10,000x Rebate System: Every Return Makes Me Stronger

---

[Item: ????]

[Grade: ????]

[Actual Value: ????]

---

Amon kept staring into the golden light below without saying a single word.

The more he looked at the hidden structure, the more uncomfortable he became.

The Merchant’s Divine Insight had never failed to identify an item before.

’...This is definitely a trap.’

How could something exist beneath a dungeon while even the System refused to identify it?

Seraphina noticed the strange look on his face and stepped closer to him. "Amon, what happened?"

He tore his eyes away from the abyss and forced his expression back to normal.

"It’s nothing." He looked at the enormous chamber one last time. "I just don’t like this place."

The temptation to investigate was overwhelming.

If that ancient structure contained treasures, they might become rich beyond imagination, but another thought quickly crushed that greed.

’If I’m wrong, Seraphina dies with me.’

Amon clenched his fist before turning around. "We’re leaving this area, and we need to inform the Adventurer Bureau about this."

Seraphina looked surprised, but she didn’t argue.

The two continued walking through the dungeon, leaving the collapsed chamber behind.

The farther they traveled, the stranger the dungeon became.

Entire sections of the frozen walls had already melted into clear streams, and water continuously dripped from the ceiling like monsoon rain.

The cold had almost disappeared, replaced by an uncomfortable humidity rising from beneath the stone.

Even the monsters had become scarce.

After nearly twenty minutes of walking, they finally encountered another group.

Six Iceback Turtles slowly crawled across a flooded chamber, their shells covered in thick layers of blue crystal while icy mist escaped from their nostrils.

"They’re peaceful unless disturbed," Seraphina whispered.

Amon looked at the narrow passage behind them. "And unfortunately, they’re blocking the way."

The turtles noticed them almost immediately.

One of them opened its mouth and fired a slow-moving shard of ice toward Amon.

He stepped aside with ease before smashing his battle axe onto its shell.

The crystal armor cracked instantly.

Seraphina followed with a concentrated Frost Lance that pierced through another turtle’s exposed neck.

Compared to the spider, the battle barely lasted three minutes.

The remaining turtles were sluggish because of the melting environment, making them easy targets.

When the last turtle dissolved into mana, only three shimmering shells remained behind.

Amon collected them without much excitement.

"They’re worth something," he said while storing them away, "but nothing compared to that spider core."

Seraphina smiled faintly. "You’re starting to sound like a merchant."

"Gotta learn how to scam people early." Amon replied with a shrug. "Let’s go."

---

Another hour passed.

They searched every side passage they could find, defeated a handful of weak monsters, and collected a few ordinary materials, but nothing remotely valuable appeared.

Eventually, the two stopped beside a small underground stream to rest.

Seraphina sat on a smooth rock while Amon leaned his battle axe against the wall.

She took a long drink from her water bottle before looking at him. "Can I suggest something?"

Amon looked at her. "Do you also feel the urge to make out here?"

"No. Why here!?" She slapped his legs before replying. "I think we should go back."

He looked at her in confusion. "Back to the hole?"

Seraphina pointed in the direction they had come from. "There was nothing worthwhile out here. If there’s a boss monster in this dungeon, it’s probably hidden inside that area."

Amon frowned before adding, "Or it’s a trap to bring us down there."

Seraphina didn’t disagree. She simply suggested, "Then we won’t go deep inside. We’ll just explore the outer area and leave if anything feels wrong."

Amon remained silent because her argument wasn’t unreasonable.

They had already spent hours searching the ordinary dungeon with almost no results.

The hidden structure was the only truly unusual thing they had discovered.

After thinking for nearly a minute, he finally sighed.

"Fine." He picked up his axe and stood. "But the moment something feels off, we leave immediately."

Seraphina smiled. "Deal."

---

The journey back took almost half an hour.

When they finally reached the collapsed chamber again, the waterfall of melted ice had become even stronger, creating dozens of narrow ridges along the broken walls.

Instead of jumping directly down, the two carefully descended along one of the sloping ice formations.

Amon stayed below while Seraphina followed a few steps behind, occasionally using her staff to stabilize herself whenever the ice became too slippery.

The golden light beneath them gradually grew brighter.

It no longer looked like ordinary mana leaking through the ground. Instead, it resembled sunlight trapped beneath the earth.

As they descended, Amon’s thoughts wandered somewhere else.

There was a question that had been bothering him ever since Felicia’s strange confession about killing her husband.

He glanced toward Seraphina. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Has your mother ever told you much about her childhood?"

Seraphina’s smile became noticeably quieter. "Not really."

She carefully stepped onto another ridge before continuing. "I barely know anyone from either side of my family. My mother never talked about her relatives."

Amon listened without interrupting.

"The only family member I’m close to is my aunt." Seraphina laughed softly. "She’s probably the only normal person among all of them."

"Is your mother’s family like some big shot family?"

"All I know is that they’re high-ranking nobles." She shrugged helplessly. "My mother doesn’t like talking about them."

Amon slowly nodded, but that answered almost nothing.

After another minute of silence, he asked another question. "How good of a businesswoman is your mother?"

Seraphina looked at him curiously. "Why are you asking that?"

"I’ve been thinking about starting a business someday."

That wasn’t entirely a lie.

Between Merchant’s Divine Insight and the System, Amon knew he had opportunities that ordinary people didn’t.

His plan to earn money was mostly dependent on his gifts.

Seraphina thought for a moment. "I honestly can’t give you an unbiased opinion."

Amon smiled. "That’s fair."

"She’s my mother," Seraphina admitted. "So even if she’s amazing, I’d probably exaggerate it without realizing."

Amon gave her a strange look before he asked, "Does she know you’re a pervert?"

"God, I hope not!" Seraphina replied before glaring at him. "And I am not a pervert."

"Sure, sure."

The two bickered for a while before finally reaching the bottom.

The hidden area was far older than the dungeon above.

Ancient stone pillars stood between patches of glowing moss, while broken statues lay half-buried beneath melted ice.

The air was strangely warm, and the golden light came from countless veins running through the stone floor itself.

Amon slowly looked around. "This doesn’t feel like a dungeon."

Seraphina nodded. "It feels like something built."

As they continued walking, Amon suddenly stopped.

Something along the wall caught his attention.

He walked toward a massive sheet of ice covering one side of the chamber.

"What is it?" Seraphina asked.

"I don’t know."

Amon rubbed his hand across the frozen surface.

The thin layer of frost peeled away beneath his palm, revealing dark stone hidden underneath.

Then lines began appearing.

...They were symbols.

Ancient writing stretched across the wall in perfectly carved rows, glowing faintly beneath the remaining ice.

Seraphina’s eyes widened. "What are those?"

Amon leaned closer, trying to understand the unfamiliar language.

Before either of them could examine it further, a violent screech echoed through the chamber.

SHRIEEEK!

Several massive shadows dropped from above as claws slammed into the stone around them, while dozens of crimson eyes opened within the darkness.

Amon’s hand immediately moved toward his battle axe.

"Seraphina." His voice became calm. "We got company."

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