Chương 67: Chapter 66: The Path You Have Chosen

[To prevent novice Management Sprites from freely altering terrain while a trial is underway and disrupting the challengers' experience, the system previously prohibited such operations.] [Now that you are a mature Management Sprite, you may modify dungeon terrain normally as long as there are no challengers within one hundred meters of the area scheduled for alteration.] [Warning: Under special circumstances, a Management Sprite may forcibly override this restriction. However, all related operations will consume ten times the normal amount of Soul Energy.]"So I can force a change through? But it costs ten times the Soul Energy..." Owen glanced at his remaining balance of just over fifty thousand points.

"Looks like I'd better just play by the rules..." Still, a one-hundred-meter buffer was already quite generous. For example, while Rayne and the others were fighting inside Graywood Almshouse, Owen could continue building the unfinished half of Graywood Town as long as there were no other challengers within one hundred meters of that area. This permission alone would greatly increase the dungeon's construction speed from now on. The more Owen thought about it, the more excited he became.

He wanted nothing more than to open the construction panel right away and launch into a massive expansion.

"No, no. I should finish reading all the new information first." Owen glanced again at the envelope icon in the upper-right corner of the system interface. The eye-catching scarlet number reminded him that a letter whose contents remained unknown was still waiting inside.

"... I'll deal with that after I finish reading these." With a thought, Owen scrolled farther down the system interface. [Maximum Spawnable Unit Level Increased to: Orichalcum] [Special Watchlist Unlocked: Specific challengers may be added to the watchlist. When a watched challenger enters the dungeon, the system will notify the Management Sprite.] [Passive Soul Energy Generation Increased to: 1, 000/day]"Ooh! I can finally spawn higher-level guards!" Owen rocked excitedly back and forth in midair.

"I'm only one rank behind that silver-gray ponytail guy outside now!" He began imagining the day when he could finally manage the dungeon exactly as he pleased, without constantly holding himself back because he was afraid of the powerful people outside.

"But... there have to be people even stronger than him out there, right?" The glow across the surface of Owen's hexagonal core dimmed at once.

"Forget it. I'd better keep my head down for now." However, after that brief moment of dejection, the glow across his core's surface quickly brightened again.

"No way am I going to stay weaker than all of you forever!" Owen also took a quick look at the newly unlocked Special Watchlist. He could not think of anything he needed it for, so he soon put it out of his mind. As for the increase in Passive Soul Energy Generation to one thousand points per day, Owen was not particularly impressed.

"Only a thousand? That wouldn't even fill the gaps between my teeth..." Owen suddenly paused.

"Wait, I don't have teeth anymore. I guess I should say it wouldn't even fill the gaps between the stones. Hah." Owen flopped down on the stone pedestal and laughed for quite a while. By the time he finally recovered, he noticed another new prompt farther below. [Blueprint Function Unlocked: Terrain, buildings, and unit layouts may be planned and saved in advance. Once construction conditions are met, saved blueprints may be applied directly.]"Hah!

With this function, I can plan everything out even when I can't start building yet! This is amazing!" Owen was so moved he almost cried. Of course, that was assuming he still had a crying function. The previous terrain-alteration restriction had tormented him to no end. Every day, he agonized over how to expand the dungeon, yet he could only begin the actual construction after every adventurer had left.

Worse still, by the time they finally did leave, there was often hardly any time remaining before the next group entered the dungeon. Now, not only had the terrain-alteration restriction been greatly relaxed, but the Blueprint Function had been unlocked as well. From now on, he could complete all his plans in advance while adventurers were still inside the dungeon. Then, as soon as no one remained within one hundred meters of the construction area, he could simply apply the blueprint and start building.

The more Owen thought about it, the more excited he became, until the light across his entire core shone with dazzling brilliance.

"Nothing can hold me back from building now!" Just then, he happened to glance at his remaining Soul Energy. Owen fell silent for a moment.

"Oh, wait." The light across his core flickered violently twice.

"You're the biggest thing holding me back!" After confirming there were no other new functions below, Owen's excitement finally settled down a little. Now that he had finished reading all the good news, it was time to face whatever was waiting in that letter, whether it was good or bad.

"Come on... Let's see just who you are!" Owen's consciousness inched toward the unread-letter button, trembling all the while. Then, as if he had made some momentous decision, he pressed it without further hesitation. The instant the system window appeared, Owen twisted his core around to face the other way. However, even after he had waited for quite some time, the strange reaction he had expected never came. There was no scarlet light and no strange whispering.

