Locked in an instant dungeon (Part-3)

Meanwhile, on the fourth floor of the mall;

The vibrations of the Rift grew more erratic as the countdown ticked closer to zero.

The lights above flickered, casting strange shadows as the digital board displayed the remaining time.

01:56

01:55

01:54

The Starlight Guild hunters stood ready, a group of thirty, their armor gleaming under the overhead lights. In the back, freelance hunters who volunteered to help stood in support.

At the front, the Vice Leader, the Gold-ranked hunter Mo Xingchen, checked his equipment one last time. His eyes were narrowed, scanning the growing tension in the room.

"Get ready to attack, all of you," he said, voice steady but sharp. He looked at the group—his elite squad, 6 Silver-ranked hunters, who stood by him. The rest of the team were Bronze-ranked hunters who are stronger than a typical unranked hunter, but compared to those six and their Vice guild leader, they pale in comparison. They were basically the support here.

"Should we expect a large batch?" asked Rachel in English, a newly promoted Silver-ranked hunter of the guild, her hand tightening around the hilt of her sword.

She glanced toward the monitor that had been set up to observe the Rift.

Meanwhile, a few media personnel were clustered around the rift, cameras focused on the growing portal.

"Quite possible," Mo Xingchen replied to her in English too, nodding toward the rift. "This one looks like a large batch is going to come out. Expect atleast a hundred. Better brace yourselves."

Rachel raised an eyebrow. "A hundred? The numbers are manageable if all of them were Class-3, but I'm just worried about Class-2 monsters."

Mo Xingchen didn't respond immediately. Instead, he glanced at the other hunters, noting their readiness. The tension in the air was obvious to notice. The Rift was about to open. Any moment now.

1:35...

As the countdown continued, whispers spread among the silver-ranked hunters. They had all seen a dungeon open before, but this felt different from a typical Class-3 dungeon. The air felt a lot thicker in the surroundings.

"How much did you guys bid for this dungeon?" asked Zhao Wuhen, a freelance Bronze-Class hunter who had joined the fight to help out. He was originally a shopper who got stuck inside the dungeon but volunteered to help, like others.

"The usual," replied Jing Ruyin, a Bronze-class hunter belonging to the guild. "5 million credits."

"And the media?" Zhao Wenhua glanced at the media personnel belonging to K-TV.

Ruyin shrugged. "If it is the usual, I guess 2 million."

"7 million from a grade-3 dungeon, huh? No wonder the association is quite rich." Zhao Wuhen mumbled, almost impressed.

Ruyin responded with a sigh. "Not just money. Whatever monsters we killed, we have to hand 10% of our gains to the association as a form of tax."

Zhao Wuhen snorted. "Sounds like a racket."

"Pretty much," Ruyin said with a grin, but her eyes never left the Rift. "But hey, it's a hell of a lot better than freelancing. And we all get paid well enough. A grade 3 dungeon like this will give each of us, normal members: 500K credits income, and guild elites: 1 million."

Zhao Wuhen went into a daze, his mind reeling in calculations. "So, 21 million for salaries and 5 million for the dungeon bid. 26 million investment was put in by this guild for a Grade-3 instant dungeon, huh?"

"Each Class-3 magic crystal costs about 500k, and each Class-2 magic crystal costs about 5 million in the market. Considering 40% typical profits, the price the guilds will sell them for is about 300k per class-3 magic crystal and 3 million per class-2 magic crystal."

"To break even, the guild needs 27 million, and if a dungeon experiences the attack of only 50 or 60 class-3 monsters, and the boss is naturally a Class-2 monster, the guild will actually suffer losses."

"On top of that, there is insurance coverage for each hunter who dies in the dungeon, which obviously will be higher than their typical fee. The guild has to pay that money to the family, too. Ugh… the guild has to pray for more monsters to come out in order to go into profit. What an irony…"

He sighed in the end, realizing that the very hunters who were there to protect people had to hope that they would face large numbers of monsters.

"It's down to the last minute. Focus, everyone," Mo Xingchen warned, turning to face him with a sharp gaze. "We need to make sure everything is under control. No mistakes today."

As if on cue, the Rift's core began to pulse, and the floor trembled violently beneath their feet. A wave of heat rushed through the air as the swirling portal began to rip open in front of them.

0:59…

0:58

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0:10

0:09

0:08

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0:03

0:02

The room fell silent.

0:01...

Then, with a loud roar, the Rift tore open.

A blast of dark energy erupted from the Rift as the first wave of monsters began to pour out.

A group of Green Orcs, broad-shouldered, muscular, towering figures, charged forward.

*Graaaa* *Graaa*

Their skin was a sickly green, and their battle cries reverberated through the floor.

They were Class-3 monsters, big and brutish, with no magic to speak of but plenty of raw strength, and nearly a hundred of them.

One after another, they surged into the room, their massive feet pounding the ground as they rushed toward the hunters, destroying rows of toys that were in their way.

"Get ready!" Xingchen barked, drawing his sword with a swift motion.

But that was only the first wave.

As the Orcs piled in, the ground shook again. This time, it was bigger.

Purple Ogres followed, stepping through the Rift with thundering footsteps.

Larger than the Orcs, around 9-10 feet tall, these monsters had an eerie glow in their eyes.

Their skin was a deep purple, and their thick arms carried large clubs and axes.

Some even shot fireballs from their hands randomly.

Unlike Orcs, these Ogres were only eleven in number.

*Graaaa*

One of the Ogres let out a roar, lifting its enormous club high before slamming it onto the ground, sending a shockwave across the floor.

A teenage-looking boy in the front had his ability pushed out, reinforcing the floor, the walls, and the ceiling in order to contain the monsters in this space. His translucent barrier ability made sure everyone stayed unaffected by the shockwave.

"Ogres. Everyone, spread out!" Xingchen ordered in a commanding tone. "Form up around the perimeter. Don't let them surround us. Ogres can shoot fireballs from both their hands. Be careful."

But the real threat was still to come.

From the Rift's heart, a towering figure emerged, more massive than anything they had seen so far.

"A mutated Red Ogre King." Zhao Wuhen whispered under his breath.