Stepping through the spatial rift, Bell entered the specially constructed base.
The moment he arrived, he began scanning his surroundings, releasing his senses and probing with Runes to "see" the entire area.
In an instant, nearly the whole internal layout of the base was laid bare before his eyes.
'Just as I thought… this place really is built with special materials.'
Bell approached a section of wall and pressed his hand lightly against it. The earthen surface dissolved under the runes, revealing beneath it a wall of deep black metal.
'Tch tch… this is some outrageous construction material.'
'A blend of indestructible weapon-grade metal and ultra-hard alloy.'
Bell kept up with market trends. Indestructible weapon metals came from rare Deep Floor ores, while ultra-hard metals were scarce resources from the lower floors. The market price for either one was already sky-high.
These were the key materials for forging first-class and indestructible weapons, so their value was self-evident.
Normally, forging Familias would buy up every scrap that appeared on the market, using it all for weapon-making. But here—these metals had been used simply to reinforce the space around a hidden base. Bell couldn't help but admire the sheer audacity of the builder who thought of it.
It also explained how a secret base could even exist in the narrow gap between Dungeon floors.
This wasn't just a triumph of construction skill—it was a monument to money burned.
'Daedalus… truly worthy of being a relic of the builders from a thousand years ago. That mind of his was one of a kind, and he had the guts to match.'
'No wonder he left the work to his descendants. This isn't something a single generation could finish.'
Even with Bell's ability to mass-produce Rune Stones and generate wealth effortlessly, the cost of just one of these precious metal walls was staggering.
And indestructible-grade metal as well as ultra-hard alloys came from the lower and even Deep Floors—mining them was a massive challenge, and transporting them was just as difficult. Sometimes, no amount of money could buy these metals; luck was just as important.
You needed both capital and fortune.
The more Bell thought about it, the more convinced he became that Daedalus must have had a screw loose to take on something this foolish a thousand years ago.
Spending untold time, manpower, resources, and wealth… just to build this?
Still, Bell quickly reined in the thought.
Perhaps it seemed absurd to him—but that was only because he could reproduce such a space with Runes exactly as it was, and even make it grander than this simulated Dungeon's hidden base.
But he was self-aware enough to admit that he was playing with cheats. Ordinary builders couldn't be compared to someone like him.
With that in mind, Bell found himself respecting Daedalus all the more.
Even with the colossal time, resources, and funds consumed, the man had—with the help of his cursed descendants—built a simulated Dungeon space in the floor gaps of the Dungeon itself. In a way, it was undeniably a remarkable feat.
Bell kept walking deeper inside.
The entire map of the secret base unfolded before Bell's eyes—every chamber, every hidden passage laid bare.
'External detection can be blocked, but once inside, probing the interior is easy.'
It was clear that the steel used for the outer walls had been mixed with materials that could block both mental and magical perception.
If outsiders could sense the hollow space within, this gap between floors would have been discovered by Adventurers long ago. High-level Adventurers often possessed exceptional sensory abilities—especially in the Dungeon, where constant vigilance sharpened perception even further.
The fact that this artificial floor remained a secret was proof enough that its walls contained substances capable of completely suppressing detection.
'Not too many traps inside… more like the trademark style of a master builder.'
Just as magicians remodel their workshops to suit their needs, builders excelled at shaping fixed structures into environments that worked to their advantage.
Bell examined one of the gates closely, noting the material used.
'As I thought—same composite steel as the walls.'
With its sheer weight and reinforced locks, forcing the gate open with raw strength alone would be extremely difficult.
Unbreakable metal had the reputation of being… well, unbreakable.
While the term sounded intimidating—and it was meant to be—it was only a relative property. Even a weapon made from such material would wear down over time.
That meant this gate wasn't truly an absolute defense.
Still, breaching it would require destructive magic on the scale of a Level 7—at the very least.
Unfortunately, the base's interior wasn't suited for such high-powered spells.
A single section of wall struck by overwhelming magic could destabilize the space between floors and cause it to collapse entirely.
And casting high-intensity magic in such a confined area was little more than suicide.
No matter how precise the control, certain byproducts of magic would inevitably affect everyone within the space—temperature being the most obvious.
These metals were exceptional at insulating heat. In other words, if the temperature from a spell exceeded a certain threshold, it could inflict catastrophic damage on everyone inside.
Such a trap could slow intruders to a crawl… and perhaps even turn the tables for a counterattack.
This was the strength of a true builder.
Their personal combat abilities might not be impressive, but breaking through a cage of their design by brute force was anything but easy.
Bell then noticed a cluster of Rune Stones embedded on the inside of the gate—all of them fire Rune Stones.
'This was added later.'
Once the gate dropped, even Finn and the others would be hard-pressed to make it out alive.
The design might have been simple, but it was brutally effective.
Given the right opportunity, the defenders could use the structure itself to annihilate any intruder.