[Wave 1: Start!]

As the notification flashed in their minds, the dungeon floor vibrated loudly. The ground began to shake. From the various tunnels stretching across the vast space, monsters started to appear.

The differents kinds of monster started flooded in large space. There were Goblins, wolves, ogres, trolls, and orcs—all kinds of monsters poured from the tunnels in massive quantities. They gripped brutal weapons like axes, Daggers, Hammer, short-swords in their hands. Their expressions were ferocious, and their eyes were completely bloodshot, driven by a singular, mindless goal: to kill the intruders.

Hundreds quickly turned into thousands, flooding the arena without stopping. In a matter of moments, about half of the massive, kilometer-wide field was completely filled with the swarming horde.

The trio looked at the terrifying monster army in front of them. A chill ran down their spines as thousands of bloodshot eyes locked onto their position.

"Why the hell did this many monsters appear in just Wave 1?"

Alen muttered, staring at the endless sea of enemies.

"I thought there would only be a few hundred. But judging by the look of it, there must be tens of thousands, and the numbers are still increasing..."

"Yeah... Even I didn’t expect such a massive amount to suddenly appear. Tchh! What a pain,"

Zane gritted his teeth. He channeled his mana, and the shadows beneath his feet began to rapidly expand across the ground as he prepared for battle.

Serene remained completely quiet. Her usual excited expression vanished, turning entirely serious in the face of the overwhelming threat.

The monsters screamed, lunging at them wildly.

*SCREEECH!—*

Alen didn’t waste any time.

[Nexus Elemental Art: Water Type - Rotating Spike!]

Several dozens of dense spikes formed from pure water materialized in thin air. They shot toward the incoming monsters with incredible speed. Enhanced by a rapid rotation, their velocity and piercing sharpness increased twofold.

As the spikes slammed into the frontline, they cleanly pierced through the monsters’ bodies like heavy spears. Dark green blood leaked from the massive holes blown through their chests as they collapsed to the ground. But the rotating spikes didn’t stop there; they kept their violent momentum, tearing through several more monsters in the backlines before finally dissipating.

As nearly a hundred monsters fell in an instant, the horde around them grew even more frenzied. Their bloodlust reached the sky.

Zane wasn’t left behind. He unleashed his own devastating power.

[Paradox Spiral Art: Dark Type - Abyssal Darkness!]

A pool of pitch-black darkness spread rapidly across the ground directly beneath the charging monsters’ feet. Zane had precisely timed the attack just before the horde reached their position.

As the darkness swallowed the floor, the monsters suddenly lost their momentum. Their feet sank into the shadows, which acted like a thick swamp, slowly paralyzing their bodies until they were completely unable to move.

Zane didn’t let the golden opportunity slip away. He immediately launched his next attack.

[Paradox Spiral Art: Shadow Spike!]

From the darkness on the ground, jagged, pitch-black spikes shot violently upward, thrusting into the monsters’ bodies and killing them instantly. His method was brutal and efficient: he first rendered them helpless, then impaled them from below. The monsters had absolutely no way to defend against the unexpected trap.

Standing behind them, Serene watched the two boys push back the tide. Seeing their incredible teamwork, she knew she needed to contribute her fair share to the fight.

[In the name of Heaven... I bless myself with mana...]

[The Heaven’s Grace: Ice Type - Rain of Shards!]

Serene blessed herself with a massive amount of mana. The surrounding nature’s mana reacted to her will, temporarily boosting her mana capacity to almost three times her normal limit.

No longer worried about exhausting her reserves, she summoned a massive, large-scale attack. Hundreds of ice shards materialized above her and rained down on the incoming monsters with incredible speed. The shards showered over the horde, easily piercing through their thick skin and pinning them to the ground.

Several hundred monsters fell from her single, devastating spell.

The frontline of the monster was quickly wiped out. However, their happiness didn’t last long. The monsters kept appearing from the tunnels behind, effortlessly stepping over the corpses of their fallen kin.

The swarm was still growing without any hint of stopping. From all sides, monsters were lunging at them. The trio was now completely surrounded.

As the monsters closed the distance from every possible direction, the situation grew dire.

"We can’t defeat them in close range if this many keep appearing!"

Serene yelled, looking at the rapidly shrinking perimeter. Fighting them head-on would be suicide.

[Paradox Spiral Art: Dark Type - Destructive Flame!]

A highly condensed ball of dark fire ignited in Zane’s hand. He hurled it directly into the thickest cluster of monsters pressing in from the back.

As the dark flames hit, the front row of monsters was instantly incinerated, their bodies turning to ash. But the monsters behind them quickly took their place. There seemed to be no end to the horde.

"We have to do something! It’s going to be impossible to handle this many numbers at the exact same time from all sides!"

Zane shouted, his breathing growing heavy. The shere amounts of monsters present here made him more caution.

Alen stood calmly at the center of their group, watching the endless wave of monsters. He knew they couldn’t win without giving it their all. But if they fought every monster now, they would be too exhausted by the end of the first wave, and surviving the second wave would become impossible.

Suddenly, a brilliant idea lit up in his mind.

"Hey, guys. Stop attacking them, It’s alright. Let the monsters come."

Zane and Serene stopped casting and stared at the silver-haired boy as if he had completely lost his mind.

"What the hell are you thinking?! Do you think you can handle all of them alone?!" Zane yelled in disbelief.

Alen’s cold, handsome face broke into a confident smile, he step closer towards them.

"Yep!"