8 years later
The years had been kind to them — and brutal in all the right ways.
Eight years of training, fighting, and laughter had molded the once clumsy trio into something formidable.
Mira had matured beautifully — her healing magic had reached advanced-class levels, and her control over light spells was near flawless. She still tripped over roots when excited, but her magic could mend broken bones faster than most priests could pray. She often stared at Leena in admiration, even trying to mimic the princess's poise and tone when speaking.
She'd deny it, of course. But everyone saw it.
Leena, on the other hand, was now a force that could silence an entire arena. Her dual blades glimmered with lightning enchantments, and her precision in combat was unmatched among her peers. But even as a royal knight-in-training, she still found time to tease Grim every morning, drag Mira into sparring matches, and mock Luke's "barbaric swings."
And then there was Grim.
He'd changed the most.
Gone was the timid boy with cautious eyes — replaced now by a young man who carried a quiet storm within him. His once soft aura had become sharper, calmer — the kind that made even experienced adventurers hesitate when he walked by.
His Celestial Domain had expanded far beyond his expectations. What once held a single, robotic soldier now pulsed with entire platoons of light-forged warriors — each waiting in the unseen dimension for his command.
He had learned to call forth hundreds of foot soldiers, two Archangels, and fifty Winged Sentinels.
And yet… no one knew.
He preferred it that way.
If anyone — especially the kingdom — discovered the kind of power he wielded, it would draw the attention of nobles, adventurer guilds, maybe even gods.
So Grim smiled, laughed, sparred, and pretended to still be catching up to Luke and Leena.
His system screen, however, told a much different story:
[Name]: Grim Aethar
[Title]: Celestial Warden
[Level]: 47
[Class]: Divine Conduit
[Strength]: 957
[Speed]: 1001
[Agility]: 645
[Intelligence]: 1089
[Mana]: 10,000 / 10,000
[Celestial Authority]: Lv. 3
[Active Skills]:
Heavenly Summon (Tier III)
Ethereal Shield
Mana Conversion: Soul-Type
Lightfall Strike
Heaven's Command (Locked)
He stared at the glowing screen as he leaned against the trunk of the old oak near their camp. The numbers no longer excited him — they only reminded him how far he'd drifted from being normal.
He clenched his fist, feeling mana ripple faintly through the air.
Just one punch, and he could vaporize a forest.
One order, and a hundred divine soldiers would fall from the sky.
He exhaled slowly, suppressing the power until it faded again.
"Still pretending to meditate, huh?"
Leena's voice snapped him out of thought. She stood behind him, hands on her hips, smirking as usual.
"Not pretending," Grim replied, smirking faintly. "Just… thinking."
"About what? How to hide that smile from Mira again?" she teased.
"Funny," he said dryly. "Actually, I was thinking how annoying you sound in the morning."
Leena mock gasped. "The audacity."
Mira's laugh echoed from the riverbank where she practiced spellwork. "You two flirt more than married couples."
Grim sighed. "Not this again."
Leena winked. "You're blushing again."
Luke approached then, sword resting over his shoulder. His presence still radiated energy — bold, brash, and annoyingly confident. "If you're done teasing lover boy," Luke said with a grin, "the guild master's waiting for us. We've got our first real dungeon clearance mission."
Grim stood, brushing dust from his coat. "Finally."
Mira clapped her hands, excitement shining in her eyes. "Our first dungeon as licensed adventurers!"
"Yeah," Leena said softly, glancing at Grim. "Let's make sure it's not our last."
As they walked toward Wethervore's central guild hall, Grim's system flickered faintly once more.
Lines of unreadable text appeared across his vision, whispering in a language older than time.
The sun had barely risen when the bells of Wethervore's Grand Adventurer Guild chimed.
The guild hall buzzed with life — armored men and women, spellcasters, beast tamers, all gathered beneath the gilded emblem of the twin dragons. The smell of oil, parchment, and mana crystals filled the air.
