Chapter 7: The Fifteenth Wave? Still an Instant Kill!

Chapter 7: Chapter 7: The Fifteenth Wave? Still an Instant Kill!

Nathaniel quickly realized the most insane part of his Class.

The stronger he became, the stronger his Shadow Soldiers became.

The stronger his Shadow Soldiers became, the faster they cleared monsters, allowing him to gain experience and level up faster.

And the faster he leveled up, the more his attributes skyrocketed, making both him and his army even stronger.

It was a perfect cycle.

A growth loop with almost no end in sight.

"Hahaha!"

Looking at the ten armored figures surrounding him like a wall of steel, Nathaniel couldn’t help laughing.

"Bring it on! Let the storm hit even harder!"

The ten Shadow Soldiers stood silently around him, their crimson eyes glowing beneath their helmets.

They were ready.

And Nathaniel had plenty of monsters waiting for them.

...

Meanwhile, outside the gymnasium, the massive leaderboard flickered.

Behind Nathaniel Beaumont’s name, the number representing his current wave changed from 1 to 2.

The change wasn’t particularly noticeable among the hundreds of names on the screen.

However, Mr. Ellis had been watching the leaderboard closely.

He spotted it immediately.

His eyes widened.

"Wait a second..."

The first exclamation of shock erupted from the crowd.

"Did Nathaniel already clear the first wave?"

"Isn’t that too fast? He was just on Stage One! How did he reach Stage Two already?"

"Could it be a display error?"

Their voices drew everyone’s attention back to the screen.

The vice principal pushed up his glasses, his brow furrowing as he examined the data.

"Time elapsed..."

He paused, staring at the number.

"One second?"

His voice cracked.

"How is that possible?"

The surrounding teachers looked as if they’d seen a ghost.

"There must be something wrong with the dungeon!"

Many assumed it was a system error. After all, clearing an entire wave of monsters in one second was beyond their understanding.

But while everyone was still debating whether the system had malfunctioned, the number on the screen changed again.

Then again.

And again.

It wasn’t a slow progression.

The numbers were changing so quickly that several teachers struggled to follow them.

Inside the dungeon, the second wave had just begun.

Twenty gray wolves appeared in the mist.

Before they could even identify their surroundings, ten dark figures rushed toward them.

The Shadow Soldiers moved like black streaks of lightning.

A series of heavy impacts rang through the area.

The wolves never had a chance to fight back.

Within moments, all twenty vanished into red particles.

Nathaniel’s experience bar surged.

The third wave followed.

Then the fourth.

Each wave brought more monsters, stronger enemies, and greater rewards.

Yet none of them could stop the ten Shadow Soldiers.

For Nathaniel, the dungeon had become an experience farm.

And his army was working overtime.

...

Fifth Wave.

"Fifth wave challenge starting."

"Monster: Jungle Leopard, Level 3."

"Quantity: 50."

"Experience per kill: 30."

Low growls echoed through the mist.

Fifty sleek, agile leopards emerged from the void. Their powerful legs and sharp claws made them dangerous opponents for newly awakened students.

An ordinary Class holder facing this many Jungle Leopards would be lucky to escape without serious injuries.

Nathaniel, however, stood with his hands in his pockets.

He didn’t even take a step.

"Kill."

One word.

That was all he needed.

The ten Shadow Soldiers charged.

Their speed far surpassed that of the Jungle Leopards.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sounds of impact merged into a continuous roar.

The leopards had barely touched the ground before the Shadow Soldiers struck them down.

Some were launched backward.

Others were crushed beneath armored fists.

The remaining monsters were eliminated before they could scatter.

Instant kills.

Every single one.

[Jungle Leopard defeated. EXP +30]

[Jungle Leopard defeated. EXP +30]

...

[Total EXP gained: 1,500]

Nathaniel watched the experience bar fill.

A golden glow enveloped his body.

[Congratulations! Level increased to 3!]

[God of Shadows Growth Effect: All Primary Attributes +100]

Nathaniel opened his status panel.

[Level: 3]

[Strength: 250]

[Agility: 250]

[Spirit: 255]

[Constitution: 250]

He paused.

Then a new notification appeared.

[Shadow Soldiers synchronized with their master’s growth.]

The attributes of his Shadow Soldiers increased accordingly.

Nathaniel rubbed his chin.

"Leveling up really is expensive for this Class."

He remembered hearing that powerful Classes generally required more experience to level up because their growth per level was greater.

His Class might demand an absurd amount of experience as he progressed.

But that wasn’t a problem.

Not when he could clear monsters at this speed.

Even if his experience requirements increased dramatically, he could simply kill more monsters.

Nathaniel smiled.

"Let’s keep going."

The slaughter continued.

Sixth wave.

Seventh wave.

The Shadow Soldiers swept through each challenge, leaving nothing behind.

Before long, they reached the eighth wave.

...

Eighth Wave.

"Eighth wave challenge starting."

"Monster: Iron-Skinned Bear, Level 6."

"Quantity: 100."

"Experience per kill: 60."

One hundred enormous bears charged out of the mist.

