---
Chapter 7 – The Dungeon Erupts
The moment Jason Walter stepped through the swirling blue portal, his vision warped, his body felt weightless—and then gravity slammed back into him.
He landed in a vast, dimly lit forest. The air was damp, the ground uneven with moss-covered roots. Above, a fractured ceiling of stone let in faint shafts of bluish light.
He barely had time to take in the scenery before a bone-chilling roar split the air.
> [Dungeon Raid: Free-for-all begins!]
From the shadows, the first wave of High-Tier Level 1 Beasts charged. They were lean, wolf-like creatures with glowing amber eyes and serrated claws. Their speed was unbelievable—blurring shapes tearing through the underbrush toward the recruits.
The battlefield instantly dissolved into chaos.
Screams, clashing weapons, and bursts of magic erupted in every direction. One recruit fell to the ground with a beast's jaws locked around his arm before a spear ended the creature's life. Another was flung into a tree, his health bar in the red.
Jason's pulse spiked.
If I hesitate, I'm dead.
He activated his Magical Eyes of Twilight for the first time. The world around him changed—faint glowing lines traced the flow of magic in the beasts and the recruits around him. He could see weaknesses pulsing like tiny crimson embers in their bodies.
When a beast lunged for him, Jason sidestepped, driving his blade straight into a glowing spot near its ribs. The creature yelped, collapsing instantly.
> [Enemy Defeated: +15 Points]
Jason grinned despite himself. So that's what this skill can do…
Nearby, Lucy Shiba was a crimson whirlwind—her Endless Fire ability turned beasts into smoldering ash before they could even get close. She didn't look at him, but Jason could tell she noticed his improved precision.
---
Hours seemed to pass in minutes. The surviving recruits—bloodied, exhausted, but still standing—pushed deeper into the dungeon until they emerged into an impossibly vast chamber.
It was so large that their footsteps echoed endlessly, bouncing off the unseen ceiling. The deeper they went, the thicker the darkness became, swallowing even their breathing.
"I can't see anything…" one recruit muttered before producing a flashlight. Its beam cut a narrow path through the gloom, revealing jagged stone walls slick with moisture.
He muttered a command to his system, and his body glowed faintly.
> [Stats increased: +5 Strength, +5 Agility]
[Purchased: Flaming Sword – 40 Points]
The weapon ignited with a hiss, throwing warm light into the cold black void.
---
Finally, the group stumbled upon something astonishing: ten separate cave mouths, each radiating a different colored light.
Red. Blue. Gold. Silver. Emerald. Violet. Black. White. Crimson. Azure.
The air grew thick with tension.
"This is it," someone whispered.
Then it happened—someone broke the unspoken truce.
A tall, broad-shouldered recruit named Tylor shoved Jason hard enough to knock him off balance.
"Out of my way, Walter. The Dragon Flag and the boss are mine!"
Before Jason could react, Tylor sprinted toward the emerald-lit cave.
Shouts erupted. Steel rang against steel as some recruits turned on each other, blades flashing in the colored light.
---
The tension shattered in an instant when a deep, guttural groan rolled through the earth, shaking the walls so violently dust rained from the ceiling.
Jason's stomach dropped. That voice… it's the boss.
The sound was so loud, so raw, that every single person in the chamber froze—then bolted for the caves.
Lucy darted into the crimson-lit cave, her hair vanishing into the red glow.
Jason hesitated for half a heartbeat before dashing toward the violet-lit cave.
The echoes of battle, the roars of distant beasts, and the cold thrill of danger followed him inside.
---