The four Awakeners moved deeper into the E-Rank dungeon.
Lucas walked behind Ethan, Sarah, and Noah, quietly observing the surroundings.
The dungeon was made up of narrow stone corridors that eventually opened into larger chambers.
The deeper they went, the more monsters they encountered.
[E-RANK CAVE HOUND]
[LEVEL: 8]
Ethan raised his spear.
“Another one.”
Sarah drew her bow.
“There’s more behind it.”
Lucas looked past the first monster.
He could sense them.
Several.
“Three.”
Noah tightened his armor.
“Let’s take them together.”
The monsters charged.
Ethan moved first.
His spear pierced the first Cave Hound.
Sarah fired an arrow into the second.
Noah blocked the third before striking it with his weapon.
Lucas waited until one broke through their formation.
The Cave Hound lunged toward him.
Lucas stepped aside.
[Strength Enhancement]
His fist struck the monster’s side.
BOOM!
The creature crashed into the wall.
[MONSTER DEFEATED]
[EXP ACQUIRED]
Lucas continued forward.
The group moved deeper into the dungeon.
More monsters appeared.
Cave Hounds.
Rock Crawlers.
Lesser Dungeon Beasts.
Nothing particularly dangerous.
But every monster gave experience.
And Lucas needed experience.
His level was still 29.
The experience bar continued climbing.
[LEVEL 29]
[EXP: 63%]
Lucas glanced at it.
“Getting close.”
He continued fighting.
The group eventually reached a massive chamber.
The walls were covered in glowing blue crystals.
Ethan looked around.
“This place is huge.”
Sarah pointed toward the opposite side.
“There’s a passage over there.”
Lucas looked at it.
Before he could answer, the ground shook.
BOOM!
A large creature emerged from the darkness.
[E-RANK ROCK BEAST]
[LEVEL: 13]
Noah raised his weapon.
“Boss?”
Lucas shook his head.
“Not yet.”
The Rock Beast charged.
Ethan stepped forward.
The creature swung its massive arm.
Ethan blocked.
The impact pushed him several feet backward.
Sarah fired three arrows.
The arrows struck the creature’s shoulder.
Noah attacked from the side.
Lucas watched.
They were handling it.
There was no reason for him to use his stronger abilities.
He waited.
The Rock Beast roared and charged again.
This time, Lucas moved.
[Speed Enhancement]
His body accelerated.
He appeared beside the creature.
The Rock Beast swung.
Lucas ducked underneath the attack.
He drove his fist into its ribs.
[Impact Break]
BOOM!
The creature’s body was launched sideways.
It crashed into the stone wall.
[MONSTER DEFEATED]
[EXP ACQUIRED]
Lucas looked at his status.
[EXP: 87%]
Only thirteen percent remained.
He smiled.
They continued through the dungeon.
Another chamber.
Another group of monsters.
Then another.
Lucas’s experience bar continued rising.
Eventually, the dungeon became strangely quiet.
Ethan looked around.
“I don’t like this.”
Sarah nodded.
“It’s too quiet.”
Lucas stopped walking.
He could feel something ahead.
Something stronger.
“Boss room.”
The others prepared themselves.
They entered the next chamber.
A massive creature stood in the center.
It was larger than the previous monsters.
Its body was covered in thick stone armor.
Two horns protruded from its head.
[E-RANK CAVE KING]
[LEVEL: 15]
Ethan tightened his grip on his spear.
“That’s definitely the boss.”
Lucas looked at the creature.
Level 15.
The difference was enormous.
But he didn’t underestimate it.
“Stay together.”
The Cave King roared.
The dungeon shook.
Then it charged.
Ethan attacked first.
His spear struck the monster’s chest.
The Cave King barely moved.
Its arm swung.
Ethan was thrown backward.
Sarah fired several arrows.
Noah rushed in to protect Ethan.
Lucas stepped forward.
[Speed Enhancement]
He accelerated.
The Cave King’s fist came toward him.
Lucas shifted his body.
The attack missed.
Lucas stepped inside its range.
[Strength Enhancement]
He clenched his fist.
[Impact Break]
BOOM!
His fist struck the monster’s chest.
The Cave King staggered.
Lucas didn’t stop.
He attacked again.
Impact Break.
Another strike.
The stone armor cracked.
The monster roared.
Lucas noticed the opening.
He stepped forward.
[Break Limit]
Power surged through his body.
Lucas felt the strain immediately.
He couldn’t maintain it for long.
He didn’t need to.
He only needed one attack.
He concentrated everything into his fist.
[IMPACT BREAK]
BOOM!
The attack struck the damaged armor.
CRACK!
The Cave King’s chest shattered.
The monster froze.
Then its body collapsed.
[MONSTER DEFEATED]
[DUNGEON BOSS DEFEATED]
[EXP ACQUIRED]
Lucas suddenly felt something change.
His entire body became warm.
Energy surged through him.
His senses sharpened.
His muscles felt stronger.
A familiar notification appeared.
[LEVEL UP]
[LEVEL 30]
Lucas closed his eyes.
Level 30.
He had reached it.
The first requirement was complete.
Then another notification appeared.
