NOVEL WEB Chapter 91 - Discovery
Lucien arrived.
Edric had already pointed out the location of the Golddust Estate, so he knew exactly where to go. It was only a few kilometers away.
And luck was on his side. A passing carriage gave his micro Split Body a perfect ride.
He hopped onto its step unnoticed and leapt off the moment it neared the estate.
From a distance, Lucien took in the scene.
Surprisingly, it lacked the ostentatious flair he had expected.
A neat walkway curved gracefully through a well-kept garden where trimmed hedges and soft blooms whispered elegance.
The manor itself rose with a commanding presence. Its architecture was imposing yet refined.
Along its stone façade, faint traces of glowing magic circles pulsed like hidden veins.
The gates were a masterpiece of craftsmanship. It was forged in gold and crowned at the center with the proud sigil of Golddust.
On either side, armored guards stood unwavering.
But none of them noticed the intruder.
Lucien's Split Body who was in a minuscule form, slipped unseen between the bars.
In a heartbeat, he was across the courtyard, dashing toward the looming manor.
It find it odd. There were almost no people around.
What he didn't know was that most of the estate's aides were away. They were searching for the Golddust Seal… which rested safely in his INVENTORY.
He then pressed on and slipped through the narrow gaps of the main door.
But then…
Lucien froze.
He felt something.
That malevolent and disgusting feeling.
Miasma.
His expression darkened.
Then... he moved without hesitation.
Trusting his instincts, Lucien slipped through the manor's long corridors.
His tiny form darted past towering doorways and gilded walls.
The air grew heavier with each turn until he saw a set of stairs leading down to the basement.
He stopped at the top, swallowing hard.
The pull in his chest intensified.
Reaching out with his Divine Sense, he felt it.
The suffocating miasma was seeping from below.
The realization struck like a jolt.
Everything fit together now.
Without another thought, he rushed down the steps.
A massive door loomed ahead.
But to him, it was no barrier. He slipped through the tiniest gap and emerged into another dim corridor.
And then… an open chamber appeared before him.
He froze.
Because he heard voices...
"Magnus. The pieces are not falling as they should. There's a rat under the maze... The air has shifted. Someone's been tampering with the board."
The voice was hoarse and cold. Also, it carried an unmistakable weight of authority.
Lucien flinched.
The wave of disgust in his chest intensified.
Whoever it was spoke in riddles. Every sentence has hidden meaning.
Lucien had to strain his mind to piece it together and he hated that.
"Impossible! Father. To shatter your skill... They must have death in their veins..." A strange glint flickered in Magnus's eyes as he continued. "If someone's playing out game. They better know the cause...
Lucien's curiosity sharpened. He didn't know the full context, but nothing about this sounded simple.
He stayed still.
He was straining his tiny ears to hear more.
"Possible or not, it happened. I'll be in the capital within a day. No more failures, Magnus. The dungeons… the magic circles… the seal… whoever interfered will be dealt with when I arrive. And their end will be… thorough."
Chills prickled along Lucien's spine.
Realization began to take shape.
The dark voice spoke again...
"For now, mark every name that smells of suspicion. Send our people into the dungeons. I won't have another magic circle destroyed. They cost more than time to make… they cost blood. They even took 'that'."
At the last word, Magnus flinched. A flash of anger passed through his eyes.
Meanwhile, the pieces finally clicked in Lucien's mind.
Everything connected.
It had been Golddust all along.
The conversation confirmed it and more.
That magic circle he'd destroyed… it wasn't just one.
There were others. Many others. Spread across different dungeons.
That would be a problem.
Lucien moved. He had to see the owner of that voice for himself.
The bleak and cold tone gnawed at him, urging him forward.
He dashed toward the chamber.
And then... he saw it.
"Who!?"
The voice snapped, sharp as a blade.
A sudden wave of miasma surged toward Lucien. It was both suffocating and lethal.
In the next instant, his connection to the micro Split Body was severed.
It was... dead.
Magnus spun toward the disturbance. His eyes narrowed but there was nothing there.
"Please, don't be alarmed, Father. No one can enter here. It must be a fly." Magnus said.
"Must be..." The voice murmured. It was quiet yet laced with suspicion.
...
Lucien's consciousness snapped back into his real body.
He drew in a sharp breath.
His chest was rising and falling as if he'd surfaced from deep water. A faint ache stirred in his divine energy core.
Closing his eyes, he sank into a quick meditation. He circulated his divine energy until the discomfort faded.
Then he exhaled slowly.
His Split Body was gone. Destroyed.
Worse, the divine energy he'd invested in it had not returned.
His expression darkened.
Thankfully, it had only been a small amount. His reserves wouldn't be affected that much.
But his mind kept replaying what he had just seen.
