The outpost buzzed with rumor for days. Every tavern corner, every forge-side gathering hummed with the same whispers: a hidden dungeon, buried in the forest's heart, holding treasures strong enough to challenge the ogre.
Most dismissed it as drunken boasting. Others sharpened their blades and vanished into the trees, never to return.
Alexis and Lyra listened, but never spoke.
On the fourth day after their brush with the ogre, Lyra slipped onto the bench beside Alexis outside the shrine, her usual grin tugging at her lips. She dropped a crude scrap of parchment into his lap.
"Found this pinned under a table in the tavern," she said. "Probably a fake. But it's the best lead we've got."
The parchment was rough, the ink smeared, but the drawing was clear enough — a crude map of Floor 1's forest, with a jagged cross deep inside, far past the goblin den. A few notes were scrawled in hurried script: stone arches… roots like walls… beware the watchers.
Alexis studied it in silence, then folded it and tucked it into his pack.
"We go at first light," he said.
Lyra smirked. "I was hoping you'd say that."
The forest welcomed them with its familiar silence. But this time, they did not follow beaten paths or hunting trails. Alexis used the crude map as a guide, weaving through roots and thickets, moving deeper into uncharted ground.
Hours passed. The canopy grew thicker, the air heavy, the light dimming until the forest floor was bathed in eerie half-shadow.
Then they saw it.
A pair of stone arches, half-buried in moss and vines, rising from the ground like the bones of some long-dead giant. The air within the arches shimmered faintly, an unnatural distortion.
Lyra's grin widened. "Looks promising."
Alexis drew his blade. "Or fatal."
Before they could step closer, movement stirred in the trees.
Figures emerged — not goblins, not wolves, but tall, skeletal shapes wrapped in vines. Their eye sockets glowed with pale green fire, roots threading through cracked bone.
Vinebound Skeletons.
[System]:Guardian Encounter — Vinebound Skeletons (C Tier).
The first raised a rusted sword, vines coiling around its grip. Another carried a splintered spear, the wood bound tight to bone by crawling roots.
"They're guarding it," Alexis said, sliding into stance.
Lyra's daggers flashed in her hands. "Then let's knock."
The fight was unlike the goblins. The skeletons did not scream, did not falter. They moved with eerie precision, their broken weapons guided by unnatural strength. Each strike clashed hard against Alexis's blade, rattling his bones. Vines lashed out like whips, trying to bind his arms and legs.
Lyra darted behind one, her dagger slicing through a vine. The skeleton staggered, opening just long enough for her to stab deep into its spine. It crumbled, the glow fading from its eyes.
Another pressed Alexis hard, sword grinding against his katana. His stamina drained with every block. He forced a sharp exhale, shifted his weight, and cut clean through its skull.
At last, the final skeleton collapsed, vines twitching before shriveling into dust.
[System]:Guardian Encounter Cleared.
Loot Acquired:
x2 Vinebone Shards (Crafting Material)x1 Rusted Sword (Poor)+180 EXP
The arches shimmered brighter now, the distortion between them pulling like a tide.
[System]:Hidden Dungeon Discovered — The Root-Crypt.
Difficulty: C Tier
Objective: Explore the ruins, defeat the Rootbound Warden.
Recommended Party: 4+
Lyra wiped her blade clean, her grin sharp. "Looks like we found it."
Alexis gazed into the distortion, his hand tightening on his katana. "Then let's see what the Tower's hiding."
Together, they stepped through the arches.
The world bent — and the forest vanished.
Chapter 2 Part 2.5 : The Root-Crypt
The world snapped back into focus.
Alexis and Lyra stood at the mouth of a cavern unlike any they had seen before. The walls were not stone alone but a tangle of roots fused into the rock, pulsing faintly as though alive. A damp, green light glowed through cracks in the wood, casting the chamber in sickly hues.
The air smelled of rot and soil. Water dripped somewhere in the distance, echoing faintly.
Lyra wrinkled her nose. "Lovely. A dungeon that breathes."
Alexis drew his katana, the steel whispering in the quiet. "Stay sharp."
They advanced down a narrow passage. The walls seemed to close in, the roots tightening overhead until it felt as though the forest itself was swallowing them. Their footsteps echoed faintly on stone, but beneath it Alexis thought he heard something else — a faint skittering.
