The aftermath of the battle painted a grim scene on the scarred landscape. The lifeless bodies of the defeated monsters lay strewn across the once-bustling battlefield, their grotesque forms a sign of the fierce clash that had happened. The air was heavy with the acrid scent of blood and the lingering echoes of battle cries.

Amidst the aftermath, the guild members surveyed the scene with a mix of exhaustion and satisfaction. They had emerged victorious, their resilience and unwavering determination prevailing against overwhelming odds. But the cost of their triumph was evident as injured guild members littered the field, their bodies bearing the marks of a hard-fought battle.

Urgency filled the air as the surviving guild members quickly shifted their focus from the fallen enemies to their wounded comrades. They moved with purpose, tending to the injured with care and precision. Some warriors limped, their own injuries serving as a testament to the sacrifices made in the heat of combat.

All of a sudden, the portal was opened again, and Rebecca began to organize the retreat while Terry watched their backs. He was one of the few that still could withstand, but he was also exhausted beyond reason.

"Shit... I should have brought more healing wands," Terry cursed his own naivety while seeing his ally heavily wounded. "Still, this ambush wasn’t a natural one. Something smells fishy."

Once everyone returned to New York, Terry did the same and saw everyone being treated. The people of Chaotic Storm guild and even Vanessa were healing the wounded. Still, he didn’t let that fool him. While she gave her explanation, their presence at such a time was indeed suspicious.

"What happened? For a while, I thought that the dungeon was going to break," Vanessa said when Terry approached. "The portal disappeared, and the whole city trembled for a short while."

A dungeon break occurs as a direct consequence of the portal disappearing and the subsequent tremors that shake the area. The portal, serving as a gateway between realms, provides a connection to the dungeon. However, the delicate balance between the dungeon and the external world is disrupted when the portal vanishes, severing the link.

As the portal closes, a surge of energy reverberates through the surroundings. This release of mystical energy causes the ground to tremble, creating seismic vibrations that resonate in the dungeon itself. The tremors, like a ripple effect, spread throughout the area and destabilized Earth.

In this critical moment, the dungeon undergoes a transformation. The breaking of its physical structure mirrors the fracture in the magical bonds that held it together. All in all, the disappearance of the portal and the ensuing tremors serve as a catalyst for the dungeon break. The shaking of the Earth symbolizes a shift in the dungeon’s essence, an awakening of its true nature.

"I am investigating..." Terry said and then left to talk with his guild members that were left behind. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Despite his doubts, Terry didn’t hear anything unusual coming from the guild members. He thought that someone didn’t like the fact that his guild was growing so fast, but maybe his guess was a bit off.

Regardless, Terry left in a hurry to buy more healing wands; while he will have to level up them, they will be useful at the end of that same day.

When Terry was about to enter the dungeon again, he noticed that the size had decreased... The same thing happened when they defeated the enemies in the first town... while he didn’t find any boss, it seems that they did something similar in decreasing the forces of the second two.

Regardless, when Terry crossed the portal and dashed toward the place, he found himself in another area... it was a rocky desert.

As far as the eye could see, a desolate rocky desert stretched out, its barren expanse devoid of life and vegetation. The landscape was a testament to the harsh and unforgiving nature of the environment. Jagged rock formations jutted out from the cracked Earth, their rugged surfaces weathered by centuries of exposure to the elements.

Amidst the desolation, an eerie sight greeted Terry’s eyes. The skeletal remains of giant animals lay scattered across the desert, their colossal frames a stark reminder of a bygone era. The bleached bones, stripped clean by time and the elements, created a macabre tapestry against the backdrop of the sun-baked rocks.

Enormous ribcages arched upward, resembling archaic gateways leading to an ancient realm. Skeletal limbs stretched out in frozen poses of eternal rest, their colossal size dwarfing any living creature that might dare to tread upon the lifeless terrain. Broken tusks and massive antlers protruded from the ground like haunting relics of a forgotten world.

"We really cleared the dungeon... shit, I can’t face the population of an entire town of those things now," Terry clicked his tongue and then left the dungeon.

Terry left the first area in a hurry because he wanted to heal everyone, and he forgot that he could have used the magic stones. He grabbed a bunch of them in the warehouse and then returned to heal the injured. Fortunately, he wasn’t late to save everyone.

"Today was intense... What the hell happened?" Rebecca asked when she fell on the ground with a plop.

"I thought that someone could have set up a trap for us... but I need more data to confirm it," Terry replied.

Terry stayed behind while the wounded were guided to the guild and to other areas. Amidst the few that survived and still could stand, Terry saw Juan, but the youth didn’t look as reckless as before. It seemed that he saw death from up close a few times, and that had been a good lesson for him.

Unlike before, the monsters began to show up at intervals of five minutes... it seemed that things would remain like that for a while. So, Terry decided to make sure to make good use of it. The goal was to level up his item as much as possible until the next problem could show up.