Lucas' hand froze, and his eyes turned red. Godhead! It was truly a godlike ability!
Paired with Copy, he could possess an unlimited number of A-Rank talents and techniques!
But before he could celebrate, footsteps suddenly echoed from behind.
He turned around—and froze.
A phantom emerged from the shadows, its form gradually taking shape with each step.
When it fully revealed itself, his breath caught in his throat.
A massive gray wolf, five meters tall, with black spots mottled across its skin, dark flames seemingly bursting from it.
The Wolf of Blackflame!
At that moment, a horn appeared on its forehead. It was crystal white—a striking contrast to its dark appearance.
Lucas slowly moved his hand.
It was obvious now.
It wasn't the divine corpse that had killed everyone, but this monster.
The Wolf of Blackflame—a D-Rank dungeon king. It possessed strong resistance to flames, dimensional travel, and could even duplicate itself.
With its inborn talent to travel between dungeons, it often appeared during other parties' expeditions, disrupting their plans and wiping them out.
The horn on its forehead indicated it wasn't just a normal dungeon king—
It had ascended.
A king among kings.
A beast emperor.
"It must've been strengthened due to the special dungeon's conditions."
Lucas' eyes sharpened, and his hands clenched subconsciously.
He had just gotten his ticket to becoming strong, and he was going to fall to a measly monster?
Damn hell if he did.
He stared at the Wolf of Blackflame, taking in its imposing presence fully.
It slowly walked, circling around the corpses of the fallen death slaves.
It didn't immediately attack, like he imagined. It was sizing him up—intelligently.
But that also raised a question—why?
Lucas pondered. Was it because it hadn't expected him to survive, and was now being cautious?
Or was there another reason?
Regardless, he couldn't just stand here doing nothing. But running wasn't a good option either.
The Wolf of Blackflame's strength was elevated by the special dungeon.
If he couldn't outrun it before, then now—now that it had grown stronger—he didn't stand the slightest chance.
The situation seemed entirely hopeless.
'…'
Lucas didn't speak and instead focused on his newly acquired skills and talents.
With Lone Star's guarantee, he had a 50% chance of surviving this life-or-death situation.
But like Struggler, his survival relied on both luck and ability.
Moreover, it might've already taken effect.
If that were the case, then he had to think fast. What was the "key" to his survival?
Running a quick mental review of his newly acquired abilities, Lucas analyzed calmly.
"Immortal Body? No, a strong body alone isn't enough to bridge the unreasonable gap in strength."
"Divine Comprehension? That's possible… but the key lies in how I use it."
Thinking rapidly, Lucas followed the Wolf of Blackflame's gaze as he formed a plan.
Divine Comprehension gave him an unrivaled understanding and intuition of everything.
He could create, understand, and improve techniques and abilities with effortless precision.
He had two options. He could create a technique, or try to understand one of the two techniques he copied.
Lucas immediately deferred to the second option. Creating a technique? He didn't have enough experience.
The end result might be too clunky to even use. He immediately pulled up the description of Vanishing Step.
[Vanishing Step]
[Description: A legendary movement art known across the universe—not for its speed, but for the legend who once used it to its full potential. The user moves in short bursts, leaving behind afterimages that seem real.]
[Potential: A-Rank]
Without wasting time, Lucas fully focused on understanding the intricacies of Vanishing Step.
At first, it seemed simple. But when he looked deeper, he was shocked to realize its depth.
It was a technique that, at its mastery, could surpass time!
However, he didn't have time to immerse in its power, as the Wolf of Blackflame suddenly disappeared.
Woosh!
In a split second, the Wolf of Blackflame reappeared in front of him.
But Lucas immediately used Vanishing Step.
With one step, he appeared behind the Wolf of Blackflame.
Before the creature could react, he used Vanishing Step consecutively.
In under a few seconds, he was already at the exit.
Lucas' plan was simple.
Kill the dungeon boss.
The Wolf of Blackflame was not the boss of this dungeon, but a rogue monster.
The Red Party had briefed them beforehand on the details of the dungeon.
This was an E-Rank dungeon, ruled by a Warfrog—a common E-rank boss.
He didn't have any confidence before, but now, with his current abilities, it would be simple.
He just had to find the Warfrog before the Wolf of Blackflame caught up with him.
He recalled what he knew about the Warfrog—two meters tall, scarlet in color, and surrounded by a fire aura that raised the surrounding air temperature.
Its known weaknesses included the area just above its left leg, piercing both eyes simultaneously, and a vulnerable spot at the lower back.
Its abilities included skin hardening, high-speed jumping, and explosive lunges capable of crushing bone.
Although he was weak, he wasn't ignorant. The reason he kept entering dungeons despite his lack of strength was his confidence in his knowledge.
Back then, he read, read, read, and read. Every book about dungeons, monsters, and hunters—he consumed.
His weak talent had just been holding him back.
Suddenly, Lucas exhaled deeply, finally sensing an increase in temperature in a particular area.
He appeared beside the Warfrog. While it hadn't yet activated its skin hardening ability, he struck its weak point.
With his current strength, he could pierce through its skin with ease.
Immediately afterward, it squealed and died pathetically.
Behind Lucas, a dark presence loomed.
Five meters tall, dark gray in appearance, with a pair of glowing green eyes.
The Wolf of Blackflame stared at him.
As the dungeon began breaking down into particles…
Lucas stared back.
---
Officer Hongseob looked up at the sky, noting its ominous red hue.
One hundred years ago, the sky changed colors for the first time, turning dark, and thus began the Dark Giants Calamity.
Now, it had turned red, signifying another calamity.
But he—or everyone—could be wrong. A change in the sky's color didn't necessarily mean disaster.
Who knows, Hongseob puffed out a smoke. Maybe God just wanted an aesthetic change.
A knock on the door interrupted his solitude.
"Come in."
Hongseob said, lowering the cigarette. A tall, brown-haired woman stepped inside.
He sized her up.
Anna—a good intern. Strong, career-focused, and beautiful. If she hadn't been born in this era, he reckoned she would've been a very successful woman.
Now, she was just scraps of society.
Before she could speak, Hongseob opened his mouth.
"Where's Looker? He's not with you right now?"
Anna shook her head.
"No. Mayor Perrier called him earlier."
Hongseob muttered something unreadable before shaking his head. He waved his hand,
"Continue."
Anna nodded slightly.
"...The Fifth Emperor just held a press conference. Most of the cities gathered for an emergency meeting, hosted by the City of Amaneses. The world is changing. "
"What'd he say?"
Hongseob raised his brows in interest.
The woman grimaced and shook her head.
"God is dead."