The sound grew louder.
From a hole in the wall burst a twisted shape — a Rootspawn Crawler, its body a fusion of insect and plant, bark-like carapace splitting as thorned legs scraped across the stone. Green ichor dripped from its mandibles.
Then another. And another.
[System]:Battle Commenced — Rootspawn Crawlers (C Tier).
Alexis swung low, cleaving through one crawler's legs. It shrieked, ichor spraying across the ground. Another leapt at him, but Lyra intercepted, daggers flashing in tight arcs, carving through its carapace at the joints.
But for every crawler they struck down, more poured from the roots, chittering, swarming. Their mandibles clicked, their legs scraping like knives against stone.
"They don't stop," Lyra hissed, ducking under a strike.
"Then we cut until they do."
The air filled with the reek of ichor, the walls shuddering as if the dungeon itself was feeding the swarm. Minutes bled into each other, until finally the last crawler collapsed in twitching silence.
[System]:Room Cleared.
Loot Acquired:
x4 Rootspawn Carapaces (Crafting Material)+250 EXP
They pressed onward.
The tunnels twisted deeper, the glow of the roots pulsing faintly like a heartbeat. In one chamber, they found bones — not goblins, but human skeletons, adventurers who had failed. Rusted weapons and shredded packs lay scattered among the roots.
Lyra crouched, prying a silver ring from one bony hand. She turned it in her fingers, unimpressed, and pocketed it. "Guess not everyone finds the exit."
Alexis said nothing, but his grip tightened on his sword.
At last, the tunnels widened into a vast cavern. Roots spiraled upward like the ribs of some colossal beast, converging around a central mass. The mass shifted, and Alexis realized it was no mere growth — it was a creature, bound into the roots themselves.
A towering figure of bark and bone rose from the cavern floor, vines writhing around its limbs. Its skull-like face cracked open, glowing with green fire.
The Rootbound Warden.
[System]:Dungeon Boss Encounter — Rootbound Warden (B Tier).
It moved with the weight of the forest, each step shaking the cavern. Roots tore free from the ground, lashing like whips. Alexis barely dodged one, the impact shattering stone where he had stood. Lyra darted in, slashing at its flank, but the vines twisted, shielding its body from her blades.
"Defense is too strong!" she shouted.
Alexis's eyes narrowed. His blade flashed against a root, severing it cleanly. The Warden howled, the sound like grinding stone.
"Then we cut the roots," he said.
The battle raged.
Alexis struck at the vines, every swing cleaving through writhing tendrils, but each cut drained his stamina. His breath grew ragged, arms heavy, yet he pressed on.
Lyra became a blur, weaving between the roots, striking at weak points — joints where bark split, where bone showed beneath. Her blades sank shallowly, but enough to bleed sap and ichor.
The Warden roared, slamming its massive arm down. The ground split, roots bursting upward, ensnaring Alexis's leg. He tore free, but the strain burned through the last of his stamina bar.
He staggered.
The Warden raised its arm for the killing blow.
"Alexis!" Lyra's voice cut through the chaos. She darted in, both daggers flashing, cutting deep into the roots binding the Warden's chest. For a heartbeat, its defenses faltered.
Alexis inhaled sharply, forcing what little strength remained into his arms. His katana gleamed as he stepped forward, drawing every ounce of will into a single strike.
Steel cut through root and bark, driving deep into the Warden's core.
The creature howled, a sound that shook the cavern, before collapsing in a shower of roots and splinters.
[System]:Rootbound Warden Defeated. Hidden Dungeon Cleared.
Loot Acquired:
Rootbound Fragment (Rare Crafting Material)Vinewoven Mantle (Uncommon Armor, Light)+450 EXP+310 Silver
[System]:Hidden Dungeon Conquered — Party of 2. Efficiency Bonus Applied.
The cavern dimmed. The roots shriveled, the glow fading.
Lyra collapsed against the wall, panting, her grin faint but fierce. "I told you… hidden treasure." She held up the mantle, its fabric woven from living vine, still pulsing faintly.
Alexis stood silently, his blade dripping with ichor, before sliding it back into its sheath. His eyes lingered on the fallen Warden.
"This will help against the ogre," he said at last.
Lyra chuckled. "Then let's go hunting."