With his master watching his back, Alex approached the nearest blue dot on the map. Once he arrived, he zoomed in, scanning the section of the wall carefully to pinpoint where the hidden entrance was located.
"It’s over here," Alex muttered when he noticed a small cut on the wall and pressed his hand over it.
A moment later, a passage appeared right in front of their eyes.
Cairo blinked once, then twice, because he had no idea how his disciple had located this hidden room instantly.
He had assumed that "treasure hunting" meant killing monsters until they dropped a rare item.
But seeing the bronze chest at the center of the hidden room, Cairo realized Alex literally meant hunting treasure chests.
Just as Alex was about to open it, Dim Dim reminded him to do his good luck ritual and pray to his Goddess of Luck, Astrea.
"Thank you, Dim Dim," Alex said. "I forgot about that."
"Ahem~" Dim Dim raised its body, pleased to be of help to its friend.
After clapping his hands twice and bowing toward the treasure chest, the young man finally opened its lid.
Inside the chest was a pouch that contained 20 gold coins.
Although it wasn’t a rare item, no one could possibly dislike free money.
< You have gained 20 Gold Coins >
"Let’s go to the next treasure!"
Cairo smiled faintly as he ran after his disciple, who seemed to be enjoying his treasure hunt.
Of course, they also encountered monsters along the way. But with the strength of the current Alex, they didn’t really pose a threat and were easily dealt with.
When they arrived at the next hidden room, Alex performed the ritual again and opened the treasure chest.
This time, they found a tunic which looked like it belonged to a noble family.
Surprisingly, the tunic smelled faintly of old forests and polished wood.
Alex then took it out from the treasure chest and checked its information.
< Tunic Of The Verdant Crest >
Stats: +1 to Constitution
Passive Skills: Traveler’s Vitality
< Traveler’s Vitality >
— Increases natural Stamina regeneration by 5% while moving.
’Oh, not bad,’ Alex thought before taking off his shirt to wear the tunic.
He wanted to get used to its feel, so he wouldn’t be too surprised when he used it inside dungeons or when traveling.
"How do I look, Master?" Alex asked.
"You look like a third-rate young master from a noble family," Cairo replied.
Dim Dim giggled, finding Cairo’s remark quite amusing.
Alex didn’t mind and decided to head to the yellow blinking spot while explaining it to his Master.
"A hidden path that leads directly to the fourth floor?" Cairo frowned. "How do you know about these things?"
"Men’s intuition," Alex replied with a poker face.
"Hah..." Cairo helplessly shook his head. But he could only accept his disciple’s answer since it seemed that his disciple couldn’t tell him about it. "Is this part of your ability as a Seer? Are you getting visions of these locations?"
"No, Master," Alex replied.
His Master had been very kind to him, so if possible, he didn’t want to lie. After giving it some careful thought, the young man decided to open up a bit and explain the matter to Cairo in a way the Catkin would understand.
"Master, do you remember when we went to the Floating Forest?" Alex asked. "I found a few treasure chests there with the help of the Fairies. In one of those chests, I received a map called Map of the Forgotten Paths.
"This map then suddenly merged with my body, so now, whenever I’m inside a dungeon, I can see the locations of hidden rooms, as well as paths no one else can find easily. However, I can only use this ability for three hours every day."
"You got very lucky," Cairo replied. "Now I understand how you’re able to accurately locate these places. I’m thankful you shared this secret with me, but don’t tell this to anyone else. If they find out you are a walking treasure detector, people might have other ideas about you."
Alex nodded. "I know, Master. I only told you this because I trust you with my life."
Hearing the young man’s flattery made the Catkin smile. However, he knew Alex was being sincere when the latter said he trusted him with his life.
Half an hour later, they finally arrived at the secret path that led directly to the fourth floor of the Dungeon of Beginnings.
"The fourth floor is where the Rank 2 monsters are located," Cairo said. "But a Rank 3 might also appear, so make sure to stay close to me at all times."
"Yes, Master," Alex replied as he lightly tapped the wall in front of them.
The path opened, and a staircase leading downstairs appeared. Cairo gestured that he would go first, probably to ensure Alex’s safety. Just in case something unexpected happened, he would be able to react before it reached his disciple.
