The swamp guardian roared again and charged, but this ti, Liam didn’t stand his ground.
Instead, he darted to the side, dodging the attack entirely and making a beeline for the glowing spot in the water.
The guardian screeched in fury, realizing what Liam was trying to do. It moved to intercept him, but Liam was faster.
With a single leap, he landed right over the glowing area and plunged his hand into the water. His fingers wrapped around sothing solid and pulsing with energy—the dungeon core.
The mont he touched it, the entire dungeon trembled. The swamp water began to churn violently, and the swamp guardian let out a distorted, enraged howl.
Liam gritted his teeth as the energy from the core surged through him. It was raw, chaotic magic, but he had dealt with worse.
"Liam, hurry up and destroy it!"
Asger shouted.
Liam nodded. Without hesitation, he clenched his fist around the core and crushed it.
A shockwave of energy erupted from the shattered core, sending ripples through the dungeon. The swamp guardian froze in place, its glowing blue veins flickering and dimming.
Then, with a final groan, its body crumbled, collapsing into the swamp like a lifeless husk.
Liam exhaled, standing back up.
"Well, that takes care of that."
Asger shook his head.
"You’re really sothing else, you know that?"
Liam stretched, rolling his shoulders.
"Yeah, yeah. Now let’s get out of here before this whole place collapses."
The dungeon, now without its core, was destabilizing. The swamp water began to drain, and the walls trembled. Liam didn’t waste any ti—he turned and sprinted toward the exit.
As he ran, he noticed the walls of the dungeon beginning to break apart, revealing the chanical frawork beneath the swamp illusion.
It was strange—almost as if the entire dungeon had been a simulation, a manufactured space rather than a natural occurrence.
[Warning: Dungeon has been conquered. Dungeon will disappear in 1 hour 30 minutes]
Liam made a ntal note to look into that later.
For now, escaping was the priority.
Liam stepped out of the collapsing dungeon just in ti, feeling the rush of fresh air hit his face as the ground behind him crumbled into itself.
The dungeon’s entrance caved in completely, sealing whatever remained inside. He let out a slow breath, shaking off the lingering tension in his muscles.
Asger, perched on his shoulder, flicked his tail.
"That was way too close. Next ti, let’s not wait until the last second to escape, yeah?"
Liam smirked.
"Where’s the fun in that?"
The mont of peace didn’t last long.
A group of officials who had been stationed near the dungeon site imdiately rushed toward Liam and the others who had made it out.
Their expressions were a mix of concern and suspicion.
One of the officials, a stern-looking man with short brown hair and a clipboard in hand, stepped forward.
"You! What happened in there? The dungeon wasn’t supposed to collapse that quickly. What did you do?"
Liam put on his best confused expression.
"I was just walking around, collecting ingredients, when suddenly, everything started shaking. Next thing I knew, the whole place was coming down. I barely made it out."
The official’s frown deepened, clearly not satisfied with the vague explanation.
"You an to tell you were inside when it collapsed, but you don’t know why?"
Liam shrugged.
"Look, I’m just an explorer. I’m not a dungeon researcher. Maybe it was unstable to begin with."
The official exchanged glances with his colleagues, looking troubled. The dungeon collapse was going to cause a massive amount of paperwork, and Liam could tell that none of them wanted to deal with it.
Finally, the man let out a sigh and scribbled sothing onto his clipboard.
"We’ll have to report this to the higher-ups. If any irregularities are found, you might be called in for further questioning."
Liam nodded, feigning concern.
"Of course. If you need anything, I’ll cooperate."
The official didn’t look convinced, but he waved Liam off regardless.
"You’re free to go for now."
Not wanting to stick around and risk more questions, Liam quickly turned away, heading back toward the city. He sighed in relief once the dungeon site was behind him.
Asger huffed.
"Well, that was a load of nonsense. Do you really think they bought your excuse?"
Liam smirked.
"They don’t have proof of anything. And by the ti they get around to investigating, there won’t be anything left to find."
Asger flicked his tail again.
"Still, I don’t like the fact that they’re reporting this. It could cause problems later."
Liam stretched his arms.
"Let future- deal with that. For now, let’s just go ho and get so rest."
With that, he walked away, burying the incident for now.
As Liam made his way through the bustling streets, he overheard a group of adventurers gathered near a supply store, talking in hushed but urgent voices.
"I’m telling you, this is already the sixth dungeon collapse this month. How does this keep happening everyti?"
One of them said, frustration clear in his tone.
A woman beside him crossed her arms.
"At this rate, we won’t have any dungeons left to explore. Sothing’s not right."
"I heard the guild is investigating, but they haven’t found anything yet."
Liam nearly froze in place.
’Six dungeons?’
He knew he was responsible for most of them, and now people were starting to take notice. He forced himself to keep walking at a steady pace, pretending he wasn’t listening.
"So are saying it’s sabotage. But who would even do sothing like that? There’s no benefit to destroying dungeon which is C-Class"
Another adventurer chid in.
"Maybe so idiot got in over their head and triggered collapses by accident."
The first man grumbled.
Liam almost twitched.
’Excuse ?’
He definitely didn’t trigger them by accident.
Feeling the weight of suspicion in the air, he decided it was best not to linger any longer. Without drawing attention to himself, he turned into the nearest alleyway and ran.
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