Taog made his way back to the Aelea Drake’s home cave. Now that the battle was over and the adrenaline wore off, he found he was utterly fatigued. The drake’s cave was the safest place for him to set up camp, as the drake would have slain any rival monsters in the area and its scent would linger for a while still.

…ok, Taog would also admit he wanted to check the drake’s home. There were tales of dragon hoards and an Aelea Drake was technically a type of dragon! The Aesdes confirmed it!

Taog narrowed his eyes as he returned to the clearing outside of the cave.

Because even though the drake was gone, Taog could still see small sparks and distortions near the cave, indicating a high mana concentration that was approaching mana storm levels. Taog gripped his remaining sword and slowly approached the cave.

His hair stood up and a chill shot through him from the mana in the air. The cave was lit by the occasional sparks…and there was a flickering source of light deeper in. Taog crept inside, trying to keep to the shadows and pushing all his senses and detection skills to the limit. Yet, he caught no movement beyond the flickering lights, no signs of any life.

And soon, he found out why.

At the end of the cave was a cracked orb, pulsing with light. Lightning and sparks shot from it every time it pulsed. There were several skeletal corpses around the orb. Most were lying on the floor, covered in the remains of tattered robes. One was leaning against the wall, wearing the armor of an Imperial Knight, clutching a book in hand.

Taog frowned. The orb looked very much like a dungeon core…but there was no dungeon, no traps, no monsters. It appeared to be broken and leaking mana, though apparently not enough to open a Rift, thankfully.

Taog crept over to the knight, and gently reached for the book. He wiped away the dust and dirt and opened it up. It appeared to be a journal of some sort, made from mana-paper that resisted the ravages of time. Taog flipped it to the end, hoping the knight recorded what happened here.

“I tracked those goblin-sniffing cultists here. I cut them down like the monsters they are, but it was a trap. They got me, but I took every last one of them down before they did.”

“But it brings me no comfort. They were performing some sort of experiment on a dungeon core. If, Aesdes forbid, they find a way to corrupt the dungeons on command, or worse, to create cores themselves…then all of Aelea is at risk. This one seems to have failed, but is far too close for comfort. “

“My strength fails me, it is hard to even see the words on this page anymore. Please, if anyone finds this, complete my vengeance and destroy the Heralds of the New Dawn, may the Aesdes curse their name. The fate of Aelea depends on it.”

Taog’s eyes narrowed. Of course it would be that stupid cult, again. Apparently they’ve been at this for a long time. The knight had a sword at his side, Taog reached down and picked it up. He turned to face the core and scowled.

“We’ll bring those monsters down, count on it.”

He lifted the knight’s sword and brought it down, shattering the core. The sword glowed faintly with golden and silver light as a burst of mana surged from the core. Taog was knocked to the ground, quickly looking back up and pointing the sword forward. But the remnants of the core just faded away, leaving the air still.

You have purified a pseudo-corrupted dungeon destabilizing the mana of the region!

You have accomplished the feat: World Defender!

You have accomplished the feat: Hero!

Gained the unique hero skill: The Dark Hero

Excellently done, Taog!