The roar shook the cavern.
Dust fell from the ceiling in heavy clumps, crashing onto the stone floor. The bioluminescent moss flickered, dimming as if the dungeon itself was drawing breath.
Jinwoo stopped walking.
He felt it now.
A presence.
Heavy. Ancient. Far stronger than anything that belonged in a low-rank dungeon.
"…A boss already?" he murmured.
That wasn't normal.
In Gate C-17, the boss was supposed to appear only after a full clear—after hours of combat, bloodshed, and accumulation of mana.
But Jinwoo hadn't even reached the midpoint.
The dungeon was accelerating.
No.
It was panicking.
The ground split ahead of him.
Stone shattered outward as a massive figure forced itself into the cavern.
A Hobgoblin Warlord.
Nearly three meters tall. Crimson skin etched with ritual scars. Two curved axes in its hands, both humming with dark mana. Its eyes glowed with violent intelligence.
A boss monster rated B-rank.
The Hobgoblin Warlord locked eyes with Jinwoo.
It froze.
Not in confusion.
In recognition.
Its breathing turned ragged. Muscles coiled, then loosened.
Jinwoo tilted his head.
"…You feel it too."
The warlord took a step back.
Then another.
The axes trembled in its grip.
The dungeon screamed.
[Boss encounter forced]
[Threat reassessment in progress…]
[Error]
[Error]
[Error]
The warlord suddenly roared—not in challenge, but in fury. As if enraged by its own fear.
It charged.
The cavern exploded as the axes came down, tearing through stone with enough force to crush steel.
Jinwoo stepped aside.
Not quickly.
Not slowly.
Just… enough.
The axes missed.
The warlord overextended.
Jinwoo moved.
He placed his palm against the monster's chest.
There was no technique.
No skill activation.
Just compressed power released for a fraction of a second.
The sound was not loud.
It was dense.
The Hobgoblin Warlord's torso collapsed inward, armor folding like paper. Its heart ruptured before it could even register pain.
The body slid backward, lifeless, leaving two deep grooves in the stone.
Silence returned.
The dungeon trembled violently.
[Boss defeated]
[Dungeon stability critically low]
[Warning: Core overload detected]
Jinwoo exhaled.
"…So this is the limit," he said quietly.
He hadn't even needed to try.
The dungeon walls began to crack, glowing lines of mana spreading like fractures in glass.
From the ceiling, a deep crystalline structure became visible.
The dungeon core.
It was exposed.
That should have been impossible.
Jinwoo stared at it.
Then he felt something new.
The dungeon was not just unstable.
It was begging.
Begging him to leave.
Begging him to stop.
Jinwoo smiled, but there was no warmth in it.
"Relax," he said softly.
"I won't break you."
He turned around and began walking back toward the exit.
Behind him, the dungeon collapsed into silence.
At the gate exit, the system chimed weakly.
[Clear recorded]
[Clear time: INVALID]
[Contribution rating: UNMEASURABLE]
Outside the gate, alarms blared.
Association staff stared at the monitors in horror.
Gate C-17 was still open.
But the dungeon inside had gone dark.
Completely.
As if something fundamental had been removed.
Jinwoo stepped out into the sunlight.
He checked his status.
Level: 1
Rank: F
Nothing had changed.
He looked up at the sky.
"…I didn't level up," he murmured.
Then, slowly—
He smiled.
"Perfect."