Chapter 167: The Core Section

West glanced at the wall before reaching up to his ear to touch the black earring on it.

A moment later, Marcus’s voice echoed softly in his mind.

"Can you hear me?"

West smirked slightly.

"Loud and clear."

On the other side, Marcus let out a small breath of relief.

"Good."

"We’ve been separated."

West leaned casually against a piece of broken stone.

"Yeah. I noticed."

Marcus continued.

"There are two sections left in this ruin."

"One to the left."

"One to the right."

West’s gaze shifted toward the path ahead.

"I see."

Marcus’s tone became serious.

"One of those sections is the core zone."

"The one that likely houses the strongest creature here."

"And the best loot."

He paused briefly.

"If you encounter that section..."

"Don’t engage."

"Wait for us."

West didn’t respond immediately while Marcus continued.

"You’re only four."

"You won’t be able to handle it alone."

"But if it’s the other section—"

"The standard one—then it’s fine to clear it."

"Problem is..."

"We don’t know which is which."

West pushed himself off the stone.

"...No problem."

"We’ll head forward."

Marcus hesitated.

"...Be careful."

West chuckled lightly.

"When am I not?"

The connection faded and just like that, both groups began moving again.

---

On Marcus’s side, the six of them moved cautiously through the newly formed corridor.

The atmosphere felt different and more tense now but that wasn’t what occupied their minds.

"...Did you guys see that?" Kyle finally said.

"No," Lina replied immediately.

"Because that wasn’t normal."

Mei wasn’t there to calm them this time so the group grew louder with confusion.

"That slab..." Eric muttered.

"It was huge."

"And he just—kicked it?"

Derek wasn’t here to add fuel, but Kyle took his place.

"There’s no way that was raw strength."

"Right?"

Lina frowned.

"...Did he summon something?"

"No," Eric shook his head.

"I didn’t see anything."

Kyle held his chin in contemplation.

"Then what the hell was that?"

"A summoner can’t be that strong."

"That doesn’t make sense."

The group fell into a heated discussion as theories flew around while Marcus walked ahead silently.

He shook his head slightly when he heard one of their theories. ’These kids...’

They truly had no idea.

---

Meanwhile on West’s side, silence reigned.

Derek, Tara and Mei were still staring at him, processing and trying to understand to understand what they had just witnessed minutes ago.

Finally, Derek spoke up.

"...How the hell did you do that?"

West didn’t answer.

"You’re a summoner," Derek continued.

"That kind of strength—"

West turned and for the first time since they entered the ruins, his demeanor shifted.

"Stay behind me."

He voiced with a calm but authoritarive tone.

All three of them paused.

"...What?" Derek frowned.

"It might get dangerous ahead," West added.

Tara blinked in submission... He was a summoner but something about his tone made it hard to argue.

Derek opened his mouth briefly before closing it.

"...Fine."

Tara hesitated for a moment before stepping forward slightly.

"...Hey."

West glanced at her while she looked away briefly before speaking.

"...Thanks."

Her voice was quieter than usual.

"For earlier."

West stared at her for a second before shrugging.

"Don’t mention it."

His tone was completely neutral and almost distant.

"I owe you one. I’ll make it up to you later."

"Do you have a boyfriend?" West question came out of the blue, taking her by surprise.

Tara didn’t know how to respond without stammering for a bit.

"Uunh yeah sorry I do. You can ask for anything else but not that. My boyfriend and I are two years in now."

She blushed a little while saying that. It was like her bad teenage attitude suddenly vanished.

"Good. I’m glad you have a boyfriend," West responded a tone of interest.

"Uh?" Tara was completely bamboozled.

Why would he be glad she had a boyfriend? Was he not asking to know if she was single so he could shoot his shot?

West suddenly turned to her and smirked. "Let’s focus on the task at hand first. We’ll come back to this later..."

She simply nodded still confused as the group continued forward.

---

They had barely walked twenty minutes when the environment changed again.

The corridor opened up into a massive new environment.

West stopped as his eyes narrowed slightly.

"...We’re here."

The others stepped forward behind him and what they saw, Immediately told them that this wasn’t a normal section.

A vast cavern stretched out before them with its ceiling so high it disappeared into darkness.

Strange green webs covered parts of the walls and structures, glowing faintly in the dim environment.

Massive stone pillars stood crookedly throughout the area. Some were broken while others were intact.

And in the center was a crystallized pillar.

Inside it, some strange dark looking object was trapped.

Derek swallowed.

"...This is it."

Tara nodded slowly.

"The core zone..."

Even without seeing the most powerful creature in the ruins, they could feel it.

The atmosphere here was oppressive and heavy like something powerful was watching them.

Derek stepped back slightly.

"We should wait."

"Marcus said—"

"I know what he said."

West stepped forward.

His gaze fixed on the cavern ahead.

"There’s something here."

Tara frowned.

"Obviously there is."

"That’s the problem."

West didn’t respond.

Instead, he started walking forward.

"Stay here."

The three of them froze.

"...What?"

West didn’t look back.

"I’ll check it out."

Derek stepped forward immediately.

"Are you insane?!"

"That’s the boss zone!"

West kept walking while Tara clenched her fists.

"...That’s suicide."

"Just stay here," West completely ignored them and walked forward alone.

The moment he crossed into the cavern, the atmosphere changed again.

The air grew warmer and each breath carried a faint, metallic taste, mixed with something damp and organic.

The faint glow that illuminated the outer cavern gave way to a more concentrated light source ahead.

West slowed his pace as his eyes sharpened when he entered the chamber.

However, this was not just any chamber... this was a hibernation chamber.

The walls curved inward in a semi-circular dome, towering high above. They emitted a sickly green glow, like veins of energy running through the surface.