Chapter 92: Underground Labyrinth

After the unusual ordeal between Luna and Kieran, the party's atmosphere became quite strained, but not for the reasons one may think. Rather than resenting Kieran, Luna felt ashamed of herself since she had shown an unsightly weakness to others. However, the touch of a man had triggered some repressed resentments that she tried to sever from herself.

Sadly, one couldn't sever themselves from their subconscious, at least not at this level. That was a practice of mental prowess not exhibited by humans. Even in Kieran's past, he found it difficult to separate himself from subconscious actions. Naturally, this meant he was never in complete control of himself.

Complete control also included control of the subconscious, as that was just another part of an individual that truly defined them. Certain stimuli could trigger the subconscious in the most severe of situations, leading to the emergence of an individual's most primal form.

Nevertheless, the current state of the party's atmosphere didn't matter much to Kieran. They were all, for the most part, adults here; if they weren't mature enough to set aside any current issues to complete their task, then he didn't know what else to say.

To Kieran, arguing and bickering was for the weak-minded and the immature, two kinds of people who would fail as leaders one hundred percent of the time. Besides, he was more concerned with why the number of ogres essentially vanished after crossing a certain threshold.

It should have followed the earlier pattern of elevating numbers, but that wasn't the case. 'Am I missing something here?' Kieran wondered. A sudden change in monster behavior or spawn rates was never a good sign.

To verify his concerns, Kieran glanced at a tree not too far away and ran towards it. Flinging his weapon forward, he created a foothold in the side of the branchless tree and used it to jump up and pierce the tree at the height of his bound.

After repeating this a few times, he neared the top of the tree and gained a bird's eye view that allowed him to absorb the forest's landscape. In his view, only a few remaining ogres roamed the woods, but the others and their respective party quickly gained on every ogre in his vision.

'Is it just me, or does the number of monsters seem awfully low for the scope of the quest? Certainly, the quest hasn't modified the number of monsters. Could a quest even have that ability?' Kieran thought.

As far as he was concerned, a quest's objectives should only detail ongoing events that required resolution. It shouldn't have the power to arbitrarily change the respawn rate and other factors relating to a location. If so, then the power of a quest was more significant than what he could currently envision.

After all, from what Kieran remembered, ogres should have thoroughly inhabited this area. Ogres should fill every quadrant of the forest. Furthermore, at least hundreds of ogres should be assigned to each location.

Combined, the parties tackled less than a hundred. And, because such a vast distance separated them, the party bonus that should be active entered a dormant state.

Because of this, the experience everyone gained wasn't reinforced by the Party Bonus. Had Kieran known this information, he wouldn't have told everyone to go their separate ways.

'I guess my knowledge is too reliant upon the most updated systems. The initial systems aren't as refined as the one's in my memory,' Kieran thought. If it were the version he was familiar with, the distance separating members would no longer be a limitation on the Party Bonus System.

Regardless, Kieran could only shrug aside the amateur blunder and jump down from the tree. Surprisingly, he suffered no fall damage when he landed on the ground. There was a momentary ache in his legs from the impact, but that quickly subsided.

"We need to meet up with the others quickly, so follow me. It seems I have made a small mistake," Kieran said while gesturing for the others to keep up. He didn't run too quickly with his current boost in movement speed. He moved at a brisk pace to cover good ground but not so fast as to overwhelm the other three. This helped the Mage and Archer to remain relatively close without drastically exhausting their stamina.

Roughly 30 minutes later, Kieran reconvened before the others in front of a large cave entrance. However, a few inconsistencies made Kieran suspect this wasn't just a cave. One, no monsters were guarding it.

If it were an ordinary cave in which something dwelled, there would undoubtedly be monsters stationed at the entrance to guard whatever may rest inside, even if it were a powerful monster that outclassed the designated guards.

Two, the cave gave off zero presence. Even with his comparatively high Perception, Kieran didn't sense the presence of any monsters. Still, to be safe, Kieran had everyone aside from Luna's extra members join back into one central Alliance Party so that the system recognized them as one unit.

"From the looks of it, it should be relatively safe for you all to stay here and await our return. I don't think the ogres will respawn since it has been more than 30 minutes with zero change," Kieran said.

