Free Web NovelChapter 10: THE DUNGEON GATE
Kael was summoned to Aldris’s office on Monday morning.
The man was standing, as always. A large, detailed map lay open on his desk — the forested region north of the Academy, the mountain foothills, and the old roads winding through them. Aldris was still studying the map when Kael walked in. He didn’t turn around.
"Sit."
Kael crossed the room in silence and took the chair. A few seconds later, Aldris turned. In his hand was a single document bearing an official seal. He set it down on the desk. Two names were written on it.
Kael Ardenvast.
Lira Dawnkeep.
"Your entry permit for the Bronze Gate, north of the Academy, has been approved." Kael picked up the document.
"The Bronze Gate..."
"Low risk, according to routine observation."
"According to routine observation?"
Aldris tilted his head slightly.
"Four to six goblins are expected inside. Likely a Stone Golem in the final chamber."
"Expected."
He hadn’t spoken with certainty. Kael noted that.
"A guide?"
"None."
"An escort team?"
"None."
"An observer?"
"None."
Kael set the document back down. "So we’re going in alone."
"Dungeon Hunter candidates need to learn to make their own decisions from day one."
Aldris leaned against the edge of the desk.
"If someone experienced is with you, you follow their decisions. You don’t make your own."
It made sense.
Uncomfortably so.
"What exactly are we looking for in there?" Kael asked. "The Dungeon Core."
For the first time, Aldris’s voice carried a trace of real weight.
"Both of you will touch the Core."
"Why?"
"Because contact doesn’t always produce the same result."
Kael raised an eyebrow.
"You don’t know what will happen?"
"I don’t."
Aldris said it without hesitation.
"That’s why I want a report."
He held out a second document.
"What you feel...
What you see...
And if the Core conveys anything to you at all, write it down in detail." Kael took it.
"A joint report?"
"No."
The answer came instantly.
"Separately."
"Why?"
"Because people influence each other without realizing it."
A short silence followed.
"If one of you speaks first, the other may believe they remember something they didn’t."
"They might unconsciously add a detail that isn’t theirs."
"I want raw data. Not interpretation."
Kael nodded.
That was... a scientific approach. He was reminded, once again, that Aldris was even more methodical than he’d assumed. He stood.
He was almost at the door when—
"Ardenvast."
He turned. Aldris looked at him for several seconds. There was an expression in his eyes that was hard to place. It looked like a warning. But not quite a warning.
"Try not to die."
Kael smiled.
"That’s a rather demoralizing pep talk."
"No."
Aldris’s expression didn’t change.
"That’s simply the fact that good students aren’t easy to raise."
Kael laughed despite himself.
"Understood." He took the document.
Before leaving, he glanced back one last time. "The date?"
"This Saturday."
— ◆ —
Lira was already waiting in the hallway when he stepped out. She held a thin notebook in her hand. Its pages were filled edge to edge with notes. She held it out as Kael approached.
"Equipment list."
The first page listed food, water, a spare blade, bandages, and light sources. The second page covered likely creatures.
The third, exit routes.
Kael stayed quiet for a moment.
"When did you put this together?"
"The day I found out the permit was coming."
"So, two days ago."
Lira nodded.
"I don’t like sitting idle."
Kael kept turning the pages.
Clean.
Organized.
Not a single wasted line.
He was about to close it when a hand-drawn diagram on the last page caught his eye.
"What’s this?"
"An observation I found in old Elven records." Kael looked again.
"Energy traces along dungeon walls."
Lira went on.
"When I compared a few different sources, I noticed a shared pattern."
She set a finger on the sketch.
"Anyone with sufficiently developed Aether Sense can feel these traces."
"If you follow them, the chance of straying from the main route drops."
Kael studied the diagram a moment longer.
It wasn’t certain knowledge. But it made sense.
"Good work."
Lira didn’t respond. Only her shoulders loosened, almost imperceptibly. She was trying not to show that she was pleased. Kael noticed anyway.
— ◆ —
Saturday morning, Kael was ready before dawn. He checked the short sword at his waist one last time.
Pulled on his leather gloves.
Fastened the light chest armor.
A waterskin.
A lantern.
A notebook.
A pen.
Everything was in place.
Lira was waiting for him when he stepped outside. A small leather pouch hung from her shoulder.
