Chapter 32: Chapter32-Special Rank Dungeon

Uhh... How had it even come to this?

Let me back up a bit. Here’s how it all started.

The night I first used my future sight skill, I found out about the dungeon that contained the teleportation skill.

The very next morning, I went straight to Allen and laid everything out.

I told him the dungeon was located next to an abandoned hospital called HA Healthcare and instructed him to track it down and book it for two full weeks.

This time around, Allen didn’t press me with questions the way he had before.

That was probably because I’d casually mentioned at the end of our conversation that I’d stumbled across the information while scrolling through social media.

It took him about twenty-four hours to locate the dungeon. When he came back with his findings though, he also brought some bad news. The dungeon couldn’t be booked. It had been classified as a special rank dungeon.

So what exactly did that mean?

Special rank dungeons were dungeons that had never been cleared. Not a single time. On top of that, their kill count had to exceed ten thousand. In other words, more than ten thousand people had gone in and never come back out alive.

The moment I heard that, I nearly abandoned the whole plan. I seriously considered dropping it entirely.

But a few hours later, an idea crept into my mind. It was so absurd that I could barely believe I’d come up with it.

Even so, I slowly and painfully convinced myself that it could work. I still don’t know how I managed that.

Maybe it was because I couldn’t get the teleportation skill out of my head.

The thought of it consumed me. I wanted it badly.

So even after learning just how deadly a special rank dungeon was, I told Allen to book it regardless. Illegally, if that’s what it took.

Under normal circumstances, special rank dungeons couldn’t be reserved by anyone.

But as Allen himself had once put it, legal and illegal were just words when you had money.

Once you were rich enough, everything became legal.

When I told Allen I still wanted him to book the dungeon, he looked skeptical.

He was clearly worried about me. But somehow, I managed to convince him by explaining my absolutely ridiculous plan.

I’m still not sure why, but when I laid it all out for him, his expression shifted ever so slightly.

He almost looked pleased. Maybe even a little happy?

I couldn’t say for certain. His face remained mostly the same as always.

Completely unreadable.

Five hours later, Allen came back with news.

The dungeon had been officially booked.

There was one condition though. On the day I planned to enter, I would first need to meet with members of the HIST agency at the Hunter Association’s main branch, located here in the A rank state.

Both associations kept a main branch in every state throughout Ambrosia.

The meeting would just be for paperwork and signing a few documents, so I agreed without much pushback. The main branch wasn’t far from the Frostburne mansion either. About thirty minutes by car at most.

A full week passed after that. In total, it had been eleven days since I’d used my Seer’s Eye skill and discovered the dungeon.

I spent every moment of that time training. Pushing myself as hard as I could. All of it in preparation for the plan I’d come up with.

Today marked the twelfth day. The 17th of February.

Yesterday, when I’d told Allen I planned to enter the dungeon today, he’d immediately set up a meeting with the HIST agency members.

I’d also asked him to buy me some new shirts and pants while he was at it. I was getting tired of wearing black all the time.

That’s when Allen had told me he’d give me one of his favorite shirts instead.

I’d hesitated at first. I wasn’t really comfortable wearing someone else’s clothes.

But for some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to refuse. I still don’t know why.

The second I’d opened my mouth to turn him down, something tightened in my chest.

It felt like I was rejecting someone I actually cared about.

Maybe it was the original body influencing me. Or maybe it really was just me.

Ever since Michael’s memories had settled into my mind, I’d found it harder to refuse things he would have normally accepted.

A few days ago, I’d even caught myself seriously considering drinking alcohol.

I wasn’t too concerned about it.

When I’d asked the system, it explained that the impulses were normal.

If I wanted to suppress them, I just needed to reach Iron rank.

To eliminate them entirely, I’d need to push all the way to Gold rank.

So I’d accepted the shirt from Allen. It was white. Simple. Clean.

And now I was tearing my room apart looking for it.

Where is it? Where the hell did I put it?

I could’ve sworn I’d folded it neatly and placed it back in the wardrobe.

