"Here, Arnulf, 50 silver coins in total. Thank you for your hard work," the guild staff said as she handed over a pouch of coins.

Arnulf nodded, feeling a sense of relief. This reward from the quest would be enough to support his family for at least a few days.

In recent years, he had rarely taken on larger quests. Most of his work was limited to low-rank tasks around the town, avoiding anything that would require him to leave his family behind for days.

As he was about to leave the guild, Arnulf overheard a conversation from one of the tables.

"Ahh! I’m so bored. There are no good quests right now. It’s all because the Mooncrest Dungeon is gone."

"Yeah. And because of the recent rogue boss attack, all the quest givers are afraid to submit their requests in this town."

"This must all be because of that failure kid, Oliver. He must be the one bringing bad luck. I knew it!"

"Yeah! That’s right."

"We should kick him out of this town, including his family. I’m sure they’ll just give birth to another failure if we let them stay here."

"I agree with that."

Arnulf clenched the pouch in his hand as anger surged through him. He could not let them speak like that about his family. He was about to confront them when Robert arrived and stopped him.

"Calm down, Arnulf. Just go. I will talk to them and tell them their thinking is wrong," Robert said with a reassuring smile.

Arnulf remained silent for a moment before nodding. He chose to trust him, after all, they had been close friends for years.

After Arnulf left, a smirk slowly formed on Robert’s face as he walked toward the group’s table.

"Oh, Mayor Robert, what brings you here?" one of the hunters, Peter, greeted him.

"I overheard your conversation. You were talking about that kid, weren’t you? How about this, I have an interesting offer for you. Just between us, and only for a limited time."

"What kind of offer, Mayor?" Evan asked.

"I want your group to kill Oliver and make it look like an accident. How about it? Can you do it?" Robert said with a sly smile.

The group exchanged glances. Slowly, wicked smiles spread across their faces.

"How much are you willing to pay?"

---

The Arachnid Nest dungeon is located at the edge of the Barony of Delpech. Ashville and Dewfield towns both sit at the border of this barony, neighboring the next one, the Barony of Barrister.

The journey to the dungeon takes about 45 minutes from Ashville Town, passing through several fields and stretches of forest. It lies in a sparsely populated area, left desolate after the last dungeon break in the region.

People only use this path as a shortcut when moving armies through the area toward the western part of this kingdom, the Kingdom of Cyren.

And right now, a boy and a wolf were speeding through this place at high speed.

"Are we there yet?"

"Not yet. Just a few more minutes. Why did you choose the farthest dungeon in this region? Why not pick a closer one?" Husk asked in an annoyed tone. He had been running nonstop for the past 45 minutes with Oliver on his back.

"I want to see how strong this boss is. From what you said before, dungeons with fewer visitors tend to undergo mutation. This is the least visited dungeon in this barony, so I expect its boss to be very strong."

Oliver looked at his notes one last time before storing them away. Even before turning ten, he had researched all the dungeons in the barony together with Tamera. She would borrow books from the local library, and he would read them. It was all preparation for moments like this,when information could mean everything.

After a few minutes, they arrived at a large swirling portal. But this one was different from what Oliver had seen before.

"What a huge portal... and its color is yellow. That means it’s at imminent risk of a dungeon break. Luckily, we’re here to clear it."

"Don’t take a yellow portal lightly. It means the number of monsters inside is at least double the normal amount," Husk warned.

"Why should I worry when I have you and Nyx?" Oliver said as he approached the portal.

"Nyx? You already gave Cannonyx a name? And why is it still related to its original name, while mine is completely different?" Husk asked as he followed behind.

"You’re cuter with that name," Oliver replied casually as he stepped into the dungeon.

A chilling breeze immediately greeted him along with an eerie atmosphere that stretched before his eyes.

"Is this... a ruined town?" That was the first thought that came to Oliver’s mind. The houses were all in terrible condition. Some were still standing, but others were nearly collapsed. Along the road, debris was scattered everywhere like chairs, broken carriages, and fallen stalls.

But the most striking feature was the sheer amount of webs covering the area, as if no part of the town had been left untouched by it.

"It seems the dungeon has expanded by absorbing the town," Husk said.

"Absorbed?"

"As far as I remember, the Arachnid Nest was originally a cave-type dungeon. But it seems that due to the excessive mana in the surroundings, the dungeon has engulfed the town and made it part of itself. The town had already been abandoned for years, so it seems no one was trapped inside."

"So the dungeon itself is like a living thing?"

Husk nodded.

There are many mysteries surrounding dungeons. No one knows where they came from or when they first appeared. They have existed in this world since prehistoric times, even before writing was created thousands of years ago.

When Oliver first read about dungeons, he became fascinated. He even decided that one day, he would uncover the truth behind them.

But for now, he needed to focus on what was in front of him.

"Summon Cannonyx!"

Oliver raised his hand and summoned his second monster.