Chapter 372: The Damaged Seals

“That said, if we keep running into situations like this, we might not make it in time—we only have one day, after all......”

Lost in thought, Farna Kegris decided to change her strategy.

“I’ll have to fight after all. If I move fast enough, I can take out just the leading magical beasts. The rest will never be able to catch up to me. Once I shake them off, I can use the Scent Concealing Potion to avoid getting surrounded again.”

Having settled on her plan of action, Farna prepared to put away the potion and continue forward.

But when she saw how little powder was left in the vial, she frowned.

“I need to ration this potion carefully. If I run out early, I’ll be in serious trouble......”

After that, her figure slipped quietly into the darkness, pressing deeper and deeper into the dungeon.

As the other two pressed onward into the dungeon’s depths,

in another section entirely—

Terrag was caught in a fierce, grueling battle.

Boom!

He swung his massive greatsword with one hand. Every strike unleashed a terrifying Sword Aura, like a battering ram in motion. Wherever the blade passed, it didn’t just crush the magical beasts’ bones—it also shattered the surrounding dungeon walls.

“ROAR!”

“Roar......”

A flood of magical beasts surged toward him relentlessly, but all were held back by the enormous shield he wielded in his left hand.

The shield’s material seemed extraordinary—even long-range magical attacks left not a single scratch on its surface.

And even if any magical beasts managed to bypass the shield and attack him, his thick plate armor served as a final line of defense.

At that moment, he was like a walking fortress—the dungeon’s magical beasts couldn’t lay a finger on him.

“Good thing I prepared in advance. Otherwise, I’d definitely fail the exam today.”

Terrag muttered to himself.

After confirming the dungeon he’d be heading to yesterday, he’d researched its conditions thoroughly.

Learning that the dungeon was infested almost entirely with undead magical beasts, he’d gone to a weapons shop and replaced all his gear with Light-Element Enchanted Gear, with special emphasis on Curse Ward Protection.

That was why he was able to hold his own so easily now. If he’d still been wearing his old gear from yesterday, no matter how strong his defenses were, he couldn’t have withstood those highly corrosive attacks.

BOOM——!

Another sword strike came crashing down.

A powerful Sword Aura infused with light element swept across the battlefield, completely annihilating a critically wounded High-Rank Magical Beast. The force of the blow even split a deep gash into the hard stone floor beneath it.

Ding~!

As a glittering Magic Stone fell to the ground, Terrag’s pressure eased considerably.

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He readjusted his stance, took a deep breath,

and his body erupted in a fiery red glow.

“SLASH——!”

A colossal red Sword Aura sliced horizontally through the air.

A horde of lower-rank undead magical beasts were cut clean in half. Attacks infused with elementally effective power were devastating against them.

Minutes later, the battle finally came to an end.

Pant——!

Terrag let out a heavy sigh of relief.

Glancing at the scattered Magic Stones around him, he made no move to collect the spoils. For the distant clinking of skeleton soldiers on the march echoed through the corridor once more.

“They’re already here......”

He stared down the corridor leading deeper into the dungeon, sighing in resignation.

“They really don’t give a guy a moment’s rest. Still—at least I finished them off before they arrived.”

He tore his gaze away, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a Magic Tool he wore around his neck, activating its ability. Next came the bracelet on his wrist, the rings on his fingers, the vambraces on his forearms......

As each Magic Tool activated one by one,

his aura grew increasingly faint and indistinct.

“I’ll lie low with these tools for now. I’d rather not keep fighting nonstop.”

With that, he strode directly toward the corridor where the sound of the magical beasts was coming from.

Minutes later, a flood of magical beasts arrived at the scene. They prowled the battlefield, littered with signs of combat, searching for their enemy—unaware that the enemy had passed by them only moments earlier......

“The first seal location should be just ahead.”

By orienting herself with the surrounding environment, Hulim Heyerar gauged her current position. Though there were noticeable discrepancies from the map, the overall layout of the terrain matched. The chance of making a mistake was slim.

Boom!

She casually eliminated a magical beast that had crept down from the ceiling, trying to launch a sneak attack. Picking up the Magic Stone it dropped, Hulim continued forward in the direction she’d deduced.

After some time,

she arrived at a sealed, spacious chamber.

“......As expected, something’s wrong here.”

Upon seeing the scene inside the chamber, Hulim wore an expression of unsurprised confirmation.

As vital locations for maintaining the seal, these chambers were never meant to be accessible to magical beasts. If the beasts were to accidentally damage the seals, the consequences would be catastrophic.

For this reason, each seal chamber was protected by a powerful Barrier—one that repelled any magical beasts that wandered near. To adventurers, these chambers were essentially safe havens.

But now, several High-Rank Undead Magical Beasts were prowling inside this supposed safe haven.

Their presence here meant the Barrier had completely failed. And it wasn’t just a simple failure......

“ROAR!”

Detecting a foreign aura, the undead magical beast closest to the chamber’s entrance charged straight at Hulim.

It had a slender frame, its limbs tipped with enormous, vicious claws. Its gaping maw, lined with sharp fangs, dripped with a highly corrosive venom. Wherever the venom fell on the stone floor, it burned smoking holes into the rock.

The beast’s roar alerted the other magical beasts in the chamber.

“ROAR!”

“Roar......”

They followed closely behind the first beast, charging toward Hulim as one. The only exception was a skeleton-type magical beast, which remained rooted in place, raising a bone staff that began to glow with an eerie, dim light.

Hulim watched the scene unfold with calm composure,

silently raising the wand in her hand.

“ROAR——!”

The lead beast leaped high into the air, its gaping maw aimed directly at Hulim. Even before it landed, the stench of rot emanating from its jaws was overpowering.

BOOM——!

A white light beam flashed across the chamber in an instant.

The beast, still suspended in mid-air, was vaporized on the spot.

Ding~!

Only a single Magic Stone fell from the air, clattering against the floor with a crisp sound.

Hum!

In the blink of an eye, several more orbs of light materialized around Hulim.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh......

The orbs transformed into white light beams, streaking forward.

After several brilliant flashes of light, the seal chamber fell silent once more.

Not a single one of the High-Rank Undead Magical Beasts that had been inside remained.

Hulim lifted her gaze to a wall at the far end of the chamber, then strode toward it.

Clink-clink~!

As she moved, an invisible gust of wind swept up all the Magic Stones scattered across the floor, depositing them neatly into her backpack.

Hulim came to a stop in front of the wall.

Unlike the ordinary stone walls found throughout the dungeon, this one was made of a special material, etched with intricate Magic Array Patterns beneath its surface. Most importantly, embedded in the exact center of the wall was a crystal orb.

But now, the wall was covered in cracks—and the crystal orb embedded in its center was crisscrossed with fissures that ran clear across its surface.

Hulim pulled a crystal orb from her backpack.

She glanced at the wall before her, then at the orb in her hand.

“......Is replacing it with a Seal Orb really going to fix this?”