Kroos, who had entered the third floor, found that the grotto before him was still no different from the first floor.
Moreover, it was still filled with paths branching off in all directions.
Having been tormented by the first-floor labyrinth for two days, he immediately felt a sense of foreboding.
"You've got to be... kidding me."
Kroos took out a fresh sheet of paper and began to map out this floor while he explored.
However, before he had gone very far, a sudden movement came from the rock wall beside him.
A red-faced gargoyle abruptly lunged out from the stone wall.
Its color actually blended perfectly into the recessed rock!
Kroos quickly swung his sword to parry, and while knocking the attack aside, he kicked the gargoyle down.
The fallen gargoyle used its small body to spring back up quickly, but Kroos was faster.
He followed up immediately, drawing his sword and slashing down.
A flash of sword light passed through, and the gnome-like creature's head was severed instantly.
After all, these were just fodder that Dalun Li had mass-produced; Dalun Li naturally didn't expect fodder to kill the intruders.
The true elites of this floor were the mimics!
"So hard, and somewhat dangerous. As expected, has this dungeon finally begun to show its fangs?"
"Still just as insidious, though."
Kroos sighed, then leaned down to cut off the gargoyle's red face.
"A red copper mask... it seems to possess a faint trace of magic power."
"This is a decent material."
Kroos inspected the twisted red copper mask and estimated it could be sold for some money.
It seemed that hunting these gargoyles on this floor would yield a good income.
After stowing the red copper mask into his waist pouch, Kroos proceeded with even greater caution, keeping a close eye on the movements of the surrounding rock walls.
After about the time it takes for a candle to burn, Kroos's pupils contracted as he stopped, leaning against a corner.
Beyond the corner was a wide space where nearly ten gargoyles were gathered.
Some gargoyles were on lookout or patrolling.
Others leaned against the rock walls, camouflaging themselves while they rested.
They seemed to be acting around a central point, as if they were guarding something.
Looking toward the center of these gargoyles, Kroos's heart skipped a beat.
There, a treasure chest stood tall in the center of the group of gargoyles.
Kroos had never encountered a treasure chest in a dungeon; he had only heard legends about them.
As expected, was it because this new dungeon had never been explored before?
To think he actually found one!
However, with so many gargoyles guarding it, it was quite dangerous.
But this was a treasure chest!
Kroos never doubted for a moment that the treasure chest might be fake; he had never heard of a dungeon doing such a thing.
It could be said that the credit built up by other dungeons over time was being frantically cashed out by Dalun Li right now.
He steeled his heart.
A treasure chest was worth taking a risk for.
But he couldn't put himself in too much danger; relying on the Whirlwind Badge, he should still have a chance.
With such a massive opportunity right in front of him, Kroos was absolutely unwilling to miss it.
He gripped his broadsword and slowly backed away, beginning to formulate a plan.
...
While he was planning, on the other side, the lord's men had finally finished their map and were entering the dungeon's second floor in large numbers.
"Another labyrinth!"
Croton looked at the grotto passages branching in all directions before him, feeling a massive headache coming on.
They had spent so much manpower and so many days fumbling through the first floor without finding a single thing before finally entering the second floor.
He hadn't expected the second floor to be a labyrinth as well.
Although it was all worth it for the sake of the dungeon, the amount of time and money wasted was a bit too much, and the lord would start putting pressure on him.
At this moment, under the pressure, Croton issued an order.
"Divide into two-man teams now, spread out, and map this floor as quickly as possible!"
"Yes, sir!"
Following the order, the four-man squads quickly split into pairs and began exploring the passages rapidly.
At the same time, the map began to take shape at a high speed.
At this rate, even if this floor was larger and more complex than the previous one, it would likely be conquered in a shorter amount of time.
However, that was only under ideal circumstances.
Soon, a team encountered a gargoyle.
Working together, the pair quickly took down the gargoyle and collected the materials.