After several more minutes of rummaging through the closet, I finally gave up. I dropped onto the edge of the bed and took in the scene around me. My room looked like a disaster zone. Clothes were scattered across every surface.

Had I actually forgotten to put it back?

Fuck... At this rate, I was going to end up late for the meeting.

I quickly glanced down at my watch to check the time.

***

Name: Michael Frostburne

Total Rules Broken: 0

Time: 9:10 AM

Date: 17th February

Year: 2130

***

Shit. I was already late.

The meeting had been scheduled for 9:30 AM. About ten minutes ago, Allen had knocked on my door. I’d told him to wait by the car, that I’d be down in just a moment.

But the reality was that I’d spent the last twenty minutes doing absolutely nothing productive except tearing my room apart looking for that one shirt.

"Haa..."

I let out a long, frustrated sigh.

I was in serious trouble now.

I dropped back onto my bed, still wearing nothing but my black pants. My shirt situation remained unresolved, and time was slipping away fast.

What the hell was I supposed to do at this point?

I turned my head slowly to the left, staring blankly at the mess around me.

I was going to have to just give up and... wait.

Something caught my attention.

Huh?

There was a hint of white fabric barely visible beneath a chaotic pile of black clothes that had ended up on my bed.

I sat up immediately, hope sparking back to life.

Is that what I think it is?

I started digging through the pile as fast as my hands would allow. After a few frantic moments, I finally managed to yank it free from the tangle of fabric.

It was a white shirt.

The instant I laid eyes on it, I nearly jumped off the bed in sheer relief.

Yes. I found it. I actually found Allen’s shirt.

It was the exact same white shirt he’d given me the day before.

The wave of relief that washed over me in that moment felt almost as good as ranking up. Maybe even better. That’s how overwhelming it was.

Allen wasn’t going to be furious with me after all.

But just as I started to settle into that relief, reality hit me square in the face once again.

Oh, right. The meeting. I was supposed to be there in twenty minutes.

I threw the white shirt on as quickly as humanly possible, barely bothering to check if it was straight, and then bolted straight out of the room without looking back.

I sprinted down the long mansion hallway at full speed, weaving past startled maids as I went.

I managed to slow down just long enough to call out to a few of them and ask them to clean up my room while I was gone.

The place was a complete disaster zone right now, clothes scattered across every available surface.

There was absolutely no way I wanted to come back after spending an exhausting day inside a dungeon only to collapse into that garbage of a mess.

Not happening.

After a few more minutes of running, I finally made it to the main entrance and stepped outside.

The moment I did, bright sunlight hit me directly in the face. The glare was so strong I nearly had to close my eyes. I squinted hard and blinked a few times until my vision adjusted.

Once I could see again, I spotted Allen standing beside a sleek, luxurious car parked near the fountain.

I walked over quickly.

When I reached him, he spoke first. "Young master, you are late."

I scratched the back of my head. "Sorry, Allen. I overslept a bit."

He looked at me with an expression that made it clear he didn’t buy that for a second. "As you say, young master. For now, please get in the car."

I gave a quick nod. "Yeah, yeah."

I climbed into the backseat without saying anything else. Allen followed and got in right after me.

That’s when I noticed something strange.

He was sitting beside me in the back.

Normally, Allen always sat in the front seat. Every single time. But today, for whatever reason, he’d decided to sit next to me instead.

Fuck...

I cursed quietly in my head.

This was going to be awkward as hell.

The car lifted off the ground smoothly, just like it always did, and began gliding through the air.

The next ten minutes felt like some of the longest I’d experienced since arriving in this world.

I felt genuinely uncomfortable the entire time, and it wasn’t even because Allen was looking at me. He wasn’t. He was just sitting there reading that same book he’d been absorbed in for days now.

But that was the exact problem.

Because for the first time since I’d gotten here, I’d managed to get a clear look at the title of the book he’d been reading all this time.

And honestly, I wished I hadn’t.

If I’d never seen it, I probably wouldn’t be feeling this uneasy right now.

The title of the book was...

A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing.