My Cheat Skill Lets Me Copy Powers....But only if i kill-Chapter 35: The Dungeon Exploration Part 4

Chapter 34 – The Dungeon Exploration Part 4

The deeper they went, the less the dungeon resembled anything crafted by human hands. The walls lost their uniform stonework, replaced by weathered black stone, veins of pulsing blue mana running through it like frozen lightning. The torchlight flickered against the strange surface, swallowed faster than it should've been.

Lena walked ahead, eyes sweeping the path. "This stone... it's old. Older than Valkris, older than anything I've seen."

Elara crouched beside a gouge in the wall, her fingers brushing against the scarred surface. "Claw marks. Not from a basilisk — too deep. Something larger, stronger."

Renji remained silent, eyes on the floor. Scattered across the stone were shards of metal, broken arrowheads, splintered shields, and a cracked guild badge, the emblem worn almost smooth.

"Someone fought here."

Elara turned the badge in her hand. "Recently, too. The blood's not even fully dried."

They all paused, listening. The dungeon remained quiet, but not still. The air hummed, like a low, constant vibration beneath their skin, never fully silent.

Lena's gaze flicked to the far wall. "There."

At the end of the corridor stood a massive stone door, unlike any they'd seen. It wasn't just size — it was crafted, each inch etched with precise runes, forming concentric circles around a central emblem. Chains of energy — translucent and pulsing — crisscrossed the surface, holding it shut.

Elara stepped closer, cautious. "Same runes as the altar. This was meant to stay closed."

Renji studied the pattern, brow furrowed. "A seal. Whatever's behind that door... it's still locked in."

Lena kept her distance, arms crossed. "Good. Let's leave it that way."

The Shadowfang growled softly, tail low. Its hackles bristled, eyes fixed on the door — as if it could sense something beyond.

Renji placed a hand on the door's surface, fingers tingling at the contact. The chains flickered, the runes briefly glowing, then fading. He stepped back.

"No use forcing it. It's not ready to open."

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Elara exhaled, turning back to the corridor. "Let's keep moving. The deeper we go, the more answers we'll find."

Lena hesitated, one last glance at the sealed door. "Or more things we wish we hadn't."

Their footsteps echoed once more as they moved forward, the darkness ahead seemingly shifting, almost breathing.

Behind them, the runes on the door glimmered faintly... then dimmed.

The corridor narrowed into a long, sloped passage, the floor beneath their feet slick with moisture, every step echoing off the high ceiling. The faint sound of dripping water echoed somewhere ahead, steady and distant — too rhythmic to be natural.

Lena slowed her pace, eyes narrowing. "Hear that?"

Elara's hand went to her blade. "That's not water."

A sudden gust of wind howled down the corridor — cold, sharp, unnatural. The torches flickered violently, then snuffed out, plunging them into darkness.

A second later, the ground lurched.

A massive quake rippled through the floor, stone cracking beneath their feet. The walls groaned as ancient pressure surged through the dungeon. Chunks of debris crashed from above. The Shadowfang snarled, bracing itself against the tremor.

Elara stumbled forward, catching herself on the wall. "Move! Go—!"

The floor gave way beneath Renji, a section of stone collapsing into a chasm of dust and shadow. He and the Shadowfang plummeted down before anyone could react, swallowed by the dark.

"Renji!"

Elara's shout was lost in the roar of shifting stone. Lena lunged forward, but the gap sealed shut, stone slamming back into place with unnatural precision, as if the dungeon had repaired itself. The quake stopped — silence returned, thick and choking.

Dust choked the air, settling slowly.

Elara stared at the sealed floor, fists clenched. "That wasn't random. It moved."

Lena's jaw tightened, eyes burning. "It took him."

Beneath the Surface

Renji groaned, forcing himself to his feet as dust swirled around him. The Shadowfang stood beside him, shaking debris from its coat.

A soft ping echoed in his mind.

[System Notification]

Environmental Anomaly Detected.

Dungeon Structure Realigned.

Pathways altered. Threat Level Increased.

Note: Environmental hostility rising.

He scanned the narrow corridor he'd fallen into — unfamiliar, unnatural. The walls were smooth, polished, and glowed faintly with red runes, pulsing in time with his heartbeat.

Renji drew his blade, the air thick with tension and heat.

No XP. No skill growth. Alone.

"This place... is alive."

Ahead, something moved — a growl, low and deep, echoing from the shadows beyond.

He gripped his weapon tighter.

"Come on, then."

The stairwell leading to the dungeon's second floor was eerily quiet, save for the faint drip of water echoing from somewhere deep below. Each step echoed like a whisper of warning, the stone damp and slick beneath her boots. Faint runes, previously dormant, flickered to life along the walls as she passed — their pale red glow casting long shadows that danced around her like specters.

Reina moved without hesitation, her steps silent, measured. No torch, no light source. She didn't need one. Her eyes had adjusted long before entering the dungeon's depths — silver irises catching the rune-light, cold and sharp as steel.

As she reached the bottom of the stairwell, the air shifted — thicker now, heavier with mana and something older, more primal. It wasn't just the pressure of the dungeon. It was intent. The very stone pulsed faintly, the air humming with energy that seeped into her skin, raising goosebumps across her arms.

She paused, gaze sweeping the corridor. The walls ahead had fractured, the floor littered with debris, some still smoking faintly.

"Recent," she murmured, kneeling.

Her gloved fingers brushed against the cracked stone, finding a patch of disturbed dust — tracks, several of them. One stood out — deep, clawed, familiar.

"Shadowfang," she whispered.

