---
DUNGEON CLEARED
Countdown until Closing,
45 Minutes.
---
The blue screen descended without ceremony, hovering above the shattered clearing like a smug executioner who'd decided—against all odds—not to execute me today.
---
CALCULATING REWARDS BASED ON CONTRIBUTION
• Major Assist in Elimination of Boss Monster
• Assisted in the Elimination of 542 Monsters
• Eleminated 79 monsters
• Explored 38% of Dungeon Area
• Cleared Dungeon Within 7 Days
REWARDS GRANTED
• +2 Authority
• +10 Levels
• +10 Free Stat Points
• +100 World Credit
AVAILABLE BONUS REWARD (Choose One):
• Luck +5
• STR +20
• System Skill: Leadership (A, Passive)
---
The light hovered.
Patient.
Judgmental.
I stared at it through half-lidded eyes, every muscle in my body humming with the aftershock of not dying. My ears rang. My mouth tasted like copper and terrible life choices. The ground beneath me was cracked, scorched, and still faintly vibrating—as if the dungeon itself was sulking about losing.
"…Ten levels," I croaked.
The System, naturally, offered no emotional support.
The level-up hit like a forced recalibration rather than a gentle ascent.
Bones popped.
Muscles tightened.
My heartbeat stuttered—then settled into a deeper, heavier rhythm that made the world feel… steadier. Stronger. Like my body had finally caught up to the violence it had been subjected to all week.
Numbers flickered at the edge of my vision.
Authority increased.
Authority: 6 → 8
The change was subtle but undeniable. The oppressive pressure that had clung to the dungeon air since our arrival loosened—just a little. Like the world was less eager to crush me into a red smear for existing.
That alone would've been worth it.
Then came the real problem.
AVAILABLE BONUS REWARD (Choose One)
Three options.
Three very different futures.
I lay there, staring at the glowing list like it had personally insulted my ancestors.
"Of course," I muttered. "Now you want me to make a life-altering decision. While concussed. On the ground. Possibly bleeding internally."
Lenna stood several meters away, sword planted tip-down into the stone. She hadn't spoken since the dungeon clear. Dried blood streaked beneath her nose. Her breathing was steady—but only just. The kind of steady that came from discipline, not comfort.
Alfred knelt nearby, one hand pressed to his side, the other gripping his sword like he might need it again at any second. His jaw was tight. Focused. Alive.
Arial was beside me.
Kneeling.
Pale.
Her eyes were glassy with exhaustion, but painfully alert. Her hands hovered uncertainly over my chest, like she was afraid touching me again might break something.
"Master," she whispered. "Please… don't move yet."
"I'm not," I said weakly. "The world is just… doing that thing where it spins because I'm horizontal."
She didn't laugh. She simply nodded and placed a trembling palm over my chest. Warm mana seeped into me—gentle, careful, like she was afraid to push too hard.
The pain dulled.
Not gone.
Just… survivable.
Good enough.
My gaze drifted back to the reward options.
Luck +5
Tempting.
Dangerously tempting.
My Luck stat had been 8 for so long it felt less like a number and more like a personal curse. Five more points wouldn't make me blessed—but it might stop the universe from actively trying to assassinate me via coincidence.
And considering everything that had happened so far?
That felt like a wise investment.
STR +20
Also tempting.
But my class already scaled aggressively with strength. I'd get there eventually whether I wanted to or not. Spending a rare bonus on something my growth curve already favored felt… inefficient.
Leadership, A (Passive)
I snorted.
"Absolutely not."
I wasn't interested in commanding troops, inspiring speeches, or having people look to me for direction while monsters tried to eat us. I barely trusted myself to make good decisions under pressure.
Let alone others.
The choice crystallized.
---
BONUS REWARD SELECTED: Luck +5
---
Luck: 8 → 13
I exhaled slowly.
That alone felt like flipping the universe off—politely.
Next came the stat points.
Ten free points.
My gaze flicked to my attributes.
Strength? Already climbing.
Agility? Serviceable.
Intelligence?
Low.
And absolutely essential.
My class might not "like" intelligence, but I did. And thinking clearly had kept me alive far more often than swinging harder ever had.
