"It should be, well, we can only continue hunting. Once everyone breaks through the body tempering stage, we can start venturing further into the forest," Arnoux said.
Upon hearing this, everyone nodded and began preparing for the next hunt.
-----------------
While this was happening, Argon, who was floating above them, observed everything. Currently, he was merely waiting for someone to die, curious to see how many soul coins he would receive.
Furthermore, when Arnoux and his group entered the dungeon earlier, Argon received a mission as well.
[Mission: Kill all intruders or defend your dungeon for a day.
Reward: 100 soul coins]
Of course, Argon didn't desire to massacre Arnoux's group. If he killed all of them, who would spread the news of his glorious dungeon? After all, Argon was unaware that his dungeon had caused such a commotion that the nearby village noticed the white pillar.
However, Argon understood that in this dog-eat-dog world, he had to steel his heart to survive. He knew that if the heart of the dungeon was destroyed, the dungeon would collapse, and he would perish along with it.
When Arnoux's group entered earlier, the system informed Argon that there was a heart of the dungeon at the end of the forest that he needed to protect. He had yet to venture there, as he wanted to assess the strength of the wolves first before approaching the heart of the dungeon.
After all, there was no one here capable of threatening his dungeon, so he saw no need to rush.
Now that he knew the monsters within the dungeon were indeed stronger, as the system had claimed, he felt more at ease. It provided him with a greater sense of security.
Argon teleported to the end of the forest and discovered an altar with a red crystal floating at its center. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that the crystal was subtly moving, resembling the beating of a heart.
"System, is this crystal fragile?" he inquired.
[Yes, the crystal itself is fragile, but the altar is shielded, making it difficult to destroy. The shield can currently withstand attacks from those in the Qi Gathering realm. To upgrade the shield, the host can explore the upgrade section of the system.]
Upon hearing this, Argon accessed the system and indeed found the upgrade section, which he was certain hadn't been there before. He opened it and discovered the heart of the dungeon, the sole item in this section. To upgrade it, he required five hundred soul coins—a significant sum. With that amount, he could purchase numerous powerful monsters to defend the dungeon.
Satisfied with his findings, Argon closed the system and teleported back to Arnoux and his company.