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Chapter 44: The Six Rulers of the Emerald Cavern (2)

Dan Moriarty stood motionless at the entrance to the colossal underground chamber, where the silence was almost oppressive.

His breathing remained slow and controlled, each inhalation measured and each exhalation calm, yet beneath that calm exterior, his thoughts were moving faster than ever before as his eyes swept across the six towering monsters before him.

"...This doesn’t make sense," His voice echoed softly through the immense cavern.

"A Level Nine recommended dungeon containing six bosses above Level Thirty?"

"What kind of nonsense is this?"

His mind immediately began organizing every piece of information he had gathered since entering the Emerald Cavern. The dungeon entrance had clearly displayed its recommended level of eight to nine, and the monsters near the entrance had indeed been around that level.

Even the hidden paths had all matched the dungeon’s difficulty, meaning everything had been perfectly normal until now.

Dan slowly shook his head. Every dungeon on Earth had a recommended level, and a Level Nine recommendation didn’t mean the dungeon was easy; it meant that someone around Level Nine possessed a reasonable chance of clearing it.

While people still died, mistakes still happened, and unexpected monster mutations occasionally occurred, six bosses above Level Thirty—with one even reaching Level Forty-Five—was absurd.

"Could this be some kind of glitch?"

His gaze remained fixed upon the enormous chamber.

"...A hidden evolution?"

He considered the idea, knowing that dungeons occasionally changed over time as spiritual energy concentrations shifted, bosses mutated, and rare treasures altered ecosystems. Such phenomena weren’t unheard of, but even evolution possessed limits.

An ordinary rabbit wouldn’t evolve into a dragon overnight; likewise, a beginner dungeon couldn’t naturally become home to six monsters dozens of levels beyond its intended difficulty because the difference was simply too great.

His eyes narrowed.

"So what exactly happened here?"

His pupils contracted. Perhaps this wasn’t the true end of the Emerald Cavern, perhaps what lay before him wasn’t originally meant to exist, or perhaps someone—or something—had changed this place.

The thought lingered quietly inside his mind, but he didn’t rush toward any conclusions, since speculation without evidence was merely another form of ignorance.

Instead, he studied the six rulers before him, noting that each possessed a distinct appearance and radiated its own terrifying aura. The nearest stood upon eight massive legs, its body resembling an enormous emerald scorpion.

Unlike ordinary scorpions, however, crystalline armor completely covered its shell, with every plate engraved with strange black markings that resembled ancient runes. Its tail arched high above its body, and at the very end rested a stinger nearly three meters long.

Dark green poison slowly dripped from its tip, each droplet hissing the instant it landed upon the stone floor. At Level Thirty-Three, it was not the weakest, but it served as the first guardian.

Several meters behind it coiled an immense serpent whose scales weren’t merely green, but resembled polished jade. Each movement caused light to ripple across its body like flowing water while its golden eyes remained fixed upon Dan without blinking.

Unlike ordinary snakes, two horn-like protrusions extended backward from its skull—not yet true dragon horns, but perhaps one day they would be. It was Level Thirty-Five.

Further toward the center stood a towering humanoid giant, nearly six meters tall, whose skin resembled weathered stone. Ancient vines wrapped around its muscular frame, and in each hand rested a massive battle axe carved from black crystal.

Unlike the previous two monsters, it stood perfectly upright, watching, waiting, and almost appearing to be thinking at Level Thirty-Seven.

Dan’s attention shifted again to the fourth creature, which resembled a wolf, only everything about it seemed exaggerated. Its body reached the size of a small house, its silver fur constantly shimmered beneath the emerald light, and six crimson eyes stared from its elongated skull.

Every breath released white mist despite the cavern’s stable temperature, and its claws effortlessly dug into solid stone as it waited at Level Thirty-Eight.

The fifth boss looked stranger still, possessing no clear animal form and appearing almost human with long black robes, pale skin, and long white hair. Its face remained hidden beneath a cracked porcelain mask, and in one hand rested an ancient wooden staff toward which the surrounding mana naturally drifted, as though acknowledging a superior existence.

At Level Forty-One, Dan remained particularly cautious of this one, because magic-type monsters rarely relied upon brute strength, and their danger often came from abilities impossible to predict.

Finally, his gaze settled upon the last ruler standing quietly at the very center of the chamber at Level Forty-Five. It towered nearly eight meters tall, but unlike the others, its appearance was almost knightly, with living black armor completely covering its enormous body.

Tiny veins of emerald energy pulsed beneath its surface, and a massive greatsword rested point-first upon the stone floor before it while both gauntlets calmly gripped its hilt.

Its helmet possessed no visible eyes, only two narrow crimson flames burning where pupils should have been, and it neither roared, growled, nor displayed hostility. It simply observed.

Dan instinctively tightened his grip around Night Sovereign.

"...The leader."

He didn’t know how, yet he felt certain that strength wasn’t the only reason; it was a matter of presence. The other five naturally occupied positions around it, as though acknowledging authority. The knight hadn’t issued commands, but it didn’t need to, for kings rarely reminded subjects they were kings.

Dan quietly studied the sword resting before the armored giant, since a swordsman naturally paid attention to another swordsman’s weapon, even if that swordsman happened to be a monster. The blade alone measured nearly five meters long, and its edge showed no signs of rust nor damage despite clearly existing for countless years.

A strange thought suddenly entered Dan’s mind.

"...Could it..."

"...also understand a Dao?"

He immediately frowned. It was ridiculous, wasn’t it? Then again, he himself had begun touching the Dao only four days after becoming a Streamer, so who was he to declare anything impossible?

It was once said that arrogance often disguised itself as certainty; wise men acknowledged possibility, while fools declared absolates. Dan chose possibility.

He quietly exhaled.

"My chances..."

He honestly evaluated them. Against one Level Thirty-Three boss, he possessed confidence, but against one Level Thirty-Eight, the battle would become difficult. Against the Level Forty-Five leader—even with Night Sovereign, his Divine Sword Art, and the Dao of Darkness—victory remained uncertain. Against all six simultaneously, he had almost no chance unless he created one.

His eyes gradually sharpened. He hadn’t revealed Shadow Crossing nor Abyss Severance, and that gave numerous advantages. More importantly, his opponents knew nothing about him, meaning information remained his greatest weapon.

Suddenly, a faint scraping sound echoed across the chamber, and Dan’s attention instantly focused as the silence finally ended.

The massive emerald scorpion slowly lifted one enormous claw, while its countless eyes remained fixed upon him. Then, without warning, it slammed one razor-sharp leg against the stone floor.

BOOM!