Her eyes narrowed, scanning further. Just beyond, a faint smear of blood along the wall, a handprint — small, human.

She stood slowly, senses sharpening.

"They were here."

Her gaze followed the corridor's curve. The walls bore fresh marks — scratches, scorching, and cracks running like veins. The dungeon hadn't been like this before.

A tremor shivered through the stone beneath her feet, faint but deliberate. The air hummed again, deeper this time, like a growl.

The dungeon wasn't still. It was alive — and it was fighting back.

Her eyes stayed locked ahead, hand resting on the hilt of her dagger, not in fear, but focus.

"You're changing the dungeon."

She didn't know how. Not yet. But she knew him — Renji didn't move without purpose, and whatever force this place was, it had taken an interest in him. It shifted around him, like a body trying to reject an invader — or trap one.

Her pace quickened, cloak flowing behind her like shadow, feet making no sound. The red runes pulsed brighter as she passed — not brighter for anyone else, just her. The dungeon felt her presence too.

"You won't break before I find you."

Her voice echoed, soft but certain, as she vanished into the dark.

The air inside the chamber pressed in like a vice, thick with heat and the stench of venom. The walls throbbed faintly with light, red runes pulsing in time with the distant, rhythmic grinding of stone beneath the surface — as if the dungeon itself were alive, and breathing.

Renji stepped forward cautiously, boots crunching against fractured tiles. The ground beneath him shifted slightly, uneven, as though it had recently settled after a quake. His eyes scanned the room — empty, save for deep gouges clawed into the stone and scorched markings across the far wall.

He didn't have to wait long.

A low growl rumbled from the far end of the chamber, followed by the heavily armored body of a Stonehide Basilisk, larger than any he'd faced before. Its scales were darkened and jagged, laced with veins of red, the glow pulsating like magma beneath its surface. Its eyes glared with cold intelligence, venom spilling in slow, deliberate drips from its fangs.

It didn't charge.

It stalked.

Calculated. Patient.

Renji exhaled, sword drawn. The Shadowfang growled beside him, crouched low, fur bristling.

"Stay tight."

The basilisk lunged.

Stone shattered under its weight. Renji dashed right, barely avoiding its jaws. A blast of putrid venom struck the wall behind him, searing through stone. He pivoted, activating Phantom Step, body flickering out of existence for a second.

He reappeared behind it, sword slashing in a quick arc.

Sparks flew. His blade glanced off the beast's scales, barely digging in.

The Shadowfang seized its chance, lunging for the creature's hind leg. Teeth sank in — not deep enough to cripple, but enough to make it stumble.

The basilisk roared.

Tail swung.

Renji's eyes widened.

Impact.

The Shadowfang was hurled across the chamber, slamming into the wall with a sickening thud.

"Damn it."

Renji surged forward, rage sharpening his focus. His blade flashed — Quickdraw, one smooth motion, the steel arcing up, striking just beneath the creature's jaw.

It reared back, screaming, but he was already moving again. Dual Strike activated, two rapid blows aimed at its exposed throat. One hit home.

Blood poured.

The basilisk collapsed, twitching. Dead.

Silence fell.

Chest heaving, Renji turned toward the far wall. The Shadowfang lay crumpled in a heap, limbs bent at odd angles. He approached slowly, eyes narrowing.

No breath. No movement.

Kneeling, he placed a hand on its neck — nothing. His fingers hovered for a moment before pulling back, stained red with the beast's blood.

For a while, he stared, unmoving.

"You should've dodged."

A dry breath escaped him, almost a laugh, but it faded quickly. He sat back on his heels, wiping his blade clean on a strip of cloth, then stood.

Not regret. Not sorrow.

Just a quiet weight in his chest.

A beast he'd fought beside. Now gone.

He gave it one final glance.

Then he turned, disappearing into the dungeon's depths, leaving the silence — and the Shadowfang — behind.

The dust had finally settled, but the air was still thick with tension. Lena pressed her palm against the sealed section of the floor where Renji had vanished, the surface warm — unnaturally so.

"No cracks, no seams. It's like he was never here."

Elara stood a few paces away, scanning the corridor's edges, daggers drawn. Her gaze lingered on the walls — the runes flickered, casting strange shadows across the stone. "This wasn't a natural collapse. The dungeon did this on purpose."

Lena rose to her feet, eyes sharp. "Then we force our way to him."

They moved quickly, navigating the twisting corridors. The dungeon felt different now — the passages they'd already traversed no longer familiar. Walls shifted, some collapsed, others completely gone.

"Paths don't just disappear." Elara's voice was tight.

"They do here," Lena muttered, gripping her sword. "This place adapts."

A faint sound echoed ahead — ragged breathing, hurried footsteps. The two women stopped, weapons raised.

From around the bend, a group of adventurers stumbled into view. Their armor was damaged, bloodied, one of them limping heavily, supported by the others. They froze upon seeing Lena and Elara.

"You're not part of our group," one of them rasped.

Elara stepped forward, eyes flicking over their wounds. "We're not. What happened to you?"

The tallest of them, a man with a shattered shield strapped to his back, looked back over his shoulder, eyes wide. "Ambush. Not monsters — not like the others. Something else. Bigger."

Lena's voice dropped. "What did you see?"

"We didn't." His voice trembled. "We heard it. It moved fast, didn't give us a chance. Took the others before we could react."

The silence that followed was heavy.

Elara's eyes locked with Lena's. "It's moving through the dungeon."

Lena nodded, grip tightening on her sword. "Then we find Renji before it finds us."

Behind them, the dungeon seemed to breathe again, the runes along the walls pulsing faster.