Chapter 12: Dungeons (2)

Four lava beavers were decapitated and fell to the ground as a black line ran horizontally in the shape of a crescent moon. Twice the size of Cale, these monsters lived in the lava and lived in the dams they had built there.

Normally they would not leave their dams easily, but Cale had been dealing with them for hours because he had destroyed their dam.

It had been about six months since Cale's first dungeon attempt. During this time he had both improved himself and gained insight into his abilities. 

He had no difficulty in using chaos energy as before. For now, it was of limited use. It was still difficult for him to mold it into the shape he wanted.

He took a deep breath as the sweat dripping from his temple fell from his chin. It was quite muggy where he was, and even though he protected himself with 'Unlimited Void', the hot air still made him uncomfortable.

His steps moved towards the volcano mountain. The boss monster, he was looking for. He was careful every step of the way because there was a river of lava on both sides of the road.

When he reached the top of the volcanic mountain, he saw a cave entrance. Cale's vision was crystal clear in the dark and damp space. There was nothing but steam coming from the walls and the sound of dripping lava.

He walked for about an hour and entered another cave with a lava pond. However, the six monsters inside hid behind a rock near the entrance of the cave.

When he poked his head out, he saw that they were different from the lava beavers. They looked like chameleons but with long, sharp teeth. When Cale looked carefully, he saw two other chameleons hiding themselves in the walls.

As Cale was thinking of possibilities and planning in his mind, he suddenly heard a scream. He frowned and looked to where the sound was coming from and saw a girl cutting off the head of a lava beaver with her sword from the entrance on the left.

Her short black hair was matted with sweat and her golden eyes were full of anger and exhaustion. When she kicked the lava beaver she had killed and cursed, Cale tilted his head to the side and blinked as if he was watching something interesting.

'Doesn't this idiot see the other monsters or doesn't she care?'

Cale rolled his eyes as the girl saw the monsters crawling towards her, startled. He folded his arms across his chest and wondered how she was going to deal with the situation. 

Of course he wasn't going to go and help. Anyone who needed help wouldn't be here anyway. Besides, Cale didn't like to interfere in other people's business. It wasn't his problem, after all.

But the girl's familiar face made Cale question where he had seen her. Especially those golden yellow dragon-like irises...

'Amaris Reagon? What is she doing here?'

Cale frowned and left the rock he was leaning against. Amaris Reagon was the daughter of Douglas Reagon, the most powerful warrior in the human world, at the top of the SSS level.

Cale was sure that there were many dungeons connected to the family business. He wondered what she was doing in such a dangerous place with all the resources she could easily access.

While Cale was thinking about these things, Amaris extended her sword to defeat the chameleon monster, or Flamma Lacarta as it was called in the monster book, coming towards her. 

Suddenly, the sharp part of the sword turned into a whip with interconnected blades. As the long whip wrapped around the monster's body, the water directed from his hand turned to ice and froze the monster. Then, when she quickly withdrew the blade whip, the ice shattered into pieces, killing the monster.

Watching this, Cale and the monsters were amazed. Cale admired the destructiveness of such power, while the monsters seemed angry that one of their own kind was so easily defeated.

Amaris was trying to bind the monsters attacking her by directing the water she created with her sword, but it was not as easy as the first time she killed them.

The monsters attacked together and Amaris had to retreat. She groaned at the wound in her arm.

"Damn monsters!"

She drew her sword again, formed a stepping stone of ice, jumped through the air and stabbed the nearest monster in the head.

With the slain one, Amaris had four monsters left to see. When she drew her sword from the head of the monster she had killed and jumped back, she avoided its sharp teeth that wanted to tear her apart.

A puddle of water formed where she stepped and rushed towards the feet of the monsters. Two of the beasts escaped, while the other two froze as soon as their feet touched the water. Seeing this as an opportunity, Amaris decapitated them both at the same time with her knife whip.

When she threw dozens of spears made of ice at the other two monsters, they were killed by the spears that entered their bodies.

"Haaah! I'm so tired!"

