Who Designed This Underworld Dungeon?
Chapter 109 - 106 Fire Transmission Ceremony

Chapter 109: Chapter 106 Fire Transmission Ceremony

Breaking news, a massive anomaly has struck the Sain Dungeon!

Everyone was shocked by the news, then responded:

"Isn’t that normal?"

People have been anticipating anomalies in the Sain Dungeon for some time, or rather, they felt the anomaly was overdue.

Since Sain went berserk, everyone thought the Dungeon would probably come to life in a big way, becoming more dangerous and more like the underworld, right? But nothing happened; instead, Sain lay silent for a while, with hardly any changes.

Some were disappointed, believing Sain was dead, others were expectant, convinced that Sain was brewing something major.

It turns out the latter were right.

"The Guild isn’t planning to form an Exploration Team for the time being?"

Crouching at the entrance of the Guild, Maru was startled when she heard the news from Drew.

"The Chairman believes that an Exploration Team should have a decisive effect. With the anomaly just starting and too little information, the efficiency of exploration is not high," Drew explained.

"What kind of logic is that? Shouldn’t an Exploration Team be at the forefront," Maru retorted.

Drew shook his head and pointed at the notice board in the center of town.

"Look at the street, what do you see?"

"What do I see? Isn’t it all just people..." Maru watched the street for a while.

Indeed, the street was packed with people. At three or four in the morning, it was noisy as daylight, as if the entire city had suddenly awakened.

And not all of them were adventurers; there were many civilians too, men, women, old, young, all exhilarated by the news of the anomaly.

The crowd was abuzz with excitement, streaming towards the city gates, and without guessing, you knew they were headed to the Sain Dungeon!

"This," Maru gasped, "since when has the Dungeon been so popular?"

Such a sensation was unprecedented, even surpassing the discovery of the food district.

Drew shook his head and said, "Due to the notice board, everyone’s enthusiasm has been stirred. Now that the Dungeon has an anomaly, it means a plethora of new things have emerged, and the Guild naturally considers letting the people seize the opportunity to find new things. Only when everyone participates does it truly come alive."

Monopolizing is not good behaviour, consider Count Philip as a reference.

"Well said, but in reality, it’s because people love a spectacle," a flippant voice came, and the crowd turned to see the Magician, Roger, who had been absent for some time.

He raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Are you going to join the excitement? Take me with you; I can call some team members to join as well."

"So you didn’t leave, then let’s go together," Maru leapt onto Tal’s shoulder, and pointing towards the city gate, she exclaimed, "Head out quickly, else we’ll have to queue!"

The remaining three members of the Strategy Group instantly agreed with Roger, everyone entering the Dungeon with the idea of testing the waters, just to see what changes had taken place.

As for the real strategy, that would have to wait until Leon, the boss, returned.

As for the teammates Roger mentioned, Maru initially thought it would be Steeran, Albud, and others, but...

"Guys, wanna join us? Look, our names are carved right there on the Clearing Stone Tablet, sticking with us is a sure bet!"

...Roger casually recruited a few people along the way to join them...

Maru was speechless, feeling that the future of this hastily assembled ten-person team wasn’t looking too good.

"The Teleportation Gates have increased by one!"

Just as they arrived at the Ancient City, they heard the cheering of the people; indeed, the number of Teleportation Gates to enter the Sain Dungeon had increased by one.

This was undoubtedly good news; the pressure of queuing immediately lessened, even the usually composed Drew smiled.

"Do you see, is that Count Charon?"

Near the Teleportation Gates, Charon was surrounded by guards, his hair frazzled, clothes dishevelled, clearly having been woken by the news and rushed here.

But what was he here for?

Adventurers still had a bad impression of the Bed Family, watching Charon expressionlessly.

Charon exchanged a few words with the guards and immediately many guards began unloading boxes from the carriage, opening one for inspection.

"Hiss, are those all Teleportation Crystals?"

A guard shouted aloud: "Count Lord has specially issued a new decree to support your adventure activities; everyone entering the Dungeon can receive a Teleportation Crystal for free each day! For one month!"

Upon this announcement, adventurers’ attitudes changed instantly.

"Long live the Earl, long live the Earl!"

"Charon is really splurging," Roger commented, "He seems to be planning to restructure the future of Bed City entirely around the Dungeon, turning Sain into the city’s signature."

"It’s never too late to mend, but how do you know so much insider information?" Drew looked at him curiously.

Roger smiled mysteriously and said:

"I’ve taken a new apprentice with similar interests, who has quite a standing in the Bed Family,"

"No one wants to hear you tease, let’s hurry to the queue!" Maru patted his back and urged.

Under the night sky, the Ancient City was brightly lit, a hubbub of voices, with every face filled with anticipation for the unknown.

Two lines of people continuously entered the Dungeon, the stream unending with more arriving.

"Phew," looking at the Teleportation Gate just within reach, the members of the Strategy Group took a deep breath and resolutely stepped through.

"..."

Teleportation made everyone’s head spin, and when they came to, they found themselves enveloped in darkness.

Just as everyone was puzzled, a curious tune suddenly rang in their ears.

This familiar scene made Maru’s expression weird, could it be that another projection was about to play?

Unfortunately, it wasn’t.

The brief tune disappeared instantly, sunlight pierced through the darkness onto everyone’s faces, and the world changed in an instant.

The clear sky, the ruined square, the moss-covered buildings...

The air of antiquity permeated the area, clearly, from a period of forgotten history.

