Dungeon King: The Hidden Ruler-Chapter 122: [The Cipherblade Controversy 2] Into The Warrens
Raven’s HUD flickered alive the moment he stepped through the portal. A low chime sounded in his ears as translucent text scrolled across his vision.
[New Dungeon Instance: Thornjaw Warrens]
[Recommended Level: 28–32]
[Party Limit: 4 Players]
[Environment Type: Overgrowth / Horror]
The portal rippled like a wound in the air, leaking mist that smelled of rot and moss.
Raven paused just inside the threshold, letting the HUD settle in his vision. He had entered plenty of dungeons before, but Thornjaw Warrens was different. The warning banners were clear—this wasn’t a grind run. The Untamed Doctrine ruled here, and they would test every weakness. He could not go in half‑prepared.
He opened his character ledger and scrolls through the ledger to see bosses and mid bosses he subjugate. He scrolls the list, try to formulate the team composition for this run. Each had their purpose, each had their characteristics.
He weighed the risks. The boss and midbosses here would demand area control, and stealth detection. And he will need tank type for the final boss.
His decision clicked into place.
[Companion Roster Selected – Thornjaw Expedition]
Sentinel AX‑Draxos [Role: AoE Control]
Test Unit AX‑K9 [Role: Anti‑Stealth]
Ironbark Seneschal [Role: Defender / Sustain]
Raven whispered the names, summoning them.
"Draxos, AX-K9. Come to me."
The mist split open first for Draxos. The brass sentinel strode forward with weighty steps, vents hissing, runes glowing across his chest. He lowered his helm in a mechanical bow. "Sovereign. Your will is protocol."
AX-K9 padded from shadow next, metallic muscles rippling, a furnace glow in its throat. Chains rattled on its frame as the ancient hound wolf bowed its head. "Target acquisition awaits. Your hunt is mine."
The Ironbark Seneschal followed, roots unfurling from his armored frame as he drove a spear into the stone floor. "I stand bound to the Chain. Guide me, and I will endure what the Warrens offer."
Raven regarded each of them in turn. This was no random pull of allies—this was his warband. Each chosen for what the Warrens demanded. Each loyal to him in a way no human ever was.
And for the last member of this team. This would be her first time in joining my team, Raven thinks.
"Come, Velitha"
She was the mid-boss from Gravewake Hollow, the latest dungeon he subjugate in Kharnath-Dur.
A cool veil of fog gathered near Raven’s shoulder as Velitha drifted half into being. Linen bandage‑wrappings clung to her like a gown—ritual vestments rather than vulgar display—and in a few torn places, pale skin showed through; an elegiac hint, not indecency. Her presence was composed, almost serene.
"Sovereign," she said softly, voice calm as a tomb. "I hear you. Call, and the fog will carry your will."
Raven inclined his head. "Stand by, Velitha. I’ll need you when the path splits."
This would be his team for the Warrens. Raven stepped through without hesitation. On the other side of the rift was no sunlight, no sky—only a vaulted ruin swallowed by forest. Roots as thick as towers curled down from the ceiling, choking ancient stone arches until they looked like ribs half-buried in a carcass. The air was damp, alive with spores, and every breath tasted faintly of decay.
"Hey! You there!"
The shrill voice cut through the gloom like a blade. Raven’s eyes flicked toward the sound. A woman stood ahead at the cracked base of a beast-caller’s statue, fanning herself with a perfumed handkerchief though the damp heat clung to her silken sleeves. Jewels glittered at her wrists, the embroidery of her coat completely unsuited for this place. Her lip curled the moment she saw him.
"You’re the mercenary, aren’t you? About time. Come here quickly, I will not stand in this filth longer than necessary."
Raven stopped three paces from her, studying the perfectly arranged blonde curls, the irritation written across her sharp features. This was no explorer hardened by the wilds. This was a noble playing scholar.
"You must be Lady Seralyth," Raven said flatly.
"Of course I am. Did you expect anyone else?" She gestured at the tunnel yawning behind her, roots dripping with black ichor. "The Conservatory entrusted me with recovering its legacy. You are here to guide me. That is all. You will do the leading, I will do the thinking."
[Quest Available – The Untamed Doctrine]
Objective: Escort Lady Seralyth into the Warrens. Protect her while uncovering the source of the corruption. Bonus Objective: Recover Beast-Caller Relics (0/5)
Failure Condition: Death of Lady Seralyth.
Accept? [Yes/No]
Raven gave the faintest nod and click Yes. Contract work, nothing more. His own reasons for entering Thornjaw Warrens didn’t require her approval.
The jungle ruin groaned as if alive. Somewhere in the dark, something snarled, then whimpered like a dying hound. Seralyth wrinkled her nose. "Disgusting."
The first corridor was lined with cages formed from living roots. Some still rattled as though something inside struggled to be free. Raven moved first, senses tuned sharp, his dagger ready. Seralyth clutched her handkerchief tighter, muttering about mold.