As Amaris collapsed exhausted, she did not see the other two monsters sneaking towards her. As she drank the water from the bottle in her hand breathlessly, she was startled by a head falling next to her and looked behind her.

She saw a red-haired man fighting a dark energy around him. Amaris seemed to see stars twinkling in the energy surrounding the young man's body. Looking at him was like watching the starry night sky or gazing into the infinite universe.

It was a power so comforting, so awe-inspiring. As she looked at it, she felt a strange emptiness and fear, the depth of which she could not understand.

Amaris was surprised by this power that was both comforting and frightening at the same time. She watched blankly as the red-haired man walked towards her after the monster he had so easily defeated.

"Are you stupid or reckless?" the young man asked, startling Amaris, who frowned and looked up at the red-haired man who was looking down at her.

"What?"

"What the hell were you doing without even checking where you were?" Cale scolded her, and Amaris knew he was right, but her pride wouldn't let her back down.

"I know what I'm doing, okay?" she said, angry at herself for showing her incompetence.

"Yeah, yeah, I bet you do," he said sarcastically and turned away.

Cale put the monster he had killed in his spatial pocket and continued on his way. He was looking for the boss monster. It was necessary to kill the boss monster to clear the dungeon. After the boss monster died, useful artifacts would appear where it was found.

Cale hadn't found anything useful so far, but what he had found he had sold for a good price. The artifacts he had found were better suited to users of mana and aura.

"What's your rank?" he heard Amaris' voice ask just out of earshot, and he took a step back, frowning at the girl in front of him.

"F"

"What? Well, there's no way the power you're using is F!"

Amaris was really surprised, she couldn't believe that the aura she was feeling even now was F. Cale sighed, oblivious to Amaris' thoughts.

-----Situation-----

Name: Cale Rayne

Age: 16

Rank: F+

Power: E+

Agility: E-

Resilience: D-

Intelligence: C-

Mana Capacity: G-

Charm: C

Luck: D+

[-Skills-]

---> Unlimited Void (Level???) Lvl 4 [Active Skill]

It is a skill that allows a person to defend and attack without using weapons. As long as one uses this skill, no attack will penetrate, and when attacked, the opponent will suffer absolute defeat.

---> Mirror World (Level SSS --> Rank C) [Active Skill]

The mirror world is a subspace of the universe in which the person exists. There one is in complete control and time moves faster than in the normal world.

---> Monarch Aura (Level SSS --> Grade E+) [Active Skill]

The person makes even those two ranks above him/her fear and want to obey his/her orders as if they were a ruler.

---> Chaos Energy (Level ??? ---> Grade C-) [Active Skill]

Chaos energy is purer and more intense than other forces. When a person purifies this power, they have the ability to use it in any way they want.

---------------------------------------------------------

In those six months Cale had leveled up his skills and activated his sealed skill. And as he mastered chaos energy, he was able to shape it into whatever form he wanted and fight.

"If you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do," Cale shrugged nonchalantly.

"Is he really a rank F?" she muttered to herself, but Cale heard what she said but didn't care.

"If you're looking for the boss monster, how about working together?" she asked as Cale stopped and looked at the girl behind him. Despite her disheveled appearance, she had a smug smile on her face.

"After seeing your performance earlier, I think you'd do more harm than good," he said calmly, and Amaris' smile widened.

"I was tired and distracted," she said through clenched teeth. "Besides, isn't two better than one? Let's work together!"

Cale stared at her impatient expression for a moment, thinking. He had seen how skilled Amaris was in defeating four monsters on her own. He also knew that Amaris did not need his help.

'Why does she want to come with me?'

As Cale thought this, he sent a little chaos energy around his right hand. When Amaris' eyes went to the glowing energy around Cale's hand, he understood. Amaris was feigning weakness to learn his power.

"Okay, let's work together," he said and continued on his way. Although Cale understood Amaris' purpose, he knew that she could not understand the source of Cale's power. Because there was a huge difference between the chaos energy and the energy he had purified in his own body.

"My name is Amaris by the way, what is your name?"

"Cale."

Still, he wished he hadn't regretted taking this curious girl with him.