[Fire Transmission Ceremony]

A line of white text appeared before everyone’s eyes.

"Crackle crackle..."

It’s the sound of flames burning.

A campfire is burning steadily right in the center of the square!

Touching the campfire still brings up everyone’s attribute panel, but this time, there are no images.

For some reason, just seeing the campfire gives everyone a sense of security.

"Fire Transmission Ceremony..."

The group savored the name. Could it be that this place is where the Fire Transmission Ceremony is held, where heroes perform their sacred rites?

"With such a massive map, which way should we go?" Maru looked at the expansive Fire Transmission Ceremony area, somewhat indecisive. "Should we split up and explore?"

"But, what if we encounter Monsters..." an adventurer proposed a completely different opinion.

"Don’t worry, I don’t sense any Monsters nearby. This place is safe, absolutely safe," Roger confidently stated.

The adventurers that teamed up with them revered the Strategy Group and trusted Roger’s judgment.

So, everyone paired up and dispersed to figure out the structure of the Fire Transmission Ceremony area.

Little did they know, they are in for a shock – there were so many places to explore that it was ridiculously overwhelming.

Originally, the Fire Transmission Ceremony area would have had a direct path to Undead Town, but Gong Qiying didn’t have the additional capacity to focus on designing Undead Town while also working on Fran Fort.

Moreover, if he were to design Undead Town, he would then need to plan for the connected Undead Town Parish, the lower levels of Undead Town, the Black Forest Courtyard, and even Sain Ancient City. All these maps are part of a cohesive design, and putting them out of context would significantly reduce their brilliance.

So, under Gong Qiying’s design, the Fire Transmission Ceremony area was surrounded by impassable mountains, with the previously existing swamp and forest areas respectively to the north and east.

These two main paths were the most obvious, and one couldn’t miss them unless blind.

Through some suggestive techniques on certain buildings, the path that led to Fran Fort would appear most prominent to the adventurers, subconsciously making them choose it for exploration.

"We can go down here," Tal discovered a stairway leading downwards at the edge of the ceremony area, and he was the first to stride down with his fellow adventurer.

Below was an empty space, and at the end of the space was a cylindrical stone structure, its bottom pitch dark as if it connected to the underground, a chilly breeze striking their faces.

"It feels like jumping down will be a death fall..."

This was a classic design indispensable to Soul Travel – the elevator.

It would only rise if someone stepped on it below or pulled on a particular mechanism, making it usable for adventurers.

Otherwise, it was like saying, "You’re not worthy, you’re not worthy..."

However, at this stage, Gong Qiying hadn’t finished designing the lower area, so there was no chance for the adventurers to find the mechanism – this was just a set-up for now.

If there was to be a design later, this elevator would likely lead to the Little Londo Ruins.

"Is this one also empty?" Maru discovered two other elevators elsewhere; unlike the one Tal found, one of these was designed to be jumped into.

"I’ll lead the way," her fellow adventurer jumped down and called out, "It’s okay, come on down!"

Maru jumped down as well, stepped out of the narrow building, and what appeared before her was... three treasure chests?

There, against a wall, were three chests placed at the base, looking rather tempting.

Out of caution, she instantly threw a few Flying Knives at them.

"Ting ting ting—"

The chests did not make a move; they didn’t seem to be Treasure Box Monsters.

"So many chests, looks like we’re going to strike it rich," the adventurer rubbed his hands together with excitement, looking back at Maru who nodded in approval before he went over to open a chest.

[Return Bone Fragment x5]

[Allows immediate return to the last rested campfire]

Maru blinked, feeling that... this item seemed pretty good? It could be a lifesaver in dangerous situations.

But it could only be used within the Sain Dungeon, reducing its value. Hopefully, the other two chests contained something better.

However, the other two chests also held Return Bone Fragments.

"..."

Maru and the adventurer exchanged looks, speechless.

"Maru, come up quick, we’re setting off," Tal’s voice came from above.

"Coming!" Maru responded, but then she let out a "huh".

She noticed half of an exit on the wall, perfectly blocked by the chests, easily overlooked if not carefully observed.

She was now torn.

On one hand, her companions were calling for her; on the other, there was a new area ripe for exploration. If she had to choose which was more appealing...

"Of course, adventure into the new area!"

With no hesitation, Maru squeezed through the gap in the wall, with her fellow adventurer following suit.

A desolate graveyard appeared before them, full of scattered skeletal remains.

They stared in awe as every tombstone was marked with a faint light point.

This was practically a treasure trove!

Time to cash in on the gold coins of the unnamed deceased!

The adventurer leaped forward, his face brimming with the joy of a bountiful harvest.

On the other side, Drew and the others had already gathered, sharing their findings from the exploration.

"It feels more complex here, not necessarily a good thing for some," Drew said.

"No, I don’t think it’s all bad," Roger responded, "Look, the Fire Transmission Ceremony area doesn’t have Monsters, so whether someone’s just entered the Dungeon or is exhausted after exploring, they can choose to come back here to rest. Previously in Sain Dungeon, you’d face crap the moment you entered."

"What’s more, we haven’t even explored deeply yet; we don’t know how the other areas have changed," said a Swordsman named Dal, also a Silver Rank adventurer.

Tal suddenly felt uneasy and glancing around, said, "Why hasn’t Maru come back yet?"

"Ah—"

Right after he spoke, Maru’s scream could be heard nearby.

Tal’s cheek twitched; he knew there would be trouble...

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.