The room had no windows.
Only spotless white tiles covering the walls, with cool air flowing from the air-conditioning.
Sixteen screens were mounted side by side, streaming footage from forty-seven hidden cameras spread throughout the dungeon's five floors.
Infused with mana and tuned to a frequency that evaded standard detection, the cameras were discreetly placed in natural crevices at secret installation points, ensuring neither participants nor monsters could ever notice them.
Kendrick stood with his arms crossed, watching a screen that displayed a group battling against a Queen Pale Stalker. He had witnessed everything from the very beginning: the fight, the retreat, the cowardice shown by many of the participants, and even the queen's breach.
"Well," he said.
Nobody answered.
Joining him were the rest of the superiors: Liora, Amelia, Valerius, Derek, Kael, Mark, Lyra, Selena, and even Brown.
Brown sat at the far end of the room, focused on something other than the screens.
Valerius stood to Kendrick's left, his notebook closed for the first time, eyes fixed on Ares.
Liora stood to the right, her eyes darting between screens with tactical efficiency as she noted the movements of other participants across the floors. However, all of them remained on the first floor.
"The Queen wasn't in the deployment profile. How come we never had a record of her?" she asked, her voice cold as ice, not addressing anyone in particular.
"The Queen is native," Brown said, without looking up.
"She was present when the government discovered the dungeon.
She has been here for approximately forty years." He turned a page. "We have never had a direct confrontation with her, only observations. She rarely leaves her nest."
"And you didn't update the records?"
"No," Brown replied flatly.
Liora's jaw tightened. "With respect—"
"The purpose of the dungeon experiment," Brown began, still not looking up,
It's about seeing how they would react to unfamiliar terrain, new and strange creatures, and the unexpected. Every real-world threat brings something new to the table each day.
A D-class Beast that turns out to be an S-rank berserker.
Terrain that's actually a living creature.
Monsters, intelligent beings like humans.
"I'd rather the last one not be true," Kendrick said. Brown chuckled softly. "I wouldn't want that either, but these otherworldly beings have never been seen or recorded since the dawn of humanity. Anything can happen at any given moment."
He went back, not trailing off,
"Yes! These are the qualities a hunter is supposed to be trained for:
Adaptability,
Quick thinking,
Brutal speed
Unique abilities
Focused-mindset
and the ability to handle deadly scenarios and wield deadly powers and weapons.
Providing complete files would have tested our preparation skills, but that's not what we want.
We've already learned from our last group." The last remark was etched into the superior's mind; they understood what he was referring to, but chose to ignore it.
Liora remained silent. "But I am disappointed," Jones said, still not looking up.
"In what way, sir?" Kael asked this time.
He had listened to the entire conversation, remaining silent like a shadow. His curiosity was piqued. He wondered why Jones felt disappointed when he hadn't seen any reason for it so early on.
"Even though you had information about the dungeon that put you well ahead of many competitors,
You remained arrogant until the very end."
He knew exactly who the speaker was referencing. "You mean Henry Heckerson, son of Silas Heckerson," he said, stating the full name to emphasize the participant's position and the influence he held.
Just like his father, even after getting the rundown and knowing the risks, you're still arrogant to the very end.
"Man, I hope they don't die, especially that tank," Mark said hesitantly. Kael only looked at him and returned to the screen, uninterested.
On screen eleven, the Queen had remained motionless since her emergence. She was following Henry's earlier statement—surveying the situation. She was evaluating what had effectively driven her offspring to a single spot.
She even had to send them out to see their location and what they were doing
"She's intelligent," Valerius said.
"The fourth-floor classification is the minimum for cognitive function," Kendrick said. "She has been leading the colony for forty years. She has seen things come down here before... or up."
"But not these things."
"Not these things?"
On screen seven, which displayed the tunnel entrance feed, Marcus had shifted to a position that allowed him to see both the Queen and the passage while avoiding a direct line of engagement with either. His movement had been subtle, and no one in the group had commented on it.
Kendrick's eyes moved to that screen.
"The old man," he said.
"Marcus Vell," Valerius confirmed. "He has twenty years of classified dungeon fieldwork, though his rank has been disputed."
"What is he doing?"
"He's gathering information from a position that maximizes insight while minimizing risk.... is what I believe he's thinking." Valerius glanced at the screen. "He has done this every time the tactical situation has changed since the gate."
Screen eleven again.
Ares was speaking.
Although the audio pickup from the camera was muffled at this distance, the body language was unmistakable—the group was engaged in conversation. The Queen seemed to be tolerating this discussion with the patience of someone who had all the time in the world.
"He's gathering input. In this situation?" Liora said.
"Subject 148," Brown said.
"Yes."
He had put down whatever he was reading and was now watching the screens. "I believe he asked Heckerson for the files before the Queen arrived, since that boy has been flaunting his influence. Did we catch the exchange?"
"Camera nine, approximately four minutes ago," Kendrick stated.
He accessed the audio from the corridor feed. The exchange replayed — Henry's reluctance, Venia's pistol, the information disclosed, followed by the arrival of Sylvie and Marcus.
Brown listened to it once.
"Heckerson resisted until faced with the pistol. What a naive man, unaware of the dangers before him, letting his arrogance prevail."
"Who holds the pistol?"
"Subject 77 — Venia Kael, a B-rank gunsman from the northern intake — she acquired it from the armory."
Brown was quiet for a moment.
"He builds groups," Valerius said.
"Not factions like he deems it to be.
He doesn't gather people merely to carry out his orders. He surrounds himself with individuals who possess understanding and can make sound decisions alongside him, rather than relying solely on himself and sacrificing those he deems inadequate." He glanced at the screen. "I must say, that's the only sensible thing he's done ever since his appearance."
"The pistol was Venia Kael's decision. He allowed it."
On screen eleven, the Queen shifted her weight slowly and deliberately. This movement was not a preparation for a charge, but rather a careful repositioning — something that had decided it was time to assess its surroundings.
"She's going to move soon," Liora said.
"Yes."
"If they don't have a plan by the time she does—"
"Then we'll observe what happens when they don't have a plan," Brown said. "That is something for them to note."
Kendrick looked at Brown.
Brown looked at the screen.
"But I expect they will," he said.