< Installation Successful>
"What the..." Victor's eyes widened when a glowing screen appeared in front of him. He was even more surprised as he read the text.
'Did the system actually come with me here?' Victor frowned. But then he noticed something—it was different this time. The system had a name.
Before he could think further—
"AAAHHHH, HELP!"
"Monsters broke out!"
"Someone, please save my child!"
"Damn it, how did a dungeon break all of a sudden?!"
Victor snapped out of his thoughts as panicked screams pierced the air. All around him, chaos erupted. People ran in every direction, shouting, crying, begging for help as they desperately tried to flee.
"What the..." Victor's eyes widened again when he saw a crack suddenly tear open in the sky. From it, hundreds of winged monsters poured out.
He remembered reading in the information center about this phenomenon: when space itself fractured and unleashed monsters that attacked indiscriminately. It was known as a Dungeon Break.
"Why now... I have a bad feeling this is because of me," Victor muttered grimly.
According to the records, Dungeon Breaks had only occurred a handful of times in history. And almost every time, the humans in that area were completely wiped out. The only exceptions were when the breaks happened in places filled with powerful Rankers who could fight them back or had weak monsters attacking.
Victor blinked when he saw the new text and raised an eyebrow.
"I thought you only get connected to the Records and become a Ranker after passing the trial," Victor mumbled.
Woosh—
Victor looked up, and his eyes narrowed sharply at what he saw.
"Damn it, why is it coming towards me?!" Victor cursed when he noticed a strange bird-like creature diving at him. Its speed was terrifying; in just a few blinks, it had already closed the distance.
"Damn, they're only G-Rank monsters," Victor gritted his teeth as he quickly searched for something to use. But this wasn't normal—he had never felt such danger from a G-Rank monster before. The last time he felt this level of threat was when he had first awakened his powers. Back then, even higher-ranked monsters could be killed with just a snap of his fingers.
Just as the bird extended it's claws and was about to rip out his throat, Victor's fishing instincts kicked in. Years of experience guided his body as he dodged to the side, rolled across the ground, and snatched up a metal rod lying nearby.
Without hesitation, he thrust the rod forward with all his strength. The impact landed squarely against the creature, sending it crashing hard to the floor.
But the bird twitched, still alive.
Victor didn't give it a chance. He drove the metal rod straight through its body, pinning it to the ground until it stopped moving.
"Luckily, they're only G-Rank… and thank god this one didn't have strong defenses," Victor exhaled in relief. Some monsters, even at G-Rank, had such tough hides that normal, non-enchanted weapons couldn't harm them. Thankfully, this strange bird's defenses were weak, or it would've been a different story.
< AKashic Records have detected the presence of an Irregular>
< Bloodline System is connecting the AKashic Record>
< Connection Established:0.1%>
< Connection Established: 0.2%>
< Connection Established: 0.5%>
"The city guards have arrived!" Victor, who was watching the progress of the connection, heard someone shout. He turned and saw a group of Rankers, clad in various equipment, charging in and slaughtering the monsters with ease.
"We're saved!"
"I thought I was going to die today!"
The terrified citizens finally began to calm down as they watched the Rankers effortlessly cut down the beasts. But their relief was short-lived.
"Alright, everyone, we've killed all the beasts, you can rela—"
The guard who was reassuring the crowd never finished his words. In an instant, his head separated from his neck and flew through the air. The relieved expressions of the crowd twisted into sheer horror at the gruesome sight.
"Captain!" the other guards shouted, their faces pale. Then they looked up—and froze in terror.
From the space crack, hundreds more monsters were pouring out. But this time, it wasn't the number that frightened them—it was the overwhelming aura they carried.
"A… A and S-Rank…" one of the guards stammered, his voice trembling, before collapsing to the ground in fear.
"RUN, EVERYONE!" another guard roared at the top of his lungs. His voice snapped the frozen crowd out of their paralysis, and they bolted in every direction, running as fast as they could.
"Fuck… what kind of situation is this?!" Victor thought, sweat streaming down his forehead. Without hesitation, he also bolted with all his might. He knew—even at his peak, he would have had to run. No matter how strong he once was, he could never have killed so many alone. A single S-Rank monster would have been enough to end him.
Buzz. Woosh.
'Damn, why the hell are they chasing me?!' Victor cried inwardly when he saw a dozen B-Rank monsters closing in on him. He ran with all his might, cold sweat dripping down his forehead as the creatures rapidly narrowed the distance.
'Damn… looks like I'm going to die.' Victor sighed as he saw every single one of them preparing to tear into him with their claws. But before they could strike, the surrounding air suddenly began to heat up.
Woosh!
A massive wave of fire erupted out of nowhere, instantly engulfing the group of flying monsters and reducing them to ashes.
"M-Miss Amanda!" Victor shouted in shock when he saw Amanda standing before him. Before he could even thank her, she pulled out some kind of flying treasure, yanked him up by the collar, and tossed him onto it.
"You're lucky I was here—or you'd be monster food by now," Amanda said tensely, her eyes darting behind them. Her expression darkened as she spotted hordes of A and S-Rank beasts chasing after them.
'Damn it, why are they chasing us?' Amanda cursed inwardly, though her face remained calm. Her flying artifact was far faster than the monsters, and within minutes she managed to leave them behind.
"Phew… that was close. I thought we were done for," Victor exhaled in relief. "Miss Amanda, why did a Dungeon Break suddenly happen?" he asked, hoping she had some answers.
Amanda's brows furrowed at his words, and she was about to reply when—
Crack!
With a deafening sound, space itself shattered in front of them, and an overwhelming pressure descended from the rift.
'This pressure…' Amanda's face turned grim as she gritted her teeth, struggling to remain standing.
Roar!
A black wolf with skeletal wings emerged from the crack, its killing intent flooding the skies.
'Damn… SS-Rank!' Amanda's face went pale as she clenched her jaw.
On the other hand Victor was staring blankly in the air.
< Connection Established: 98%>