"So, we just wait here?" Luka asked while looking from Luna to Kieran.

"Possibly. But, if you have other matters to tend to, that would be a good alternative. I can't comment on how long our run will take or what awaits us," Kieran answered.

"Wait, what?" Nemean blinked in confusion. "From what Bastion said, he made it seem like you were certain about this dungeon. What about all that talk of an Insane Mode dungeon earlier?"

"That was kind of a general speech. All dungeons above Lv.20 have the capacity to reach Insane Mode. However, as I explored this area, it has come to my attention that my knowledge isn't as precise as I hoped. I can't say for certain whether this cave truly is a dungeon," Kieran answered calmly.

He looked Nemean in the eyes without a hint of wariness. After a brief pause, he continued. "If that's an issue, I can have Luka replace you. If you have other matters to tend to, let me know now. The last thing we'd need is someone in a forefront position with split attention."

"Nah, I'm staying, but I was just saying. I thought this was a definite endeavor supported by confirmed knowledge," Nemean muttered while crossing his arms as a display of certainty.

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"Circumstances change. The best we can do is learn to be fluid so that we are least affected by them," Kieran said. Afterward, he went around the party to ascertain everyone was on the same page.

Once he was ensured they were, Kieran was the first to enter the spacious cave. Contrary to his expectations, there was no change or notification from the game system. The lack of reaction struck Kieran as odd because if it was a dungeon, it should trigger a response as soon as he came across the entrance.

'Is this not a dungeon? Or… could the entrance be further inside?' Kieran wondered. To receive more visual feedback in this particularly dark space, Kieran enhanced his vision with copious amounts of Mana. Different from before, when he did this, his eyes released an amethyst spark that dissipated in an instant.

The cave's interior became apparent, and what Kieran saw left him baffled. A trail of small bones was strewn between various-sized pebbles, and skulls that formed altars littered the pathway. Only one path was paved from this unusually graphic scenery, and from how it was shaped, it has unmistakably led to an important location deep inside.

The presence of Kieran felt, or the lack thereof, led Kieran to call the others after him. Their advance was cautious but quick, remaining keen on any hiding space or possible forks in the pathway.

Soon enough, Kieran extended his arm and stopped Nemean, who followed behind him. The abrupt stop came as a surprise, but the hollow and distant echo of clattering made Nemean look down with widened eyes. A cavernous drop with only an aged spiraling stairway leading down remained before them.

Had he taken another step, he would have been finished! The drop would undoubtedly result in the player's demise.

"Whose great idea was this? Why would there be such a huge distance separating the stairs on each side? Also… isn't this at least three times the cave itself?" Bastion exclaimed while looking over the edge.

"We've made it," Kieran said. As he stopped Nemean, he also happened to step on the first descending step. This caused a message to appear before Kieran's iris.

〈System: You have entered the grounds of the Secret Dungeon «Underground Labyrinth»!〉

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┌───────────────────

«Underground Labyrinth»

Recommended Level: 23 - 29

Recommended Party Size: 10

Maximum Party Size: 10

Difficulty: Normal - Insane

Chosen Difficulty: Disabled

Do you wish to enter? [ Y / N ]?

└───────────────────

'Wait… disabled?' Kieran thought to himself. There was only one situation in which a party would be prohibited from choosing a specified difficulty. The dungeon was already assigned a difficulty that couldn't be tampered with! However, what unsettled Kieran was the fact that this situation should only appear in dungeons with a peculiar boss.

Was it boss for such a boss to appear this early on? If so, Kieran felt a Gold Adventurer Badge was too little a reward. Were the stakes this high already?

Although Kieran was doubtful, he could overlook that this was a Secret Dungeon, not simply a Special one. A Secret Dungeon was similar to a Special Dungeon, except it could only be unlocked by fulfilling the circumstances to reveal it. In Kieran's case, it was the Adventurer Guild's request.

Since he had already wasted time reaching this place, Kieran felt he would be a fool to turn back now. Thus, without any further hesitation, Kieran took a second step forward. This immediately delivered a notification to everyone in the party.

〈System: You have stepped upon the «Bottomless Stairway» leading to the «Underground Labyrinth's» 1st floor.〉

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