[Veliana’s POV]

The air inside the cavern had grown colder the deeper they walked.

Instructor Veliana moved at the front of the small group, leading them steadily.

Behind her walked three academy scholars.

Julian followed her from being, glancing around the surrounding rock with sharp vigilance. The other two scholars stayed slightly further back, whispering to each other now and then while trying not to sound nervous.

Beap! Beap!

Then, she suddenly heard a soft crystalline chime sound from the device at her waist. The small communication crystal flickered with pale blue light.

Slowing her steps, Veliana raised her hand.

"Stop here."

The three scholars halted immediately.

Julian turned his head slightly toward her. His expression remained composed, though his gaze carried a faint sharpness as he glanced at the device.

Veliana removed the communication device and activated the crystal. A soft shimmer spread across its surface before a voice emerged.

"Instructor Veliana, this is the expedition command relay."

"Yes. Report."

The operator took a moment before continuing.

"Several teams have reported encountering Voidspawn types that do not correspond to a low scale dungeon environment."

Veliana’s brow creased slightly.

"Explain."

"We have confirmed sightings of creatures typically found in mid scale dungeons. In addition, multiple teams have reported encountering Wretched class Voidspawn."

For the first time since the call began, Veliana’s expression changed, a faint frown formed on her face.

’A wretched-class?’

’Why would creatures of that level appear in a dungeon classified this low...’

The voice from the device continued.

"Furthermore, one of the teams, their guidance discovered a secondary tunnel system. According to their report, the passage appears to descend deeper than the current dungeon layer."

Veliana looked down at the glowing crystal, her thoughts moving quickly through the information.

’Another passage?’

If the report was accurate, then the dungeon they had entered was not an isolated formation. It could be connected to another dungeon entirely.

The operator’s voice returned.

"Instructor Veliana, what are your orders?"

Veliana’s gaze lifted slowly toward the dark passage ahead of them.

The purpose of this expedition was observation and training, not risk. If the dungeon structure had changed, then continuing further would only expose the scholars to unnecessary danger.

She lowered her gaze back to the communication crystal.

"Contact all exploration teams," she said, her voice remained calm.

"Inform them that the expedition is being terminated. And order every team to begin immediate retreat and regroup at the dungeon entrance."

A short pause followed before the operator responded.

"Understood. We will relay the order to all teams immediately."

The light on the device dimmed as the connection ended. Veliana returned the crystal to her belt. Then she turned toward the three scholars.

"You all heard that, right? We are returning as well."

The two scholars behind Julian visibly relaxed at the words, though their relief carried a trace of unease.

Julian, however, remained still for a moment after Veliana finished speaking. His gaze lingered on the dark passage ahead of them.

"I’m afraid we have to delay that retreat."

Julian did not turn around.

"We’ve got some company." he said, as he slowly drew his sword from his sheath.

Veliana turned toward the passage again, her expression tightening slightly as she also sensed them.

Moments later, shapes began to emerge from the shadows.

Large spider-like bodies crawled along the walls and ceiling of the tunnel, their twisted forms illuminated by the [Illuminate] spell as they came into view.

Their bodies were dark and chitinous, their limbs long and jagged as they clung easily to the cavern surface. Clusters of dim red eyes glimmered across their heads.

Veliana exhaled softly.

"That appears to be the case."

She lifted one hand as mana began gathering around her palm, the air growing slightly sharper as her spell slowly formed along her fingertips.

But, before she could release the spell, Julian’s voice interrupted her.

"Instructor..."

He stepped forward with a roguish smile on his face, the tip of his sword pointing slightly toward the approaching creatures.

"Leave them to me. I’ve been craving something a little less pathetic than those ants."

Veliana glanced at him.

"Can you manage against six of the wretched-class?"

Julian’s eyes remained fixed on the Voidspawn as they crawled closer through the tunnel.

"Only six of them? Well..."

Julian continued as he cast [Body Enhancement] all over his body.

"...that doesn’t sound good to them."

"Surely, they need more than just six."

