I Hate Systems

Kuvert Dungeon was located around 100 kilometres away from Mohart Dungeon, so after an hour of sprinting, ten Haggons arrived at the place.

As for Compass Carburettor and Duchess, they had returned to their human forms, being carried by Hekatra. After all, they weren't as fast as the Haggons in running.

The Grogar wasn't a species like the Haggons that were able to run nonstop. After all, they had super long necks that weighed a lot, hindering them from running for long durations at a stretch. And Compass Carburettor had yet to familiarise himself with his Haggon form.

So, Hekatra decided to simply carry them. It was faster this way.

Unlike Mohart Dungeon that was situated in the centre of a massive city, Kuvert Dungeon was located within a fortress that resembled a massive cage. And, the cage resembled a mountain in size, causing Compass Carburettor to gawk while staring at it in shock.

"This is…manmade?"

"Yes," Hekatra nodded, "The structure was created over a span of three centuries by our Great Empire four millennia ago. It was to prevent the Dungeon Monsters from exiting the Dungeon. After all, the Zekken that lives here is too dangerous than a Haggon as it can fly."

Zekken, they were the Dungeon Monsters living in the Kuvert Dungeon. Hekatra then explained details about them further, shocking Compass Carburettor and Duchess. After all, if based on value alone, the Zekken was by far the most valuable Dungeon Monster.

It had a hollow serpentine body, ranging anywhere from five to twenty metres in length. It didn't have a mouth like regular monsters but had an elongated suction pod similar to an anteater. They lived by sucking the pulp of their victims.

Personal battle strength wise, they were by far the weakest of all Level 5 Dungeon Monsters. But, that wasn't important. After all, if left in the open, every Zekken was capable of obliterating cities, worse than even a Haggon was capable of.

And this was also the reason they were the most valued among all Dungeon Monsters.

"After all, they are the birth of the Warrior and Puppeteer paths." Hekatra said, sighing, "The Zekkens don't have any wings that allow them to fly. In contrast, they have tiny appendages all over their body. And these appendages are…"

She paused, taking in a deep breath before speaking, "Armaments, all of them. They are natural Armaments. When the Zekken wishes to fly, it condenses energy blades through the appendages, taking flight. And when a creature attacks it, it defends itself using these energy blades. And as it has a hollow body, it can remain in flight for considerably long durations, remaining at an altitude that we can't reach."

"That's not all," She shook her head, "They have no bones in their body, only tough cartilages. Due to that, they can twist and turn as they please in the air, using the hundreds of appendages on their body to their advantage. So, we can't kill them easily."

"And, this is where they turn troublesome." She said, motioning for them to hide behind her as everyone returned to human forms, "While flying in the air, they compress their excreta to the limit, turning them into egg-shaped structures before dropping them to the ground. And upon landing, the eggshell cracks before a snake slithers out."

"This snake is a Puppet," Hekatra pointed at a couple of snakes slithering on the ground nearby, "Each snake is one metre long and can unleash a sword-shaped energy blade from its mouth that reaches two metres in length. They roam around in clusters to kill their prey before the Zekken swipes down from the air to gobble up the corpses. They only try to eat the corpses."

"That's troublesome." Compass Carburettor nodded, watching more than ten snake Puppets slamming attacks onto a part of the cage, all to no avail. "Why are they unable to break the cage?"

He understood why the Great Megwest Empire had spent a tremendous amount of resources to build a mountain-sized cage around the Kuvert Dungeon. It was to prevent the Zekkens from roaming the world.

After all, with their powers, they would remain high up in the air and constantly attack the cities without rest, killing people until everyone was eventually annihilated. And, even if the Puppeteers used Puppets that allow them to take flight, their aerial manoeuvrability was shit as compared to the Zekkens that freely danced around in the air, able to attack from any direction.

"The material used to make this cage has a self-healing property as long as it has enough water supply." Hekatra smirked in pride, "And that is the reason this cage remains unbroken despite a century of no maintenance."

"But, where is the entrance?" Duchess had been looking around all along while listening to Hekatra but was still unable to find any opening through which they could enter. And, the holes in the cage were too small for even their human bodies to crawl through.

So, she was unable to understand just how they had managed to enter the Kuvert Dungeon before.

"That's because there's no entrance on the ground level." Hekatra smiled, beckoning for their attention with a show of hands, "Follow me."

She then brought them over to a massive lake that was present nearby, saying, "This is an artificial lake we created just for this. It gets water supply from an underground channel that's connected to the ocean."

"And, the entrance lies inside," She smiled, gazing at one of the men before nodding.

He was a man seemingly in his thirties. His actual age was beyond a century. As a Haggon had a long lifespan, he was still young in that respect.

Upon a nod of approval from Hekatra, he stood at the border to the lake, condensing a tunnel using his energy blade. There were steps inside, allowing for travel. And thanks to the glow from the energy blade itself, it was well lit within.

"There is an entrance positioned at a depth of 200 metres. It's the sole entrance into the cage. The Zekken's body is like a sponge, causing them to expand in size upon coming into contact with water, causing them to soon die as a result. So, they would never approach a waterbody except to quench their thirst." Hekatra spoke.

"When our Great Empire was still functioning, we had a massive Armament placed here that would construct the tunnel whenever necessary. This way, we'll directly enter the cage without having to go through the water."

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Author's note: December month's mass release quota:

Golden Ticket: 1 bonus chappie for every 12 GT

Magic Castle: 2 extra bonus chappies for every Magic Castle

Spacecraft: 5 extra bonus chappies for every Spacecraft

Read 8 chappies in advance in Privilege

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