"First aid." Kael looked.
"Bandages."
"Antiseptic."
"Needle."
"Thread."
"And painkilling herbs."
Kael smiled faintly.
"You’ve thought of everything."
"I hope we won’t need any of it."
"Same."
The morning mist still clung to the forest. They walked the narrow path in silence. Nothing but bird song. Neither of them spoke. The preparation was over now.
What remained was the doing. About ten minutes later the trees began to thin. And the Bronze Gate came into view for the first time.
Kael stopped without meaning to. It wasn’t what he’d expected. None of the grandeur from the old novels — no towering stone pillars, no ancient inscriptions.
Just a crack in the mountainside, roughly two and a half meters tall, ringed by rough stone.
A colorless light spilled from within.
And...
A pull.
Not heat.
Not cold.
Not gravity.
But real.
As if the Dungeon had noticed their arrival.
And was quietly inviting them in.
"Do you feel that?" Lira asked.
"Yes."
"Dangerous?"
Kael said nothing for a moment. He listened to the instinct Kayvan had spent years sharpening in him. No. This wasn’t the feeling of death. This was—Being noticed.
"It’s not hostile."
After a short pause, he added— "But it’s alive."
Lira pressed the permit against the stone at the entrance. The stone glowed briefly. Then the light inside the gate widened.
The passage had opened. Kael took a deep breath.
"Ready?"
Lira nodded.
"Ready."
They stepped forward together.
And the Dungeon accepted them into itself, in silence.
— ◆ —
The first chamber was quiet. Too quiet. Then one of the goblins lifted its head with a growl.
There were four of them. They appeared scattered, but there was a subtle pattern to their movements. The one in the middle was larger than the rest, carrying its rusted blade more easily, while the others instinctively mirrored its movements.
Kael read the room in a glance.
"Leader’s in the middle. If he drops first, the others lose their formation for a few seconds."
He lowered his voice.
"I’ll take the leader."
Lira didn’t take her eyes off the goblins.
"I’ll hold the ones on the right."
"Two seconds."
Neither said anything else.
No signal was given.
None was needed.
They both felt the same instant of readiness.
Two seconds later, they moved together.
Kael lunged forward. The goblin leader tried to react, but too late.
One strike.
The blade passed through its neck. As the leader crumpled, the other three goblins’ formation faltered for an instant.
Kayvan had always called it the rhythm of battle. That brief moment when a group’s order breaks—was the most valuable moment of all. Kael turned left.
Lira had already drawn the two goblins on the right toward herself. She parried the first strike with her blade. The second goblin grazed her arm.
Shallow.
She didn’t retreat.
If anything—ignoring the wound, she threw her opponent off balance.
Kael closed the distance.
The first goblin fell. The moment the second turned its back, Kael’s blade passed through its spine.
Silence.
Four seconds, in total.
Lira looked at her arm. There was blood. She opened the pouch. Wrapped the wound with movements that had become habit.
"It’s not serious."
"I know."
Kael smiled faintly.
"Still must have hurt."
Lira tied off the bandage.
"It stings."
After a short pause, she added—
"But it doesn’t affect my movement." Kael nodded.
Exactly the answer he’d expected.
— ◆ —
The second chamber was far larger. The massive stone creature standing at its center radiated pressure the moment they saw it. Roughly three meters tall. Thick stone arms, cracked shoulders, and a weight that shook the ground with every step — it was a wall given life.
A Stone Golem.
Kael studied it for a few seconds.
"Slow."
"But one hit would be enough."
He sharpened his Aether Sense. That’s when he noticed it — a dark patch on its back, different in texture from the rest of the stone.
A Mana Core.
Unprotected.
"There’s a weak point..."
Lira came up beside him without a sound.
"You see it too?"
"Yes."
"It’s exposed."
"Either a design flaw..."
Kael kept his eyes on the golem.
"...or it was left that way on purpose."
Lira tilted her head slightly.
"Plan?"
"I’ll draw its attention."
"I’ll circle behind it."
"Strike the moment you get a real opening."
Lira looked at him.
"Why wait?"
"Wait for a true opening."
"Understood."
Kael stepped forward. The golem turned its head slowly. Its stone eyes seemed to lock onto him. It took one step. Then another. And swung its massive fist.
Kael dodged sideways at the last instant. The fist struck the ground. Stone fragments scattered.
"Strong..."
The golem turned again.
Another swing.
Kael pulled back.
Then closed in once more.
His goal wasn’t to strike.
It was to hold the creature’s full attention. Meanwhile, Lira moved in a wide, silent arc toward its back. Her steps made almost no sound. Kael had settled into a rhythm.
Strike.
Retreat.
Shift direction.
Repeat.
Each time, he turned the golem a little further. Finally, the moment he’d been waiting for arrived. Kael swung his blade toward the golem’s face.
Not a killing blow.
Just a distraction.
The golem turned its entire body toward Kael. "Lira!"
Lira moved. Her blade drove into the Mana Core.
Crack!
The stone surface split.
But the golem didn’t fall.
If anything—the whole chamber shook. The creature reeled back in fury. It swung its arm wildly. Lira leapt back just in time.
"It only cracked!" she called out. Kael had expected this.
"Once more!"
This time the golem genuinely lost its balance. The crack in its core widened with every movement. Kael surged forward. He drove his blade hard into the golem’s right knee. The massive creature dropped to one knee. At that exact moment, Lira moved a second time. She drove her blade into the same crack with everything she had.
The Mana Core shattered into fragments.
For a moment, the entire chamber fell silent.
Then—the light in the golem’s eyes went out.
The massive body began to collapse slowly.
The sound of stone crashing against stone echoed through the cave.
A cloud of dust rose.
A few seconds later, everything was quiet again. Kael exhaled deeply. His heart was racing. But his breathing was still under control.
"Good timing."
Lira wiped her blade clean.
"The first strike wasn’t enough."
"I noticed."
"And you created the second opening."
Kael shrugged.
"Teamwork."
Lira went quiet for a moment. Then smiled faintly. "Not many people would say that."
Kael didn’t answer. Both of them were thinking the same thing. This had only been the first Dungeon.
And the final chamber still lay ahead.
— ◆ —
The final chamber...
was strikingly different from the first two. The ceiling was much higher. The walls weren’t made of rough stone; their surfaces bore fine, repeating patterns etched into them.
At first glance, they seemed meaningless. But when Kael activated his Aether Sense, the patterns changed. Thin traces of energy embedded within the stone itself—as if an invisible current moved through the walls.
"Lira was right..."
The energy really was flowing in a specific direction. At the exact center of the chamber, a yellowish crystal, slightly larger than a palm, floated silently in midair.
It floated unsupported in midair.
Something shifted within it—difficult to describe.
Not light.
Not mist.
But it felt alive.
The Dungeon Core.
Kael approached slowly. With every step, the air around him seemed to grow heavier. The air itself wasn’t changing. Yet it felt as though it had. He had the sense that the crystal was watching him.
It had no eyes.
No face.
But it was aware.
Kael reached out. His fingers touched the crystal. And the world shifted, silently.
There was no explosion. No burst of light. Just warmth, spreading outward in waves. It reached his fingers first. Then his palm. His arm. And spread through his entire body.
He didn’t remember closing his eyes.
But they were closed now.
...
A dark forest...
No.
Something resembling a forest.
It wasn’t real.
More like the shape a piece of knowledge took inside a mind.
He saw countless lines of energy running beneath the ground.
They resembled roots.
Yet they weren’t roots.
They connected to one another...
stretched into the distance...
forming a single web.
Old.
Silent.
Patient.
Then—the entire web trembled faintly. The tremor came from the north.
From very far away.
But strong enough to affect the whole web.
As if someone unseen had dropped a great stone into a lake.
The ripples were still spreading.
At that exact moment—a meaning reached his mind.
It wasn’t a sound.
It wasn’t a word.
But it could be understood.
I am awakening.
Kael’s eyes opened. He drew a deep breath.
He felt his head spin. It lasted only a few seconds. Then it passed. He looked at the crystal. Everything had returned to normal. As if nothing had happened at all. He took a step back. "Lira."
Lira stepped forward silently. She looked at the crystal. Without a word, she reached out.
Her fingers touched it.
...
For roughly ten seconds, she didn’t move.
Kael waited. Then Lira slowly drew her hand back. Her expression was as calm as ever.
