Morning — the village
Chad finishes dressing in his Legion Academy uniform.He puts on his cape.He prepares his fighting set: katana + short blade/dagger, carrying what he needs in his satchel.Outside, Mason, Rohan, and several village men are preparing to head toward the farms to collect fruits and other supplies. They'll be gone for roughly a day.Chad greets them.Because Rohan is going to marry Becca, Chad treats him like family.Chad places a hand on Mason's head and tells him:
"See you in two days, Mason."
Mason responds.Chad gives them one last look.Then he disappears instantly.
No long goodbye. Just a quick father-and-son moment.
The abandoned warehouse
Chad appears at the location Great Elder Neil described.
An old, abandoned warehouse stands before him. Its doors are sealed shut.
Chad approaches and places his hand against the gate.
His spiritual energy flows into it.
For a moment, nothing happens.
Then—
CRACK.
A strange seal appears across the warehouse doors.
The seal glows.
Then it shatters.
The doors slowly open, revealing the dungeon entrance.
Chad pauses.
He exhales.
Then walks inside.
As he crosses the threshold, the dungeon's seal shifts with him, disappearing from the warehouse and appearing within the dungeon behind him.
Inside the dungeon
The environment is strange.
A wide but confined passage stretches ahead. Fire-burning fixtures line the walls, providing enough light to see.
Chad walks calmly.
Then—
WHOOSH!
A gigantic spear flies straight toward his head.
Chad casually moves aside.
BOOM!
The spear buries itself deep into the wall behind him.
Chad turns.
That's when he sees it.
A Goliath-like ape monster, heavily armored in skull-like armor covering its face, shoulders, and body.
It carries two weapons: a gigantic axe and a massive spear.
The monster stares at Chad as though he has trespassed into its territory.
Then its voice echoes inside Chad's mind:
"Why have you interrupted my master's domain?"
Chad's expression changes slightly.
Not fear.
Surprise.
Because the monster suddenly moves.
BOOM!
It rushes toward him at an incredible speed.
The monster appears directly in front of Chad, already swinging its enormous axe downward.
Chad disappears.
CRAAASH!
The axe smashes into the ground.
Cracks spread across the dungeon floor.
Chad lands several meters away.
He looks at the destruction.
Then smiles.
"Strong."
He draws his katana.
The monster attacks again.
This time, Chad doesn't retreat.
CLANG!
His blade meets the monster's weapon.
Chad deflects the attack and absorbs the force, sliding backward.
Smoke begins rising from his katana.
Chad looks at the blade.
Then smiles.
"This is gonna be fun."
Chad vs. the Goliath
The monster swings.
Chad dodges.
The monster thrusts the spear.
Chad parries.
The monster tries to crush him with the axe.
Chad slips underneath it.
Then Chad disappears.
SLASH!
He appears on the monster's side.
Another slash.
Then Chad jumps onto the dungeon wall.
BOOM!
He launches himself from it.
SLASH!
He rebounds off another wall.
SLASH!
Again.
And again.
The monster struggles to follow his movements.
Chad's swordsmanship becomes almost impossible to track.
Finally, Chad lands in front of the monster.
He grips his katana tightly.
The monster raises its weapon.
Chad moves first.
THRUST!
His katana pierces the monster and drives it against the dungeon wall.
The monster struggles.
Chad holds the blade firmly.
The monster's body begins giving out.
It releases one enormous roar—
"ROOOOOOOOAAAR!"
Then it goes still.
Chad pulls his katana free.
He flicks the blade, clearing it.
"That was a tough one."
Then—
silence.
Until Chad notices something.
Tiny pieces of stone on the ground are trembling.
They rise slightly.
Fall.
Rise again.
Fall.
Chad's eyes narrow.
He looks deeper into the dungeon.
And then he sees them.
Dozens.
Then more.
Hundreds of the same monsters.
Smaller than the one he just defeated, but still enormous and heavily armed.
They begin marching toward him.
The sound of their footsteps echoes throughout the dungeon.
BOOM.
BOOM.
BOOM.
Chad stands alone.
He slowly raises his katana.
And for the first time, his smile disappears.
There were far too many of them.
Hundreds of Goliaths stood before him, filling the narrow passage.
Chad stared at them for a moment.
Then his expression changed.
A smile slowly returned to his face.
"So that's what makes their colony survive for decades…"
He tightened his grip on his katana.
"Well, to me, this is just another training method for getting stronger."
Dark energy-like light began to radiate faintly around his body—not his Magic, but the manifestation of his energy enhancement.
Chad was reinforcing both his physical and spiritual energy, pushing his body beyond its normal limits.
He bent his knees.
Then—
One.
He jumped.
Two.
Another leap.
Three.
His movements became faster.
Four.
Chad launched himself forward.
BOOM!
The ground cracked beneath his feet.
A powerful gust exploded behind him, forming three distinct layers of wind as he shot toward the Goliaths.
The monsters roared and charged.
Chad entered their formation.
His movements became completely fluid.
SLASH!
Three heads flew from their bodies.
Chad twisted through another attack.
SLASH!
Three more.
He ducked beneath a massive axe.
SLASH!
Another three Goliaths fell.
Before the others could react, Chad had already moved again.
His katana flashed through the darkness.
Sixteen Goliaths fell in a single sequence of attacks.
One enormous Goliath charged from behind.
Chad turned.
He rushed straight toward it.
The monster raised its axe.
Chad stepped inside its attack.
His katana pierced its chest.
THRUST!
Then he dragged the blade upward.
SHRRRAAAK!
The monster collapsed.
Chad launched himself forward again.
He bounced from one dungeon wall to another, using the walls as footholds.
SLASH!
SLASH!
SLASH!
His katana continued flashing through the colony.
The Goliaths couldn't keep up.
Their numbers slowly began to disappear.
….Chad finally stood still.
Around him lay the bodies of the fallen Goliaths.
He was breathing steadily.
Not heavily.
He looked across the battlefield.
Then he counted.
"199."
He exhaled slowly.
"I didn't know there would be this many."
A small smile appeared on his face.
"But that's actually great."
Chad flicked his katana.
The blood left the blade.
He returned it to its sheath.
He reached into his shoulder bag and pulled out a small flask containing an energy-restoring drink.
He took several sips.
The liquid refreshed his body, restoring a portion of the energy he had spent during the battle.
Chad lowered the flask.
"Now I have to proceed deeper into the dungeon."
He placed the flask back inside his bag and zipped it shut.
Then he stepped down from the pile of fallen Goliaths.
He walked deeper into the dungeon.
The passage eventually opened into a much larger chamber.
At the opposite end stood something Chad hadn't seen before.
A massive sealed gate.
It was far larger than the previous dungeon entrance.
Strange markings covered its surface.
Chad approached it.
He placed his palm against the gate.
His eyes narrowed.
He could feel it.
The gate was responding to his spiritual energy.
Chad released his energy into it.
The markings began to glow.
CRACK.
A seal appeared across the massive gate.
Then—
BOOOOM!
The seal shattered.
The enormous gate slowly began to open.
A powerful wave of energy emerged from the darkness beyond it.
Chad stood before the entrance.
His expression became serious.
Whatever was waiting beyond that gate…
It was clearly different from everything he had faced before.
Chad stepped forward.
And entered.