Location: Inside the Unknown Anomaly (The Glitchy Gate)
Date & Time: Unknown
The moment they crossed the portal, the atmospheric pressure shifted violently.
In a standard D-Rank dungeon, one would expect the familiar chill of stone walls and the soft blue radiance of Glowshards. But here, the first thing to hit the senses was the overwhelming, pungent scent of damp earth and rotting vegetation.
Rudra's eyes adjusted to the dim light. This was no underground cavern; it was a vast, primeval jungle. The trees were only slightly larger than those in the natural world, but their canopy was so dense and intertwined that the sky was completely obscured. A suffocating fog clung to the forest floor, and the silence was so profound that even a heartbeat felt like a rhythmic drum.
The N.D.A.I. squad was still reeling from the visual shock when a sudden, mechanical 'static' sound echoed behind them—like a malfunctioning radio.
Rudra spun around instantly. The purple-red portal they had just used was pixelating like a corrupted TV screen. Its edges were fraying and dissolving into the air. In a micro-second, without a single sound or explosion, the doorway vanished entirely. Only the dense wall of trees and fog remained.
"The gate... where is the gate?!" a D-Rank Dunger shrieked in a panic.
Chaos erupted within the ranks. "How do we get back?" "Where is the exit?" "The radar has no mana signature! The machines are dead!"
Panic was spreading like a virus, and the Magitech swords in their hands began to tremble.
"STAY DOWN!"
A thunderous, guttural roar echoed through the forest. The Peak C-Rank leader slammed his heavy Magitech blade into the ground with bone-shaking force. His voice, backed by a massive 50,000 MP aura, effectively paralyzed the crowd's fear for a moment.
"Screaming won't bring the door back," the leader said, his gaze scanning the shadows coldly. He narrowed his eyes at the fog. "This place follows no recorded dungeon patterns. There are no Essence Dust veins or cave materials. Maintain your formation and watch every movement in the brush."
Rudra stood in the middle-back of the squad, observing the scene with a mask of absolute indifference. His mind, however, was already dissecting the situation.
"Ruin Soul," Rudra questioned internally. "What is this? Why did the gate vanish?"
"It's a Glitchy Gate," Ruin Soul's icy voice replied. "The connection this dimension had with your world has been severed. This space now operates on its own set of laws."
"Meaning?""Meaning time and space are no longer constant here," Ruin Soul delivered a brutal reality check. "The time passing outside has no bearing on this place. Even if you find a way out, there is no guarantee that the same amount of time has passed in your world. A month here could be a minute outside... or a day here could be a year outside. You are trapped in an anomaly beyond my current calculations."
A cold wave of despair momentarily washed over Rudra. Time. It was the ultimate power. If he stayed here for a month and ten years passed outside, his cash, his base, his entire existence would be erased. His mind flickered with the weight of that thought.
But in the next heartbeat, his cold, dead logic reclaimed him. He ruthlessly crushed the rising emotion.
"What does it matter?" Rudra thought to himself. "Even if I return ten years later... who is there to wait for me? Who is there to ask about my whereabouts? I have no one. Whether the world ages or stands still, my hunger and my hunt remain the same."
His heartbeat flattened, returning to its rhythmic, normal pace.
Suddenly, the wind shifted. From behind the dense thickets, the sound of a dry leaf snapping echoed through the silence.
The leader and the four C-Rankers snapped into combat positions, their blades raised.
The ground shuddered as a terrifying, ear-splitting roar erupted from the darkness. A colossal Bear crashed through the undergrowth, charging directly at the squad. It wasn't a mutated demon; it looked like a part of pure nature, but it was twice the size of any terrestrial bear. It wore no armor and carried no weapons. Its power was derived entirely from its raw, thick hide and the wild mana boiling within its muscles.
Rudra read its signature instantly. Average C-Rank. Roughly 20,000 MP.
The D-Rankers at the front froze. They knew their blades wouldn't even leave a scratch on a creature with this level of mana-density. It was going to devour them whole.
But they didn't need to strike.
The Peak C-Rank leader became a blur. His 50,000 MP aura concentrated into his heavy Magitech blade. As the beast leaped into the air, the leader was already beneath it. Without any wasted motion or prolonged struggle, he delivered a single, devastating upward diagonal slash.
SKRCHTT!
A fountain of hot blood erupted into the air. The blade had sliced through the massive, high-density C-Rank bear in one brutal, singular motion. The two halves of the beast slammed into the ground right in front of the trembling Dungers.
The leader calmly flicked the blood off his blade. He looked back at his squad, his eyes devoid of any pity.
"Get in formation!" he barked. "You've seen it now. This is no normal dungeon. The rules of ranking and power don't apply here. Even a rat could end you in this forest. If you break the line, you choose your own death. Move out!"
The squad was paralyzed with fear, but they had no choice but to follow. Rudra stared at the bear's remains from the shadows. The ecosystem here was truly dangerous, but for a C-Rank vessel like his, the harvest would be unparalleled.
Chapter Summary
The Anomaly: The squad is trapped inside a Glitchy Gate, a disconnected dimension where the laws of time and space are unstable.
Time Dilation: Ruin Soul reveals that time inside the gate may pass differently than in the outside world (Time Dilation effect).
The Conflict: Rudra briefly struggles with the idea of losing time but eventually accepts his isolation, focusing purely on survival.
The First Strike: A 20,000 MP C-Rank Bear attacks. The Peak C-Rank leader (50,000 MP) kills it instantly with a single slash, showcasing the power gap and the danger of the environment.
Current Status:
Rank: C-Rank (Base)
MP: 17,420
Goal: Survive the jungle and harvest high-density C-Rank mana.