A Special-Type Dungeon, Sunken Coral Cavern!

A dungeon pass was a single-use item that allowed access to dungeons. Beastmasters could buy and sell these passes to one another, making dungeon exploration a thriving business and one of the primary ways beastmasters gained wealth and power.

By completing dungeons, they could steadily increase their strength and sell their dungeon passes and other materials they don't need on the market at a high price.

Even Zuriel had considered using this method to gain wealth and grow stronger.

Zuriel shook his head and responded, "This is our first time entering this dungeon."

The Sentinel nodded, seemingly unsurprised by his response. "Very well, you are free to enter the dungeon. However, I must warn you that this is a special-type novice-rank dungeon, quite different from an ordinary novice-rank one. You should turn back if you're not certain of your abilities. But you can proceed if you wish to continue and test your skills. This dungeon offers only three free trials before you need a dungeon pass to try again, so it's left up to your efforts."

The completion grade system ranged from F to SSS. F was a failure, E was barely completed, and D was considered poor performance. C represented average performance, while B indicated timely completion with average performance.

A was graded as good performance, offering higher rewards. S signified excellent performance, SS represented superior performance, and SSS was the ultimate grade—flawless completion, where all objectives were met without error.

The danger levels were categorised as Normal, Advanced, and Nightmare. The higher the danger level and completion grade, the better the chances of acquiring superior rewards and a dungeon pass.

"Okay. Thank you for this information," Zuriel said with a nod.

A typical novice-rank dungeon usually offered five trials before a dungeon pass was required for additional attempts. However, a special dungeon with only three trials was rare and significantly more challenging. A novice beastmaster would find it nearly impossible to conquer.

"Do you want to begin your dungeon raid immediately or take time to prepare?" the Sentinel asked.

"I want to begin immediately," Zuriel responded.

The Sentinel nodded and waved its hand toward the bronze gate. Instantly, the gate lit up with a bright white light that pulsed softly outward. Strange letters began to materialise at the top of the bronze.

After his transmigrating into this world, Zuriel realised he could speak, read, and understand the language. This ability made it easier for him to adapt to Zuriel's life and maintain the illusion that nothing had changed.

Narrowing his eyes at the words, Zuriel muttered, "Sunken Coral Cavern," a soft sigh escaped his lips.

The dungeon's name resembled the special-type dungeon Malik had entered at the novel's beginning, confirming that nothing too drastically had changed. With that reassurance, Zuriel felt confident they could complete the dungeon.

At the centre of the bronze gate, a black vortex emerged, filling the entire gate.

"You'll need this as the raid leader," the Sentinel said, flicking its wrist. A ball of light emerged from the space between its hands and transformed into a bronze pin badge with a crimson mark stretching from one tip to the other.

"I wish you good luck," the Sentinel added. A portal appeared beside the Sentinel, who swiftly flew into it and disappeared as the portal closed behind it.

Zuriel turned and made his way back to the bridge. When he arrived, he looked at Poison Philip and said, "Take us in."

The bronze gate was approximately 25 meters (82 feet) wide, large enough for two ships about 12 meters (39 feet) across to pass through side by side. It was more than sufficient for their ship, which was roughly the same size, to pass through comfortably.

Poison Philip nodded solemnly and steered the ship through the wide bronze gate into the vortex. Their vision distorted, and the world around them plunged into darkness briefly before their sight returned, allowing them to survey their surroundings.

Before them lay an enormous cavern resting on the water's surface. The cavern was shrouded in steep darkness, and numerous indistinct figures could be seen moving within, though it was difficult to discern what was happening inside.

At that moment, a notification alert materialised in front of Zuriel.

[ SYSTEM ALERT ]

You are about to enter a Novice dungeon: [ Sunken Coral Cavern. ]

Recommended Beastmaster Rank: Novice Beastmaster.

Raid Leader Detected: [ Zuriel Zahara. ]

Raid Size: [ 101. ]

[CHOOSE DIFFICULTY LEVEL]

Select one of the following to proceed: Normal, Advanced, Nightmare.

