Chương 749: Daffodil, Oculus Queen. New Dungeon: [Oculus Maze]

New Dungeon: [Oculus Maze] Liu Shu was genuinely shocked by Aionthra's power. She had observed the whole process of the <Dungeon>, and she knew that this group of explorers had not even passed the "Initial Phase" of her instance. After all, the initial phase consisted of defending the Level 50 World Tree while collecting all four Core materials to build the four defensive turrets. Only when that was completed would it be considered completed.

Of course, there was an option to complete the instance without building the defensive towers, but that was part of the extra difficulty completion tasks. Yet the group of well-organized challengers was unable to defeat the watered-down version of Aionthra, built to acclimate them before facing the real deal.

'But…' Liu Shu saw the message from killing the Level 175 Mini BOSS, and she was quite startled.

"High risk, high reward. The rewards for that Mini BOSS were comparable to those Edharen got from killing Ekaruun." Thinking of Ekaruun, that earth dragon had yet to be defeated after gaining his name. It was not that he was invincible, but that his regeneration, coupled with his defense, made him too sturdy. On average, a group of 40 would need around 40 to 60 minutes to defeat him. During this time, Ekaruun's ability to cause damage was too high.

After all, due to his mountain-sized body, all of the dragon's attacks were area-of-effect. Even his basic claw strike would create a damaging shockwave. Ekaruun's raid could be said to be like that of the Echo Crystal Tiger. He was a massively thick <Stat> block that you needed to strike down slowly while being attacked by "simple," area-of-effect skills. The difference between Ekaruun and the Echo Crystal Tiger was that the thickness of the former surpassed that of the latter, even as a Level 149 BOSS Monster.

Aionthra spoke up, snapping Liu Shu out of her daze.

"Mother, do you think I should've let them escape?" Liu Shu asked back, thoughtful.

"Why do you say so?" Aionthra spoke while caressing one of Liu Shu's roots with her finger.

"They were quite capable. In the end, if half of them had not slightly given up by the end of the raid, they might've been able to kill the Special Monster. Although… they would've died nonetheless." Liu Shu blinked, confused.

"How so?" Aionthra clarified.

"Even after dying, the negative effects don't just disappear. They need to cleanse everything. So, the Damage-over-time skills on them would've killed them either way."

"..." Liu Shu looked at her daughter, stunned.

"They don't disappear?" Aionthra answered.

"Otherwise, the debuff would not have been corrected to infinite. They must be cleansed, or they will stay with the challengers, even if they leave the <Dungeon>."

"Branches above… that's quite brutal." After muttering so, Liu Shu smiled.

"Don't worry, love. The mechanics of your wing, when I was designing it, were for super geniuses. In truth, the grand majority of people will only be able to conquer up to the Sixth Wing, where the Level 180 Mythical Tier BOSS is. You and Vorathen, as World Tier BOSS monsters, were meant for those with a different set of skills. Your dungeon wing is one of self-improvement. In Vorathen's case, it is one of leadership." Aionthra chuckled.

"It's quite a coincidence that the BOSS monster and the planet in Mother's solar system are named the same." Liu Shu smiled as well.

"It really is." Then, she patted Aionthra's head and finalized the small discussion.

"In short, don't worry. Your wing is not like Ekaruun's, which is an open world for all, with him as the final prize. You are supposed to be a barrier. So, all who enter and are not qualified have just overestimated themselves, forfeiting their lives." Liu Shu and the Explorer Association had made it incredibly clear that the final two wings of the <Eternal Trial Domain> were completely off-bounds!

Only those with enough talent to defeat the Sixth Wing before Level 150 could challenge these two after reaching Level 190. That was the most basic pre-achievement Liu Shu and Arven, the Explorer Association Guild Leader, decided to set before someone was qualified to challenge Vorathen's or Aionthra's wings. Of course, Arven did not know what was inside these two wings. The boundary was set after Liu Shu carefully and subconsciously guided him to make that decision.

Meanwhile, in the room where the higher-ups of Ceperet's higher-ups gathered, Arven brought forward a report.

"The group <Red Howl Company> has entered the Eighth Wing of the <Eternal Trial Domain> today at 11: 32 AM. We followed them closely through their pendants. Their life signals stayed strong, sometimes varying, for around six <Dungeon> days. On the Sixth Day, they encountered something twice. The first hurdle they managed to overcome. The second killed all of them at the same time. The time of death is basically identical." Flor and the others were quite startled. They couldn't help but feel a bit apprehensive.

"This <Eternal Trial Domain> is quite a difficult <Dungeon>, isn't it? Even compared to the <Blood Curdling Cave> and <Rumbling Earth Domain>, the death rate is incredibly high." Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Arven agreed, but he added.

"While it is true, it is also true that the rewards are generous. Most of the A and S Tier materials come from it, the second source being the Rumbling Earth Domain and the third the Blood Curdling Cave." Ignatia asked, curious.

"From what I heard, the last three levels of the Blood Curdling Cave are quite difficult. What's up with them?" Arven showed a touch of annoyance on his usual calm face.

"The problem is the last BOSS monster. While the first six levels can be extermination-type levels, the last three are incredibly annoying. The BOSS monster at the end has precognition. And this precognition is not vague but one that shows a clear future. So, while the <Oracle Terragore Queen>'s Tier is Legendary, a tier lower than Ekaruun, the Mythical Dragon, the difficulty is basically the same. There is always, at the very least, one death." Liu Shu, who had been overhearing, blinked a few times.

'... It has been a while since I checked on her, hasn't it?' She had visited her a long time ago, after the dungeon had been upgraded with the <Atemporal> quality. Their exchange back then was brief and uneventful, so she completely forgot about that Terragore Queen. Curious, she dove into that <Dungeon>. It was a Level 100~149 <Dungeon>, so usually, she would be unable to enter. However, she was the user of the <Dungeon System>. Therefore, such limitations did not exist.

Once she entered, her roots extended through the underground world and reached the zone of the <Oracle Terragore Queen>. The Oracle Queen was not much different from a normal <Terragore>. A bipedal, furry creature with two long, clawed arms and small eyes. Her mouth was filled with terrifyingly sharp teeth, while her white fur was adorned by red-colored eye patterns. When her roots poked into the room, the Oracle Queen showed a touch of surprise.

"Hm…? I couldn't sense your arrival…" Liu Shu was not surprised. Her title, <Eternal Being>, had changed her into a being beyond the reach of casualty. Therefore, she was impossible to peer into by any type of destiny-type skill.

"Hello! Hello! How are you doing, Terragore Queen?" While confused, this Terragore Queen's intelligence was on par, and even a touch above, that of average humans. So, she quickly reigned in her surprise and smiled at Liu Shu.

"It is interesting. So many different challengers, so many creatures. I even see the same beings from time to time return to conquer my <Dungeon>." Usually, <Legendary Tier> monsters did not have the ability to know or retain much of their memory after each <Reset>. However, as an <Oracle> type BOSS monster, she was quite special. Liu Shu pondered and asked, curious.

"Do you want a name? I can make you stronger with it." While Liu Shu was not someone who wanted to screw over her people, thinking about long-term sustainability, making her <Dungeon> monsters stronger would increase rewards and sharpen future powerhouses. So, being a famous BOSS monster in her domain, giving this Queen a name was something that would end up as a positive in the long run. The Oracle Terragore Queen had not expected such a good deal, so she asked, excited.

"Really? You would give this one a name?" Having heard the words of the challengers, she understood a bit that there were other <Dungeons> with stronger monsters than her. Therefore, she didn't consider herself too important. She was, in her opinion, a little monster that lived calmly in her cave. Something she quite liked. Liu Shu saw her excitement and laughed gently.

"Yes. Let's call you… Daffodil Oculus." The Oracle Terragore Queen, now Daffodil, smiled, showing her terrifying, sharp teeth.

"Thank you, Master." [Dungeon System: <Oracle Terragore Queen (Legendary)> has been named!] [Dungeon System: Threshold crossed! Special mutation appearing.] [Dungeon System: Potential of <Oracle Terragore Queen (Legendary)> has been consumed and realized through the gain of a <True Name>.] Liu Shu saw complex, Destiny-type essence swirling around Daffodil, and then this energy drilled into the eye markings on her body.

This energy sank into the fur, and then it opened a horizontal wound in each spot where the previous eye-markings were. A moment later, these horizontal slits burst open, revealing a total of 11 new eyes. Liu Shu was stunned. [Dungeon System: Congratulations! <BOSS Monster: Oracle Terragore Queen (Legendary)>, has evolved into <BOSS Monster: Oculus Terragore Destiny Queen (Mythical)>.] [You've gained a <Mythical Ticket>.] The new 11 eyes, along with the two original ones, moved together and looked at Liu Shu.

Our World Tree felt a slight chill.

'She is a bit scary now…'

"Daffodil thanks Tianlian Liu Shu. Also, since my strength increased, may I ask Master to modify my <Dungeon> a bit? I feel that with my new strength, a new, more complex <Dungeon> can be easily constructed." Liu Shu's roots nodded, somewhat dazed.

"O-Of course… Let me do that." So, the <Blood Curdling Cave> closed. This even surprised people, but they didn't become too excited. While it was a very important farming spot, there were others that could fill in the void it left behind. Liu Shu pondered how to modify it, and soon, she got an idea.

"The <Terragore King> and <Terragore Queen> can be placed together now. Their strength is high, but not too high. So, acting as a double BOSS room is good." So, for the first five floors, Liu Shu didn't change many things. The only thing was moving the <BOSS Room> on the third and sixth floors, and merging them in the fifth.

"During this time, I should place around a few treasure chests with anti-destiny reading treasures. She was already quite fearsome while being a <Legendary Tier> monster. Now that she has reached the <Mythical Tier>, she might erase all who dare reach her challenge area." Then, for the last four floors, Liu Shu created a zone with several destiny-related challenges that would test the <Diver>'s ability to cope with precognition abilities.

They would all have a bit of a taste for what was about to come on the last floor, where Daffodil would have absolute freedom of movement in a mirror-like maze.

"Perfect! I hope people don't get too startled~. Hehe." Daffodil: "I can see the future… They got startled." So, a few years later, a new <Oculus Maze> dungeon appeared where the previous <Blood Curdling Cave> was. The result? People's expenditure of <Dungeon Escape> scrolls skyrocketed, while some people got so traumatized by the experience that they stopped <Dungeon Diving> for a few months to recover their mental strength.