Chapter 131: A Menace in the Dungeon A simple stone stairway led down to the crypts, and at the base of the stairs stood a tall statue with a weathered face, its features besmirched and washed away by the passage of time.
"There doesn’t seem to be anything particularly noteworthy here," Victor commented. "Let’s proceed inside."
The only way forward was through the door at the bottom of the stairway.
Upon entering, they found themselves in what appeared to be a common waiting room. Broken desks and chairs were scattered haphazardly throughout the space. In the center of the room, a statue commanded attention.
The statue depicted a long-forgotten deity resembling a crocodile with a cauldron placed before it. The cauldron was filled to the brim with blood, yet no matter how they tried, it couldn’t be emptied or spilled.
Playing cards were strewn around, and a note on one of the tables caught their eye. It read, "I left to check on the Grimwalk Hallway to figure out what the noises were. Keys are in the sleeping quarters. DO NOT TRY TO OPEN THE GATE WITHOUT THE KEYS!"
"We’ll this couldn’t be more obvious enough," Rever muttered.
Victor explained their next course of action, "We need to add our own blood to the cauldron on the right side to open the gate."
As Xin and the others watched, some players began to follow Victor’s instructions, spilling a small amount of their blood into the cauldron, resulting in only a minuscule decrease in their HP.
Rever volunteered for the task, stepping forward to contribute some of his blood. The first room remained relatively quiet as players proceeded with the blood offering.
However, their actions didn’t go unnoticed, and a commotion suddenly disrupted the process.
"Hold on! Why are you entering there when it’s not your turn yet?" a player from Omnipotent Guild confronted the members of Devil’s Rising.
One of the Devil’s Rising players chuckled as they stared at the player from the rival guild.
"I don’t see why we can’t enter when the door is open," a member of Devil’s Rising retorted.
The Omnipotent Guild member growled in frustration, "It’s because our group’s blood is being spilled into the cauldron right now! And there’s a line here!"
Members of Devil’s Rising exchanged amused glances and burst into laughter. "Did he say ’there’s a line here’?" one of them mocked.
Broody, a member of Devil’s Rising, stepped forward and jabbed a finger into the chest of Fin from the Omnipotent Guild. "So, what are you going to do about it, huh? Are you going to start a fight?"
He then turned his gaze to everyone in the vicinity and bellowed, "Does anyone here want to take us on, huh? Step up if you have a problem with us!"
While Broody from Devil’s Rising continued his shouting spree, Victor leaned in and whispered to Xin, "That’s Broody from Devil’s Rising, part of the top two hundred guilds. He’s infamous for provoking conflicts and skirmishes. Just don’t let him get under your skin if you want to avoid trouble. It’ll blow over eventually."
Broody kept shouting in the faces of anyone who dared to listen, "We’re ready, so why don’t you all come at us if you have an issue, huh? Come on, then!"
Rever couldn’t help but stick out his tongue. "How tasteless," he muttered to himself. "They’re lucky that my guild has prohibited fights for now."
Victor chimed in, "I think most of the players here feel the same way. If you belong to a guild, you can’t just start a brawl with another guild. Unless, of course, you’re Devil’s Rising. There’s simply no reward in it except for collecting items from the defeated."
When nobody reacted and simply stared, Broody spat on the ground and sneered, "Ha! That’s what I thought! A bunch of losers! Let’s go, men before I scare them so bad they soil themselves."
. Devil’s Rising continued their raucous laughter as they moved on to the next room, taunting the other players and enjoying their private jokes.
"T-they’re quite intimidating," Yuzuro muttered under her breath, her fear of conflict apparent.
"Don’t be afraid of those fools," Rever reassured her. "They’re all talk and no action."
Victor shook his head, showing his disdain for their antics. "Don’t engage with those idiots, or you might catch their stupidity. Let’s continue."
When their turn came, Rever positioned himself and let a small amount of his blood drop into the cauldron. As he did, the gargoyle’s head behind it moved, bowing down as if acknowledging the players. The gate opened, and after a minute, it closed again.
Moving on to the next room, Yuzuro couldn’t help but ask, "What happens if you miss the door?"
"Nothing much, really. You just need to spill another blood to open the door," Victor replied.
Yuzuro sounded a bit disappointed. "Oh, I thought there’d be some kind of punishment."
"Don’t ask for trouble," Victor chuckled. "We’re only in the second part of this dungeon. Wait until we get to the third and fourth maps. You’ll wish it were as easy as the first two."
Yuzuro swallowed nervously. "Are you trying to scare me?"
"I’m just telling it like it is," Victor said. He then turned to Xin and advised, "You might want to summon your golems."
"Are we going to fight in the next room?" Rever’s eagerness was palpable.
Victor nodded, and Rever clenched his fists in anticipation. "Good, I was getting bored and those guys agitated me! I’d reel up for a fight right now!"
"We’re still in the first part of the map," Yuzuro commented.
In the second room, broken furniture was strewn across the worn-out floor, bearing witness to the mourners who had once sought solace within these decaying walls, now left to decay alongside their memories.
To the left, a door led to the embalming chamber (Room 4), which was left open. To the right, there was a door leading to the sleeping quarters (Room 5), which was locked.
"The keys are in Room 4, on the body lying on the ground," Victor explained. "Inside, you’ll also find a drawer containing 1700 gil, some embalming tools, and a few mortician robes."
Rever raised an eyebrow. "You seem to know a lot."
"I did some research beforehand," Victor admitted. "Although, with all the players scouring the area, I doubt we’ll find anything here. Let’s move on to the next area."
In the following room, two doors beckoned for exploration. To the right was a spooky corridor filled with relics of the druid’s followers.
On the left, the door led to the sleeping quarters of the guards.
What truly captured their attention, however, was an imposing iron door adorned with five intricate keyholes, each depicting a different animal: a lion, a wolf, a deer, an eagle, and a bear.
Within the room, there were minotaur skeletons that would rise as players entered, closing in on them with a vengence.
However, there was one skeleton, lying motionless on a bench, that remained lifeless and inanimate.
The room was filled with chaos, not because of players battling the minotaur skeletons, but due to Devil’s Rising, who took advantage of unsuspecting players and attacked them while they were occupied with their foes.
To make matters worse, they disrupted the formations of other groups and forced them into the clutches of the enemy.
"They truly are a despicable bunch," Rever remarked, shaking his head in disapproval.
"What should we do?" Yuzuro asked anxiously. "Should we help them?"
Victor crossed his arms, contemplating the situation. "Let’s hold off for now. I’m sure other players will band together against them, and by that time, Devil’s Rising won’t know which guild is coming after them. We’ll swiftly deal with them by then."
Xin agreed with the plan. He was also thinking the same as Victor. He didn’t want to bring trouble to Rever and Yuzuro, so they would do it discretely.
Midnight Duchess, who had remained silent until now, decided to chime in. "Should I take care of them?"
Victor rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Risk having someone spot you and bring us even more trouble? No, you stay put where I can keep an eye on you."
Midnight Duchess couldn’t help but emit a low, teasing chuckle, which only seemed to further frustrate Victor, and the two engaged in their usual argument.
Meanwhile, Xin had summoned his defense golems, five in total, with two dedicated to DPS, just in case a confrontation became unavoidable.
Despite the capability to take on Devil’s Rising, most players hesitated due to their guild’s rules. Devil’s Rising knew this and exploited it to the fullest.
Other players chose to remain passive spectators, at least for now, as they weren’t directly involved in the chaos. They saw it as an opportunity to lessen their competitors if Devil’s Rising eliminated some of their rivals.
Surveying their surroundings, Xin noticed that the other skeletons, grotesque and twisted in appearance, had awakened from their slumber, their eerie presence adding to the tension in the room.
Bones creaked and joints groaned as they advanced menacingly, closing the distance between them and their unsuspecting targets.
However, the true pandemonium stemmed not from the macabre figures but from the malicious antics of Devil’s Rising.
Within this confined space, their laughter echoed like a sinister chorus. They struck at players when they were most vulnerable, exploiting moments of distraction as others battled the advancing skeletons.