Subsequently, they noticed a gargoyle colony during their exploration, as well as... a treasure chest!
Without exception, every team that encountered a treasure chest instantly abandoned their exploration mission and began trying to find a way to claim it.
The credit accumulated by other dungeons meant they didn't have the slightest suspicion toward the mimics at this moment.
Finally, one team went through immense hardship and, despite being wounded, managed to kill a group of gargoyles.
One of them stepped forward excitedly, about to open the treasure chest.
Unexpectedly, at this critical moment, his teammate ruthlessly pierced through his chest from behind.
The man who was run through turned his head in disbelief, as if he couldn't believe that the partner he spent every day with could be such a person.
To kill him just for a lifetime of luxury and comfort?
However, the only response he received was a slightly nervous, cold gaze.
Having backstabbed his teammate, Henry quickly rushed forward. His mind was filled with thoughts of a luxurious life, and his hands trembled slightly with excitement.
However, the second he opened the treasure chest, the mimic suddenly snapped its mouth open, biting off his defenseless head in one go before falling into a state of weakness.
The corpses on the ground were quickly swallowed and absorbed by the dungeon, along with their equipment and coin pouches.
Even the remains of the gargoyles were recycled by Dalun Li, who consumed power to create them anew.
Creating monsters using remains as material was far more power-efficient than creating them from scratch.
The two-man teams began to fall one after another.
Instances of backstabbing like this were still in the minority; in most cases, conflict broke out over the distribution of loot after killing the gargoyles.
In the end, both sides would suffer; one would have their head bitten off by a mimic, and the other would be finished off by arriving gargoyle reinforcements.
There were also cases where both parties were wounded while defeating the gargoyles but remained harmonious, intending to share the wealth.
But in the end, one would be killed directly by the mimic, and the other would be picked off by the gargoyles that rushed in.
Dalun Li did not distinguish between good and evil, killing them all uniformly.
Because regardless of whether they were good or evil, the people here were all intent on putting him to death.
He had no room to exercise kindness or justice right now.
Because these people were on the second floor while he was on the third, it wouldn't be strange if they luckily found the passage and killed him in a group attack in the next second.
"36 points of Earth Vein Power. Killing two more will gather enough Earth Vein Power needed to create a new floor."
Things were increasingly getting on the right track.
As long as he created one more floor, he would have a buffer level, and things wouldn't be as critical as they were now.
However, Croton was the first to realize something was wrong.
"They were split into two-man teams and scattered, yet they haven't met up once until now."
"There's something wrong with this floor."
Croton's heart went cold, and he immediately ordered his subordinates to send a signal using magic.
This type of magic allowed sound to echo continuously underground and, logically, should cover a certain range of the surroundings.
However, a good while after the signal was sent out, there was still no response.
Only two two-man teams received the signal and rushed toward the sound.
Croton felt a chill in his heart and a wave of despair.
He had messed up.
The lord would definitely not let him off; he had to find a way to save himself.
Explore, explore even deeper!
Only then could he save himself.
This dungeon was incredibly dangerous; just the second floor alone had cost him so many men.
It was the ease of the previous floor that had lulled him into a false sense of security.
Croton explored while gathering his remaining men, cautiously continuing his search forward.
At this point, continuing to use mimics was pointless; it would only expose their existence.
...
On the other side, Kroos.
At this moment, a somewhat disheveled Kroos excitedly opened the treasure chest.
Snap!
As it bit down, the Whirlwind Badge activated once again, saving Kroos's life.
Kroos was horrified and scrambled to break free, looking at everything before him in disbelief.
"A... a... a mimic!"
"I ******! ****!"
Dalun Li, who was watching from the third floor, floated up from his pedestal.
"He didn't die even from that?"
"This won't do. This fellow cannot be allowed to leave the labyrinth alive; he knows too much."
"But that magic item is too powerful; I must think of a way."
"On the next floor, I'll have your life."
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