Deep within the dungeon’s boss chamber, the dwarven miners had transformed a crude excavation into an engineering marvel. The tunnel now stretched before them, its every side thoroughly reinforced. Encased in a substance resembling hardened concrete and interlaced with a glinting metal framework. The smooth, unyielding surfaces were etched with subtle runic patterns, hints of magic that kept something at bay.
A low, insistent beeping cut through the murmurs of the gathered miners. At the forefront stood the lead miner, his weathered face a testament of working in the field. Clutched firmly in his calloused hand was a curious, magical device. Its pulsing blue light shone over some intricate engravings, and rapid beeps echoed like a warning. One of the dwarves, a broad-shouldered fellow with a thick, soot-streaked beard, turned to their head miner with a heavy frown.
"The readin’s are off th’ bloody charts!"
The lead miner muttered, his voice clearly tense.
"Mana concentration here’s dangerously high. This ain’t normal!”
Murmurs rippled through the group. Even the most experienced miners had never encountered mana levels this intense. They were used to dealing with magical anomalies, but this was something else. It felt like standing on the edge of a raging storm. If they moved any further without proper equipment, they would be in serious trouble.
For regular people who did not have combat classes and were not at least tier three class holders, such a concentration could be deadly. The longer they stayed, the more likely they were to contract mana sickness. The excess mana would seep into their bodies, wreaking havoc and slowly killing them, much like an incurable disease. To counter this, they wore specialized mining suits designed to block mana from entering their pores. However, the concentration was rising so rapidly that their equipment was nearing its limits.
"That ain't normal, boss. Ne'er seen mana concentrations this high before. If we keep pressin’ on, this whole damn tunnel might turn into our graves!"
The worker repeated himself again, his face looking pale under all the dirt it was covered with. The lead miner grunted, glancing at the reinforced walls around them.
"Aye, I figured as much. This thing's goin' crazy."
He held up the device, its glow now almost blinding.
"Mana’s poolin’ up ahead like a dam ready to burst. Whatever’s lurkin’ behind that last layer… it’s deadly, but…"
The old dwarf licked his lips. He knew the risk, but something about that unbroken wall before them hinted at something big. In his humble opinion, it could be a massive mine filled with mana stones or other rare, mana-rich minerals, one far larger than anything in the Albrook dungeon.
He could already picture the sparkling stones and the fortune he could make selling them. It was dangerous, but greed was beginning to outweigh his caution. He had to see what lay on the other side.
"It won’t hurt to take a wee peek… right?"
Just as the lead miner was about to give the order to proceed, a new presence entered the tunnel. Heavy, armored boots clanked against the reinforced stone floor, cutting through the tense murmurs of the gathered miners. The air started to shift as some unseen force pushed the mana polluting this place away.
“Step back.”
Roland's voice rang clear and firm through the well-lit passage. The dwarves turned as one. Some looked visibly relieved, while their leader seemed displeased, a deep frown settling on his face. Their eyes quickly fell on his new armor. His usual gear had been red as well, but this was different. It was as if they were looking at something forged from the body of a red dragon, the scale pattern unmistakable.
The miners hesitated but ultimately obeyed, stepping back from the last unbroken wall. Roland examined the reinforced tunnel, noting the layers of runic protection and the way the stone itself seemed to ripple with energy. Dark cables ran along the walls, supplying power to the runes, a technology he had helped develop.
‘These runes aren’t enough to stabilize this area. It would be best if I got these miners to step away for now.’
Roland had completed two of his armors and chose to wear the Rune Salamander variant for now while storing his other elemental armor in one of the spatial runes. The tunnel he had ordered to be constructed had been in progress for over a month and was quite an undertaking. He was glad he had never attempted to handle this task alone, as it was far better managed by the mining company. However, it seemed he had arrived at the perfect moment as they were right before reaching the end.
The mana before him was almost as thick as water, a massive mist of blue seeping from the wall ahead. It was fortunate that he had arrived before the miners attempted to breach it, as they might have suffered from whatever lay beyond. As he moved closer, he noticed another strange phenomenon: the cracked rocks were mending themselves at a rate at least ten times faster than a normal dungeon wall. If they didn’t continue digging, the wall would repair itself within a few hours, something they couldn’t afford to let happen.
‘It looks ready to burst…’
Roland glanced back at the group of dwarves now standing behind him. He had moved forward to the wall and was carefully examining it with his sensors. The more calculations he ran, the more his concerns grew, forcing him to make a decision. He eventually turned to the dwarven miners and issued a firm order.
