Journey to Become the Zenith

The Heart Beneath the Treasury

After Victor and Clara retrieved the still-sleeping Lane, they made their way toward the Dungeon Core.

Lane rested quietly against Victor’s back this time, her arms loosely draped over his shoulders. Even unconscious, she leaned toward him instinctively. Clara noticed—and pretended not to.

The deeper chamber they entered was different from the battle floors.

Quieter.

Colder.

The air no longer hummed with hostility but with something heavier—ancient, stagnant power.

”This is where the Dungeon Core is kept,” Clara said, her voice echoing softly against stone walls. ”It’s also... the treasury.”

Victor arched an eyebrow slightly.

”The treasury?”

”Yes.”

That single word raised several questions in his mind.

Why place the Dungeon Core in the treasury?

Why does a structure that exists only to spawn monsters even have a treasury?

And finally—who owns the treasure once the Dungeon is cleared? Do the ones who defeat it claim everything?

Clara answered each patiently.

”No one knows why the Core is placed in the treasury,” she admitted. ”No one truly understands Dungeons or Dungeon Cores in the first place. As for the treasure—it’s divided between the adventurers who clear it, the Adventurers Guild, and the Kingdom where the Dungeon is located.”

Victor’s golden eyes flickered with quiet calculation.

”And what happens,” he asked mildly, ”if I decide to take everything for myself?”

Clara didn’t hesitate.

”After a Dungeon is cleared, the monster population in the surrounding area decreases significantly. If an adventurer withholds that information, the royal family sends inspectors. Once they confirm that the one who cleared it hoarded the treasure... that person becomes an enemy of the Kingdom.”

Victor considered that.

He did not particularly care about the Skyfall Kingdom.

But consequences ripple outward.

If he acted recklessly, the burden would not fall on him alone.

Lane.

Clara.

Anyone associated with him.

He exhaled slowly.

Fine.

He would follow the proper procedure.

For now.

—

When they finally stepped into the treasury chamber, Victor stopped.

It wasn’t the mountain of gold that caught his attention.

Not the jewels.

Not the enchanted artifacts.

It was the Core.

And the room itself.

At the center of the chamber hovered a pulsating mass—deep crimson, veined with faint gold lines. It beat softly, rhythmically.

Like a heart.

Victor’s breath stilled.

It looked almost identical to a young dragon’s heart.

He had seen one only once.

Back in his previous life—when he had been Anos.

A young dragon, arrogant and furious, had descended from the skies to prove that the Demon Lord was nothing more than a rumor. They had fought for three days.

Three days of fire and thunder.

When it ended, Anos had stood victorious.

And he had taken the dragon’s heart as proof.

That heart had looked exactly like this.

Impossible.

This world was supposed to be ruled by a single race—humans.

There were no dragons here.

No elves.

No demons.

No gods walking among mortals.

That was the knowledge he had gathered since reincarnation.

So why—

Why was a Dungeon Core shaped like a dragon’s heart?

Was it coincidence?

Or had someone, somewhere, hunted young dragons and forged these Cores from their remains?

Clara had mentioned there were dozens of Dungeons scattered across the continent.

That would mean—

Someone had killed dozens of young dragons.

Victor’s pulse quickened.

To slay even one young dragon required overwhelming power.

To do so repeatedly?

That was no ordinary being.

And why were the Cores placed in treasuries?

Were they trophies?

He felt a thrill.

Not fear.

Excitement.

If such a being existed in this world—

He wanted to meet them.

To cross blades.

To test the truth.

Then another memory surfaced.

The architecture.

The layout.

This room felt familiar.

The shape of the ceiling.

The structure of the pillars.

It resembled a chamber from his past.

The fortress of the Fourth Hero.

Back then, it hadn’t been a treasury.

It had been her private room.

The Fourth Hero.

Unlike the others, she had not been blinded by simple righteousness.

She believed in justice.

Absolute justice.

Compassion, love, kindness—those were secondary.

Justice came first.

When she discovered that it was not Anos who had destroyed her village—but the royal family—

She did not hesitate.

She annihilated them.

Every branch.

Every descendant.

For a time, Anos was no longer considered humanity’s greatest enemy.

She was.

The woman who saved thousands.

Branded the greatest traitor of humanity.

Hunted by those she once protected.

Her death had been tragic.

And she had been... female.

Strong.

Unyielding.

Almost frightening in her resolve.

Victor frowned faintly.

Why did this Dungeon resemble her fortress?

Why did its Core resemble a dragon’s heart?

And why did this world claim only humans existed?

Had he misunderstood something after reincarnation?

Or was the truth deeper than surface knowledge?

He filed the questions away.

I’ll investigate later.

Clara finished inspecting the perimeter and glanced at him.

He was staring into the distance again.

That distant look.

It irritated her.

And worried her.

”Oh? Are you done checking the room?” Victor said lightly, snapping back to the present. ”So are we going to destroy the Dungeon Core now?”

”Yes,” Clara replied, watching him carefully. ”You can destroy it now.”

Victor stepped forward.

He raised a hand.

Darkness gathered—thick, silent, swallowing light itself.

He cast an unknown spell, enveloping the Dungeon Core in a sphere of pure black.

Clara did not recognize it.

She simply watched.

The darkness pulsed once.

Then faded.

The Dungeon Core was gone.

”There,” Victor said casually. ”Gone. So how do we bring the treasures back up?”

”Don’t worry about that,” Clara replied. ”The Guild will handle it. They’ll process the treasure and distribute your share.”

Victor shrugged.

As if it barely mattered.

He turned and walked toward the exit, Lane still resting peacefully against him.

Clara followed, still unsettled by the way he seemed completely unbothered by everything that had just transpired.

What she did not know—

Was that Victor hadn’t destroyed the Dungeon Core.

He had concealed it.

Hidden it within his own void space.

And taken it with him.