Alex sat atop the massive, lifeless body of the minotaur, his legs crossed as he stared at the system notification hovering in front of him.

[You have earned 1500 points for killing beasts.]

[You have earned 1500 points for clearing the first floor.]

A total of 3000 points. It was more than what some dungeons gave upon clearing them.

[You have 10 minutes before you are moved to the next floor.]

‘There’s a time limit, huh?’ He muttered as he now knew that stamina would be the deciding factor to clear this dungeon.

These notifications, however, barely registered in his mind. Instead, his thoughts lingered on the battle he had just fought.

The minotaur had been different.

It was stronger than the rest—given it was the boss monster—but that wasn’t the issue. Alex had expected that much.

What caught him off guard was its ability—a skill that negated his attack entirely.

It had happened in an instant.

The moment his fireball struck the beast, the flames had vanished, as if they never existed.

Using that moment of surprise and unpredictability, the beast had thrashed its axe at him, making Alex jump back, moving more than he had decided to.

Alex had ultimately overpowered the beast, slaying it, but that wasn’t the real issue.

‘If that thing had been stronger…’ exhaled slowly, his fingers tapping against his knee.

This was supposed to be the easiest floor—a warm-up. Yet, even here, a creature had possessed an ability that momentarily rendered him powerless.

He had won easily because his raw strength vastly outmatched the beast. The power difference was so vast that Alex could’ve defeated it with his eyes closed, but what if it had been on equal footing?

Or worse—what if a stronger enemy later on had a similar ability?

His brows furrowed.

‘I got careless.’

It wasn’t like him.

He had stepped into this tower with the assumption that, even if he failed, it wouldn’t matter because he wouldn’t die.

That false sense of security had made him underestimate his opponents, however briefly.

If this had been a real battle outside the dream world, against an enemy that wanted him dead, he could have been in real trouble.

‘That’s the problem.’ He realized. ‘I’m not taking this as seriously as I should be.’

The system didn’t give him real death, but in a way, that made it even more dangerous.

Because of that safety net, he had subconsciously let his guard down, even if just a little.

If he continued that way, he might find himself dying to an enemy he couldn’t just overpower with brute force. In the real world, no less.

He let out a short chuckle, shaking his head.

“Getting complacent already, huh?” He wondered, glancing down at the minotaur’s charred remains. “Guess I needed that reminder.”

With a final glance at the system notification, he dismissed it with a wave of his hand. He had no interest in points right now. What mattered was preparing himself properly for what was to come.

Looking at the countdown before the portal to the next floor opened, he pushed himself off the minotaur’s body, landing smoothly on the scorched grass below.

The air was still thick with the lingering scent of burned flesh, but he barely noticed it anymore.

Ahead, a new portal shimmered into existence—a gateway to the second floor.

Alex rolled his shoulders, letting a small smirk play on his lips. “Alright then,” he murmured, taking a step forward. “Let’s see what’s next.”

With that, he walked through the portal, disappearing into the unknown challenges ahead.

…………………………

The moment Alex stepped through the shimmering portal, a wave of cold air wrapped around him. The sensation was completely different from the first floor’s warm, open grasslands.

When his vision cleared, he found himself in a dense, mist-laden forest.

Tall, twisted trees stretched towards the sky, their dark branches intertwining like bony fingers.

The air was thick with moisture, carrying the scent of damp earth and decayed leaves. A soft, unnatural glow emanated from strange fungi growing along the gnarled roots, casting eerie shadows across the uneven ground.

A single step forward made the sound of brittle twigs snapping beneath his boots echo unnaturally loud in the silence.

Alex stopped, his senses sharpening.

‘Something’s watching.’

His fingers twitched, instinctively gathering mana in his palm.

The quiet wasn’t normal—it was oppressive. There were no distant howls, no rustling leaves. Even the air felt stagnant.

Then, he heard it.

A low, guttural growl.

