Magus Reborn

122. Dungeon exploration

Kai had plenty of time to think about the things that bothered him during the time he had taken for his recovery. The battles, the beasts, the betrayals— everything that had happened and gnawed at his side since he’d awoken in Arzan’s body felt like a blur. But now, with his mind clearer, he began to notice details he’d missed before.

The brood mother had been a challenge, but it wasn’t the creature itself that unsettled him. It was the parasite within it. That thing wasn’t natural. Frays had mentioned they’d never seen parasitic colonies in the forest. No one had. And yet, there it was.

It had to have been placed there.

As the thought settled, Kai’s suspicions sharpened. There was only one person who could pull off something like that: Lucian. He had the power, the influence, and, most importantly, the cunning to orchestrate something that underhanded.

But there was a bigger question. How had Lucian managed it?

Kai’s mind wandered back to the reports about the necromancer lurking in the Vasper Forest. A Mage like that wouldn’t just appear without a reason.

If a necromancer had crossed into Vasper Forest, it would have had to pass through the Sylvan Enclave and Lucian’s territory was in the middle of it.

Suddenly, things began to align. The necromancer wasn’t just a wandering threat; there was a connection. If Lucian had offered safe passage or collaborated with the necromancer in some other way, it would explain the emergence of the parasite.

The more Kai thought about it, the more it all clicked. Lucian wasn’t just playing politics anymore. He was something much darker than the surface of an arrogant persona disguised in expensive clothes. He was dangerous.

And Kai knew he had to act because Lucian was no longer just a brother vying for his territory. He was involved in something that could spiral out of control, something far bigger than Kai had anticipated.

Kai had berated himself for not seeing the signs earlier. How could he have missed it? The necromancer had been right in front of him, but there hadn’t been any symbol of a larger organisation, nothing to link him to any known group. Looting the body had revealed no clues, just a series of dark trinkets, none of which provided the answers he sought.

But then again, why would the necromancer have something so obvious on him? It wasn’t like people who dabbled in forbidden arts walked around wearing badges.

Still, Kai knew he couldn’t keep beating himself up about it. The past was the past, and lingering on it would only waste time. What mattered now was making sure something like this never happened again. He needed to be more vigilant.

With that conclusion in mind, he came to the present and moved forward with his group as they walked towards the dungeon, their horses traversing the roots growing along the forest floor.

"I still don’t understand how the guards let a necromancer slip through Veralt to Vasper Forest," Feroy muttered, shaking his head and breaking the silence. "This shouldn’t have happened. It’s our fault for not keeping a tighter watch!"

Kai didn’t even break a glance at him as he replied, "It happened when I wasn’t taking charge of the city seriously. So, no, Feroy, it wasn’t just the guards’ fault. It was as much my fault as theirs."

"It’s not your fault, Lord Arzan."

"I wasn’t paying enough attention to the inner workings of the city. I let things slip by and trusted too much in the system. That’s on me. But now we learn from it."

Feroy fell silent, listening.

"We can’t change what’s already happened, but we can make sure the security is tighter from now on. We’ll improve the patrols, and list out exactly who we’re letting into the city and the villages, and for what purpose. No more blind trust. A registry is a good way to do it and we can improve the system with enchantments as we go."

"A registry?" Feroy asked, raising a brow.

Kai nodded. "Yes. That way, we know who’s here and why. It’ll make sure no spy or dark Mage sneaks in unnoticed again. They might still lie about their purpose, but there are ways to get around it."

"Won’t it be hard to keep an eye on such a big territory, especially one connected to the Vasper Forest? This place is huge." Klan asked from behind.

Kai nodded, his gaze scanning the dense trees that hovered over them, their leaves casting dappled shadows on the ground. "It will be difficult, but not impossible. We can’t cover everything simultaneously, but we can start building a proper security system. It’s going to take time, but we’ll get there."

"Yes, it’ll be a process, but a mandatory one," Feroy’s words came out loud, confirming everyone’s thoughts.

With that, they once again fell silent letting them just look around and take everything in.

They followed along the stream of water, and the deeper they moved, the closer they got to the waterfall. The trees seemed to stretch endlessly, impossible to distinguish where they began or ended. Different colours, and sizes of trees— some Kai knew would even look luminous at night towered high around them. He involuntarily sighed as they passed a couple of richly grown Agarwood trees, noting them down to use in a few of his potions.

He looked down and noticed thick undergrowth tangled at the hooves. The heavy sound of the waterfall surrounded them. The smell of the damp earth filled his nostrils.

This close to the Vasper Forest, nature felt alive, almost watching them, listening to them, and stalking them.

His thoughts drifted, taking a swift turn as he thought back to the conversation with Feroy and a form of magic that might help them— Druidic magic, a kind of magic that was one of the rarest in the world and was even a form of lost magic in his era— he had been considering it for a while now.

It would certainly make things easier, especially in monitoring such a vast area. But druidic magic was the legacy of the elves and it wasn’t easy to learn it since they were known to be protective of it.

Kai wondered whether it was time to seek out the elves. Making contact with them could open doors to that magic and offer alliances he would need in the future. He would need them to become an Enforcer as well and although he knew a few tricks he could use, there was no guarantee they would work.

The soft crunch of leaves brought him back to the present. He felt the breeze and heard the sound of the waterfall. From the information he had, the dungeon was right next to it. But that wasn’t why he held up a hand, signalling for everyone to stop.

