Re:Crafting in Another World
Chapter 132: Refused

Chapter 132: Refused

The tunnel loomed before them like the open maw of some ancient beast—wide, cold, and drenched in an oppressive aura that clung to their skin like oil. Mandira and King Soris stood side by side, staring into its depths.

A sickly dark mist curled from its entrance, and the very air around it trembled faintly. It was quiet. Too quiet. The kind of silence that screams danger.

Mandira narrowed her eyes. "This... This is not natural. Not even dungeon magic can create this sort of presence. I don’t think Shennong has control over whatever this is."

King Soris nodded, his glamorous armour gleaming faintly under the flickering torchlight. "Then we turn back. This is not a place for the living."

She exhaled, relieved by his agreement. "Good. I’ll order the knights to—"

SPLURT.

Without warning, a grotesque, translucent hand—like melting slime—shot out of the tunnel and snatched King Soris with horrifying speed.

"Your Highness!" Mandira screamed, reaching out—but he was gone.

Dragged into the darkness.

The knights drew swords and shields, some letting out startled shouts, others stumbling back in panic.

Mandira’s breath caught in her throat. Her eyes locked on the last trace of that hand—and she knew.

"That wasn’t a monster," she whispered, voice trembling with fury. "That was Sasha."

Her teeth clenched. "Shennong... what are you doing?!"

For a brief moment, doubt flickered in her heart. Is he... luring us? Has he turned traitor after all?

But now was not the time to think.

King Soris was inside. She had no choice.

Mandira turned to the knights. "Listen well," she commanded. "In case of emergency, I will teleport His Majesty out."

The knights looked uneasy. One stepped forward. "And... what about us, Lady Archmage?"

Mandira hesitated.

"I’m sorry," she said softly.

That was all.

The knights fell silent. A few looked grim, but none backed away. They were knights of the Crown. They had taken their oaths.

And so, they followed her.

The tunnel swallowed them whole.

It was a strange walk.

The tunnel—despite its unnatural entrance—looked deceptively normal. Stone walls. Dusty floor. A few dead roots. Yet every step felt heavier. Every breath tasted wrong. As if the air itself wanted to choke them.

Mandira marched ahead, her staff in hand, light glowing at its tip.

"I swear, Shennong..." she muttered under her breath, "if we survive this, I’m never trusting you again."

Behind her, the knights muttered prayers. Their armor clinked softly. The silence was unbearable.

Then, after what felt like forever—

They saw it.

The tunnel opened up... into a vast world.

A garden, if one could still call it that.

Twisted trees reached for the black sky above like the fingers of the dead. Thorned vines slithered across the cracked ground. Glowing red flowers pulsed like hearts. Strange creatures—part shadow, part mist—glided silently through the air.

And at the entrance...

King Soris stood.

Just stood, staring into the distance.

"Your Majesty!" Mandira called out, rushing toward him. "Are you hurt?!"

He didn’t answer. He just stared. His voice, when it finally came, was low and distant. "So this is it..."

Mandira blinked. "What?"

"This is what my father told me about," Soris whispered. "In his last days... he spoke of a realm beyond our control. A place buried under this world. He called it a garden. A cursed one."

Mandira looked around sharply.

And then she felt it.

That presence.

Her breath caught in her chest. It was the same energy she had felt in Juno’s sword.

Her eyes widened. "This... This is the second floor of the dungeon," she realized. "Shennong... He brought us here. He wanted to show us this."

Soris turned to her. "You knew about it?"

"No," she said. "Not like this. I felt the same aura when I examined Juno’s sword. I didn’t know this realm truly existed."

Soris looked back out over the garden. "My father wasn’t mad, after all..."

Mandira stepped closer. "Your Majesty, this is dangerous. Whatever this place is—it isn’t for us. We must leave. Now."

But Soris shook his head. "Listen."

Mandira frowned. "What—"

"Listen, Mandira!" he snapped, eyes suddenly wild.

She fell silent.

And then... she heard it.

A faint whisper.

Calling their names.

No—pulling at their names.

"You hear it too," Soris said quietly. "It doesn’t want us to leave."

Mandira turned sharply.

The tunnel behind them—

Was gone.

Not collapsed.

Just gone.

She spun back to Soris, reached for his shoulder, and muttered the words of teleportation.

Nothing happened.

The magic fizzled into sparks.

Mandira stepped back, panic rising. "No—no, no, no..."

She tried again.

And again.

Still nothing.

Soris looked at her. "It won’t let us leave."

Mandira clenched her fists. "Shennong... what kind of trouble have you put me in?"

Her heart pounded. She looked out over the hellish landscape.

This... this was no normal dungeon.

This was something ancient.

Something wrong.

