Extra Pages: The Author's Odyssey

We were inside the main area of the hidden doungen for quite some times but we are still slow, So I picked up my speed.

"Hurry up, we've still got half a day worth of distance to cover…"

Like that, for about the next five hours or so, Adrian and I swiftly moved around the dungeon and killed any monster that obstructed our paths.

Of course, whenever we killed a ranked monster, I would quickly skin it alive and try to see if it had a core, however, somehow, lady luck wasn't on my side today.

Well, that was what I thought until…

"Kyuuuuuueee—!"

A loud desperate cry resounded across the forest as Adrian appeared on top of a large bat-like monster.

Glancing at the humongous bat that was lying dead on the ground, glancing at me, Adrian asked

"This should be the last one no?"

"Yup, now move aside"

Nodding my head, unsheathing my sword I merrily walked towards the bat and stabbed towards its chest area.

-Spurt!

Watching me skin the bat, Adrian shook his head.

Out of the hundreds of monsters they had killed, I found only two core. If there was one thing he learned from Theo's class was that finding a core was just as hard as winning the lottery. The chances were almost slim to none.

"Just give up, the probability of getting a core is really small so you better just b—"

—Vuum! —Vuum!

Just as Adrian was telling me to give up, pulling a purple orb-like object that continuously pulsated a purple hue, I raised my brow towards Adrian as a smirk inadvertently appeared on my face

"Sorry, I didn't quite get what you were trying to say?"

Staring at my smirking face, a vein bulged on Adrian's forehead. Trying his best to calm himself down, an awkward smile appeared on his face.

"Congratulations…"

"Mhhhm"

Finally I have three mana core!

Nodding my head in satisfaction, I couldn't help but slowly caress the purple orb in my hand. Did my E+ rank luck finally work?

…or was this due to Adrian's luck?

Either way, placing the orb in my dimensional space, I merrily walked towards the forest.

"Let's go"

Walking for a further two hundred meters, Adrian couldn't help but ask

"How much longer do we have to walk? I think we've pretty much crossed half of the dungeon already"

Glancing at the surroundings, I estimated our progress before responding to Adrian.

"We're making good time, but we still have a ways to go. According to my calculations, we've covered about two-thirds of the dungeon so far. We should reach the final area within the next couple of hours if we keep up this pace."

Adrian nodded in understanding, his expression determined as he prepared to press on.

"Got it. Let's keep moving."

With renewed determination, we continued our journey through the dungeon, pushing forward with a sense of purpose. Every step brought us closer to our goal, and I couldn't help but feel a surge of anticipation as we neared the final challenge that awaited us.

As we ventured deeper into the darkness, I kept a close eye on our surroundings, wary of any potential threats that might lie in wait. The dungeon was vast and filled with dangers, So I must keep my gurd up no matter what.

Also there are two fallen human inside this hidden doungen, I don't know where they are since we are currently main area of the doungen.

But I can say that for sure they are outer are of the hidden doungen and we're searching for way to get inside the main area.

Before they come to us we to dealt with doungen boss, Because dealing with two fallen humans and doungen boss is not going to be easy.

'I have to hurry up.'

"Let's increase our speed!"

"Okay."

Saying that I circulated mana inside my body and increased my speed.

***

After running for about two hours and ten minutes taking care of monsters,we arrived in front of a giant stone wall.

At first glance, it seemed like a dead end, but strange symbols were written on the wall.

These symbols were an ancient language that only existed in Dungeons. Thanks to modern technology, an ancient language of this level could be translated using a smartwatch. That's what Adrian did in the original story as well.

I took out my smartwatch and scanned the symbols on the wall.

—The riddle on the stone wall read:

- "In the darkest night, it shines bright,

A beacon of hope, a guiding light.

It dances and flickers, a sight to behold,

A fiery spectacle, a tale untold.

What am I?"

Adrian glanced at my smartwatch and saw the riddle.

"...Ah, it must be a riddle. I heard there are Dungeons like this."

In the original story, Adrian was unable to solve this riddle and had to text Isabella for help. Isabella contacted an information guild and got the answer in five minutes.

However, I didn't have time to wait.

This riddle was something I half-heartedly made. The answer was star.

"The answer is a star.".

I muttered the answer, and the stone wall reacted. The symbols on the wall glowed with a blue light, then disappeared into particles of light. Immediately afterwards, the stone wall rumbled and sunk underground.

"What, the answer is star?"

"Yeah."

"How did you figure that out so fast? ...Wow, you really are a genius."

Adrian was looking at me like I was some kind of a sage.

"I'll tell you how I found out later. For now, let's clear the Dungeon before anyone else arrives."

"We're getting closer to the heart of the dungeon."

Adrian followed closely behind, his eyes shining with excitement as we ventured deeper into the unknown. With each step forward, we drew closer to the final challenge that awaited us, and I couldn't help but feel a surge of anticipation coursing through my veins.

Together, we pressed on, ready to face whatever trials lay ahead as we journeyed deeper into the depths of the hidden dungeon.

Just after passing this tunnel, there will be only one obstacles for us left to overcome and that is doungen boss.