The ride to the the dungeon wasn't long, they weren't far from it in the first place, it's just that their status for a walk that "long" was too high. Why bother when you can take a car? Guildmaster also thought that Kerren simply picked one of the closest dungeons to the university itself, it was not completely wrong as he did choose one close, but the dungeon itself was not as simple.
It was a dungeon that Kerren knew about from his previous life, it wasn't anything big, its just that it wasn't an "A" rank dungeon. It didn't have any major secrects or insanely big areas that one could anchor and claim... It only had one boss. It was strong, but Kerren knew what monster it was from the beggining. Such a dungeon with only one enemy wasn't rare, there were lots of them, but this was somewhat unique.
The boss inside of this dungeon wasn't strong at all, but as one tried to find him... he would get a lot more stronger than he initially was. Speed was the crux of this dungeon and if one wasn't fast enough he would fail miserably. What's worse is that the boss was hidden somewhere in the dungeon! Kerren didn't know where exactly he was, but since he knew the real objective from the very start it wont be that big of deal.
More than that, Kerren will try to absorb whatever powerups the boss had left. He didn't know what it was exactly since he only read about the dungeon itself when he was young, it fascinated him in his previous life. Dungeon raid already failed several times at this point, in his previous life it was the same, but when it was finally conquered awakened who did it revealed what it really was, and that they were simply lucky that they had a great investigator with them and some luck.
If not for that, they would've failed like any other before them. They didn't become famous after it but it added some fame to their names, it was Kerren's second goal after trying to steal the bosses powerups if it was possible at all. Why would Kerren seek fame? It would be easier for him to leech off people. If he was famous and strong he would be able to advance much faster. Obviously it'll bring him more problems along the way but it was all worth it.
After all, who wouldn't want to get a 16 yo awakaned who solo-cleared a dungeon that couldn't be cleared in several attemps? Thus, he chose this dungeon.
After ten minutes after getting in the car Kerren was the group were finally there.
- All of you just follow me and do anything once we get inside. If any of you intervenes i will leave immediately. -- he stated as he got out of the car.
- Kerren, you cant leave a dungeon unless you kill the boss -- one of the men "opened" Kerrens eyes, well, he tried to.
- No, YOU cant leave the dungeon, i can -- he answered, not even looking back at him.
A minute or so passed and he arrived to the entrance. It looked like a swirl of some sorts, it was big or particularly small, if was twice as big as Kerren himself, so around 3 meters all. As he approached several guards stood before him.
Before he even approcahed they looked at each other, not sure of what they see. Was that a barefooted kid who approached them? He also had guards? The hell is going on here?
- Stop. This is an entrance to the dungeon, leave immediately kid, this is not your kindergarten. -- one of the guards told Kerren as he looked down on him on purpose, maybe he'll be able to make that young master hit him so he can demand compensation... poor child...
- I thought you already cleared the entrance to that bullcrap place -- Kerren said angrily as he glanced at one of the men he had behind him -- You wanted me to make trouble here or something? -- he didn't want to do it, of course, it was all his craracter.
- Hmph, as if you can -- son of the guildmaster wasn't buying whatever Kerren wanted to sell him, he didn't believe that he was anything big, he didn't look like one in the first place... -- Look here -- he said as he took out some kind of an emblem -- We are of "Dawn" guild, let us in, we bought access to this dungeon! -- he proclaimed loudly and arrogantly.
- You? From the "Dawn" guild? -- one the guards laughed -- Well, the three of you might be, but who is this hobo? -- he said before trying to poke Kerren's head.
But, just as his hand aimed to do so Kerren released a wave that pushed the guard right inside the dungeon he was about to enter himself.
- WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? -- the second guard cried out as he took out his weapon and pointed it at Kerren.
- You have one chance to f*kk off before you accompany him. -- Kerren glared at the man angrily.
- You! I'll see how you will be able to deal with the government! -- he said as he already activated his distress call. Those were used if an eruption or something worse happened near a dungeon. -- Scared now!? Bow do... -- he couldn't complete his sentence as he flew inside of the dungeon.
