The [Rising Rings Of Fortune] dungeon was one of the very few special-grade dungeons that existed in the world, and unlike most others, it was not monopolized by any university.
Each university possessed hundreds of dungeons ranging from Tier-1 to Tier-7, which they allowed their students to use for leveling up and earning rewards.
However, dungeons of Tier-8 and above were far fewer in number.
To make them equally accessible to awakeners from all universities and guilds, they were placed under the control of the World Awakener Association.
Anyone wishing to use them had to pay a fee in System Gold.
Special-grade dungeons such as the [Stairway of Fortune] dungeon were also managed directly by the Association.
The gate to the [Ladder of Fortune] dungeon was located inside the headquarters of the World Awakener Association, which was hundreds of miles away from where Ethan currently was.
"I will have to use a transportation gate. I wonder how much this trip will cost."
Ethan reached the outer perimeter of Monarch University, where he saw people moving in and out of a massive building labeled "Transportation Gates Station" in huge stone letters above the entrance.
Upon entering, he found hundreds of gates suspended above the ground, arranged along the walls and in rows across multiple floors, with people going in and out.
Beside each gate was a stone tablet displaying the name of the place the gate would send a person to.
"These are artificial gates, huh?" Ethan said, examining them curiously.
These were artificial transportation gates, created by Awakeners who had used real dungeon gates as research material.
The artificial gates were pure white in color.
Using his enhanced supernatural senses, Ethan extended his invisible perception toward one of the gates and observed it for several minutes.
He could feel it vibrating with a distinct frequency.
Its oscillations, pressure, and other unknown properties were invisible to the naked eye.
Unlike anything he had sensed before, the artificial gates each possessed a unique set of properties.
Within the space they occupied, there was no air, no elements, and not even the faintest trace of light.
Comparing one gate with the other artificial gates in the facility, he noticed that each possessed its own subtle, unique resonance.
Even if only by the smallest margin, each gate was unique in some way.
The more he studied them, the more he felt he understood how the gates operated.
Of course, the part he grasped was insignificant, as he was only beginning to understand the nature of the gates compared to the Awakeners of the past, who had studied real gates and replicated them into usable artificial ones for regular use.
"Let us just get to the dungeon," he muttered.
He approached one of the artificial gates and paid 150 System Gold.
Stepping through, he appeared in the Transportation Gates Station of the World Awakener Association.
After exiting the facility, he headed toward the Dungeon Hall of the Awakener Association, the place where they kept the dungeon gates.
Unlike the dungeon halls in universities, accessing this hall required passing through several layers of security.
From the moment he stepped out of the dungeon gate, Ethan had to undergo multiple security checks, complete a registration process, provide his information, and state his purpose of visit.
After verifying his identity as a student of Monarch University, which took some time, and after being made to wait in a high-security room along with several others who also seemed to be visiting for the first time, he was issued an Association ID.
It appeared to be given exclusively to students of the university.
With it, he could access a limited number of the WAA's facilities without having to repeat the verification procedures each time.
After receiving directions, Ethan entered the Association's dungeon hall and found it crowded with people.
"Look at all these Awakeners… everyone feels so strong,"
He thought.
Ethan felt like just another ordinary human among them.
Any one of these powerful individuals could probably kill him with a single move.
It was understandable because this place housed Tier-8 and above dungeons, which could only be challenged by Awakeners corresponding to those tiers, while he was a Tier-1 Awakener attempting a special-grade dungeon.
Observing a little more, he noticed that some of the people here were students from other universities, which he could identify by their IDs.
The Association issued ID cards in different base colors depending on the university.
Ethan's ID was red, indicating that he was a student from Monarch University.
He wasn't the only one observing.
Many others were watching him as well, mostly because of his profession.
Necromancer was a brand-new profession that no one here or anywhere had ever heard of, so it naturally attracted some attention.
But upon seeing that he was only level 10, no one bothered approaching him.
Ethan went to the counter and paid 1,000 System Gold, after which the person at the counter guided him to the gate of the [Rising Rings of Fortune] dungeon.
Unlike the other dungeons in the WAA's dungeon hall, awakeners have to notify WAA officials before gaining access.
