The fog thickened around Juno as he moved deeper into the forgotten ruins of the trial rift. Shade, his silent shadow wolf, padded beside him, its eyes glowing faintly with ghostly light. The kill had given Juno confidence, but a part of him still remained wary. This was a D-rank dungeon, and he knew enough to realize that the real threat wasn't the lone scavengers. It was what ruled them.
As if on cue, the system chimed in:
[Current Objective: Clear the Dungeon – Remaining: 1 Boss Entity Detected]
Juno exhaled slowly, wiping sweat from his brow. His stamina had recovered thanks to the system upgrade, but even so, this was no time to get cocky.
He paused at the edge of a shattered courtyard. Crumbled columns and broken statues lay in ruins, forming a makeshift arena. At the far end, something stirred—massive, hulking.
A deep growl vibrated through the stones beneath his feet.
[Boss Detected: Alpha Feralbeast – Dungeon King]
The creature emerged from the fog like a nightmare—twice the size of Shade, its fur matted and streaked with scars. Jagged horns curled from its skull, and its claws left burning imprints on the ground.
Juno's grip tightened on his shadow blade.
"Let's end this," he muttered.
The Alpha roared and charged.
Shade lunged to intercept, leaping at the monster's throat. But the Alpha swatted him aside like a toy. Shade dispersed into mist and retreated into Juno's shadow.
"Crap—he's stronger than I thought," Juno muttered, dodging the beast's claws by a hair.
He slashed across its ribs. Blood splattered, but the beast barely flinched.
[Warning: Hostile has enhanced regeneration.]
[System Tip: Aim for weak points – Joints, throat, spinal base.]
Juno dodged another swipe, rolled behind the beast, and plunged his blade toward its hind leg joint. The blade sank in deep, and the Alpha howled, stumbling.
Before it could turn, Juno leapt onto its back and stabbed down at the base of its neck.
The Alpha bucked and roared. Juno held on, his muscles burning. One final strike.
With a scream, he drove the blade through the spine.
The beast collapsed with a thunderous crash.
[Boss Defeated: +50 System Points]
[Warning: Shadow Extraction Restricted – Extraction requires completion of First Extraction Ritual.]
Juno's breath caught.
"What? But I extracted the scavenger wolf!"
The system responded:
[That was a basic extraction. The ritual for a Dungeon King requires higher synchronization.]
[New Quest: Perform Advanced Extraction – Eligible Now]
[Reward: Shadow King Core | New Skill Tree Unlocked]
[Proceed? Y/N]
He didn't hesitate.
"Yes."
A circle of dark runes formed beneath the corpse. Shadow tendrils emerged from the ground, pulling the beast's spirit into Juno's own shadow. The process took longer than Shade's extraction. Juno's body trembled under the weight of the transfer.
[Advanced Extraction Complete: Alpha Feralbeast – Bound]
[Name Your New Shadow Servant.]
Juno looked at the fading mist and whispered, "Call him Revenant."
The air shifted. Juno felt different—stronger, grounded, yet… colder.
[New Skill Tree Unlocked: Shadow Sovereign]
[Stats Increased: Strength +10 | Endurance +8 | Intelligence +5]
His interface blinked:
[Mission Complete – Return Portal Activated.]
Juno stepped through the portal, the dungeon fading around him.
---
When he opened his eyes, he was back in the subway tunnel. The air was stale and quiet. He wiped grime and blood from his arms, then staggered back toward campus. His hoodie was torn, stained—but he didn't care.
He had changed.
---
Back in his dorm, Juno collapsed on the bed. The system interface greeted him.
[System Training Phase Initiated – Physical Conditioning Required]
The next week was grueling. The system pushed him with daily quests:
Run 10km – Reward: +2 Stamina
Complete 500 pushups – Reward: +1 Strength
Shadow Combat Simulation – Unlock New Technique
Each failure brought pain—phantom shocks, dream invasions, and temporary stat locks.
Juno learned fast.
By the end of the week, his body had hardened. His endurance had doubled. His reaction time had sharpened.
Then the notification came:
[New Message from Local Guild: E-Rank Hunter Juno – Invitation to Join D-Rank Raid Party]
Juno stared at it.
He hadn't signed up for anything.
The message continued:
[You have been selected based on updated combat activity logs. Your presence is requested in the Southgate Rift on Saturday morning.]
He frowned. The system must have broadcast his results.
"Did you do this?" he asked aloud.
The system responded with a subtle ping.
[Exposure to controlled parties will accelerate rank progression.]
Juno sighed. He wasn't sure he was ready. But a voice inside him—the one from the void—whispered:
You died once. Now you rise.
He nodded, eyes glowing faintly with shadow.
"Let's see what a real raid looks like."