CHAPTER 89: DUNGEON RAID III

"Intruders. Parasites. You will not cut the root."

Roots snapped free, shaping into a colossal humanoid form around the Core itself. A Root-Warden, larger even than the Titan. Its chest was the exposed, pulsing heart, half-shielded by bark-bone ribs.

Rhys tightened his grip on the Verdant Scholar Sword. His grin sharpened.

"This is it. The real fight."

Bounce’s aura flared silver fire, his growl low and steady, as if daring the Core to test him. Puddle’s halos spun with renewed fury, light and dark flaring in equal measure.

The Core moved first. Its rib-arms slammed down, creating shockwaves that split the ground. From the cracks, Core-spawn crawled forth—hybrid monsters of bone and vine, each carrying ember eyes.

"Bounce, keep them off me!" Rhys shouted.

The wolf launched like a comet, silver aura bursting outward as he smashed into the first wave. Claws raked glowing lines through their bodies, fangs shattering ember eyes like glass. Every strike he made sent silver ripples outward, scattering groups at once.

The Warden turned its gaze on Rhys. Roots lashed like whips.

[ Swift Cut ]—emerald blur as Rhys darted forward, weaving through strikes. [ Whirlwind Slash ] followed, his sword spinning arcs of light that shredded a cluster of roots trying to encircle him. Sparks of molten sap sprayed across his armor.

The Core’s chest pulsed, releasing a wave of violet sound. A scream without voice—just pressure, shattering stone.

Rhys dropped to a knee, blood flooding his ears.

Puddle shot forward, halos flashing white. [ Light Shield ] burst into place over Rhys, muffling the force. At the same time, [ Light Bullets ] fired like a storm, slamming into the Core’s eyes. The monster staggered, dozens of violet flames blinking out.

Rhys forced himself up, lips curling. "Thanks, partner."

The Warden retaliated, its ribs splitting open to reveal three smaller cores glowing inside its chest.

"Targets," Rhys spat. "Let’s break them!"

He sprinted forward, sword blazing. Fire and water coursed along the blade. [ Steamburst Edge ] roared as he struck one core, steam exploding outward and burning through the rib-cage.

Bounce slammed into the second, silver fangs crunching until the crystalized heart cracked. He howled, aura surging with power, blasting the fragments apart.

But the third—

The Core screamed, and roots reknit violently, forcing the shattered ribs to spike outward. Rhys was thrown back, bouncing across the stone. His shield cracked, his breath stolen.

"Gh—damn it—"

The third core pulsed, glowing brighter, spawning more wraith-beasts that lunged toward Puddle.

Puddle whirled, his halos spinning violently. [ Abyssal Grasp ] tore the ground apart, black tendrils snaring the beasts mid-air, dragging them screaming into the void. Then his entire body lit like a star, light and dark uniting into a devastating beam. [ Radiant Eclipse ].

The beam carved through the third core, shattering it in a cascade of ash and molten sap.

The Warden staggered, all three chest nodes destroyed, leaving its central Heart exposed.

Rhys staggered upright, Verdant Scholar Sword humming louder than ever. He pointed it forward, teeth bared in a grin.

"Bounce—hold it open! Puddle—pour everything into me!"

Bounce roared, leaping high. His claws and fangs sank into the ribs, forcing the Warden’s chest wider. Silver aura bled like wildfire, chains of light locking the roots apart.

Puddle’s halos converged into Rhys, flooding him with raw mana, his veins alight with white-gold and abyssal black. His body trembled under the surge, but he steadied himself, raising the blade.

Water flowed over the edge. Fire licked along the core. Mana thrummed with emerald fury.

He shouted, the roar tearing from his chest.

[ Arc Surge Slash ] fused into [ Steamburst Edge ], further amplified by Puddle’s dual-element infusion.

The attack didn’t cut. It didn’t burn.

It erased.

The blade plunged into the Warden’s Heart.

A scream split the dungeon—so loud the roots themselves tore apart, stone walls caving inward. The Heart cracked, veins of ember shattering like broken glass. Light poured out, filling every corner of the Maw of Roots until all that remained was dust and silence.

The Core collapsed, its body dissolving into ash, the giant heart finally still.

[ Dungeon Core – Destroyed ]

[ Dungeon Cleared ]

The system’s voice echoed like distant bells.

Rhys fell to one knee again, sword buried in the stone. His chest heaved, sweat dripping into the dust. Bounce padded to his side, battered but glowing, his silver fur alight with pride. Puddle drifted down, halos dimming, his small voice soft but triumphant.

"Kuyuuu."

Rhys chuckled hoarsely, tilting his head back to the empty ceiling above.

"We did it."

The dungeon’s heartbeat was gone.

But inside his chest, he still felt it—like a phantom echo. Not hostile anymore. Not resisting. Almost as if the dungeon itself had recognized them.

Bounce rumbled. Puddle hummed. Rhys grinned, sharp and weary, and pulled his sword free.

"Alright... let’s see what prize waits in the Core’s ashes."

And together, they stepped toward the heart’s remains—toward the rewards of their conquest.

The heart’s remains smoldered in the center of the cavern, reduced to fragments of ember-crystal and rotted root. The air was still heavy, but no longer hostile; the pressure of the dungeon’s will had lifted, leaving behind a silence that felt almost reverent.

[ Core Rewards Materializing... ]

The shattered heart pulsed one last time. Its fragments rose slowly into the air, orbiting like stars, before dissolving into streams of light that coiled downward toward Rhys, Bounce, and Puddle.

The system’s voice chimed in their minds:

[ Reward 1: Root-Heart Shard (Epic Material) ]

A crystallized fragment of the dungeon’s Core. Pulses with lifeblood mana, capable of evolving beasts or reforging weapons.

[ Reward 2: Skill Upgrade – Whirlwind Slash → Verdant Tempest Slash ]

Channeling the dungeon’s cycle of growth and decay, your slash now carries regenerative winds that heal allies slightly while tearing enemies apart.

[ Reward 3: Dungeon-Bond Passive – Phantom Heartbeat ]

The dungeon recognized your conquest. Its remnant heartbeat resides within you.

Effects: +20% Mana Regeneration, +10% Physical Resistance, ???

Rhys blinked at the notification, then laughed under his breath.

"Ha... so that’s what I was feeling. The dungeon gave me its heartbeat."

Bounce sniffed the air, his silver aura pulsing brighter than before. The shard-light flowing into him settled along his scars, leaving his fur gleaming like starlit steel. His growl carried weight—more than before, like a predator stepping closer to its next evolution.