The dungeons of Exodia changed their structure depending on their rank.
If an F-rank dungeon mostly kept the appearance it had when it was created, then an E-rank dungeon might look the same on the outside, but its internal layout would expand and evolve.
And this place... was an E-rank dungeon.
Jhin let out a slow, steady breath as soon as he stepped inside and saw the vast landscape unfolding before him.
«As expected of an E-rank...»
It made sense that the outside and inside would be different. A normal school campus would never have enough space to contain all the monsters of an E-rank dungeon. Maybe if it had started out on a huge plot of land, it would have been fine... but otherwise, the dungeon naturally reshaped itself to match its growing power.
Jhin stood still and quietly surveyed the school that had expanded like an amusement park. It looked peaceful enough, but he stayed alert.
This was, after all, an E-rank dungeon.
And he was just a rookie player who had barely made it through the Trial Nexus.
No room for carelessness.
Soon enough, he spotted scattered bones lying all around.
Clatter...
The ground shuddered, and a hand shot up from beneath it. In an instant, a skeleton, nothing but bare bones, climbed out into the open.
Its appearance was grotesque beyond words.
«Skeleton...»
Two eyes blazed red within the hollow sockets of its skull.
It wore rusty weapons and shabby armor, looking pitiful — but they were nothing to laugh at.
Estimated level: starting from 40.
An undead monster, a cursed spirit that had possessed a corpse and resurrected it as a skeleton.
'Really... it's like being inside a horror movie.'
Jhin gripped his tutorial weapon, the "Crude Longsword," and steadied his breathing.
His first real battle after surviving the Trial Nexus.
Tension prickled faintly through his muscles.
GRAAAARGH...!!
But there was no hesitation in his movements.
He swung, cleaving the charging skeleton clean in two. Yet the bisected creature didn't die.
You had to destroy the core to kill them.
Jhin activated his skill.
[Skill, 'Soft (A)' activated.]
'Weak spot: the neck.'
Skeletons couldn't be treated like normal monsters. Stabbing the head? Piercing the heart? Neither would kill them.
Unless you destroyed their source of power, they'd keep hunting the living without end.
You had to remove the spirit lingering in their necks to truly finish a skeleton.
CRACK!
Without a moment's pause, his sword thrust in a straight line, shattering the spirit hidden within the skeleton's neck.
The upper and lower halves of the monster quivered, then collapsed into a motionless heap. Not exactly a pleasant sight.
But—
[Level up!]
—hearing that long-missed message instantly lifted his spirits.
'In the early days of the Trial Nexus, I used to hear that sound pretty often... I really did escape from there, didn't I?'
The Trial Nexus had a hard level cap of 30. No matter how much experience you earned, you couldn't grow past it — a strict system limit.
This was the first time in a long while he had actually leveled up.
'I'll save the points for now.'
Jhin adjusted his posture and looked around.
«Hmmm...»
More skeletons were emerging from the ground. Like overgrown moles, they tunneled out one after another. It was irritating to no end.
Jhin made a quick decision — he wouldn't even give them the chance to fully surface.
CRACK!
What fool would politely watch the enemy's dramatic entrance scene? Jhin stomped on every skeleton neck bursting out of the ground.
Skulls caved in instantly as the skeletons crumpled.
[Title 'Cowardly Massacre' promotion conditions discovered.]
[Successfully ambush enemies 100 times in a row.]
[Upon success, 'Cowardly Massacre' will be promoted to 'Master of Surprise'.]
Like playing an endless game of whack-a-mole, Jhin stomped down every emerging skeleton, steadily clearing the dungeon.
They had to be killed anyway — if he could promote his title along the way, all the better.
«Seriously... this feels more like a college campus than a high school.»
He had never been a college student — he hadn't even taken a college entrance exam. But he had visited college campuses before while working part-time at food trucks, and he remembered that distinctive atmosphere.
Of course, it hadn't been nearly this grim.
Jhin glanced at the endless tide of skeletons. The ceaseless spawning was definitely a sign of an impending dungeon break.
Still, he grinned.
[Condition achieved.]
[Title 'Cowardly Massacre' promoted to 'Master of Surprise'.]
[+2% attack power when ambushing.]
«Jackpot.»
Unfortunately, he couldn't continue hunting much longer.
His sharp eyes caught new traces in the battlefield.
Among the scattered bones, there were signs that some spirits had already been destroyed.
Clear evidence that others had entered the dungeon before him.
«Guess leveling up will have to wait.»
CRACK!
Stomping another skeleton's head into pieces, Jhin swiftly chased after the trail they had left behind.
BOOM!
BOOOOOM!
Caleb ducked behind a pillar, dodging the chain of explosions. He could see people surrounded by skeletons beyond the ruins, but he couldn't rush out to help them recklessly.
BOOOM!
Another blast tore through the air.
Caleb swallowed hard, his throat dry as dust, and tried to piece his thoughts together.
'What the hell is happening here?'
One hour since dungeon entry.
It had been a pretty smooth operation... at first.
The skeletons erupting from all directions had been threatening, yes — but the gathered strength of the players was not to be underestimated.
Especially because she was among them.
Even in an E-rank dungeon, there seemed little that could stand in her way. For a moment, hope had even flickered — maybe they could clear this without too many losses.
But then it happened — right when they reached the vicinity of the auditorium where the boss monster was expected to be.
BOOOOOOM!
An unexplained explosion!
The group, struck by an unknown assault, was forced to scatter in every direction. With skeletons popping up everywhere and mystery attacks constantly raining down, it became a fight for survival.
And Caleb saw it.
A line of figures, standing among the skeletons, freely casting skills with no interference.
'A Lich?'
At first, that's what he thought.
Explosive magic in an undead dungeon usually pointed to a Lich — a powerful spellcaster among the undead.
But no.
There was no way a B-rank Lich would appear in an E-rank dungeon.
Besides, low-grade monsters couldn't speak human language.
«Hiding won't save you!»
BOOM!
Caleb tensed, ready to spring into action at any moment.
Around him, the group of players who had fled with him caught his eye. They exchanged glances, silently counting down, waiting for the right moment to strike.