Their thick hides were covered in iron-like scales, and their heavy footsteps shook the ground.

For ordinary newcomers, these monsters would be a nightmare.

Their defense was high, their strength considerable, and their sheer numbers made them dangerous.

But against Nathaniel’s Shadow Soldiers, none of that mattered.

The soldiers didn’t bother using complicated techniques.

They relied on their overwhelming physical attributes.

One punch.

One bear.

The beasts were blasted apart into red particles before they could even reach their target.

Within moments, the entire wave had been eliminated.

[Iron-Skinned Bear defeated. EXP +60]

...

[Total EXP gained: 6,000]

Nathaniel’s experience bar filled once again.

[Congratulations! Level increased to 4!]

[God of Shadows Growth Effect: All Primary Attributes +100]

Another level.

Another massive increase in power.

Nathaniel’s smile widened.

At this rate, the final wave might not even be worth his attention.

...

Outside the gymnasium, the atmosphere had changed completely.

The previously noisy crowd had fallen into deathly silence.

Nobody was chatting.

Nobody was checking their phones.

Every eye was fixed on the enormous leaderboard.

Nathaniel Beaumont’s progress was refreshing at a terrifying speed.

Wave 2.

Wave 5.

Wave 8.

Wave 10.

His name seemed to be racing through the dungeon.

Meanwhile, most of the other students hadn’t even completed their first few waves.

Nathaniel was leaving everyone behind.

"This... what kind of monster is he?"

Mr. Ellis felt his legs weaken.

He grabbed the railing and pointed at the screen with a trembling hand.

"He’s clearing almost a wave every second!"

The vice principal’s face had gone pale.

His mouth remained open for several seconds before he finally spoke.

"This isn’t a system bug."

He stared at the leaderboard, trying to make sense of the impossible results.

"If the dungeon were malfunctioning, we wouldn’t see consistent progress with different completion times for each wave. The system is recording actual clears."

He swallowed.

"Someone is really clearing the dungeon this quickly."

"But how?"

No one answered.

Because no one had an explanation.

The scene unfolding before them had shattered every assumption they held about newly awakened students.

And the person responsible was Nathaniel Beaumont, the young man whose Class had left everyone confused only a short while ago.

...

Inside the dungeon, Nathaniel was already approaching the final challenge.

The steady stream of experience had pushed him forward at an astonishing pace.

Then the mechanical voice rang out again.

Fifteenth Wave.

"Fifteenth wave challenge starting."

"Monster: Bloodthirsty Lizard, Elite Grade, Level 10."

"Quantity: 200."

"Experience per kill: 150."

This was the final wave of the Initial Dungeon.

It was also the most difficult.

Two hundred elite monsters emerged from the gray mist.

Their scales were dark red, their eyes glowed with bloodlust, and their jaws dripped with venomous saliva.

Their combined presence would have been enough to make an ordinary newcomer lose all hope.

Nathaniel didn’t even spare them a second glance.

He opened his status panel.

[Level: 4]

[Strength: 350]

[Agility: 350]

[Spirit: 355]

[Constitution: 350]

His four primary attributes had climbed rapidly.

Around him, the ten Shadow Soldiers stood like silent executioners.

Their dark armor had become denser, and their crimson eyes burned beneath their helmets.

They were still Tier 1 Shadow Soldiers, but their synchronized growth had made them far more formidable than when they first appeared.

Nathaniel raised his hand.

"Clean them up."

The soldiers moved.

BOOM!

A storm of black armor swept across the battlefield.

The Bloodthirsty Lizards lunged forward, their claws tearing through the mist.

They never reached Nathaniel.

The Shadow Soldiers met them head-on.

Punches landed.

Bodies vanished into red particles.

The elite monsters tried to scatter, but the soldiers moved faster, cutting off their escape routes and eliminating them one after another.

Two hundred elite monsters.

Against ten Shadow Soldiers.

The result was never in doubt.

Within three seconds, the battlefield was empty.

[Bloodthirsty Lizard defeated. EXP +150]

[Bloodthirsty Lizard defeated. EXP +150]

...

[Total EXP gained: 30,000]

Golden light flashed around Nathaniel.

[Congratulations! Level increased to 5!]

[God of Shadows Growth Effect: All Primary Attributes +100]

His status panel updated.

[Level: 5]

[Strength: 450]

[Agility: 450]

[Spirit: 455]

[Constitution: 450]

Nathaniel looked at the numbers for a moment.

Then he closed the panel.

The fifteenth wave was over.

He had cleared the entire Initial Dungeon.

And he had done it without personally attacking a single monster.

Nathaniel stood in the center of the empty battlefield, waiting for the familiar white light that would transport him to the settlement area.

But the expected light never appeared.

Instead, the gray sky above him began to tremble.

Cracks spread through the misty expanse, as though invisible hands were tearing the sky apart.

Then, without warning, the entire space turned blood-red.

The temperature plunged.

A thick, suffocating stench of blood filled the air.

Nathaniel’s expression finally changed.

The dungeon wasn’t finished.

Something was coming.