Chapter 522 – Dungeon Core

“Hm… do I even need to take this thing out? It should be fine if it stays here.”

Roland stood before the entrance to the dungeon core chamber. Inside, the core floated in a mostly empty room. At the center stood a round column resembling a pedestal, and above it hovered the object in question. From a distance, it looked like a magical artifact – something meticulously crafted by a master artisan. However, to someone like him, a true master craftsman, it was clear this wasn’t the case.

The floating orb, the dungeon core, was not an artifact but it also wasn’t perhaps truly alive. Roland tried to examine it but stepping further into the room would bode bad for his current expedition. The core’s surface shimmered, shifting between an opaque sheen and translucent clarity. It pulsed with so much mana that it would probably cause regular mages to be repelled but his mind was not filled with the beauty of what he was seeing but how he could use it instead.

“What if I just left it here? I could perhaps use it…”

A thought crept into Roland’s mind. He didn’t fully understand how these dungeon cores operated, but he suspected they might function similarly to artificial tower spirits – something between a living being and a programmed machine. The cores appeared to absorb massive amounts of mana from the environment and the adventurers they defeated, using that energy to gradually expand in size. The process was slow, often taking hundreds of years before any noticeable change occurred.

This realization sparked a new question in his mind: what if he could influence that change? What if he could control the core and bend it to his will? If that were possible, would he still need to venture into other dungeons in search of monsters? Or could he simply command the core to spawn whatever creatures he needed?

‘The ground is covered in runes, similar to the ones in the other hidden chambers, with time I should be able to dismantle the defenses, perhaps if I make it think that I’m part of the monsters in the dungeon, it won’t trigger the traps?’

Roland contemplated ways to gain access to the chamber. Once inside, he could examine the floating dungeon core more closely. His goal wasn’t to destroy it but to harness its power for his own purposes. If he could decipher how to make it spawn specific monsters, that would be enough. Perhaps he could command it to produce powerful boss monsters he could farm for resources or even bypass the conventional process entirely. Rewards like Agni’s Egg might become obtainable, or he could potentially create tier 3 enemies for training.

However, he knew this wouldn’t be a task accomplished in a single day. The runes on the core were likely of tier 4 caliber, far beyond his current mastery. The intense pain he experienced while attempting to transcribe them into runic programming language confirmed as much. Even if he managed to decode the rune he observed, critical portions seemed to be missing.

He had a theory about tier 4 grand runes, but it remained unproven. Still, the reaction of his Runic Eye skill mirrored what he had encountered with some of the magic in the Headmistress’ tower, further supporting his suspicion that he was dealing with tier 4 magic here as well.

“Woo?”

“Ah sorry Agni, I was just thinking, everything is fine, just don’t go inside or you’ll trigger a trap.”

Agni paced behind Roland, his ruby-like form radiating faint heat and casting ambient light that danced across the cavern walls. The glow created shifting shadows that flickered in the dim chamber. Despite his imposing appearance, the wolven companion seemed unusually alarmed and restless. He moved back and forth, his tail curled tightly, a clear sign of unease.

It was almost as if he feared the dungeon core itself – his own creator. Perhaps this reaction was an instinctual safeguard, an inborn trait injected by the dungeon to ensure its creations could never turn against it.

“Why don’t you go out Agni, keep people from coming here.”

“Woof!”

Agni was quick to follow the order, retreating from the vicinity of the dungeon core without hesitation. Once his companion was gone, Roland turned his attention back to the chamber, contemplating his next move. He had come here intending to take a quick look at what he was working with, but the core chamber’s unusual setup had caught him off guard. Now, he needed to decide whether to prioritize investigating the core or continue with the spelunking expedition he had planned.

“I suppose I’ll leave a probe here and let Sebastian analyze it later…”

After some deliberation, he made his choice. With his current technological advancements, he didn’t need to handle every task personally. His AI assistant, Sebastian, could manage this part of the investigation. The probe he had in mind was a recording device capable of monitoring the shifting mana patterns around the core and scanning the runes. Once the data was collected, it would be forwarded to Sebastian for detailed analysis.

This solution freed Roland to explore other areas of the dungeon while the core’s defensive mechanisms were left to manage themselves. Confident in his decision, he retrieved a few cubes from his spatial storage and embedded them into the nearby walls. These probes, though not identical to runic mapping sensors, shared similar functionalities. They didn’t need to be inside the core chamber itself to perform their scans. The high concentration of mana within the core chamber allowed the devices to pick up on fluctuations and analyze the runes remotely. However, the intense mana density would slow the scanning process, likely requiring several days to complete.

In the meantime, Roland planned to delve deeper into the dungeon. His gauntlets glowed faintly as square-shaped holes appeared in the walls, where he carefully inserted the probes. Once in place, he sealed them off, taking care to conceal them completely. Though he didn’t anticipate adventurers or monsters in this area, he preferred to keep the devices hidden from prying eyes. When everything was set, Roland restored the entrance, ensuring it looked undisturbed and as natural as when he arrived.

‘Should I order this area sealed off for good? Or would that just attract too much unwanted attention?’

The thought lingered in his mind. He briefly considered using his High Knight Commander status to secure the chamber, stationing guards to keep adventurers away. However, such an act could backfire. Drawing attention to the area might prompt others to investigate, potentially revealing the dungeon core’s existence.

While destroying dungeon cores was illegal, Roland knew that didn’t stop everyone. These living artifacts were the subject of intense research, and some archmages would pay exorbitant prices for functioning or even damaged cores. Sealing the chamber could potentially put a bullseye on it, prompting some underworld organizations to act. These cores were quite difficult to detect. Even he needed to place hundreds of runic mapping sensors throughout it all before discovering this location through Sebastian.

‘I suppose, no one will discover it unless I point it to them. I’ll just reinforce the hidden chamber with some barriers and it should be fine…’

He decided to keep it hidden from others by not mentioning it to others. As long as few people knew of it, no one would be able to spread it as a rumor. This whole dungeon was being monitored by Sebastian and he would be informed about any intrusions or disturbances. For now, discretion was the best policy. Roland reinforced the chamber’s entrance, layering it with a mixture of runic defenses and magical illusions to make it appear completely natural. Anyone stumbling upon it would find nothing more than an unremarkable stretch of cavern wall.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“Let’s go Agni, race you to the lava lake!”

“Awoo!”

Once that was taken care of, the two took off running. While Roland was of a higher level and had a better stat multiplier, he couldn’t quite keep up with his ruby wolf. Agni sped ahead, but Roland managed to keep the gap small enough to maintain sight of his companion. The chase was a welcome distraction from the heavy thoughts lingering about his current woes. Roland’s boots clattered against the rocky floor as he pushed himself harder, following Agni’s ruby form darting ahead like a streak of red lightning.

The path twisted and turned, but eventually, they arrived at the lava lake, which had now begun to change.