"Young master," Allen's voice cut through the fog of sleep. "We've arrived at our destination."
I rubbed my eyes, still groggy. "Already? We're here?"
How did I fall asleep so deeply? I'd only meant to rest my eyes for a moment.
"Yes, young master. We've reached Brigadoom City," Allen confirmed.
"Right. Okay." I stretched and stepped out of the car.
Bright sunlight hit me directly in the face, making me squint as my eyes adjusted. When I could finally see properly, I took in our surroundings.
We were in the middle of nowhere. An abandoned factory stood in front of us, its windows broken and walls covered in rust and decay. The whole area looked like it had been deserted for years.
But what caught my attention was the massive blue portal swirling slowly beside the factory. It pulsed with energy, rotating hypnotically in the air.
So that was a dungeon entrance. My first time seeing one up close.
While I was staring at the portal, a man suddenly emerged from the factory and hurried toward us. He wore glasses and a business suit, and he was carrying a stack of documents.
"Young master Michael! You're finally here!" he called out, practically jogging in our direction.
He stopped right in front of us, panting slightly from the exertion. I studied him carefully. Middle-aged, unremarkable face, long black hair styled perfectly without a single strand out of place. He looked like any other businessman, but something bothered me.
Did I know this guy? He'd called me "young master," which was weird. From what I remembered, only people directly connected to the Frostburne family used that title. Everyone else called me "sir."
Before I could ask, Allen stepped in. "Young master, allow me to introduce Lex Cross. He's the Frostburne family's dungeon broker. He handles all our dungeon purchases, sales, and related transactions."
That explained it. If he worked for my family, the title made sense.
Lex caught his breath and straightened up. "That's right! I'm your family's personal broker. I came out here specifically to get your signature on these documents. We need to finalize the dungeon booking before you can enter."
"Sure, hand me the documents," I said.
Lex quickly passed me the papers along with a pen from his pocket, then started pointing at various spots on each page.
"Sign here on the first page, right there. Good. Now the second page, top right corner. Perfect. And this one goes here... no, a little lower. Yes, that's it!"
After signing everything, I handed the documents back to him.
"Thank you, young master," Lex said, tucking the papers under his arm. "The dungeon is officially yours for the day. You're free to enter whenever you're ready."
He gestured toward the swirling blue portal with a flourish, like he was presenting some grand prize.
"Thanks," I said, turning my attention to the dungeon entrance.
I glanced at my watch. 11:45 AM. This shouldn't take too long. With Allen doing most of the fighting, I figured thirty minutes would be enough to collect the essences I needed for Normal rank. Maybe even less.
The beauty of this plan was that the dungeon allowed two hunters inside, and I was going to take full advantage of that by bringing Allen with me. Based on Michael's memories, Allen was incredibly strong. At least Ace rank, though that information was a few years old.
Though honestly, I doubted his rank had changed much. It usually took talented hunters years just to advance from Ace to Master. The essence requirements alone were astronomical.
Still, I might as well confirm.
"Allen," I called out, interrupting his conversation with Lex. "What's your current rank?"
Allen turned to me briefly. "Master rank, young master."
Then he went right back to talking with Lex like he hadn't just dropped a bomb on me.
I stood there, completely frozen. My brain couldn't process what I'd just heard.
Master rank? How was that even possible?
He'd jumped an entire rank in just three years? That should have taken decades, not months.
My shock wasn't just about the speed of his advancement. It was about what Master rank actually meant in this world.
To put things in perspective, the strongest hunter in all of Ambrosia was only Conqueror rank. There were exactly two Conquerors in the entire nation. Below them were about twenty Dominators, and then came the Masters.
As of now, there were only thirty-five Master rank hunters in existence. And here's the really important part: seventy percent of those high-rankers worked directly for the government. They basically ran the entire nation from behind the scenes.
Allen was one of them now. A Master ranker.
But what really blew my mind was the timeline. He'd done it in three years. Just three years.
If I remembered correctly, Allen had broken through to Ace rank three years ago. And now he was already Master rank. That kind of progression was unheard of.
What kind of monster was he?
I stood there for a long moment, lost in thought about Allen's insane growth rate, until his voice pulled me back to reality.
"Young master, is everything alright? You should probably enter the dungeon soon if you want to complete your hunt today."
Right. The dungeon.
"Actually, Allen, I need you to come with me. I want you to enter the dungeon too."
"Of course, young master," Allen replied without hesitation.
The moment Lex heard that, he practically jumped between us and the portal.
"Wait, wait, wait!" He held up his hands frantically. "Young master, you can't both go in! This dungeon only has a capacity of one hunter!"
He pointed at a weathered sign beside the portal that clearly read: "One Hunter Only."
"If you both enter together, you could trigger a dungeon outbreak! The monsters would spill out into the real world!"
I looked at the sign Lex was pointing to. It definitely said "One Hunter Only" in faded letters.
But I knew that was wrong. The review had specifically mentioned the dungeon could handle two people.
"Lex," I said, trying to sound calm. "Did you actually check the dungeon's capacity yourself? Are you absolutely certain it's limited to one hunter?"
"Yes, I'm positive!" He pulled out the documents I'd just signed. "Look, right here on the first page."
What?
