"Lincheng is lucky to have a priest like you. I hope you keep up the good work in the upcoming training camp."
Ethan nodded calmly.
"I'll do my best, sir."
With everyone's information registered, Kris's expression softened considerably.
"The monster tide has mostly died down, but mopping up the outskirts will take time. Rest here for the night, and we'll arrange a vehicle to take you back to Lincheng tomorrow."
"Sir—isn't holding the Seven Schools Training Camp here too dangerous?"
Amy couldn't help but ask, worry etched on her face.
She'd experienced firsthand how hopeless that monster tide felt—if it weren't for Ethan, they'd all be dead.
"Dangerous?"
Major Frostburn paused, his gaze sweeping over the young faces in the room—faces that had just stared death in the eye and survived.
"Black Iron Mountain was never meant to be a playground. The reason we're holding the training camp here is to show you what a real battlefield looks like."
"But the scale of this monster tide..."
Amy pressed, her voice trailing off.
"Don't worry. When the time comes, helicopters will drop you directly into the base—you won't have to fight your way through the ground like you did today," Kris assured them, easing the tension in the room slightly.
Helicopters would indeed bypass the most dangerous ground assault.
"But," he added, his tone turning serious again, "the base's perimeter defenses aren't invincible. Sudden large-scale monster tides like this one are rare, but not impossible to happen again. During the training camp, you must be ready to fight and respond to emergencies at all times."
"There is no such thing as an absolutely safe rear guard on a real battlefield.
" His gaze locked onto each young face in the room. "This experience—what you went through today—might be more valuable than any training course we could give you. At the very least, it taught you what the wilderness really means."
After Kris left, the relaxed atmosphere in the restroom didn't last long.
Lucas and the others stared at Ethan, their eyes a mix of curiosity, gratitude, and sheer disbelief.
"Ethan," Lucas finally said, unable to contain himself any longer.
He scratched his head, grinning sheepishly.
"That B-rank talent of yours... it's insanely overpowered! The A-rank healer at our school is like a newborn baby compared to you!"
"Tell me about it!" Mara nodded vigorously.
"That healing frequency and output—I'd believe it if you said you were a Rank 2 Priest! Is that even possible with a B-rank talent?"
Ethan had expected this reaction, so he just smiled and fell back on his go-to explanation.
"My talent is just... a bit special, I guess."
It was a vague answer, but paired with his terrifying performance, it only added to his mystique.
Seeing he wasn't going to elaborate, everyone wisely dropped the subject—everyone had their secrets, after all.
But the name Ethan, and his god-tier support capabilities, were etched firmly into the minds of everyone present.
Ella leaned in close to Ethan, whispering conspiratorially.
"Hey, you're full of secrets, aren't you? B-rank talent? Yeah, right—you expect me to believe that?"
She'd seen firsthand how Ethan had punched an Ironmane Boar flying—there was no way that was the strength of a normal priest.
Ethan glanced at her, deadpan.
"I'm just a B-rank talent priest. I'm just a bit tougher, a bit better at healing, and a bit stronger than most, that's all."
He wasn't lying—he really was a B-rank talent priest.
Ella: "..."
She rolled her eyes, deciding not to argue with this humblebragger for now.
Just then, a loud commotion erupted outside the command center—accompanied by shouts of surprise and the thunderous roar of clashing energy!
"What's going on?!"
"Is the monster tide getting worse?!"
Everyone in the restroom tensed up instantly, jumping to their feet.
A soldier ran past the door in a hurry. Amy called out to him immediately.
"What's happening?!"
The soldier skidded to a halt, his face grim.
"The energy at the new dungeon entrance in West Valley just exploded again! A Rank 5 boss was drawn by the energy surge—Major Frostburn has already led a team to intercept it!"
Rank 5?!
Everyone's faces paled in horror.
Ethan frowned deeply, that uneasy feeling in his gut flaring up again.
Could it be that this sudden monster tide and the dungeon's instability weren't just accidents?
Ten more minutes passed, and Major Frostburn returned, his expression grim.
His gaze swept over the young faces in the restroom, his voice heavy with gravity.
"The situation is worse than we thought. The newly formed dungeon in West Valley has become extremely unstable, emitting intermittent energy pulses that are attracting high-level monsters."
He took a deep breath before continuing.
"Only a Rank 5 boss showed up earlier, and we managed to repel it—for now. But there's no telling what the next energy pulse will draw in."
"According to the command center's analysis, the only way to resolve this for good is to send someone into the dungeon to clear it and stabilize the core from the inside.
" His tone turned deadly serious.
"However, this dungeon has a strict level suppression rule—it only allows professionals below Rank 1 to enter. Right now, in the entire military base, the only ones who meet that requirement are the eight of you."
A deathly silence fell over the restroom—not even the sound of breathing could be heard.
Having just clawed their way back from the brink of death, they were now being asked to step into an even more dangerous, unknown mission.
"This is not an order—it's a request. Or rather... it's the only choice we have."
Kris's gaze was honest and direct.
"Entering an unknown, unstable dungeon is extremely risky. We have no way of knowing what's inside."
"You have the right to refuse. If you choose not to go, I'll arrange for helicopters to fly you back to Lincheng immediately—away from the danger here."