The owner of that voice… he'd been noticed at the very moment he caught a glimpse.
And it wasn't a person.
It was a goblin statue.
Its presence was just as formidable as his Rainbow Slime Lord Statue.
But... it radiated miasma instead of divine energy.
He hadn't even had the chance to use INSPECT before his clone was obliterated.
A grim sigh escaped him.
The conversation's meaning was now clear.
The owner of that voice would arrive tomorrow.
The goblin statue had been nothing more than a conduit.
It was a tool for long-distance communication.
The Golddust weren't just dangerous. They were prepared.
And that voice…
Bleak.
Vold.
Heavy with threat.
His instincts were screaming just by thinking about that.
Dangerous.
Lucien sighed.
If its words were true, Lucien had until tomorrow to act without drawing suspicion.
He wouldn't let go of this opportunity.
Lucien immediately sought out Edric and Maxim.
He relayed everything he had witnessed.
The revelation struck them hard.
Father? Of Magnus?
Their eyes burned with a mix of shock and fury.
Whatever they were plotting, it was clear this went far deeper than they had imagined... and it would be anything but simple.
Lucien recounted every detail.
The bleak voice.
The strange conversation.
About the magic circles.
Edric and Maxim's expressions darkened.
There's more?
That only means one thing.
They had to destroy them.
Not only because the magic circles radiated something foul and dangerous but because this was a rare chance...
A chance to strike back at the former patriarch of the Golddust family.
Revenge was a dish they'd gladly serve.
If they could cripple his plans, no one would be more satisfied than them.
Not long after, Ellen arrived. She was brimming with pride.
"I just broke through to Tier 9."
"Perfect timing," Maxim said with a smirk.
They relayed everything to her as well.
Things that happened in the dungeon and the thing Lucien discovered just now.
But the problem quickly became clear.
The capital was riddled with dungeons.
Hundreds of them scattered across its vast territory.
Without knowing the exact locations, they'd have to search one by one… and that would take time they might not have.
But then… Maxim stepped forward.
"Ellen. Let's use our skill…"
At those words, Lucien's eyes lit up.
Ellen nodded readily. She had been thinking the same thing.
Her expression hardened.
She already knew it would be dangerous to leave those magic circles untouched.
And of course… she wouldn't mind a little revenge of her own.
"Nephew…" Maxim cleared his throat. "I might be needing some of your mana… if that's possible."
Lucien nodded without hesitation.
The moment Maxim activated the Perfect Calculation skill, his mana was drawn away like it was being swallowed by a black hole.
The pull was far stronger than earlier when he'd calculated how to break through the fake dungeon wall.
Lucien immediately poured divine energy into Maxim, supporting him.
But as the calculation went on, they could both feel their reserves draining rapidly.
Before their energy was completely spent, Maxim deactivated the skill.
Everyone fell silent.
Then Maxim spoke...
"I must apologize in advance. No matter how hard I try, I can't get a clearer picture. This isn't simple. But... I've narrowed it down to three key points."
He continued.
"First... the dungeon's unique traits. Second... the most likely floor where the magic circles are hidden. Third... the kinds of monsters infesting it. Ellen… it's your turn."
He laid out his findings in precise detail.
But even as he spoke, Maxim knew it wasn't enough. The threads of information were too thin to weave a complete picture.
But Ellen gave a short nod. She decided to try using her skill anyway.
"Alright… I'll loop it."
The moment she activated her skill, the air seemed to warp around her. It thickened under invisible pressure.
Her eyes lost their focus as if she were staring into a horizon only she could see.
"Sentinel Dungeon… comparing patterns… match confirmed," she murmured.
"Monster profiles… match confirmed…"
Her voice was low and mechanical. It's like an automaton combing through an endless archive than a person.
When the loop ended, she exhaled slowly and her eyes darkened.
"Maxim… there are more than ten dungeons that fit your parameters. Possibly more."
From his data, the image in her mind solidified.
Most were dungeons capped at five to ten floors with the magic circles embedded somewhere in the middle layers.
She began naming each target, one by one...
Soon after...
The list was done and the decision was instant.
The magic circles had to be destroyed before the previous patriarch of Golddust arrived in the capital.
Lucien agreed without hesitation.
In his mind, there were other incentives.
The high-grade mana cores and the goblin figurines they had encountered before.
Letting the Golddusts reclaim such resources would be foolish. Also, the others couldn't sneak out the High-Grade mana cores without INVENTORY.
The choice was clear. They would travel together.
And so, preparations began.
They secured disguises to conceal their identities.
The plan was simple.
A rapid dungeon hop.
Moving from one target to the next, leaving only shattered magic circles in their wake.
Time was not on their side but hesitation was a luxury none of them could afford.