Faint laughter echoed through the oblivion.
All he could feel, all he could see, was darkness.
Dylan wanted to scream for help, but his voice wouldn’t come.
Then, at last, he saw a ray of light.
He ran toward it.
A pair of hands made of darkness caught his foot.
Then another pair elongated from the void and wrapped around his waist.
He thrashed, trying to break free, but the moment he took another stubborn step forward, thousands of hands surged from the darkness and dragged him back.
A gut-wrenching scream tore from his throat, and the laughter around him grew louder, closer, uncontrollable as he was pulled toward submersion into the abyss.
Then, a voice echoed from the ray of light.
It called out to him.
Son…
His eyes snapped open.
The pristine white ceiling stretched above him, blurred at first, then sharpening into focus.
The faint, sterile smell of medicine hung in the air, mixing with something faintly herbal some kind of restorative draught, maybe.
Soft light filtered in from a nearby window, warm against his skin.
The bed beneath him was firm yet strangely soothing, as if woven to ease the ache still lingering deep in his bones.
He was in the academy’s specialized infirmary room.
Dylan instinctively tried to sit up.
The moment he moved, a sharp ache rippled through his entire body, forcing him to stop.
A dull dizziness clouded his mind, making even lifting his head feel strangely difficult.
“Don’t.”
“They gave you some kind of sedative.”
A familiar voice came from his left.
Dylan slowly turned his head.
The first thing he saw was a mop of messy crimson hair.
“…Kalen,” he muttered.
The red-haired young man leaned back in his chair with a relieved grin.
“Knew you’d wake up eventually,” Kalen said, sitting cross-legged in the chair beside the bed, a small grin spreading across his face.
“And, by the way, congratulations on finally awakening Aura. Professor Diana told me.”
Dylan tried to sit up.
He immediately regretted it.
His arms trembled, his body gave out, and he nearly collapsed back onto the bed.
“Whoa, easy!”
Kalen was on his feet instantly.
He carefully helped Dylan sit upright before adjusting the pillows behind his back, stacking them until Dylan could lean against them comfortably.
“There,” Kalen said, stepping back with a satisfied nod.
“Much better.”
Dylan let out a tired breath.
“…Thanks.”
“No problem,” Kalen replied, dropping back into his chair.
“So, what’re you doing here?” Dylan asked, coughing normally this time.
“Just came to visit you, that’s all,” Kalen replied casually.
His expression shifted slightly as he looked at Dylan.
“Is your throat still aching?”
“Yeah. A little.”
“Then use honey.”
Dylan stared at him for a moment.
“…Honey?”
“Yeah. Works great for sore throats.”
A brief silence settled between them.
Dylan glanced toward the ceiling before turning his attention back to Kalen.
“So, tell me. What happened?”
Kalen leaned back in his chair.
“Well, after you collapsed, Professor Diana contacted the academy’s medical team. They took you and a few other students to the infirmary.”
“A few others?”
“Yeah. Some students set the gravity meters way higher than what their bodies could handle.” Kalen’s expression became slightly more serious.
“A few of them were gravely injured. Nothing life-threatening, apparently, but they pushed themselves way beyond their limits.”
Dylan nodded quietly.
That sounded about right.
There was always someone who thought training harder meant ignoring their own limits.
Kalen continued, “Anyway, when I came to visit you, Professor Diana was already here.”
Dylan raised an eyebrow.
“She was?”
“Yep. She even brought some fruits.”
Dylan’s eyes widened.
“That scary woman did what?”
“Yep.”
Kalen nodded solemnly.
“I was shocked too.”
Dylan stared at him in disbelief.
“Professor Diana Everhart… brought me fruits?”
“That’s what I said.”
Kalen chuckled.
“She explained that you’d awakened Aura during your training. Apparently, she wanted to make sure you were recovering properly.”
“So that’s what happened, huh?”
“Pretty much.”
Kalen suddenly snapped his fingers as though remembering something.
“Oh, and you’ve been given three days off.”
“Three days?”
“Yeah. Professor Diana told me to let you know when you woke up.”
Dylan leaned back against the pillows, quietly processing the information.
That is something really unexpected.
But I can use those three days for myself.
I’ve been itching to get more money.
Although he had made 7.3 million dollars by selling Moonveil Herb during his stay in New California to blackmarket handler Elijah Winston.
But still more money is not a bad thing.
Dylan’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
He could use them to enter a low-ranking dungeon, gather some resources, and make a little extra money while he was at it.
Yeah.
I’ll enter a low-ranking dungeon.
There’s no reason to waste three days doing nothing.
Kalen suddenly stood up and stretched.
“Okay, bye. I have to go.”
Dylan blinked.
“Already?”
“Yeah.”
Kalen pointed his thumb toward the infirmary entrance.
“Some people are waiting for me.”
Dylan followed his gesture.
His expression immediately flattened.
A swarm of female students had gathered outside the infirmary, several of them peeking through the doorway while whispering excitedly.
The moment they noticed Kalen standing up, a few immediately waved at him.
Dylan stared at the scene for several seconds.
Then he scoffed under his breath.
“…Celebrity privileges.”