- This is too much even for me... -- that son said as he observed it all. He didn't expect Kerren to do that! Who would!? He provoked the government by killing their men! He didn't kill them, of course, it's just that they were "C" ranked awakened and they were launched inside an "A" rank dungeon... They might already be dead.
Kerren didn't respond to his words, he simply entered the dungeon without pause.
What about those guards that the guildmaster assigned to those kids? They reported everything to their boss. He wasn't sweating or anything, he simply answered with "Damn kid" and rushed over to the dungeon to try mend the situation somehow.
...
Soon after, Kerren emerged in the dungeon. It was a giant tunnel somewhere in the ground or god knows where, all Kerren undestood that there were no open spaces here which already was a problem. As he started looking around he saw the two guards let pushed inside, they were fine and simply glared at Kerren with their weapons in hand.
- Try spewing some more bullcrap and i'll just kill you. -- he said as he was looking at the portal behind him.
Soon, three other people emerged and the dungeon closed. Why did it only close after they entered? Well, after the first entrance everybody around the dungeon were marked, only those could enter it no matter what, but once they did - they couldn't leave unless they killed the boss.
- Oh, so this is cave... So, are you certain that you will be able to clear it? -- the son asked Kerren, he himself wasn't certain that he'll be able to do much in such a place. After all the were no sun and all he could see were some placed that had glowing crytals, it was obvious that many people wouldn't dare to be careless here.
- It's fine, just follow me. -- he said as he looked back -- Take those with you, i will take care of everything else. -- he pointed at the guards and started using his spells.
He didn't think anything about this cave. He already knew that, he also knew that the boss was the one who made it. It was a Deathbed worm. If people that Kerren came with knew about that they wont just enter as 4, those were too dangerous. The only reason Kerren dared to fight it was because there was special condition in the dungeon, otherwise he wont even think about killing those yet.
As he got information about the outline and overall structure of the dungeon he started moving. To his surprise he could already detect a massive mana-source not too far ahead! It was bigger than he thought, but he didn't feel anything alive as he expected... That wasn't strange, but it still felt right. How come there's nothing alive? What about the boss? Was he undead?
Undead Deathbed worm? It was impossible, those couldn't become undead, so why didn't he feel him? Was it covered by something or was it inside the mana source he felt? If it was the latter it would be understandable, he might not be strong enough to feel anything there. He didn't care too much as he could leave the dungeon if it got too dangerous, this was a method from his previous life that many people used in case of emergencies... Well, if he wasn't forced to he won't ever use it.
Kerren and the group seemingly wandered around the tunnels. In reality, Kerren knew where he was going, it's just that the tunnel that led there was somewhat far, even though the source of mana was closer to his initial position. He didn't care about the speed since he didn't feel any movement or mana disturbance anywhere, that could only mean that the boss was asleep or something like that.
- So... What is this dungeon? -- the son said, asking about the opinion of others -- Why is there no monsters? No mana-crystals or even bugs? I haven't seen anything but rocks and those glowing crystals so far... -- it didn't feel right for him. He wasn't weak or inexperienced, he was a great awakaned who will achieve a lot in the future, it's just that the dungeon was too strange for him to undersand, it was the first time he ever saw one like that.
Kerren didn't answer and nor did the guards. The guards didn't care about what he asked, they were "above" him in the hierarchy after all, but even if they were forced to answer - what will they say? "We don't know"? What was the point of that? Kerren? You already know.
...
Soon after they approached the giant mana source that Kerren felt. It was an enourmous pile of mana-crystals! At first, Kerren didn't look so well, he thought that something was not right. But, as he started using his spells again he felt that inside those crystals was a worm! It was not even a proper deathbed worm, just a young one! That's why he couldn't feel his lifeforce - he wasn't alive yet!
It all clicked for Kerren, turns out this was a nest of a Deathbed worm! Their nests were special, as they collected lots of mana crystals and laid their eggs there, making something like an mana egg to hatch their children!
