"What a disaster… A dignified Silver-ranked adventurer party, nearly wiped out in a Beginner dungeon. If word got out, it'd be humiliating."
Stella muttered the words through clenched teeth as she knelt beside the fallen minotaur, slicing off its horns with practiced precision. The dagger's blade flashed, cleanly severing them before she tucked both trophies into her dimensional backpack.
She was a pure-blooded elf — noble by birth and seasoned by fifty years of wandering. Her skill with the bow had earned her a Silver rank, and her strength was enough to overwhelm twenty men without breaking a sweat.
Her party, Morning Wind, boasted two Silvers and two nearly-promoted Bronzes, with a proud 80% quest completion rate.
And yet… this dungeon had almost annihilated them.
One Bronze had been dragged into a swamp by skeletal hands and packs of rotting wild dogs. By the time they pulled him out, he was already suffering from two crippling debuffs: Poisoned and Corrupted.
They had antidotes—
—but the teammate carrying the potions had opened what looked like an ordinary treasure chest.
The result:
[A teleportation trap was triggered!!!]
No one had seen him since.
Stella, a high-tier ranger, and her fellow Silver — a high-tier sword-and-shield fighter — had no healing magic between them.
So they watched, helpless, as poison claimed their comrade.
The sword-and-shield warrior, hot-headed by nature, lost control. Enraged, he tore through the dungeon like a war god, hacking down every creature in his path. But fury dulled his caution. Crossing a cliff path, he never saw the massive iron boulder until it crashed into him.
They both plunged into the abyss.
"Who puts a giant ball there?!" Stella kicked the next door open with a sharp bang, revealing a staircase leading deeper — into the mine level.
She didn't rush forward. Instead, she flicked a pebble inside. It bounced harmlessly along the stone.
Not paranoia by choice — this dungeon had taught her paranoia.
More traps in one day than she'd encountered in the last decade.
Fake corpses, swamp lurkers, ceiling predators, ambushers in every corner… even monsters creeping along bridge undersides.
"This place plays dirtier than a 'Hard'-rank dungeon. If the monsters were stronger, it'd be dangerous."
Still, she'd noticed a glaring weakness — the enemies themselves. Skeletons, goblins, Rotten Wild Dogs, blood mosquitoes… all bottom-tier fodder. Even a well-armed farmer could manage them. Only the minotaurs offered a real fight, and even they were barely mid-low tier.
No elite-class monsters. And once she adapted to the traps, they weren't much of a threat.
"Let's just find the exit and get out. Nothing's gone right since we walked in here."
They had entered Sein Dungeon out of idle curiosity, intending to sightsee. But instead of the "easiest dungeon," they'd found the most underhanded.
It was obvious something had changed — a dungeon mutation.
A thousand years ago, such mutations were common: dungeons shifting layouts, enemies, and hazards almost daily. But in modern times, most remained stable for decades, many fully mapped.
Sein was the first recorded mutation in thirty years.
"If we can chart it, the map'll be worth a fortune," Stella realized. "We rest a few days, come back, and publish first."
She pressed on — spiraling staircases, sudden ambushes, falling boulders, mimics… until the narrow tunnels opened into a vast cavern glittering with blood-red crystal spires.
She stopped cold.
The jagged crystals bathed the stone walls in a deep crimson glow, but they weren't what froze her.
A towering knight stood ahead, back turned, bronze armor gleaming under the red light. His axe-shaped helm radiated authority, his massive shield and sword worn from countless battles. Mysterious engravings ran along his plates, their meaning lost to time.
Even without seeing his face, his posture told her enough.
He was powerful.
Battle skill activated: [Qi Perception]!
Her left eye flared faintly. The aura that struck her senses was overwhelming.
Stronger than me and Gibbs (The Warrior member) combined.
"…Uh. Hello?"
She tried diplomacy — his presence didn't feel like a monster's. Maybe an ally? The Crucible Knight turned his helm toward her. For a heartbeat, nothing moved.
Then he charged.
"I just want to be friend!"
She sprang back, bow in hand, loosing ten arrows in a flash. The Knight's shield met every shot.
Not a scratch.
"That shield's broken!"
(***)
Far away, in a crystal-lit command room, Wade steepled his hands beneath his chin, watching through his scrying orb.
"Shield bash is the real deal. Shame I can't swap out his gear."
He was logging combat data. The Crucible Knight — a C-rank summon — was his strongest available unit. Others of the rank included Black and Silver Knights, but many were beyond his summoning range.
F-tier monsters took single-digit mental energy.
E-tier: double digits.
D-tier: triple, under 500.
C-tier: anywhere from triple to four-digit consumption.
After inheriting Aldwin's memories, Wade had gained the ability to gauge others' strength.
Low-tier, Mid-tier, High-tier, King-tier, Sacred-tier, and Legendary.
Stella carried at least one high-tier and one mid-tier class.
Adventurer ranks — Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold — measured completed commissions, not battle capability. By power alone, Stella was mid-tier, a perfect test for the Crucible Knight.
.
..
...
Ten minutes later, she was tiring fast.
Normal arrows couldn't pierce the Knight's armor. Only enchanted shots combined with skillful precision could slip through gaps — and that drained her stamina quickly.
Even with his joints peppered by well-aimed hits, the Knight's movements never slowed.
She dodged a ground stomp, but a shard of rock sliced her arm. She drew to counter—
—when a golden light flared.
Wings. Brilliant, golden, and lethal, unfurled from his back.
Danger!
The warning blared in her mind. She rolled hard left.
A split-second later, he dove like a living missile, his wing-blades grazing her side and opening a deep gash.
"Potion—! Thank god I brought one!"
The dive had bought her a breath. She uncorked the vial and downed the crimson liquid.
She looked up—
—just in time to see him charging again, eyes blazing.
All I wanted was a sip!
(*****)
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