The stone corridor continued to descend, leading Alvaric and Niva downward. The deeper they stepped, the more the light from the world above faded, replaced by darkness.
However, they had prepared everything. They had brought torches.
"Don't let your guard down!" said Alvaric.
Niva nodded.
After descending hundreds of steps, the corridor finally widened and a light appeared ahead of them.
"Huh?"
Alvaric quickened his pace. He was shocked to see a light inside the dungeon underground. But after remembering the Ant Bee nest, it made sense.
Alvaric, who was in front, suddenly stopped. His eyes widened. He was shocked. "Wait… Do you see this…?"
Niva looked sideways at Alvaric and her eyes widened. When she looked ahead, her eyes also grew large.
In front of them—spread out was a giant chamber. No, it was more than just a room. It was… like another world.
The ceiling towered high, vanishing into shadows unreachable by light. But what really amazed them was the forest before them. Huge trees grew lushly, towering high until almost touching the cavern ceiling. Their leaves were dense, green, and some even glowed softly, emitting a natural blue light that illuminated the surroundings.
"What kind of place is this?" asked Alvaric.
Niva shook her head. She didn't know. It was her first time seeing a dungeon this huge. It was like an island made up of several countries. Very vast.
"If the place is this wide, how do we find that Demon girl?"
Alvaric shook his head. "Don't ask me."
The ground was covered with grass and shrubs, some flowers colored purple and red grew with strange shapes—like they had eyes that slowly closed when approached.
From afar, they could hear the sound of trickling water, unfamiliar bird chirps, and the rustle of wind—wind, underground.
"This… impossible," murmured Niva. She stepped slowly, as if afraid the forest would vanish if touched. "How can there be a forest under the desert?"
Alvaric touched the nearest tree trunk. Its bark was rough but warm. "This is not an ordinary forest. Look at that…"
He pointed to a tree bigger than the others—its trunk black with purple veins, its leaves glowing faintly, and around its roots flowed a river of blue light. The tree seemed like the center of this whole underground ecosystem.
"Maybe… this isn't an ordinary dungeon. But remnants of an ancient world," said Alvaric. "A place sealed underground… but still alive."
Suddenly, a low rumbling sound came from inside the forest. Like very heavy footsteps. Then… whispers—layered, like many mouths speaking at once but none understandable.
Both immediately got alert.
Alvaric gripped his weapon. "Something's coming."
Niva nodded. "Yes."
Nothing appeared for five minutes. Finally, they started to walk, but hundreds of pairs of eyes stared at them, yet when they looked back, nothing was there as if the eyes were swallowed by something.
"This place is so strange. It gives me chills," complained Alvaric.
They kept walking and found some stars there, but with an unusual size. A rabbit almost twice their size. Alvaric and Niva just looked at each other. They chose to hide.
They didn't want to do anything that might cause problems. This place was so unfamiliar to them.
"Let's rest over there," Alvaric suggested, pointing to a cave. "It looks safe there."
They walked toward it and were shocked. A very large snake appeared from inside. The snake was as big as the cave entrance.
"That's not a cave, but the snake's home," said Niva.
Alvaric held Niva's hand. "Run!" he urged.
They ran as fast as possible. The snake chased them from behind. Niva wondered why Alvaric didn't fight the snake. She was sure they could defeat the giant snake.
"It makes sense the Giant Sandworm can't enter here. This place… is too crazy."
The monster just shook its head seeing the Ant Bees undergoing impossible changes. It turned around. Initially, it wanted to enter, but it gave up.
"The Ant Bees there are no longer rank E monsters. They… might now be equal to rank C or B-."
Fighting them alone was not a wise choice. It chose to return to its master and report what it found.
However, before returning, the monster looked eastward. It narrowed its eyes.
"That light wasn't from Giant's Verdant Abyss, right?" it said.
It swallowed its saliva. That place was forbidden and no one was allowed to enter. Its entrance had even been sealed by some of the strongest monsters in that world.
No one should be able to enter.
"Impossible. It must come from another place."
The monster then left and flew as fast as possible to return to its master. It was only sent to check on the Giant Sandworm and report what happened.
Its task was done so it returned.
"Is it still there?" asked Alvaric.
Niva stood and looked behind the tree where they had hidden. She was relieved the giant snake was gone. She sat beside Alvaric.
"Couldn't we have defeated that snake?" asked Niva.
Alvaric looked away for a moment. "Are you crazy? That was a level 60 snake," Alvaric answered.
Niva fell silent immediately. She thought it was just a normal snake, only bigger. She was very wrong. That was also a high-level snake. Even higher than her.
"I don't know how we're going to find that Demon girl?" Alvaric leaned his body against a tree. He was thinking. "This place is too vast and terrifying."
He looked up, he couldn't even see the end of the tree they were under. He closed his eyes, but soon they both stood up.
"That's true."
He immediately climbed the tree behind them. He asked Niva to wait. He just wanted to see how wide the place was. Hoping it was still possible to explore it for a few days.
However, when he was high enough, Alvaric saw nothing. The trees were very tall. He wanted to climb higher, but a pressure pressed his body. It made him decide to come down again.
"Did you find anything?" asked Niva.
Alvaric shook his head. "Nothing. Seems like we'll spend a long time here."
"Are you still going to save that Demon girl?"
"Didn't we already promise? Breaking a promise is too disgusting," Alvaric explained.
He stood up and took out his Crimson Demon Sword. He was ready to fight. He felt that just hiding wouldn't get them anywhere.
"No other choice."