“What was that?” Kalen asked.
“Nothing.”
Kalen grinned.
“Enjoy your three days.”
“Yeah. Bye.”
“See you later, dude.”
Kalen walked toward the entrance, immediately surrounded by his waiting fans.
Dylan watched him disappear into the crowd before slowly sinking deeper into his pillows.
“…Three days.”
A faint smile appeared on his face.
“Let’s make them count.”
His excitement about entering his first official dungeon lasted all of three seconds before a familiar heaviness settled over his body.
The lingering effects of the sedative were still making themselves known.
Dylan’s eyelids grew heavier.
“…Maybe after this sedative wears off.”
By the three-hour mark, the lingering effects of the sedative had finally worn off.
Dylan checked himself one last time before getting out of bed.
His body still felt sore, but the overwhelming exhaustion from earlier had mostly disappeared.
He was finally free to leave.
There was just one problem… his clothes.
The academy had stored his original clothes away when he was admitted to the infirmary, and he hadn’t exactly brought a spare set with him.
Fortunately, Kalen had thought ahead.
A neatly folded set of clothes sat on the chair beside his bed.
Dylan picked them up and stared at them for a moment.
“…He actually brought me clothes,” he muttered, checking them one last time.
They were a little too loose around his shoulders and waist, but they were clean and comfortable enough.
“Whatever. At least I have something to wear.” He changed quickly before leaving the room.
As Dylan adjusted the sleeves, a faint smile appeared on his face.
“That guy isn’t actually that bad.” Kalen was annoyingly energetic, overly friendly, and possessed an almost supernatural ability to get on his nerves.
But… he was a good deskmate.
He then picked up his phone, slipped his inventory bracelet onto his left wrist, and tied his left shoelace one last time.
Dylan made his way through the academy’s medical wing until he reached the head nurse’s office.
He knocked twice.
“Come in.” A soft, feminine voice came from inside.
Dylan opened the door.
The first thing that caught his attention was the woman sitting with her legs crossed behind the desk.
She looked to be in her early thirties, perhaps around thirty-three, radiating a mature, poised energy.
Long, glossy brunette hair cascaded neatly over her shoulders, framing a striking, exceptionally beautiful face.
Her features were refined and elegant, accented by warm brown eyes and perfectly shaped lips.
Her fitted academy medical uniform did little to conceal a remarkably curvaceous figure.
The fabric traced the exact, arresting contour of her breasts modest in size, yet possessing a perfection that commanded the eye.
She carried herself with the effortless confidence of a woman completely aware of, and comfortable in, her own appeal.
As his gaze drifted downward to her long, pale legs, an unbidden heat stirred in his chest, leaving him unexpectedly and intensely aroused.
Dylan paused for half a beat.
Oh.
She is drop-dead gorgeous, Dylan thought, his inner voice going completely ballistic.
He’d seen his fair share of stunning women since arriving in this strange new world, but none of them had hit him quite like this.
He used to think the nurse back at New California General was attractive, but she had never stirred a single pulse.
Hell, even Diana Evarhart widely regarded as the most breathtaking woman at Nexus Academy had never made his heart race like this.
He had only ever experienced this exact kind of gut-punch sensation once before: the day he first laid eyes on Clarice.
Back then, he had simply shrugged it off as standard teenage hormones acting up around a five-foot-nine elven princess.
The difference hit him hard.
Clarice’s ethereal beauty had merely made his heart skip a beat a breathless, aesthetic appreciation.
But the woman sitting in front of him right now was operating on an entirely different level; she didn’t just capture his attention, she made him physically, intensely aroused.
A sharp snap of fingers cut violently through his daze, snapping him back to reality.
Then his usual composure slipped back into place, laced with a slow, deliberate smirk.
He smiled, his voice dropping an octave into something smoother.
“Good morning, ma’am.”
The woman looked up from her terminal, her gaze cool and analytical.
“Good morning. You’re Dylan Harrow, correct?”
“That’s me,” he murmured, his eyes lingering just a second too long on her lips before lazily tracing down to her badge.
Her sharp eyes briefly scanned him, unbothered.
“I’m Victoria Beaumont. Head nurse of Nexus Academy’s medical wing.”
Instead of breaking eye contact, Dylan shifted his weight, leaning casually against the doorframe with a posture that screamed practiced confidence.
“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Beaumont.” He let the title hang in the air, a subtle playfulness riding the edge of his tone.
Victoria raised a single, perfectly sculpted eyebrow, unimpressed or perhaps entirely too used to it.
“You seem remarkably energetic for someone who spent several hours unconscious.”
“I woke up feeling much better,” Dylan replied, his dark eyes glinting with amusement.
“Especially now.”
“That’s good.” She gestured fluidly toward the examination chair.
“Come here. Let me take a look at you before you leave.”
Dylan pushed off the frame, walking over with a deliberate, slow stride, letting his presence fill the space between them before taking a seat right in front of her.
Victoria leaned forward, placing two cool fingers against his inner wrist.
A faint, ethereal golden glow ignited within her eyes.
Dylan immediately recognized the ability.
Saint Eyes.
Of course he knew it.
