Chapter 525: Chapter 524 – Setting Up.

Below, the staircase opened into a massive chamber, the architecture ancient yet eerily preserved. Pillars carved with intricate runes and skeletal motifs lined the edges of the room, reaching up to support a high rocky ceiling. The air shimmered with latent mana, thick and almost oppressive. At the far end, a massive set of double doors loomed, adorned with the same skull motifs Roland had seen earlier. These, however, were encased in obsidian, and a faint red glow pulsed from the runes engraved upon them.

As Roland entered the massive chamber, his boots echoed faintly against the polished stone floor. Agni padded silently beside him, his flames dimmed in response to Roland's cautious demeanor. This floor was vastly different from the winding corridors and smaller rooms he had explored earlier. It was a grand, cavernous expanse quite similar to the open lava area in the old dungeon.

His visor began analyzing the surroundings, projecting faint outlines of the room's hidden intricacies. The chamber was divided into distinct sections, with five towering structures dominating the space - Aztec-like temples resembling those from the earlier floors, but grander and more ornate. Each temple bore a distinct color and glowing symbol at its apex, matching the ones inscribed above the ominous obsidian doors at the far end.

“Those temples, do the colors matter?”

Roland murmured while looking at his display. His drone was flying close to the ceiling and scanning the whole area. He could directly see the altars on top of those temples and each one had a strangely shaped block there. Each one was coted in a different energy pattern that illuminated the top area.

The closest structure was the Red Temple, pulsing with fiery energy. Its walls were adorned with intricate carvings of flames and molten rivers, and the symbol above it was shaped like a blazing sun. Even from this distance, Roland could feel the residual heat radiating from it.

Not far away, on the opposite side, stood the Blue Temple. It radiated an aura of tranquility yet undeniable power. Its carvings depicted cascading waterfalls and flowing waves, and the glowing symbol above it resembled a droplet frozen in mid-fall.

‘I see the pattern here. The next ones should be green for the wind element and brown for the element of earth. But then there’s the last one… black. Does it represent the element of darkness?’

At the far end stood the Black Temple, ominous and foreboding. Its carvings portrayed shadowy figures and spiraling voids that seemed to draw the eye into their depths. Behind it loomed a large staircase leading to massive, gate-like doors. Using his drone, Roland observed a mechanism embedded in the ground near the doors.

“I get it. I probably need to gather all the elemental blocks to activate the mechanism and open the door. Classic dungeon design. But it might not be that straightforward - maybe the order of solving the puzzles matters. Or placing the blocks incorrectly could trigger a trap.”

Roland sighed softly. These kinds of puzzles were a hallmark of dungeon architecture, and the design of the earlier temple on the upper floor hinted at potential dangers. While the mechanisms appeared different, there was a strong possibility that making a mistake could unleash an avalanche of monsters. Perhaps even now, more creatures were hidden within the walls, lying in wait for any unfortunate soul who failed this level’s challenge.

‘If I manage to solve this and sell the information to the guild, they’ll probably reward me’

“Awoo?”

Roland blinked and glanced to his side.

“Oh, sorry, Agni. I got lost in thought.”

Agni, his loyal companion, had plopped down at the entrance to the floor, his tail wagging lazily. But it seemed the wolf was growing bored of waiting. Roland had been releasing more drones into the area, scanning every corner while Agni had nothing to do.

“Hm… You might be a little under-leveled for this area”

“Woof?!”

Roland chuckled as Agni barked in indignation as if the comment had wounded his pride. However, a glance at some of the creatures crawling through the dungeon and Agni’s current stats told Roland his assessment was probably correct.

While his wolf companion, Agni, was leveling up quickly, it would still take some time for him to catch up to Roland’s own level, which was nearing two hundred. The monsters in this area were similarly high-leveled, hovering close to his own range. Even though they were vulnerable to holy mana, there was still room for complications.

‘There are a few of those crawling about, they wouldn’t be a problem but what about those elemental temples? And what about that room…’

What concerned Roland most were the five elemental temples. Each was marked with distinct mana patterns, suggesting the possibility that the monsters within wouldn’t solely be skeletal. If they weren’t affected by Agni’s divine energies, the situation could become far more dangerous.

Roland knew he needed to bring Agni closer to his level. The large, foreboding doors beyond the temples hinted at a major challenge waiting for them - a likely boss monster at level two hundred or higher. Agni’s divine abilities might not be sufficient to protect him if they were unprepared for what lay ahead.

“But… we might be able to use this place to alleviate this problem, can’t we?”

“Worf?”

