3rd Layer
"It tested our soul," Jullian murmured, his voice heavy with thought.
"No," Saryn replied quietly, his golden eyes narrowed. "It didn't just test our soul. It tested whether we are worthy of this dungeon."
Arthur stood silently beside them, his gaze distant. His mind lingered on the image of that crying child from the illusion—the one beside their mother.
I don't even know him. I've never killed anyone like that. So why… why does he feel so real?
There was something about the boy that unsettled him, something not simple.
He shook the thoughts away. "Let's move. The next layer is the last… before the final one."
Everyone nodded. No one spoke. After the trial of illusions, trust no longer needed words. Despite only knowing each other for a few days, something had shifted—something solid and unspoken had formed.
Strangers just days ago… and now we know each other's deepest secrets, Jullian thought. He chuckled quietly to himself.
From within the ring, his master's voice echoed in his mind.
"This is why friendship is unlike any other bond. It doesn't require time—it only needs understanding."
Jullian nodded internally. He's right.
The group arrived at the third layer.
What greeted them were two monstrous black vipers—each the size of a small carriage. Their obsidian scales shimmered with a dull sheen, nearly impervious to light. Venom dripped from their fangs, sizzling as it touched the ground.
Arthur narrowed his eyes. "These are Nightfang Vipers. Their scales are nearly unbreakable by normal means, and their venom can kill a Rank 1 instantly. We don't have time to stall."
"I'll handle one," Jullian said, stepping forward.
"I'll take the other," Nyx added calmly, unsheathing his katana.
Arthur turned to him, his voice low. "Are you sure?"
"I'll be fine," Nyx said. His gaze was steady, unreadable.
Arthur gave a single nod. "While they keep the vipers busy, we'll break the gate. Get ready for anything."
As Jullian and Nyx advanced, the tension in the air thickened. Jullian's spear erupted in dark crimson flame, the fire swirling like a living entity. Nyx's katana shimmered with a cold, indigo aura—sharp, contained, deadly.
Crimson fire and indigo light clashed against the black scales of the vipers as the two clashed with the beasts.
Arthur charged with Nyssara and Saryn, his steps light, precise. With Ashbreaker in one hand and a conjured mana blade in the other, he focused his aura.
"Together!" he shouted.
The three struck the gate at once—force, mana, and raw strength colliding.
BOOM.
The gate shattered.
But what waited beyond wasn't salvation. A swarm of monsters surged forth, baring claws and fangs, eyes burning with hunger.
Nyssara didn't hesitate. Her body moved like a tempest, each blow of her glaive tearing through enemies with overwhelming force. Her strikes landed like thunder—each one a boulder-breaking impact that split the ground and shattered bones.
Saryn moved beside her, his mana gun firing precision shots. With his other hand, he struck with his legs and fists, empowered by mana techniques that sent shockwaves through the monsters.
Arthur danced through the battlefield. His movements were a blur, one sword flickering with ethereal mana, the other—Ashbreaker—glowing with channeled aura. He moved like a ghost, reaping enemies left and right, each strike lethal, each motion honed.
More monsters came from the shadows—but they were only Rank 1. To them, it was a massacre.
Jullian and Nyx rejoined the group, the vipers slain behind them. Nyx was slightly injured, blood trailing from his shoulder, but after downing a potion, he steadied himself.
The wave intensified.
More monsters poured in—stronger now. Rank 2 threats emerged, snarling, armored, relentless.
Arthur conjured a dozen mana swords, his control flawless. The blades hovered around him before launching like bolts of lightning, tearing through the Rank 2 beasts.
Still, more kept coming.
Nyssara took a deep breath and slammed her glaive into the ground. A massive shockwave of force erupted in all directions, obliterating enemies in a wide radius.
Jullian stepped forward, dark flames coiling around his entire body. With a roar, he unleashed a torrent of black fire that consumed a group of monsters, leaving nothing but scorched earth.
Saryn's fists shimmered with condensed mana. He punched the ground, releasing a tremor that ruptured the terrain and crushed several beasts under the shockwave.
Nyx moved like a phantom, his katana gleaming as he unleashed a series of rapid aura strikes, each one piercing through monsters with surgical precision.
The battlefield was chaos, but within it, the five of them moved like a single entity.
The battlefield trembled beneath their feet.
Monsters kept coming—more Rank 2 beasts swarming through the shattered gate, their strength relentless. The group was holding their ground, but the cost was rising. Each of them had begun tapping into their B-rank master-level skills—techniques that drained mana at a punishing rate.
Their breathing grew heavier. Movements a fraction slower. If it continued like this, they would burn out before the final layer.
Arthur's eyes narrowed.
He sensed it clearly now—the shift in the tide. The situation was getting real. No more holding back.
He raised Ashbreaker.
The world paused.
Arthur stepped forward, exhaling quietly as his aura condensed into a blade of unrelenting purpose. He swung.
The air groaned.
Space split.
A wide, horizontal arc tore through reality, forming a colossal crescent-shaped rift—black and golden , as tall as the dungeon trees and wide enough to swallow the field. It carved forward like a god's scythe, devouring mana, slicing through stone, monsters, fog, and even the lingering curses in the air.
The terrain behind the rift twisted, reality bleeding around the edges. Creatures caught in its wake weren't just cut—they were erased. Gone.
Barriers shattered. Enemy skills unraveled mid-cast. The poisonous fog itself was drawn inward, consumed, and scattered into nothing.
For one long breath, the world fell still.
Then the rift pulsed—dark lightning flickering along its edges—before collapsing in on itself with a thunderous boom that split the ground beneath Arthur's feet.
Silence followed.
Total, stunned silence.
Jullian's master, ever composed until now, trembled within the ring.
"Void magic… that was a Void-class severance technique…"
His voice faltered. "A Rank 2… used a Void attack?"
Nyssara's jaw had dropped. She tried to speak, but no sound came out. Her eyes swept across the battlefield—there was nothing left in the rift's path. No monsters. No fog. Not even rubble. Just a smooth, smoking scar in the earth.
Saryn whispered, almost laughing, "Five seconds. Just five seconds… and everything changed."
Nyx remained silent. He stared at Arthur with something rare in his eyes—respect. Maybe even awe. Arthur was younger than all of them. Yet in power, in will, in sheer presence… he stood above them.
Not even the four Divine Prodigies of the continent could compare.
And still, Arthur remained steady. The backlash from the S-rank technique was immense—enough to drain a normal core dry. But his Divine Core and enhanced physique held firm. His chest rose and fell once.
Then he turned toward the darkened hallway ahead.
"Let's go," he said calmly. "The final gate awaits."