Dungeon King: The Hidden Ruler
Chapter 67: [The Heir of Thornspine 1] Through the Heartroot Gate

Chapter 67: [The Heir of Thornspine 1] Through the Heartroot Gate

As Raven approached the glowing portal deep in the southern fringe of the Gilded Thorns, the world around him began to warp. The towering trees bent unnaturally, their trunks twisted as if recoiling from whatever ancient power lay beyond the threshold. The portal itself—a massive, swirling gate of green and gold light—flickered like a heartbeat, pulsing with the rhythm of something vast and alive waiting inside.

Crossing the threshold, the world snapped.

The forest faded into shadow, replaced by a sprawling, dark manor devoured by rampant vines. The air thickened immediately, saturated with the heavy scent of rot and blooming poison. The Thornspine Estate revealed itself: a once-majestic home swallowed by nature’s merciless hand. Stone walls cracked and wept sap; corridors were choked by clawing roots.

His UI flickered online with a soft chime, displaying new quest logs and dungeon data.

Ahead, half-merged into a massive, dying tree, a figure awaited.

An NPC—a woman—stood tethered to the oak by gnarled vines, both cradle and cage. Elven in feature, her skin bore the texture of aged bark, her hair the hue of pale moss. Her green-lit eyes burned with desperate strength despite her withered form.

She looked like an Elven noble—dignified and serene—but she appeared weary.

Above her hovered the unmistakable quest marker and her name:

Eldryn Marrowleaf.

Raven slowed his approach. The Thornspine Estate was silent except for the groaning of shifting roots. No guards, no noise—just the garden’s slow breathing.

Eldryn’s voice broke the stillness, soft and brittle as autumn leaves.

"You are not one of them... are you?" Her gaze searched him, wary and piercing.

"Depends who ’them’ is," Raven replied.

"The garden... it has lost its mind. Twisted. Consuming. You must help me silence it, before its song poisons all of the Fold," Eldryn said.

"Place looks like it skipped a few pruning sessions," he said, casually.

"Once, I tended these halls. Once, they sang with life, with promise," she murmured. "I am Eldryn Marrowleaf, daughter of the master who ruled this estate. When he tampered with the blood of the wild... it turned against him—and against all who breathe."

"So, bad science project went wild. Got it."

Eldryn reached out, her fingers brushing the gnarled wood at her side. It pulsed faintly beneath her touch, making her wince.

"The heart still beats deep within. But its strength... it is not its own. It feeds through Resonance Nodes hidden across the estate. If they are not silenced, the Matriarch will rise with all her might."

"And that’s where I come in," Raven said, his tone dry.

"Destroy the Resonance Cores. Break the garden’s song. Only then can you hope to sever the heart," Eldryn said.

Raven folded his arms, tilting his head with a small grin. "Sounds like a full-time landscaping job. Fine. Let’s get it over with."

A pulse echoed in his ears as the system triggered the mission prompt.

[Accept Dungeon Quest: Thornspine Estate — Sever the Corrupted Heart (0/1)]

[Optional: Silence Resonance Nodes (0/3)]

He tapped Yes without hesitation.

The vines around Eldryn shuddered—and deep within the manor’s blackened halls, something immense stirred awake.

Ahead, a towering archway of twisted thorns and deadwood began to writhe open, revealing a narrow, mist-choked passage deeper into the estate. Dark mist poured from between the vines, and faint whispers echoed in the heavy air.

Raven stepped forward.

As he crossed the threshold, the thorns behind him snapped shut with a sharp, echoing crack. A new system prompt flashed across his vision:

[Dungeon Instance Locked.]

[Exit Impossible Until Objective Complete or Mission Abandoned.]

The garden’s breath thickened, as if the manor itself exhaled to welcome its prey.

Raven paused before moving deeper.

In a swift motion, he accessed his equipment menu, swapping out his plain, beginner summoner armor for his true battle attire. Shadows rippled across him as the change completed—his black armor materialized, lean and grim, with a tattered cloak fluttering from his shoulders like a fragment of darkness itself.

His Dominion Chain slithered into view, wrapping around both his arms with a soft clink, the dagger-like tips swaying like angry cobras ready to strike. The steel shimmered faintly, alive with suppressed hunger.

He flexed his fingers once, feeling the weight of the chain-turned-blades ready in his grasp. A predator now walked where a wanderer had stood.

Raven thought for a moment.

The dungeon team limit: five, including himself.

Duskrunner Alpha. Phantom Seer. Ironbark Seneschal. Root-Soul Ascendant.

And Emberforge Titan.

He needed to plan carefully. Thornspine was a dungeon of creeping damage, of death by a thousand poisons. Endurance, speed, adaptability—they mattered more than brute strength.

"Titan’s the trump card," Raven muttered to himself, tapping the summon interface.

One by one, he summoned them.

Duskrunner materialized in a ripple of shadows, snarling low and steady.

The Phantom Seer’s shifting figure faded into the mist like a half-formed thought.

Ironbark Seneschal emerged with the groaning sound of ancient wood, heavy roots curling at his feet.

Root-Soul Ascendant appeared last—a silhouette of bark and blooming vines, her sentinel presence grounding the garden’s wildness with an opposing will. The previous form, arms layered over arms, bark peeled into blade-like spirals, roots coiling through its ribs like vines growing through a corpse. From the hollow socket where a face should be, jagged teeth churned without lips, wet and blind.

But now the form changed, half woman - half root, with her body shaped as a bark.