From the depths of the mist, red eyes flickered into existence, one pair at first, then another, until a dozen sets of glowing crimson orbs stared back at him.

The creatures were crouched low, hidden in the darkness between the trees.

But Alex could make out their general shape—four-legged beasts, their muscular bodies covered in black, bristle-like fur. Their elongated snouts revealed razor-sharp teeth that glistened with saliva.

‘Shadowfang Wolves.’

A pack monster.

Individually, they wouldn’t be much of a problem, but together, they could be a nightmare.

Especially when those wolves are all 10-star, star-formation realm beasts.

One of the wolves let out a deep snarl before dashing forward, its claws scraping against the ground with an ear-piercing screech.

In a blur, the others followed, moving like black phantoms through the mist.

Alex didn’t wait.

Fwoosh!

With a flick of his wrist, a crescent arc of fire erupted from his palm, cutting through the fog like a burning scythe. The first wolf leaped—too late. The flames cleaved through its body, reducing it to ash before it could even yelp.

But the others adapted quickly.

The moment they saw their kin fall, they scattered. Their movements were calculated and precise, using the thick fog and shadows to their advantage.

Some weaved between trees, while others took to the higher ground, leaping from branch to branch like silent predators.

A blur of black fur lunged from above—

Clang!

Alex twisted his body, his sword turning into a shield just as the wolf’s claws slammed into him.

The impact sent ripples through the translucent shield, but it held firm, repelling the beast with a burst of energy.

Before the wolf could recover, he flicked his fingers—

Zzzzt!

A bolt of lightning crackled through the air, striking the beast midair. Its body convulsed violently before crashing to the ground, smoke rising from its singed fur.

More came. Faster. Smarter.

One snapped at his ankle, forcing him to leap back.

Another lunged from the side—

Whoosh!

He barely managed to dodge, its teeth grazing past his arm, tearing through the fabric of his sleeve. Blood dripped, but the wound was shallow.

‘They’re testing me.’

They weren’t just blindly attacking anymore. These wolves were coordinated, using feints and distractions to probe his defenses.

A normal fighter would have been overwhelmed and torn apart in seconds.

But Alex was far from normal.

A smirk tugged at his lips. “Alright, enough playing around.”

He had just been trying to be cautious until now, and from what he saw, these beats weren’t anything special.

He raised his hand, and the temperature in the forest plummeted instantly.

Crackle!

Frost spread from his fingertips, racing across the ground in jagged veins of ice. The mist itself turned brittle, freezing mid-air before shattering into tiny shards. The wolves hesitated, their paws slipping against the sudden frost, their movements sluggish in the biting cold.

It was a new ability Alex had learned. Instead of ice-related, it would be better called water-related, as it increases the temperature of liquids and turns them into a solid state.

It was called freezing—a skill of heroic rank, one of Alex’s new attack skills.

Alex didn’t let beasts recover, though.

BOOM!

A massive icicle erupted from the earth, impaling three wolves in a single strike. They howled in agony before disintegrating into fragments of mana.

The remaining creatures backed away, growling lowly, realizing too late that they were outmatched.

Alex exhaled, releasing the residual mana in the air. “Looks like you’re smart enough to know when to run.”

But he wasn’t in a forgiving mood.

With a snap of his fingers, thin streaks of blue lightning arced through the frozen mist, seeking out the retreating wolves. One by one, they fell, their bodies dissipating into nothingness.

Silence returned.

The red glow of their eyes vanished, leaving Alex standing alone amidst the shattered ice and fading embers of his magic.

The tension in the air seemed to dissolve, but he didn’t relax.

‘Where’s the boss?’ He thought as he sensed the lack of the boss’s presence.

He rolled his shoulders, and letting out a small breath, he moved forward.

The boss on this floor was probably a zone-type boss. They were the type that would only fight when you entered their attack zone.

‘Let’s finish this quickly.’

Alex could already feel that this boss would be more annoying, making him wonder if he should go all out and finish the boss in one go, defeating it before it could make a move.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep