Morning light crept through Amber City's narrow streets, soft and pale despite the hour. The plaza near the Dungeon Hall was nearly empty except for three figures standing by the fountain, their breath misting faintly in the pre-dawn chill.

  Veldora yawned loud enough to startle the pigeons roosting on the fountain's edge. "Remind me again why we couldn't have done this an hour later? The sun isn't even properly up yet."

  Sora took a slow sip from her mana brew, wholly unimpressed by his complaint. "You were the one who said early start means early rewards. Besides, most serious awakeners are already running their dungeon by now."

  "Yeah, but I didn't mean this early." Veldora stretched, his armor catching the weak sunlight. "I value my sleep. It's important for muscle recovery and---"

  "And nothing," Ciel interrupted smoothly, his tone carrying the calm certainty that had become familiar over their weeks together. He stood across from them, composed despite the early hour, a faint shimmer of residual mana still clinging to his clothes from morning training in his realm. "Complain all you want, but we're increasing our dungeon frequency starting today, and I intend to do every single one of them efficiently."

  Sora raised a brow over the rim of her cup. "You sound like a training manual came to life."

  "Training manuals don't grow stronger," Ciel replied, summoning his status window with a gesture. The familiar blue-white glow illuminated his face as text scrolled into view. "We do."

  [Status Window -- Ciel Nova]

  Class: Unique -- Realm Holder

  Level: 11

  Awakening State: 1st Awakening

  World Power (WP): 1,520

  Mana Stones: 16,680

  Health Points (HP): 1,200 / 1,200

  Mana Points (MP): 2,810 / 2,810

  Stats:

  Strength: 20

  Agility: 20

  Endurance: 20

  Intelligence: 18

  Wisdom: 40 (+5)

  He didn't argue the point.

  Ciel said, "Let's move. We're burning daylight."

  "It's barely dawn," Veldora muttered, but he fell into step anyway, his shield catching the strengthening light as they walked toward the Hall's entrance.

  The morning shift clerk looked up as they approached the registration counter, her expression shifting from routine professionalism to mild surprise. "Back already? You just cleared the Graveyard yesterday."

  Ciel slid their party token across the polished counter. "Graveyard of the Headless Knight. Easy Mode. Same registration."

  She hesitated, fingers hovering over her crystal console. "You're aware most teams take several days between Tier 2 runs? The death mana exposure alone typically requires extended recovery time."

  "We're aware," Sora said pleasantly. "We're also not most teams."

  The clerk's expression suggested she'd heard similar confidence before---usually from people who ended up requiring emergency extraction. But their records showed a clean clear from yesterday, and the Hall didn't restrict how often people could attempt dungeons within cooldown parameters.

  "Very well." She processed the request, her fingers dancing across the interface. "Same entry fee---two Light Green Mana Stones. Your portal will be ready in two minutes at Bay 12."

  The payment transferred with a soft chime, their combined resources barely denting from the cost. As they turned toward the portal wing, Ciel caught sight of other early-morning parties preparing for their own runs---seasoned awakeners checking equipment, younger teams reviewing strategy, solo runners standing apart with the particular intensity that came from fighting alone.

  None of them paid the trio much attention. Just another party attempting content they'd probably been grinding for weeks.

  Let them think that, Ciel mused. Better to be underestimated than to draw unnecessary scrutiny.

  Bay 12's portal hummed with barely contained energy, the swirling gateway already stabilized and waiting. The guardian---a different one from yesterday, this one shorter but carrying herself with the confidence of someone who'd survived things most people only had nightmares about---gave their receipt a cursory glance before stepping aside.

  "Graveyard's not any friendlier the second time," she commented. "Death mana buildup gets worse with repeated exposure. Watch yourselves in there."

  "We will," Ciel assured her.

  As the portal's light folded around them, Veldora's voice carried over the dimensional transition: "So---same graveyard, different plan?"

  Ciel's response came just before reality twisted: "I'll handle the boss and mini-bosses inside my Realm. You two focus on clearing anything I send in. Time Flow is one to five now---you'll have plenty of time to prepare between waves."

  "Meaning," Sora's voice echoed strangely through the warping space, "we'll be waiting around while you marathon through the dungeon?"

  "Exactly."

  Veldora's grin was the last thing visible before the world inverted. "I like this plan already."