The team was formed.

Time to hunt through the thorn-choked nightmare ahead.

Root-Soul Ascendant’s gaze snapped sharply toward Ironbark Seneschal, vines curling tighter around her arms.

"Fight alongside a traitor?" she spat, voice like snapping branches. "I should strangle you with your own roots."

A tense silence followed, Duskrunner growling low, the Phantom Seer shifting subtly in the mist.

Ironbark Seneschal remained calm, his voice a steady rumble. "I still respect the will of the Root-Soul. I always have."

He placed a gnarled hand against his chest. "Now, we serve the same sovereign. My shield is yours too... even if your thorns still seek my heart."

Root-Soul Ascendant narrowed her eyes, but said nothing more, the living vines around her bristling in silent defiance.

Raven barely responded, his mind already ticking through the strategies ahead. "Sort it out," he said quietly, eyes scanning the mist-choked corridors. "We move."

He turned without waiting, signaling the advance into Thornspine Estate.

The team advanced, stepping into the oppressive darkness of the ruined hunting grounds. The Deathsong hummed faintly from deep within the estate—a terrible, layered composition of three voices singing at once. A thin, high-pitched wail pierced the air like a child’s cry stretched beyond nature. Beneath it, a low, guttural drone vibrated through the stone and into their bones, more felt than heard. Threading between them, a chorus of discordant whispers—broken, fragmented speech in a forgotten tongue—gnawed at the edges of thought. Together, the three choirs formed an unholy symphony—a death song that seemed to beckon the intruders forward, inviting them deeper into the corrupted heart of Thornspine. The walls oozed black sap, and the shattered remains of old hunting lodges leaned crookedly against each other, half-swallowed by vines.

Raven led the way, his chain loose around his arms, ready to move. The Dominion Chain could lash out in three forms—as a grappling hook, as twin daggers gripped in hand, or as a swirling whip hurled at range.

They moved cautiously, the only sound their boots pressing into rotted moss and the endless murmur of the Deathsong.

Ahead, movement—shadows against the green bioluminescence.

[Enemy Detected]

Thorned Stalker ×2

[Type: Melee Beast]

[Ability: Rapid Leap Attacks | Applies Bleed]

Sporeweaver Blossom ×2

[Type: Ranged Poison Caster]

[Ability: Poison Spit AoE | Creates Lingering Poison Clouds]

Heartvine Caller (Elite) ×1

[Type: Support / Healer]

[Ability: Poison Damage Amplification | Healing Pulse]

Raven raised a hand to signal stop. Duskrunner shifted low, ready to strike. The Phantom Seer blurred at the edges, preparing a field of false images.

"Illusions first," Raven ordered quietly. "Stalkers are bait. Caller first priority."

The Phantom Seer unleashed a surge of ghostly mirages, confusing the Thorned Stalkers and causing them to split apart. Raven narrowed his eyes and pointed—target the Heartvine Caller, its form unmistakable among the mob.

"Duskrunner, take left flank. Root-Soul, pin the Blossoms. Seneschal, stun when they bunch."

Commands issued, Raven surged forward.

The first true clash began in a storm of thorns, shadow, and poisoned breath.

Duskrunner shot forward first, a black streak against the green mist. He Shadow Shifted mid-sprint, reappearing behind the Heartvine Caller in an instant. Claws gleamed, ripping into bark and exposed roots, forcing the elite to stumble.

Phantom Seer’s illusions flooded the field, drawing the Thorned Stalkers’ frenzied attention. Their slashing strikes passed through ghostly images, leaving them exposed and confused.

"Root it down!" Raven barked.

Root-Soul Ascendant slammed her palms to the ground. Thick vines erupted, capturing the Sporeweaver Blossoms before they could spew their full poison clouds. Her summoned Caster Sentinel unleashed a barrage of root-chains, further binding them in place.

Ironbark Seneschal responded with precision—his Root Trial Lattice surged up, stunning the now-clustered Stalkers and Blossoms for five solid seconds.

Raven slipped between shadows, the Dominion Chain flicking from his arms. He grabbed one Blossom, yanking it out of formation, the chain’s twin daggers snapping out like cobras. With a swirl, he hurled the other dagger forward, piercing the second Blossom through its core.

A burst of toxic spores exploded from the dead Blossom, but Raven had already repositioned, using his chain as a grappling hook to swing onto a fallen statue out of range.

"Duskrunner, finish it!" Raven called.

With a howl, Duskrunner unleashed Alpha’s Wrath—his attacks now a blur. He tore into the staggering Heartvine Caller, each strike faster and heavier.

Phantom Seer layered a Mind Shatter on the Heartvine at the critical moment, delaying its poison amplification chant.

Raven landed behind the Heartvine, twin daggers in hand, and plunged them into the Heartvine’s core just as Duskrunner delivered the finishing bite.

The elite crumpled, collapsing into a mass of rotted vines and fading green light.

The remaining Thorned Stalkers, disoriented by illusions and stunned by Ironbark’s control, fell quickly under coordinated assault—Duskrunner flanking, Root-Soul Ascendant trapping, Raven striking from the shadows.

Moments later, silence fell over the shattered courtyard, broken only by the faint, maddening Deathsong lingering in the heavy air.

Ahead, a massive set of doors loomed—thick wood wrapped in living thorns.

Raven lowered his blades, the faint mist of adrenaline still humming in his blood.

"First gate," he muttered. "Get ready."

The team advanced toward the door—and toward the first true challenge waiting beyond.