Chapter 538: Chapter 537 – Underwhelming Treasure Room.

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Roland grinned. Rune Authority had finally started to work. Though it had taken some time, he had begun to unravel the monster's intricate rune structures mid-battle. The process had been slow, as the Lord of Fury’s runes were deeply entrenched and fiercely protected by the dungeon's magical network. But now, after the devastating beam strike and the loss of its original form, the creature’s defenses had weakened, allowing Roland’s skill to disrupt the flow of power within the runes.

The monster hesitated, its movements momentarily erratic. Crimson energy flickered unpredictably across its weapons and armor, and the glow of its runes dimmed. The knight’s once-menacing aura felt unstable, as if its power was beginning to falter. It was clear that the monster was not expecting this turn of events and that perhaps its inner programming was not prepared for such an occasion.

“This is my chance.”

With its saber runes deactivated, the Lord of Fury’s attacks lost much of their lethality. Though it swung its blades with unrelenting ferocity, the absence of the rune enhancements left its strikes no more potent than those of ordinary weapons. Roland dodged nimbly, sidestepping the creature’s heavy, telegraphed swings and countering with precise blows aimed at its now-exposed joints.

As with any other creature, the mana phantoms allowed him to anticipate its movements before they were carried out. What had begun as a chaotic battle had shifted into a more controlled exchange of physical blows - one that Roland was starting to dominate. His status window kept updating, notifying him of level-ups to both his passive fighting skills and active abilities almost instantly. A foe forty levels above him was indeed a formidable challenge, but in its current diminished form, the Lord of Fury had become merely troublesome.

His golems once reformed again and aided him by blasting the monster from multiple angles, creating constant distractions and breaking its focus. Each mana projectile found its mark, striking the creature’s cracked armor and further destabilizing its form. Agni capitalized on the chaos, darting in and out of range, his fiery attacks burning through weakened plates and exposing raw less hardened rocky flesh.

The monster was fascinating. Externally, it was heavily armored, but internally, it seemed to be composed of some form of living mineral. Roland was eager to study this creature, along with the other rocky golems he had encountered. Its power was undeniable, and he realized that without his army of golems and a generous supply of mana-restoring potions, the battle would have been far more challenging. If the creature hadn’t shifted its focus to other targets, he likely wouldn’t have been able to execute his beam attack so effectively.

The battlefield now belonged to Roland. With each passing moment, the creature’s movements slowed, its power fading as the crimson runes sputtered out one by one. Roland could see the cracks widening along its remaining limbs, faint pulses of crimson energy leaking out like blood. It was unraveling.

“Let’s end this!”

Although he was winning, Roland had already restored his golems multiple times, and their quality had dropped by two grades. His mana reserves were dwindling, and consuming more potions would only raise the toxicity levels in his body. While this world operated with a game-like system, he couldn’t endlessly refill his MP and HP with potions - there was always a limit. Fortunately, the monster before him was beginning to crumble, and the time had come to deliver the final blow.

The runes on his hammer flared to life, glowing as arcs of blue lightning crackled along its surface. With a powerful leap, he launched himself forward, targeting the monster’s head as it staggered backward, hindered by Agni’s teeth tearing into its hind leg. With a devastating strike, his hammer connected, and the monster’s head exploded in a spray of debris. From within, a crimson orb emerged - the monster’s core, its only true weak point.

Roland extended his hand, his gauntlet glowing with magical energy as he prepared to destroy the core with a spell. But at the last second, he hesitated. Instead of unleashing a torrent of magic, he cast a mage hand spell, catching the core in midair and drawing it closer. Encasing it in a protective layer of mana, he successfully disabled it, preserving it for further study.

This was a golem core, similar to the ones he had worked on in the past. While its grade went above the simple volcanic golem cores he learned to wipe, the basics were the same. He knew what to disable to defeat the monster he just needed a few moments to sever the signals it was sending to the body parts to prevent it from reforming. Soon, the monster parts that were burning with crimson energy started to dim and he had won this battle of attrition.

Multiple system messages erupted before him as the monster crumbled to the ground. His level shot past two hundred, and along with the milestone came a new skill:

At first glance, the new skill didn’t seem particularly impressive, but it subtly enhanced his already formidable mental fortitude. Roland wondered if it would be enough to counter something as potent as an Abyssal Cult’s illusion relic, as the description seemed to suggest. The mention of "non-magical effects" likely extended to intimidation-based abilities used by both monsters and certain classes.