Today was special. The youngest team in the guild's history had just been assigned their first official dungeon raid.
Luke stood tall near the mission board, his polished armor reflecting the morning light. The guild members watched him with admiration — a legendary knight, already whispered about as the future commander of Wethervore's defense corps.
Leena leaned lazily against the pillar beside him, arms crossed. Her hood shadowed her sharp eyes — playful but deadly. She still wore the faint smirk of a noble who got her way no matter what.
Mira clutched her staff close, practically vibrating with excitement. "We're really doing this! A dungeon! Our first one!"
"Technically," Luke said with a teasing grin, "it's a D-rank, Mira. Don't get too excited. There'll be slimes, maybe a few goblins if we're lucky."
She puffed her cheeks. "That's still dangerous!"
Grim just laughed faintly, hiding the smirk threatening to break through. Dangerous? Hardly. He'd been inside worse — alone. His nights had been spent crawling through unstable rifts, testing his system's limits while pretending to be asleep back home.
But now, in the open, he had to play the part — the tag-along "weakling" who got lucky enough to be invited.
The guild master — a hulking man with scars etched across his arms — approached the four. "You're Team Argent Dawn, right?"
Luke saluted sharply. "Yes, sir."
"Good. Your first assignment." He tossed a rolled parchment onto the table. "D-rank dungeon, east of the Silverpine Woods. Been stable for weeks, but reports say the mana flow's been spiking lately. Don't get cocky."
"Understood," Luke replied, his voice full of confidence.
Grim, standing slightly behind the others, caught a strange pulse from the map — faint, almost invisible. His system screen flickered for a moment, registering a mana distortion. He blinked it away quickly before anyone noticed.
"Right," Mira said, tucking the map into her bag. "Let's go before I lose my nerves!"
As they left the guild, chatter followed them — admiration, curiosity, even envy.
"That's the princess with them, isn't it?"
"And Luke — the prodigy knight."
"And the other one… who's the quiet kid?"
"Dunno. Probably just tagging along."
Grim kept walking, smiling faintly to himself. Exactly as I wanted.
The road to Silverpine Woods stretched long and bright beneath the rising sun. The cobblestone path shimmered faintly with morning dew, and the air carried the scent of pine and magic-infused flowers. Birds chirped in harmonic rhythm, disturbed only by the clanking of Luke's armor.
"Do you have to walk so loud?" Leena groaned from behind, kicking a pebble his way. "You sound like a one-man parade."
"It's called presence," Luke replied with a proud grin. "People hear me coming and know a hero's on the way."
Grim chuckled quietly. "Pretty sure the monsters do too."
"Ha! Let them come," Luke said, patting the sword at his hip. "Gives me a chance to warm up."
Mira trotted beside them, staff in hand and eyes wide as she admired the trees bending under faint mana currents. "It's so pretty here! It feels different from home… like everything's alive!"
"That's because it is," Leena replied, her tone oddly calm. "Mana here flows closer to the surface. That's why this forest keeps birthing dungeons."
Grim looked up at the shifting light filtering through the leaves. She was right. The air here was thicker — buzzing faintly with raw energy. He could almost see the streams of mana weaving through the trees like faint blue threads.
His system pulsed faintly before his eyes, invisible to the others.
[Mana Density: High]
[Area Threat Level: D+]
[Dungeon Coordinates: 1.2 km ahead]
So this was it — the first dungeon with his team. The first one he didn't have to face alone.
He smiled faintly, though inside, thoughts spun like gears.
If the dungeon core really is unstable, the others might sense it too. That means the system's influence could be spreading. I'll need to monitor that… quietly.
"Hey, Grim!" Mira called, snapping him out of his thoughts. "You're spacing out again! Are you nervous?"
He scratched his head, forcing a sheepish laugh. "A bit, yeah. I just… don't want to mess up."
Luke threw an arm around him. "Relax, buddy. You've got the greatest knight in Wethervore watching your back."
Leena rolled her eyes. "Oh please. If anyone needs protecting, it's you. Remember the last time you tripped over a slime?"
"That was strategic repositioning!" Luke barked, puffing his chest.
Grim laughed for real this time — it felt good. The sound of their banter mixed with the rustle of the forest wind.
For a moment, it almost felt like they were just normal teens, not legendary prodigies or hidden monsters.
This… this is what I missed in my last life, Grim thought. Having people beside me.
But the system's faint hum reminded him — peace never lasted long.
The forest around them darkened slightly as they neared the clearing. The scent of damp stone and faint sulfur filled the air.
Leena stopped walking, her eyes narrowing. "We're close."
Grim's system blinked again.
[Dungeon Detected: Silverpine Ruins – Rank D]
[Warning: Unstable Mana Core Detected.]
He swallowed lightly, forcing his voice steady. "Let's get ready… we're here."
The dungeon air was cold — unnaturally cold. It clung to their skin like mist as they stepped through the cracked stone archway, torches igniting along the walls as if the place recognized their presence.
Moss crawled across the bricks, and the sound of dripping water echoed deep within. A faint blue light pulsed in the distance — the heart of the Silverpine Dungeon.
Luke whistled low. "Well, this place looks cozy."
Leena unsheathed her twin daggers, the blades reflecting the torchlight like liquid silver. "Stay alert. Even D-rank monsters can surprise you if you get too comfortable."
"Right," Mira nodded nervously, clutching her staff close.
Grim's eyes faintly glowed as he discreetly opened his system interface.
[Detecting 43 lifeforms ahead: Goblin (D-), Silver Fang Wolf (D), Slime (E)]
[Mana Signature Anomaly: Far Right Path – Threat Level B+]
B+... That's too strong for their first raid. Could it be my system leaking again?
He stole a quick glance at his companions. Luke was hyped up as always, Mira was trying to hide her trembling hands, and Leena looked calm — but her daggers were already coated with faint, flickering mana.
I can't let them face that thing. I'll take care of it quietly.
"Two paths," Luke said as they arrived at the fork. "Left looks easier, right feels… heavier."
"Let's start with the left," Grim suggested casually. "No need to bite more than we can chew. We'll clear this one and come back for the other later."
Leena eyed him curiously but shrugged. "Fine by me."
While the others agreed, Grim subtly opened a mental command screen:
[Summon Foot Soldiers – 6 Units]
[Order: Clear all monsters on the right path – Avoid detection by allies.]
The air rippled slightly — invisible to the others — as his celestial soldiers descended into the shadows, obeying without a sound.
He turned, expression calm. "Let's go."
The Left Path
The corridor opened into a wide chamber crawling with slimes. Blue, green, and yellow blobs shimmered like jewels across the damp floor, quivering as the adventurers approached.
Luke grinned. "I'll handle this one!"
He dashed forward, drawing his blade in a blinding arc. "Steel Art: Dragon Fang Strike!"
The ground cracked beneath him as his mana flared bright orange, vaporizing a wave of slimes instantly.
"Show-off," Leena muttered, flipping into motion. She vanished into a blur — her cloak fluttering once as she appeared behind a silver-fanged wolf mid-leap, cutting its throat before it could even snarl.
"Stealth Art: Silent Bloom." Her movements were fluid, each strike precise and calculated.
Meanwhile, Mira stood back, her hands glowing a warm, soft green.
"Blessing of the Sprout!" she chanted, sending waves of healing mana washing over her team as tiny flowers sprouted between cracks in the stone.
Grim pretended to be impressed, even clapping once. "Nice! I'd say you're getting better with control."
Mira giggled. "Told you I've been practicing!"
But when three wolves leapt at him from the shadows, Grim barely moved. He shifted his stance slightly — his eyes narrowing.
