The moment Arthur clicked [YES], the environment around him violently shifted. The familiar walls of his bedroom dissolved like smoke.
He was no longer at home but standing inside of a massive, ancient dungeon. The path ahead was a great tunnel, expertly curved out of old, dark stone that looked centuries old, while the ground below his feet was paved with uneven, moss-covered cobblestone.
"This is a weird place," Arthur said aloud, his voice echoing eerily down the corridor as he spun around, finding nothing but solid rock where his bed had just been.
Suddenly, a sleek notification snapped into existence right before his eyes.
[Skill: Summoner's Insight has been activated.]
The moment the text appeared, a strange, electric jolt shot through Arthur's brain. He immediately remembered the passive skill from his Summoner profile. It granted him an inherent, intuitive understanding of foreign structures, beasts, and weak points. Thanks to that sudden rush of instinct, he instantly managed to understand that this specific place was a Yellow dungeon.
In their world, there were five officially recognized dungeon types, each color-coded to rank exactly how powerful and lethal the anomalies inside were. At the absolute bottom was the Green dungeon, which was ranked as an Iron-tier zone and stood as the most common type of dungeon rookies used to train.
Next to them was the Yellow dungeon, the exact type Arthur found himself in right now, which was ranked as a Bronze-tier threat requiring actual tactical coordination. After that came the Blue dungeons, which were considered highly dangerous, ranked as Silver-tier, and usually meant for veteran squads.
Then there were the Red dungeons, considered extremely dangerous areas that boasted terrifyingly high casualty rates where even elite, Gold-tier Summoners struggled to clear them alive. The highest globally recognized rank of dungeons were the Purple dungeons, which were Platinum-tier anomalies; these were rare but absolute catastrophe-class events where a single Platinum-tier Summoner and their apex beasts would struggle to the brink of death just to clear them.
But that didn't mean Purple was the absolute end of the scale. In old history books and hunter myths, there were three mythical tiers whispered about above that. First was the Diamond dungeon, rumored to be a nation-wide calamity if it ever broke open. Next to it were the White dungeons, completely legendary and never actually seen before by modern society, and finally, the Crimson-Black dungeons, which were rumored to house literal divine beasts capable of flattening continents. None of these top three mythical dungeons had any solid proof of existence in human history, however.
But the Trial Dungeon Arthur currently found himself in was completely outside all of those normal, globally known dungeons anyway, since this one was uniquely manifested by and tied directly to his own System.
Arthur looked around the Yellow dungeon, taking in the flickering iron torches mounted onto the damp walls, casting long, dancing shadows across the ancient stone.
"Yellow dungeons are notoriously known for containing intelligent creatures that love setting up ambushes and lethal traps," Arthur muttered to himself, his muscles tensing. "Which means I need to tread very carefully."
He locked his gaze onto the dark path ahead, watching how the massive tunnel curved and disappeared into a pitch-black darkness he couldn't quite see through.
"If I follow this tunnel, I might reach the Dungeon boss," Arthur said, a dangerous thrill of adrenaline mixing with the anxiety in his chest. "Apparently, that's the only way I'll actually pass this dungeon trial and get back home."
He took his first step forward, and it was only then that he realized he was completely barefooted. The cold, damp cobblestone sent a sharp chill straight up his soles.
"Hmm. If I run into serious trouble, will I even be able to sprint away properly like this?" he thought, wincing slightly as a sharp edge of stone bit into his heel. "Speaking of trouble, I definitely need Lady Arne for this..."
He took a deep breath, his mind instantly flashing back to their intense, breathless encounter right before Uncle Potus had ruined the mood.
"She's an incredibly horny warrior," Arthur muttered with a ridiculous smirk. "She would probably ask me to squeeze her boobs right in the middle of a brutal battle. But honestly, that wouldn't be a bad way to go at all. I definitely prefer dying while squeezing a hot woman's breasts over getting mauled to death by monsters without any pleasure."
He walked a few steps further down the dimly lit corridor, clear of the immediate entrance zone, and tapped his elbow. "Come forth, Lady Arne Margadalen."
Instantly, the dark tunnel illuminated as a brilliant golden summoning circle erupted over the cobblestones. The holy runes spun furiously, and within a second, Lady Arne manifested in the center of the light. This chapter was copied from novelping.com without permission.
Her heavy golden armor was fully back on, gleaming under the torchlight, and she had the most incredibly grateful spark in her ocean-blue eyes.
"My liege! I was starting to think that you had forgotten about me," she said, immediately closing the distance between them. She stepped close to him, enough for Arthur to feel the intense, sweet heat of her breath against his face.
"Don't be silly," Arthur said, trying to maintain his composure despite how fast his heart started racing again. "It hasn't even been twenty minutes since I last dismissed you."
"Twenty minutes is a terribly long time to be away from you, my liege," she murmured, her lower lip turning down into a thoroughly teasing, disappointed pout.
