'What are those two discussing? Clearing a DX 1.5 dungeon in just two days? How arrogant. I'll just wait and watch as that arrogant kid embarrasses himself,' the guild official muttered under his breath.
---
With that said, the guild official sitting behind the desk handed a transparent glass device to Emmett Lee.
"Sir Sherman, this is the operating system for the dungeon. Once you press this button, the gate will open. For security purposes, the gate will remain open for only two minutes before closing."
Emmett Lee simply nodded as he took the operating system key from the guild official and walked toward the metal gear gate, accompanied by Morca. Without further hesitation, he pressed the button, and a sharp, grinding sound echoed through the surroundings. After a moment, the thick metal gateway fully opened, releasing a wave of hot air that spread through the area.
After a brief pause, Morca stepped inside. As soon as he did, a strong, rancid smell filled his nose, causing his face to twist in disgust. Rotting monster corpses lay scattered on the cold floor, worms crawling through their decayed flesh. Though he couldn't determine how they had died, he guessed they were creatures that had starved to death while attempting to escape the dungeon's formidable gateway.
Glancing ahead, Morca saw spatial rifts swirling in the distance. He knew this was the dungeon's true peculiarity, the gear-metal gateway was built solely to contain the rifts, preventing the monsters from attacking Section 3. However, in rare cases, a gateway could fail due to instability or the appearance of a powerful monster.
A strong monster rarely appeared in lower-rank spatial rift dungeons.
Before coming here, Morca had researched the dungeon's rank on the Eden AI Network and discovered something no one had told him, something that might just save his life.
It wasn't entirely true that a one-star dungeon would always remain a one-star. Though rare, a dungeon could evolve into a two-star or even a four-star dungeon. If that happened, it could easily wipe out a small city, let alone a newly promoted awakened like him.
Not that Morca expected such a thing to happen, but if it did, he had a contingency plan, something his brother, Emmett Lee, had given him.
Taking a deep breath, Morca steadied himself and finally stepped into the DX1.5-star dungeon.
---
The cave was dim and foreboding, its walls shrouded in gloom. Three massive shadows loomed ahead, wolf-like creatures, each the size of a mature lion, tearing into something on the cold, stone floor.
Thud. Crack.
Suddenly, everything around them was consumed by dust. When it finally settled, six pairs of fiery red pupils emerged from the haze. The three wolves, their mouths dripping with saliva, locked their bloodthirsty gazes onto Morca. If their expressions could speak, they would say:
"You better be the boss… or else, you're just another meal."
But to their disappointment, they saw only Morca, a lone figure, hardly enough to satisfy their hunger.
Howl! Howl! Howl!
Their enraged cries shook the cave. Morca's face darkened.
"Three one-star monsters right at the start?"
Muttering to himself, he blended into the shadows, activating his unique skill, Blank.
The wolves snarled, scanning their surroundings in confusion. Their prey had vanished before their eyes. Sensing danger, they raised their bloodlust to its peak, ready for any sudden attack. But after a while, when nothing happened, they resumed their feast.
Unbeknownst to them, Morca stood right beside them, formulating a plan. First, he needed to test the limits of his unique skill. He recalled that after his recent breakthrough to the awakened rank, Blank now lasted two hours, with a reduced cooldown period.
-----
[Unique Skill: Blank]
[Effect: You are there, yet not there. Grants the authority to enter a state of total calm and tranquility.]
[Time Limit: 2 hours]
[Cooldown: 12 hours]
-----
As Morca observed the wolves up close, his eyes narrowed in surprise. He had expected them to look different, but not this different.
Each wolf possessed four thick, muscular limbs with veins coursing through them. Instead of fur, their bodies were covered in dense, armored scales. Sharp thorns ran from their necks to their tails, and at the center of their foreheads, a single crimson horn gleamed ominously. Their claws and fangs looked powerful enough to tear through steel, and at the tip of their tails, a razor-sharp bone protruded like an arrowhead.
They were called the Bloodthirsty Thorn Wolves.
"No wonder cultivators struggle to kill them."
Morca initially planned to eliminate them in one swift strike, but now he realized that was impossible, he didn't know their weak points, and attacking blindly could attract other nearby monsters.
There was no avoiding it, he had to fight them head-on. This battle would sharpen his combat instincts.
With that in mind, Morca deactivated Blank and reappeared at a safe distance from the wolves. They instantly noticed him. One lunged forward, slashing at him with its sharp claws.
Without hesitation, Morca summoned his black blade, Avoc.
Steel met claw in a fierce clash, sending sparks flying. The impact forced Morca back several steps before he steadied himself.
"They have immense strength. I can't rely on brute force alone."
But the wolf wasn't unharmed either. It had been blasted into the cave wall, causing the entire space to tremble with a resounding boom.
Realizing their prey was no pushover, the wolves abandoned their individual attacks. Instead, they moved in unison.
Six consecutive strikes came at Morca from different angles. He deflected most with his blade but failed to avoid one that struck his right shoulder. Fortunately, it wasn't a fatal wound, just a minor scratch.
During that brief exchange, Morca had analyzed their attack pattern. Their primary weapons were their claws. That meant...
He could counter them.
Just as he was about to launch his counterattack, three sharp projectiles shot toward him from different angles, one from behind, one from the left, and one from the front, clearly a coordinated strategy to corner him.
But how could Morca fall for such a simple trick?
With his high intelligence stat, he swiftly swung his blade in a circular motion, deflecting the first two attacks. The third projectile still came straight at him, but he was ready.
He lunged forward and drove his sword deep into the attacking wolf's throat.
A spray of red, mixed with shattered scales, filled the air.
Thud.
The first wolf collapsed, dead...