It took him a while to get his bearings, slowly figuring out the function of the panel, how to activate it, how to dismiss it, and everything in between.
Like a caveman getting access to advance technology, Hero would gasp every time he discovered something.
At first, every action felt unfamiliar, almost unnatural, but after repeated attempts, he began to understand how it responded to his intent.
According to the old man's judgment, this place wasn't anything ordinary.
It was a completely different space altogether.
He could still recall it clearly, the moment after the fight when he fell onto his back, exhausted and unable to move.
From his pocket, a strange light had emerged, subtle, wrapping around him before he could react.
By the time he and the old man realized what was happening, they were already here.
Hero narrowed his eyes slightly, piecing things together.
Lucien's final words before leaving, the tone he carried, the unwillingness to share, it didn't take much to connect everything back to the card.
The card.
The card holder.
It isn't just a term that Lucien casually thrown out. It meant something, something that could entice him to attack.
Even at the cost of his injuries.
Lucien's attitude alone was enough to confirm that he was already aware of this place.
And if that was the case, then everything pointed toward one conclusion, there had to be immense benefits tied to it.
"That guy seems like a profit driven maniac."
"Not bad," the old man chuckled, clearly amused. "You actually managed to piece it together, even with that head of yours."
Hero's expression twitched, his pride clearly struck.
"Whatever, old man," he muttered, rolling his shoulders slightly.
Then his gaze narrowed again, returning to the matter at hand. "If Lucien can come and go safely, then there must be a way to enter and exit this place."
"Boy," the old man interrupted, his tone shifting just enough to catch Hero's attention, "you're missing the bigger picture."
Hero paused, glancing sideways instinctively.
"And that is?"
The old man didn't hesitate.
"His strength."
The words landed heavier than expected.
"What if everything he has… came from here?"
"What if this place has something in it? That even drove that boy to attack you. Perhaps not wanting to share?"
Hero froze for a brief moment, the idea settling in deeper than he anticipated.
"…Could it be?"
The thought lingered, refusing to leave.
Before he could dwell on it further, his attention snapped back to his surroundings.
The darkness still limited his vision, but with his secret technique active, he could at least perceive a little further than before, enough to cautiously assess what lay ahead.
Then.
Something shifted in the distance.
It was subtle, almost imperceptible, but Hero caught it immediately.
His body tensed instantly, muscles tightening like a coiled spring as his focus locked onto that faint movement.
"Got you…"
Without hesitation, he moved.
Boom!
His figure shot forward, closing the distance in a burst of speed. The aura he sensed was weak, nothing threatening, nothing compared to Lucien.
As he got closer, his eyes sharpened, finally making out the figure.
"Isn't this…?"
A shadow worm.
The same type he had encountered before, "What is It doing here? Are we in the abyss valley?"
He didn't hesitate.
"Better kill it now."
His arm rose, and in one clean motion.
Boom!
His fist came down from above, crushing straight through its head.
The impact shattered it instantly, the body exploding into pieces without any resistance.
Hero didn't move right away.
Because something else had already caught his attention.
The panel.
Without even consciously summoning it, he felt the change. The moment it happened, it registered in his mind like a silent notification.
The monster essence column.
Had changed.
Hero's eyes widened slightly as he brought the panel into view, scanning it carefully.
His gaze moved from one line to another, then back again, as if confirming what he had just noticed.
Understanding came slowly.
Then all at once.
Disbelief followed.
Then shock.
Then.
A rising excitement that he couldn't suppress as he discovered the plus icon next to his realm.
Though the moment he tried tapping on it, it didn't work.
But he knew, like a gifted intuition, that if he gathered enough essence, he would be able to increase his realm.
"I… incredible…"
His voice came out low, almost unsteady.
"This is… beyond anything…"
His grip tightened around the card in his palm, his gaze burning with a new intensity as his thoughts raced.
Everything began to make sense,.the value of this place, Lucien's attitude, the hidden meaning behind it all.
And again, just how far can he push his strength here? The answer was for him to explore.
The old man naturally noticed the change in him, but this time, he didn't interrupt.
He had already made his own judgment about this place, and more importantly, about what it might represent.
There were things better left untouched for now.
Hero, however, couldn't hold back.
A grin slowly spread across his face, his eyes filled with anticipation.
"So this is what it is…"
He murmured under his breath, his tone carrying a clear sense of realization.
And just like that, without any announcement or grand declaration, the path had already been set.
The first two dungeon divers had stepped onto the same stage.
The beginning of something far greater had already begun.
On the other end, Liam was quite pleased with how things had unfolded today.
Hero had begun to grasp the full functionality of the dungeon, no longer stumbling blindly through it, while Lucien showed a subtle shift in his temperament.
He wasn't any longer too direct with his intentions. But to gain his recognition, one must show sufficient strength.
It wasn't drastic, but it was there, less rigid, less closed off than before.
That alone was enough.
With the current dungeon layout, Liam could already tell how far the two of them could go.
As long as they gathered enough monster essence, reaching the middle stage of the Foundation Building realm wouldn't be an issue.
He leaned back slightly, fingers resting against the armrest as his thoughts moved forward.
The dungeon had limits.
Not fixed ones, but limits shaped by its size and the creatures within it.
The stronger the monsters, the larger the space required, the higher the ceiling it could support.
Everything scaled together.
Right now, that ceiling was clear.
But it wouldn't stay that way for long.
Liam's gaze shifted slightly, thoughtful.
He needed more.
More "protagonists."
More individuals with that strange weight of fortune surrounding them, people who could stir change simply by existing.
These people are extremely useful for him. To utilise for the greater good.
The second stage of Hero's script had already begun, and with it, the tide of the world would slowly start to shift.
At the thought, a faint smile appeared on his lips.
His attention drifted to the panel before him, specifically the gauge at the bottom. It was rising, steadily and without pause, inching closer toward completion.
Not fast.
But consistent.
He nodded to himself.
"One step on the mountain… the next in the ocean."
There was no urgency in his tone.
"No need to rush."
His fingers tapped lightly once.
"Push too far, and I might run into something I'd rather avoid."
So far, his judgment had held true.
Even a Nascent Soul's divine sense hadn't shown any sign of detecting his divine space, nor the puppets created through the system's golden energy.
The spies from the other forces had been lingering around the city longer than necessary. But so far, Liam felt no sense of probing from anyone.
Interpreting, it meant no one could even sense whatever was going on here.
That alone meant the current level of concealment was sufficient, perhaps a nudge for a more open dungeon?
For now.
But that didn't mean it would hold forever.
Higher realms meant older monsters, and older monsters meant variables he couldn't fully predict yet.
The older one gets, the wiser and more cunning they became. The fear of death once one attained enough lifespan is rather terrifying to think about it.
A taste of the forbidden, and you naturally would want more.
Until the system gave clearer answers, he wouldn't act recklessly.
Opening the dungeon to the masses would bring faster gains, more essence, quicker progression, but it would also draw attention.
Too much attention.
And in a cultivation world, attention was often the beginning of trouble.
Liam wasn't arrogant enough to ignore that.
Despite everything he possessed, he remained cautious.
Seated in his chair, he let his gaze drift around the courtyard.
The number of golden core puppets had increased, from five to seven, standing silently around him.
He smiled faintly at the sight.
Then turned his head, eyes settling on the pond.
The surface rippled gently, reflecting a scene beyond the courtyard.
"The second stage of the script…"
His voice lowered slightly.
"Let's give them a warning."
A pause.
"That there are things here…"
"…far beyond what they can handle."