Location: Inside the D-Rank Hell Gate (Dharavi Portal)
Date & Time: February 15, 2025 | 12:05 PM (IST)
The moment they crossed the swirling wall of purple and red aura, gravity felt noticeably heavier. The air carried a strange, sterile chill that pricked the skin.
The fifty-man N.D.A.I. squad held their breath, braced for a landscape of rivers of fire, scorched earth, and the overwhelming stench of decay. But as their eyes adjusted to the bioluminescent glow, they froze in their tracks. This didn't look like hell. It was a vast, sprawling underground cave system that looked like an alien paradise.
There was no darkness here. Massive Glowshards sprouted from the walls and the high arched ceiling, emitting a deep blue and neon green radiance. Shimmering particles of Essence Dust drifted through the air like magical fireflies. Below them, the floor was carpeted in a luminous Echo Moss that pulsed with a soft light at the slightest vibration of their footsteps. The place was hauntingly beautiful, silent, and mesmerising.
"Do... do monsters really live in a place like this?" a D-Rank Dunger whispered, his terror momentarily eclipsed by the sheer wonder of the cavern.
But beauty was the ultimate deception of this dungeon.
Suddenly, a series of guttural screeches echoed from the dark corners of the ceiling. From behind the glowing shards, D-Rank monsters—armored scale-hounds and giant rock-spiders—descended directly into the center of the squad. The ambush was brutal and instantaneous.
"Form up! Formation now!" the C-Rank leader roared.
The memory of the previous week's slaughter flickered in the minds of the squad members. Some began to retreat in a panic, their hands trembling around their weapons. A scale-hound snapped its jagged jaws and lunged at an E-Rank Dunger who had frozen in fear.
The leader stepped in, swinging his Magitech bone-sword with devastating force. Unlike the old steel, this blade didn't bend. The reinforced bone and mana-infused edge sliced through the D-Rank hound as if it were soft wax. Dark blood splattered across the glowing Echo Moss, but the blade remained pristine, without a single notch.
"Don't back down!" The leader raised his blood-stained sword high. "We aren't here to be hunted; we are the hunters! These Magitech weapons work. Slice these vermin to pieces!"
Seeing their leader's single-handed kill, the panic vanished. They realized they were no longer helpless. Fear transformed into a cold-blooded slaughter as the Dungers charged. Their Magitech swords and spears tore through the monsters' hides with zero resistance.
The Shadow Infiltration
The squad was fully immersed in the chaos of battle. But a short distance away, perched on a high jagged rock, Rudra stood in absolute silence. His Scavenger's Skin hoodie allowed him to blend perfectly into the deep blue shadows. He observed the bloodbath below with a detached, calculating gaze.
"I thought the combat would be tougher," Rudra noted, his hand resting on the hilt of his Blood Crescent. "Magitech weapons are making short work of these D-Rankers. Should I head down and secure some kills?"
"Don't waste your time and energy," Ruin Soul's practical voice resonated in his mind. "These monsters are bottom-tier D-Rank trash. Even if their total MP is 5,000, your 1% to 5% absorption rule means you'd only walk away with 50 to 250 MP. You didn't come here to scramble for pennies alongside these fifty fools."
"Then what's the play?" Rudra asked, already anticipating the logic.
"It's been a while since you hit C-Rank," Ruin Soul explained. "The void in your inventory has expanded from a mere 500 square feet to a massive 1,200 square-foot hall. Let the N.D.A.I. clear the path and move forward. Your job is to plunder the treasures hidden in these walls—the things the G.D.A. is desperate for."
Rudra looked at the cavern walls, which were naturally teeming with raw materials. The squad was pushing ahead, slaughtering monsters and leaving the rear of the cave completely unguarded.
Rudra glided down from the rock. Without making a sound, he moved toward the walls. Utilizing his C-Rank speed and physical strength, he began prying football-sized Glowshards from the stone. He extracted heavy chunks of Infused Ore from the crevices and gathered handfuls of shimmering Essence Dust into pouches, transferring them directly into his expanded 1,200 sq. ft. inventory.
While those fifty men were risking their lives to clear the path ahead, Rudra moved like a cold, calculating shadow behind them, systematically stripping the dungeon of its riches. He hadn't even drawn his weapon yet, but his harvest had already begun.
Chapter Summary
Location & Time: Inside the Dharavi D-Rank Hell Gate | February 15, 2025, 12:05 PM.
The Dungeon Visuals: The D-Rank dungeon is revealed to be a bioluminescent cave system filled with Glowshards, Essence Dust, and Echo Moss.
Squad Combat: The N.D.A.I. squad successfully engages D-Rank monsters. The effectiveness of Magitech weapons is confirmed, boosting the morale of the Dungers.
Inventory Update: Rudra's Inventory has expanded to 1,200 sq. ft. due to his C-Rank progression.
The Strategy: Following Ruin Soul's advice, Rudra ignores the low-MP monsters and focuses on harvesting high-value raw materials (Glowshards, Infused Ore) while the squad clears the path.
Current Status: Rudra is shadowing the squad, systematically stripping the dungeon of resources without engaging in direct combat.