Lucien listened quietly, then spoke.
"So… the card holders are referred to as guardians?"
Hero shook his head.
"No."
He paused, recalling the wording, along with the old man's interpretation of it.
"It's more like… the cards were given to us by the guardians."
"We are chosen to be the card holders and possession of the chance to enter that strange space."
Lucien's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Guardians… giving these to us…"
His thoughts drifted, briefly, toward a certain presence in the city.
Not confirmed.
But not dismissible either.
The idea lingered.
"Is there anything more?" he asked, his curiosity now more apparent.
Hero let out a quiet sigh and pushed the book forward across the table.
"See for yourself."
Lucien didn't hesitate this time. He reached out, taking the book with a careful grip before opening it. His eyes moved quickly across the pages, scanning line after line with practiced ease.
For a cultivator, reading something like this took little time.
Minutes passed.
The noise of the restaurant continued around them, but neither paid it any attention.
Eventually, Lucien closed the book.
He placed it back down on the table, his fingers resting briefly on the cover as his brows drew together.
"There's barely anything here," he said, looking up at Hero. "Most of it is vague. Complicated wording, little substance."
Hero shrugged lightly, leaning back in his chair again.
"I told you."
Lucien exhaled softly and let the thought pass, bringing his attention back to the present.
The two continued, shifting their discussion toward the dungeon itself.
From terrain to movement patterns, from monster distribution to subtle changes in behavior, information flowed between them.
However, it was clear who had explored more deeply.
Lucien spoke more.
Hero listened more.
A one sided conversation.
The exchange wasn't equal, but Lucien didn't seem to mind.
His tone remained calm, his explanations precise, as if he had already decided that sharing this much was acceptable.
Eventually, his voice paused.
A brief silence settled.
Then.
"I need your help."
The words came without warning.
Hero blinked, clearly caught off guard.
His hand, which had been reaching for a piece of meat on the plate, paused midway before slowly lowering.
He picked up his tea instead, taking a small sip as he looked at Lucien.
"What do you mean?"
Lucien didn't answer immediately. His gaze shifted slightly toward the window, then back.
"There's something deeper inside the dungeon," he said, tone steady. "Something I haven't encountered before."
Hero's brows drew together slightly.
"You mean… after the changes?"
After hearing Lucien's earlier explanations, he had already formed a rough understanding of the dungeon's expansion.
Lucien nodded once.
"Yes."
A short pause followed before he continued.
"There's a shadow worm."
Hero didn't react at first.
Then.
Lucien added, "A large one."
The meaning settled instantly.
Hero's hand tightened slightly around the cup.
"Wait…"
His voice lowered, disbelief creeping in.
"You're saying… a Foundation Building realm shadow worm?"
Lucien met his gaze.
"Precisely."
Silence followed.
Both of them understood what that implied.
At the Qi Refining stage, those creatures were manageable. Weak even, unless they overwhelmed with numbers.
But once they stepped into the Foundation Building realm.
Everything changed.
Their bodies grew stronger, dense.
Their instincts heightened, their movements more cunning. The natural advantage they held, both in physical resilience and spiritual capacity, became far more apparent.
Demonic beasts were never simple opponents.
They cultivated both body and spiritual energy.
And in many cases.
They surpassed humans in both.
A genius might be able to fight one head-on.
But killing it?
That was a different matter.
Hero exhaled slowly, placing the cup down.
"So that's why you're here…"
Lucien didn't deny it.
"I need cooperation."
His tone remained direct.
No embellishment.
No attempt to soften the request.
Then, after a brief pause, he added.
"I have an ability."
Hero's fingers moved again, this time successfully picking up a piece of meat, though his attention was clearly elsewhere.
Lucien continued.
"It allows me to seek fortune."
Hero paused mid-motion.
The piece of meat hovered just short of his mouth.
His eyes lifted slowly.
The meaning behind those words.
Was not simple. The words lingered between them for a moment.
Hero didn't respond immediately.
So bold… to say something like that so openly.
An ability like that, something tied to fortune itself should have been kept secret to himself, hidden, never spoken so casually.
Yet Lucien said it without hesitation, without even attempting to obscure it.
Hero studied him quietly.
There was no sign of deception.
If anything, there was a kind of directness to it.
Sincerity.
A gamble.
To place something so valuable on the table meant one thing.
Lucien wasn't just sharing information he was testing the ground, deciding whether Hero would stand with him or against him.
Hero's hand, which had just picked up a piece of meat again, paused midway. After a brief moment, he lowered it back onto the plate, his gaze lifting fully to meet Lucien's.
The way he looked at him had changed slightly.
"You didn't have to tell me that," Hero said, voice steady, no longer casual.
Lucien nodded without hesitation.
"I know."
He didn't look away.
"But for someone like you…" he continued, tone calm, "who values sincerity more than facts, it's better I use the same as my bargaining chip."
"you use less thoughts and more emotions."
Hero blinked once, and cursed inwardly, but on the surface, he kept it the same.
The words settled in.
Then.
'He's basically calling you a brute with a heart, boy.'
The old man's voice slipped in without warning.
Hero's eyes twitched faintly, though he kept his expression mostly intact.
"…Right."
He let out a quiet breath, leaning back slightly as if easing the tension.
"Well…"
A brief pause followed as he gathered his thoughts, though in truth, he was improvising.
"I'm relieved to hear that."
It wasn't perfect.
But it was honest enough.
And for now.
That was sufficient.
The restaurant carried on as usual while the two were talking.
People moved between tables, servants walked up and down the stairs with trays, and the noise of conversation blended into a steady background hum.
From the window beside them, the city stretched out under the night, lanterns lighting up the streets in an orderly pattern.
Then, without much notice, someone approached their table.