Marcus and the two girls pushed through the dense forest. Despite the urgency of their situation, Marcus found his mind sorting through their options.
Their situation was difficult but not hopeless. Although the young master had been taken away, he hadn't left them with nothing: he had helped them obtain their hero licenses before everything went sideways.
"At least we can raid dungeons freely now," Marcus thought, ntally cataloging the locations he rembered from his future knowledge. His previous life had granted him an invaluable map of opportunities that others couldn't see. "With the resources from these dungeons, we might beco strong enough to rescue the young master." He didn't believe that they could beat those people from the empire but they could at least get strong enough to be able to sneak in and rescue the young master before escaping.
From what he knew about the royal family, they were likely already wanted by them, but that wasn't as bad as it might seem to outsiders. As long as they avoided public spaces and maintained a low profile, they were unlikely to be caught.
From what he knew the Heroes Association controls the dungeons, and they have no reason to share information on heroes with the royal family. And the royal family had no authority to request such information.
In fact, the royal family isn't as powerful as people thought, their inability to prevent the young master's kidnapping had exposed this. Just two strongn from the empire had been able to infiltrate and take soone from the royal capital under the eyes of the royal family.
If such a thing could happen, then why hadn't the kingdom fallen already? It was quite simple, the royal family wasn't the true power in the kingdom—rely pawns. The real authority lay with the five king families who operated behind the scenes, pulling strings and orchestrating events from the shadows.
Still, they needed to exercise caution. Royal patrol knights might not be the most competent, but they were nurous and could cause problems if they spotted the group.
Marcus glanced sideways at his companions. He thought to himself that he didn't really know much about his companions.
In his previous life, Adelaide had never even made it to the academy and was killed by her older brother. And ihua? She hadn't existed at all in that tiline. Still, he knew that although he didn't know much about them, he could tell that they weren't useless.
"I've trained with Adelaide," he thought, observing how she instinctively stepped over exposed roots without breaking stride. "Her talent isn't combat-focused, but she's improved her physical capabilities." She would likely be adequate support, though not a frontline fighter.
ihua was the greater mystery. He had never witnessed her abilities directly. During the entrance dungeon incident, he had been unconscious and never witnessed her abilities, and she hadn't participated in the freshman ranking tournant, leaving her capabilities entirely theoretical to him. But her Mythical-ranked talent and her advancent to B-rank suggested considerable power. "There's no way soone with a Mythical talent doesn't have significant abilities," he reasoned.
The dense forest suddenly opened into a sunlit clearing. Before them, partially concealed by climbing vines and moss, stood a stone archway embedded in the side of a small hill. Ancient runes carved into its surface glowed with a faint blue luminescence—the unmistakable sign of a dungeon entrance.
"This is the dungeon we'll be raiding first. It's C-rank," Marcus explained, his firm.
Despite having hero licenses, this was actually an undiscovered dungeon, his strategy was clear: target the undiscovered dungeons first. Those dungeons would likely still contain their original treasures, untouched by any previous adventurers. The officially registered dungeons under the Heroes Association's jurisdiction would be secondary targets, likely picked clean except for the occasional overlooked item or hidden chamber that others had missed.
…
Ambrose was deep in conversation with the goddess Aurora when a sudden wave of dizziness washed over him. The golden chains, the luminous figure, the vast white expanse—everything blurred and then vanished completely. Between one breath and the next, he found himself back in the familiar darkness of the dark expanse, standing exactly where he'd been before entering the white expanse.
For a mont, he wondered if he had simply regained consciousness in the physical world, but the endless darkness stretching in all directions confird his location. The dark expanse surrounded him completely, and the portal to the white expanse had disappeared entirely, leaving no trace of its existence.
"Does the white expanse have so sort of ti limit?" he pondered, a frown creasing his brow. The possibility was frustrating—he'd barely scratched the surface of what he wanted to learn from the goddess. There were countless questions left unanswered.
