The large tents stood in front of the mouth of the cave. Some of the tents were yellow, some were brown. The two guilds set up their respective camps. However, they blended together. Some of them were seen chatting and laughing with each other. Some were doing arm wrestling, and some were playing cards. They get along well, like old friends.
This one long day had made them get to know each other.
However, the condition of the subordinates was different from their superiors. In one of the yellow tents with a golden dragon flag coiled around it, tension was brewing.
Wang Yi, Ling Tian, and Guo Chen. The three of them seemed to be in a state that no one could interfere with.
"So, Guo Chen, can you tell me how the guild left you with that little Alpha?"
The only woman inside the tent started the conversation. Wang Yi didn't want to beat around the bush. She wondered if her sister was involved in the decision, considering that their raid was a joint raid.
She was sure the leader this time was not her sister. If it was her sister, she would definitely kill that Alpha. Wang Mei was a practical person, she only cared about the safety of her members. She wouldn't have made such a reckless decision.
On the other hand, the two men in front of her seemed to be tense up with each other, but they could still hold it in.
Guo Chen took a deep breath.
"That little girl, Aman, she is a victim of the dungeon."
Suddenly, the whole tent was shocked. Wang Yi and Ling Tian glanced at each other. Of course, they could not accept that kind of answer.
Then, Guo Chen began to explain the chronology of the incident.
The Conquest of Floor 1 was quite short. They only took two weeks. In the first 12 days, they went on a search for the teleportation gate. At that time, they also did dungeon mapping and surveyed the Power Crystal mining site. On day 13, they found the teleport gate and finished off the Mutant Troll, the floor guard or the Alpha.
After they arrived on the 2nd Floor, they went on an exploration. Just like Isaac and his entourage, during their exploration, they were ambushed by the homunculus. The first experience of fighting monsters in human form was enough to overwhelm them. Their hearts were not strong enough to kill a homunculus. It took time for them to do it.
Entering the night of the second day, they realized that their communication device was not functioning well. They did not know what caused it, but a hunter from Crimson Dawn said that there was a magnetic field that damaged all the electronic devices.
Since the communication device was damaged, the raid was paused for a while. There was a debate within the group.
Nine Sky, represented by Wang Yi, refused to continue the raid. The communication devices were the most vital tools. Without them, their movement would be limited as they couldn't disperse. Besides, if something happened to the raid, they couldn't notify the outside world.
The communication devices were like thin threads that could keep them connected.
Wang Mei learned from her bitter experience in Isaac's dungeon.
However, the Crimson Dawn and Phoenix Armad parties refused to back down. They wanted the exploration process to continue because the resources they had spent would be wasted. They had used a lot of potions and ether. All of them weren't cheap.
In the end, Cheng Ho, the Guild Master of the Phoenix Armada, and the man appointed to lead the joint party, decided to continue the raid.
They then continued to climb the dungeon.
The process of exploring the 2nd Floor was also not as difficult as they had imagined. It was even easier than Floor 1. Most of the monsters in the forest were low-class monsters, such as goblins and kobolds. They explored for a week and found the teleportation gate on the last day.
And the main problem started from here.
The hunter group found the teleportation gatekeeper was an old man and a small child. Of course this surprised them.
At first, they thought the old man and the girl were the same as the homunculus they had met before; fighting like an animal and having no common sense. However, the two of them were the opposite.
A frail old man who couldn't do anything about it and the other was just a strange little girl with an eccentric appearance. However, she has extraordinary physical strength. The girl was able to crush rocks the size of tennis balls with her two fingers. She even threw the rocks at the hunters and caused eight people to break their bones.
Because of that, there was almost bloodshed.
The anger of the hunters who were attacked quickly disappeared when Lawrence knelt while crying in front of the hunters. Even if they killed hundreds of homunculus, they would still have trouble making decisions when it came to young children and the elderly.
Because after all they were Hunters, apart from seeking profit, they had a duty to protect weak humans.
"You mean the homunculus begging for forgiveness for what his granddaughter did? Impossible. This sounds absurd."
