Aiden and the girls continued traversing the winding corridors of the dungeon, passing multiple cross-sections while slaying groups of goblins that lurked in the shadows. The battles had become almost routine by now—each encounter yielding more monster cores. As he counted, Aiden realized they had collected at least thirteen cores so far, a considerable haul for a single trip. The eerie silence of the dungeon was occasionally interrupted by the distant echoes of unseen creatures, reminding them that danger was still present.
As they pressed forward, Aiden, still somewhat unfamiliar with dungeons, turned to Chloe and asked, "So, how big is this dungeon? It feels like we've been walking for hours."
Chloe chuckled, amused by his curiosity. "It's not that big, actually. Right now, we're only in the middle section. All paths eventually converge towards the final part of the dungeon, where the boss resides. If we're lucky, we might get a chance to kill it and obtain its core. A boss core is much more valuable compared to the ones we've been collecting."
Aiden's eyes widened in surprise. "Wait, we've been here for hours, and we're only halfway through? That means even after finishing the dungeon, it'll take us a few more hours just to get back... So it actually takes an entire day to clear even the weakest-class dungeon, that too if it's already conquered."
Clara nodded. "That's right. If the dungeon was freshly formed, it would take even longer since we'd have to deal with untouched monster hordes and hidden traps."
Aiden thought for a moment before asking another question. "Have you both been to the capital's dungeon? How does it compare to this one?"
Clara hummed thoughtfully before answering, "The capital's Initiate-rank dungeon is clearly harder than this. It has a variety of monsters, including goblins, orcs, and even lamias."
Hearing that, Aiden frowned. "That doesn't sound like an Initiate-rank dungeon at all... Those are adept-rank monsters."
Clara gave a knowing smile. "Well, that is a type of dungeon where you go with a party. That's why it seems like it is an Adept rank dungeon. But it isn't. That's because the dungeon ranks aren't assigned randomly. When a new dungeon appears, its size determines its difficulty, and only a specific number of people with the same energy resonance as the dungeon's readings are allowed to enter initially. Only when they conquer it by defeating the boss does the dungeon become accessible to everyone else. No one knows why this happens—it's been this way ever since dungeons started appearing a millennium ago."
Aiden frowned at this revelation. "A systematic way of providing resources through dungeons… That's too convenient to be natural. There must be a reason behind it." He sighed, shaking his head. "But I guess there's no point in thinking about it if even the entire world hasn't found an answer yet."
As they moved deeper, they began to feel a subtle shift in the density of mana around them. Aiden could sense it immediately—this area contained stronger monsters. The air grew heavier, and even the goblins they encountered now seemed different.
Instead of rushing at them recklessly, these goblins hesitated. They observed, their crude weapons clutched tightly, their beady eyes filled with cunning. They were thinking. Not just mindless creatures acting on instinct, but predators analyzing their prey.
The moment of silence was broken when Clara suddenly launched a fireball at the closest goblin. The creature attempted to dodge but found itself ensnared by vines conjured by Chloe. It shrieked in panic just before the fireball struck, incinerating it instantly.
The other goblins erupted into action. Chloe and Clara worked seamlessly together—one trapping and restricting movement while the other bombarded their enemies with spells. Aiden, meanwhile, handled the ones attempting to flank them from behind. He stomped his foot on the ground, causing jagged spikes of earth to erupt beneath the goblins, pinning them in place before he launched fireballs at them. They screeched in agony before collapsing lifelessly.
By the time Chloe and Clara finished off their opponents, Aiden had already wiped out his share of goblins.
As they turned to him, they found him crouched down, methodically collecting monster cores from the fallen creatures, one by one. He had already gathered all of them before the girls even started.
Seeing how effortlessly Aiden had handled the battle, both Clara and Chloe sighed. The gap between them and Aiden was still vast, despite all their training. They had never once been able to defeat him in a spar, and it seemed that reality was reaffirmed yet again.
"We have to work harder," Chloe muttered to herself. Clara nodded in agreement, determination flashing in her eyes. If they wanted to catch up to Aiden, they couldn't allow themselves to remain stagnant.
Once the last goblin was looted, Aiden noticed Ciara eyeing the cores with an unusual amount of interest. He raised an eyebrow before picking up one and placing it in front of her. Instantly, she gobbled it up in one bite, looking at him expectantly for more.
Amused, Aiden sighed. "Fine, fine, here."
Since he didn't have any immediate use for them, he handed over five of the cores he had just collected. Ciara devoured them happily, looking content. But then, through their spirit connection, he heard Lumina's voice echo in his mind.
"Master, save some for me too!"
He smirked. "Maybe I can get you these corpses somehow instead?"
Lumina let out an excited exclamation. "Master, if you can do that, it would solve so many of my problems! I wouldn't have to go out or send others to hunt for food in the future."
Aiden's mind immediately went back to the time he used the golden seed to enhance his light spear. It had completely eradicated the Corrosion Beast. Perhaps he could find a way to store corpses for Lumina where she can access them.
With that thought, he began collecting the goblin corpses inside his spatial storage, pretending to use a simple enchanted storage ring. It was something he had picked up from a roadside stall in Dermon City. Of course, he had modified it to look genuine, but in reality, the ring was nothing more than a decoy. He actually used a different method to store the corpses.
Imagining the scenario where a thief would steal the ring only to find it was completely ordinary, he chuckled to himself. The thought amused him greatly.
Clara and Chloe, meanwhile, didn't question his actions. Corpses could be sold outside the dungeon, though at a cheap price. They figured Aiden probably needed money more than they did when they reached the capital, so they didn't mind him taking them all.
Once everything was sorted, they continued on their path, heading towards the next crossroads.