Ambrose let out a resigned sigh. He thought that it was quite a loss. The opportunity to explore that white expanse and extract more information from Aurora had slipped through his fingers.
"Master!" A familiar voice broke through his disappointnt.
Turning, he saw Claire rushing toward him, her form gliding smoothly through the darkness. Concern was etched clearly across her features as she approached.
"What happened?" she asked, her voice tinged with worry. "You suddenly entered and then got out, and the portal disappeared."
She was surprised by her words. Ti hadn't passed here while he was in the white expanse—or at least, it hadn't appeared to from Claire's perspective. What had felt like an extended conversation with the goddess had been but a re mont in the dark expanse.
"It's okay," he assured her, his voice calm despite his internal disappointnt. "I checked out what I wanted."
Settling into a cross-legged position, Ambrose contemplated his situation. The portal to the white expanse was gone, it would likely take so ti to reappear or never even reappear at all. He couldn't force himself back to consciousness in the physical world either. But perhaps this setback could be transford into an opportunity.
"This is a tiless space," he reasoned. "And my consciousness-related skills still function here."
An idea ford in his mind. The evasive Ti Dominion skill had resisted his mastery thus far, but here—in this place outside normal ti—perhaps he could finally grasp its principles. He already possessed the theoretical frawork; what he needed was practical application.
Closing his eyes, Ambrose began channeling his ntal Strength into his Reality Simulation skill. The extraordinary ability allowed him to create perfect ntal simulations, testing theories and approaches without real-world consequences. With enough successful simulations, the system would recognize his mastery and formalize the skill.
In this dark, tiless void, with no distractions and no passage of ti, he could theoretically run millions of simulations. A faint smile touched his lips as his mind accelerated, beginning the first of countless attempts to unravel the mysteries of the ti aspect of his space-ti talent.
…
Marcus, Adelaide, and ihua stood motionless before the shimring dungeon portal, its glow casting eerie shadows across their faces. After a mont of silent contemplation, they exchanged determined glances and stepped through the portal together.
The sensation of transportation faded, and they found themselves surrounded by towering trees with dense foliage blocking much of the sunlight. A forest dungeon materialized around them, complete with the earthy scent of soil and the distant sounds of creatures lurking beyond their vision.
Marcus imdiately positioned himself protectively in front of the two girls. His mind raced with calculations and concerns. A forest-type dungeon, he realized, this ant they would likely be surrounded by monsters within minutes. The thought troubled him deeply. His knowledge extended only to the potential rewards this dungeon offered—not its layout or the specific monsters that inhabited it. This information gap ant they needed to exercise extre caution to avoid disaster.
With tension evident in his shoulders, Marcus began leading their small party forward. Each step was deliberate and asured, his boots barely making a sound against the forest floor. He signaled for Adelaide and ihua to match his careful movents.
Despite their precautions, Marcus's trained senses picked up subtle disturbances in the underbrush after just a few minutes of travel. Sothing was tracking them, moving parallel to their path, occasionally rustling branches and disturbing small wildlife.
With a resigned sigh, Marcus unsheathed his sword in one fluid motion, the tal gleaming even in the dappled forest light. He turned to his companions with a grave expression.
"Get ready, they're about to attack," he warned, his voice barely above a whisper.
As if summoned by his words, wolf-like monsters began erging from behind the trees, their yellow eyes gleaming with predatory intent and saliva dripping from their bared fangs.
…
The king slouched in his throne, fingers drumming impatiently against the ornate armrest. When a servant entered the chamber, his eyes narrowed instantly.
"You still haven't found them?" he demanded before the man could properly approach.
"No, my lord," the servant replied, bowing his head.
Rage flashed across the king's face. He snatched his crown and hurled it at the servant, who barely dodged.
"Go find them! Don't co back without results!" he roared.
As the servant hastily retreated, the king scratched his head furiously, several hairs coming loose between his fingers. He began gnawing at his thumbnail, his mind racing.
Where could they possibly be?
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