"Master, my clones have already finished clearing up the outer part of the forest. They're now on their way back."
While I was holding back nausea caused by the squirming purple-black congregation of energy, Ember blandly said so from behind. When she saw my face, she quickly turned worried and hurried to my side.
"Master?! Your face is pale. Is something wrong?"
Ember held me by the shoulders. When she did, I felt faint and almost backed out. This... Just the disgusting view doesn't cause this. If I were to guess, this should be due to the strain my mind is taking while processing the visual information of the energy swarm. I closed my eyes, and to confirm my guess, I felt much better.
"It looks like my eye places a large burden on my body. I'll close my eyes for now, so Ember, please guide me around and protect me."
Although I can open my eyes in case of emergency, letting Ember protect me, for now, seems like the best choice.
"Please leave it to me, Master!"
Ember held my right arm tightly, a soft and warm sensation enveloping it.
While Ember led me ahead, I could feel the presence of the densely swarming dark elemental energy pressing heavily on our bodies. Even if I opened my eyes, only squirming darkness greeted me. Still, I was able to confirm that no energy strand comes closer than a meter to us.
With Ember tugging at my arm, we slowly went deeper into the central area. Soon, a voice could be heard from afar.
"Leader! Over here!"
It was Fang. She probably cleaned up all the monsters inside the central area. The monsters in the central area, if converted to equivalent tamed beast evolution level, would be near the 4th stage. However, since it was daytime, the nearby barriers from the town weakened them to about the equivalent of 2nd to 3rd stage evolution.
Fang, who was almost already unbeatable at the 2nd stage of evolution, cleared the whole central area like it was a walk in the park. She lives up to her new racial name Shadow Werewolf Assassin, killing all the high-level demonic beings before they could even recognize her presence.
"Wow, Fang, did you kill all of these?"
Ember, who was leading me by the arm, let out a soft sigh when she saw the stack of essence crystals, each slightly larger than those from undead skeletons', piled on one side. A rough count would net more or less 60 pieces.
Unlike Fang, whose combat abilities scale up with the increase in stats, Ember needs to use skills to increase her battle capacity. So right now, Ember's individual fighting capability hasn't changed much. Not until she learns the skills that are newly available to her after evolution.
"Yes, I did. Rather than that, check this out... Wait, Leader? Why are you closing your eyes?"
Although I can't see her, I can guess that she's currently tilting her head to the side in wonder.
"It's nothing. Just that my eyes are exerting a heavy strain on my body. It's probably related to how dense the energy around this place is."
"Oh, that? I think it's fine now, Leader. The thing I wanted to show you is somewhat related to the abnormal energy density here too."
Since Fang said that it was fine to open my eyes, I tried opening them slightly. The squirming wall of dark purple energy was still present, but it was as if they were walls enclosing us at its center. I quickly diverted my gaze from the wall and stared at the thing that Fang wanted to show me.
"Is that... A portal?"
I couldn't help but blurt out the first thing that came to mind. In front of us, there is a bluish-white hole in the empty space. At first glance, it reminded me of the portals that connect one place to another, however, it seems that it isn't exactly a portal.
"What portal? This is a dungeon."
Fang said with a sigh.
"This thing was originally inside a large boulder. When I smashed the boulder accidentally, it came out."
A dungeon. It's a place that is separated from our world, an independent space by the gaps of two dimensions. It is known that dungeons are rich in resources, however, they are also fraught with danger.
"So, Leader. What do you think? Should we enter?"
I thought for a bit.
A dungeon's color varies with its strength. Bluish-white dungeons are the weakest, however, it is recommended to have multiple 3rd-stage or one 4th-stage tamed beast when attempting to enter.
"We meet the minimum requirements for safety, so I guess we can enter."
In case of emergency, my storage ring contains not only emergency food and water but also some protective trinkets. No matter what irregularities there are inside, I'm confident that we could at least walk out of it harmless.
When Ember's clones finally reached our location, we gathered all the essence crystals and placed them inside the storage ring.
"Okay, let's go."
Saying so, I took the lead in entering the dungeon.
My senses didn't catch the moment the scenery changed. It's like when I noticed it, I was already at a different location. Surveying the surroundings, it felt like we entered a wasteland rather than a treasure trove of resources.
The sky was covered in black clouds. Flashes of lightning and rumbling thunder rolled almost everywhere. The ground was cracked earth as if the land haven't tasted a drop of water in decades at least. Even the amount of energy present was so little, I almost thought I lost the ability to see them.
"What's with this place?"
Fang, who was behind me, asked in wonder. Ember was looking around curiously, however, faint traces of worry could be seen on her expression.
"This... I don't know..."
Since this was my first time entering a dungeon, I don't have any experience to rely on to explain the weird scene inside.
"For now, let's go out and report it to the government office. I guess Vice Chief Fina would have some idea."
When I said so, I turned around completely, trying to look for the exit. However...
"... The entrance... Is gone..."
The flickering bluish-white entrance was nowhere to be seen.
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