CHAPTER 49—The RUNE ISLAND(4)
TRRANGG!! FWOOOSH!! SWOOOSH!!
Thunder and wind spells rampaged violently inside the massive dungeon.
The walls trembled repeatedly as explosions echoed across the stone corridors.
ROOOAAARRR!!!
A gigantic monster roared furiously while charging toward the students.
Its body was massive and covered in thick gray scales. Four arms extended from its torso while dark spikes protruded from its shoulders like jagged blades.
"Aeric, attack from the left." Ashwin commanded calmly.
"Kaizen, go for its legs."
"Got it!"
The students instantly scattered without hesitation.
Aero-Torrent Disc
One student dashed toward the left side while releasing A sharp roaring hurricane wheel of water and wind.
The Disc tore through the air, its high-pressure water blade honed to a razor-sharp edge by screaming, compressed gales that shredded the ground in its path.
FWOOOSH!!
The monster instinctively turned toward the attack.
At the same moment—
Another student slammed his wand downward.
BOOOOM!!
The ground ruptured as a devastating wave of molten rock and explosive fire surged forward.
The fusion spell of earth and fire erupted beneath the monster's legs.
CRAAACK!!
Its legs exploded apart from the impact.
The gigantic creature lost balance and crashed heavily onto the ground.
THUUUD!!!
Dust spread through the dungeon.
The monster still twitched violently while trying to stand.
"Hah..." Ashwin let out a soft scoff while staring at the fallen creature.
He stepped forward casually.
Then—
Placed one foot over the monster's head.
One arm rested lazily on his knee while he looked down at the monster with a smirk.
"I will make good use of your core."
He slowly pointed his wand toward the monster.
A swirling current of silver wind and blue lightning spiraled around the wand violently.
The monster's eyes widened.
Then—
SPURTT!!!
It's entire head vanished.
Blood exploded across the ground while torn veins dangled from the ruined neck.
Silence briefly filled the dungeon.
Then—
"GOOD JOB GUYS!"
"Hahahaha!!"
"Did you see my spell!?"
"We all saw it, idiot!"
The students laughed while high-fiving each other excitedly.
Ashwin quietly observed the group with a satisfied smile.
The morale was high.
Exactly how he preferred it.
"Hey Ashwin!"
A familiar voice called out.
Ashwin turned slightly.
"Ah, Kaizen." He waved casually.
The approaching boy had charcoal-red hair styled neatly backward while his brownish-orange eyes resembled burning embers beneath ash. His physique was lean but sturdy.
Unlike Ashwin's naturally oppressive aura—
Kaizen looked far more approachable.
Though there was still sharpness in his gaze befitting a Sanctum student.
He walked toward Ashwin excitedly.
"Did you find it?" Ashwin asked.
"Yeah!"
Kaizen immediately extended both hands proudly.
Inside them rested two crystal-like stones.
One glowed dark brown.
The other deep crimson-red.
"An Earth Rune and a Flame Rune."
Ashwin glanced at them carefully.
"Hmm..."
"They are fairly decent quality."
Kaizen grinned proudly while lifting the runes higher like treasures.
Ashwin quietly observed him.
'Kaizen Verros from the Prystone Sanctum.'
'Not extraordinary... but competent enough.'
'More importantly, he has influence over the Prystone students.'
Ashwin's metallic silver-gray eyes narrowed faintly.
'He is fairly Useful.'
'If I want every Sanctum student in Grand Aetherion united under one banner... keeping him close isn't a bad choice.'
He let out a soft scoff.
"Oh yeah!" Kaizen suddenly leaned closer excitedly. "What about you? I heard you were searching for—"
"I already found them."
Ashwin calmly took out two runes from his pocket.
The moment Kaizen saw them—
His eyes widened.
One rune shimmered deep silver.
The other glowed dark yellow.
Both colors were rich and concentrated.
Far purer than ordinary runes.
'Wind Rune... and a Thunder Rune.'
'And the purity level is insanely high.'
Kaizen subconsciously swallowed.
'Those might even be rarer than mine.'
"You are amazing, Ashwin."
Ashwin casually placed the runes back into his pocket before turning toward the monster corpse again.
Then—
Something suddenly clicked in Kaizen's mind.
"Oh right... Are you taking the monster core too?"
Ashwin glanced sideways.
The same composed smile remained on his face.
"Hmm..."
"I'll think about it."
Kaizen playfully started tapping Ashwin's shoulder.
"Aww come on bro. Are you sure your wand material can even handle all that? Won't it become too overloaded?"
Ashwin slowly turned his head.
The smile on his face remained unchanged.
But—
The pressure in his gaze shifted slightly.
Kaizen instantly froze.
His hand awkwardly retreated from Ashwin's shoulder.
"S-Sorry."
He lowered his head slightly.
Ashwin silently stared at him for another second.
Then looked away.
"So." He spoke calmly.
"Has everyone gathered enough runes and cores?"
The other students raised their hands enthusiastically.
"Yeah!"
"Of course!"
"We got plenty of runes but the cores are very few."
"I don't think we should worry about cores. Our forest team is taking care of that matter anyway."
Ashwin nodded.
"And the students guarding the entrance?"
"I gathered extras for them too." One student replied proudly.
"Good."
Ashwin then slowly walked toward the dead monster again.
"Let's take this one's core too."
Kaizen peeked from behind him.
"Need help?"
"Hah..."
Ashwin let out a quiet scoff.
"Not particularly—"
Suddenly—
His words stopped midway.
The smile on his face remained.
But slowly—
His eyes narrowed.
His gaze fixed itself on the monster's back.
Several wounds were visible there.
Battle marks.
But—
They weren't fresh.
The flesh around them looked slightly dried already.
Like those injuries existed before this fight.
"Hey, Kaizen."
Ashwin's voice came quieter this time.
Almost like a whisper.
"Hmm?"
"In our fight..."
Ashwin kept staring at the wounds.
"Did anyone attack it's back?"
Kaizen placed a finger on his chin while thinking.
After several seconds—
He shook his head.
"Nah... I don't think so."
"All of us stayed in front of it the whole time." Kaizen added.
Silence followed.
Ashwin's expression barely changed.
But if someone observed carefully—
A faint sense of doubt flickered within those metallic silver-gray eyes.
He quietly stared at the wounds for another moment.
Then—
"Nothing."
He whispered softly.
But his gaze remained fixed on the monster's back.
As if silently realizing—
Someone else had already been inside this dungeon before them.
---
Step… step… step…
The trio walked deeper into the small dungeon.
Blue mana crystals embedded within the walls illuminated the narrow passage with a faint ethereal glow. Their soft light reflected against the uneven stone floor, making the dungeon feel strangely cold and silent.
The walls themselves were filled with scratches, cracks, and old burn marks.
Some looked fresh.
Some looked ancient.
Perhaps remnants left behind by students from previous years.
Or perhaps—
Something else.
"Ahhh…" Ritvik groaned dramatically while dragging his feet forward.
"Maybe entering this dungeon was genuinely the worst decision of my life."
Rowan glanced back at him.
"Why?"
Ritvik stopped walking for a second and stared at him with disbelief.
"What do you mean why?"
He stretched both arms outward exaggeratedly.
"It's been so long and we haven't even seen a single monster."
He pointed ahead into the empty tunnel.
"No monsters."
Then toward the walls.
"No runes."
Then at himself.
"And no hope."
Sarina quietly walked beside them while observing the surroundings carefully.
Unlike Rowan and Ritvik, she had remained cautious ever since entering this dungeon.
"This place really is strange…" she muttered softly.
Rowan tilted his head.
"How exactly do runes even look?"
"What were you doing when Miss Valeria was explaining the exact same thing." Ritvik asked flatly.
"I was in the middle row. Okay, I wasn't able to see it."
"Well…" Sarina answered calmly, "they look somewhat like medium-sized crystal stones."
"They usually have denser mana fluctuations too," Ritvik added lazily. "And their colors are much different and darker compared to normal mana crystals."
Rowan nodded seriously as if memorizing every word.
Then—
His eyes suddenly landed on something glowing faintly near the corner of the wall.
"Oh?"
He immediately crouched down and picked up a shining blue crystal-like stone from the ground.
The crystal sparkled faintly beneath the dungeon light.
Rowan lifted it proudly.
"Looks like I found a rune."
Ritvik didn't even stop walking.
He merely glanced sideways at Rowan with utterly dead eyes.
"That's a mana crystal."
"…Oh."
Rowan quietly dropped it back onto the floor and continued walking as if nothing had happened.
Sarina silently covered her mouth for a moment to hide her amusement.
Several more minutes passed.
The deeper they walked—
The quieter the dungeon became.
No monster sounds.
No mana disturbances.
Nothing.
Only the echoes of their own footsteps accompanied them now.
Step… step… step…
Ritvik's patience was finally reaching it's limit.
"Ahhh… fuck this." He suddenly grabbed his own hair dramatically.
"Let's leave already."
His voice echoed through the tunnel.
"I seriously don't think there's anything inside this dungeon."
Rowan turned around while still walking ahead.
"Hey, come on. We haven't even explored it properly yet."
He looked toward Sarina for support.
"Right, Sarina?"
Sarina glanced between the two boys.
Ritvik looked emotionally dead.
Meanwhile Rowan still somehow looked hopeful despite the complete lack of results.
She let out a quiet sigh.
"…Maybe Ritvik is right."
Rowan's shoulders visibly dropped.
"Huh…"
Sarina crossed her arms lightly.
"We should probably leave and search for another place before all the decent areas are fully occupied."
"Umm…" Rowan awkwardly scratched his cheek.
"Fine, maybe we shou—"
His words suddenly stopped.
The ground beneath his foot cracked.
CRRK—
"…Huh?"
For one brief second—
Rowan felt nothing beneath him.
His balance completely disappeared.
Rowan's boot caught on a jagged stone that sent him stumbling forward over the lip of a sudden chasm,
a narrow gap tearing right through the floor. Gravity violently claimed him.
"Rowan!!"
Both Ritvik and Sarina shouted simultaneously as Rowan suddenly fell downward into darkness.
CRASH—!!
---
CHAPTER ENDS