Zael blinked once after standing up fully.
Only now did he notice the surroundings properly.
The faint light entering the ruined temple had changed completely. The golden hue from earlier was gone, replaced by deep blue moonlight spilling through cracks in the collapsed ceiling above.
It was night.
Late night judging from the silence outside.
Zael frowned slightly.
"…How many hours was I out?"
Auralis stared at him for a second.
Then snorted.
"Hours?"
She folded her arms immediately afterward.
"More like days."
Zael paused.
"…Days?"
For the first time in a while, genuine surprise crossed his face.
Because internally—
It really hadn't felt that long.
The assimilation battle, the suppression of the dragon will, stabilizing the bloodline…
To him, it felt like several intense hours at most.
Not days.
"Well it wasn't," Auralis replied with a huff.
She looked visibly annoyed now that she had an excuse to complain again.
"You've been sitting there radiating terrifying pressure and randomly exploding with lightning for almost three days."
Zael blinked again.
"…Three?"
Lily nodded tiredly from nearby.
"Yes. Three."
Then she pointed toward him accusingly.
"And every time we thought you were stabilizing, your body would suddenly release another shockwave and wreck part of the temple."
Auralis immediately jumped back into the conversation.
"And because of someone, we couldn't leave properly either."
Zael raised an eyebrow slightly.
"…Why?"
Auralis stared at him blankly like the answer should have been obvious.
"Because there was a giant dragon-pressure-emitting monster sitting unconscious in the middle of the room!"
Zael opened his mouth slightly.
Then closed it again.
Fair point.
Aurelia adjusted her glasses calmly from the side.
"To be fair, the pressure during the second day was significantly worse."
Lily nodded immediately.
"At one point weaker beasts outside started fleeing the area completely."
Auralis pointed dramatically toward Zael afterward.
"Do you know how creepy that was? We walked outside once and the entire forest area around the ruins was empty."
Zael rubbed the back of his neck lightly.
"…Oops."
"That is not an 'oops' situation!"
Despite her complaining though, Zael could tell she wasn't actually angry.
Just irritated.
And probably bored.
Which honestly sounded more dangerous.
Zael stretched lightly afterward, his joints cracking faintly while traces of crimson-black lightning flickered briefly around him before disappearing again.
The movement alone made Lily instinctively tense for half a second.
Zael noticed immediately.
"…Am I really that bad now?"
"Yes," Lily and Auralis answered instantly.
Aurelia stayed silent.
Which somehow felt even more concerning.
"So all this means the dungeon is about to end soon," Zael asked while rolling his shoulders lightly.
"Yeah," Lily replied quietly from the wall she leaned against. It was the first thing she had said in a while. "A few more hours at most."
Zael nodded once.
"Then we don't have much time."
He immediately turned and started walking toward the temple exit.
"Let's go hunting."
Auralis' eyes lit up instantly.
"Finally."
The moment they stepped outside, the night air hit them alongside the faint scent of blood and ruined earth lingering throughout the dungeon.
But before Zael could move further—
Aurelia spoke calmly from behind him.
"It would be better to retract the pressure you're emanating first."
Zael paused.
Then finally noticed it properly.
Even while standing still, faint crimson-black lightning occasionally flickered around him unconsciously while an oppressive draconic aura leaked subtly into the surroundings.
No wonder the beasts nearby had disappeared earlier.
Zael focused inward slightly.
The Origin bloodline reacted immediately, pulling the excess pressure back into his body layer by layer until the atmosphere around him stabilized again.
Auralis blinked.
"…That's terrifyingly convenient."
Zael smirked faintly.
"Perks of adaptation."
Once the pressure fully settled, the group finally began moving deeper into the ruins again.
And almost immediately—
The beasts returned.
The first battle happened barely ten minutes later.
A pack of armored wolf-type beasts burst from the shadows of collapsed ruins, each nearly four meters tall with steel-like scales covering portions of their bodies.
Before the others could even react—
Zael vanished.
BOOOOM!!
The lead wolf exploded apart from a single punch.
The remaining beasts froze instinctively.
Then Zael moved again.
Void Step carried him through the pack like a phantom while crimson-black lightning flashed intermittently around his attacks.
Bodies hit the ground moments later.
Dead.
Cleanly killed.
[EXP Gained]
[Authority of Infinite Growth Multiplier Applied]
[EXP Added to Pool]
Auralis stared briefly.
"…You somehow got more ridiculous."
Zael ignored her while collecting several dropped materials casually.
The second battle came against a pair of giant stone-skinned gorilla beasts.
One tried punching toward him.
Zael caught the fist one-handed.
Then slammed the creature directly into the ground hard enough to crack the surrounding terrain apart.
The second gorilla roared and charged.
Abyss Rend split it apart instantly.
[EXP Gained]
[EXP Multiplied]
The third battle lasted slightly longer.
A giant insect-type beast hidden beneath the ground ambushed them suddenly, spraying corrosive acid across the battlefield while several smaller variants swarmed from underneath ruined structures.
This time Auralis joined enthusiastically.
Her crimson hammer flattened entire groups at once while Lily distorted space to redirect the acid attacks back toward the insects themselves.
Meanwhile Zael tested his new abilities casually.
Crimson-black lightning gathered around his arm before exploding outward.
[Blood Thunder Burst]
BOOOOM!!
The swarm disappeared instantly beneath the explosion.
Zael blinked slightly afterward.
"…Useful."
Aurelia quietly wrote something down afterward.
Nobody questioned it.
The fourth and fifth battles passed similarly.
A giant serpent-type beast.
Then a flying chimera.
Neither survived long.
With every battle, Zael adapted more naturally to the Blood Thunder Dragon bloodline while his EXP pool climbed steadily higher.
Eventually, after another short period of searching—
The group slowed.
Not because of beasts.
Because someone stood ahead.
Actually—
Several people.
Five figures blocked the ruined pathway between broken temple pillars, each radiating the aura of powerful awakened.
Mythical rank.
And strong ones too.
The one in front stepped forward first, his gaze immediately drifting toward Lily, Aurelia, and Auralis without bothering to hide it.
"Well now," he said with a grin. "Looks like we got lucky."
Zael's eyes narrowed slightly.
The man barely glanced at him before continuing casually.
"You girls have had it rough right? Why don't you leave this weak little group and come with us instead?"
Auralis' expression instantly became disgusted.
"…Ew."
Another of the five laughed loudly.
"What attitude."
His gaze lingered openly on Aurelia afterward.
"Still, I like the cold type."
Zael went silent.
Completely silent.
Which somehow made the atmosphere heavier.
Lily noticed first.
Then quietly took one step backward.
Because she recognized that expression.
The leader of the group finally looked toward Zael properly.
"You should walk away quietly while you still can."
Auralis cracked her neck slowly beside Zael.
"…Can I kill him?"
Zael's eyes remained fixed on the five mythical awakeners.
Then a faint smile formed on his face.
Cold.
Dangerous.
"Try not to break them too quickly."
And instantly—
The killing intent in the air exploded.
To Be Continued.