Kerren, however, understood the gravity of the situation. If it woke up - he'll have a tough time, he also understood that his spell was flawed! Even though this worm wasn't really alive, it was at the same time! He will need to change the basis of his spell to detect such a being! It turned out that it didn't considering being like that alive or dead at all!
Well, as for clearing the dungeon? It was easy, even though this mountain had enormous value, there were several tons of mana crystals of various grades - he cant take them no matter what. Why? The construction itself was a bit of a problem, if it was disturbed by any physical force it could collapse on itself, burying Kerren and the group. That was, however, not the main problem.
Such an amount of mana was! If one was near such a mana source for a long peried of time, and that one was unpreapared... They would simply die! Mana would claim his body! Well, not exactly that, but... Ah, whatever. Remember that mana changed one's body? Yeah, so... Imagine that it tried to change all of it, at once? That would be a problem, right? That's what Kerren was somewhat afraif of, he didn't know if he could bear such an amount if he took it!
Killing the worm, however, wasn't a problem at all. First of all it wasn't even alive, as of now. Second, it wont be for unknown period of time, but he certainly had a lot of time to prepare for whatever. Third is... It was literally sleeping inside a giant bomb! Kerren could easily start a chain reaction and explode the whole place!
That, would, of course, bury them all in the ground, but what option did he have? He had none! Killing it with his own powers could attract more worms! They might be lonely sometimes, but that was a child! If one was a child - he's supposed to have parents somewhere... So.. Where were they?..
As Kerren thought about all that the son of the guildmaster couldn't believe his eyes. Such wealth right infront of him! But, as he was about to run closer to it...
- If you dont want to die - dont approach it. It will instantly kill you -- Kerren said, not even looking at the son of the guildmaster.
- Huh? You want to take it all for yourself!? -- he glared at Kerren with a crazed expression.
- Young master, he said "it" will kill you, not "i" will kill you. This pile of crystals is dangerous, in his opinion -- one of the guards elaborated Kerren's words.
- What can be dangerous in a pile of crystals!? -- he didn't believe that.
- If you dont want to die - do whatever, i have witnesses and i'm not supposed to guard you, i'm only here to clear the dungeon. -- Kerren didn't care about his feelings or anything else, he simply wanted a certain method to kill it and run back as fast as possible. If its parents arrive he would be in a lot of trouble!
Killing the worm isn't a problem, but being alive yourself after doing so was! He didn't think about its parents at first, but soon as he realised that some of the tunnels he was didn't have any crystals... They were new! His parents were around here somewhere!
Then... How did the party in his previous life kill it? They said that it was all thanks to their investigator and that was the time was... They weren't here yet!
Kerren suddenly ran closer to the pile, taking out as much crystals as he could, he immediately modified them with an unknown spell. After the modification they changed color, it was a thing he added so he could see how many were already "infected". As he threw them of the pile they started changing other crystals around them!
As he did that, other people thought that he went insane or something, they didn't bother asking, but as he ran back to them...
- Get the f*kk out here! This is a nest of a Deathbed worm! -- he cried out as he ran past them
They didn't need him to explain anything, even the young master didn't bother staying there as he ran faster than the guards. He knew just how strong those worms were!
10 or so minutes later they were infront of an exit, which was also the entrance to the dungeon. Kerren looked insanely tired and sweat dropped down from his face. Of course that was the case, he didn't run as much in a long time!
- So, what do we do!? If it's a nest it's parents are around! -- the son of a guildmaster asked anxiously.
Kerren felt somewhat ashamed, as that guy took way less time to understand that a child has parents...
- It's fine, we'll wait for them to arrive there. The pile was big enough for them to sleep there, too. I infected those crystals and i can make an explosion at any time. -- he revaled the truth behind his move.
- Explosion!? It will f*kking kill us along with them! -- the young master was now getting more scared of Kerren than of those worms!
- What other options do we have? Deathbed worms are too dangerous, even if we had a 100 people it wont be a guaranteed victory! -- one of the guards suddenly intervened.
