The air inside the dungeon was thick. Not just with mana — but with pressure. The deeper Gabriel went, the more unnatural it became. Like the walls themselves were watching him.
He liked it.
No one else was here.
No screaming Awakeners. No arrogant elites. No heroes trying to save the world.
Just him.
And whatever waited below.
He stood in a narrow corridor carved from black stone, walls pulsing faintly with unstable light. From deep within, a low growl echoed — the kind that didn't come from any beast listed in dungeon records.
Gabriel's grip on Eclipse tightened.
Behind him, his five shadows emerged, silent and ready.
Aedan. Ravyr. The Chimera. And two more he'd taken from minor but talented dungeon bosses in the past days — a trap specialist and a mana siphoner. All humanoid. All male. All loyal.
But tonight, none of them would fight.
"I do this alone," he said.
They nodded once — then melted into the dark behind him.
He moved forward slowly.
The system pinged faintly.
[Unstable Dungeon Core Detected][Threat Level: A-Rank – Suppressed][Entity Approaching Boss Class]
Perfect.
Gabriel stepped into the heart chamber.
It looked like an arena.
A cracked, circular floor stretched wide, with jagged obsidian spikes jutting from the walls. At the center stood the beast — a warped fusion of steel and muscle. Ten feet tall. Armor fused to flesh. A single red eye blinking like a heartbeat in the center of its face.
A failed experiment from the Age of Convergence.
Vorgas-Class Mutant.
Not in the book.
Not part of the script.
Good.
That meant no one else knew what it could do.
Gabriel smiled coldly.
The monster roared.
A wave of heat blasted outward, cracking the floor beneath its feet.
Gabriel didn't move.
The eye locked onto him. It sensed his strength — or at least, the illusion of it.
[Trait: False Monarch – Passive Fear Triggered]
The beast hesitated.
And in that split second of confusion, Gabriel moved.
He launched forward like a bullet, blade flashing. Eclipse hummed with anticipation, craving blood. Gabriel slashed low, forcing the beast to stumble.
Its metal arm shot down like a hammer.
Gabriel rolled aside, narrowly avoiding the blow, but the shockwave slammed into him — throwing him against the wall.
He hit hard.
Dust exploded around him.
Pain rippled through his ribs, but he didn't stop.
He came up fast, charging again.
This time, the beast was ready.
It opened its mouth — and screamed.
A sonic pulse erupted, shattering the floor in a cone of destruction. Gabriel barely threw up a mana shield in time. The noise pierced his skull, blood trailing from his nose.
He gritted his teeth.
This thing was adapting.
Good.
So would he.
He vanished — a burst of speed enhanced by his growing synchronization with the system.
[System Sync: 33%]
He reappeared behind the monster, slashing high. Sparks flew as Eclipse bit into the creature's metal plating. Not deep enough. The beast spun, arm swinging wide.
Gabriel ducked, then lunged, stabbing into the soft joint under its ribcage.
The blade sank in.
The beast roared — enraged now.
It grabbed him by the throat and slammed him into the ground.
Hard.
Once.
Twice.
The floor cracked beneath them.
Gabriel choked — air wheezing from his lungs. He dropped Eclipse. Blood streamed down his neck.
The monster raised its other arm to finish it.
But Gabriel was already moving.
He reached into his coat and pulled a crystal bomb — a last-minute creation made with scavenged dungeon fragments.
He slammed it into the beast's chest.
BOOM.
The explosion tore through the chamber, vaporizing part of the creature's armor and flinging Gabriel across the arena like a ragdoll.
He crashed against a column.
Vision blurred. Bones aching. Blood pouring from his shoulder.
But he was smiling.
Now it was bleeding.
He called Eclipse back — the weapon hummed and flew to his hand like it missed him.
Domain energy flickered at the edge of his thoughts.
Not yet.
But soon.
He charged again.
The final clash was pure brutality.
Steel rang against bone. Roars echoed. Gabriel's swordplay was fast, efficient, deadly — every strike cutting deeper, exploiting weakness. The beast fought wildly, desperate now.
One mistake.
That's all it took.
Gabriel feinted low, then stabbed upward — through the eye.
Eclipse pierced brain and mana core in one strike.
The monster collapsed, twitching.
Dead.
Gabriel stood over the body, drenched in blood.
Breathing hard.
Alive.
Barely.
But alive.
[Boss Defeated][Shadow Conversion Available: Vorgas-Class][Abilities: Metal-Flesh Adaptation, Sonic Pulse, Regenerative Core][Shadow Count: 6/10]
He raised his hand.
The shadow rose — tall, armored, silent.
Another piece of his army.
Hours later, Gabriel limped back into the slums. He didn't call for his shadows. He wanted to feel this pain. To remember it.
Pain was proof he was still growing.
He climbed the steps to his new base — the old tech building now humming with activity. Aedan's shadow met him with a bowed head.
"Status?"
"All businesses are operational. Black market contacts established. Profits rising."
Gabriel nodded. "Good. Begin hiring freelancers. Quiet ones. Use them to collect rare materials. Tell them nothing."
"As you wish."
He went to the upper floors.
Collapsed on a steel bench.
Stared out the window at the distant city skyline.
Six shadows.
A growing empire.
And a body that still hadn't reached its peak.
But it would.
And when it did…
The world would have no choice but to kneel.