Ling Tian narrowed his eyes. His face shrouded in disbelief. He had a hard time accepting the explanation from Guo Chen.
Wang Yi also pointed out the same thing. "This is weird."
"But, the reality is like that. The old man quickly begged for mercy after his granddaughter attacked us. The little girl thought the hunters were going to attack her," Guo Chen retorted.
Ling Tian was silent. However, he still harbored doubts. So far the story was still understandable, but he didn't understand the reason the old man and his granddaughter could become Alphas.
No matter how hard he thought, he couldn't find a plausible explanation.
"Okay, then what does that have to do with you taking care of his granddaughter?"
"That's right," said Wang Yi. "Don't tell me you guys made a deal to save his granddaughter from being an Alpha."
Guo Chen then nodded his head. Instantly, Wang Yi opened his mouth wide. She didn't expect her original random guess to be correct.
"WHAT!?" Ling Tian also showed a similar reaction.
"Right. The old man wanted the little girl to go to the outside world. He wants his granddaughter to be free from the Dungeon Master's slavery."
After hearing that, only the two of them were interested. Wang Yi was hearing this term for the first time, while Ling Tian looked familiar. However, he pretended not to know.
Guo Chen then continued his story.
The old man was named Lawrence, while the granddaughter was named Aman. However, they were not related because they were homunculus.
The two of them were born in a lab on the 3rd Floor. They didn't know the location, but the old man still remembered well the giant gate that connected the lab to the dungeon.
According to the old man's confession, the person who created them was a woman with an eccentric appearance. She caught every human wandering in the 1st Floor dungeon. After that, she put them in a tube and turned them into a thick black liquid. Then, she would create a homunculus from that liquid. The old man said, at least 10 humans were equivalent to a homunculus.
Lawrence was one of them. It was just that he was a failed product. He had aged like a man in his 40s after the first three days of being created. Entering the seventh day, he was like a war veteran.
Because of that, the old man often received unpleasant treatment from other homunculus. However, there was only one homunculus on good terms with him. Namely Aman, a variant homunculus who possessed extraordinary powers. She had a physical strength and mana above the average homunculus. She was almost equal to the top quality. It was just that she was immature.
Lawrence did not know the name of the creator. However, the homunculus referred to her as 'Lady' or 'Dungeon Master'.
Due to their close relationship, the Dungeon Master ordered Lawrence to accompany Aman to guard the 2nd Floor.
For more than three months, Lawrence devoted himself to the dungeon. He then began to wonder, what he was created for. Every day his life was just to wait at the teleportation gate with Aman. His life feels empty and has no purpose. Until he finally met a human.
Lawrence several times descended the 1st Floor and tried to interact with the humans there. Then he discovers the fact of a world beyond his own.
Since then Lawrence has continued to increase his interactions with humans. He wanted to get out of the dungeon and be free from the Dungeon Master's shackles. Of course he wanted to take Aman with him.
Until the day he met a group of hunters who carried out a joint raid.
Lawrence made a deal with Cheng Ho to help him out of the dungeon, as long as he helped them find the lab and the location of the 3rd Floor guard boss.
Of course Lawrence was willing, but he wanted someone to take care of his grandson. He didn't want to get involved either.
Then, Guo Chen and a few people were appointed to guard Aman.
"Nonsense…"
WAng Yi muttered while biting his tongue. He had received too much information from Guo Chen.
Likewise with Ling Tian.
Even though they both got an explanation, they still couldn't accept it.
"What if it's a trap?" said Ling Tian.
"No, that geezer is really honest. You'll understand once you see her eyes," Guo Chen argued.
Then the two started arguing again. They fuss about traps and tricks in the dungeon. Meanwhile, Wang Yi could only remain silent. He didn't know how to respond to the current situation.
High-pitched voices echoed within the tent. Until someone finally came in. Instantly Guo Chen and Ling Tian's commotion stopped.
"Ling Tian, he is right. The old man wants to be freed from the shackles."
Isaac came. They all saw it, but their attention was more focused on the little blue-haired boy hiding behind Isaac.
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