Only a simple system window hovered quietly in place, waiting for him to look. Owen breathed a sigh of relief. Only then did he turn his core back bit by bit and read the message displayed there. [Greetings from ■■■■: Follow the path you have chosen, child! I will be waiting for you at the end of your journey!]"... Huh?" A huge question mark slowly appeared above Owen's core. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

He stared blankly at the few simple words in the letter, unable to understand what they meant. The entire Core Chamber fell silent. ◆ ◆ ◆ At Robez Fortress on the border of the Kingdom of Alvanda, Magnus shoved open the doors of the forward command post and strode inside. His armor was already covered in blood. Some of it came from monsters and some from soldiers on his own side, all so thoroughly mixed together that it was nearly impossible to distinguish one from the other.

Magnus removed his helmet, which had a chunk missing from one side, and planted it heavily on the wooden table in the center of the room. The senior Guild officials and high-ranking Alvandan military officers following behind him streamed into the command post as well.

"Dahl!" Magnus raised his head and barked in a deep voice.

"Report our casualties!" The captain of the Darkfeather Frost Owls immediately stepped forward, gave a brief salute, and delivered his report in a loud voice.

"Reporting, Guildmaster-General! Forty-two adventurers and seven hundred eighty-nine soldiers were killed in this battle. In addition, an Orichalcum-rank party has yet to report back. Their current status remains unknown." Magnus sat down beside the wooden table and slammed a fist against his thigh. Damn it. The dungeons were not playing around this time. He had fought through more Demonic Tide Wars than he could count, but he had never seen one on such an outrageous scale.

The Demonic Tide had been hammering Robez Fortress for an entire week, barely giving the defenders any time to catch their breath. Not long ago, he and an Alvandan general had joined forces and slain that Mid Hero-level monster. Only then had the Demonic Tide shown the slightest sign of receding. However, they had paid a terrible price for it. The general had been gravely wounded in the battle. Even with several archbishops working together to heal him, they had only barely managed to save his life.

He probably would not be able to set foot on the battlefield again for nearly a month. Magnus let out a deep sigh.

"Dahl, take your people and get some rest."

"Guildmaster! I can still—""Listen to me!" Magnus cut him off with a furious roar, then turned toward the high-ranking Alvandan officers nearby.

"The same goes for all of you. If you don't have any strength left, stop forcing yourselves to keep going. Let the reserves take over for a while." One of the officers frowned. After hesitating for a moment, he spoke up.

"But those reserves have never seen real combat..."

"What else are we supposed to do?" Magnus raised his head and fixed the man with a sharp glare.

"Wait until every last one of us is dead before sending them in? By then, they'll only die faster and won't accomplish a damned thing!"

"Yes! Yes, sir!" Magnus said nothing more. He simply sat there and scowled at the exhausted officers and adventurers who still refused to leave. Perhaps the look on his face was simply too fierce. After enduring it for a few moments, the others looked away one after another and filed out of the command post. Before long, only Dahl and his five party members remained inside. Magnus looked at Dahl, who was still rooted in place, and his brow furrowed even more deeply.

"Dahl, that includes you. Take your people and get some rest." Dahl pressed his lips together but did not move.

"What about you, Guildmaster?" Dahl met his gaze without flinching.

"Don't you need to rest?" Magnus froze. His gaze went unfocused for several seconds before he finally came back to himself and sighed helplessly.

"You're starting to sound a little like Eli. Now even you have the nerve to tell me what to do." Dahl's expression did not change in the slightest. He simply stared straight at Magnus through bloodshot eyes.

"Heh..." Magnus tugged at one corner of his mouth, then suddenly asked, "Boy, do you know what it means to be a Hero?"

"Of course! Guildmaster, you—""You don't know a damn thing!" Magnus cut him off with an enraged roar.

"If you truly understood how much weight the word 'Hero' carries, you wouldn't tell me to go rest at a time like this!"

"Guildmaster, I..." Magnus rose, picked up his battered helmet, and settled it back over his head.

"Go get some damn rest. I still need to see how those reserves perform. I can't let them be sent up there as cannon fodder." Without waiting for Dahl to respond, Magnus stepped around him and strode out of the command post, leaving the six of them staring at one another. Dahl looked in the direction Magnus had gone and could only sigh helplessly.

"Forget it. Let's get some rest first. We'll return to the battlefield early tomorrow." He paused, then added with a weary grimace, "As for the Guildmaster... I really don't know what to do with him." Not long after leaving the command post, Magnus hurried down a flight of stairs inside the fortress. When he reached the landing halfway down, his steps suddenly halted. He braced one hand against the wall beside him and stifled several coughs. A thin trail of blood slowly ran from the corner of his mouth.

