Chapter-5

The journey deeper into the dungeon was surprisingly quiet. Too quiet.

Alejandro and his team moved through the dense forest, their boots pressing against the damp earth, the distant sound of rustling leaves the only real sign of life.

After their earlier fights, they expected to encounter more monsters—feral hounds, goblins, maybe a few more undead. Instead, they found almost nothing.

"Feels a little empty, don't you think?" Marco commented, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

"Yeah," Emilia agreed, lazily twirling her dagger. "We've been walking for nearly ten minutes and only ran into, what, two goblins?"

"Something's off," Sofia murmured.

Alejandro, walking slightly ahead, kept his expression neutral.

He had a feeling he knew why.

A few minutes later, they found the answer.

Ahead of them, in a small clearing surrounded by thick trees, another group of hunters was engaged in battle. There were six of them, all wearing similar combat gear, suggesting they were from the same guild or at least a well-coordinated party. They were in the middle of finishing off the last few monsters—goblins and a single undead knight. One of them, a tall man with a large axe, swung down, cleaving through the knight's torso. The creature collapsed into a pile of bones. The fight was already over.

Alejandro and his team stopped at the edge of the clearing.

"Well, that explains it," Marco muttered. "They've been sweeping through the area ahead of us."

Emilia clicked her tongue. "Figures. No wonder there were so few monsters left for us."

Sofia exhaled, adjusting her grip on her staff.

Alejandro watched the other group for a moment before turning away.

First come, first serve.

That was an unwritten rule among hunters. If another group was already fighting in an area, you didn't interfere unless they asked for help.

Dungeon resources—monsters, loot, mana crystals—were claimed by whoever reached them first.

This wasn't a high-rank dungeon, so fighting over kills wasn't worth it. The smart move was to simply change direction.

"Let's not waste time," Alejandro said, stepping away from the clearing. "We'll find another path."

Marco nodded. "Agreed."

Without another word, the team turned and headed in a different direction, avoiding the other hunters entirely.

As they walked, Alejandro subtly focused his thoughts on something else—

His Dungeon Creation System.

Though everything looked like a normal dungeon, he was still its creator. That meant he had control.

"Let's see…"

He concentrated, calling upon his power.

A mental map appeared in his mind.

It wasn't very detailed, he couldn't see the exact locations or number of enemies, but it gave him a general layout of the dungeon, and most importantly, He could sense the Boss Room. It was farther ahead, deeper into the forest, hidden beyond a ridge.

"Found you" He smirked.

With Alejandro leading the way, the group moved deeper into the forest, following the unseen path toward the Boss Room. The atmosphere remained calm, the thick canopy above filtering the light into faint golden streaks. Their footsteps crunched against fallen leaves, and for a while, there was only silence.

It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, but after a while, Alejandro decided to break it.

"Since we've got time, why don't we talk a bit?" he suggested, glancing at the others. "We've fought together, but we barely know each other."

Marco shrugged. "Not much to tell. Born and raised in Milan. Became a hunter to make a living. That's about it."

Sofia nodded slightly. "Same. I was always good with magic, so becoming a hunter was a natural choice."

Both of them gave short, basic answers—not unfriendly, but not particularly open either.

Then there was Emilia.

She grinned and stretched her arms. "Oh, I've got a whole story."

Alejandro smirked. "Go on, then."

Emilia didn't hesitate. "Unlike these two, I'm not from Italy. I was born in Lithuania. Lived there for most of my childhood… until my parents died in a dungeon."

Her tone was matter-of-fact, but there was an unmistakable weight behind her words.

Alejandro didn't interrupt. He simply listened.

"After that, I moved here to live with my aunt and cousin. My cousin's a hunter too—better than me, actually." She chuckled, but there was a hint of pride in her voice. "She's the one who trained me when I first started."

Marco and Sofia stayed quiet, but Alejandro could tell they already knew her story.

He nodded. "I see. That must've been tough."

Emilia glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. "You say that like you understand."

Alejandro did understand. Not because of personal experience, but because he had seen countless stories like hers. Hunters losing family to dungeons was far too common.

"I get it," he said simply.

For a moment, Emilia studied his face, then smiled. "Huh. You're a bit more interesting than I thought."

Then she smirked. "Your turn. Tell me about you."

Alejandro chuckled. He had expected that.

"Not much to say," he said casually. "I'm from Spain. Became a hunter because it seemed like a good job. I'm not from a famous family or anything special."

"That's it?" Emilia raised an eyebrow.

"That's it."

Of course, he left out the part about being reincarnated with the power to create dungeons. No need to bring that up.

As they walked, Emilia pulled out her phone and unlocked it. "Since we're getting along so well, might as well exchange contacts."

Alejandro smirked. "That was fast."

"What? You're strong, and I like strong people," she said with a grin.

He took out his own phone and exchanged numbers with her.

"There. Now you can't escape me," Emilia teased.

Marco shook his head with a sigh. "You could at least pretend to be subtle."

Sofia chuckled softly but said nothing.

Alejandro just smiled.

This was turning out to be an interesting day.

And up ahead the Boss Room awaited.

As they approached the massive stone doors, Alejandro immediately noticed something was off— The doors weren't closed. They stood slightly ajar, revealing a faint blue glow from within.

"They're open," Sofia murmured, her expression darkening.

Marco frowned. "Which means someone got here before us."

Alejandro narrowed his eyes. That wasn't necessarily a problem—but depending on what happened inside, it could be.

Without hesitation, he stepped forward, pushing the doors open. The massive slabs of stone creaked, revealing the Boss Room.

And what they saw wasn't what they expected.

The room was massive, resembling a ruined temple with broken pillars and faintly glowing arcane symbols on the floor. The air was thick with stale mana, and the eerie blue glow cast long shadows across the chamber.

But that wasn't what caught their attention first.

It was the bodies.

Two hunters lay on the ground, motionless. Their armor was damaged, their weapons scattered nearby.

Sofia took a sharp breath. "Damn it…"

Emilia moved forward quickly, checking for signs of life, but after a moment, she shook her head. "They're gone."

Marco knelt beside one of them, flipping over a half-burnt identification card.

"D-rank," he muttered.

Alejandro checked the other. "E-rank."

A heavy silence settled over the group. There was only one conclusion.

The Boss wasn't E-rank. It wasn't even a normal D-rank.

"Best case, it's a high D-rank boss," Marco said grimly. "Worst case…"

"It's C-rank," Sofia finished.

Alejandro exhaled slowly. That… would be a problem.

C-rank dungeons were on another level compared to E-rank or D-rank. Most of the hunters who entered this dungeon were probably low-ranked, meaning if the boss was truly C-rank…

It was a death trap.

After a moment, Alejandro took the identification cards from the fallen hunters.

"We'll give these to the association later," he said quietly.

No one argued. It was the least they could do.

With that done, they pressed forward. The deeper they went into the Boss Room, the stranger it became. There were no monsters. No goblins, no undead, no traps—nothing. Only silence.

Emilia tightened her grip on her dagger. "This is… unsettling."

"Agreed," Marco muttered.

Sofia's eyes darted across the chamber, analyzing the symbols on the walls. "This place… it doesn't feel like an E-rank dungeon anymore."

Alejandro didn't respond immediately because he knew why it felt different.