[Dungeon] Chapter 67 – Strange Forest

Meanwhile, in the throne room, Cain was sitting on a chair, watching the ninja group's struggle against the chicken. They had been at it for almost 30 minutes now, and they were nowhere close to catching it.

"Hahahaha, this is so fun!" He laughed, "To think they would give up after only 30 minutes. How pathetic."

Not even Ninja with their movements were able to catch the special monster he set as a joke. Jiraiya didn't join and they thought the chicken wasn't worth their effort, but that didn't change the fact that they failed.

"Too bad." Cain mused as he leaned back in his chair. "The lightsaber I made was really nice too. I wish someone could see it. I even spent 1000 Dungeon Coins for that item."

He had crafted a red lightsaber, similar to what Darth Vader uses in the Star Wars series. It was the third Rare Weapon he had made, and it was worth 1000 Coins.

The original reward he put as a drop was a flaming sword, but he changed it at the last minute to a lightsaber. That's why no one knew about it, and they didn't put much effort into catching the chicken.

"It's their loss, though." He shrugged, "They will never see anything like this in their life. It's a pity they don't know its value. Maybe I should make the announcement pop up like my system window. Or maybe just wait until people from outside finish their preparation."

He could wait a little bit longer. It's not like he had anything else to do anyways.

"Let's see what happens next."

Cain closed the window and opened the chatroom.

It was buzzing with activities after his announcement. The people were excited, and some were already preparing to enter his dungeon again.

'Good. I can't wait to see what will happen.'

Cain smiled as he read their conversations, thinking about how his dungeon would become famous.

'Now, the only problem is how to make people talk about this place outside. I need more fame. What should I do?'

A normal citizen, one with no power. He planned to create a challenge dungeon where power was restricted, everyone equal.

He wanted to show that even the weakest person could become the strongest in his dungeon. He wanted to show the world that his dungeon was the greatest of them all.

"Offering a reward is one way to gain fame." He mused as he browsed through the chatroom, "Maybe I should add another reward? Like money or something? Or perhaps something else entirely."

Setting up Gacha system using Dungeon Coin as a currency would be perfect. He only needed to collect the Coins needed to set the system in place. Not to mention, the many rewards he had to prepare beforehand and the percentage of each drop.

However, he couldn't think of any good reward right now. All he had was the lightsaber and the other two Rare Weapons he had made before, and those wouldn't be enough to attract more people to his dungeon.

"I need to get more ideas." He muttered to himself.

Also, he lately thought to himself. Something fundamental that he needed the most. To keep going with this dungeon creation.

Right now, he had already completed his objective of evading the danger that Bishop showed him. His future was safe from the 'danger' that he had shown him, and he could stop here. He could return to his peaceful life and leave behind everything that had happened until now.

But...

"Should I just keep going? I don't want to go back to my old life." He sighed, leaning back in his chair.

He wanted to keep going, creating dungeons and messing with the challengers.

The end goal for people was different, but a reason to live was important. Cain's reason was to keep on going with this dungeon. No matter how boring or uneventful it may be, he wanted to live his life in this way.

And he would do anything to achieve that goal.

"Let's keep going with this. The Ninja won't be able to beat Floor 2-2 easily and there won't be any people entering the dungeon in an hour. Maybe I should make the challenge dungeon based on a rage game?"

***

Meanwhile, Gaara and the others were inside a large forest.

They could see a tall wall from the gaps between the trees, but for some reason they just couldn't exit the forest.

"Damn it, I'm lost!" Kankurou cursed, slamming his fist on the ground, "Why is this place so confusing!?"

Temari shook her head, "Don't panic. We can still find a way out."

Gaara looked around him, "Let's keep going. We have to find a way out of this forest before Naruto and the others catch up. Our goal is probably that tall wall. I can see the building behind it."

After walking for a few minutes, the group found themselves in front of a river. It was wide and deep, with no bridge in sight.

"Great..." Kankurou grumbled, looking at the river, "Now what?"

Temari frowned, "Let's cross it. Gaara can carry us with his sand."

"It's easy."

With a simple movement, the sand beneath their feet rose up, lifting them above the ground. They soared into the air, passing over the river with ease. Gaara's sand was strong enough to hold their weight without breaking apart. It carried them to the other side and set them down gently.

"Thanks, Gaara." Temari said, "That was a great idea."

Gaara nodded, "No problem. But I can't get past the tree canopy no matter what."

"Yeah, it's really strange." Kankurou agreed, "Let's keep moving. We need to be careful of the monsters too."

The three of them continued to move forward, heading deeper into the forest. The trees grew denser and the light dimmed until it became impossible to see anything beyond a few meters ahead. The forest was filled with a strange energy that made their skin tingle.

Black dirt and green grass were everywhere and the sound of the river flowing nearby made the atmosphere eerie. The only sound that broke the silence was the occasional rustling of leaves and the sound of bats.

As they continued further into the forest, they started to notice bats flying around. At first, they thought nothing of it, but when they saw a large amount of them flying around, they became worried.

"Hey, aren't those bats a bit strange?" Temari asked, "There are so many of them."

Gaara looked around, his eyes narrowing, "I don't like this. Let's move on quickly. We're wasting time."

Kankurou nodded, "Right, let's hurry up and get out of here. This place gives me the creeps."

Their worries were proven right moments later when a bat suddenly flew down from the trees and attacked them.