Ciel stood with Sora and Veldora, his arms crossed, gaze steady on the shimmering gate at the far end of the courtyard. The gate roughly about two meter tall and one meter wide pulsed with faint green light in somewhat combination of rectangle and oval shape, rippling like water—a portal leading straight into the dungeon.
A middle-aged man wearing the guild’s emblem—a stylized golden sun on dark leather armor—stepped forward. His presence silenced the crowd in an instant.
“I am Kael Rovan, a 4th stage awakener and your guide today from the Dawn Guild,” he began, his voice carrying over the plaza. “Today, you will enter the Forest of the Wolf King, a repeatable dungeon chosen to test first awakeners this year. You may enter in teams of one to five. Choose your teammates wisely, because the dungeon will not hold back on whether you are alone or not.”
He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in.
“The dungeon has three modes: Easy, Normal, and Hard. Each mode adjusts the strength and number of monsters you will face. Monsters range from Level 1 wolves to Level 10 bosses. Easy mode is survivable even for a solo candidate. Hard mode, however, is a different beast altogether. The Dire Wolf King does not let go mistakes.”
Kael gestured to the floating display beside him—a glowing projection listing rewards.
“Your base rewards for this dungeon are as follows:
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Easy Mode: 5 White Mana Stones.
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Normal Mode: 25 White Mana Stones.
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Hard Mode: 10 Light Green Mana Stones.
In addition, you may receive random rewards—skill tomes, basic equipment, or crafting materials—depending on clear rating and difficulty chosen.”
The crowd murmured, candidates exchanging glances at the mention of skill tomes.
“Remember,” Kael continued, his tone sharp, “though this is a test, the dungeon is very real. Take it lightly, and you will bleed.”
From the spectators’ side, Arthur’s voice carried. “Sounds like my kind of speech,” he muttered with a small smirk. Eve elbowed him lightly, her eyes fixed on Ciel.
Sora cracked her knuckles beside Ciel. “Hard mode?” he asked casually.
“Of course,” Veldora grinned. “I’m not settling for less.”
Ciel’s lips curved into a faint smile. “Hard mode it is.”
The candidates were given ten minutes to finalize their teams. The plaza turned into a flurry of negotiations, with people hurriedly forming parties, weighing trust, strength, and strategy. Some stood alone, intent on solo runs despite the risk.
Ciel, Sora, and Veldora leaned against the outer wall of the guild staging area, calm amidst the chaos.
“Three-person team,” Sora said, arms folded. “Perfect balance of offense, defense and utility. We’ve got this.”
“Balance, huh?” Veldora grinned, adjusting the straps on his leather armor. “Then I’m taking defense. Someone’s got to keep the wolves’ teeth off your pretty faces.”
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Ciel nodded. “Veldora as tank makes sense. I’ll handle melee DPS, and Sora—you’ll bombard from the backline.”
“Ranged magic DPS,” Sora corrected with a smirk. “Don’t make me sound like a firework stand.”
“You basically are,” Veldora teased.
Ciel chuckled softly. “Keep the jokes for later. We’ll stick to formation: Veldora draws aggro, I focus on bursting down anything that gets past him, and Sora provides ranged pressure and crowd control.”
“Got it.” Sora grinned playfully. “Just don’t blame me if I accidentally fry your hair.”
“Accidentally?” Veldora raised a brow, deadpan.
Eren’s voice suddenly rang out from the spectator area. “Don’t get eaten in there, Bro! And if you die, I’m stealing your room !”
Ciel sighed. “That kid…”
Arthur’s voice followed, deeper and steadier. “Stay sharp, all of you. Hard mode isn’t a joke.”
Ten minutes later Kael Rovan, the Dawn Guild guide, stepped forward once more, his voice cutting through the chatter.
“All teams, form your party through the Gaia System interface. Party leaders, confirm difficulty selection at the gate. Remember, once you step through, there’s no turning back until you clear or fail.”
Ciel flicked his wrist, calling up the Gaia interface. A glowing blue prompt appeared:
[Create Party]
Leader: Ciel Nova
Invite: Sora Lawrence, Veldora Greyson
Both accepted instantly.
[Party Formed]
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Leader: Ciel Nova
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Member: Sora Lawrence
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Member: Veldora Greyson
“Hard mode, right?” Veldora asked, already knowing the answer.
“Hard mode,” Ciel confirmed, his tone unwavering.
The countdown echoed across the staging area. One by one, the teams stepped through the glowing gate of the Forest of the Wolf King. When it was their turn, Ciel, Sora, and Veldora stood side by side.
“Ready?” Veldora asked, rolling his shoulders.
Ciel gave a single nod. Sora’s grin widened.
“Let’s show them how it’s done.”
They crossed the threshold, the shimmering portal swallowing them whole.
Inside the Dungeon
A cool breeze swept past as they emerged into a dense, shadowy forest. The scent of pine and damp soil lingered, and distant howls reverberated from deeper within. Shafts of golden light pierced the thick canopy above, giving the place an eerie glow.
The Gaia System’s message appeared:
[Welcome to the Forest of the Wolf King – Hard Mode.]
[Dungeon Level: 1–10.]
[Objective: Defeat the dungeon boss.]
“Hard mode,” Veldora muttered. “you both better stay sharp unless you want to be eaten by wolves.”
With a practiced motion, Sora pulled out a wooden staff with a purple orb on one side from her inventory, the faint traces of chaotic mana swirling at its tip.
Veldora followed suit, drawing a round shield and a one-handed steel sword—both worn but sturdy.
These traces showed how much they trained for this day.
Their eyes turned to Ciel.
“Where’s your weapon?” Sora asked, raising a brow.
Ciel smirked. “I don’t need one. My skill creates far better weapons than the lower-ranked weapons we can use at this level.”
Veldora grinned. “Hmm, Show-off.”
Ciel replied “Ok let’s start exploring the dungeon.”
The trio started wandering the dungeon.
They hadn’t gone far when a growl split the silence. Two Lesser Wolves padded out of the underbrush, eyes glowing yellow, teeth bared.
“First blood,” Veldora muttered, stepping forward. His shield flared faintly as he shouted, “Taunt!”
The wolves snarled and lunged at him, their focus locked entirely on the armored fighter.
“Your left,” Ciel called out.
He extended his hand, mana surging. A weapon took form in his grasp—a razor-sharp mana-forged sword, its edges glowing with a faint azure light. The blade sharper and refined than ever after twelve days of training it had levelled up multiple times.
[Normal skill - Mana Craft- beginner (Lv. 8)]
With one swift strike, the blade sliced cleanly through the first wolf, splitting it in half before it could react.
The second wolf leaped, but Sora was already in motion.
“Chaos Bolt!”
A twisting projectile of black and violet energy shot from her staff, drilling into the wolf’s chest then it exploded from inside before dissolving into mist. Monsters in dungeons disintegrates into mana when killed.
[2 Lesser Wolves Defeated.]
[Experience shared within party]
Veldora stared at Ciel’s glowing blade, whistling.
“Man, your class is really something. You’re like a walking killing machine.”
Ciel simply let the mana blade dissolve into particles, the faint hum of power still lingering around him. “This is just the beginning.”
Ciel tightened his grip, a faint smirk on his lips as they ventured deeper into the shadowed woods.
“If this is just the beginning, I can’t wait to see what the Wolf King has to offer.”