Catgirls And Dungeons-Chapter 174: Guildmaster’s past

If our theory about artifact resonance is right, then the dungeon near Mistvale may not be as unfamiliar as it seems..

There’s a high chance it will be similar to the one in Schwarzfels. After all, they could be two pieces of a larger world that was shattered.

And if that’s true...

Understanding what lies in Schwarzfels could help us predict what this new dungeon will be like.

It’s that simple.

But now, as Eris sits across from Guildmaster Karlogen, asking him about the S-rank dungeon in Schwarzfels, I notice a change in his expression.

He stiffens.

His fingers curl slightly around his teacup. The flicker in his eyes isn’t surprise—it’s pain. Deep, familiar pain. The kind carved into someone’s soul over years of silence.

Eris’s breath catches.

"Oh no..." she murmurs, her voice barely above a whisper. "Is that where your three siblings..."

Karlogen’s gaze drops to the steam curling from his tea.

"Yes," he says, his voice heavy, each word a stone laid upon a grave. "We were so young back then... If only we hadn’t let greed blind us..."

The words hang in the air, and my heart clenches.

Oh no...

In that moment, it dawns on me, sharp and cold. That dungeon—the S rank dungeon in Schwarzfels—stole his beloved family members from him.

"I’m so sorry..." Eris whispers, her eyes soft with empathy.

Karlogen exhales, a slow, shuddering breath. "It’s alright," he says, though his voice trembles at the edges. "It’s been many years now... But to think..." He pauses, his gaze distant, as if seeing that cursed place again. "To think that damned dungeon would find me again like this... How cruelly ironic."

A heavy silence blankets the room. The faint clink of the teacup against its saucer feels deafening. Karlogen’s hands still, and for a moment, he is somewhere else—lost in the ache of memory. We give him space to grieve, the weight of his loss filling the quiet.

Then, slowly, he stirs. "Anyway," he says, his voice steadier now, though still rough. "You want to know what lies in that dungeon, don’t you?"

Eris nods, her expression gentle. "Yes, if you’re able to tell us," she says. "But if it’s too much, we understand."

"Nah, it’s alright," Karlogen replies, a faint spark of resolve in his eyes.

He reaches for the teapot, its porcelain glinting faintly in the dim light. The soft gurgle of tea fills the silence as he pours another cup. He lifts it to his lips, takes a slow sip, and sets it down with care. Then, with a deep breath, he begins to speak, his voice low and measured, carrying the weight of years, the weight of all the pain inside his heart. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

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"Fifty years ago... I can still remember...

"When that dungeon first appeared in Schwarzfels, the air thrummed with excitement. The hype, the fervor—it was so much like today. People poured into the desert from every corner of the world, drawn by whispers of glory, all desperate for a chance to explore it, to conquer it.

"And we... we were no different.

"At that time, I was just fifteen...

"My eldest brother, Kerth, was twenty-three, strong and handsome, the one we all looked to. Carmien, my second brother, was twenty, always quick with a laugh. And Kailene, our sister, eighteen, so beautiful, she had a fire in her that could light up the darkest days.

"We hadn’t joined any guild back then. We were mercenaries, nothing more—scraping by on odd quests from adventurer guilds, renting out our swords for barely enough to keep food on the table. Kerth, though... he’d just married. His child was born that spring, a tiny thing with his eyes. He needed coin, more than we could scrape together.

"And thus... the Schwarzfels dungeon... it was our chance. A way to rewrite our lives.

"So we set out, leaving everything behind...

"And after a month’s journey from Faunae to Terra, across plains and rivers, through nights so cold we huddled together for warmth.... eventually... we finally arrived.

"Ah... I still remember that day like it was yesterday.

"It was a desert of black sand and jagged rock, stretching endless under a merciless sun. And there, rising from a dune, was the vortex gate, the dungeon entrance. Its light flared so bright it rivaled the sun itself, pulsing, alive, like a star torn from the heavens. Thousands gathered around it—adventurers, merchants, guilds from both worlds. Their flags snapped in the wind, a riot of colors against the bleak sands. Voices overlapped, shouts and laughter, the hum of anticipation...

"People bustled everywhere.

"At that time, the four of us were just C- and D-rank adventurers.

"And so, to enter that dungeon, we needed a party with at least three A-rank veterans. So we wandered through the chaos—half a day of asking, searching, weaving through tents and campfires.

Eventually, we found a recruitment tent belonging to a rather prominent guild at the time.

Ah... what was its name, exactly?

That guild with the fancy name...

Oh, right—Harbinger of Stars!"

———————-

"Wait.... Harbinger of Stars?" Eris murmurs, as though that name is stirring some memories inside her. "Why does that sound so familiar?"

"Hmmm... I would be surprised if you don’t know it actually." Karlogen says.

And then—

"Oh shit!" Eris gasps. "Isn’t that one of the ten biggest guilds back then in Eldenwald?"

"Yes," Karlogen nods. "It was at that time. But after that expedition, half the guild was wiped out."

"Oh, no... so that’s why..."

I listen intently, swallowing hard.

"Yeah, they were all killed inside that dungeon..." Karlogen murmurs, his voice barely above a whisper now.

"Anyways..." He stares into his teacup. "The four of us joined their expedition. A party of over two hundred, all of us stepping into the unknown.

"And then, the moment we stepped through the gate... we saw it:

"A lost kingdom, glittering like a dream. Towers that shone like polished gems, catching light we couldn’t trace. Roads paved with gold, smooth as glass, stretching into the haze."