No one knows how a dungeon chooses its master. I say there is a way, a certain matrix, it must be following, but my fellow dungeonlogist doesn’t really agree with my analogy.

Well, I don’t practically have any problem with their way of thinking, but sometimes it irritates me to no end. They think the dungeons are erratic things, an existence that happens abruptly without any cause or reason.

But when has this ever been the case?

If we look at ourselves, we can find reason in everything. Our affinity, quirk, and power are heavily influenced by our desire. After studying them for years, we can say the monsters are the same.

But just because we weren’t able to understand the dungeon and didn’t know its fine-tuning.

Is it really wise to call them irregular? That there aren’t some mechanics on the play.

I want to prove them wrong, I really do. And I know I can do it.

To do that, the first thing I have to find is how the dungeon selects its master. Is it random, or is it because of something mutual between them? Or, is it because the gods have willed that to be?

I wrote these three options, but deep down I know which one is likely to be true. If it were to be the latter, then there is no point for churches to continue researching these things.

And if it were the former, then what is the point of mine?

It must be the middle one. No, it had to.

I have found some kingdoms and church who are willing to sponsor this work of mine. I just want to prove to them I’m worth it, so they spare no expenses on me.

Just the other day, I was reading about the destruction caused by the Dungeon of Kali and its human master, and it gave me an inspiration.

Now I just know the temptation that would make them value me.

I can promise them I can make one of their man sit on the throne of a dungeon.

How will I be able to do it... I don’t know, but I know where to start from.

-Excerpt from the diary of Dungeonlogist Karnuya.

******

’one... two.. ten... twenty.. thirty..’

This was Adam’s first count before the mana became jumbled enough to not accurately judge the number of monsters coming their way.

Raising his hand, he rotates it a few times, indicating they are getting surrounded from all sides.

Goblin Warriors were the first ones to enter through the gaps, while archers were just behind them, climbing on the trees. Notching their arrows, they drew their bows and aimed at the young women in the center of the formation.

And on the flanks. Moving low and fast through the underbrush were the thieves. Spreading wide, they circled toward hunters with not the best of intentions.

"Battle Spirit"

Shouting, Krishna was the first to dash toward the goblin warriors.

Moving the sword in a crescent slash, he carved a clean arc through the air. An aura surged forward, and three warriors stumbled back with deep cuts across their chests.

Augmenting his swords with mana, he dashed once again. Moving his sword in a fluid motion, he cut all three of them.

[You have killed a tier I monster: Goblin Warrior.]

[You have killed a tier I monst....]

[You have killed...]

Ignoring the notification, Krishna wiped the blood of his face and dashed into another cluster of the warriors.

Tang! Tang!

Their swords clashed as he activated [Blade Dance]. With short, controlled rotations, he parried the slashes and attacks while cutting forward through the dense line of the goblins.

Instead of holding his ground, Krishna pushed forward, pressing the monster in a tight space.

Looking at the cluster of monsters gathering, Nyron activated his skill and hit the flank with all his might.

[Skill Concentrated Punch Lv. 6 has been activated.]

His left hook struck a warrior’s sword, breaking it completely. Before it could make a move, the uppercut tore its chin right out of his mouth.

While the whispers informed of his kill, he concentrated a large amount of mana in his hand.

[Skill Earth shatter Lv. 3 has been activated.]

Punch rippled through the dirt beneath his boots as it rattled every warrior within two meters. The startled monsters were like lambs on the chopping board as Krishna enjoyed bursting their heads off.

Blood and brain matter splattered as he continued killing them with a grin.

While these two were taking care of the right, Calyra stood between them and the monster on the right. The synergy between her skills [Lightning Kick] and [Pressure Point Strike] made killing goblins almost effortless.

Away from the frontline, something moved in the shadows. Holding a dagger in one hand, it lunged toward her head. It had almost succeeded in killing her when a stone bullet came, hitting straight in its head.

[Be careful, Calyra... some are hiding...]

A whisper sounded in her mind as Calyra nodded and activated her mana senses. The skill would dwindle her already small mana pool faster, but she had few potions to counter that.

"Weight of Dominion"

Vaidya activated the artifacts as the Chains of the Burdened King snapped outward. Calyra stepped out of the way as the chains wrapped around a cluster of eight advancing warriors, locking them in place.

Weaving his mana, Michael raised his staff.

A bright flame concentrated on its tip before moving toward the cluster and exploded. Instead of extinguishing, the fire went upward and outward. A tornado of fire appeared as it swept a few more monsters into its clutches.

[You have killed a...]

Letting the notification pile on, Michael moved. Creating a wall of flame along the back line, he forced the monster to change its path. Three of the monsters were too slow and got caught on the edge of it.

Their essence came soon after as well.

Meanwhile, Soren was moving right between the trees. His [Phantom Dagger] punched through the back of the archer’s neck before the cry had a chance to fully form.

Activating [Cloak of Darkness], he blended into the shadows and began channeling his mana into the shoes he was wearing.

Locking his eyes with another archer, he activated the [Rift Step] and appeared in his next position. His dagger slit their throat, as monsters died before knowing what hit them.

Gulping a mana potion, he repeated this process until he killed all the archers in his sight.

Adam worked between the formations. The mind bridge connected all eight of them, providing each hunter with awareness of where the pressure was building.

Along with Adam, Misha worked tirelessly. Slowly but surely, the injuries were building... or that would have been if her Healing Aura didn’t continuously bathe them in soft golden radiance.

Every cut that should have slowed Krishna instead vanished. Every hit Nyron blocked with her hand recovered before it had the chance to grow more.

When a dagger found itself lodged in Calyra’s leg, she was the one to restore the muscles before they widened.

Anyone with a functionally frontal lobe would know they were dominant in the field. The rank they had achieved wasn’t just for the show.

The monster formation broke, got reformed again, and was broken again. New archers appeared, but Soren moved like a thought. The thieves circling wide ran into Vaidya’s stone wall, which it hadn’t tracked.

Soon, it was apparent that a gap of an entire tier was not something you compensated for with numbers alone. Every hunter on the field knew it and used it.

’Where are you, demon...’ Burning monsters to a crisp, Michael thought.

With how everything was going smoothly, he knew something was happening behind the scenes. The way they were winning was too good to be true.

And Michael knew it.