Chapter 35: Chapter 36: E-Rank Dungeon (3)

The underground tournament in Velcrest City had changed everything.

Kael had walked into that hidden city believing he understood the future because he had once played through it as a game. Instead, he had nearly died multiple times in a single night. He had encountered Simon of the Creed far earlier than expected, witnessed the summoning of a mid-tier demon on the verge of evolution, inherited the legendary Celestial Moon Style from Tsukuyomi himself, and awakened the dormant demonic seed hidden inside his body.

And after all of that—

He had returned to Astraea Academy as though nothing had happened.

For an entire week, Kael maintained that illusion.

He attended classes when necessary, skipped them when he could, trained alone in the gravity rooms, and quietly monitored the strange changes happening inside his body. His mana circulation had become smoother yet heavier at the same time, as though something ancient slept beneath his skin.

The black symbol that occasionally appeared on his forehead had not returned since the hotel incident with Lillith.

But Kael knew it was still there.

Waiting.

The dungeon assignment had become the perfect distraction.

Or at least, that was what he thought before Stella deliberately placed first-year E-rank students into what was very obviously not an E-rank dungeon.

Now the consequences of that decision surrounded him in the form of twenty dead wolves scattered across the dark stone corridor.

Kael stood silently at the center of the carnage.

Blood dripped slowly from the edge of his blade.

The corpses around him were sliced so cleanly that some of them had only realized they were dead after their bodies hit the ground. The narrow cave passage smelled of wet stone, iron, and monster blood. Faint growls still echoed deeper within the dungeon.

Behind him, the remaining students stared in complete silence.

Fear.

Confusion.

Shock.

Those were the expressions written across their faces.

Kael slowly exhaled, trying to ignore the exhaustion crawling through his muscles. Using the First Form repeatedly while wearing training weights consumed more stamina than he liked admitting.

Still—

Compared to the demon in Velcrest City, these wolves were nothing.

Kael glanced back at the students.

Most of them were frozen near the entrance corridor, unwilling to move forward even after seeing him clear the path ahead.

Cowards.

No—

That wasn’t entirely fair.

They were first years who had barely entered the academy. Most of them had probably never seen real combat before today. The academy talked endlessly about the war between humanity and demonkind, but speeches and textbooks could never replicate the pressure of standing inside a dungeon where one mistake meant death.

Kael frowned slightly.

"You guys seem to have forgotten the major reason we’re here," he said calmly, his voice echoing through the cave, "and that’s to grow strong enough to survive the war between demonkind and humanity."

Nobody answered.

Some avoided eye contact completely.

Kael continued walking deeper into the dungeon.

"If you think hiding behind stronger people is a smart move," he said without turning around, "then you’re going to die without even understanding how it happened."

His footsteps echoed against the stone floor.

For several seconds, nobody moved.

Then—

Footsteps.

Kael glanced sideways.

Charlotte had begun following him.

The purple-haired girl held her torch tightly in both hands while trying to maintain a composed expression. Her red eyes reflected the flickering orange light from the flame.

Compared to the others, she looked calmer.

Still nervous.

But calmer.

Kael remembered her from the game.

Charlotte Vale.

A side character who eventually became one of the academy’s elite support mages. Not because of overwhelming talent, but because she survived long enough to develop into something dangerous.

In the original storyline, she died during the second-year invasion arc.

Kael looked forward again.

Interesting.

"If I follow you," Charlotte asked quietly, "will I become stronger?"

Kael stared at her for a moment.

The honest desperation in her voice reminded him of himself.

Not the Kael Draven people knew.

The other him.

The player.

The person who had spent countless hours grinding levels in a fictional world that had somehow become reality.

Strength.

Everyone wanted strength eventually.

Some wanted it for glory.

Some for revenge.

Some simply wanted to survive another day.

Kael resumed walking.

"Probably," he answered.

Charlotte blinked before quickly following beside him.

The deeper they went, the colder the dungeon became.

The cave walls narrowed while strange blue crystals embedded in the stone began emitting faint light. Shadows stretched unnaturally across the corridor, twisting with every movement of their torches.

Kael’s instincts sharpened immediately.

Something was ahead.

Not ordinary wolves.

Stronger.

He raised one hand slightly, signaling Charlotte to stop.

She obeyed instantly.

Good reflexes.

Kael narrowed his eyes.