He had created her too.
Victoria Beaumont was a second-generation wealthy heir from Europe, born into a family whose fortune had been built long before the modern Awakener era.
Twenty-three years ago, during the First Dungeon Emergence, she awakened her power.
Unlike most Awakeners who pursued combat, Victoria devoted herself to medicine.
And she possessed an exceptionally useful Unique Skill.
Saint Eyes.
An ability that allowed her to perceive the vitality of living beings directly.
She could see injuries, abnormalities, exhaustion, internal damage, and even subtle changes in a person’s physical condition that ordinary medical equipment could miss.
It was one of the reasons Nexus Academy had recruited her as its head nurse.
Victoria’s eyes glowed with that hypnotic golden light for several seconds, close enough that Dylan could count her eyelashes, before the radiance gradually faded.
“Hm.”
She looked him over once more, her expression unreadable.
“Your body is still recovering from extreme physical exertion, but there are no serious injuries remaining.”
She picked up her terminal, her fingers tapping rhythmically as she entered something into the system.
“The sedative has completely worn off as well.”
She looked back up, locking eyes with him.
“You’re cleared to leave.”
Dylan flashed a slow, crooked smile, holding her gaze.
“Thanks. I was starting to feel like a permanent resident. Though… staying here with a view like this wouldn’t be the worst sentence.”
Victoria chuckled softly, a rich, knowing sound.
“I’ve had students who tried.”
Dylan stood up, smoothing down his clothes with deliberate theatre.
“Then I’ll make sure I don’t become one of them.” He took a slow step back, letting his eyes rake over her one last time.
“Wouldn’t want to wear out my welcome.”
He turned toward the door, taking a slow step away.
“Wait.”
Dylan stopped, glancing back over his shoulder with a raised brow.
“Yes?”
Victoria looked at him, her previous clinical detachment vanishing behind an expression of almost embarrassingly innocent enthusiasm.
“Could you… maybe get me Kalen Barthalemou’s autograph?” She hesitated.
“I heard you’re in the same class as him.”
Dylan froze, his brain completely short-circuiting.
…What?
Victoria smiled, clasping her hands together.
“I’ve been trying to get one for a while.”
For several seconds, Dylan simply stared at her, the thick, heavy tension evaporating into absolute, profound bewilderment.
You’re kidding me.
The head nurse of Nexus Academy…
The woman who could probably diagnose a person’s entire life story just by looking at them wants Kalen’s autograph.
He nearly scoffed out loud.
Celebrity privileges are truly terrifying.
Instead, he forced a polite, deeply pained smile onto his face.
“Yeah. Sure. I’ll ask him.”
Victoria’s smile immediately brightened, lighting up her stunning face.
“Really? Thank you!”
“Of course,” Dylan muttered, dying a little inside.
Dylan walked out of the office wearing the fakest smile he had ever produced in his entire life.
The moment the heavy door clicked shut behind him, his expression dropped flat.
…Unbelievable.
He shook his head, rubbing his temples as he started walking down the sterile corridor.
“First he gives me cookies. Then he gives me clothes. Now I’m apparently his personal autograph courier service.”
A quiet, defeated sigh escaped his lips.
“…That guy’s popularity is seriously unbelievable.”
He walked through the corridors, eventually exiting the medical wing.
The moment he stepped outside, warm sunlight washed over him.
To enter a dungeon legally, he’d have to go through several procedures.
In his current state, that wasn’t an option.
The Bureau of Authority wouldn’t permit a low-ranking Awakener like him to enter a dungeon alone.
He’d be required to join a party or obtain special authorization.
But Dylan had no intention of doing either.
He wanted to enter a dungeon by himself.
He could technically travel into the forests of Aurora Isle and hunt the mana beasts living there, but doing so without proper authorization would violate Bureau regulations and could land him in serious legal trouble.
The Anti-poaching laws are extremely harsh, hunting a mana beast without authorization for monetary gain was illegal, and even black market dealers faced consequences if caught.
Another reason he wanted to avoid the forest was its unpredictability: what if he ran into a monster far above his current strength?
That would be disastrous.
Dungeons, on the other hand, had fixed-rank monsters, making them far safer.
“…I don’t want to go to the hospital again,” he muttered under his breath.
So, ironically, an illegal dungeon was the safer option.
At least there, anything he obtained could be sold through the black market without attracting unnecessary attention.
For that, he needed to go to Lumière City.
One of the largest cities on Aurora Isle, Lumière was one of the three main metropolitan hubs on the island, situated on its west coastline facing the Pacific Ocean.
Despite its name literally meaning Light, Lumière City had another side.
Far beyond the glittering skyscrapers and bustling central districts, hidden away from the main skylines, existed one of the largest black-market districts on the island.
And within that district were numerous unauthorized dungeons.
Perfect for someone like Dylan.
He would simply travel to Lumière City through the Teleportation Hub, find an unauthorized dungeon, spend three days hunting inside, gather whatever resources he could, and return to Nexus Academy before anyone noticed.
Simple.
Illegal, but simple.
“…Three days.”
Dylan smiled faintly.
“Let’s see how much I can earn.”