The dungeon growled again.
Not from the corpse at Kael's feet—but deeper. Closer.
At the edge of his vision, blue light surfaced.
[Target Detected: F-Rank Hunter]Name: Riven HoltPrimary Skill: Danger Sense (F-Rank – Passive)Status: ActiveEnhancement Eligible
Kael's breathing steadied.
So it really worked on others.
He studied Riven without staring—how his shoulders tensed a heartbeat before the sound echoed, how his feet shifted subtly toward open ground.
Danger Sense, Kael thought.
Interesting.
A shape dragged itself into view.
Another dungeon hound. Smaller than the first. One hind leg bent at a wrong angle, ribs exposed through torn flesh. Old scorch marks ran along its side.
Left behind. Not dead.
Riven sucked in a breath. "Another one."
Kael didn't raise his knife.
Instead, his focus turned inward.
[Custom Quest Creation — Manual]Target: Riven HoltDefine Objective.
Kael didn't hesitate.
Objective: Kill the wounded dungeon hound.
Define Difficulty.
The hound snarled and lunged weakly.
Difficulty: Medium–High (F-Rank).
Define Failure Condition.
Riven's grip tightened on his spear.
Failure: Target escapes or Riven is incapacitated.
[Quest Registered]Quest Active — External Target
Riven felt nothing.
Of course he didn't.
Kael looked up.
"Riven," he said calmly. "You're going to kill it."
Riven turned sharply. "What?"
"It's wounded. Slow. If you don't hesitate, you'll live."
"That thing can still tear my throat out!"
Kael met his eyes. "Trust your instincts."
The hound charged.
Riven's Danger Sense screamed—louder than ever.
He moved without thinking.
Sidestep. Thrust.
Steel punched through the hound's neck. The monster collapsed, claws scraping stone before going still.
Silence fell.
Riven exhaled hard.
Then his body jerked.
"—What the hell?!"
Heat surged through his arms, his legs, his chest. His balance shifted. His senses sharpened.
Strength.
Clear and undeniable.
Riven stared at his hands, flexing his fingers. "I… I feel stronger."
Kael watched the system glow beside him.
[Quest Complete]Recipient: Riven HoltSkill EnhancedDanger Sense (F-Rank → E-Rank)Enhancement: Early Threat Detection (Minor)
Riven turned slowly. "Kael… what did you do?"
Kael sheathed his knife.
"I told you what to do," he said. "You survived."
The dungeon rumbled again.
Kael smiled.