Stranded [Pt 3]

The meeting lasted for about an hour.

Within that period, all the issues that plagued the Adventurers were raised, but most of them could not be resolved.

In the end, the only thing that could really be done was finding a way out of the current situation. As a result, the Adventurers placed their faith in Jet and Lux as they continued marching towards progress.

They traversed various Zones—from incredibly ancient catacombs, to the more pristine halls of death. They encountered various kinds of Undead as well.

Specters, Ghouls, Animated Corpses, and several Monster Corpse variants; all of whom were taken care of by Jet and Lux.

Even though they had a third Heroic Rank Adventurer on their side—Sherlock—he had been leading his own group for days without rest before meeting the bigger group, so he spent most of the time resting.

Besides, even if Sherlock wasn't exhausted, merely watching how the duo swiftly eliminated the enemies, it was easy to see how he would only hold them back.

After spending hours like this, they finally arrived in front of yet another entrance.

Everyone held their breath as they watched their leaders draw near to the massive stone door.

No one could predict what came next.

**********

'This…' Rey felt an odd sensation as he stood in front of the colossal double door before him.

The dimly lit area around him felt eerie, but Rey ignored everything.

He ignored the few thousand people that anxiously stared at his back, murmuring words to one another. He ignored the incredibly large hall that they occupied, and the motionless bodies of the Greater Zombies that occupied the ground.

The entire arena felt like it had experienced an earlier battle, but since Rey saw no corpse, and he still saw Undead present, he figured the person either escaped, or the Monsters spawned there after a set period of time.

He removed his thoughts from them, though.

The air felt musty, tense as well. But Rey didn't pay any mind to those details.

All of his attention was on the door in front of him—and what lay ahead.

'The Miasma density beyond this door is incredible. Just touching this door alone, I can feel so much impurity seeping through.' Rey narrowed his eyes, feeling the warm, disgusting sensation on his hand.

The only reason why he wasn't experiencing any negative effects was due to his Passive Skills and incredible Stats.

Any other person touching the double door was bound to instantly be afflicted with Miasma Poisoning just from skin contact.

It was that intense!

Yet, that wasn't all Rey noticed.

'The pressure inside is so intense that I can't properly utilize my sensory capabilities…'

It felt like space was so twisted inside.

'There's no doubt about it. This is the Boss Room!' Rey nearly leaked out a smile, but he suppressed his amusement.

'At long last, we've finally come this far!'

He slowly turned back and looked at the Adventurers who looked at him with curious stares. They were clearly expecting a verdict from him.

"It's dangerous up ahead. I believe up ahead is the Boss Room."

Gasps of shock filled the area, and everyone instantly displayed worry. Their weary faces showed fear, but Rey quickly spoke up to assuage them of their worries.

"I understand your concerns, but we can't miss this opportunity. If we delay for too long, the Zone might shift."

As soon as he said this, the aversion of the Adventurers slowly began to dissipate.

"We have to go together, or else the Zones might shift while some of us are inside." He added.

The moment they heard this, they gained their motivation to move forward.

In the meeting that was conducted earlier that day, there were only two solutions to the current problem the group faced.

One was finding the exit and leaving the Dungeon.

This was easier said than done, since no one had been able to locate the Ground Floor since the Mass Teleportation Incident, and many even suspected that it probably didn't exist anymore.

Then, there was the second option.

—Subjugating the Dungeon Boss!

If they killed the Boss, there was a chance that this whole nightmare would end. Even if they wouldn't get teleported of the Dungeon, they could at least stop the Zone shifts.

There was no evidence that this would be the case, but people were just desperate to believe something.

As such, they clung to that hope.

'To play my role well and stick to the final bits of the plan, I need an audience…' Rey's eyes scoured among the thousands on his side.

They were an approximate of 3,200.

'I suppose they'll suffice for the job.'

He only had to think of a way to preserve them from the intense Miasma beyond the walls of the Dungeon, and he already thought of the best explanation.

"Stick to me, everyone. I will now use the sacred power of my Chaos Blade. It can only be used once in a year, so I haven't been able to use it until now."

Rey brought out his special weapon from his briefcase, thrusting his hand into the air as the blade's tip faced the sky.

"Sanctuary!"

Everyone marveled in awe, waiting for what would happen.

Then—

~VWUUUM!~

A bright white light seared through the air, instantly creating a dense membrane that shrouded everything within the vicinity of the wielder.

In no time at all, the thousands of people were encased within a wide-spread field that protected them from the external world.

This, according to Jet, was called [Sanctuary], a hidden effect of his Chaos Blade.

It was a lie, though.

'I just used my [Absolute Perfect Defense] Skill to protect everyone, but made it seem like it came from the blade.'

By also giving an excuse about the cooldown period, he would ward off any suspicion about his use of this power.

'I can also make it seem like a very powerful barrier, so they won't be too scared in the Boss Room.'

With a wide smile on his face, Rey opened the door and stepped into the room.

'They just need to keep their eyes on me!'