Leaning against the side of a building, Myrin watched as more and more people gathered around him. There were scholars, warriors, explorers, treasure hunters… Even a few magi hoping to discover ancient scriptures were seen in the crowd.

The expedition back to the Hall of Death was finally beginning.

"Are you ready, brother Myrin?" Said a rather jubilant voice from the side. Myrin turned his head and saw a young man donned in leather armor and a sword sheathed to his back staring at him while smiling. His dirty blonde hair rested above his bandana as he watched the crowd gathering curiously.

Julien. The dungeon explorer who helped him sell off the remaining goods.

Myrin smiled and nodded in his direction, "Yes, I didn't expect them to gather a force this large that quickly, but the sooner the better, I guess. Praise the Blossoms."

"Yes," the man nodded. "That's Rodrick for ya! Eager as ever for treasure."

Myrin squinted his eyes and looked past the crowd. A colossal man drowned those around him in his shadow… Even his weapon was larger than some of the people there.

Rodrick noticed his gaze and smiled. He nodded toward him from a distance. Myrin nodded back with a smile.

"Indeed. I can't expect any less from someone famous for his… eccentric methods of conquering dungeons."

"Haha, this is my 7th time following him into a rogue dungeon floor. You'll get used to his methods sooner or later." Julien turned and walked into the crowd, "I'll be going off to finish my preparations! Take care, brother Myrin!"

Myrin smiled and waved in his direction. Though, his attention was once again returned to the colossal man in the distance. His thoughts couldn't help but churn.

Is Soren's theory really true? Rodrick still hasn't questioned why I am the only one coming…

A part of him wanted to doubt his words. After all, it was all simply the assumptions of one man… Although he didn't really know Rodrick that well, he had seen him before countless times—especially during the Avalon Ruins Expedition with the mistress.

Not once was he ever threatening or deceitful. Quite the opposite, actually. He was much more cordial to their guild than most.

Still, he needed to trust in Soren's assessment. Even though he still wasn't sure what it was that he was planning on doing, he knew that it had to be very important for them to risk their lives in this way…

Gods, how much more of this will I need to deal with in the future?

Soren… Although he was dependable as a partner, having to endure his antics was certainly exhausting.

"Everyone, we are going to depart now!" A booming voice echoed across the ancient walls of the ruined city. Myrin's eyes trailed back to Rodrick's legendary figure.

"May the gods bless us!"

The explorers yelled back, "May the gods bless us!"

Seeing this, Myrin sighed. He finally decided to walk to the front. It was now his job to lead everyone to where they need to be…

The Hall of Death.

From the balcony of the ancient estate, Soren watched the spectacle unfold before his very eyes. The crowd of explorers, scholars, and treasure seekers was far bigger than what he had initially assumed.

Judging by their numbers, they are probably going to try and finish gathering everything in the Hall of Death in one go…

That was a good thing. Even if that wasn't in Rodrick's plan, they would now be forced to complete everything before heading back to the Safe Zone.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

In situations like these, controlling the size of the crowd was impossible. Most of these explorers, including Rodrick himself, were self-centered. Trying to manage the expedition into smaller groups would only hurt Rodrick's reputation. It would be seen as him trying to control the distribution of the treasures—something none of these shadow guilds would ever accept.

And with how safe the Avalon Ruins had become, it was inevitable that a group this large would gather… Now, Rodrick has no choice but to manage a larger force—his marching speed will be much slower. Not to mention the risk of triggering rogue traps will have increased exponentially.

"It seems you will have a lot of time on your hands…" A childish voice entered his mind. Soren quietly nodded:

"Once they leave, we will begin immediately."

It didn't take long for that to happen. Soren gazed at the crowd slowly flowing out of the distant entrance—their figures distorting and turning upside down once more.

After the last person was gone, Soren turned around and cast Violet Mirage on himself, vanishing instantly.

The room fell to silence. He quietly walked to the door and opened it. A figure greeted him on the outside. It was a man wearing knight's armor and holding a silver spear.

As soon as he noticed something was wrong, it was too late. Soren's figure shifted into being before him—a maddening smile greeted him back:

"Mesmerize."

Before he could even react, his vision began to falter. Sleep… overwhelmed him…

Soren stood still as the warrior in front of him fell to his knees. Seeing him lose consciousness, Soren nodded then activated Violet Mirage once again.

He repeated this process for every person left behind in the estate. Guards, maids, kitchen staff… No one was left awake. Without any way of seeing the attack coming, It was as easy as simply walking toward the person and putting them to slumber.

Seeing his work finally being complete, Soren smiled then nodded. "I will see all of you in a few hours. Don't worry, you won't remember a thing!"

"How cruel of you." Tazzith's voice reached him once again. Soren simply scoffed. "A few of these people are spies for Rodrick. It's already good enough that I didn't kill them."

"What a hooligan."

Soren shook his head and finally exited through the back entrance of the estate. With Violet Mirage covering his tracks, most of his actions were completely undetectable.

"First things first, let's create a map of the entire Safe Zone using [Eyes of the Fairy]."

Soren wasted no time to complete the task. The Safe Zone was divided into four sectors. The northern quarters were filled with inns and other places of rest. South was the production district where a lot of blacksmiths and alchemists usually stay.

There was also the administrative district to the west of the estate where a large portion of the regular civilians stayed. Most of these were people brought here from Camp Sebastian to provide amenities to the explorers. East of the estate was where most of the merchants stayed and bartered for goods brought from the dungeon. This was also where Myrin sold most of the relics they brought with them.

Each section played an important role in the function of the Safe Zone. Weirdly enough, it seemed as if the ruined town itself was also organized this way in ancient times. A lot of the buildings seemed purposeful—matching exactly what was expected of the four distinct sectors.

Soren quietly watched it all with his mystical eyes… The people there—they all seemed focused on their tasks. Many of them were new arrivals—eager to cash in on the benefits the expedition will bring back a week or two from now…

None of these people have any idea what is coming…

He sighed to himself as he finally reached the next area he needed to scout, leaving only violet butterflies in his wake.

It only took him four hours to finish the entire map of the Safe Zone. Soren observed the distinct icons and geography in his Soul Weapon while gazing down at the ruined town from the top of a tower. Noticing nothing was wrong, he finally spoke aloud:

"It's done. Let's get the next part finished as well before I head back."

After a few seconds, he heard a response back, "Alright. I will be lending you my Anima."

Soren pulled out some spirit chalk from his belt pouch as he drowned in the strange sensation of an ancient demon's willpower. This was the second step of their plan—setting up the necessary wards for when their grand scheme finally blooms.

"Are you sure this will work? Trying to create a magecraft formation this large… I am not that confident."

"Since when were you this humble?" Tazzith chuckled. "Even if you aren't confident, we must do this. We have no choice. Confronting Rodrick without any preparations would be suicide. You will need every advantage you can get."

Hearing his words, Soren couldn't help but stare up into the roof of his underground metropolis. There, in the distance, a crimson light was shimmering for all to see… Gleaming wildly, as if asking for someone to take it…

The Blood Amulet. It was dangling casually from a stalactite for more than a thousand years... But soon, it will be theirs for the taking.

"Oh, the things I do for power…"

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