The hum of fading mana slowly dissolved into the damp subterranean air, leaving behind only the metallic tang of ozone and scorched stone.
Raphael remained slumped against the concrete platform, his chest heaving as blood continued to seep through the makeshift bandage on his upper arm. His body ached in places he didn’t know existed, but beneath the physical exhaustion, a strange, quiet thrill pulsed through his veins.
He had survived. He had cleared his first dungeon.
Footsteps echoed sharply across the platform. Captain Vale stepped to the edge of the pit, his expression unreadable, flanked by Dr. Liana Moss and the two Bureau operatives. Their weapons were lowered, but their eyes were fixed on Raphael with an intense, calculating scrutiny that made the back of his neck prickle.
"Dr. Moss," Vale said quietly, his deep voice carrying a heavy weight. "Attend to his arm."
The medical specialist immediately climbed down into the pit, opening her tactical medical case. She applied a glowing, mana-infused salve directly to Raphael’s wound before wrapping it in a fresh, high-density compression bandage.
"His mana signature fluctuated wildly during the final exchange," Dr. Moss reported without looking up, her tablet displaying a series of erratic graphs. "His physical output was strictly baseline, but the ambient mana pulled toward him right before the Goblin Chief attacked."
Vale nodded slowly, his eyes shifting from Raphael to Vanessa, who hovered silently a few feet away, her dark staff resting against her shoulder.
"The boss ignored two A-Tier threats and a tactical firing line," Vale said, stepping closer to Raphael. "It bypassed every defensive layer to strike directly at you. Why?"
Raphael swallowed hard, keeping his face as neutral as possible. "I was the weakest one here. Monsters usually go for the easiest target."
"Lesser monsters act on instinct," Vale countered coldly. "A dungeon boss possesses tactical intellect. It didn’t view you as an easy kill, Mr. Matthews. It viewed you as a priority."
Before Raphael could respond, Elena stepped between them, sheathing her broadsword with a crisp, metallic click.
"He’s an unclassified Awakened who barely knows how to hold a knife, Captain," Elena said, her tone deceptively light, though her eyes remained sharp. "The Chief probably recognized him as the anchor for the summon. If you kill the caster, the summon disappears. It’s standard dungeon logic."
Vale eyed Elena for a long moment before turning back to Raphael. "Standard logic applies to standard Awakened. Nothing about Mr. Matthews’ evaluation has been standard."
He reached into his coat and produced a small black recording device, switching it on. "We are returning to the surface immediately. Director Cole will require a full debriefing regarding today’s anomalies."
Vanessa drifted closer, her violet eyes narrowing into cold slits as she stared at Vale. "You address my Sovereign as though he is a prisoner under your command, mortal."
The air pressure in the tunnel spiked sharply, the temperature dropping several degrees. Dr. Moss gasped as her mana scanner let out a violent warning chime, its display flickering wildly.
The two Bureau operatives instinctively raised their sidearms, their knuckles whitening.
"Vanessa," Raphael warned quickly, raising his uninjured hand. "Stand down. We’re on the same team."
Vanessa glanced down at him, her expression softening marginally, though her disdain for the Bureau officers remained painfully obvious.
"They push their luck."
"They’re just doing their job," Raphael muttered, pushing himself up against the platform wall with a groan. "And right now, my job is not bleeding to death."
With Elena’s help, Raphael hauled himself out of the pit and back onto the main platform.
The Gate at the station entrance was already beginning to pulse with a soft, blue light, signalling that the dungeon had been successfully cleared and was preparing to collapse.
As they walked through the quiet transit tunnels toward the exit, Elena fell into step beside Raphael, keeping her voice low so Vale and the others couldn’t hear.
"That was a nice lie back there," she murmured, her eyes fixed straight ahead.
Raphael didn’t look at her as he responded in a confused tone, which he knew wouldn’t work on the blue-eyed beauty beside him. "Which part?"
"The part where you pretended you didn’t know why the Chief targeted you."
Raphael’s heart skipped a beat, but he kept his pace steady. "I told you, I’m weak. It made sense for it to attack me."
"Raphael," Elena said, her tone dropping its usual playful edge, turning surprisingly serious. "I’ve cleared over fifty dungeons. A boss monster doesn’t look at a human with fear unless that human represents a threat to the dungeon’s very existence.
The moment you stepped into that station, the entire horde was agitated. Not because of me, not because of Vale, and certainly not because of your summon."
She stopped walking just outside the shimmering rift of the Gate, turning to face him directly. Her blue eyes searched his face, looking for any sign of a slip-up.
"What aren’t you telling us?" she asked quietly. "What kind of power did you actually awaken?"
Raphael stared at her, feeling the heavy weight of the system panel resting silently in his mind, and the newly unlocked door to the Throne Room waiting for him beyond the real world.
"I’m just trying to survive, Elena," he said softly, giving her the most honest answer he could manage. "That’s all."
Elena studied him for a long, tense moment before letting out a soft sigh and turning toward the exit.
"Well, you better get better at it quickly. Because after today’s report hits Director Cole’s desk, the Bureau isn’t going to treat you like a civilian anymore."
Raphael took a deep breath, tightening his fist as he stepped through the Gate and back into the morning sunlight of the city. His first dungeon was over, but he knew the real battle was only just beginning.
If they weren’t going to treat him as a civilian, then so be it. He was weak now, so he would play by their so-called rules. That was the only thing he could do at this point.
He was a Sovereign. He was supposed to be prideful, strong, and authoritative. But even Kings started from princes or mere commanders before they reached that level.
For now, the Throne was waiting. That was his priority- not some bureaucratic formalities.