I grabbed the papers from him and scanned the first page. There it was, written in bold red text: "Dungeon Capacity: One Hunter Maximum."
This didn't make any sense. How could the review be wrong?
Meelon had specifically said the dungeon could handle two people despite what the sign said. And there were dozens of comments under his review confirming it.
Unless... what if it was all fake? Paid reviews to trick people?
No, that didn't add up either. Why would someone pay for a fake review and then only give it three stars? Paid reviews usually gave one star to trash something or five stars to promote it. Three stars was too neutral.
I spent another minute trying to figure it out, but I was getting nowhere. The pieces didn't fit together.
Finally, I decided to take a different approach.
Fuck it.
I was going to trust that review. Even if it turned out to be wrong, Allen could handle whatever happened. A Master rank hunter could easily contain a dungeon outbreak from an F-rank dungeon.
I looked Lex straight in the eye. "Thanks for the warning, but we're going in together anyway."
His mouth fell open. For once, the chatty broker seemed completely lost for words.
I turned away from his shocked expression and faced the swirling blue portal. My heart was pounding, but I tried to look confident.
"Allen, stay close behind me," I said, taking a deep breath.
Without giving myself time to second-guess the decision, I broke into a run toward the portal. The blue energy grew larger as I approached, pulsing with an otherworldly light.
Behind me, I could hear Lex shouting something, probably more warnings about the outbreak. I didn't care. I'd made my choice.
When I was just a few feet from the portal's surface, I jumped forward and let the blue energy swallow me whole.
The sensation was instant and overwhelming. Like being pulled through ice-cold water while electricity ran through every nerve in my body. For a moment, everything went white.
The moment my feet touched solid ground on the other side, I quickly looked around to get my bearings.
"Whoa," I breathed out.
I was standing inside a massive cave. Strange rocks lined the walls, giving off a soft, bluish glow that illuminated everything around me. They didn't look like crystals or anything special, just regular rocks that somehow produced their own light.
How was that even possible?
Before I could think about it more, I realized something important.
I spun around to look at the portal behind me. It was still spinning steadily, the same blue energy swirling in place. But that wasn't what worried me.
Where was Allen?
He should have followed me through by now. Unless the dungeon really did have a one person limit and he couldn't enter.
"Fuck," I muttered. "Did he get blocked from entering?"
Just as panic started to set in, I felt a familiar rush of wind behind me.
I whipped around immediately. "Allen?"
There he was, standing just a few feet away, staring directly at me. But something was off. He wasn't saying anything, just looking at my face with an expression I couldn't read.
That wasn't like him at all. Allen always responded when I called his name.
"Is something wrong?" I asked, feeling self-conscious. "Do I have something on my face?"
"Nothing, young master," he replied quickly.
Then he turned away and started surveying the dungeon, his eyes scanning the glowing cave walls.
While he was distracted, I decided to just get straight to the point. "Allen, so the reason I brought you in here with me is because—"
"You want me to do all the work for you. Correct?" Allen cut in smoothly, his tone perfectly neutral.
Damn it.
How did he always know exactly what I was thinking?
"Well... yeah," I admitted. No point trying to sugarcoat it now. "I need you to paralyze all the monsters in here so I can finish them off easily. That's the plan."
Allen went quiet for a moment. Then he let out a long, heavy sigh.
"I knew it," he said, his voice thick with disappointment. "Honestly, young master. You're really..."
He trailed off, leaving the sentence hanging in the air.
I stood there, confused by his reaction.
Why did he sound so let down? What did I do wrong?
Wait.
Then it hit me.
Oh. He was expecting me to actually fight. To train myself, push my limits, and kill the monsters on my own.
Allen, seriously? Why would he even think that was realistic?
But then again... thinking about it more carefully, it actually made sense.
According to Michael's memories, Allen had always encouraged him to enter dungeons and train properly. He'd wanted him to fight monsters himself, build real strength, even when Michael made it abundantly clear he wanted nothing to do with any of that.
Allen never stopped hoping, though.
What I still couldn't wrap my head around was why. Allen wasn't stupid. He knew the original Michael was a zero ranker. Sending someone like that into a dungeon to fight monsters alone was practically a death sentence, even in an F rank dungeon like this one.
So what was he thinking? Why did he keep pushing for something so dangerous?
I wanted to ask. The question was right there, ready to come out.
But I swallowed it.
"Sorry, Allen," I said quietly. "Next time, I'll do it myself. I promise."
Allen paused for just a moment, then glanced back at me with an unreadable expression.
"It's alright, young master."
His voice was calm, but I couldn't tell if he actually believed me.
He turned back around and started walking deeper into the cave, his footsteps echoing softly against the stone.
I followed close behind, keeping my eyes on his back as the glowing rocks cast shifting shadows across the walls.
While walking behind him, I glanced down at my watch to check the time.
***
Name: Michael Frostburne
Total Rules Broken: 0
Time: 11:58 AM
Date: 4th February
Year: 2130
***
Almost noon.
I kept my eyes forward and continued following Allen deeper into the cave.
***
After a few more minutes of walking, the narrow tunnel finally opened up.
And, then what I saw, made a shiver ran down the spine...
It was... Unbelievable...
It was... Bone chilling
"What the..."