"Wait boss, shouldn't we check out the building?" Boo reminded its eager master.
"R-Right!" Varian nodded.
He glance at the corpses strewn all around the basement and focused on their wrists.
Metallic Red Bracelets—the keys to hideouts.
He collected them and, using the layout produced by Boo's scan, surveyed every corner of the building.
It was not solely a headquarters for assassination.
First, there was a secure room under the basement. To enter it, one needed the bracelet of the commander. It contained the most precious object of the entire hideout—Cross Tunnel Formation..
The same bracelet could also order the cross tunnel formation to rise from bottom of the room to just below basement. With another order, the bracelet could set off a controlled space explosion.
'Tsk.' Varian glanced at the heavily fortified room and the rather fragile ceiling.
'They're desperate enough. That's why they're dangerous.' He sighed and checked the basement.
In locked safes, there were various star treasures, and a few… explosives?
Varian grasped the thin coat embedded with shiny red stones woven into a functional circuit.
'This is a suicide jacket.' He recalled his mission in Virgin Dungeon and recognized the hooded figure logo on the jacket.
'Shadow Order.' He took a deep breath and put them all into his ghost ship.
The space inside was too huge and his storage didn't seem to affect it at all.
Varian climbed up onto the ground floor and encountered several Level 3 Abyssals standing in front of holographic boards.
Shuaa!
They collapsed in a flash and he analyzed the contents on the boards, or at least tried to.
His comm was broken during the fights in Lost Dungeon and Varian wasn't proficient in Abyssee.
Boo patted its chest and translated the text.
They're apparently missions!
1. Yun Xiao: Level 2. Age 17. Hidden Genius. He would enter the Dungeon alone today. 15 points for the hunt.
2. Blake: Level 1 peak. Age 16. He is from a poor family but strong values. He performed well in his school test and is a seed candidate of the school. He'd enter with his Level 3 peak teacher.
40 points for the hunt.
3. …
'Holy shit!' Varian felt double déjà vu.
First, he already found such reports during his entrance test. Second, these mechanisms were too similar to his academy's.
He grabbed the hologram recorder, and frowned.
'Just how deep is their intelligence network. How do they deploy their spies?' He thought and finished off the remaining Abyssals in the ground floor.
Then he climbed to the first floor and then, the second. The Abyssals on both floors died gasping for breath as blood gurgled out of their necks.
The first floor consisted of several office rooms. Logistics. Emergency Meeting. Brainstorming Lounge. Break Room. Infirmary.
The second floor had resting quarters of the Level 4s and Level 5. There was also one official room.
The largest room in fact. It could only be authorized by a Level 4 or Level 5's bracelet.
Varian stepped into the room and gasped.
"What the fuck is this?!"
In front of him, multiple holograms played out displaying almost every section of the Dungeon.
Some adventurers were hunting a magic beast. Other adventurers were ambushing fellow humans.
A lucky teenager found a good herb. An even luckier girl found the key to a special location.
A group of adventurers were resting after a hard battle.
All of these were utterly visible to the Abyssals here.
"Master, are these people stalkers?" Boo seemed bemused.
"... they're creeps." Varian replied after pulling himself together.
'Incredibly dangerous creeps.' He added inside.
Then Varian used the Commander's bracelet and assumed the control of the surveillance.
It was almost all over the Dungeon. For reference, a low dungeon was as big as a large country of old earth.
The extensive surveillance might have shocked people of old earth, but in 520 YAB, it was a normal thing.
'But installing surveillance without adventurers noticing would be impossible.' He noted and then realized. 'So there was surveillance from the very beginning.'
Abyssals were indeed the masters of these Dungeons.
'But with everyone here dead, the remaining abyssals in the dungeon would soon panic. Nice.'
Varian disabled the surveillance and entered the ghost ship.
Boom!
In a few seconds, they reached a white barrier—the ending of the dungeon.
Inside the cabin, Varian glanced at the forty bracelets and frowned.
He had an idea on what to do with them, but doing it now would be too early.
"Boo, go to the next low dungeon." Varian ordered. Then, he recalled something and added, "Make sure it isn't going to vanish anytime soon."
"Got it! We'll be reaching 'Arrogant Young Master' Dungeon in 5 minutes." Boo declared.
It was currently in stealth mode and passed by the hover cars without alerting the radars or surveillance satellites.
Varian opened the newly constructed bathroom and undressed before dipping into the hot bath.
As the warm water washed his skin, he sighed in comfort. "Peace."
[For five minutes.] The System's mechanical voice seemed to growing ethereal.
But still, it was annoying. Its timing was even more so.
'Will you die if I relax for thirty minutes?' Varian rebuked.
"Boss, what's wrong? You're grimacing?" Boo's voice sounded.
"Increase the temperature and stop talking." Varian closed his eyes and submerged himself.
For a brief period, he experienced 'nothing'. His mind was blank, and he felt an unprecedented peace of mind.
Splash.
After he resurfaced, he finally sighed.
25th, Prime Month.
'It's been around 40 days since I was lost in the dungeon.' He clutched his forehead.
'I missed the first month's test. But it's not my fault per se.' However, it still worried him.
'But if the Charles bastard or Narcis insist, then it wouldn't matter at all.' That was his biggest obstacle.
'I'll be kicked out, no questions asked.'
"I guess my tutor can help out." He muttered and then recalled the girl with the biggest background he ever encountered. "Sarah."
But still, the story he had to weave for disappearing for 40 days was too much, and Varian wanted to crush a dozen more Abyssals to calm down.
However, he needed to go. 'I shouldn't wait any longer. But does 1 or 2 days difference matter now?'
[Host, it's alright to vent.]
The System said, suggesting he should continue his raids instead of going to the academy right away.
Varian didn't answer.
The System changed its voice to a more feminine one.
[Ara~ Ara~ Host, it's okay to vent.] The same words, but the meaning was totally different.
"System, stop it! You're freaking me out!" He roared as a chill ran down his spine.
[Yes, host.] The System went back to its normal voice.
Boo listened to his roars and thought. '...you're the one freaking me out.'
Varian dressed himself and looked out. He was still trembling from the trauma.
"Boss, we're almost there."
As usual, the ghost ship easily skipped past the detection mechanisms and stayed hidden from the battalion guarding the Dungeon perimeter.
It shrunk and soon rushed into the blue gate.
Arrogant Young Master Dungeon, here comes Varian!