- I think Kerren is right, we have to rish it all. We dont have any other choice... Unless we use a method to escape the dungeon.. -- he said somewhat hesitantly.
It shocked Kerren! It turns out those people know about it too! So... That means they hid it for 20 more years! That method was publicized as new and revolutionary 20 years later! Since he hesitated, they both knew the same method! It required one to abandon all they had, after it they will be able to leave! - So what if they abandoned it? Those were just items! - that's what you think, right? Well, it didn't mean that. It meant abandoning their awakening!
- No, i have a plan. -- he immediately told them that it wasn't an option, surprising the two men... does that mean he knows what they were talking about? -- Stand really close to the portal, once i make an explosion it will open and suck us in. -- he stated, it made them think!
- What if that nest is empty? -- one of the guards said.
- It doesn't matter if it is. Sooner or later worms will get back there, i will explode them all at the same time. It will work. -- he revelaed his true plan!
- That... Hm... -- the guard hesitated -- What if the explosion isn't enough? Not only you wont be able to kill those worms, we will be buried along with them! -- he didn't belive that Kerren had an ability to make such a massive explosion with just a few crystals he threw in
- It doesn't matter if you believe me or not, i will do what i want. -- he glanced at him -- Go use the method if you're afraid, i'm staying here. Reward for clearing such a dungeon will be enormous, it's all worth it in my eyes -- he didn't really care about their opinion, he only wanted the reward. Even if he failed - so what? He already died once.
- Fine, i'll believe you this one -- the young master suddenly said -- If you can kill those worms i will tell father to make you a vice-guildleader! -- he added in the end, as if motivating him to succeed!
- Whatever, i dont care about your guild anyway. Just give me crystals, i'll manage the rest on my own. -- what a rude answer that is! He repaid goodwill with animosity!
- Uh.. i think now i understand how some people around me feel... -- he suddenly realized after talking to Kerren.
After several hours of waiting, they finally felt rumbling around them. It wasn't anything small, rocks fell from above, walls started crumbling and even the portal looked somewhat weak! Why could that happen? That meant that the worm that just passed was enormous! It's not a surprise that so many people failed! It was far above the rest!
Kerren patiently waited for the rumbling to stop. He didn't care about it as much as others did, he simply made a shield around him so none of the stones could hit him!
But, even after 10 or so minutes it didn't stop! How is that possible!? Did he run around in circles or something!? Or did that worm noticed that something was wrong with those crystals!?
Thankfully, after some more time it did stop, and Kerren revealed a smile! He saw the worm! He left an observer back near the entrance to the nest, thus he was able to see whatever was going on!
The worm really was enormous! It was way bigger that any other worms he ever saw! In the future, there will be many more of them, some even appeared in eruptions! There were many in the news and dungeons that Kerren saw, but one as big as this one was a new one for him!
- Get to the portal, he's finally on the crystals. -- he said as he stood up.
- What about you? -- the guard asked immediately.
- What do you mean? You think i'm going to sacrifice myself or something? I have something else to do. -- he immediately answered with an angry voice.
They didn't dare to argue with him anymore and got closer to the portal, they were almost standing inside of it, but it didn't feel like anything nor did it do anything.
Kerren looked at the ceiling and said - Boom.
The explosion was so big that the group that stood near the portal couldn't even react! The portal teleported them back so fast! That could only mean that the worm died instantly, along with whatever else was in a giant radius around it!
-* But... What about Kerren? Why didn't he enter the portal along with them? How did he plan to survive that explosion!? -- three people in the group thought as they were already back.
Two guards that were assigned to protect those kids let go of the guards that stood guard of the dungeon, they were carrying them all this time as they were too slow.
- Where's Kerren?! -- the guildmaster said as he saw the group, but didn't see the guy he wanted to see the most! After his son, of course...
- He... He said he has something to do?.. -- the young master answered.
- Something to do!? Where!? The entrance is gone! -- he said as he pointed at the place where it once was!