At the easternmost edge of the Great Continent of Himmler, stands the freest city in the world—the Adventure Capital, Bongisto.

  This is the headquarters of the Adventurer’s Guild, a world-class organization that spreads across the entire continent. Everything in this city revolves around adventurers; it is a sacred land that countless adventurers yearn for.

  It is also the bulwark of this world, the mightiest fortress on earth......

  ...

  Tap, tap, tap......

  A string of footsteps echoed through the dim stone corridors of a dungeon.A party of adventurers held torches aloft, pressing forward cautiously through the dark depths of the dungeon.

  Tap——!

  All at once, the entire party came to a halt.

  Staring at the stone wall that sealed off their path ahead, they wore looks of helpless frustration.

  “Why another dead end?!”

  One of the adventurers grumbled in complaint.

  “We’ve had absolutely no gains lately! If this goes on, we’ll be sleeping in the beast stalls next month.”

  “Can’t you say something nice for once?”

  Another member snapped at him reproachfully.

  “It’s your constant nonsense that’s chased all our good fortune away!”

  “What? This isn’t my fault! Don’t pin this on me!”

  “Hey, both of you, quiet down!”

  The party’s captain spoke up, his voice stern with warning,“We’re deep in a dangerous dungeon right now. Keep bickering, and you’ll draw the dungeon monsters right to us.”

  Yet the two men paid no heed, their quarrel only growing fiercer.

  “Captain, I didn’t provoke him! He started this for no reason at all!”“Don’t play the victim—you’re the one who led us down this path, aren’t you?”“So what if I did? You don’t even know how to navigate this place, so what right do you have to blame me?”

  With that, the adventurer shoved his companion hard.

  “You bastard!”

  Enraged by the push, the other man shoved him back with equal force.

  The two stumbled about in the narrow underground corridor, shoving each other furiously.

  Watching this scene, the captain pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation and roared at the top of his lungs:“That’s enough for both of you! If you want to fight, do it when we’re back on the surface!”

  “But he made the first move—!”

  One of the brawlers tried to argue, only to lose his balance and be shoved hard against the stone wall behind him.

  “You jerk!”

  Seething with anger, he braced his hands against the wall to haul himself upright.

  Click!

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  Unexpectedly, his right hand pressed down on a stone brick near the ground, and the brick sank into the wall with a crisp click.

  And then—

  Boom!

  A deafening rumble erupted from the wall behind him.

  “What—what is this?!”

  Before he could react, the sudden appearance of a passageway at his back robbed him of his balance, sending him tumbling down a stone staircase into the darkness below.

  The rest of the party stared wide-eyed at the sight—then their faces blazed with unbridled excitement.

  “A hidden chamber! It’s a hidden chamber!”“We’re rich! There must be treasure inside! Hurry down and check it out!”

  With that, the party scrambled into the underground passage without a second thought.

  Moments later, they reached the end of the passage.

  As they had guessed, it was indeed a hidden chamber.

  It was a vast room, yet it looked utterly empty.

  “Where’s the treasure? Where is it?”

  The adventurers who rushed in scanned their surroundings eagerly, their voices brimming with excitement.

  “Hey! All of you!”

  The man who had tumbled down the stairs snapped at them in a fit of rage,“You didn’t even try to save me just now! If there had been traps down here, I would have been dead!”

  “Quit your whining, you’re fine aren’t you? Rather than that, did you see any valuable loot when you fell?”“How should I know? I just got up off the ground—”“Tch, useless fool. Fine, we’ll split up and search on our own.”“Alright!”“Treasure, here I come~!”

  With that, the men scattered at once.

  “Huh??? Hey! Hey! All of you—!”

  Furious with rage, the fallen adventurer chased after them in a hurry.

  “Stop right there!”“I was the first one down here, so I get first pick of the treasure!”“As if anyone cares...”

  After some time passed,

  the adventurers regrouped once more.

  They stared blankly at each other, lost for words.

  “What kind of cursed place is this?! There’s nothing here at all!”“Damn it! Could it be that someone already looted this place long ago?”“Even if it was looted, it shouldn’t be this empty... it feels like there was nothing here from the very beginning.”

  The captain mused aloud, deep in thought.

  “Huh? Nothing at all? Then what’s the point of this room?!”

  The party members stared at him in utter confusion.

  “Who knows...”

  The captain lifted his gaze to the only thing in the room that could be called an ornament—a stone mural—and walked toward it.

  The mural depicted a scene of a great battle.Humans wielding sharp swords had defeated a Demon Lord, sealing his essence away in two separate places: beneath a towering spire, and within a bed of solid rock.

  “...Captain, did you find something?”

  One of the adventurers asked, noticing the captain’s fixed gaze on the mural.

  The captain shook his head.

  “Nothing concrete. I just think this mural is a little odd.”

  “Odd?”

  At his words, the other members gathered around to study it as well.

  “Yeah, something’s not right... this painting makes no sense at all. There’s only one Demon Lord, so why seal him in two different places?”“Maybe the first prison wasn’t secure enough, so they moved him somewhere else...?”“Hey, why are we wasting time fussing over this thing?”

  One adventurer said impatiently,“Treasure is what matters! Far more important than this nonsense!”“What’s your hurry? We’re just looking for clues.”“Clues from a mural? Are you daft? Do you really think there’s treasure hidden in it?”

  Another adventurer replied with an exasperated look, cutting him off mid-sentence:“You fool, there’s no way a stone mural like this has any trea—huh? What are you doing?”

  His words died on his lips as he watched his companion stretch out a finger and poke straight at the mural.

  The captain, who had been pondering the mural’s meaning, paled instantly and shouted in alarm:“Stop at once—!”

  “Huh?”

  But it was too late. The adventurer’s finger had already touched the surface of the mural.

  Click!

  A sharp crack of splitting stone rang out, and a thin fissure snaked across the mural.

  The man yanked his finger back in terror.

  “I-Impossible! It broke just from a light touch?!”

  The captain hurried over to inspect the crack closely, then shook his head.

  “It’s not your fault. There was already a crack forming here long ago. You only chipped off the thin outer layer of stone that covered it.”

  Relief washed over the adventurer’s face at his words.

  “Thank goodness. I thought I’d triggered another trap.”

  The captain tore his gaze away from the mural, glancing back at the empty chamber and scratching his head, still unable to fathom the purpose of this place.

  In the end, he sighed in helpless resignation and said,“Forget it. Let’s go. This place was probably stripped clean a long time ago.”

  “Aw, really? We’re leaving empty-handed again?”“What a wasted trip...”

  Disheartened, the party of adventurers turned and headed back toward the passage they had come down.

  “Just great, looks like we really will be sleeping in the beast stalls next month.”“I know a beast stall with soft hay bales—want me to recommend it to you?”“You mean it? Please...”

  As their voices faded away into the depths of the underground corridor, the hidden chamber, discovered by chance, fell silent once more.

  No one knew.

  No one suspected a thing.

  About an hour after the adventurers had left,

  from the fissure on the stone mural in the chamber,

  a wisp of black mist seeped out......

  ......