For instance, something like Intimidating Shout - a common skill known for rooting its target in place for several seconds could render even seasoned warriors defenseless, leaving them open to attack. If Regal Resilience provided resistance to such debilitating effects, it could prove invaluable in future battles where his armor was damaged.

Roland stood amidst the shattered remains of the battlefield, his breathing steady but heavy. The Lord of Fury’s disintegrated form was scattered across the chamber, its once-imposing presence reduced to rubble and faintly glowing fragments. In his hand, he held the ultimate prize: a fully intact core containing the monster’s magic program.

With this core, he had the potential to recreate the Lord of Fury as his own golem. Replicating the runic magic it utilized wouldn’t be overly challenging, and such a construct could prove to be a powerful future asset. However, the Lord of Fury was a high-level Tier 3 monster with exceptional stats. Reconstructing it would demand costly materials to maintain its original performance. Using lesser resources might render the recreated golem weaker, incapable of matching its previous might in battle.

‘I wonder if we could use something like this to bolster Albrook’s forces… ‘

He wondered, turning his gaze to the remains of the other rocky golems. Several fragmented cores peeked out from the rubble. Though most were shattered, Roland believed he could salvage enough pieces to reconstruct their operating systems. These humanoid golems were far less advanced than the Lord of Fury, but they were still functional. Better yet, they could be assembled with Tier 2 materials - resources he could mine directly from this cave.

Compared to hiring more soldiers, these golems were cost-effective. They even retained the ability to maintain basic formations, making them a viable option for bolstering Albrook’s defenses. With enough effort, Roland envisioned assembling an entire troop of these golems, a force under his complete command.

This was all just speculation for now. Roland wasn’t sure how effectively he could process the obsidian rock scattered throughout the area, nor how much of it was actually stored here. Being in the boss chamber made mining a risky endeavor - if the boss respawned suddenly and the door sealed behind the workers, it could prove disastrous. Before anything else, he needed to secure the floor and assemble a teleportation gate to bring workers safely into the area.

However, the materials the golems were made of were still present. Each time the boss respawned, it would provide him and Albrook with a wealth of parts to recreate these golems - assuming he figured out how to replicate their bodies. So far, he had only worked with metals, not rocks. If he went through with this plan, it would be his first time creating a mineral-based golem rather than one resembling a mechanical construct.

“Woof!”

While he was contemplating on the use of all these monster drops, Agni started to bark.

“What is it, boy?”

He turned to his companion, following the wolf’s gaze to the large throne where the boss’s first form had been seated. Though still intact, the runes on its surface were beginning to glow, making his heart sink. A dreadful thought crossed his mind - was the boss not truly defeated? Could there be yet another third phase awaiting him?

“Wait… this is different.”

Letting out a sigh of relief, he focused on the throne, which was now trembling. It wasn’t a magical reaction but a mechanical one - the throne itself was beginning to move. He braced himself, suspecting that the dungeon had more in store for him and this was not the last level. His intuition proved correct as a new path revealed itself. At the same time, the large door through which he had entered began to open, much like any other cleared boss chamber would.

The throne continued to move slowly until he heard it grind to a halt. Behind it there was a hole now with dark stairs leading down somewhere. Roland slowly moved closer to check the newly revealed path. Agni padded beside him, ears pricked and tail low, clearly sensing the tension in the air. The dark staircase descended sharply into the unknown, its edges worn smooth as though countless feet had traversed it over the centuries. Faint, flickering runes adorned the walls, their light casting eerie shadows that danced in rhythmic patterns.

“Does it lead to a lower floor or is it something else?”

Roland held himself back, carefully analyzing the boss chamber. Something was bothering him. Even after defeating the guardian of this room, no reward had been granted. When he had defeated the golem in the Albrook dungeon, he had been rewarded with a chest containing Agni’s egg. Here, however, there was nothing of the sort. It was uncharacteristic for a dungeon not to provide a reward upon clearing a boss, though he knew there were rare exceptions.

“Tsk…”

He clicked his tongue, unwilling to believe this might be one of those exceptions. Before moving forward, he sent out another wave of mana to restore the broken golems to a semi-functional state. Then, he retrieved his foldable briefcase and set it on the ground. The chamber was littered with valuable materials, and he directed the golems to collect them and deposit them into his spatial storage while he prepared to investigate the level below.

“Let’s go Agni…”

Roland sounded a bit irritated as he stepped onto the staircase. The air was heavy, charged with mana particles that clung to the walls.  Agni moved silently at his side, his glowing eyes flickering. The faint clink of collected materials echoed from behind, where the golems diligently salvaged the remains of the battlefield.