“All of you, withdraw for now. I will handle this part alone.”
“What?”
The dwarves were clearly displeased, and he understood why. They were explorers as well as miners and this was their life’s work. It must have seemed like he was taking their discovery away from them before they could even witness it. Some might have even suspected he intended to alter the chamber before they had a chance to see it or claim the most valuable treasure for himself. But their objections didn’t matter to him. This expedition was his, and his word was law here.
“The magic here is too dense. It’s possible that once I break through this wall, the locked-away magic current inside could go berserk. I won’t be able to protect you if that happens.”
While it might have seemed like he simply wanted to be the first inside, this was a critical and dangerous moment. Everyone needed to understand that there was a real possibility the entire tunnel could explode. With so many reinforced walls, all that mana would have only one way to escape, and it would incinerate the dwarves. The energy levels weren’t high enough to seriously harm him if he focused, but they were far too intense for him to guarantee everyone’s safety.
The lead miner hesitated, his thick brows furrowing deeply as he mulled over Roland’s words. The veins on his calloused hands tensed as he considered arguing, but he wasn’t a fool. The man before him wasn’t just some noble overseeing their work, he was a craftsman, a warrior, and someone who had repeatedly proven himself. More than that, Roland was the one funding this operation, and his orders carried weight.
“Aye, lads, ye heard him”
The dwarf finally relented, turning to his men.
“Pack it up! We’re clearin’ out!”
Roland nodded as the miners grumbled but didn’t argue. Instead, they began backing away from the tunnel, gathering their tools and ordering their mining golems to retreat. The lead miner gave Roland a long, unreadable look before stepping back and slowly walking away. Within moments, the team had cleared out, heading toward the tunnel entrance where they would be safe. Now, Roland was alone, ready to face whatever lay ahead.
‘Good. This better be worth it. This has already taken too much time and money.’
Once he was sure everyone had exited the tunnel, he grasped the massive drill that had been left behind. The runes on his gauntlet began to glow as thin threads of energy extended from it, linking to the runic device. In an instant, he had taken control of the machine and lifted it onto his shoulder. Something that normally required a mining golem to carry was easily held aloft by his own physical strength. He considered blasting through the wall but decided against it. The risk of triggering a magical explosion was too high, and he couldn’t afford to push his luck.
Instead, Roland supercharged the settings on the drill, modifying its speed and pressure to account for the dense magical resistance ahead. He soon braced himself and pressed the spinning drill bit against the wall. Sparks flew as the enchanted machinery bit into the stone, and the vibrations traveled up his arm as he applied steady force. The dense rock resisted at first, but as the runic energy of the drill pulsed in synchronization with his own mana, the resistance began to wane.
It didn’t take long before the first fissures spread across the surface like lightning bolts, and a high-pitched screech echoed through the tunnel. The wall buckled under the pressure, and he could feel it beginning to give way. This was it; he was almost through, perhaps moments away from triggering a reaction. He didn’t step back. Instead, he surrounded himself with a thick veil of his own mana and pressed forward.
With a final shriek of metal against stone, the wall collapsed. A powerful gust of mana erupted from the opening, nearly strong enough to knock Roland off his feet. But his defensive enchantments held steady. The entire corridor trembled as the surge of mana rushed in. When it collided with his enchantments, a spark of magical energy ignited, overloading the chaotic currents and generating a massive torrent. The wave of raw magic surged violently down the tunnel, right in the direction where the miners had retreated.
“G… Git back!”
The dwarven miners noticed the surge of mana too late. They had just reached the safety of the tunnel entrance when the force hit them. A wave of blue energy, like a violent gust of wind, rushed down the corridor. The miners scrambled forward and, at the last moment, jumped to safety outside the tunnel, but the surge of mana sent them flying in all directions.
“I told them to go out faster…”
Roland commented as the dust began to settle. The energy explosion had subsided, and thankfully, he had absorbed much of it through his mana veil. Thanks to this, the burst that hit the dwarves didn’t cause any injuries. After confirming everyone's safety with his mapping device, he turned to glimpse what lay beyond. The hole was small, but with a few well-placed kicks, he managed to widen it enough to step through.
‘What is this?’
He glanced inside and saw something he did not expect. The chamber before him was massive, far larger than he had anticipated. The ceiling stretched high above, disappearing into darkness. The walls extended endlessly to the sides, making the space feel like a boundless cavern. However, that was not what truly caught his attention. It was what floated within the chamber.
