The dungeon entrance had changed.
What was once merely a black, abyss-like gateway was now overflowing with strands of writhing black energy. It no longer looked like an ominous portal pulling you in—it looked like something alive. A monster in the abyss, straining against its prison, ready to claw its way out into the world.
Earlier, ordinary professionals would instinctively keep their distance from the Nightmare entrance. Now? The instinct was to run as far and as fast as possible.
Even the bearded master—no stranger to strange phenomena—had never seen a dungeon entrance behave like this.
Old Wang stood stiffly beside him, eyes narrowed in worry. "What did that skinny man do to the dungeon just now? Why is it… like this?"
He studied the shifting, smoky tendrils of darkness for a moment before muttering, "Why does it look like… a dungeon riot?"
A dungeon riot—words that made most professionals pale. It meant something inside had gone wrong. During a riot, no one could enter or leave until every single monster inside was destroyed. The only alternative? All professionals inside die, allowing the enraged monsters to spill out into the world.
If that happened here, it wouldn't be an "adventure." It would be a disaster.
The bearded master frowned. "Looks a little similar… but in my experience, dungeon riots have a red glow, not black. And I've never heard of one being caused deliberately."
Then a thought struck him. "Wait. You said Ethan went in there earlier—was he doing a mission?"
Old Wang's expression said it all.
"Figures," the bearded master muttered. "Yesterday he was level nineteen, and today he's attempting a one-turn mission. So he really was the one who stole the bald man's kill yesterday."
Old Wang nodded.
The bearded master thought it over. From what he knew of Ethan, the kid wasn't reckless—more of an opportunist. He wouldn't dive into something suicidal without a reason. Sure, this looked a lot like a dungeon riot, but… it might not be as bad as it seemed.
Still, he decided to play it safe. "Have the organization block off the area," he ordered. He'd stay put and wait for Ethan to emerge.
Old Wang, still unsettled by the earlier display of strength, asked cautiously, "What's your relationship with Ethan, exactly?"
The bearded man grinned. "Haha! I'm his future mentor."
Old Wang stared. "You're his future mentor? Then why aren't you worried about him right now?"
The bearded man shrugged. "Why should I be? With Ethan's strength, he should breeze through a one-turn task. Even if this were a riot, he'd manage just fine."
After all, Ethan had earned a spot on the rankings and even killed the bald man right under his nose. The bearded master trusted his abilities.
Old Wang was less confident. "You have no idea what kind of dungeon this is, do you?"
"What's there to know? A dungeon's a dungeon."
Old Wang almost choked. "This is the hardest dungeon below one-turn. I only cleared it once myself—and that was at level thirty-five."
The bearded man raised an eyebrow. "So? Maybe you were just weak."
Old Wang resisted the urge to hit him. "The first floor requires forty stars of combat power. Now Ethan's in there on Nightmare difficulty—meaning the requirements are multiplied by five. That's two hundred stars just to clear the first floor. The third floor needs three hundred. And that's before factoring in whatever that skinny guy just did! If it is a riot, tell me—can a pre-one-turn professional clear it?"
The bearded master froze.
"What?" he blurted. "This place needs that much power?"
Now things didn't add up. From his experience, Ethan was the kind of guy who'd run the moment a fight looked bad. Why in the world would he skip the easy advancement options and choose the hardest one?
The math was grim: the dungeon's difficulty at Nightmare riot level would push combat power into the hundreds of thousands. Even with all his summoned beasts combined, Ethan shouldn't be able to match that.
"How long has he been inside?" the bearded man asked suddenly.
"Not long," Old Wang replied, glaring. "You call yourself his future mentor? Honestly…"
The bearded master exhaled in relief. "Then it's fine. As long as he's got a City Return Scroll, he can just get out."
Old Wang jabbed a finger at the dark, pulsing entrance. "And what if it is a riot and the scroll doesn't work?"
That made the bearded man's face tighten. Losing Ethan would be… unacceptable. "Then we test it."
"Test it? How?"
"We find someone of a similar level and send them in. If they can enter, they can probably use a City Return Scroll. If they can't…" He didn't finish the sentence.
Old Wang swallowed. "And if they don't have the strength? That's a death sentence."
Before either could argue further, the normal dungeon entrance—not the black one—flared with golden light.
A slim figure stepped through.
Both men turned instantly. It was Lily Winters, the top student known for her unmatched combat skill. And from the look of it, she had just solo-cleared the hardest dungeon below one-turn.
Perfect.
The two men looked at each other, then back at her. This was their chance.
But the moment Lily noticed their stares—especially the vest-wearing bearded man—her expression hardened. Without a word, she turned on her heel and walked away.
Both men felt the same sinking realization.
This looked very bad.
The image of a dungeon official and a high-ranking temple officer hanging around the entrance… staring at a young woman… If word got out, they'd both be roasted alive in the court of public opinion.
Old Wang nearly groaned aloud. He hadn't even had the chance to praise Lily, and now she probably thought the worst of them.
He waved frantically. "Student Lily Winters, wait! We need your help!"
Her pace quickened.
The two men exchanged a glance.
Old Wang grit his teeth. He had to swallow his pride—if they didn't explain, his reputation would be ruined. More importantly, this was about Ethan.
"Student Lily Winters," he called again, "please, just look at the dungeon entrance over there!"
She paused, frowning, then followed his gesture. Her eyes fell on the blackened, energy-leaking portal.
"We need you to test it," Old Wang explained. "To see if it's gone into a dungeon riot state."
Lily's frown deepened. "If it's a riot, the monsters will break out. I can't stop them alone. Shouldn't you be calling the city defense team instead of bothering me?"
She turned to leave again. Clearly, she'd misunderstood—thinking they wanted her to fight the riot. After clearing a dungeon solo, she had no strength left for that kind of battle.
Old Wang rushed to clarify. "Ethan is inside! We just need you to test whether it's a riot, not fight it."
That stopped her cold. She turned back slowly.
"…What did you just say? Ethan is inside?"
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