Agni tilted his head to the side as he had no idea what his master meant. Roland didn’t respond but instead patted him on the head.

“Well, let’s see what’s inside that first temple then but should we go in the easy or hard way?”

They arrived at the base of the area, and with the aid of his drones, Roland managed to piece together what this floor held in store. The temples were massive, each the size of a castle. They likely contained layers of winding tunnels and devious traps, crawling with monsters. At their summits, a dense layer of elemental mana shimmered ominously, an impassable barrier for most adventurers.

The walls themselves radiated with pulsating mana, so dense it could sear through flesh if anyone dared to climb them. However, Roland had options beyond simply climbing. With his trusty glider in tow, he could bypass much of the standard path. This would mean dealing with the mana shield at the top of the temple, which required careful planning. Though his drones detected no creatures guarding the elemental blocks at the apex, the risk of triggering a trap remained high. This gave Roland an idea.

“The top section is flat, If anything spawns there, it won’t have much room to maneuver or defend itself… I suppose that should work, it will just take some time to set up.”

As always, Roland had come over-prepared. Thanks to his mastery of spatial magic, he could carry a portion of his workshop with him, neatly tucked away in an enchanted pocket dimension. Among his tools were several devices that could be useful for tackling this dungeon’s particular setup, though setting them up would take some time - likely several hours, or even a full day.

“This might take a while, Agni”

Roland said, gesturing toward a group of undead patrolling near the temples. The creatures moved either alone or in small clusters, clearly not the primary threat of this floor.

“Do you see those undead there?”

“Awoo!”

Agni responded enthusiastically, his ears perking up.

“Great. I want you to take them down on your own and earn some experience. Can you do that?”

“Woof!”

Despite the undead being above level 190, Agni’s divine flames would allow him to dispatch them with relative ease. For his wolven companion, it was the perfect opportunity to train and level up. While Agni hunted, Roland could put his plan into action. If everything worked as he envisioned, this area might even turn into a prime leveling spot for him in the future.

Roland began by retrieving his glider, the same one he had used during Robert’s escape. It had since become a tool he couldn’t easily show in public, but out here in the dungeon, there was no one to worry about. With practiced ease, he took to the air, soaring upward toward several floating, dodecahedron-shaped golems. These constructs were scanning the rocky ceiling directly above the red, flaming temple—precisely where Roland planned to conduct his experiment.

“The rocks seem sturdy enough,” he murmured after inspecting the area.

The dungeon’s rocky structure was impressively durable, not on par with materials like mithril or dwarven steel, but solid enough to serve as the foundation for his project. Hovering closer, he gave the surface a few experimental knocks with his finger before delivering a solid punch. The result? Only a small crack appeared. Satisfied, Roland decided it was safe to proceed.

“First, I need to insert some support rods. That should keep everything steady.”

From within his spatial storage, he pulled out a thick iron rod. It wasn’t an ordinary rod, though as it featured a corkscrew pattern, making it look more like a gigantic screw or bolt. At the top was a hexagonal head, similar to those found in modern fasteners.

While he could use his magical power to drive the bolt into the rock, Roland sometimes opted for the manual approach. Using his hands would conserve his magic for more critical tasks later on. With his glider hovering steadily, he prepared to anchor the support rod into the sturdy ceiling, step one of his intricate plan now underway.

Roland secured the first support rod by powerfully twisting it around through the use of his magic power. Only after it was about half way in, did he retrieve a hexagonal key to help him wedge it in fully. The deep grooves of the screw bit into the stone, providing a stable foundation for the framework he had in mind. Each rotation of the rod brought a satisfying crunch and even though some rubble started falling, the red mana shield below him deflected it all.

“This should be enough, three more should be enough for the platform.”

From below, Agni continued his task with enthusiasm, dispatching the undead patrols with bursts of divine flames. Each strike caused the skeletons to shatter and crumble, their corrupted cores disintegrating under the purity of his attacks. Though he occasionally nibbled on some of the skeletons that weren’t torched, Roland decided to let it slide.

“Well, back to work. If I do this right, it should last even after I leave”

Back above, he retrieved additional rods, spacing them evenly across the area he intended to reinforce. While parts of the rock were destroyed, the dungeon walls proved to be quite unique. After leaving the rods embedded for a while, the walls would begin regenerating, clinging to the metal like a vice. It was a remarkably handy material to work with - so forgiving that even if he made a mistake, the walls would naturally secure the rods on their own.