“What could this be? Highly concentrated mana?”
Thousands or maybe hundreds of thousands of small orbs of mana drifted through the air. They filled the space, their sheer numbers illuminating the entire chamber. He watched as they bumped into one another and against the walls, triggering a strange phenomenon he had never seen before. It was as if they were consuming the stone, expanding the cavern and carving new corridors as they moved.
“Could this be… dungeon expansion? This was not what I expected…”
Roland had come here to find something that could push him past his current level without the need to venture into other territories. He still hoped to discover a hidden entrance to the super dungeon, which would allow him to fight higher-tier tier-three monsters and gather even more valuable materials. Instead, he had stumbled into a part of the dungeon that was still in the process of assembling itself. He had read about such occurrences in old writings, but they had never been properly researched.
Normally, a dungeon expands until it is large enough, with every floor already prepared for the adventurers it seeks to entice. Once it is complete, it opens a path for people to enter, and its life cycle begins. People start flowing in, and it consumes their mana to grow even stronger and with enough time, can grow even larger.
‘So this is probably why it had not created a proper entrance.’
He had already explored the upper levels, which stretched high above but never revealed an entrance. The reason was now clear. The dungeon was unfinished and still expanding in all directions. However, the important question remained. Was this all there was? These tunnels, filled with glowing lights and constantly growing pathways, seemed endless. But could they actually lead somewhere?
“Hoooh…”
As he looked around, he heard footsteps and not from within the wide cavern, but from the corridor he had just come through. It was the dwarves he had ordered to stay back. They had recovered quickly from the mana surge and were now cautiously approaching the new opening. Their leader, a grizzled old miner, stepped forward first, rubbing his beard as he squinted into the vast chamber.
"By th' ancestors…"
He muttered while clearly being uneasy by this sight.
"What in th' blazes have we stumbled upon? "
Roland turned to them, arms crossed.
"I told you to stay back."
"Aye, we did."
The dwarf replied, though there was no hint of apology in his tone.
"But ya can't expect us to just stand there after witnessin' somethin' like that. I've been diggin' for decades, lad, an' I've ne'er seen something like this… Think it're worth somethin'?"
The old dwarf kept looking around as if searching for a mana crystal or a rich mineral deposit, but he found nothing. As a highly skilled miner, he could usually sense where exotic ores were hidden, yet here, he detected nothing at all. The chamber was filled only with strange lights and the slow, continuous expansion of the dungeon, nothing like what he had hoped for.
"First, secure the entrance. It’s already closing itself. I’ll go explore further. You all stay here and don’t wander off."
"Aye…"
Roland turned his gaze back toward the ever-expanding cavern. The orbs of mana drifted lazily, their glow reflecting off the rocky surfaces and his armor. The steady pulse of magic in the air was unlike anything he had encountered before, and it was quite troublesome, to say the least.
‘All my sensors are going haywire. There’s too much mana pollution in the air.’
He was forced to rely on a less magical approach: mapping the area using camera sensors that identified the surroundings through vision. The image was then processed by one of his runic programs to create a portion of the map in a sort of scanning technique. This process was far slower than his usual runic pulse, which would quickly identify the mana in the area and create a map almost instantly.
‘This could take a while…’
After venturing forward for around fifteen minutes, Roland stopped. There was nothing here, and no end in sight. The miners had disappeared from view, and another problem emerged. He was blind. Although he could create a rough map using another technique, it was impossible to get a proper signal. He had no way of knowing what was happening behind him. His access to the runic network was completely cut off, all because of the mana pollution in the air.
‘... Not good, but it’s too early to give up.’
A rune on the back of his armor began to shine, and suddenly, a spider golem leapt out. He quickly pulled out a long metallic cord already attached to a large reel. After securing the cord to the golem and instructing it to continue with the scouting mission, he retreated toward the entrance. Slowly, he uncoiled the cable reel as he moved. If wireless solutions weren’t an option, he would just do it the old-fashioned way.
Then, he turned his attention to the mana. It was thick, like steam, not quite as potent as the fluid used for golems or the crystallized forms of mana, but the sheer quantity was enormous. A vast amount of energy was being generated here, and even though they already had geothermal generators, it didn’t mean they couldn’t harness more of it.
However, questions began popping up in his mind as he took in the unfamiliar surroundings. Where did this vast dungeon expanse even lead? Was he still inside the same dungeon? And one more question… one that bothered him the most. Was this place even a dungeon at all, or something entirely different?
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