I actually thought it was a long time too, but there is no way in hell I'm admitting that to her, Arthur thought, his inner degenerate desperately trying to keep a straight face.
Arthur cleared his throat loudly, trying to shake off the distraction. "I summoned you here for an entirely different purpose right now. Do you recognize where we are?"
Lady Arne pulled her gaze away from his lips and scanned the damp stone walls. "Are we in a dungeon, my liege?"
"Correct. And it needs to be cleared," Arthur said, crossing his arms. "Can you help me do that?"
"With absolute ease, my liege," she said confidently. Then, she leaned in a fraction closer, her voice dropping into a sultry murmur. "But I have one small request in return from you."
Arthur frowned, a bit caught off guard. Wait, are summons even supposed to ask their masters questions? Let alone bargain for favors in return? His system profile said her loyalty was 100%, so she wasn't rebelling. Maybe she was just incredibly bold.
"What is it?" Arthur asked, raising an eyebrow.
Lady Arne giggled, a delightful, melodic sound that echoed off the ancient cobblestones. "If I clear this dungeon for you, will you be so kind as to finish what we started in your room... before that filth disturbed us?"
By filth, does she mean my uncle Potus? Arthur thought, a sudden grin pulling at his lips. Damn, she's got a sharp tongue. I like it. I just hope she knows how to dirty talk in bed, too.
"If your performance in battle pleases me, then I might see what I can do for you," Arthur countered, playing along with her game.
"Promise?" she pressed, her ocean-blue eyes locked onto his, practically begging.
Arthur let out a dramatic sigh, though his heart was secretly racing. "Okay, fine. I promise."
Lady Arne let out a triumphant gasp, her entire face lighting up with absolute delight as she instinctively gripped the hilt of her Sunsteel Tower Shield, practically vibrating with excitement to slaughter whatever lay ahead.
"Excellent, my liege! Which direction would you like us to begin with?"
Arthur turned his attention back to the dark corridor, tracking the way the ancient stone curved into the mysterious distance. "The dungeon boss is that way. Let's move."
The moment the torch left its bracket, a sharp, mechanical CLICK echoed through the silent tunnel. Before Arthur could even blink, a heavy iron arrow tore through the darkness from the opposite wall, whistling with a lethal, deafening hiss straight toward his skull.
What happened next was a blur of pure, cinematic violence.
Before the arrow could even clear half the distance, Lady Arne vanished from her spot. She moved with such blinding, explosive speed that the air violently cracked behind her. In a split second, she was standing directly in front of Arthur, her armored hand snapping through the air like a striking viper.
SNAP.
She caught the iron arrow effortlessly between her armored fingers just inches from Arthur's face, the raw momentum of the projectile dying instantly in her grip. With a casual twist of her wrist, she snapped the heavy shaft in two and let the pieces clatter uselessly onto the cobblestones.
Arthur stood entirely frozen, his breath caught in his throat. His heart hammered violently against his ribs, half from the sheer terror of almost being impaled, and half from the terrifying, awe-inspiring speed his Paladin had just displayed.
She's good. God, she's so damn good, Arthur thought, a cold sweat breaking out across his forehead.
A bright notification flashed into his vision:
[Skill: Lady Arne Margadalen has used Guardian's Oath!]
"Are you unharmed, my liege?" Arne asked, turning her head slightly. Her voice was perfectly calm, her breathing entirely steady as if she hadn't just defied the laws of physics to save his life.
Arthur swallowed hard and nodded. "Yeah... yeah, I'm good. Traps. Right, my Insight literally just warned me about traps. I completely forgot."
"I will walk in front, and you can follow closely behind me," Lady Arne said, her posture shifting into a flawless combat stance. "I am well-versed in the cheap tricks of these domains. I know how to handle traps."
Arthur didn't argue. It was obviously the smart choice, his summon was a walking fortress, and he was currently a barefoot rookie. "Lead the way, then."
Lady Arne stepped forward, taking the vanguard position. Arthur followed a few paces behind, holding the sputtering torch high, even though her radiant golden armor practically lit up the dark tunnel on its own. Despite the lingering danger, Arthur's eyes naturally drifted down, helplessly tracking the mesmerizing, rhythmic sway of her hips beneath the heavy plates of her armor.
Even in full battle gear, she looks incredible, he thought.
They hadn't walked very far down the winding corridor when the ambient temperature suddenly dropped, and a foul stench filled the air.
From the shadows ahead, a low growl echoed out. A dozen pairs of glowing, bloodshot eyes snapped open in the darkness. As the torchlight flickered forward, it revealed a pack of heavily muscled, grotesque creatures. Their skin was a mottled, sickly mix of deep crimson and toxic green, covered in crude leather straps, and they brandished rusted cleavers that dripped with old blood.
"Those are hobgoblins," Arthur whispered, his muscles tensing as his Summoner's Insight instantly mapped out their aggressive, pack-hunting nature. The trial had officially begun...
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