Magnus leaned against the wall and breathed heavily for a moment. Then he removed one glove and wiped it away. He lowered his gaze to the smear of crimson on his fingertips and fell silent. After a while, his eyes drifted involuntarily toward the empty space beside him.

"Greer..." Magnus murmured, "If only you could still fight at my side, just as you used to." A trace of nostalgia surfaced in his eyes.

"How much longer before someone else in the kingdom grows strong enough to reach the Hero rank...?" However, that nostalgia lasted only a brief moment. Magnus soon shook his head, pulled his glove back on, and continued down the stairs toward the fortress walls at the front line. This was no time to lose himself in old memories. At least, not now. ◆ ◆ ◆ On a mountain not far from Blackstone Town, Gern led Jack and the other three along a winding mountain path.

Aside from Harry, the other three all wore excited, cheerful smiles.

"What's wrong, Harry? Why the long face this whole way?" Jack, who was walking beside him, stopped smiling. He reached over, patted Harry on the back, and asked in a low voice. Harry did not answer. He merely forced a weak smile before returning his gaze to Gern, who was walking ahead of them. His eyes remained fixed on Gern's back for a long time. What Harry could not bring himself to say was that those images had refused to leave his mind. It had to have been just a dream. A strange, absurd nightmare.

Over the past few days, he had repeatedly reassured himself with that thought, trying to bury the unease growing ever stronger deep inside him. But Uncle Gern had changed ever since they left the dungeon that day. He no longer laughed as often as before. Whenever he thought the others were not paying attention, he would sigh to himself. Now and then, Harry would catch him staring blankly in a particular direction, though he never knew what Gern was thinking about.

All those changes in Uncle Gern made Harry suspect more and more that what he had seen in that dream might have been real. But he did not know what to do. Nor did he dare walk up to Uncle Gern and ask him outright about what he had seen, not when he wasn't even sure any of it was real. For that matter, the excuse Uncle Gern had made up was far too ridiculous.

How was anyone supposed to believe that after the five of them were caught by the slime, a passing High Silver-rank adventurer just happened to appear and save their lives? Only Jack and the others were naive enough to believe such nonsense when Uncle Gern couldn't even get the details straight. Just then, Gern called out from the front without looking back.

"Harry, come here a moment." Harry froze, then started forward. Jack seemed to want to follow, but Harry reached out and stopped him. Jack stared at him in disbelief, as though Harry had committed some unforgivable betrayal. He lowered his head and shuffled dejectedly off to one side. Harry almost sighed. Uncle Gern must have had something important to tell him in private. Why else would he have called Harry over alone? I'm sorry! I'll make your favorite honey-roasted meat next time, I promise!

With that silent apology, Harry quickened his steps and caught up to Gern.

"Uncle Gern, what is it?" Gern did not look at him. He simply kept his head lowered and continued walking. Harry did not urge him to speak. He quietly followed at his side. The two of them walked quite some distance along the mountain path before Gern finally spoke.

"Once we reach Blackstone Dungeon, I want you to lodge a protest with the local Guildmaster on my behalf."

"A protest?" For a moment, Harry wondered if he had heard him wrong. This had come completely out of nowhere. Besides, why were they supposed to lodge a protest when they had no reason to?

"That's right." Gern still did not turn his head, but his voice was unusually serious.

"You must tell him clearly that Rockspring Dungeon will not tolerate the malicious rumors Blackstone Dungeon has been spreading. Because of those rumors, the adventurers in Rockspring Town can barely make a living anymore." What was Uncle Gern talking about? Why did it sound as though he had rehearsed every word in advance?

"Did you get all that?" Gern slowed his steps slightly and lowered his voice as well.

"You must also tell him that Gern, a veteran Silver-rank adventurer from Rockspring Town, despises Blackstone Dungeon because of this." He paused before continuing.

"That is why we came here: to personally expose the lies they fabricated." Harry had no idea what Uncle Gern was trying to do, but he committed every word to memory anyway. Uncle Gern would never say something like this without a reason. Even if none of it made sense yet, Harry knew Uncle Gern would never do anything to hurt them. Just then, Gern stopped walking. Yet after only a moment, he abruptly took two more steps forward. The motion was stiff and hurried, unnaturally so.

Gern walked to the edge of the mountain path and looked down. From there, he could see a vast, bustling camp beside a low hill in the distance.

"Blackstone..." Gern stared in that direction, his voice so low it was almost a murmur.

"Found you..."

"Uncle Gern?" Gern's body trembled faintly. He gave his head a shake, then slowly turned to look at Harry. It took a long moment for a strained smile to form on his rigid face.

"Let's go." Gern turned around again and continued along the mountain path.

"The Blackstone Dungeon you've all been so eager to see is just ahead."