DUNGEON SLAVE
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER 01 :SO WRONG
A thousand years ago, the world shifted.
No one knew what caused it some blamed gods, some said it was humanity's arrogance, others claimed it was fate correcting itself.
Whatever the reason, the skies cracked open. The stars bled colors that had no names, and the Earth itself split apart like a broken mirror.
They called it the Fracture Era the moment countless worlds collided, and Earth became just another shard among millions.
From the fractures came Gates wounds in space that pulsed with mana, each leading to a world stranger and deadlier than the last. Some Gates leaked monsters that devoured cities. Others offered treasures beyond comprehension. Humanity did what it always did when faced with chaos: it adapted.
The weak died. The strong became Hunters.
"You're staring again, rookie."
The voice snapped Axcel Haven out of his daze. He blinked, realizing he'd been staring at the shimmering blue vortex before them their first Gate of the day.
It wasn't huge, only about five meters tall, swirling lazily like a whirlpool of light suspended in the air. The runes etched around its edges glowed softly, humming with restrained energy. It looked almost beautiful… in the same way a loaded gun did.
"Sorry, Captain," Axcel said quickly, rubbing the back of his neck.
Their team leader, a bulky man with a scar over one eye, grinned. "First Gate jitters? Don't worry. Everyone wets themselves their first time."
The squad laughed.
Axcel chuckled awkwardly but didn't answer. The truth was, he'd been waiting for this moment for years.
Eighteen. Finally legal to register as a Hunter. Finally allowed to step through the kind of portal he'd only ever seen on the news.
He'd trained his whole life combat drills before sunrise, magic control until his body trembled, late-night simulations in worn-down VR pods. His stats weren't impressive, but his technique? Impeccable.
Still, this was real. No simulation. No do-overs.
"Alright, team," the Captain barked, checking his wristband. "D-rank Gate, low mana density. Routine sweep. We get in, clear the core, grab the crystals, and we're home before dinner. Easy payday."
"About time!" yelled Juno, their support mage, a short woman with a sarcastic grin. "I've been broke for three months. If I have to eat another packet of mana noodles, I'm selling my organs."
"Careful," said Kai, the healer. "At your mana levels, your organs are probably the only valuable thing you've got."
Juno hurled a pebble at him.
Axcel couldn't help but smile. The banter helped hide the nerves fluttering in his stomach.
"Stick close," the Captain said, voice firm again. "Standard formation. I take point. Juno, you handle detection. Kai, you're on heals. Axcel you're backline melee. Keep that sword of yours sharp."
Axcel nodded, gripping his black-bladed longsword. Its name was Eclipser, forged from scrap metal and old mana cores he had bought for a high cost.
"Alright," the Captain said, cracking his knuckles. "Let's make it quick. Move out!"
They stepped through the Gate.
Crossing a Gate was always strange like diving into cold water and being pulled through glass.
When Axcel opened his eyes, he was standing on dark stone ground. Above him, jagged stalactites glowed faintly with blue veins of mana. The air smelled metallic, like storm-charged dust.
"Looks normal enough," Juno muttered, scanning her tablet. "Low mana reading. Monsters detected ahead basic goblins, maybe some slimes. Textbook "D-rank stuff."
"Good," said the Captain. "Let's clear this fast. I promised my wife I'd..."
He didn't finish.
The ground trembled. A low hum filled the air. Axcel felt the hair on his arms rise as his mana sense screamed danger.
The Gate behind them flickered once, twice and then a digital chime echoed in their minds.
> [Gate Mutation Detected.]
[Recalculating Mana Flow…]
[Rank Escalation: D → C → A → S → SS → SSS]
"Wait what?!" Juno's voice cracked. "That can't SSS? That's impossible!"
The Captain's eyes went wide. "Everyone, regroup! Defensive formation, now!"
But it was already too late.
The dungeon changed.
The soft blue glow vanished, replaced by a suffocating crimson hue. The walls pulsed as if alive, veins of molten light crawling up the stone. The temperature plummeted, their breaths turning to fog.
Then, from the darkness ahead, came the first roar.
It wasn't just sound it was pressure.
The wave of mana slammed into them, shattering Juno's barrier spells like glass.
Dozens of figures emerged from the mist creatures that looked like wolves if wolves were made of smoke and metal. Their eyes burned like coals.
"Monsters incoming!" Axcel shouted.
He barely had time to react. One lunged; he ducked, sliced upward, its head bursting into mana dust. Another clawed his shoulder, tearing through armor.
The Captain crushed one beast with his gauntlet, roaring, "Fall back! We're retreating!"
But the Gate behind them was gone. The swirling blue light had sealed itself, leaving only a smooth wall of stone.
"No… no, no, no…" Kai whispered. "It's closed. We're trapped."
"Fight!" the Captain yelled. "We fight our way to the core move!"
They fought like demons.
Axcel lost count of how many times his sword cut through flesh, metal, and mana. Blood slicked the floor. Screams echoed. The healer's light flickered and died.
"Captain!" Axcel yelled but a massive shadow loomed behind the man.
A horned beast twice as tall, muscles plated in obsidian scales swung its arm. The Captain was crushed instantly, body exploding into a red splatter of blood.
Juno screamed. She fired a spell that tore half the monster's face off, but another creature tackled her into the wall. The sound of bones snapping drowned her scream.
Kai tried to heal her, tears streaming down his face then vanished in a flash of blue light as the mana backlash consumed him.
One by one, they fell.
Until only Axcel remained.
His blade was broken. His mana was nearly gone. His heartbeat thundered in his ears as the ground itself seemed to laugh at him.
"I… can't die here," he gasped. His vision blurred, his body shaking.
The world was collapsing into red light.
A shadow moved massive, ancient, eyes burning with the same impossible blue as the Gate. It looked down at him, curious.
Axcel raised what remained of his sword. "Come on… then…"
The creature opened its mouth.
And the world exploded in blue.
Darkness.
He was floating weightless, timeless.
When sensation returned, Axcel found himself lying on cold black stone. Above him, chains hung from nowhere, glowing with eerie light. The air was thick, not with mana, but something older.
He tried to move. His body responded sluggishly.
Then, a sound. A soft chime.
> [System Initialization Complete.]
[Welcome, Dungeon Slave.]
[You have been chosen.]
[Level: 1]
A glowing blue screen hovered before his eyes, its letters pulsing gently like a heartbeat.
"What…?" he whispered. "Dungeon… Slave?"
The sound of metal scraping echoed from the darkness beyond.
Something was moving.
Crawling.
Laughing.
Slowly, Axcel lifted his gaze toward the shadows. The chains rattled, the air thickened, and from the pitch-black void, a figure began to emerge its grin wide, its voice like broken glass.
> "Welcome, little Hunter," it whispered. "Let's see how long you last."
TO BE CONTINUED...