Sending his clones alongside those groups into the danger-zone had been the best decision he had taken for this mission.

Every single minute, interesting notifications appeared in front of him, one after another, never giving him the chance to feel bored.

[ Clone 13 has slain X1 Serpentine. EXP +7,000 ]

[ Clone 13 has slain X1 Toxic Sand Crawler. EXP +9,500 ]

[ Clone 5 has transferred X5 C-grade monster cores into your inventory ]

[ Clone 8 has transferred X1 EXP orb into your inventory ]

The notifications kept coming without pause, stacking endlessly in front of his vision.

With the rate at which his clone units were handling things, he did not even have to work very hard. In just a short span of time, he had moved from level 86, which he was before the raid, to level 90 currently.

And with each passing second, the experience gained only continued to pile up.

As time went on, however, the frequency of notifications slowly began to decrease.

The monsters encountered by his own group became fewer, and the surrounding environment subtly changed. The ground beneath their feet turned rougher, scattered with jagged stones, while the air grew heavier and colder.

The lively atmosphere created by constant battles gradually faded, replaced by an uneasy silence.

A few hours passed, and after enduring twelve waves in total, the group finally arrived at the cavity of a cave that seemed to lead deep underground.

The cave itself was formed from black rock, its dark surface swallowing the surrounding light and giving off an ominous, oppressive presence.

Light purple fog hovered close to its roof, drifting slowly and giving the cave an even grimmer and more unsettling vibe.

Standing close to its opening, where a strange and distorted sound echoed outward, Clarissa and the others could not help but shiver.

"The boss might be in this cave," Sandra said quietly.

"I am not sure about that," Marlon replied. "Based on the monsters we have faced so far, I do not think we can find the boss so easily."

"I agree with you," Kelvin added.

The others nodded in agreement.

"Regardless, even if the boss is not here, my instinct tells me we might find something dangerous or precious inside."

As he spoke, Marlon turned his back toward the cavity, his gaze sweeping over the group.

"I will not force anyone to follow my instinct. If you do not feel comfortable enough to check it out with me, you can wait outside. I will leave my clones with you, just in case."

They listened carefully and processed his words in silence.

In the end, they all agreed.

They were older than Marlon, and even the least experienced among them had been serving as hunters for more than five years. It felt strange to them that they would appear inferior in courage when compared to someone so much younger.

"Nice," Marlon said, shaking his head lightly.

"Please ensure you are in perfect health and that your aether reserves are fully replenished before we step inside," he warned.

As a result, they waited for twenty minutes, allowing those who had exhausted their aether points to recover using aether crystals. Only Sandra carried mid-grade aether potions with her, so she was the first to fully recover.

After everyone was done, they stepped into the cave, with one of Marlon's clones leading the path for obvious reasons.

===

The stench of the cave was beyond what one could manage, forcing every one of them to wear their masks over their noses.

The interior of the cave was dark, and it had a jagged staircase that led underground.

Kelvin lit up several fireballs and manipulated them with aether, causing them to float gently in front of the group and illuminate their path as they gradually descended.

Marlon kept his clones ahead while he stayed behind, repeatedly using his danger sense to scan the surroundings.

As the leader of the group, he felt responsible for their survival, hence he exercised absolute caution.

The staircase led them even deeper beneath the surface. As they descended further, the steps became increasingly jagged and dangerous to climb.

A few steps were even missing, forcing them to leap to the next available ones.

Fortunately, with their powers, it was not as dangerous as it would have been for an ordinary person.

After an uncomfortable five minutes passed, they finally arrived at an underground structure.

Opposite of what they expected, the place was rather small, only about as big as a living room.

The walls were made of the same black rock, and strange engravings were etched across its surface.

At the middle of the room, there was a chest box.

The group focused their attention on the strange box, which appeared to be the only item present in the room.

Some of them immediately began to panic, suspecting that it was a trap, while others believed it might be a treasure, just as Marlon had imagined.

Marlon belonged to the former.

"Even though it looks ordinary, I cannot help but feel creeped out every time I look at it," he murmured to himself.

While he was still analyzing the strange box, Caleb summoned the courage to approach it and open it.

Marlon watched keenly, squinting his eyes slightly.

The swordsman arrived in front of the box and squatted before it. After heaving a deep breath, he brought his hands forward and pushed the lid upward.

The others watched with heightened tension as this took place, some of them instinctively grabbing their weapons.

Marlon's observation was sharper than the rest.

He noticed it immediately when a strange reaction occurred from within the box.

His eyes widened at once, and without wasting time, he controlled his nearby clones to act.

As Caleb was on the verge of opening it completely, a sudden red, misty hand snapped out from within the chest and reached toward his neck.

The swordsman had let down his guard and had no time to react.

His eyes widened as panic etched itself across his face.

Nonetheless, just before the red misty hand could touch him, two firm hands grabbed his arm and pulled him back with great force, managing to shove him away before the hand could reach him.

Sandra immediately sprinted toward him and caught him before he collided with the wall.

Everyone turned toward the chest with their guards raised.

Hovering above the treasure chest was a towering misty red being.

It had the appearance of an ancient knight with a massive build.

Two pairs of glowing red eyes scanned the room, observing the humans who had come to disturb its rest.

Marlon did not feel an overwhelming threat from it, which meant it was not much stronger than the C-rank monsters they had faced on their way here.

As he continued analyzing the strange creature, their eyes locked, and he noticed a subtle change in its expression.

Before he could understand what was going through its mind, the misty creature suddenly drifted through the air and blasted straight toward him.

The others followed its sudden movement.

Panic immediately etched itself onto their faces.

Sandra released Caleb and sprinted forward to intercept the attack.

She arrived in front of Marlon and thrust her spear forward.

It was useless.

The strange creature phased through her effortlessly, and before she could even turn to face it, it unleashed a massive surge of energy that sent her crashing into the wall, then continued toward Marlon.

Unlike the others, Marlon remained calm.

He sent one of his clones rushing toward Sandra to prevent her from sustaining serious injuries.

Then, at the perfect moment, he activated Punch of Death.

The hall was instantly enveloped by an ominous presence of death, causing everyone present, including a B-rank powerhouse like Sandra, to shiver uncontrollably.

As for the misty creature, it was already too late.

The attack connected.

Marlon's fist phased through its translucent body.

At first, it believed it was safe. Its body was intangible, and physical attacks should not work on it.

Then the black mist wrapped around Marlon's fist took full effect.

In a single second, the creature's body turned physical.

In the next second, its form rapidly decayed and vanished from existence.

[ You've slain one Boss Tomb Guardian, EXP +16,800 ]

[ You've unlocked one out of the three keys required to unlock the boss tomb ]

"Hm."

As the notification appeared, the chest on the ground lit up with a bright glow.

From within it, a golden key slowly drifted into view and floated silently in midair.

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