The dungeon gate shimmered ominously before the raid team. Unlike ordinary portals, this one radiated a suffocating pressure, the kind that sent even high-ranked hunters shifting uneasily.
Song Chi-Yul adjusted his grip on his sword, frowning. "This dungeon... feels wrong."
The Association employee leading them stammered nervously. "I-it's rated as C-rank. Nothing dangerous..."
But Jinwoo already knew better. His reincarnated memory whispered to him like an old nightmare. This isn't a C-rank... this is the dungeon where the centipede lurks.
He clenched his fists, his shadows stirring eagerly inside him. Good. I need this fight. I need to test them.
The raid entered. At first, the corridors were empty, silent, as though the dungeon itself was holding its breath.
Then the ground trembled.
"W-what was that?!" one hunter yelped.
The walls cracked, and from the darkness emerged a colossal centipede, its armored body stretching endlessly, its mandibles dripping venom.
"A-A rank...! That's an A-rank monster!!" someone screamed.
The team panicked. Spells flew, swords clashed—but the centipede shrugged it all off, smashing hunters aside with a single swipe of its tail.
Chaos reigned.
But Jinwoo stood firm, his lips curling into a calm grin. Exactly as I remember. This is where the weak despair... and I rise above them.
"Rise," he whispered.
Shadows surged from his feet, dark figures crawling out from the ground—the armored knight he had taken before, joined by smaller soldiers formed from slain beasts.
Gasps erupted from the panicked hunters.
"What the hell—?! Those shadows again?!""He's controlling them... like an army!"
The centipede screeched, lunging toward Jinwoo. But the shadow knight raised its greatsword, intercepting the blow. The clash shook the dungeon, but the knight held firm.
Jinwoo's eyes gleamed. This time, I'm not the prey.
"Kill it."
The shadows roared silently as they surged forward, overwhelming the centipede in a storm of blades and claws.