The cages didn’t all break at once—they snapped in sequence, like a hunting call. The first wave of Fangkin rushed them head‑on, fangs gnashing, ribs glowing with spore‑fungi. Raven’s team cut them down as they advanced, blades and steel flashing in the cramped corridor. Draxos’ rune‑blasts burned a path through the roots, each detonation forcing the pack backward. AX‑K9 darted low, ripping one beast’s throat with a hydraulic crunch. Raven followed, his chain whipping across another’s legs, yanking it into his knife.
They didn’t slow down. The group kept pressing forward at a sprint, forcing momentum before the next cages could spring. Seralyth staggered behind, skirts catching on roots. "Slow down! Do you intend to kill me with pace before the beasts do?" she hissed. Raven ignored her. Momentum was survival.
Then the second wave came. Roots groaned and three larger Fangkin tore out—bodies swollen, fungal blooms glowing along their spines. Their jaws opened wider than wolves, and when they roared, spores burst into the air in choking clouds.
[Mutated Feral Fangkin – Elite Spawn] [Special Effect: Spore Burst – AoE Poison Cloud]
The corridor filled with green haze. One beast ignored Raven entirely, leaping for Seralyth. She shrieked, stumbling back as roots snagged her boots. AX‑K9 intercepted, slamming the mutant mid‑air, both of them crashing into the wall. Its claws raked sparks against his plating, but the machine held, fangs sinking into the monster’s throat.
Another lunged at Raven. He twisted, chain snapping forward to bind its hind leg, and yanked—dagger flashing as he buried steel into its neck. Draxos’ runes detonated again, fire sweeping the cloud into ash, clearing a path forward.
When the last Fangkin collapsed, the team didn’t stop moving. The corridor was littered with corpses leaking black ichor, roots twitching as if drinking it back. Seralyth gasped for air, clutching her chest. "This isn’t guiding," she spat. "This is lunacy!"
Raven only muttered, "Better than being eaten," before pushing them deeper.
They pressed deeper. Root-snares crisscrossed the floor, twitching like the nerves of some buried giant. From the walls, wildling trappers scuttled—half-naked, smeared with ash, eyes gleaming like animals. They hurled nets of woven roots, each one laced with thorns that dug into flesh.
[Enemy Encountered – Untamed Trapper]
[Ability: Root Net – Immobilize for 5s]
The trappers didn’t rush like the Fangkin. They waited. Roots twitched underfoot, curling like serpents ready to strike.
Velitha’s eyes glowed faintly through her wrappings. Her voice was calm, almost soothing in contrast to the hissing silence. "They wait, Sovereign. If you charge, you’ll be bound before you breathe."
Raven nodded once. "Then we don’t charge. Velitha—fog. Draxos, fire lanes. AX-K9, hunt in the haze."
Mist poured out from Velitha’s hand, swallowing the corridor in gray. Nets flew wild into the fog, striking only illusions. Trappers snarled in confusion, their mocking laughter faltering.
Inside the haze, Draxos’ rune-fire blazed, cutting through two wildlings before they realized where he stood. AX-K9 burst from the mist like a missile, jaws crushing down on another, dragging him shrieking into the fog.
The Trappers tried to retreat into the walls, but Velitha guided the fog itself, turning it into a labyrinth that closed every exit until all paths led into jaws or flame.
When silence returned, roots twitched uselessly on the ground, the air stinking of ash and blood.
Seralyth sniffed. "All this caution... for vermin with nets? Pathetic."
Raven flicked blood from his dagger, and push forward.
He didn’t want to waste his time arguing with some snob NPC.
The tunnels widened into a hall. Roots arched overhead like the ribs of a beast, dripping with ichor. At the center lay a carpet of bones, crushed collars scattered among them. The air was thick with rot. Raven crouched, picking up one collar—bronze, etched with Conservatory markings. He dropped it without comment.
A howl shattered the silence.
From the far side of the hall, a figure emerged. Horned, lean, clad in scraps of beast-hide. Around his neck clinked a dozen beast-caller medals, strung together like trophies. At his feet, three beastlings padded forward, growling low.
[Midboss Spawned – Vahrak, Fang-Herald of the Doctrine] HP: 100% Special Traits: Packmaster / Traplayer
Vahrak’s eyes flared when they found Seralyth. His hiss sharpened into a roar, words dripping venom. "You! Betrayer! You once gave orders, Professor—now your bones will line the den!"
Raven tilted his head toward Seralyth, a thin smirk curling. "Charming ex‑student you’ve got there."
Seralyth recoiled, her face paling as she tried to protest—"He twists the truth, I—" 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶
But Raven never listened. He didn’t linger to savor her reaction. His hand trembled—not from fear, but from the adrenaline rush surging through him, every nerve alight with anticipation.
He lunged forward, both dagger ends gripped tight, barking a single command: "Now!"
AX-K9, Draxos, and Velitha spread in line formation behind Raven, ready to the battle ahead.
The Warrens had chosen their first trial.