---
FREE STAT POINTS ALLOCATED
• INT +10
---
The moment the final point settled, the System chimed again.
This time—
Not kindly.
Not loudly.
Just… ominously.
---
FORBIDDEN SKILL ACTIVATION DETECTED
SOUL'S FURY (SSS)
---
I froze.
---
PENALTY APPLIED
• Internal Energy Locked
• Duration: 48 Hours
• Remaining: 47.5 Hours
---
"…Hey," I said slowly. "That's not fair."
The System, as always, did not care.
I felt it immediately.
The constant, low-level awareness of my mana—gone.
The subtle tension of aura circulating through my body—gone.
It felt like someone had stuffed my soul into a padded box and taped it shut.
"…Doesn't that mean I can't use any energy-based skill for two days?" I asked the empty air.
Silence.
"Well," I muttered, "guess that's why it's called a forbidden skill."
The System finished updating my status anyway, floating it helpfully in front of me like salt in an open wound.
---
NAME: Augustus Ironcreed (August)
LEVEL: 27
CLASS: Iron Warrior, A
SYSTEM STATUS(2):
1. Soul One's Edict:
• Soul Obscurity
• Amplified Soulforce
• Enhanced Intelligence
2. Forbidden Skill Penalty
• Internal Energy Locked (0.5 / 48 hours)
STATS:
Authority: 8
STR: 57
AGI: 41
INT: 81
Charm: 33
Luck: 13
World Credit: 282
CLASS SKILLS:
Iron Guard, A
Blade Mastery, C
SYSTEM SKILLS:
Soul's Fury, SSS {Forbidden}
Higher Appraisal, SS
Survival Instinct, A
ACQUIRED SKILLS:
Martial Arts, C
Pain Tolerance, D
Cold Resistance, D
Shock Resistance, E
Poison Resistance, E
Fire Resistance, F
BLOODLINE:
Iron Stallion, A (UNAWAKENED)
ELEMENTAL AFFINITY: Metal
EQUIPMENT(5/5):
1. Ironhowl Blade (Sword), A
2. Ironcreed Family Heir Token, B
3. Storage Pouch, D
4. Lightsteel Armour, D {Broken}
---
"…Great," I muttered. "I lived. I leveled. And now I'm spiritually grounded."
I tried to pull up Higher Appraisal—to check on the others.
Nothing.
No response.
"…Oh, come on."
Of course.
Internal energy locked meant everything that ran on it was sealed.
No aura.
No mana.
No appraisal.
I was alive, stronger, luckier—
And functionally blind.
I let my head fall back against the ground and stared up at the dimming dungeon sky.
"Fantastic," I sighed. "I unlocked Hard Mode."
I paused.
"…Blind Edition."
Arial squeezed my hand gently, as if sensing the frustration.
"You survived," she said softly. "That matters."
I closed my eyes.
Yeah.
It did.
But survival, I was learning, always came with consequences.
And this dungeon?
It wasn't finished collecting its price.
...
After a while.
I was still staring at the penalty timer—47.5 hours glaring at me like a prison sentence—when a shadow fell across my vision.
"Can you move?"
Lenna's voice.
Flat. Efficient. Entirely uninterested in my spiritual suffering.
I turned my head slightly. "Define 'move.'"
She looked down at me, sword resting against her shoulder, expression unreadable. "Stand. Walk. Breathe without whining."
"…Then yes," I said. "Barely."
"Good," she replied. "Then get up."
I blinked. "That's it? No concern? No 'you nearly died saving our ass' speech?"
She frowned slightly. "You nearly die every day. This one was simply louder."
Fair.
She turned and gestured toward the center of the clearing, where the wind had finally settled completely. The shattered ground there had begun to reform—stone knitting itself together, cracks sealing as if the dungeon were begrudgingly undoing the damage.
"At this rate," Lenna said, "the dungeon will finish stabilizing in five minutes."
"And that's bad because…?" I asked, slowly pushing myself upright with Arial's help.
"Because once stabilization completes," Alfred answered calmly, "any unclaimed rewards are absorbed back into the dungeon core."
