Horror. That's what the awakeners felt as they first stepped into the dungeon.
The lifeless landscape spread out before them like a desolate wasteland, empty and devoid of all signs of life. There were no trees, no plants, and no animals to be seen, only a vast expanse of dusty earth and rock that seemed to stretch on forever.
It was a place of eerie quiet, where the only sound was the howling of the wind as it swept across the land. The sky above was a sickly shade of black, the moon a dim, distant orb that provided little light.
The awakeners gathered in front of the rift. Some parties began to move separately to hunt down small-fry monsters, but most of the awakeners still stayed put. Rays of Hope was one of them.
"Should we stay with the main group or go on our own?"
Justin asked Klaus before making a decision. Tension was clearly painted on his face as he looked around. It was his first dungeon, and Justin was still not quite ready to lead the party.
"We'll go with the main group. We're not here for monster cores, but 'trophies'."
Hearing Klaus' answer, the tension on Justin's face disappeared after he let out a sigh of relief. "So, we're going to hunt the alpha? Then we move to follow the 'raid leader', right?"
"Yes," Klaus replied.
Catching the alpha was not the same as hunting down the small-fry monster. The awakener needed a lot of human resources to subvert the dungeon lord. Not only did the alpha have great strength, but it was also able to control the monsters. They always surrounded the alpha to protect it from anyone who wanted its life.
Thus, Klaus chose to join the "raid leader," considering his party's battle power was now very weak.
As the name suggests, the raid leader was the person responsible for leading the main group in the alpha hunt. The appointment of the raid leader was done before conducting a raid, usually determined based on the strongest awakener or ownership of exclusive rights.
And the leader of this raid was Noah Liebert
Deep in the vanguard of the awakeners, Noah and his men stood in front of them.
"Everyone! We're going to move! You'd better hurry if you don't want to be left behind. I won't wait."
As they journeyed across the desolate expanse, a sense of unease began to grow within them. Some of the awakeners couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched, that something was lurking and waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
The silence was unsettling; the only sound was the crunching of their footsteps as they trod upon the dry and lifeless earth. The air was thick with an ominous energy, as if some malevolent force was waiting just beyond their sight.
Suddenly, Klaus heard a whisper in his ear.
"What is it, Laplace?" he murmured.
<I see a horde of monsters hiding 500 meters ahead, like rats. I suggest you prepare for battle immediately, my liege.>
Klaus immediately contacted Justin via smartlink, and then that man signaled the party members to get ready for battle.
As they marched forward, a horrible growl echoed through the silence.
"It has begun," Klaus muttered.
The earth trembled beneath their feet, and a deafening sound filled the air. As the awakeners looked around, they saw that the ground was splitting open, revealing a gaping maw that seemed to lead straight down into the very depths of Hell.
As they watched in silence, monstrous ghouls began to claw their way out of the earth, their twisted and decayed bodies rising up from the depths of the grave to stalk the land once more.
The ghouls were unlike anything they had ever seen in movies, with skin that hung in ragged shreds from their bones and eyes that glowed with an eerie light. They moved with a terrible speed, their movements fluid and relentless as they advanced upon the awakeners.
The lifeless landscape that had once seemed so desolate and empty was now filled with the corpse eaters, their twisted forms writhing and twisting in the pale light of the moon.
"Raise your weapons!" They're coming!" Noah called out a warcry.
Seeing the horde of ghouls draw closer, the awakeners could not sit still. They charged before the corpse-eaters sunk their teeth into them.
The roar of the awakener echoed when the two forces clashed. The fighters bravely charged into the ghoulish mass, swinging with the full force of their swords until the air whistled.
Meanwhile, the casters began to launch wide-scale destructive attacks. Bright flames erupted like dragon's breath, incinerating dozens of ghouls along with the sound of their screams. Out of thin air, lightning struck and rumbling sounds echoed in the sky. Soil or boulders flew up and struck dozens of ghouls.
When the awakeners were busy fighting, Klaus was still in his position.
"Laplace, tell me their battle power."
<Yes, my liege.>
Not long after, a light appeared, displaying information.
[Ghouls: 204 - average battle power: 74,094]
Everyone showed off their skills, including the raid leader.
Yellow lightning followed Noah as he moved swiftly through the ranks of ghouls, cutting down those who stood in his way. Thanks to his [Penetration] talent, Noah easily split the ghouls in half like butter. The man savagely slaughtered the corpse-eaters.
"Kill them all! Don't leave a single one running!"