But there was something heavy stirring behind her eyes.
"What did you see?" Kael asked.
Lira didn’t answer right away.
She gathered her thoughts.
"Depth."
A short silence.
"A depth with no visible end."
"And..."
Her brow furrowed slightly.
"Waiting."
"Waiting for what?"
"I don’t know."
She looked at the crystal. "But I felt like something had been waiting a long time for something to arrive." Kael was quiet for a moment.
"Did you receive a message?"
"I wouldn’t call it a message."
Lira shook her head slightly.
"More like... a feeling."
Kael thought it over.
"I am awakening..."
"Waiting..."
They weren’t the same. But they felt connected somehow. "Let’s head out." Lira nodded. "Don’t forget the reports."
— ◆ —
By the time they left the Dungeon, the sun had already risen high. The morning mist had fully cleared. The forest seemed quieter than when they’d arrived. Kael pulled out his notebook as he walked. He began writing.
— Contact made with the Dungeon Core.
— Received a visual transmission.
— Observed a vast energy network spread beneath the ground.
His pen paused for a few seconds. He added one last line.
— Message received: "I am awakening."
At the bottom of the page, he added a small note. Unusually powerful transmission for a Bronze-class Core. Cause unknown. High likelihood of an anomaly. He closed the notebook.
They walked in silence for a while.
Finally, Lira spoke.
"We need to ask Aldris a question." Kael answered without turning his head. "Why did this Dungeon change?"
Lira stopped. She stared at him, startled.
"How did you guess that?"
"Because I was thinking the same thing."
A brief silence.
"But there’s something else bothering me even more."
"What is it?"
Kael turned his eyes north.
"If something is awakening..."
"...why now?"
Lira’s gaze drifted in the same direction. Neither of them knew the answer.
— ◆ —
Aldris read the reports in silence.
Kael’s first. Then Lira’s.
He set both back down on the desk. He didn’t speak for a while. "The Core made contact with you."
It wasn’t a question.
"Yes."
"What did it convey?"
Kael answered. "’I am awakening.’"
Aldris’s gaze drifted to the map of Aethoria on the wall. He said nothing for a long moment.
Finally, he let out a heavy breath.
"This Bronze Gate was nearly dormant five years ago."
He walked toward the map.
"Its energy level was extremely low."
He slid his finger northward.
"Eight months ago, a powerful Aether wave spread out from the north."
"Its source was never identified."
"But the wave altered the energy readings of every small Dungeon in the surrounding region."
Kael listened closely. "Where did it originate?"
Aldris’s finger reached the very north of the map. Beyond the mountains...
To a region left almost entirely blank on the chart.
"One of the three Gates that were never recorded."
Kael’s eyes narrowed. Aldris had pointed to that spot without a moment’s hesitation.
"You know where it is..."
Or—at the very least, he suspected.
"Do you know what caused this change?" Kael asked.
Aldris shook his head slowly.
"No."
After a brief pause, he added—
"If I knew, I wouldn’t have sent you two to gather data."
"I’d be seeking the answer myself."
The silence in the room grew heavier. This time Lira spoke.
"The team sent twenty years ago never came back."
"How can we be sure the way out is safe this time?"
Aldris didn’t answer. He only looked at them.
For a long while...
And that silence carried more weight than any answer could have.
Kael understood.
No one was certain.
— ◆ —
When they reached the dormitory, Lira stopped. She glanced at Kael for a moment.
Would they tell the others? Kael shook his head slightly.
"Not yet."
Lira nodded in understanding. She slipped inside quietly. Kael lingered at the door for a few more seconds. Torven’s loud voice carried from inside. Eiran had burst out laughing. Everything...seemed normal.
Normal life... he thought.
And beyond the mountains...
Something is awakening.
We don’t know what.
Or why now.
Kael opened the door.
But we will find out.
And he stepped inside.
— ◆ —
— End of Chapter 10 —
AzulNote///
To make the release schedule more consistent, I’ve decided to upload Chapters at the same time every day.
🕗 New Chapters will be released daily at 8:00 PM (GMT+8).
I’m doing my best to bring you the highest-quality Chapters possible, so thank you for your patience and support.
I hope you’ll continue this journey with Kael until the very end.
See you in the next Chapter! ⚔️