Low growls echoed from deeper within the cave.

Then multiple pairs of glowing eyes appeared in the darkness.

More wolves.

But larger this time.

Their fur was darker, almost black, and mana flowed visibly around their claws.

Dungeon-enhanced monsters.

Kael clicked his tongue softly.

This was absolutely not an E-rank dungeon anymore.

The academy had either misjudged the dungeon’s evolution—

Or Stella had intentionally allowed this.

Neither possibility was comforting.

The wolves lunged simultaneously.

Fast.

Much faster than the previous group.

Kael inhaled slowly.

His body lowered naturally into stance.

Left foot forward.

Right hand gripping the blade.

Mana compressed through his muscles.

The world became quiet.

"First Form," he muttered softly.

The wolves closed in from multiple angles.

"Celestial Moon Style: Guiding Light."

The cave exploded with motion.

Kael vanished.

A bright silver line cut through the darkness of the dungeon corridor like moonlight splitting the night sky. His body moved in a perfect straight path between the wolves.

One slash.

Two.

Three.

Blood scattered across the stone walls.

Kael reappeared several meters behind the monsters.

For a brief second—

Nothing happened.

Then the wolves collapsed simultaneously.

Charlotte’s eyes widened.

Too fast.

She hadn’t even followed his movements completely.

The surviving wolves reacted instantly, leaping toward Kael from both sides.

Kael twisted sideways, avoiding the first claw by centimeters before driving his blade upward through the creature’s jaw.

Another wolf attacked from behind.

Kael released his sword completely.

The motion shocked Charlotte.

But before the wolf could reach him—

Kael’s shadow stretched unnaturally.

"Shadow Step."

His figure disappeared instantly. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The wolf crashed into empty air.

A second later Kael emerged behind the creature holding twin daggers instead of his sword.

Slash.

Slash.

The wolf’s throat opened.

Kael moved again.

Efficient.

Cold.

Precise.

The wolves died one after another.

Charlotte stared silently.

The academy rankings suddenly felt ridiculous.

This was supposedly the student ranked one thousandth in the entire first year?

Impossible.

Kael finally stopped moving after the last wolf collapsed.

His breathing had become heavier now.

Using multiple techniques consecutively still strained his body more than he liked. The demonization process had strengthened him physically, but his mana reserves were still limited compared to true D-rank fighters.

Kael retrieved his sword from a corpse before continuing deeper into the dungeon.

Charlotte followed closely behind him now.

Not out of fear anymore.

Out of trust.

The corridor widened gradually until they finally reached a massive cavern.

Kael immediately stopped walking.

Charlotte nearly bumped into him before freezing as well.

The Dungeon Core chamber.

Blue crystal formations illuminated the enormous underground space, casting pale light across the cavern walls. At the very center stood the Dungeon Core itself—a floating crystal roughly the size of a human torso.

But that wasn’t the problem.

The problem was the creature standing in front of it.

A gigantic wolf slowly rose onto its hind legs.

Its fur was silver-black.

Its body towered nearly four meters high.

Red mana leaked from its jaws like smoke while scars covered its massive frame.

And its eyes—

Its eyes were intelligent.

Kael’s expression hardened immediately.

Dungeon Boss.

The pressure rolling off the creature confirmed his suspicion instantly.

This wasn’t an E-rank monster.

Not even close.

The wolf growled deeply.

The sound alone shook dust from the cavern ceiling.

Charlotte instinctively stepped behind Kael.

Her hands trembled slightly around her torch.

Kael understood why.

The monster’s aura was overwhelming.

The wolf slowly lowered itself back onto all fours while staring directly at Kael.

Not Charlotte.

Him.

Its instincts had already identified the real threat.

Kael tightened his grip on his blade.

This was bad.

Very bad.

He could probably kill it.

Probably.

But not without revealing far more strength than he wanted the academy noticing this early.

Still—

There wasn’t really another option.

The giant wolf suddenly slammed one claw against the ground.

The entire cavern shook violently.

Then it charged.

The sheer speed behind the movement made Charlotte freeze completely.

Too fast.

Kael’s eyes narrowed instantly.

Mana surged through his legs.

The world slowed.

He entered stance once more.

The silver glow around his blade intensified faintly.

"Guess we’re doing this," Kael muttered quietly.

The enormous wolf opened its jaws—

And Kael vanished forward like a streak of moonlight.