"There's nothing in here!? "
Noah kicked the door as he found a dead end. He had sacrificed a lot of supplies and men to get this far. But what he got was nothing.
"You said there was something here, Klaus?" Noah bit his lip. This man was really frustrated.
"I hope you're not joking around." Gavin chimed in.
Klaus sighed. "You two are really frustrated. Look."
Klaus pointed ahead. At first glance, there was nothing but empty air and walls. The room was dimly lit. They needed to shine a light to see it clearly.
"What is it?"
There was an engraving with strange letters on the wall.
[ᚺᚨᚡᛖ ᚠᚨᛁᛏᚺ ᛁᚾ ᛏᚺᛖ ᛞᚱᚨᚷᛟᚾ. ᛏᚺᛖᚾ ᚤᛟᚢ ᚲᚨᚾ ᚠᛁᚾᛞ ᚤᛟᚢᚱ ᚹᚨᚤ.]
Naturally, Noah approached the wall to see it more clearly. His eyes narrowed, looking in detail at each piece of letter. It was something he had never seen before.
The others had the same reaction as Noah. They frowned and felt very unfamiliar with the lines of text engraved on the wall. Even an awakener of Akio's caliber, who had been in and out of many dungeons, also had no clue.
Klaus was the only one who didn't seem surprised.
He knew that those strange letters were runes, and he also knew that they revealed the existence of a portal that would take them somewhere.
"What's the point of these strange letters?" Noah muttered.
"It seems to have something to do with this castle." Gavin guessed as he fingered the engraved letters on the wall.
As the two men were trying to understand these letters, Klaus touched the wall, and a blue light began to emerge from them. Naturally, everyone was shocked.
"Wow." Noah was stunned.
"I didn't know there was such a thing," Akio muttered.
Michael was wide-eyed. "The more dungeons I enter, the more I realize there's a lot I don't know."
They all showed various reactions. Some were amazed. Some were astonished. Some were worried.
"What are you doing, cousin?" asked Noah, his forehead wrinkled and cold sweat rolling down his face.
"I'm channeling mana into this wall. If we do that, something will emerge from this wall. Help me."
"Wait a minute! We shouldn't be rash. We don't know anything about this dungeon!" Gavin warned Klaus.
"We need to try it to find out what happens next," Klaus replied.
"But still, this is too rash."
"So, do you have any other suggestions?" Klaus asked casually
Gavin ground his teeth in silence. He didn't have any other suggestions either.
Noah and Michael were just as uneasy as they were. But they trusted Klaus' decision for some reason. So far, they had always escaped trouble if they relied on Klaus. This time, they would do the same.
Tension and silence enveloped the room. Gavin and Noah, their hearts filled with doubt. They were stuck, but at the same time, they couldn't stop there.
"My legs are sore standing here. Do you want to help me or not?" Klaus asked skeptically.
Noah sighed. "It looks like we have a choice."
In the end, Noah decided to follow Klaus. If Noah said yes, then Gavin automatically said yes as well. Klaus directed them to place their hands on the runes engraved on the wall.
As they did so, a magical energy radiated, vibrating their bodies, and suddenly a portal appeared from the wall.
It reminded them of the rift that connected Earth and the dungeon.
"Wow!"
They could not help but drop their jaws.
He had predicted they would be dumbfounded. Runes were something that few people knew. It was something new to them.
But in the world Klaus lived in before, it was something natural. They applied runes in various aspects of life to make their lives easier. If analogized, arcana and runes are like a gadget that Earth humans use to work.
Suddenly, Gavin held Klaus' shoulder. The man looked at Klaus with a sharp gaze, implying deep suspicion.
"Tell me, how do you know about this?"
Klaus raised his eyebrows briefly. He smirked and said, "Feelings."
He then removed Gavin's hand from his shoulder and rolled his eyes at Noah. "You'd better tell the others to get ready. We're about to enter the portal."
"Are you sure? What if—"
"It's okay. You can blame it all on me if something happens.
Noah nodded his head. This man didn't know what to do, so he took Klaus' advice.