  Cold air hit them like a physical blow---the same oppressive chill they'd experienced yesterday, carrying the scent of rust, decay, and something indefinably wrong. Fog rolled across cracked tombstones and crooked statues, reducing visibility to maybe thirty meters. The gray pall overhead pressed down with familiar weight, and the death mana concentration made the air feel thick and resistant.

  But this time, they weren't planning to fight through it.

  Ciel raised his hand before either of his companions could comment on the environment. Blue-white light rippled from his palm as spatial distortion began to form, reality bending in ways that shouldn't have been possible outside of high-level spatial manipulation.

  "Realm Sieze," he said simply, his tone carrying the same casual authority one might use when opening a door.

  The world blinked. Sora and Veldora vanished in twin flashes, their figures dissolving into motes of light that spiraled toward a point in space before disappearing entirely. The dungeon's oppressive atmosphere seemed to lighten fractionally in their absence, as if two sources of resistance had been removed from its calculations.

  Ciel stood alone in the fog, adjusting his gloves as the faint glow faded from his eyes. "One to five time ratio," he murmured to himself, already running calculations. "That should be more than enough."

  Then he started forward, his steps soundless on the damp earth.

  The first cluster of skeleton warriors emerged from behind a broken mausoleum---four fighters and two archers, their bones gleaming with death mana enhancement, eye sockets burning with cold blue flames. They moved with the coordinated precision that had made yesterday's fights challenging, spreading out to create overlapping fields of fire.

  Ciel's hand moved once. "Realm Seize."

  Spatial distortion erupted around the skeletons, blue-white light wrapping them in an instant. They didn't even have time to raise their weapons before reality folded, pulling them through dimensional barriers into Ciel's domain. The graveyard was empty again within a heartbeat, as if the undead had never existed.

  He didn't slow down.

  The next group---three skeleton mages accompanied by a quartet of warriors---met the same fate. Ciel walked past their ambush position with barely a glance, his hand extending briefly as Realm Seize activated. They vanished mid-spellcast, their death magic dissipating into ambient mana as they were forcibly relocated.

  Occasionally, faint bursts of light flickered at the edge of his perception---the distant echo of Sora's chaos fire and Veldora's blade work inside the Realm, methodically clearing the monsters he was sending in. The temporal difference meant that while seconds passed for him, minutes elapsed for them---more than enough time to handle groups of enemies without the death mana interference that had made yesterday's fights so draining.

  Ciel wove between broken gravestones and shattered monuments with the ease of someone who had memorized the terrain. Each encounter was the same: a ripple of power, a flicker of distortion, and the undead disappeared before they could engage. The graveyard remained eerily quiet except for his own steady breathing and the occasional creak of old stone settling.

  He was already approaching the catacomb entrance when his mana finally dipped below half. Not from any real exertion---Realm Seize was efficient, especially with the Wisdom-enhanced mana pool he now possessed---but from the sheer volume of monsters he'd transferred. Dozens of undead, seized and relocated in rapid succession, their combined cost adding up despite the individual efficiency.

  Without breaking stride, Ciel stepped sideways through reality itself.

  The transition was instantaneous and seamless. One moment he stood in the fog-shrouded graveyard, the next he was in his Realm---standing beside one of the mana wells that pulsed with liquid light. The difference in atmosphere was profound: where the dungeon had been cold and oppressive, the Realm was warm and vital, the air thick with clean mana that responded eagerly to his presence.

  The World Tree dominated the skyline, now approaching three meters in height, its crystalline bark catching light that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere. The ten mana wells arranged around it pulsed in perfect synchronization, creating visible streams of energy that flowed toward the tree before cycling back out into the environment.

  In the distance, he could see Sora and Veldora finishing off the last of the skeleton warriors he'd sent through. Sora's chaos magic carved through reinforced bone with ease, no longer fighting against environmental interference. Veldora's enhanced defense let him weather attacks that would have been dangerous in the death mana atmosphere, his new shield proving its worth against coordinated assault.

  They moved with the fluid coordination of a team that had learned to trust each other completely, and more importantly---they looked relaxed rather than exhausted. Fighting in the Realm's clean atmosphere instead of the dungeon's hostile environment made all the difference.