From beyond the thicket, a low growl rumbled, barely audible but unmistakable.

Kai pushed aside the thick vines using a first circle spell [Tangle Shift] to reveal a small clearing ahead. Then he used [Hawk Eyes] to see just outside the entrance to the dungeon cave they were heading for.

She exhaled deeply, the tension in her shoulders melting visibly.

He looked at the four beasts on the floor, dead. His eyes scanned the sprawling trees around them as he heard movements, probably from the rest of the pack that were hiding nearby. But they soon vanished.

Since they were only Grade 1 beasts, none of them dared to jump out to avenge their kin.

"Well, that went well," Klan responded while letting out a huge breath. "The rest aren’t as brave as these."

Feroy approached, wiping sweat from his brow. "More like not as unlucky as these. They were able to run away in time seeing our power."

"Alright," Kai said, turning back toward the dungeon entrance. It was a cave as most dungeons were, wide enough for them to easily move inside without ducking. "We’ve dealt with the duskhounds, but let’s keep moving. There’s no telling what’s hiding deeper inside."

With that, the group moved toward the dungeon’s mouth, their steps echoing against the stone walls as they descended into the depths. The sound of the waterfall soon was muffled by nothingness but the constant beat of their hearts.

Kai summoned several orbs of light, sending them ahead to illuminate the way. The cold, dark air of the dungeon greeted them, the walls damp and slick with age.

"Stay sharp," Kai warned. "There might be more beasts lurking down here."

They moved carefully, their eyes scanning the shadowed corridors for any sign of danger. Nothing. The flickering light from Kai’s magic cast eerie shadows, making the dungeon feel alive with movement. But as they continued deeper, they found nothing. The eerie silence was unsettling, and the absence of beasts only heightened their tension.

"No signs of anything yet," Feroy muttered, his spear gripped tightly in his hand.

Kai nodded, though he remained cautious. "Keep your guard up. It’s quiet, but that doesn’t mean we’re alone."

They continued their descent, the darkness thick around them, every sound amplified in the space surrounded by stone. The deeper they went, the more the silence pressed in on them like a tangible weight. Something was off, but for now, they found no signs of danger.

Yet.

The occasional corpse of a beast, already decayed and half-buried by rubble, dotted the path, but nothing noteworthy. They moved carefully, the echo of their footsteps was the only sound that came through the walls.

After what felt like hours of navigating the twisting corridors, they entered a massive room.

In the centre sat a podium— on top of which rested the dungeon core. It glowed faintly, illuminating the huge cave room.

Kai stepped forward, his eyes narrowing at the orb.

Dungeon cores were rare but not unheard of. Places like this— zones where mana pooled heavily— could, over hundreds of years, condense that energy into a core. The core then acted as a beacon for beasts, allowing them to absorb its mana and grow stronger. At the same time, due to the warmth the core often gave, a lot of beasts would use it as a place for hibernation.

It was common knowledge that most dungeons were fiercely guarded by a powerful creature, but with the brood mother slain, the dungeon was left vulnerable and empty and it seemed like no other creature had tried to lay ownership to it.

"We are lucky most ferocious beasts died in the beast wave," Feroy muttered, leaning on his spear. "I’m sure those duskhounds were trying to go into the dungeon to lay claim to the core."

Kai nodded, his gaze still fixed on the core. His thoughts drifted to the necromancer’s golembook. The book had mentioned something about substituting a dungeon core for a golem core, and now, standing in front of one, he could see why. The sheer concentration of mana within it could power any number of constructs. It was no wonder so many Mages were so interested in dungeons like this.

Although he had read reports and several theories on how dungeon cores worked, it was the first time he had seen one. At least one that wasn’t broken into pieces.

Klan moved closer to the core, inspecting the surroundings. "We should take this, right?"

Kai shook his head. "We leave it. Removing it could destabilise the entire dungeon. The beasts may have fled or died, but this core still holds the balance here. Moreover, I have plans for the core. For now, let’s search for any signs of corruption here or treasures. Dungeons like these often have lost swords and armour of fallen warriors and Mages."

They scanned the room, trying to assess if there was anything of value or any sign of traps. A part of him hoped he was going to find another diary like the one he had found in the larva queen’s cave, but there were only webs and dust.

If there were any signs of corruption in the cave, it must have been weak and the condensed mana in the air had erased it.

Still, Kai looked around everywhere, trying to find any other notable things. But he found nothing. No signs of corruption, no treasures, no diaries and not even anything that might help him piece together the mystery of the necrotic parasite.

Everything seemed quiet until—

Klan’s scream ripped through the air, startling everyone. They spun around, weapons drawn, and rushed toward where Klan had wandered off to.

"What is it?" Kai demanded, the heat in his palms already forming in preparation for an attack.

Klan pointed with a shaking hand toward an alcove on the far side of the room. Kai followed his gaze and froze. Thousands of balls of webs, the size of a man’s head, clustered together in a sickeningly neat formation. The soft, pulsing glow from the dungeon core illuminated the disgusting scene, making the pale, translucent shells glisten.

He instinctively took a step, realising what it was.

"What is it?" Rhea asked, breaking the silence, her finger pointing at the balls.

"Eggs," Kai replied. "Spider eggs."