Looking at the huge circular symbol.

Gary was bewildered, Milan, being a wizard, had some impression, but due to different specialties, was not entirely sure: "What is this?"

"There was also a symbol on the ceiling of the hall we just passed, but its name was 'Kingdom', while the name of this hall is 'Foundation'.

They are among the top ten essences of the 'Inverted Tree' or 'Life Tree', more accurately, these are the two at the lowest level, the Tenth Essence and the Ninth Essence.

Each hall corresponds to a varying number of paths, representing the twenty-two routes of the 'Inverted Tree'.

If I'm not mistaken, the layout of this underground ruin should resemble the 'Inverted Tree', at least there are eight more halls deeper inside."

Aiven gazed thoughtfully at the passage at the end of the circular hall leading to the deeper areas. The scale of these ruins might be far greater than he initially imagined; wasn't the entire island excavated?

However, there was one thing Aiven did not mention.

The deeper he ventured into the ruins, the more intense the signals received from his spiritual premonition, as if something within the depths was drawing him.

Yet, looking at the reactions of Milan and Gary, it was apparent neither of them had such premonition.

Is there something unique about himself? The secrets of the ruins have yet to unravel, and Aiven's mind was filled with new mysteries.

Nothing gained.

The three continued forward, passing another stone platform that was not toppled but was equally barren.

Both halls passed peacefully, clearly different from the encounter White Shark Skuk had when leading the pirates to explore. After all, it's been several years since they entered; any changes in the ruins are uncertain.

The next hall might be where even Tier 2 Peak, White Shark Skuk, encountered misfortune, rushing out without even collecting the bodies of his subordinates.

A normal 'Inverted Tree' pattern has twenty-two paths connecting the ten essences, the general structure of this underground ruin is such, and in this 'Foundation' hall, the number of exits suddenly increased to four.

Leading respectively to the Tenth Essence 'Kingdom', Eighth Essence 'Radiance', Sixth Essence 'Beauty', Seventh Essence 'Victory'.

Daring not to stray, the group decided to follow the normal path leading to the next Eighth Essence hall, with that door also wide open!

This made Aiven suspect whether Skuk received other guidance apart from the Bronze Key during their exploration of the ruins.

Slowly advancing down the straight corridor, the three proceeded cautiously.

The consecutive uneventful halls not only did not relax their spirits but tightened them even further. Unknown enemies, methods of attack, locations, and times, all uncertainties forbidding them from any lapse in vigilance.

Though not to the point of being alarmed at every sound and movement, they remained highly attentive to every stir here.

As they progressed, besides the occasionally appearing corpses of pirates, the monotonous rocky walls finally showed changes.

Cracks!

Like fissures formed from earthquakes, resembling giant centipedes on the fractured wall.

And behind that unexpected crack.

"Are those... root tendrils?"

"Impossible! Even if the wall has a crack, what kind of plant roots can penetrate an unknown thickness of rock and grow here? Furthermore, growing so extensively?"

Milan couldn't help but exclaim in astonishment.

Yet those crisscrossed thick tendrils resembling climbing vines on the wall cannot be faked. Just like the wall, they had a cold, iron-like color, sprawling throughout the corridor, initially leading them to believe it was a carved-out bas-relief on the rock wall.

Clang—

Without hesitation, sensing possible anomaly, Aiven directly drew his sword and sliced off a section. Although these tendrils were tough, they were far from capable of withstanding a strike from the Official Knight.

A piece of the tendril hit the ground with the sound like stone clashing, its cut smooth without a trace of tree sap as if it had petrified a long time ago, synonymous with silified wood and devoid of any extraordinary spiritual light feedback upon spiritual vision.

"No problem, let's keep moving."

The light of the 'Lighting Technique' gradually faded along with their footsteps.

Yet, the newly darkened corridor emitted rustling noises as if thousands of venomous snakes were gently writhing.

...

In the latter half of the corridor, more cracks appeared on the stone walls, similarly filled with those cold tendrils.

Drip... drip...

"There seems to be a water sound ahead?"

The appearance of new dynamics prompted the three to quicken their pace.

The stone gates of the hall being predictably open, this time, light from the 'Lighting Technique' was not needed, the blue treasure pearl atop the central stone platform cast bright radiance, illuminating the whole underground space into a sapphire hue.

Under its illumination, the ceiling confirmed Aiven's previous guess of the 'Radiance' Essence.

Gary lifted a foot intending to enter the hall, but was simultaneously stopped by Aiven and Milan.

"Don't go in!"

"It's dangerous!"

The two wizards exchanged a glance; the expedition had finally turned from a peaceful 'outing'. They noticed simultaneously the peculiarity of the blue treasure pearl in the center.

Only because, in their spiritual vision, the naked, extravagant black extraordinary spiritual light emanating from the pearl openly warned later arrivals, not to approach! Not to touch!

"This thing seems to perpetually emanate some kind of strange curse?!"

Utilizing his proficiency in warning and detection, Milan closed his eyes for careful sensing and reached this conclusion.

"Just brief exposure to this blue light might be harmless, but directly touching the pearl could trigger a dreadful curse immediately!"

"Hmm, and have you noticed, the stone platform beneath the pearl is identical to those in the previous two halls.

Skuk, as a pure knight, lacked the spiritual vision of a wizard. Could it be that he directly entered there seeking to take the seemingly precious pearl à la the previous encounters?"

Aiven suddenly linked it to something, and he and Milan simultaneously voiced: "Mutated Curse!!!"

It's said 'White Shark Skuk' years ago suffered a vicious curse; aside from losing the ability to sleep, his appearance gradually shifted toward that of a real shark, indirectly bestowing the brutal and bloodthirsty name 'White Shark.'

"Could it be years ago 'White Shark Skuk' was cursed here? Could that pearl be the source of the curse?

Indeed, although the pirate casualties were significant, it was far from crippling given the Shark Tooth Pirate Gang's size, fully capable of further exploration.

It must be due to a problem with Skuk himself that the expedition couldn't proceed!"

Inexplicably, besides linking Skuk's curse, Aiven thought of the 'Ocean Treasure: Misty Silver Lamp' in his possession from the Shark Tooth Pirate Gang, wondering if it had resided on a stone platform in one of the previous halls.

"Then what shall we... huh? What's that sound?"

Simultaneously turning towards the direction they came from.

The rustling sounds of the dark grew louder, like countless snakes writhing and hissing, yet the incoming wind indicates no peculiar odor.

On high alert.

Back against the stone wall, the three simultaneously raised their shining longswords.

"Here it comes!"

Soon, tendrils and vines wriggled like serpentine hordes, surging toward them as though the entire corridor came alive!

Not only was there no peculiar odor, but in their spiritual vision, traces of extraordinary spiritual light were absent, as were any signs of life.

These were supposed to have turned entirely to stone as silified wood!

"Those tendrils from before?! How could this be? Tendrils that have turned to stone coming back to life?"

The sight shook Gary's worldview the strongest, nearly shattering previous understandings, tossing them to the ground and stomping them. Even after encounters with sea monsters and battling obscure extraordinaries, such things surpassing human common sense were still startling.

"A supernatural plant possessing some form of life force and high concealment?"

In the conversation, the writhing tendrils drew closer to the trio, with Aiven, the strongest among them, taking the lead. His longsword transformed into a resplendent curtain of light, defending all angles at the front.

Clang! Clang! Clang!....

Sparks scattered as the fierce, stormy clangs of metal on stone echoed throughout the underground space!

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