One of the knights stumbled forward. "My lady, the tunnel...?"

"Gone," she said flatly. "We’re trapped."

The knight’s face paled.

Mandira turned back to Soris. "We find Shennong. That’s the only way out."

Soris nodded slowly. "Then we go forward."

The Garden of Darkness stretched before them, filled with shadows, secrets, and something that felt very much like the end of the world.

Mandira swallowed hard and began walking.

And somewhere—deep within—something watched.

Waiting that was not Shennong.

***

The core chamber of the dungeon pulsed dimly as Shennong stood alone, his expression tense. The air buzzed faintly with ambient magic, but no report came from Sasha.

That in itself was a problem.

Normally, he could monitor any part of his dungeon with a mere thought. He could see the monsters, the traps, the environment—all of it at his command. But now... the second floor had gone completely dark.

No matter how many tunnels he tried to dig, thick fog stopped him every time. It wasn’t just physical. It wasn’t mist or smoke. It was something more—something made of energy. A dense, almost malicious force that swallowed every attempt he made to penetrate it.

"This isn’t natural," Shennong muttered to himself. "Something’s not letting me in."

He clenched his fists.

"And where is Sasha?"

She hadn’t responded in hours. No voice in his mind. No signal. Nothing. That was the most troubling of all. Sasha wasn’t just any dungeon core spirit—she was connected to him. To be cut off completely...

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

Just as he was about to force another attempt through a different tunnel angle, a sudden pulse ran through the dungeon. A deep vibration. A magical shockwave.

Shennong jerked upright.

"What was that—?"

A flash of light filled his senses.

In an instant, his perception was yanked toward the main tunnel leading into the second floor—the one guarded by a massive stone arch. And from within that ominous tunnel...

People flew out.

"What the—?!"

He saw Mandira, King Soris, and every single knight who had entered just moments ago being violently thrown back, as if the dungeon itself had rejected them.

Shennong’s eyes widened.

They landed hard on the floor outside the entrance, groaning and dazed. No visible injuries, but their expressions were enough—panic, confusion, and fear.

A rare sight on Mandira’s face.

"This is my chance," Shennong whispered.

Without a second thought, he dashed through a hidden side tunnel that twisted and wove beneath the main corridor. He emerged from a smaller crevice behind a jagged rock pillar, out of sight from the knights.

Mandira was still catching her breath, her knees shaking slightly as she tried to stand.

Perfect.

Shennong reached out and grabbed her arm.

"Wha—!?"

Before she could finish that gasp, the ground beneath them gave way.

With a small shimmer, the hidden tunnel activated, dragging her in alongside him. The stone closed behind them in an instant, sealing away any trace of their sudden disappearance.

The knights looked around in alarm, none having noticed what had just happened.

In the main control room of the dungeon, lined with glowing sigils and stone tablets, Shennong let go of her and stepped back.

Mandira stumbled, then looked around quickly. "Where am I?! What just happened?!"

Shennong’s voice was calm but cold. "You’re safe. For now."

Her head whipped around. "Shennong?! You—! What are you doing?!"

"I could ask you the same." He folded his arms. "What did you see in the second floor?"

Mandira blinked. Her mouth opened, but no words came.

He narrowed his eyes. "Mandira?"

She rubbed her temples, visibly confused. "I... I don’t know."

"What do you mean, you don’t know?" Shennong asked, stepping closer. "You entered. I saw it. You were thrown out less than a minute later."

"I’m telling you the truth," she said, her voice low and shaken. "We stepped into the fog. The next thing I remember, I was lying on the ground outside the tunnel. That’s all."

Shennong studied her face carefully. There was no lie. She wasn’t pretending.

Her eyes were glassy. A cold sweat glistened on her skin. Even her usually confident tone was shaky.

She wasn’t faking this.

"You really don’t remember?" he asked softly.

Mandira shook her head. "Nothing. No image. No sound. Just... a deep feeling of dread. Like something wanted to erase us just for being there."

Shennong exhaled slowly.

"Something has taken control of the second floor," he said more to himself than her. "It’s locking me out. Even Sasha is silent."

Mandira looked at him sharply. "You mean the dungeon core girl?"

He nodded.

Mandira furrowed her brows. "That... explains the unease I felt when I stepped in. I remember thinking for just a moment—just one—that we shouldn’t go in. That something inside didn’t even acknowledge us as living beings."

She hugged her arms tightly. "It was like being forgotten."

"Then this is worse than I thought," Shennong muttered. "The dungeon core isn’t in control anymore. Something has overwritten the structure—at least on that floor."

"But how?" Mandira asked. "You created this place. You’re connected to every part of it."

Shennong shook his head. "Well not anymore."