Chapter 20: 20. Narrative-type Dungeon

Yuki sat on her bed with tears streaming down her face. Vonn’s threats still echoed in her mind.

Owen paced back and forth on the bed, fuming with anger. “I’m going to kill him” he thought to himself.

I’ll wait until he’s alone, and incenerate him! No, wait, fuck that, I’ll do it with a crowd, I’ll make his death a spectacle

He glanced at Yuki who was still sobbing quietly and his rage intensified.

He thought about how Yuki shouldn’t still be living in fear, not anymore. Not after everything she had been through. He died once after protecting her and failed to be there. But this time, he was going to make sure Vonn Never threatened her again.

Owen’s claws scrapped against the bedsheets as his aura pulsed violently, causing the air to rumble a bit.

Three days huh? Enjoy them as long as they last, Vonn. Because the next time I see you…. hmph. he thought as he puffed a spark of flame out of his mouth.

—

Elsewhere,

The office at the Pinnacle of Glory Road’s Guild headquarters skyscraper. The windows offered an overview of nexus prime’s skyline. Swords of different designs lined the walls, swords of Grades that many would kill for. At the center of the room was a desk and behind that desk sat Aurelius Solhart, Guild Master of Glory Road and the Only SSS-Rank Human Hunter alive.

He was a man whose presence was almost divine. His long, flowing blonde hair seemed to flow with its own light, it flowed past his shoulders like Molten gold.

Solhart was reading a report when the door Opened.

Garreth Cross entered, his simple suit a stark contrast to the guild master’s magnificence. He approached the desk and bowed respectfully, it was obvious he held genuine revereve for Solhart.

“Garreth?” Solhart said without looking up, his voice smooth and commanding. “Your report in the dragon tamer?”

Cross straightened and clasped his hands behind his back. ” She’s competent. More than I initially expected for a newly ranked C-Rank. She endured two years of systemic suppression from the dark reapers and still managed to surpass expectations. That speaks to resilience”

“But?” Solhart prompted, finally looking up from his report.

Cross hesitated, choosing his words carefully. “The real price, of course, isn’t the tamer herself. It’s the dragon”

Solhart leaned back in his chair. “Explain”

“My unique ability, as you know” Cross began. “My [Eternal eyes] allows me to perceive souls, thekr strength, essence and potential. I’ve looked at thousands of beasts, monsters and humans over my career. I’ve seen S-Rank dungeon bosses, legendary creatures and….

He paused, his expression growing serious. “….and even you”

“That Dragon’s soul is stronger than anything I’ve ever witnessed. It’s not just powerful, it feels vast, layered, I felt like I was drowning when I looked into it. Its potential is …bottomless. whatever kind of creature it is, I can tell you, it’s not ordinary dragon, heck, it might not be a dragon at all”

Solhart’s Golden eyes piqued with interest.

“Really?”

“We should keep a very close eye on them, master” cross said. ” I can’t tell if the beast is truly on our side or not”

“Hmm, understood, Garreth.”

Solhart stood from his desk, walking towards the window overlooking the city. His glowing blonde hair caught the evening light, making him look almost divine.

“There’s another matter” he said, his tone shifted as his gaze fell on the city’s view. “The reason I called you here”

Cross tensed up. “The new dungeon?”

“Yes…” Solhart clapsed his hands behind his back. “A Story Dungeon has Spawned in nexus prime”

The air in room seemed to drop.

Cross face went pale. “Are you certain, Master?”

“The hunter association confirmed it this morning” Solhart replied grimly. ” The gate appeared near the industrial district. It’s already been classified and restricted”

Story dungeons were the rarest and most dangerous classification in existence. Unlike normal dungeons with straightforward objectives, story dungeons required hunters to follow a narrative or investigate a cause. The dungeon itself presented challenges based on a story of sort. Some had theorised they were being transported to another world, some said it’s an alternate future, some even claimed it was a past long forgette, and some just accepted it as the trickery of a dungeon. But only by completing that story could the dungeon be cleared.

Sometimes the story was simple, rescue a princess, defeat a tyrant, retrieve an artifact, solve a Nation’s drought crisis.

But sometimes the story was complex. Moral dilemmas. Branching paths. Hidden objectives. Fail to follow the narrative correctly and the dungeon became unbeatable. Worse, if left uncleared for too long, Story dungeon would also inevitably cause catastrophic dungeon breaks on a city wide scale.

“In recorded history…” Solhart continued. “Five story dungeons have appeared across human territories. Three were successfully cleared, and two…were not”

Cross knew the history well, every hunter did. The two failed story dungeons had resulted in dungeon breaks so devastating that they consume an entire city. Tens of thousands died. Millions displaced. One of humanity’s grwatested cities disappeared from the face of the map. Reducing the human territories from six cities to the current five.

“What are the restrictions on this one?” Cross asked quietly.

Solhart tuned to face him. “No hunter below A-Rank may enter.”

“And the story? Do we know what it’s about yet?”

“Not yet, The association is assembling a preliminary scouting team. They’ll enter tomorrow to gather initial information.” Solhart walked back to his desk. “Glory road will contribute three A-Rank hunters to the effort. See to that.”

Cross bowed. “It will be done”

As he turned to leave, Solhart spoke again.

“Garreth. If this story dungeon proves as dangerous as the previous failures…we may need to evacuate nexus prime entirely. Prepare contingency plans. Quietly though, we don’t want to cause a panic”

Cross’s jaw tightened. “Understood, Guild master”

He left the office with the weight of the conversation pressing down on his shoulders.

Behind him, Solhart stared out the city skyline, his blonde hair glowing in the fanding light.

“Another story dungeon…” he muttered to himself. “after 30 years of silence..why now?”

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