"As you already know, the dungeon only allows three entries. So you have only three chances to obtain its rewards. I'm assuming you're aiming for the 8th-stage reward, the Skill Enhancement Card?" the WAA official asked.
"Yes," Ethan nodded.
"Right. Most people come looking for this dungeon for that particular reward, since it is quite easy to reach the 8th stage. Anyway, this dungeon is special, and it comes with a unique rule for awakeners challenging it."
"Oh? And what would that be?"
"If you go past the 10th stage of the dungeon, you must disclose the type of rewards you received for clearing each stage. Of course, this only applies if you manage to surpass the 10th stage, because after the 8th stage the difficulty increases significantly."
"Only the type of rewards? Not specifics related to my skills, profession, or anything too sensitive, right?" Ethan asked.
He didn't like the idea of revealing anything about his profession.
He was secretive about his skills even with his instructor.
"Yes, only the type. For your information, do not think that just because we cannot see inside, we won't know how far you progress. If, by some miracle, you pass the 10th stage, since you would be the first to ever do so, the dungeon will respond by releasing a wave of light outside the gate," the man said firmly.
"Just out of curiosity, what happens if I go against this special rule?" Ethan asked.
"Nothing much. You will simply be blacklisted from ever using any of the Association's facilities again, and of course imprisoned until you comply," the man replied with an unpleasant tone as he observed Ethan.
"Necromancer, huh? Never heard of it before," the man muttered.
"Don't try to die," he added before leaving.
"What an unpleasant person… Time to get a lot of rewards," Ethan said with a smile as he looked at the gate.
The gate of [The Rising Rings of Fortune] was unusual.
Unlike other dungeon gates, this one was golden yellow, with sparks of blue energy emanating from it.
This dungeon only allowed solo clearing and did not require gold to enter, yet the WAA had taken 1,000 gold from him earlier.
Even though they claimed it was free.
Upon coming out on the other side of the gate, Ethan found himself inside a white room made entirely of white tiles, or what appeared to be tiles, covering the walls, floor, and a ceiling so far above that it looked like the sky itself was tiled.
Even though all sides were closed, the room was strangely bright.
Everything was visible as clearly as day, and both air quality and energy concentration inside were surprisingly good.
Ethan felt as if he were inside a white cube stretching endlessly in every direction.
When he extended his senses as far as he could, he realized that it truly did.
No matter how far his perception reached, he could not find a wall or an end.
[You have entered [The Rising Rings of Fortune]]
[Beginning 1st Stage of the Dungeon…]
A magic circle manifested a few meters in front of him, and from it, a monster leaped into the air.
"Is that a griffin?" Ethan narrowed his eyes.
It had the body of a large lion and the head and wings of an eagle.
---
[Fire Griffin]
[Level: 10]
[Skills]
-Flame Breath: Releases a stream of fire forward, burning everything in its path and dealing continuous fire damage.
---
"It's a pretty normal monster, but it can fly."
Ethan waved his hand and summoned five Undead Mages from his [Undead Graveyard], then used his Spiritual Energy to summon five Undead Wood Spirits, whose skills had become several times more powerful after the skill fusions.
As soon as Ethan's summons appeared, the griffin released a sharp cry and spewed a massive stream of fire directly at him.
Ethan gave a simple command, and his summons dispersed in different directions.
The griffin's fire attack hit Ethan head-on and continued for several seconds, but due to his [Death Link] skill, he did not sustain any damage.
The fire only felt like a hot breeze.
As the Wood Spirits regenerated his Spiritual Energy, Ethan ordered his Undead Mages to attack.
After the fusions, all of his undead summons had gained full combat intelligence.
They could not speak or act completely independently, but within Ethan's commands, they behaved like individual awakeners, capable of making decisions whenever Ethan had not issued a direct order.
Because of their increased intelligence, they could also learn from battle and experience, meaning they would grow stronger over time.
The Undead Mages activated [Ice Creation], forming several dense ice spears.
They launched all of them toward the griffin.
The griffin attempted to fly upward, dodging some of the spears, but two struck its wing and underbelly, disabling its ability to fly.
Once grounded, a few more attacks finished it instantly.