Chapter 9: The Hunt Begins (part 1)

Argon observed the events unfolding in the dungeon, from Zam single-handedly slaying the wolf to his breakthrough in cultivation.

"Isn't this like gaining experience points from killing monsters?" Argon pondered, his gaze fixed on Zam, who was still consolidating his realm.

"System, can you explain what just happened?" he inquired.

[Killing monsters in the dungeon grants you cultivation, similar to the man who killed the wolf. Upon slaying the wolf, he obtained a week's worth of cultivation. Furthermore, the stronger the monster, the greater the cultivation gained. However, to prevent abuse of the dungeon, you will not receive cultivation for killing a lower realm creature.]

"Ah, I see now," Argon mused. In the future, as he acquired more floors in the dungeon, it would be absurd to witness individuals refusing to ascend to the next level and instead farming lower floors for effortless cultivation.

Moreover, single-handedly defeating a monster of the same realm was more challenging than battling a human cultivator, let alone facing the formidable creatures within the dungeon. The monsters produced by the system were top-tier, surpassing the capabilities of ordinary cultivators and only achievable by geniuses.

Suddenly, Argon sensed the arrival of people in the dungeon. His gaze swept across the entrance, granting him full vision of every corner. As the dungeon's master, he possessed such abilities naturally.

He observed the ten bewildered individuals materializing out of thin air.

"The portal is gone," their apparent leader remarked.

Argon utilized his identification skill, a perk obtained upon constructing the dungeon, to assess the newcomers' details and cultivations.

[Name: Arnoux

Bloodline: Fiery God Monkey

Cultivation: Second-Layer Body Tempering]

[Name: Eryx

Bloodline: Fiery God Monkey

Cultivation: First-Layer Body Tempering]

[Name: Nox

Bloodline: Fiery God Monkey

Cultivation: First-Layer Body Tempering]...

"Interesting. System, do you have any information on the Fiery God Monkey bloodline?" he inquired, yet received no response.

All of them shared the bloodline of the Fiery God Monkey, a revelation that surprised him. Their identical bloodline suggested they were descendants of a common progenitor.

If a small village housed individuals with the bloodline of an unknown being, what could be said about those in the city? Could there be bloodlines akin to the divine dragon's existence? He hoped his speculations were mere overthinking.

Shaking off these thoughts, Argon redirected his attention to the system and raised another question.

"By the way, system, how will they be able to leave the dungeon?"

Surely they wouldn't need to clear the entire dungeon before being able to escape, as that would spell certain doom for this group. Their most formidable member was merely at the second layer of Body Tempering, while a seventh-layer wolf stood guard over the dungeon. A casual swipe from that wolf could obliterate this entire group.

"The host is overthinking. After killing a monster, there is a chance it will drop a returner stone. Using this stone allows teleportation for six chosen individuals. Of course, it cannot be used during combat," the system responded.

"So, it's free? That's good to hear," Argon exclaimed. He was relieved that he didn't need to purchase such an item, for if he had, this group would have met their demise. After all, he no longer possessed any soul coins.