"Lady Sylvia, there are Junglepaw monsters in this chamber," Darren warned, his tone cautious but sharp.
"No," I replied, narrowing my eyes. "I don't think so…"
Before I could explain further, he turned. "Lyra, get your wind blades ready."
"I said no." My voice came firmer this time. "They're not monsters. That's Lord Hugo and Clara… Probably."
I didn't blame them for the confusion. If not for their clothes, I might have mistaken them too.
They were climbing the pillars.
Yes, actual ancient stone pillars, as if they'd lost all regard for what was normal.
Lord Hugo was up there, giving directions like an eccentric conductor, pointing Clara toward sockets embedded in the walls or at sealed boxes tucked underneath ancient carvings.
Clara moved through the chamber like a shadow, leaping from one stone to the next. Graceful, quick, and alarmingly nimble. She didn't hesitate to throw herself from pillar to pillar, trusting Hugo's voice like it was second nature.
Then she looked down.
"Lord Hugo," she called, "Lady Sylvia is here."
Lord Hugo turned to face me... unfortunately forgetting to fix the expression he was wearing.
A chill crept down my spine.
That twisted smile. That face. It was utterly unsuited for someone in his position.
"Umm… Lord Hugo," I began cautiously. "Glad to see you are safe."
He slid down the pillar like it was a smooth ramp, landing without so much as a stumble, and straightened himself with casual pride.
"Oh, Lady Sylvia," he greeted, "glad to see you're okay too."
Then, noticing the two elves flanking me, he added, "Thanks for leading her well."
Now realizing that Lord Hugo was the Duke's son, the elves straightened and bowed politely.
"Not at all, Lord Hugo. We are glad to be of assistance."
"Oh, no need for formalities," he said with a disarming smile. Noble in tone, if not in appearance. His face, after all, was still haunted by the strange smirk he'd worn moments before.
I took the chance to voice the question that had been troubling me ever since I arrived.
"Lord Hugo… how are you picking artifacts without clearing the sanctum? I couldn't even touch them."
He answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Well… Clara here is not part of our party. According to the sanctum rules, anyone who hunts the same prey is considered part of a party. Clara hasn't hunted even a single Vaernox, so technically… she isn't in it."
"She's only here," he added, "because she was caught up in the proximity of my teleportation circle."
I blinked.
"Wait… then doesn't that mean…"
He smiled. That terrible smile again.
"Yes," he said. "The whole sanctum is ours to loot."
Cold realization and disbelief crashed together in my mind.
"…I understand," I muttered. "But could you not make that face again?"
"What face?" he asked, bewildered.
"I've been wanting to say it," Clara chimed in, unusually bold, "but I thought it would be inappropriate. My lord, your face looks like that of a goblin."
"Hey!" Lord Hugo snapped. "Your smile while collecting the artifacts looked like that of an ogre. Did I mention that?"
"I never looked like an ogre, my lord! You're exaggerating," Clara shot back with a side glance that hinted she was genuinely hurt.
"Yeah, me too," Hugo muttered. "I never looked like a goblin either. Did I, Lady Sylvia?"
I stared at them both.
I must have looked like I was watching two monkeys argue over who was less hideous.
"Well… neither of you looked like it," I said, trying to hold back a laugh.
"You don't have to hold back, Lady Sylvia," Clara replied quickly. "You know he looked like a goblin."
Lord Hugo folded his arms and sulked. "Goblin is still better than ogre."
"I didn't know you compare yourself to ogres now, my lord," Clara said with a smirk.
The absurdity was becoming unbearable.
"Enough," I said, cutting through their bickering with a sigh. "Let's just think of a way to get out of this sanctum first."
.
Me, Sylvia, the two elves, and the ogre maid, started moving toward the boss room.
According to the two Crescent Bloom members the other two were already waiting near the boss room door. Good for them. At least someone around here was punctual.
With the two elves tagging along, we didn't need to worry about directions anymore. Their sense of orientation was probably the only thing saving us from another scenic detour through death traps and glorified storage closets.
When we reached the boss room, the two elves who'd stayed with us broke formation the moment they spotted their friends.
They all huddled up like reunited siblings at a festival, and one of the two, a guy named Zephyr according to Inspect, turned to Darren and pointed excitedly.
"Look at this! Storage pouches and bags just tossed around! There are artifacts inside!"
Darren nodded, scanning them. "These might be the ones taken from the looted chamber."
My brain surged with dopamine like it had just gotten a promotion.
My hunch was right… the probability of my theory being true just shot up.
"Let's open the door quickly," I said, practically vibrating. "If my guess is correct… there will be a few dead bodies inside."
And just like that, everyone turned to stare at me.
The kind of stare you'd reserve for someone who just casually said they enjoy licking dungeon walls.
Clara was the first to speak. "No, Young Master… What happened to you suddenly?"
Sylvia added more diplomatically, "Lord Hugo, let's not risk it. We haven't even approached the center of the maze because of potential monsters. The creature in the boss room… it's the strongest in the sanctum."
"Let's do as we planned previously young master. Lord Orion should've hired a rescue party by now, to get us out."
I sighed, hands raised in surrender.
I looked at Clara, dead in the eyes.
"Alright. Please, listen to me until the end without freaking out."
That got their attention.
Sylvia and Clara tensed instantly. They knew me too well. The elves..Well.. Still busy fawning over the artifacts, completely unaware that I was about to ruin the mood.
So, I turned to Lady Sylvia and asked, "Lady Sylvia, if a sanctum is cleared.. by that I mean, if the boss is killed, does the entrance to the sanctum open again?"
Sylvia answered quickly, "No. If the sanctum is cleared, it collapses. It becomes a part of the dungeon floor it's on."
She paused before continuing, switching to explanation mode. "There's a theory that sanctums existed first. When cleared, their remains formed the dungeon floors. The core they were built on became what we now call the dungeon core, and these accumulated floors are collectively called.. well.. the dungeon."
I summarized, just to confirm. "So, if the sanctum is cleared, it ceases to exist as a separate entity. It merges with the floor. No more sanctum?"
Sylvia nodded. "Yes."
I gave her a look. "Which means… whoever looted those artifacts didn't actually clear the sanctum, correct?"
She blinked. "Yes..."
Sylvia is clearly trying to figure out where I am going with this.
"And it's not possible to collect artifacts without clearing the sanctum"
She hesitated. "Well… unless they're using the same loophole as you. Bringing in someone not registered as a party member by sanctum. Maybe it's a known trick and we're just late to the trend—"
Sylvia stopped mid-sentence.
Gotcha.
Her eyes widened as she caught the implication.
Clara froze at Sylvia's expression. "What does that mean?" she asked, looking between me and Sylvia like a cat watching a chess game.
"What does it mean?" she repeated, voice rising as she caught the tension.
Sylvia looked pale now. She glanced at Clara helplessly and murmured, "What should we do...? The only way out is heading into that room. Rescue won't make it in time."
Clara stiffened. "What…?"
"Relax," I said quickly. "There's still a way. Just like I said, listen to me until the end without freaking out."