The restroom fell silent again, broken only by the faint sound of gunfire and monster roars from outside.
They'd just escaped death's grip, and now they were being asked to jump headfirst into another, even more terrifying abyss?
It was an impossible choice to make.
Lucas and the others exchanged looks, their faces filled with hesitation and inner turmoil.
They craved strength—that's why they'd come to Black Iron Mountain in the first place—but that didn't mean they were reckless fools.
A dungeon capable of triggering such a massive monster tide and attracting a Rank 5 boss was clearly far beyond their level.
Refusing seemed like the only logical choice—boarding a helicopter and returning to the safety of Lincheng, leaving all this behind...
Just then, Ethan stepped forward, his voice calm but firm.
"Major Frostburn—if the dungeon's energy core remains unstable, what's the worst-case scenario?"
Kris looked at him in surprise—asking that question meant he was actually considering it.
He answered without hesitation, holding nothing back.
"Worst-case scenario? The energy pulses keep coming, drawing in Rank 6, Rank 7, even stronger monsters. It could lead to a permanent, ultra-large monster tide. This military base might hold out for a while, but eventually, our resources and troops will be exhausted."
"And when that happens, the monster tide will break free from Black Iron Mountain—and the first place it will hit is... Lincheng."
Lincheng.
The word hung in the air like a sledgehammer, striking a chord in everyone's heart.
Their homes, their families, their friends—they were all in Lincheng. Running away might save them for now, but the disaster would follow, and the people they cared about most would be the ones to pay the price.
"Does the level suppression apply to the monsters inside too?"
Ethan asked, his next question cutting to the heart of the matter.
"Theoretically, yes," Kris replied, his voice grim.
"In every dungeon with level suppression rules discovered so far, the monsters inside never exceed the dungeon's level limit. It's part of the dungeon's fundamental laws."
He paused, his tone turning even more serious.
"But this dungeon is too new—too unstable. We have no way of knowing if there are loopholes in the rules, or if the intense energy inside has warped them somehow. We can't guarantee the monsters inside will stay below Rank 1. There might be elite monsters that exceed the level limit... or even creatures twisted by the energy that we can't begin to understand."
"In other words, the risk is even higher than we thought," Amy summarized quietly.
"Yes," Kris nodded solemnly.
"Which is why I'll say it again—this is not an order. The choice is yours."
The atmosphere in the restroom grew even more oppressive. Unknown dungeons, potential level-breaking monsters, an unstable energy core—every word spelled certain death.
Ethan spoke again, breaking the suffocating silence.
"Major Frostburn—if we choose to go in, what kind of support can the base provide us?"
All eyes turned to him instantly.
A flicker of hope and admiration crossed Kris's face as he answered immediately.
"We'll equip you with the best gear and consumables available for Rank 1 professionals. And if—if—you succeed in stabilizing the core, every single one of you will receive the highest honors and a huge reward from the military and the Lincheng government. It will be a massive boost to your future careers."
Gear, supplies, honors, rewards—these were all valuable, but in the face of the unknown dangers ahead, they felt woefully inadequate.
Major Frostburn paused, then pulled 43 shimmering silver metal tokens and eight small communicators from his storage device.
"These are specially made one-time spatial teleport beacons and encrypted communicators. Infuse them with mana to activate the beacon—it will create a temporary, highly unstable portal that teleports you back to the base. The communicators will allow short-range contact with us inside the dungeon."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the group, his voice grave.
"But the beacons and communicators may be interfered with by the dungeon's unknown energy fields. The base only has 43 beacons total—and you'll get all of them."
Looking at the beacons in his hand, Ethan let out a quiet sigh of relief. This was exactly what he'd been waiting for.
Without a way to escape the dungeon, he would never have agreed to go in.
With the beacons, their chances of survival increased dramatically.
"I'm in," Ethan declared, his voice calm but unshakable.
"Instead of waiting for disaster to strike Lincheng, we might as well take the initiative. At least this way, we have a fighting chance to control the situation."
Ella stepped up beside him without a moment's hesitation.
"I'm with you! You saved my life, anyway—I owe you!"
Amy sighed softly, then smiled and joined them.
"We're a team, aren't we?"
Lucas and the others exchanged a glance, then burst out laughing.
"Fuck it! Let's do this!"
Lucas slammed a fist into his palm.
"We survived the monster tide—must mean I'm lucky! A little dungeon ain't nothing!"
"That's right! With Ethan's god-tier healing, what do we have to fear?!"
Sam added, his confidence renewed.
"We're not cowards!"
Aaron thumped his chest proudly.
Mara and Talia shared a smile, then nodded in unison.
Major Frostburn looked at the young, determined faces before him, his eyes filled with a mix of admiration, worry, and deep respect.
"Good!"
He saluted them solemnly.
"On behalf of every soldier in this base and the millions of citizens of Lincheng—thank you for your courage. Follow me to the armory—we'll equip you with the best gear we have!"
The armory was filled with a vast array of equipment, but there wasn't much that suited their levels and classes—most of it was either too high-level or for the wrong profession. It took some time to sort through it all.
Ten minutes later, the eight-person team was fully geared up for battle.
Major Frostburn even gave each of them a spatial ring—not a large one, only about one cubic meter in storage space, but a ring like that would easily sell for ten million credits on the market.