*****

[Ruvian’s POV]

Within a few minutes, the three of them had already managed to kill a dozen of the Carapace Crawlers.

Yet despite that number, the relentless pace at which more of those ants continued to surge forward made the progress of their advance feel overwhelmingly daunting to Ruvian.

No. Daunting was far too mild a word for what he was experiencing.

He was being utterly overwhelmed!

’When is this going to end!?’

With a strained grimace pulling across his face, Ruvian hastily cast another [Magic Missile] toward a Carapace Crawler that had slipped past between Rosalin and Silvena and was now charging directly toward him.

[You have slain a Carapace Crawler!]

[You have received +1 Mana Resonance!]

As he prepared his next spell, the cavern suddenly trembled again. The very walls and floor shook violently, causing his footing to shift slightly beneath him.

’It seems the fight over there hasn’t ended yet.’

On the other side of the passage, Seraphine was still engaged with one of the Malice-class Voidspawn.

Ruvian was not worried about her in the slightest. But, more about himself, at this rate she might very well finish her fight over there before they managed to clear their own.

He glanced forward again.

Rosalin and Silvena were still battling the Carapace Crawlers. A handful of the creatures remained. Roughly nine of them.

And they had already killed around fifteen.

Well, the two of them had killed around fifteen.

Ruvian was mostly acting as support here. And even then, he was struggling just to keep up with the pace at which they were slaughtering those monsters.

Even though he was merely acting as support, he still needed to contribute something meaningful so that he could at least earn the ’shared experience’ from killing those ants. If not, then his entire purpose for coming here to grow stronger would end up being wasted.

’Now that I think about it... was it a mistake bringing two absolute Class A monsters with me? I feel like I’m just getting carried without doing much.’

Shaking his head, he pushed the thought aside and focused on the situation ahead as another Carapace Crawler lunged toward him.

[Magic Missile]

[You have slain a Carapace Crawler!]

"You’re doing well, Ruvian!"

Silvena called out as she danced around with her whip, slaying another Carapace Crawler that rushed toward her.

"I’ll be sending another one toward you."

"Get ready~!!"

Ruvian stared at her for a moment, then let out a quiet sigh.

’Haa... so she had been sending those intentionally.’

’No wonder...’ he thought as he was panting heavily.

Later, after a few minutes, they finally finished off the remaining Carapace Crawlers in that area. And once that happened, Ruvian immediately slumped down onto the floor.

As he tried to catch his breath, he saw Silvena and Rosalin walking toward him. It seemed they were also taking a moment to recover... or maybe not.

Once Ruvian got a closer look, both of their expressions looked relaxed as ever.

’Seriously, they were monstrous...’

Ruvian was well aware that the difference between him and them was a huge gaps in terms of stats.

He himself was overall at E-rank, while Rosalin was at B-rank and Silvena was at C-rank, yes... Rosalin was likely slightly higher than Silvena.

Not to mention that in actual combat, the difference in skill and ability between him and them was also far greater than what those ranks suggested.

’Well, that was quite the reality check.’

If this was their level, then he could only imagine how shocking it would be to see Calyra fight.

After all, she was even more monstrous than the two of them combined.

"It has been quite over there now." Rosalin said as she sheathed her sword.

"I think Seraphine has already finished dealing with the Voidspawn." Silvena replied as she stored her whip into her dimensional storage.

Ruvian pushed himself back to his feet.

"Well, let’s collect those Voidshards first, then regroup with her."

Ruvian said as he dusted the dirt off his clothes.

"We still have some parts left to do."

Throughout the fight, he had managed to accumulate 9 points of Mana Resonance.

He probably would have gained even more if Silvena and Rosalin had not increased the pace of their attacks, which often resulted in him not contributing to the kill.

Still, there was no point dwelling on it.

He would have other opportunities today to farm more Mana Resonance.

And so, after collecting the Voidshards, the three of them headed back to regroup with Seraphine in the egg chamber.

[You have received +100 Plot Points!]

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[Chapter 105: The Deepmarch Dungeon (10)]