Teleporting, the hunters found themselves in a room that appeared to be a hollow space carved underground. It was compact yet wide enough to hold almost a hundred people standing close together.

Rough stonewalls curved inward as it felt damp and cold to the touch. There were faint cracks running like veins across the surface. At the center of the floor lay a large sigil whose light was slowly fading away.

Soon, the light went out completely, and the group found themselves in complete darkness. Instantly, Michael cast a small fireball, lighting the room. Before he could get accustomed to or inspect the room he had spawned inside, two notifications sounded in his ears.

[The Curse of Final Destination has been applied.]

[The Curse of Offering has been applied.]

’two curses from a newly developed dungeon...’

A bad feeling crept inside of him as he tapped on them and read their descriptions.

[The Curse of The Final Destination: There is no leaving from what you have not yet faced.

Effect: You can’t exit the dungeon without killing a guardian or the dungeon boss.]

As if this wasn’t bad enough, the next curse hit him like a punch to the gut.

[The Curse of The Offering: Satisfy the greed.

Effect: Every hour, you have to offer something you consider of value to the dungeon. If you don’t do it willingly, the dungeon will decide on its own. After three refusals, the dungeon owns everything.]

’We are fucked...’

Understanding the description, the very first thought that came to Michael’s mind was how screwed they were. He instantly understood that if they didn’t wrap everything up in a few hours, then the situation could turn bad to lethal in just a few hours.

"This is bad..." Beside him, Misha had the same opinion.

"Have we learned about the unique dungeons?"

Someone muttered the rank, not really understanding the weight of the rank.

"Fuck, they lied!?" Adam blurted out instinctively.

"No, that can’t be... a unique dungeon isn’t-" Before he could finish his words, someone interrupted his thought.

"What is this curse of offering about.. shouldn’t a passive ability only activate when the dungeon reaches tier II. And why is it so strong?"

"Fuck, I knew something wasn’t righ-"

Before others could add to the panic, Michael went ahead and interjected in their conversation.

"Does anyone have a way to measure the passing of time?"

Instantly, everyone’s attention went to him as Michael repeated his question. If they did it right, time was going to be an ally of theirs, and if not, there is no greater nightmare than that.

Michael understood it clearly and wouldn’t let others waste any precious seconds, let alone minutes.

"No..."

There were many restrictions on the items that could be brought inside, so nobody was stupid enough to waste that slot with a mundane clock.

’There is no other way...’ Sighing, he looked at the others and asked.

"Do you all know how long or how fast your mana recovers?"

Being a mage, Michael knew about his mana pool better than anyone else here, still, he decided to maintain silence for the time being.

Best in their domain, the others didn’t need further explanation as they quickly understood what he was trying to get at, and the first one to reply was Adam.

"If I used half of my mana, it would take an hour to recover naturally."

"Same!" Vaidya shook her head.

"Mine is fast. I can recover my entire mana pool within an hour." Misha replied.

The others didn’t have precise knowledge about their mana recovery rate so the group had to choose from these three. Knowing his options, Michael considered everyone’s abilities and their role in the team.

With divine magic at her disposal, Misha was the healer of the group. Krishna, Daniel, Nyron, and Calyra were the main fighting front, where the former two were the swordsmen while the latter two were experts in hand-to-hand combat.

Dirham, Vaidya, and Michael were experts in long range, where Dirham used a bow, Vaidya was an expert in stone magic, and Michael was the fire mage of the group.

Adam was a mind mage, and Jahrana is a summoner. Last but not least, Soren was the scout who had authority in the shadow domain.

"We can’t use Misha as we may need her in an emergency... and Vaidya needed to have her reserve for any shielding. I will be the perfect option. I could cast Mind Barrier so the mana wouldn’t be wasted as well."

After weighing their options, Adam suggested, to which Michael nodded his head while others agreed as well.

"Good... that will do."

Nodding his head, Adam closed his eyes and began to visualize something; soon, a white pure light began to glow around the heads of the others, forming a barrier of sorts.

In a second, the light faded, but the effect was still there.

"Done it. Let’s get into the formation and move on..."

After arranging the hunters in formation according to their class, Adam instructed everyone to be vigilant. Connecting his mind bridge with Soren, he asked

[Go ahead and tell me anything that looks suspicious.]

Nodding his head, Soren blended with the shadows around him and began moving ahead.

[Nothing here.]

The cue arrived from Soren, and the group began moving toward the opening of the room. After walking through a narrow cave for a while, the group stepped into a wide underground room.

The small fireball couldn’t light the whole thing, so Michael increased the intensity of the fireball. Despite its heat, the air felt cold, too rough to breathe comfortably.

"A labyrinth?"

They could see the similarity with the previous room except for the entrances carved into the walls. There were a total of three entrances in front of them, and all of them looked similar.

They appeared to be tall and narrow with edges sharp like blades. It was designed in a way so that the group can’t move with more than two people side by side.

Looking at the entrances, Soren asked.

"What now... Should I move first and check each of the caves separately?"

Hearing the suggestion, Adam shakes his head.

"No.. no that would take too much time.. We can’t do that..."

Pausing to weigh the pros and cons, he added, touching the artifacts hanging from his neck.

"What do you think about splitting apart?"

"Separating this early is not good... I think." Vaidya shakes her head.

’But time...’

Michael was about to disagree with her, but stopped, knowing full well that separating the group from the start was a bad idea. Even more so when they didn’t know what kind of monster they could face.

"Let’s go together... for now," he added.

"I think so too... let’s at least move together for now," Misha added.

Soon, the others quickly agreed, and they chose to enter the entrance on the left side. The opening was tight, forcing them to walk in a single line. Rough stone brushed against their shoulders as they passed through.

The narrow space made the air colder, and their footsteps echoed softly along the thin passage.

No one wasted any energy speaking as the surroundings occupied had their utmost. They were vigilant, looking for any sign of monsters, traps, or anything that could harm them in the slightest. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

After walking for nearly ten minutes, the hunters slowed to a stop. The narrow passage had ended abruptly, and in front of them lay a solid stonewall.

There was no turn, no hidden path, they had walked all that distance only to arrive at a dead end.

"Look for any traps or hidden entrances..."

Michael addressed Soren as an ominous thought crept inside his head.

Nodding his head, Soren stepped closer, running his hands along the rough surface as if searching for a crack or a hidden mechanism. To his disappointment, except for the coldness and roughness of the stone, nothing was there.

"Nothing I can see..."

Soren replied, shaking his head.

"Let’s get back then..." Adam said, and the group began turning back. As they already knew about the place, they were quick on their feet and reached the midpoint within 5 minutes.

"Let’s go there..." Michael said, pointing to the middle entrance.

Ten minutes had passed, and the group was still in the passage. As the minutes passed without anything happening, the thought surfaced inside his head again.

’Is it that the dungeon is designed to waste our time!?’

He begged to be this as nothing more than a coincidence because he knew if this were to be true, then that would mean they aren’t facing a mindless beast but someone calculated. Someone with intelligence.

And there is no greater horror than that, and Michael knew it.