Ba-da-bum. Ba-da-bum.

At dawn, the sounds of galloping horses reverberate in the middle of the Tontheo Forest at the northern part of the Roheazul Kingdom. The sky is transitioning from night to day, so there is still a decent amount of light despite the absence of the sun.

There are dozens of horses running on the dirt road carrying armored knights on them. Their unusually high pace indicates the heaviness of the emergency they have to take care of.

Those knights belong to one of the Knights Order of the kingdom. The 6th Knights Order, to be specific. On the front, the cavalry is being led by its captain, Sir Dinas Kean.

"Roy," the captain speaks to his vice captain, who is on the horse beside him. "How far are we from the dungeon?"

"Not so far, sir. We’ll be there around a shadowturn."

"Very well. Let’s exterminate those monsters as soon as we get there."

"Yes, sir!"

Aside from exterminating the monsters from the dungeon outflow, the team is also sent to investigate the earthquake last night that they theorized to be originating in the same destination.

Last night, there was a powerful earthquake that was felt not only in the kingdom but in the empire as well. The earthquake occurs a relatively short time after the massacre at the Tontheo Forest, which they find suspicious.

Some people speculate that the timing between those two separate events is too good to be a coincidence. For that reason, Captain Dinas and his order were sent to investigate the strange occurrences in the forest.

The cavalry continues to follow the track in the middle of the forest. Thankfully, the forest is so flat that the road almost follows a straight line, which greatly shortens the route. Along the way, they encounter some monsters that they easily deal with.

About a shadowturn later, the captain notices something peculiar about the surroundings, and then he suddenly pulls the reins of his horse. His abrupt stop is then followed by his knights and they all come to a halt at the base on a slight elevation.

Neigh!

"Do you hear that, Roy?"

"Yes, Captain. It is the sound of water, like ripples hitting the shoreline."

"I believe that there are no rivers or lakes near this route."

"I believe so, sir."

"Let’s check it out."

With their keen ears, their hearings are so sharpened that they can hear the faint noises of the ripples of tranquil water, which they find so strange since this part of the forest has no lakes or rivers.

In a moment, the hurriedness of the knights transforms into caution and curiosity. With a steady pace, they guide their horses to follow the same road. When they reach the top of the elevation of the ground, their eyes widen with what they are seeing as if they were beholding something out of their imaginations.

"Wha—what the hell is this...?" The captain gasps with his jaws open. "Why is there a lake in this area?"

Similar to this captain, the knights are completely bamboozled by the sight. Out of nowhere, a massive lake suddenly appeared in the forest. The newly risen sun from the east reflects its rays on the calm water.

When the knights glance at the shore, they find a crowd of people camping around the lake. They are mostly merchants and adventurers on their way to the dungeon.

"Where the hell did this come from?" Dinas says before turning to his vice captain. "Roy, this lake might be the cause of the earthquake last night. Go down there and investigate. Ask them, survey the area, whatever you want."

"Yes, sir."

Bobbing his head, Roy set out to the lake with a few knights. Around half a shadowturn later, Roy and the knights return after their investigation. Their expressions are somehow grim.

"What have you found?"

"Based on the area survey and the words of the people around, a lake has been there as early as midnight. As expected, they also felt a strong earthquake prior to this."

"Furthermore, the size of the lake is rather enormous. According to a ranger there, the lake expands at least four leagues across with an unverified depth. It is notable that the lake has an oddly perfect round shape."

"Hmm. This lake and the earthquake. A few theories came to my mind like a starfall hitting this place. The shape is too suspicious to be natural. Are there any signs of magic being used?"

"For that matter, we can’t be sure. If this was the work of magic, the water would have disappeared shadowturns ago since materials conjured by magic aren’t permanent, unless it was a ritual magic."

In this world, magic spells that generate physical attributes like water, ice, earth, or any solid materials out of thin air do not stay permanently in the physical world. Since they are made with mana, they break down overtime so that the mana will be dispersed to the air.

For that reason, it is not recommended to drink or consume any water made with magic. In case of consumption, the consumer would suffer dehydration immediately as the water eventually reverts back to mana.

There is a way to make the materialization permanent. By conjuring it through ritual casting, the mana would permanently be converted to the material. However, ritual casting requires multiple equally balanced magic casters, and the mana consumed is rather inefficient for the same result.

"I see. But with a width of at least four leagues, the lake must have covered the dungeon."

"Um, captain...about that..."

"Hm? What?"

"Unfortunately, the dungeon is nowhere to be found. We tried everything we could, but we could not find a trace of it."

When Roy delivers the news, Dinas’s face goes pale. A line of sweat then draws in his temples, realizing how serious the matters have become.

"W-wait," the captain’s voice is shivering. "If the dungeon is missing, then what happened to the hero and the others...?"

"I am afraid to say that they might have disappeared along with the dungeon, sir."

"Haaa..." Dinas’s voice goes weak as he falls to his knees before pressing his palms on the ground. "First, the Great Sorceress, then now the hero... How the hell did this happen? What will happen to the kingdom now?"

The knights cannot give proper answers to his questions. The same as him, they all share the same concern and crisis.

Without the presence of their powerhouses, the kingdom’s might falls off dramatically, crippled. As the sun continues to rise, the twilight of the kingdom is about to come.