If Elias had felt as small as a cat in the Novice-rank zone compared to the newbie zone, then here in the Journeyman zone, he felt no larger than an insect.
The trees in the jungle towered impossibly high toward the ceiling, the largest of them reaching heights comparable to skyscrapers. The ceiling itself resembled a night sky, the unevenly scattered light crystals forming constellations that shimmered above them.
Unlike before, there was no trail to follow. The tunnel opened directly into the jungle, with nothing to mark its entrance. It made Elias wonder how adventurers managed to find their way back without much effort.
“All right, kids. We’re going to have to do things differently this time,” Vivian said. “While I’m much stronger than the monsters in this zone, I think it’s best if we take a few extra precautions. Journeyman-rank zones are usually a lot more chaotic than the previous ones.”
Rebecca perked up.
“What’s the difference between the zones?” she asked. “I always had a hard time finding good information about that. Well—reliable information. My dad told me a few things, but he never really bothered to understand how dungeon zones work.”
“Until the Expert-rank zones, it’s all pretty straightforward, really,” Vivian said, taking on an instructional tone. “The Beginner-rank zone is usually considered the first real part of the dungeon. It’s basically just like the newbie zone, except the monsters there will actually try to kill you. Going there is like taking off the training wheels on a bike. It’s more dangerous, but nothing crazy.
The biggest difference between the Beginner and Novice zones, aside from monster rarities, is how the monsters are spread out. In the Novice zone, they’re scattered more evenly. They no longer get stronger gradually the deeper you go anymore. You’re just as likely to run into a level 30 monster near the entrance as you are at the core.
Lastly, the Journeyman-rank zone is where monsters start to roam in packs and show signs of social behavior—things like laying traps or calling for aid. It’s also the first significant leap in their cognitive function. They’ll still try to kill you, but they might not fly into a rage the moment they spot someone.
As for the Expert-rank zones and beyond… that’s a bit more complicated to explain, so we’ll save it for another day. But as you probably already know, that’s where the dungeon becomes more interconnected, making it possible to travel from one entrance to another through the dungeon itself.”
“Thanks,” Rebecca said with a bright smile.
“No problem, dear,” Vivian replied. “Now… we’ll need to go straight through the jungle to reach the entrance to the Temple, which is located at the core of this zone. It should be about a four-hour jog from here. I’m going to set most of my light spheres to protect you while I handle any monsters foolish enough to get close, but that means you won’t be able to see very far ahead.”
One of the six light spheres shifted color, turning a dull red in contrast to the bright gold of the others, and hovered toward Elias and Rebecca.
“So just jog in the direction of this sphere.”Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
With a mischievous twinkle in her eyes, Vivian slowly raised her hands and brought them together with a sharp clap.
Space trembled, and the air vibrated with power, growing brighter for a moment. All that light condensed into flowing streams, converging and coalescing into hundreds of radiant golden spheres.
The spheres began to circle around them slowly, moving in a mesmerizing dance like a cloud of fireflies. Bit by bit, they drew closer together until they nearly touched, forming a hemispherical cage of light around Elias and Rebecca. All the while, the spheres continued their slow orbit, giving the impression that they stood at the eye of a gently churning hurricane of light.
The reddish guiding light floated forward, hovering near the edge of the cage.
“Let’s get moving!” Vivian called from outside, and the cage began to shift forward.
With a shrug, Elias picked up the pace until he settled into a relaxed jog, following the guiding light's direction. As they moved, he made a point to stay near the center of the cage—just in case a monster tried to break through—but none did. They made it the entire way without incident.
Hours later, the cage finally began to slow to a walking pace before coming to a stop.
One of the light spheres briefly flashed toward Elias and Rebecca, bathing them in golden light for a moment. As it passed, they felt their exhaustion melt away.
Despite how well-trained they were, they had been running on and off for over ten hours, and they didn’t possess superhuman attribute levels yet. If Vivian hadn’t been healing them every hour or so throughout the trip, Elias doubted they would have made such a good time. Rebecca might have, with some difficulty, but the effective level of his physical attributes was still well below ten.
The light cage opened slowly, the spheres drifting apart and fading into thin air, revealing an enormous lake.
It stretched for kilometers in every direction, bordered by dense jungle on all sides. The still water shimmered with the reflected light of crystal constellations glowing in the ceiling above. At the center of the lake, a marble spire jutted from the water like a solitary fence post.
It was a beautiful, peaceful sight.
The lake was both the entrance to the Temple and part of the Temple itself. Because of that, no monsters could cross into its waters or spawn within. It was a haven, safe from monsters.
Vivian walked up to the water and waved her hand lazily. A wooden canoe appeared out of thin air, landing with a soft splash. She gestured for them to get in, and as soon as Elias and Rebecca did, it began gliding across the surface on its own, swiftly heading toward the marble spire.
As they neared the solitary structure, Elias noticed it was covered in glowing runes. Half of them burned a fiery red, like smoldering charcoal, while the others shimmered with a frosty blue hue, reminiscent of dry ice.
The spire was tall, but not in the surreal way the trees in this zone were. It reached a more natural height, rising about thirty meters into the air. At water level, it wasn’t sealed off. A series of elegant arches formed an open base, giving it the appearance of a majestic gazebo rising from the lake.
Their canoe docked at one of the arches, and they stepped out onto the white, marble-like floor of the spire.
The interior of the spire was hollow above, its open space filled with glowing runes that formed an elegant tapestry of red and blue. Below, on the floor at the center of the gazebo-like structure, a spiraling staircase descended into unknown depths, the path illuminated by those same runes.
Vivian led the way, descending the steps at a casual pace. Elias and Rebecca followed close behind, and before long, they arrived at a structure similar to the one above—except the stone arches of this gazebo didn’t open onto a lake.
Instead, they overlooked an enormous pool of boiling hot and freezing cold water. The air was thick, streams of steam and mist swirling around them like silken fabric caught in the wind. Rising from the water’s surface were structures of white marble, some glowing with blue runes, others with red.
They had finally arrived at the Thermal Duality Temple.