I froze mid-stand.
"…Excuse me?"
Arial nodded nervously. "Dungeon rewards are… very literal. If you don't claim them, the dungeon considers them forfeited."
I straightened immediately, pain be damned. "Why didn't anyone mention that earlier?!"
Lenna glanced at me. "You were unconscious."
"That didn't stop you from stabbing things!"
"That was necessary."
I hated how reasonable she was.
She turned fully now, eyes sharp. "If you can move, Augustus, then we can retrieve the reward chest. Otherwise, we lose everything we earned here."
She paused, just long enough to be cruel.
"And I will not waste days of effort because you want to lie down and reflect."
I clenched my jaw.
"…Alright," I said. "Let's loot before the dungeon eats our paycheck."
That earned me the faintest twitch of her lips.
The chest waited where the Gale Hound had fallen.
Not a literal chest, at first.
Instead, the ground sank inward, forming a circular depression. Wind spiraled downward, slow and deliberate, condensing until it solidified into a massive, rune-carved coffer of black crystal and silver metal.
The air around it thrummed.
Powerful.
Ancient.
Satisfied.
Arial inhaled sharply. "That's… a high-tier reward manifestation."
Alfred nodded. "Possibly enhanced by clear speed."
I swallowed. "Please tell me it doesn't explode if I open it wrong."
Lenna stepped forward. "It only explodes if you're the one who didn't participate in the boss battle."
"…That is reassuring."
She placed her hand on the lid.
The runes flared.
Then—
Click.
The chest opened.
Light spilled out, not blinding, but heavy—like each beam carried weight. The contents hovered above the coffer, suspended by the System itself.
A new screen formed.
---
DUNGEON REWARD CHEST: HOUND'S PLAYGROUND
CLEAR RATING: High
BOSS KILL: Confirmed
TIME CLEAR BONUS: Applied
TEAM MISSION COMPLETION: Achieved
REWARDS UNLOCKED:
Wind Mana Core (A-Rank Material)
Gale-step Boots (A-Rank Equipment)
Skill Book: Wind Cannon (A-Rank)
Skill Book: Wind Resistance (A-Rank)
---
For a long moment, nobody spoke.
Then Alfred let out a low whistle. "That's… generous."
Arial clasped her hands together. "The Wind Mana Core alone could fund an entire division for 3 monts."
I stared at the boots.
Then the skill books.
"…So," I said carefully, "statistically speaking, how likely was it for us to get all of this?"
Lenna answered without hesitation. "Unlikely."
"That's comforting."
She turned to Alfred. "gale-step Boots. You take them."
He stiffened. "Are you certain?"
"Yes. Your mobility determines formation stability."
He nodded once. "Understood."
She looked at Arial next. "Wind Resistance."
Arial blinked. "M-Me?"
"You rely on positioning," Lenna said. "Higher resistance increases survivability."
Arial bowed deeply. "Thank you, Lady Lenna."
Then—
Lenna turned to me.
"The rest will be submitted to the family as per the 50% rule."
I sighed. "Of course."
As the chest dissolved into motes of light, the dungeon finally went quiet.
No wind.
No pressure.
Just stillness.
A System message appeared one last time.
---
DUNGEON ANOMALY STABILIZATION IN PROGRESS
RETURNING PARTY TO EXIT POINT
---
Arial exhaled shakily. Alfred rolled his shoulders. Lenna sheathed her sword.
I looked down at my hands—still trembling slightly.
Alive.
Stronger.
Punished.
Rewarded.
"…Lenna," I said quietly as the teleportation light began to gather around us.
"Yes."
"You knew this would happen," I said. "The boss minions. The boss monster. The dangers. The rewards."
She didn't deny it.
"I accounted for it."
"And you still didn't tell me."
She looked at me then, properly this time.
"Because," she said, "I needed to know something."
"…What?"
Her eyes were calm. Evaluating.
"When despair was inevitable—when escape was impossible—would you break?"
The teleportation light surged.
I smiled.
"…And?"
She turned away as the world began to blur.
"You didn't."
The dungeon vanished.
And somehow—
That answer felt more satisfying than any reward.