Roland worked efficiently, embedding the final support rod into the ceiling. He verified their alignment using the scanning feature of his runic armor, cross-referencing it with his mathematical calculations. The angles were precise, and once satisfied, he began assembling the platform that would house one of his turrets. This turret wasn’t intended to counter airborne threats or serve as a base of operations; its purpose was singular: to aim directly below at their target - the red temple.

From his storage, Roland retrieved a series of modular parts: a rotating baseplate, a long barrel reinforced with fire-resistant runes, and a central rune battery core to fuel the weapon. Each piece fit together seamlessly, locking into place with satisfying clicks. Once assembled, the turret stood ready—crafted from durable dwarven steel and capable of harming tier-3 creatures.

“Hm… Elodia was right. I really do spend all the money I earn…”

Roland muttered with a wry smile, wondering if all the monster parts that he got from this expedition would cover the cost of more turrets. For some time now, he had been ordering upgraded parts from the Union to enhance his creations. Among these were the advanced turrets, likely as powerful as the mana cannon he’d crafted in the past. Yet, thanks to the superior dwarven steel and advancements in runic technology, these new designs were significantly more compact and far less prone to breaking down.

“If this goes well, I’ll need to make a lot more of them…”

He gazed into the distance, where the other temples stood. To complete his project, he would need to deploy a series of turrets over each temple. The costs for such an undertaking would be substantial, but the potential rewards outweighed the investment. This was a dungeon floor that no one else had explored, making it worth an investigation. If his assumptions were correct, this area held great promise. The elemental blocks atop the five temples would likely be worth far more than the cost of a few dwarven-steel turrets and this didn’t even account for all the monster drops or possible treasures within.

Roland pressed on with his plan, methodically assembling more turrets as he glided from one location to another. Below him, Agni continued to maul the monsters, keeping the area secure. However, by the time he began constructing the third turret, Roland noticed his efficiency waning. Maintaining his position in the air consumed more mana than he had anticipated.

Thinking quickly, he applied a magnetization spell to the surrounding rocks, allowing his boots to cling to the surface. By reducing his weight with a levitation spell, the strain on his mana reserves dropped significantly. His glider could now hover independently, sparing him the effort of supporting his full weight.

The adjustment made him feel like an astronaut walking on the moon as he resumed his work. With this improved method, Roland managed to erect all the turrets he carried in his spatial storage - a total of eight. With all of them there, he was fresh out of any additional batteries and started wondering that he would need to do something about this problem later.

‘If I’m correct in my calculations, then the cord needed would need to be close to several kilometers… That’s problematic.’

At first, he wondered if there was a way to make his project more sustainable. Having to refill his runic batteries each time would be quite draining. It was probably possible to connect to one of the geothermal generators in the other dungeon by drilling through the walls, but that would be a time-consuming endeavor. However, there was a source of heat down here, along with other elemental energies that could be harnessed. It would probably be feasible to create a generator in this place; he would just need to design one that adventurers wouldn't notice.

The turrets he had made would be disguised with an illusion spell once he was done with them, and thanks to the high amounts of mana coming from the temples, mages would likely have difficulty detecting his creations. If they did, he had also taken the precaution of leaving the Valerian crest on them to indicate they were the property of Lord Arthur, hoping that people would avoid shooting arrows or casting spells at them.

“Now then, let’s see about that barrier and I should probably tell Agni to retreat for now.”

Roland hopped back onto his glider and flew down to where Agni was. His wolf was in the process of trying to devour another corrupt monster crystal, and Roland was fast enough to stop him. After some whimpering, he managed to get Agni to retreat to the dungeon entrance. It had taken him half a day to assemble everything, but he didn’t truly know what to expect. If things got rough, it was still best to retreat to the stairs and run up, where the monsters would not be able to follow them. His scans indicated that the entrance didn’t have any hidden doors or latches, making their escape route quite secure.

What remained was to tackle the shimmering red mana barrier at the summit of the Red Temple. The barrier pulsed like a living entity, each beat resonating with the fiery power emanating from the temple itself. Hovering above in his glider, his turrets pointed downward and Roland prepared for the critical task ahead. Everything had led to this moment. All he needed to do now was disable the mana shield from the outside. Once that was accomplished, it would be time to confront the temple's defenses. He anticipated some resistance, but there was also a chance that nothing would be triggered - leaving half a day's work wasted.

"Let's see... this shouldn’t take too long”

While working, Roland kept a close eye on the shield, aided by his Multiple Minds trait. He had already devised a method to breach it: by countering the mana’s frequency, he could destabilize the barrier and force it to collapse. Now it was just time to see, what was in store for him this time…

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