[BOOST BREAKER]
[D-RANK REQUIREMENTS]
[Level 30: COMPLETE]
[Required Energy Capacity: COMPLETE]
[Advanced Power Control: COMPLETE]
[E-Rank Dungeon: COMPLETE]
[E-Rank Monster Requirement: COMPLETE]
[ALL REQUIREMENTS COMPLETE]
Lucas stared at the notification.
Then another appeared.
[D-RANK ADVANCEMENT IS NOW AVAILABLE]
[BOOST BREAKER HAS RECOGNIZED YOUR READINESS]
[WOULD YOU LIKE TO BEGIN THE ADVANCEMENT PROCESS?]
Lucas didn’t answer.
Not yet.
He looked at the others.
Ethan was catching his breath.
Sarah was checking her arrows.
Noah was examining the dungeon boss.
None of them had any idea what was happening.
To them, Lucas had simply leveled up.
They didn’t know that his path was completely different.
Normal Awakeners didn’t receive messages like this.
They didn’t have advancement quests.
They didn’t get transported into special dungeons.
When they reached the natural threshold of their next rank, they simply felt their power change and became stronger.
Lucas was different.
Boost Breaker controlled his advancement.
And now it was waiting for his answer.
Lucas closed the notification.
“Later.”
The system disappeared.
Ethan looked at him.
“Did you say something?”
“No.”
Lucas looked around the chamber.
“The mission isn’t finished yet.”
The group searched the boss chamber.
After several minutes, they found the dungeon core.
A glowing crystal rested inside a stone altar.
Ethan carefully removed it.
“This should complete the mission.”
A notification appeared.
[MISSION OBJECTIVE COMPLETE]
[DUNGEON CORE RECOVERED]
Lucas nodded.
“Let’s leave.”
The group began walking back.
The journey was uneventful.
They eventually reached the dungeon entrance.
The darkness disappeared.
Sunlight filled Lucas’s vision.
The mission was complete.
Their rewards were processed.
Lucas received his payment and contribution points.
Once everything was finished, he left the building.
He began walking home.
The city was busy.
People moved through the streets.
Cars passed by.
Awakeners walked around wearing their equipment.
Everything looked normal.
Then Lucas remembered something.
He stopped.
“The Apostles.”
The memory came back suddenly.
His first life.
This was around the time they had started appearing.
At first, they were only small groups.
People who worshipped the God behind the coming disaster.
They operated quietly.
They recruited Awakeners.
They gathered resources.
They carried out strange rituals.
At the time, almost nobody understood what they were doing.
Lucas remembered hearing about several incidents.
Awakeners disappearing.
Small groups being found dead.
Strange symbols appearing at dungeon sites.
People suddenly developing abilities they shouldn’t have possessed.
The Apostles had already begun moving.
And Lucas knew exactly what they would eventually become.
A serious threat.
But he couldn’t deal with them yet.
Lucas looked down at his hand.
Level 30.
E-Rank.
Even with Boost Breaker, he wasn’t strong enough.
Not yet.
If he went looking for them now, there was a chance he would die.
Lucas had already made that mistake once.
He wasn’t going to repeat it.
“I’ll deal with them later.”
He continued walking.
The thought slowly left his mind.
There were more important things to deal with first.
He had reached Level 30.
Boost Breaker was waiting.
Lucas arrived at his apartment.
He locked the door behind him.
Then he stood in the center of the room.
“System.”
The status window appeared.
[STATUS]
Name: Lucas
Level: 30
Rank: E
Class: None
Ability: Boost Breaker
Hidden Ability: Time Manipulation — ???
Lucas looked at the Boost Breaker window.
[BOOST BREAKER]
Current Rank: E
Abilities:
Basic Enhancement
Strength Enhancement
Speed Enhancement
Break Limit
Impact Break
Quest System: Active
[D-RANK ADVANCEMENT]
[All Conditions Complete]
[Advancement Available]
[Would you like to begin?]
Lucas stared at the final message.
He remembered his first life.
He remembered the moment he finally discovered what Boost Breaker truly was.
He remembered how much time he had wasted.
This time, he wasn’t going to hesitate.
Lucas took a breath.
“Yes.”
The room suddenly went silent.
The system responded.
[ADVANCEMENT CONFIRMED]
[PREPARING ADVANCEMENT DUNGEON]
Lucas’s eyes narrowed.
[GENERATING RANDOM DUNGEON]
[CALCULATING ADVANCEMENT CONDITIONS]
[TRANSFER WILL BEGIN IN 10 SECONDS]
Lucas clenched his fists.
Ten seconds.
Whatever waited for him on the other side would determine whether he could finally reach D-Rank.
The countdown appeared.
[10]
Lucas stood still.
[9]
He activated Boost Breaker.
[8]
Energy flowed through his body.
[7]
He remembered his first life.
[6]
He remembered everything he had learned.
[5]
This time, he understood his ability.
[4]
He wasn’t going to underestimate it.
[3]
The room began disappearing.
[2]
Lucas smiled.
[1]
The world vanished.
[ADVANCEMENT DUNGEON TRANSFER COMPLETE]
Lucas opened his eyes.
He stood in a completely unfamiliar dungeon.
Dark stone surrounded him.
A strange mist covered the ground.
And somewhere in the darkness ahead…
Something roared.
Lucas smiled.
“Let’s begin.”