Dark Magus Returns

When Raze heard the number, three hundred, his mind went into overdrive.

He couldn’t stop thinking about the tricky situation they were now facing. The deeper they traveled into this place, the more it seemed likely that the Underfang Guild had never actually explored this dimension. And if they had, then it must have been only a shallow sweep, barely scratching the surface.

The real problem was this: no matter how small or weak these creatures seemed… dimensions didn’t care about that.

The dimensional limit referred only to the number of beasts defeated. Whether they were powerful or puny, it didn’t matter. Kill enough of them, and the dimension boss would be summoned.

Which meant that if they fought, and defeated, these three hundred creatures, they’d likely trigger the arrival of the boss. And that was a risk they were far from ready to take. No one had a clue how powerful the boss might be.

“If you can, make sure the students don’t engage the small ones,” Raze warned the teachers around him. “These kinds of monsters tend to act as a horde. They might not be hostile the entire time we’re here… but if one of them gets attacked, the rest will swarm us. All of them.”

His warning didn’t exactly make anyone feel more at ease. Still, the group kept pushing forward, doing what they could to remain alert.

Eventually, they reached the summit of the hill they had been climbing. The terrain flattened out, and for the first time in a while, they had a clear view of what lay ahead, and it left them stunned.

“It’s… beautiful,” Chiba said, her voice filled with awe.

“Right?” Yolden pointed. “It’s incredible that a place like this even exists here.”

“Yeah, but… why would something like that be here, where monsters are roaming around?” another student asked.

“Are you an idiot?” Londo shot back with a scoff. “Did you seriously not pay attention in any of your studies?”

What they were staring at was the entrance to what appeared to be a shrine.

It stood tall in the clearing, a large, open rectangular gate with a faded board above it. Whatever words were once carved into it had long since vanished. Not that it would’ve helped; even if they were legible, the language was completely foreign.

Time had not been kind to the structure. Vines wound tightly around the giant red pillars that framed its entrance. The sign was cracked and nearly illegible, the whole thing swallowed by the wild, overgrown forest.

But what truly stunned the students was its size.

Even though they were only at the gate, a glance to the right revealed a massive outer wall, stretching nearly a full kilometer, and that was just one side. The same could be seen to the left. And along the far wall, they noticed large sections had crumbled, marked with deep claw-like scars.

“Londo’s right,” Luka said, stepping forward. “Even though our academies have become more combat-focused, understanding the history and context of dimensions is just as important.”

He turned back to face the group.

“As you may know, nearly every dimension discovered has traces of lost civilizations. In almost all of them, there’s evidence that humans, or humanlike races, once lived here. The timeline of their collapse varies depending on the dimension.”

“In some cases,” Luka added, “it feels like their downfall happened just recently. In others… it’s been centuries, maybe even millennia.”

Panla and Redrick stepped forward and led the group through the front entrance of the shrine. The students followed, wary but fascinated. Their caution matched that of their teachers.

Inside, the shrine opened into a large courtyard, grass-covered sections arranged in rectangular plots, with long corridors leading off to the left and right. More gates could be seen deeper within the structure, marking off other sections still hidden from view.

Cracked pots, broken wooden beams, and the occasional forgotten relic littered the ground like discarded memories.

“Can you sense anything?” Panla asked quietly.

“It seems clear, at least for now,” Redrick replied. “But we still shouldn’t split the group.”

Panla raised her hand, signaling everyone to gather around. The students quickly formed up, their attention sharp.

“There are two key goals when entering a dimension and hunting inside it,” Panla began. “The first is the beast crystals. I’m sure you all understand their value.”

A few students nodded, others clenched their fists in anticipation.

“The second,” she continued, “is the discovery of artifacts. Each civilization encountered within a dimension faced its own threats. Whether it was from beasts… or even each other, we don’t always know. But during their time, they forged powerful tools, many of which still remain.”

“Some of these artifacts are deeply connected to magic,” she said, “while others operate on unknown principles. But all of them are rare, dangerous, and incredibly valuable. Some are worth a fortune. Others are so unique that even the Grand Magus take personal interest.”

The moment she said those words, the students’ eyes lit up with excitement. A buzz passed through the group.

That reaction, however, made Raze uneasy.

“There’s one more thing you should all know,” Panla said, her tone turning serious. “Since this expedition is a joint venture between the academy and the guild, we’ve agreed to split everything discovered. Fifty percent of all findings will be handed over to the guild, and they’ll determine the value of each item beforehand.”

Truthfully, from what Raze had heard, the guild had made an incredibly fair offer. Usually, they’d only compensate the academy with ten, maybe twenty percent of the total value.

This time, though? They were offering fifty.

And that made Raze even more suspicious.

Because there was one more thing the teachers hadn’t mentioned, something important.

The areas with the most ancient artifacts, the ones buried deep in ruined civilizations like this… were also the places that tended to house the most dangerous beasts.

Maybe we’re about to find out just how strong this dungeon really is, Raze thought, his hand instinctively hovering near his weapon that wasn’t there.

***

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