Chapter Twenty-Two: A Reluctant Choice

At the very moment when Elise and her companions found themselves at an impasse, none among them realized that their every move was already entirely under Jen’s watchful gaze. Seated upon his throne, Jen appeared at first glance to be resting with his eyes closed. In truth, however, his mind was now linked with the entire dungeon; for him, there were simply no secrets here.

“Twenty snakefolk, fifteen tieflings, eight vampiric kin... hmm, all seem to possess elite-level strength. That one called Elise is likely a high-level mage. I didn’t expect to see such a young high mage, though perhaps that’s not certain...”

Tapping his fingers gently, a faint smile played at the corners of Jen’s lips.

“Well then, let’s begin a grand party.”

In the end, the patrol chose to press forward; the stone wall blocking their retreat was simply too thick and formidable—even Elise was not confident she could break through it. Of course, as a high mage, if Elise truly exerted herself, a mere wall would not pose much of a problem. But whether they’d all be buried alive in the process was another matter entirely.

Thus, they could only steel themselves and continue onward, though their mood was far less relaxed than at the outset. The traps here, powered by magic, were simply too bizarre—triggering without warning and so subtle that even seasoned rogues could not discern their mechanisms or where they lay. Each step forward was taken with utmost caution, nerves stretched taut, fearful that a trap might suddenly and inexplicably spring upon them—a stroke of misfortune, indeed, to last several lifetimes.

Now, all they could hope for was to find some clue soon, or perhaps the lair of an enemy—at least then they’d have a clear objective, rather than stumbling about in utter confusion.

Regrettably, fate rarely aligns with one’s wishes.

“Damn it, we’ve been walking for nearly an hour!” The snakefolk captain’s grip tightened on his longsword, his face dark as thunder. If not for the ever-present threat of traps, he might have leapt up in fury by now. They’d been following this twisting path for so long and still found nothing—just more tunnels, endlessly winding, with no sign of any resolution. If this continued, he felt he might go mad.

Elise, too, furrowed her brow at this, but unlike the snakefolk captain, she had noticed a different peculiarity: the stone slabs paving their way were all uniform in style, suggesting the presence of artificial construction somewhere nearby. Yet, aside from the earlier triggered trap, she’d seen no further evidence of manmade structures.

What could this mean?

Of course, Elise could not have known that this was a defining trait of Jen’s dungeon system—only land that had been ‘flattened’ by goblins would be officially recognized within the dungeon’s domain. Once the system marked an area, the dungeon could draw magical power from the earth itself for the master’s use. The larger the dungeon’s territory, the greater Jen’s magical reserves and the swifter his recovery and exploration abilities.

Thus, in the months since arriving in the Underdark, Jen had done little else but command his goblins to ‘flatten’ any and all land they could reach. Whether or not it contained buildings was irrelevant; the priority was to claim the land, for everything else was secondary. After all, expanding his domain cost nothing and yielded magical energy—a most profitable venture indeed.

This peculiar form of expansion meant that, though Jen’s dungeon now covered an area as large as a surface royal palace, he made use of barely a tenth of it. Small wonder that Elise’s calculations were off.

What unsettled Elise most, however, was the mounting agitation among the patrol. It was hardly surprising—they’d found nothing after so long and had to be constantly on guard against traps that could spring at any moment. These elite warriors from Onyx Stone City had faced the great powers of the underworld in open combat; never had they encountered such a situation. If only there were a tangible enemy! But now, with neither foe nor trap to confront, their pent-up frustration grew ever more intolerable.

Meanwhile, as the patrol advanced with painstaking care, Jen directed his summoned creatures to silently creep through the crevices of the dark tunnels, eyes vigilant for the prey ahead.

“I’ll admit, these fellows are rather troublesome,” Jen mused privately, observing the patrol’s disciplined formation. He could sense their agitation, but what surprised him was that, despite their inner turmoil, they maintained perfect order and vigilance—none of the internal squabbles or splintering that would have made them easy pickings. If only things had devolved that far, Jen’s task would be much simpler.

But this was not the case. Their party included a high mage, and the others were no less formidable. The xenomorphs excelled at ambush, but were not suited to open confrontation—yet this was no real obstacle, for the xenomorph’s unique ability, Autonomous Evolution, allowed it to absorb the strengths of any race it defeated and incorporate those traits. If Jen could orchestrate enough victories, the creature could evolve into a Mega Blastoise! Or something to that effect...

No, something was off with that thought.

Never mind; this was no time for such idle musings. Shaking his head to dispel the errant idea, Jen refocused entirely on the prey before him.

The crucial moment was approaching.

The patrol halted.

It was not that the path ended—in fact, before them now yawned three pitch-black tunnels, each seemingly waiting for the arrival of unwitting intruders.

“Hey, half-breed, what’s the situation?” The snakefolk captain glared at the tiefling scout ahead. “Which way do we go?”

“How should I know, idiot... I’m still looking!” The tiefling was clearly exasperated, barely registering the captain’s taunts. It was obvious to anyone with sense that only one of the three tunnels was safe; the other two were surely deadly traps. Yet, which to choose was a riddle none could answer.

“Can’t you tell? Shouldn’t we follow the tracks of the subterranean lizards? Whichever path they took, we should take as well, no?”

“You think I don’t know that, fool?!”

At last, provoked beyond endurance, the tiefling snapped back. “The problem is, all three tunnels show signs of lizard passage—can you tell which one is safe for us?!”

Sensing the rising tension, Elise was forced to intervene.

“Perhaps... can we judge by the weight of the tracks or how recently they were made...?”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking, my lady,” the tiefling replied, his pallor easing somewhat. But soon he spread his hands in helplessness.

“Our investigation shows the lizards were divided into three groups, each entering a different tunnel. There’s no sign of any load being switched between them...”

With things at this pass, Elise could offer no further solutions.

“In any case, we have to choose. I say we take the left!” The snakefolk captain brandished his sword angrily, then turned his fierce gaze on Elise. “Either all three roads lead to that bastard’s lair, or only one offers a way out. Whatever the case, we must try!”

“I don’t think there’s any need for haste,” Elise replied, uncharacteristically stern. She raised her hand for silence. “Everyone is anxious right now. If something goes wrong at this point, our situation will only worsen.” Her brow furrowed, and the timid look on her face gave way to a faint but undeniable authority.

“I suggest we each send a scout—three groups in total—one into each tunnel. That is the best course.”

At this, both the snakefolk captain and the tiefling paused, then looked at Elise with newfound respect. Indeed, her proposal was harsh—sending scouts into likely traps, knowing some would not return. But that was the discipline of a true military unit. They were not adventurers risking their lives for gold, but soldiers sworn to defend Onyx Stone City; for them, sacrificing their lives for their home was no burden.

Earlier, Elise’s hesitant demeanor had earned her some silent criticism from her peers, but now, hearing her decisive plan, they regarded her with greater esteem. Tracking down the fate of the Onyx Stone City caravan was, after all, their true mission.

“I agree with the lady’s suggestion.”

“As do I.”

Quickly, the snakefolk captain and the tiefling selected their personal guards, sending them each into a different tunnel.

Seeing this, Jen’s smile widened.

Now, it was time for him to make his move.