstable.

"I can sense more minerals in this," Ge Ha De said with delight.

"My lord, we sense the aura of a powerful demon. We'd better be careful." The knights were very perceptive of danger.

"What are you afraid of? This isn't some inescapable Fog Gate, it's just a wooden door. Go in and take a look, and if there are any monsters you can't handle, then come back out."

That's true. If it's not Fog Gate, then there's nothing to be afraid of.

The knights struggled to push open the heavy wooden door, and when the view inside was revealed, Ge Ha De's eyes widened in astonishment.

Minerals—behind the door was a large mine shaft filled with all sorts of minerals!

"What a great discovery!"

He went in first, followed closely by the knights. Just as he was immersed in this wonderful discovery, a knight whispered a reminder:

"My lord, there are demons there."

Ge Ha De looked up and saw a huge creature sleeping in the place with the most minerals.

"Falling Star Beast?" Some knights, having experienced the Meteor Shower, immediately recognized the monster's true form and were so frightened they could barely stand.

"My lord, we can't defeat it!" the knight pleaded anxiously in a low voice. "Please, let's get out of here first!"

"Alright."

Seeing the unprecedented drop in morale, Ge Ha De had no choice but to comply with the knights' strong demands. In any case, they had already discovered such a large mine, so this trip was worthwhile. He felt more confident whether to continue exploring the area or try to leave.

Te Pi, you 'Te Pi never beat me.

He turned to leave, but his steps faltered, and the knights cried out in sorrow.

The wooden door they had just entered through was now covered in mist, making it Fog Gate from which no one could get out!

"Didn't we agree it wouldn't turn into Fog Gate?!" someone exclaimed in frustration.

Affected by the cries, the monster, which had been fast asleep, slowly got up.

The knights were mistaken; it wasn't Falling Star Beast, but rather an entity that resembled it.

[Falling Star Beast]

However, in terms of sheer torment, the weaker Falling Star Beast might bring even greater surprises.

"Boom!"

Like the roar of a dump truck, the enormous, Falling Star Beast charged towards the people.