Chapter 540: Dungeon Rewards

Published Mar 14, 2026, 09:23 AM

Chapter 540: Dungeon Rewards Alex and Fran just stood unmoving, hugging each other. They only stirred when the space around them suddenly started glowing faintly. The forest disappeared, and they found themselves in a spacious room, where a meter-tall golden core floated in front of them. "Dim Dim!" After hearing Dim Dim’s call, Alex turned and saw the little bun jump from Lumi’s embrace to his side. With one smooth gesture, the young man caught the little bun and started to gently pat its head. Dim Dim looked at him with a smile, but Alex noticed that the side of the little bun’s face seemed a little wet, prompting him to wipe it with his handkerchief. Fran then looked at her brother, who was standing beside Lex, and Lumi. Both looked at her with a complicated gaze. She and Alex had yet to know that Dim Dim, Lumi, Finn, and Lex had seen their adventure from start to end. "Are you alright, Fran?" Finn finally spoke, as he walked toward his sister and took her hand. "I’m fine, Brother," Fran replied. "How about you? Did anything happen after we have been separated?" Finn shook his head. "Nothing happened." Lumi had also approached Alex and used her handkerchief to wipe the tear stains on his face without saying a word. Alex smiled faintly and allowed her to do what she wanted to do. When the young lady was finally done with her task, she finally looked around their surroundings. "This might be the Dungeon Core Room," Lumi said before looking at the dungeon core that was hovering at the center of the room. "And that must be the Dungeon Core." Alex nodded in agreement. While this might be his first time personally seeing a Dungeon Core in real life, he was already familiar with what it looked like from playing ELO. The side quests in the game commonly included conquering Dungeons until players defeated the Final Boss, which then gave them a chance to enter the Dungeon Core Room. Perhaps the mechanism wasn’t the same in real life. They hadn’t fought any Final Boss, yet here they were, standing inside the Dungeon Core Room. "What do you want to do, Young Master?" Lex asked with his arms crossed over his chest. "Do you wish to take the Dungeon Core or just leave it be?" There are three ways to handle Dungeon Cores. First involved selling it in an auction house, which would make Alex incredibly rich. Dungeon Cores could serve as a power source, which could power formidable weapons like Magical Cannons, Golems, and Air Destroyers, as well as other artifacts. The second option was to leave the Dungeon Core, allowing it to manage the dungeon. In other words, the dungeon would not cease to exist and Adventurers could hunt monsters and acquire a steady supply of materials, which could then be sold to the Adventurer’s Guild. For this reason, all Dungeon Cities have protectors stationed inside the Dungeon Core Room to ensure that no one would dare to take it. In any case, dungeon cores were national treasures that provided an unlimited source of materials, which could be used to craft many weapons, armors, accessories, and other items that made the kingdom prosper. The last option was to absorb the Dungeon Core. Absorbing a Dungeon Core could raise the Rank of the one who absorbed it to the next level as long as the user’s current rank was Rank 6 and below. So getting the core and absorbing it after reaching Rank 6 was a shortcut that a few people had tried in the past. Since absorbing a Dungeon Core absorption could only be done once in a lifetime, only those under Rank 6 and were desperate enough used it. Alex pondered a bit before glancing at Fran. To his surprise, Fran was also looking at him, and she simply nodded her head as if telling Alex that she would trust his decision. "Dim Dim, please take the core and store it for the time being," Alex said to the little bun. Dim Dim gave Alex a salute. "Dim Dim!" The little bun then jumped on top of the hovering Dungeon Core. A second later, a dimensional gate appeared below it, and the core slowly descended into it as if it was slowly being stored away. When the core was about to be completely stored inside Dim Dim’s dimensional storage, five beams of light flew out of it. Four of those beams transformed into four treasure chests, while the last one landed on the old knight’s forehead, merging with his body. These are perhaps the rewards given to the ones who conquered the Dungeon using a secret method. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦 But Alex and Fran knew that this dungeon wasn’t an ordinary dungeon. It was a dungeon created specifically for the two of them—to fulfill a promise made thousands of years ago. This was a gift from "The World," and they would accept it gratefully. The only surprising thing was the beam of light that had shot to Lex’s forehead. Alex tried coming up with a feasible explanation but failed. So, for the time being, he decided to deal with the four treasure chests at hand. "Please store these treasure chests as well, Dim Dim. We will let Astrea open them back at the Academy." "Dim Dim!" Lumi blinked because she had no idea why Alex needed someone else to open the treasure boxes for her. However, since Dim Dim seemed to agree, she decided to just ask Alex this question later when they were alone. Suddenly, the sound of a tolling bell reached their ears. It was the signal that a Dungeon had been conquered, and only those inside of it would be able to hear this sound. A moment later, Alex and his comrades found themselves standing on top of a hill, overlooking the place where the dungeon once was. It was no longer there. All that was left in the valley were the tall walls, which had kept a secret no one had discovered for countless years. "Let’s go back everyone," Alex said as he reached out for Fran’s hand. Finn thought of grabbing Alex’s hand to prevent him from touching his sister. But he refrained from doing so after seeing Fran also reach out to take Alex’s hand. For some reason, Lumi felt competitive, so she held Alex’s left hand, which made the old knight smile faintly. Earlier, the Dungeon Core had given him a gift, and this gift was quite precious. It allowed him to "see" despite being blind, which was truly a miracle born from The World’s blessing. Perhaps the Deity knew that the old man was Alex’s protector, so she had granted him a gift that would be very useful for him. Lex had no intention of letting anyone know of this secret because being known as blind had its perks. If people thought of him as someone who couldn’t see, they would be more careless in his presence, allowing him to see some secrets he wasn’t supposed to. Holding two beautiful young ladies in his hands, Alex took the lead to head to the path they had taken earlier. The mist that had been troubling the travelers within the territory of the Whispering Valley had long disappeared, giving everyone a good look of their surroundings. Finn and Lex walked behind the three teenagers, guarding the rear. They had not forgotten about the countless monsters roaming the domain. Lowering their guard would be foolish, so they had to remain vigilant until they reached the safety of the capital city of Solara, the City of Solivane.

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