Please note: ( Completion grading will be automatically assigned based on difficulty. )

In a novice dungeon, a normal difficulty mode would have the beastmaster facing Bronze Tier 1-3 opponents. They would encounter Bronze Tier 3-5 opponents in the Advanced difficulty mode.

At Nightmare difficulty mode, they would face opponents of Bronze Tier 5 and above. However, special dungeons were different. Depending on why it was graded as a special dungeon, one might encounter opponents that were much higher in rank than their own or face the same-ranked opponents in numbers several times greater than the original.

Stormshell was now at Black Iron rank, and there were other Black Iron ranked magical beasts onboard, belonging to Finn, Poison Philip, and one more individual—which his father had paid handsomely to purchase, likely foreseeing that he would need their aid to grow stronger quickly.

Therefore, Zuriel was confident they could complete a special-type novice-rank dungeon on Nightmare mode.

Malik, however, had only attempted the normal and advanced difficulty mode with the help of his system and hadn't challenged the Nightmare mode. It was also thanks to the assistance of his crew that he had emerged victorious before abandoning them once they became a liability.

Zuriel had already considered everything before arriving here, and since the dungeon remained the same as the original, he saw no reason to second-guess his decision. With a thought, he selected Nightmare mode.

[ Once the difficulty is selected, you cannot change it until the dungeon is completed or exited.

Do you wish to enter?

[Yes] [No] ]

With a thought, Zuriel selected yes, and another notification alert emerged.

[ The Sunken Coral Cavern has adjusted to your choice. Prepare yourselves.

Dungeon exit is restricted until completion or use of an [Emergency Escape Rune]

The dungeon will open in 10 seconds…

10… 9… 8… 7… 6… 5… ]

Countless faint lights lit up within the cavern, dispelling the darkness, and a notification alert emerged before everybody's line of sight.

[ Welcome to Novice dungeon: Sunken Coral Cavern – (Nightmare Mode)

Completion Criteria:

Defeat the Pearlback Turtle.

Retrieve the Abyssal Pearl.

Complete the dungeon in under 6 hours.

Beware: Monsters are drawn to the presence of outsiders. Survival is not guaranteed.

Good luck. ]

The completion criteria displayed were based on the difficulty mode of the dungeon. The special-type dungeons were unique because the rest of the completion criteria weren't displayed.

Instead, the raiders would need to discover them on their own. Their rewards would be several times greater after completing these criteria, depending on their progress. However, if one could not trigger the special criteria, even if they completed the essential completion criteria, the rewards would be much more minimal than those of a normal dungeon of the same rank.

However, Sentinels don't inform the raiders that the dungeon they are about to enter is a special type of dungeon unless, for special reasons, they are aware of its difficulty and confident that even raiders will find it challenging to complete on their own. In such cases, they might release the information to give them a chance at success or simply not care about it.

According to the story, it was the former, as even Malik had found the normal and advanced mode of the Sunken Coral Cavern dungeon challenging, despite the number of skills he had copied for his tamed magical beasts and the aid from the crewmen.

Nevertheless, Zuriel wasn't afraid, as he was confident that he would clear the dungeon's Nightmare mode and collect enough dungeon passes to sell to others, increasing his wealth in the future.

As Zuriel arranged his thoughts, the crewmen who had also received the notification alert exchanged uneasy glances, and the tension on the ship intensified drastically.

A tall and lanky-tanned crewman with restless fingers nervously spoke, "...Is this a mistake? Nightmare mode? That means this dungeon will be at least three times more dangerous than usual."

Another crewman, a stout man with a scar on his cheek, grumbled under his breath. "Nightmare mode? You've got to be kidding me! That's the death wish mode. How on earth are we supposed to survive that?"

"I thought we were just dealing with a dungeon on normal mode, not this suicide mission. We aren't equipped for this!"

"Damn it! This is insane!"

"Didn't you hear what the Sentinel said? This is also a special dungeon, so we'll be facing a special-type novice-rank dungeon on Nightmare Mode. I knew I would be unlucky when I boarded this ship!"

A chill travelled down their spines as they spoke to one another, terrified.