The soldiers he had summoned earlier had already cleared most of the right path by now, and he could feel their victory notifications pulsing faintly through the system.
Guess I can have a little fun, too.
He stepped forward, his blade whispering through the air — swift, efficient, cold.
One wolf lunged. He sidestepped and struck the joint of its neck.
The second followed — he parried, reversed his grip, and plunged the blade downward.
The third… he didn't even need to touch. A faint surge of invisible mana rippled out from him, knocking it unconscious.
Luke turned just in time to see the last beast collapse. "Whoa! When did you get that fast?"
Grim scratched the back of his head, laughing awkwardly. "Uh… adrenaline?"
Leena's eyes lingered on him longer than usual, a faint glint of suspicion behind her calm smile.
An hour later, the team stood surrounded by fading monster corpses — most of which were already dissolving into mana particles.
Luke planted his sword into the ground. "Easy win! First dungeon raid — complete!"
Mira cheered. "We did it!"
Leena sheathed her daggers, exhaling softly. "Don't celebrate yet. We still have the right path."
Grim nodded, hiding his smirk as the system pinged:
[Right Path Cleared. Threat Neutralized. 243 EXP Gained.]
[Mana Absorbed: +120]
[Celestial Foot Soldiers: Returning to Domain.]
Perfect. They'll never know.
He looked back at his friends, smiling faintly. "Yeah… let's go"
The dungeon had been too easy so far — goblins, slimes, and a few silver-fanged wolves.
Luke, Leena, and Mira were laughing between fights, tossing jokes and teasing Grim for looking bored.
But when they reached what seemed like the final chamber, the air changed.
The room was massive — dark stone walls covered in veins of pulsing blue light. In the center, something slumbered — a hulking creature with jagged horns and scales like molten steel.
The moment they stepped closer, the dungeon core pulsed violently.
"Something's wrong, my soldiers should have killed everything here, did they not see it?" Grim murmured. His hand hovered near his blade.
The creature's eyes shot open — burning yellow, full of rage.
"Everyone, brace!" Luke shouted.
The Ironhide Troll roared, its voice shaking the cavern. In a single swing, it smashed its club down, splintering the floor where they had stood a second ago.
"Luke, it's huge!" Mira yelled, firing off bursts of holy light that barely singed its skin.
Leena dashed forward, her twin blades flashing. "Focus the legs — slow it down!"
They attacked together — coordinated, experienced — but the troll shrugged it all off, its skin tougher than stone.
Then, the troll raised its club again, and for a brief instant, Grim's eyes glowed faintly blue.
No one saw him move.
A thin, silver arc split the air — too fast to register. The next second, the troll froze mid-swing, its body stiffening as a faint line of blue light ran from its neck to its chest.
Grim had already stepped back, lowering his blade before anyone noticed.
A heartbeat later—
"Flame Art: Crimson Dragon Burst!" Luke's voice boomed across the cavern. His sword erupted in red fire as he brought it down on the troll's chest.
The creature's body erupted in flames — and then collapsed, dead.
Silence.
Smoke filled the chamber, the scent of burnt flesh heavy in the air.
Luke stood there panting, his sword steaming. "Heh… that was easier than I thought."
Leena's eyes were wide. "That was insane, Luke! You didn't even give it a chance to move!"
Mira clapped her hands, smiling. "The guild's going to go crazy when they hear this!"
Grim sheathed his blade quietly, forcing a faint grin. "Yeah… lucky hit, Luke."
"Right? Guess I'm just built different," Luke said with a cocky laugh.
Grim's system screen flickered in his vision:
[Boss Defeated. EXP +1800. Mana Absorbed: +420.]
[System Stability: 99%. Hidden Kill registered.]
He exhaled softly, looking at his team celebrating around the fallen troll.
They don't need to know. Not yet.
As the group prepared to head back, the troll's corpse slowly disintegrated into motes of blue light. Grim's reflection flickered in them — calm, unreadable.