Alex had no complaints because he understood that his Master truly cared for his safety.
When they arrived on the Fourth Floor, Alex gave his surroundings a good look to help himself adapt to their new environment.
The fourth floor of the Dungeon of Beginnings looked like a thick underground forest with overgrown roots and bioluminescent fungi serving as lighting.
The light of the fungi wasn’t that strong, so Alex could barely see in the dimly lit surroundings. By his estimate, he could only see about two to three meters ahead. It was rather discomforting, not knowing what was beyond his range of sight.
Cairo, on the other hand, wasn’t subjected to Alex’s sight problems.
Catkins had Dark Vision, allowing them to see perfectly even in dimly lit places. Cairo was not an exception.
"Master, let me check our surroundings for a bit," Alex said.
"Okay." Cairo nodded.
Since the Map of the Forgotten Paths was already activated, all Alex needed to do was glance at his map.
This time, there were no yellow dots—only a few dozen green dots could be seen on the map.
There were also two blinking blue dots on the map. However, getting to them would take some time since they were quite far from their location.
But Alex’s eyes caught something more striking when he looked at the map for the first time.
The thing that really stood out was a big, red, blinking dot moving on the map as if it was patrolling around.
Fortunately, the map had given the red dot a label, allowing Alex to know what it was.
< Vraxxis, the Thorn Forged >
Type: Wandering Field Boss
Health: 1,100 / 1,100
Thorn Barrage, Rootbound Snake, Nature’s Wrath.
— Thorn Barrage: Fires a spray of needle-thorns in a wide cone, causing bleed damage over time.
— Rootbound Snare: Causes thick roots to burst from the ground and trap nearby enemies.
— Nature’s Wrath (Enrage): When below 30% HP, Vraxxis goes berserk, gaining increased attack speed and spawning aggressive Thorn Minions.
Appearance: A towering beast that looks like a twisted fusion of stag, tree, and stone, covered in thorns and fungal growths. Its antlers glow faintly under the dungeon’s light.
Note: Legends say it was once a guardian spirit of a forgotten grove, now corrupted by the dungeon’s power.
’This upgraded map sure is very useful,’ Alex thought. ’A twisted fusion of stag, tree, and stone? I remember seeing this monster a few times during Charles’ dungeon expedition.’
How could Alex forget the damn annoying Mini Boss that killed him about a few dozen times in the past?
As a stag, it moved with incredible speed and was among the powerful creatures that appeared on the First Floor within minutes of the Challenger’s Mark being activated.
Seeing it right now made Alex have the strong urge to kill it.
Aside from their ranks, monsters have different classifications as well.
Common, Rare, Mutant, Super Rare, Named, Legendary, and Divine.
The Rank 2 Boss Spider that Alex faced inside the Etherion Dungeon was a mutant, which made it more powerful than the wandering Field Boss, Vraxxis.
At most, it had the same threat level as the Crimson Fire Salamander Mini Boss that Alex had faced on the Fourth Floor of the Etherion Domain, making it a very formidable enemy.
But things were different this time around.
For example, he was with his Master, Cairo, a Rank 3 Demon Slayer.
Although Vraxxis wasn’t a Demon, Alex was confident that if he and his Master worked together, they would be able to defeat the monster that had killed Charles Lambert over a dozen times.
"Master, do you want to hunt a Rank 2 Field Boss?" Alex asked with a smile.
"You rascal," Cairo replied. "Since when did you develop the hobby of fighting Field Boss Monsters inside a dungeon?"
"But Master, I’m only confident about beating it because you’re here with me," Alex replied. "Also, wouldn’t it be a good idea to fight it now before we enter the dungeon with Charles?
"I don’t know if it will respawn in the future. But if we fight it now, we will at least know what to do when we meet it a second time, no?"
"Fine." Cairo understood the young man’s logic, so he agreed to hunt the Field Boss Monster with him.
Knowing their enemy would really help them during the dungeon outbreak, which Cairo believed would be very difficult, even for him.
Fortunately, their goal was to run to the exit, not fight the monsters, when the trial for the Dungeon of Beginnings officially began.