  Ciel sat beside the nearest mana well, pulling a handful of light green mana stones from his inventory. The crystalline structures glowed softly in his palm, each one containing a hundred units of refined mana. He'd purchased a substantial supply after the auction, anticipating exactly this kind of sustained grinding.

  The absorption process was smooth and efficient. He crushed the stones between his fingers, their structure dissolving as pure energy flowed into his core. The surrounding air brightened as his MP climbed rapidly back toward maximum, the Realm itself seeming to assist the process through some quality he still didn't fully understand.

  [Mana Restored: 2,810 / 2,810]

  The notification appeared with satisfying finality. Ciel flexed his fingers, feeling the weight of fatigue fade completely. "Good enough."

  With a pulse of thought, he stepped back into the dungeon.

  The catacombs stretched wide and empty ahead, dimly lit by spectral blue flames that cast no warmth. The death mana concentration had increased noticeably---this deep into the dungeon, the environmental pressure was nearly overwhelming. But Ciel moved through it with the same calm he'd shown on the surface, his enhanced Wisdom providing resistance most awakeners at his level simply didn't possess.

  The chamber where the Skeleton Squire waited lay ahead---yesterday's mini-boss, the creature that had nearly broken them through raw power and skill. Its presence was palpable even from a distance, death mana swirling more densely around its resting place.

  Ciel didn't hesitate at the threshold. He walked directly into the chamber, and the Squire rose with the rattle of ancient armor, its longsword gleaming with the cold light of centuries. Blue flames ignited in its eye sockets as it recognized an intruder, and it began to move with the explosive speed that had made it so dangerous.

  But before it could complete its first charge, Ciel's hand extended. "Realm Seize."

  Reality bent sharply. The Squire's momentum carried it forward for a heartbeat---then space folded, and both it and Ciel vanished from the chamber in a flash of blue-white light.

  They materialized in the Realm's open plains, the sudden shift in environment disorienting the undead warrior. It staggered, its coordination disrupted by the absence of death mana and the overwhelming presence of vital energy.

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  Ciel was already moving, his aura flaring as he activated his talent.

  [Talent: King of Realm -- Activated.]

  [All Stats ×5 while within Realm.]

  The transformation was immediate and profound. His muscles flooded with strength that made his enhanced stats feel like a child's toys by comparison. His reflexes sharpened to supernatural levels, his perception expanding to encompass the entire battlefield with crystalline clarity. The Realm itself seemed to resonate with his intent, the grass bending away from his footsteps and the air currents shifting to reduce resistance on his movements.

  The Skeleton Squire recovered from its disorientation and attacked with the skill of a warrior who had never known defeat. Its longsword carved through the air in perfect arcs, each strike positioned to exploit openings that should have existed.

  They didn't. Ciel moved like liquid shadow, his enhanced agility letting him flow around attacks that would have been unavoidable at normal speed. When he counterattacked, his mana-forged blade---enhanced by both his improved Mana Craft skill and the multiplicative power of King of Realm---carved through reinforced bone like it was brittle ice.

  The fight lasted less than a minute. The Squire's core shattered with a single, precise strike that would have been impossible to execute without the overwhelming stat advantage. Its armor clattered to the grass in pieces, already beginning to dissolve as the dungeon's link to it severed.

  [Mini-Boss Defeated -- Skeleton Squire.]

  [Experience shared within party.]

  Ciel didn't pause to savor the victory. His perception expanded, finding the distant echo of the final boss chamber---the throne room where the Headless Knight waited. Without ceremony, he stepped back into the dungeon.

  The transition brought him directly to the iron doors, which opened with their familiar shriek of corroded metal. The throne room beyond was exactly as before---vast, circular, lit by dozens of blue flame braziers that cast no shadows. And at its center, standing before the dark stone throne, was the Headless Knight.

  The creature was already rising as Ciel entered, its massive greatsword coming up in a guard position that spoke of perfect mastery. The crown of shadow where its head should have been flared with dark power, and death mana swirled around it in visible currents that distorted the air.

  Ciel extended his hand without breaking stride. "Realm Seize."

  The pull of spatial distortion was fiercer this time---the Headless Knight was stronger than the Squire, its inherent resistance forcing Ciel to pour more mana into the skill. For a moment reality seemed to hold its breath as two forces contested: the dungeon's attempt to anchor its guardian, and Ciel's determination to claim it for his own domain.

  His enhanced Wisdom---now effectively 45 after the auction ring---provided just enough leverage. The world blinked, and both combatants vanished from the throne room.

  The Headless Knight materialized in the Realm with a surge of black mist, its presence immediately diminished by the absence of death mana enhancement. Where it had radiated overwhelming power in the dungeon, here it seemed almost restrained---dangerous still, but no longer the unstoppable force it had been designed to be.

  Ciel's aura exploded outward as King of Realm activated automatically, his stats multiplying fivefold in an instant. The grass beneath his feet flattened in a perfect circle from the pressure of released power, and the very air seemed to bend around him as reality acknowledged his absolute dominion within this space.

  The fight that followed was less a battle and more a systematic dismantling.

  The Headless Knight attacked with the same devastating technique it had displayed before---great sword swings that could cleave stone, footwork that suggested centuries of accumulated experience, tactical positioning that exploited every principle of medieval combat. Each attack was executed with mechanical perfection, the kind of skill that came from being the apex predator of its environment for longer than most civilizations had existed.

  But perfection meant nothing when faced with overwhelming superiority.

  Ciel moved through the Knight's assault like it was happening in slow motion. His enhanced agility---effectively 100 points with the talent active---let him perceive and react to attacks before they fully developed. His enhanced strength---likewise multiplied to 100---meant his counters hit with force that the Knight's armor simply couldn't withstand. And his enhanced endurance meant he could maintain this level of output indefinitely, the Realm's abundant mana feeding into his reserves faster than he could expend it.

  The Knight's greatsword passed through spaces where Ciel had been, missing by margins too small to matter but still missing. His mana blade found every gap in the creature's defense, each strike precise and devastating. Armor cracked under impossible pressure. Reinforced bone shattered from impacts that exceeded its structural limits. The death mana core that animated the creature grew dimmer with each landed blow, its energy bleeding away faster than it could regenerate without environmental support.

  When Ciel's blade finally drove through the Knight's chest cavity---piercing the core directly in a strike that combined perfect timing, overwhelming force, and surgical precision---the creature seemed almost relieved. The shadow crown dissipated like morning mist. The armor crashed to the grass in scattered pieces. The bones dissolved into motes of light that the Realm absorbed without ceremony, adding their essence to the cycle of growth and renewal.

  [Boss Defeated -- Headless Knight.]

  [Dungeon Cleared -- Graveyard of the Headless Knight (Easy Mode).]

  [Clear Time: 32 minutes 47 seconds.]

  [Previous Record: 1 hour 36 minutes 21 seconds.]

  [Clear Rank: D.]

  [Bonus Achieved -- New Record.]

  [Final Rank: C.]

  [Base Reward: 10 Light Green Mana Stones.]

  [Additional Reward: 15 Light Green Mana Stones.]

  [Experience shared within party.]

  Ciel stood over the dissolving remains, barely winded despite having fought through an entire dungeon worth of enemies plus two boss-tier threats. His enhanced endurance meant the exertion had been minimal, and the Realm's abundant mana meant his reserves were still comfortably above 80%.

  "Thirty-two minutes," he murmured, checking the timestamp again to verify. Yesterday's clear had taken over two hours, most of that spent grinding through regular enemies while conserving resources for the boss fights. Today, by using the Realm as both a holding area and a combat arena, they'd reduced the time to a third of that while actually taking less risk.

  The efficiency gains were staggering. And this was only their second run---as they refined the strategy further, optimized their coordination, learned the dungeon's patterns more thoroughly, the time would drop even more.

  Sora and Veldora appeared beside him through Realm Transfer, both looking remarkably fresh despite having just finished clearing dozens of undead. Fighting without death mana interference really did make all the difference.

  "Done already?" Veldora asked, looking around for signs of the boss. His gaze fell on the dissolving armor pieces, and understanding dawned. "Right. Inside the Realm. I keep forgetting how fast you work when you've got the home advantage."

  "Thirty-two minutes total," Ciel confirmed, gesturing toward the system notification that was still fading from view. "We set a new record."

  Sora's eyes lit up with genuine excitement. "A new record? That's---wait, what was the old one?"

  "One hour, thirty-six minutes," Ciel said. "Set by a party of Second Stage Awakeners two years ago. We just beat it by more than an hour, and we're all still in First Stage."

  The implications settled over them like a physical weight. Setting a new record was one thing---plenty of people did that through luck or perfect conditions. But beating the previous time by such a massive margin, while being an entire awakening stage below the former record holders?

  That was the kind of achievement that got attention.

  "Okay," Sora said slowly, her grin widening. "That's actually impressive. Like, legitimately impressive. We're going to get some looks when we step out."

  "Let them look," Veldora said with satisfaction. "We earned this one. Every second of that time came from solid strategy and better resource management. This isn't luck---it's optimization."

  Ciel nodded, already planning their next steps. "Which means we can do it again. And faster, once we've smoothed out the remaining inefficiencies."

  "You want to go even faster?" Veldora laughed, shaking his head with fond exasperation. "Of course you do. Why am I not surprised?"

  "Because you know him," Sora said simply.

  The portal home appeared with its familiar shimmer of light---the dungeon's automatic exit, triggered by the boss's defeat. But before they moved toward it, Ciel took a moment to absorb the Headless Knight's remains, adding the substantial biomass to his collection. Every resource mattered, especially as he moved closer to unlocking the Realm's next phase of development.

  "Ready?" he asked, turning toward his companions.

  They nodded in unison, and together they stepped into the portal's light.

  The transition back to the Dungeon Hall was smooth and immediate. One moment they stood in the Realm's endless plains, the next they were in the familiar stone corridor of Bay 12, the portal closing behind them with a soft hum of dissipating energy.

  The morning sun slanted through the Hall's high windows, painting geometric patterns across the polished floor. It was early morning now---they'd entered just after dawn, and the dungeon run plus travel time had eaten about half a hour of real-world time. But inside Ciel's Realm, with its one-to-five time ratio, they'd experienced nearly three hours.

  The gate guard---a tall man in bronze-trimmed armor whose scars suggested long service---straightened the moment he saw them emerge. His expression shifted from routine watchfulness to genuine surprise as he took in their condition.

  "Already back?" The question came out more incredulous than he probably intended. His eyes swept over them, cataloging details with professional efficiency. "Did you forfeit the run? That's the only explanation for---"

  "No," Ciel said simply, his tone carrying no particular emphasis.

  The guard blinked, clearly struggling to reconcile the timeline with what he knew about the Graveyard. "But it's only been..." He glanced at his wrist crystal, confirming the time. "...barely over half an hour since you entered. The fastest runs take at least ninety minutes, and that's with optimized Second Stage parties who know every spawn location."

  Veldora couldn't help the grin spreading across his face. "Forfeit? Not a chance. We just broke the record."

  Silence fell across the immediate area. Several nearby adventurers who'd been passing through stopped in their tracks, attention suddenly riveted on the conversation.

  The guard's expression shifted to something approaching disbelief. "Record? What record?"

  "Fastest clear of the Graveyard of the Headless Knight," Veldora said, his voice carrying with the particular satisfaction of someone who'd earned bragging rights through actual effort. He slapped a hand against his chestplate for emphasis, the sound ringing clearly in the sudden quiet. "Thirty-two minutes, forty-seven seconds. Feel free to verify."

  More heads turned. A small crowd was beginning to gather, drawn by the combination of an impossible claim and the confidence with which it was being delivered.

  A woman with a great bow strapped across her back---clearly a high-level archer based on her equipment---snorted derisively. "Impossible. That record belongs to the Red Talons guild. Four peak Second Stage Awakeners, all with optimized equipment and years of experience together. They set that time two years ago, and barely half of them survived the attempt."

  Another voice joined in, belonging to a scarred warrior who looked like he'd seen his share of hard dungeons. "I was there when they did it. They came out looking like they'd been through a meat grinder, needed emergency healing, and two of them couldn't work for a month afterward from mana exhaustion. You're telling me three First Stage rookies not only matched that---but beat it? While barely looking winded?"

  Sora took a slow sip from her flask, her expression perfectly serene. "Sounds like you'll be seeing the updated board soon enough."

  The guard hesitated, professional skepticism warring with the fact that these three genuinely didn't look like they were lying. Finally, he tapped his wrist crystal, sending a query through the Hall's central system.

  The response came quickly---a soft chime, followed by a pale blue projection that materialized in the air between them. Text scrolled across the display, each line seeming to make the guard's eyes widen further.

  [Dungeon Clear Verified]

  [Dungeon: Graveyard of the Headless Knight -- Easy Mode]

  [Party: Ciel Nova, Sora Lawrence, Veldora Greyson]

  [Clear Time: 00:32:47]

  [Previous Record: 01:36:21]

  [New Record Established]

  [Performance Rating: Rank C]

  The projection hung in the air for several long seconds, its glowing text reflecting off polished armor and wide eyes. The hum of background conversation throughout the Hall's entrance wing had died completely, leaving only stunned silence.

  Someone in the growing crowd finally found their voice. "Thirty-two minutes... from three First Stage Awakeners?" The question came out barely above a whisper, as if speaking louder might shatter whatever reality had allowed this to happen.

  Another voice, tinged with disbelief bordering on offense: "They cut the previous record by more than an hour. That's not just beating it---that's destroying it."

  A robed mage pushed forward, his eyes fixed on the projection with the intensity of someone trying to spot a forgery. "The system confirmed it. The Hall's verification is ironclad---it can't be faked or manipulated. They actually did this."

  The woman with the great bow shook her head slowly, her earlier skepticism replaced by something approaching awe. "But how? The death mana alone should have drained them dry. Even with perfect execution, the environmental pressure in that place is brutal for First Stage awakeners. I've seen Second Stage parties come out looking half-dead, and they were just doing Normal Mode."

  "Maybe they found something we don’t know," someone suggested, though their tone suggested even they didn't believe it. "A shortcut through the catacombs, or a way to skip the mini-boss?"

  Veldora folded his arms, looking entirely too pleased with the growing spectacle. The attention was clearly feeding his natural tendency toward showmanship, and Ciel could see him preparing to elaborate on their achievement.

  Before he could, Ciel placed a hand on his shoulder---gentle but firm. "We should register for our next run."

  Sora caught the subtext immediately. They'd made their point---exceeded expectations, proven capability, established their name on the record boards. Staying to bask in attention would only invite more questions they didn't want to answer, questions about methods and techniques that were better kept private.

  "Right," Veldora said, his grin not diminishing but his body language shifting from performance mode to business. "Next dungeon awaits."

  The guard stepped aside, still looking somewhat dazed by the verified information floating in front of him. "That's... you're cleared to exit. And congratulations, I suppose. That's genuinely remarkable work."

  As they moved through the crowd toward the main Hall, the whispers followed them like a trailing wake.

  "Did you see their equipment? Nothing special---standard adventurer gear, maybe slightly above average. How did they manage that kind of clear time?"

  "The one in the middle---Ciel Nova---he's got to be the key. The other two look competent, but there's something about the way he moves. Like he's constantly three steps ahead."

  "I heard someone cleared a Tier 2 dungeon on their first try yesterday. Bet that was them too."

  "Three rookies just became the fastest clearers of a Second Stage dungeon. That's going to shake up the rankings when this gets around."

  A new voice cut through the speculation, belonging to a well-dressed man whose embroidered guild insignia marked him as someone of rank. "You there---the party that just set the record. Which guild are you affiliated with?"

  Ciel slowed but didn't stop walking. "Independent."

  The man's eyebrows rose. "Independent? You're not contracted to anyone? That's..." He seemed to catch himself before saying something potentially offensive. "That's unusual for awakeners showing this level of capability. I represent the Crimson Hawks guild. If you're interested in discussing sponsorship opportunities---"

  "We're not," Sora said pleasantly but firmly. "Thank you for the offer, but we prefer to operate independently for now."

  "For now," the man repeated, latching onto the qualifier. "Does that mean you'd be open to discussions in the future? The Hawks offer excellent benefits for promising talent---equipment subsidies, training access, dungeon priority scheduling---"

  "We'll keep you in mind," Ciel said, which was diplomatically noncommittal enough to end the conversation without burning bridges. They moved past before the recruiter could continue his pitch.

  More offers would come, Ciel knew. Record-breaking performances always drew attention from guilds looking to expand their roster with promising talent. Some would be genuine offers based on demonstrated capability. Others would be attempts to lock down potential competitors before they became threats.

  All of them could wait. They had more dungeons to clear and a very specific timeline to maintain.