The awakeners entered the room. Their eyes opened wide when they saw the brightly lit blue portal there.
Various questions came out of their mouths, questioning what exactly the portal was. But Noah didn't know either, so he simply told them to enter the portal.
"What is this? Don't tell me this is a dungeon within a dungeon?" Olivia said in a skeptical tone.
Next to her was Joanna with sparkling eyes. The girl was excited to see something new. "Wow! It's like going to level two."
"I don't know why I have a bad feeling," Justin muttered.
Seeing the tension on their faces, Klaus took the initiative to be the first to enter the portal.
He placed a hand on the vortex of light. Instantly, magical energy radiated through his body, shaking the air around him. The bright light surrounding the room intensified.
The ceiling began to spin, and the floor beneath them noticeably trembled. An overwhelming sensation swept through his body. A powerful energy vibration traversed every fiber of his soul. He felt a shift within himself as the only part of a greater whole.
The rest of the awakener group watched in awe as Klaus transformed into a sparkling light source and vanished into the portal.
Not long after, he vanished.
"Wow! I'm next!" Joanna exclaimed.
"Hey! Wait, Joanna!" Sylvia yelled at her.
However, the girl ignored Sylvia and ran towards the portal. She then experienced the same phenomenon as her brother before her body vanished.
Seeing a young girl without hesitation enter the portal, they ventured themselves. One by one, the awakeners entered the portal.
They felt like they were thrown into a colorful sea of energy. Light swirled and danced around them, flowing at high speed. They felt like they were floating between time and space.
When they finally emerged from the mesmerizing energy flow, they found themselves in a hallway.
"Huh? Are we back where we came in?"
"I don't think so."
They found themselves in a different place. There was an elongated red carpet in the hallway in front of them. Dragon statues lined the hallway walls, giving it a strong touch of awesomeness.
"Alright, let's move in!" Noah exclaimed.
Cautiously, they marched forward down the gloomy hallway. Their steps bounced off the ancient stone walls, creating a mysterious echo. Every gust of wind brought a chill that pierced their bodies, conveying an eerie atmosphere.
Each door they pass through depicts a different scene like a scene from the past lost in the darkness of time. Between the hallways were empty rooms that seemed uninhabited yet held an aura of an unseen presence. The awakeners felt as if they were being watched by something unseen, deepening the tension.
<My, Liege, a group of monsters will attack you>
"I know."
Laplace's voice echoed in his head. Klaus immediately took out metal spheres from his spatial ring.
As they continued to walk, her warning came true. Reptilian monsters appeared from every corner, roaring ferociously and devouring the air with dangerous breaths. Costyls with fiery wings, drakes with deadly fangs, and giant-sized dragons wreaked havoc on the group.
"Monsters! Grab your weapons!" Noah exclaimed loudly.
In the raging battle, the awakeners displayed their strength and skill. With his lightning sword, Gavin unleashed a dazzling attack, splitting the sky with a flash of lightning. Akio, with his swift and precise sword movements, crushed his enemies with his impressive skills. Michael distracts the monsters with his incredible physical strength. And Joanna provides much-needed help in healing the wounds sustained.
Meanwhile, Klaus casually threw metal spheres and killed dozens of monsters.
Although they fought very well, this battle did not prove easy. The monsters continued to attack relentlessly, showing their terrifying strength. With every wound given to the monsters, they grew angrier and retaliated with more devastating attacks.
However, the awakeners won this battle in the end.
"Pick up the monster cores and precious items! After that, we're on our way!"
After a series of intense battles, the group finally found a room that was different from the others. An altar in the center of the room emitted a soft glow. Klaus drew close to the altar and felt a strong energy vibration.
Without hesitation, he reached out his hand and touched the altar's surface. Suddenly, an intense light filled the room,
But, this time, it was not the same portal as before. Suddenly, the awakeners trembled, and fear crept over their bodies.
"What? Is that them?"
"No way..."
"No shit. I can't believe it."
They saw a light projection showing human bodies lying on the ground in terrible condition. The body was split, entrails were scattered, the head was missing, and blood was wallowing.
Yes, these people were Vincent's men.