Noah and his men had no trouble at all facing the ghouls. In fact, it was very easy for them.
Meanwhile, Klaus stuck with the casters and supports. He just moved his finger, and the metal spheres shot out at high speed to finish off the ghouls. At the same time, his attention was on Justin in the front row.
Although there were dozens of people fighting there, Klaus could clearly see him fighting. Justin kept his distance while still shooting ice crystals, occasionally letting out a small tornado to sweep away the ghouls.
Klaus also saw Sylvia. That woman's prowess was unquestionable. She fought like a street fighter, with iron gloves covering her hands, crushing every corpse-eater's head as if it were a watermelon.
"I don't think she's ever been inside a dungeon, but she can be so relaxed when killing monsters," Klaus thought. He suspected that Sylvia had killed before.
Besides them, Klaus also saw Akio and Michael. The two loaned awakeners were really experienced. Akio looked bored as he killed two ghouls in one slash, while Michael threw himself into the horde of ghouls. The burly man used himself as bait, just as tankers used to do to aggro the enemy.
"Needless to say, the A-Class is really good." Klaus smiled as he muttered.
However, Olivia was different.
Klaus squinted. "What is she doing?"
Just like Akio, Olivia was a fighter, but she fought like a caster. Instead of using swords and physical strength, she used [Psychokinesis] to throw hordes of ghouls.
Of course, this made Klaus frown in astonishment. A fighter had a much lower mana capacity than a caster. This was the reason why Sylvia was instantly exhausted when she used [Time Rewind] once.
"Oh my god," Klaus muttered in exasperation.
He could not help but shake his head.
Nevertheless, the battle against the ghouls was won without a hitch. The corpse-eating monsters were wiped out in less than thirty minutes.
Noah called for their attention after the battle. "Good job! I'll give you 30 minutes. Finish your business, then we'll leave."
After getting the green light to rest, some awakeners quickly scavenged monster cores and item drops. They picked up anything, even the ghoul organs, such as eyes, blood, spleen, and heart. These items were sold or made into a [Decoction].
While the healthy ones looted, the injured ones got help from the healer or drank [Ether] and [Potion] to restore their power. In the previous battle, none of Klaus' party members were seriously injured. Only minor cuts and bruises.
"This battle is so boring. I hope we meet the alpha soon," Akio said. The Asian man yawned as he stretched his body.
"Be careful when you speak, Akio. Words are prayers. What if that thing shows up now? We'd be screwed." Michael retorted.
Akio huffed. "I just kill it then."
"Don't be selfish; you may be an A-class, but most of the awakeners in this dungeon are F- or D-class," Justin chimed in. His face looked annoyed when he saw Akio.
"Okay, guild master. I'm sorry," Akio replied.
While Klaus was checking the condition of his party members, he also observed Joanna. His little sister seemed calmer than when she first entered the dungeon. She deftly healed injured fighters, both party and non-party awakners. There was absolutely no sign of fear on her face when she saw blood or bones sticking out.
"What did Luis teach her? It's surprising she can be that calm," Klaus murmured.
Suddenly, a whisper sounded in his ear.
<My liege, I see enemies from the southwest, about 2 km from where we are now. They are in large numbers, and I see a powerful monster.>
Naturally, Klaus turned his head in the direction that Laplace said. There, a black mountain range covered by white mist was visible. If anyone looked at it with the naked eye, nothing could be seen but the shadow of the mountain. But Klaus could see it clearly.
He saw thousands of black and white-eyed monsters that sparkled like stars in the darkness. Among them, there is a large black figure compared to other monsters.
They were just doing nothing but observing the group of awakeners.
"It looks like the Alpha is a monster that can use its brain," he muttered.
Then, a grin bloomed on his face.
Klaus clapped a few times, calling his party members' attention.
"Everyone, we are about to part ways with the main group. Finish your business, and we'll be on our way soon."
Naturally, the party members were surprised to hear his statement. After fighting hundreds of ghouls, they weren't sure they could survive with just 20 party members in the dungeon.
Michael and Akio didn't mind since they were A-class. Entering the blue dungeon was a picnic for them. However, most of the party members were F-Class; they had little strength and mana capacity.
"Come on, everyone. Keep your spirits up. We just started it!" Justin tried to break the ice by motivating them.
The guild master had said, whether they wanted to or not, they had to get up.
"Good, now let's go."
As they were about to separate themselves from the main group, Olivia suddenly fell to her knees.