The descent was steep and disorienting, the faint light of the runes the only guide through the encroaching darkness. After what felt like an eternity, the stairs ended abruptly, opening into a vast, circular chamber. It was unlike anything Roland had seen before. The room was filled with treasures beyond imagination - golden artifacts, sparkling gemstones, intricately crafted weapons, and armors that radiated a faint magical aura. The chamber glimmered as though the walls themselves were alive, reflecting the treasure’s brilliance in an endless loop of light.

Yet, instead of elation, Roland felt only disappointment. His chest tightened as he surveyed the room, searching in vain for a path leading further in. There was none. This appeared to be the end of the dungeon - a treasure room meant to mark its conclusion. According to the records of this world, such chambers served as the final reward for defeating the dungeon’s guardian.

His gaze swept over the magical artifacts scattered throughout the room. Most were unremarkable in quality, primarily high-tier 2 items with a sparse handful of tier 3 among them. The centerpiece was a large axe displayed prominently on the wall, forged from a gleaming golden material that radiated a potent magical energy.

“Is this really it?”

While these items would fetch a hefty price and temporarily ease his monetary troubles, Roland had been expecting something more - a path to a greater dungeon. As it stood, the monsters on this floor offered little value in terms of experience; most of them hadn’t even reached level 200, a threshold he had now surpassed.

The only creature that could potentially aid his progression had been the boss he’d just defeated. However, he knew all too well that it would likely take at least a week for the boss to respawn. If he used it to level it would take him forever and eventually, he would not be able to progress any further. He glanced at his current level, which had shot up quickly after clearing out all those monsters.

One of the problems was also boss quality, he was sure that the next time he attempted, the next monster would be weaker, perhaps just the first phase and nothing more. While this wasn’t bad, he still wished for something more. However, he hadn’t just given up, his life already showed him that these Dungeons aren’t that simple and anomalies sometimes arise.

Thus he started searching, going through the chamber and examining the walls for any potential pathways. Perhaps just like the throne's movement had unveiled a hidden path, there could be more concealed mechanisms within the treasure room. Roland moved systematically, running his fingers along the cold, rune-inscribed walls, his mana sense extended to detect any fluctuations. The faint static sound permeated the room but he didn’t seem to be able to find anything out of place.

Agni prowled beside him, sniffing the air and occasionally pawing at the ground as if sensing something amiss. Roland glanced at his companion, who was acting more alert than usual.

"You sense something, boy?"

Roland asked, crouching to examine the floor near where Agni had paused. The runes on the wall seemed ordinary and mostly decorative, rather than functional. But the mana flow in the room felt off, as though it wasn’t simply dispersing but flowing from elsewhere.

‘What if I…’

An idea clicked into place. Roland turned his attention to the mana currents. Using his runic skills and mana detection, he focused on the subtle movements of energy in the room. The treasure piles glittered enticingly, but he ignored them, concentrating on the faintest traces of mana. He noticed a pattern - streams of energy converging at a point halfway up the wall on the far side of the chamber.

He approached the wall, inspecting it closely. To the naked eye, there was nothing unusual about it - just more smooth stone adorned with decorative runes. But when Roland channeled mana into the wall, the runes began to glow faintly, revealing a hidden connection.

“The source of magic is flowing out of this spot, there has to be something behind this wall but there doesn’t seem to be an opening mechanism anywhere…”

He wasn’t sure what was behind this wall but he was inclined to believe that it was worth checking out. It was certainly not something that the dungeon wanted him to discover as it lacked a runic opening mechanism as in the Albrook dungeon. Instead, he would need to force his way in and create a path of his own.

“Step back Agni, we’re going through.”

“Awoo?”

Agni watched intently as Roland pulled a large drill device from his spatial storage, a tool similar to the one he had used to create the tunnel connecting his house to the dungeon. Channeling his mana into the machine, the drill’s end began to spin quickly. With confidence, he pressed it against the wall and started pushing but to his surprise, the wall wasn’t budging.

“What is this thing made of…?”

Despite multiple attempts, the drill began to overheat, smoke curling from its mechanisms. The wall remained largely intact, with only a fist-sized hole left behind for all his efforts. The drill itself was on the verge of breaking apart, its durability pushed to its limits. Whatever lay on the other side it would take more than a simple drill to unearth, or just one made from better materials.

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