Chapter 157: SSS-Rank Dungeon

[Ten Minutes Later - Wilderness.]

​BAM!

​The crisp sound of the Jeep door closing rang out through the crisp morning air as Asher got down from the car. He adjusted his coat and looked up at the horizon, taking in the vast expanse of untamed earth stretching out beyond the city limits.

​"The sun will be up in an hour at most," he said, his breath forming a faint mist in the chilly atmosphere.

​"Yes, Lord Asher. The gateway is right behind those huge hills... The way is too narrow to drive through," Denise said, stepping up beside him and pointing toward the rugged, looming rock formations that blocked their vehicle’s path.

​"Let’s go then."

​Asher started walking, his boots crunching over the wild gravel as the two SSS-Rank fell into step right behind him.

​GRAAAAA!!

​"....?!"

​The three turned sharply to their right, catching sight of a lean, dark-furred wolf standing a short distance away on a rocky ledge, its glowing amber eyes fixed intent upon them.

​"That is a Mutated Monster... It’s only B-Rank, so it won’t dare attack us," Denise reported, his hand resting casually on his belt as he assessed the beast’s rank.

​"Mutated Monsters are creatures who escaped from a dungeon outbreak. The wilderness is huge, covering hundreds of thousands of miles... The other five countries which were destroyed in the past are now part of it. Due to its sheer expanse, no country could say they have fully explored the whole wilderness," Marianne explained smoothly, stepping forward to continue walking as the two followed behind her.

​She gestured toward the distant ruins peeking through the overgrown vegetation: "Dungeons appear in unknown, unpredictable locations. A lot appear in the destroyed countries’ old territories; and once their internal timer ends, they simply open up and let these monsters out into the world... These monsters that escaped and got stuck in our world are called Mutated Monsters."

​Asher slowly nodded at her detailed explanation of the world’s geography, committing the facts to memory as they reached the narrow, shadowed path winding between the two towering hills.

​Denise watched them enter the passage, then looked over his shoulder at the wolf, which turned around and bolted into the thick underbrush.

​’I hope it isn’t a scout for a larger pack,’ Denise thought silently, casting one last wary glance at the wilderness before stepping into the canyon.

​"Here we are."

​The three walked out through the narrow path into a natural stone amphitheater, staring at the glowing red dungeon gate spinning clockwise before them. The vortex hummed with raw, volatile spatial energy, casting an ominous crimson light over the gray rocks.

​"I hope we didn’t forget anything?" Marianne asked, opening her spatial interface and double-checking her storage. "Food, water, clothes, equipment, high-grade health potions... Yup, got everything." She gave a firm nod of satisfaction.

​Asher simply ignored her preparation routine. The dark Overcoat he wore was functionally his enchanted armor, and as for food and water—he could easily last three days without food and a full day without water without dropping his physical performance, so it was nothing much to worry about. Potions?

​He had his Mythic-Tier Devouring sword and his Supreme Mythic-Tier Twin Daggers; his offense was his ultimate defense. Without another word, Asher stepped directly into the churning red portal, and the two immediately plunged in right after him.

____

​[Unknown World - SSS-Rank Dungeon.]

​[Welcome Players.]

​The translucent blue interface of the Awakened system switched on before the three the exact moment their boots hit the ground on the other side of the gateway.

​Asher paused, his sharp eyes instantly scanning their immediate surroundings.

​"Are we inside a forest?" Marianne asked, raising her head toward the sky. She frowned upon seeing nothing but a thick canopy of broad, emerald leaves completely blocking the sun, allowing only tiny, scattered rays of light to pierce the gloom.

​"A forest is the most dangerous environment a dungeon can drop you into," Denise said grimly, a long, finely crafted steel sword materializing in his right hand with a flash of energy.

​"I have to agree." Marianne said, exhaling slowly as her own signature Red Sword materialized in her tight grip. "We need to leave this forest immediately. We already used the key, meaning we only have seven days; if we can’t clear the core within that time, the gateway will forcibly open, and the monsters will flow out into the wilderness."

​Asher nodded his head, his gaze casually sweeping through the ancient, towering trees. The moment his passive Divine-Tier skill, Infinite Senses, activated, his perception expanded exponentially across a 300-meter radius. He could instantly sense countless living signatures slithering, crawling, and breathing all around them—he could even feel the pulsing, carnivorous energy roots of the trees themselves.

​"I have been wondering... Why didn’t you ask when we bribed the guard at the gate?" Marianne asked, resting the flat of her heavy sword against her armored shoulder as she stared at Asher’s back.

​"I don’t see the need to," Asher shrugged, not bothering to look back at her as he maintained his scan of the perimeter.

​"Okay, I will still explain it anyway... The third gate is also directly monitored by the global Awakened Association. If you officially register through their standard system at that checkpoint, you are required to log your exact destination coordinates... It also places a temporary mark on you, which the Association can use to track your movement or trap your location," she said, her eyes continuously scanning the shadowed canopy above:

"Of course, they can’t actively keep track of every single civilian leaving the city, but they will pay far more attention to high-profile figures like us... I am sure you don’t want that kind of interference."

​Asher looked over his shoulder at her, slightly surprised that such an invasive tracking mechanism existed within the city’s security grid.

​"Can’t you bypass it?"

​"You can, provided your security level is set to SSS-Rank... But that level of administrative immunity is strictly reserved for the leaders of the Ancient families and their core members," she answered cleanly.

​Asher nodded his head. If Daniel stuck to his word regarding their arrangement, his and his three wives’ personal security details should indeed be updated to SSS-Rank soon.

​’I will test out that authority once we return,’ he thought to himself.

​"After you return to the city, the tracking mark becomes completely invalid anyway, so whenever you want to leave again, you simply have to pass through verification once more," Marianne added.

​Asher listened attentively, then suddenly snapped his fingers. The Mythic-Tier Devouring Sword materialized before him, hovering silently in the air with its red bone blade pulsing with a suffocating, bloody aura.

​"Jump!!"

​Without another word of explanation, Asher leaped high into the air, his body vaulting backward with extreme precision. Marianne and Denise—seasoned veterans who had fought through countless bloody battles—didn’t hesitate for a single microsecond; their instincts took over as they violently leapt backward in tandem with him.

​BOOOOM!!!

​GRAAAAAA!!!

​The earth shattered violently beneath them as a gigantic, armored centipede erupted from the exact spot they had been standing a second prior. Its massive, mandibles snapped shut on empty air, its hundreds of sharp legs writhing as it surged upward to swallow them whole.

​"Devouring sword!" Asher barked, his body vanishing into thin air as he instantly entered stealth, activating his armor’s massive stat buffs.

​The hovering bone sword vibrated furiously for a fraction of a second, then shot downward like a crimson meteor straight toward the charging, massive insect.

​BAM!!!!

​[Physical Damage: -10,127,919.]

[Giant Centipede’s Health: 2,000,000.]

[Giant Centipede’s Defense: 7,500,000.]

​[Instant Kill on an SS-RANK Normal Boss.]

​".....?!!!"

​Both Marianne and Denise stared in absolute, unadulterated horror as they hung in midair. Their eyes bulged and their jaws dropped wide open, completely frozen by the sheer, absurd absurdity of an SS-Rank Boss being deleted in a single, effortless strike before they had even touched the ground.