The throne room felt heavier than usual.
King Eldric sat upright, but his knuckles were white against the armrest. Minutes had passed since Dominic Mendez left the palace… yet the atmosphere he left behind still lingered—cold, commanding, impossible to ignore.
Jake and Annabel stood quietly at the center of the hall, eyes lowered. The king's advisors and commanders whispered, but every whisper carried the same emotion:
Fear.
Not of Dominic's power.
But of the unknown.
Because no one truly understood the boy they had cast out.
And now… he returned stronger than the kingdom's entire knight order.
"State your report."
Eldric's voice cracked slightly before he steadied it.
Jake stepped forward."Your Majesty… Dominic has cleared the majority of the capital's dungeons. Alone. What remains are minor rifts. Annabel and I will take care of those."
The hall stirred.
The Royal Mage, Master Kaelis, frowned deeply."What do you mean cleared? Those dungeons were ranked A and S… and there were four of them."
Jake swallowed hard."Not anymore."
Annabel's voice trembled."When we arrived at the first site, the corruption was already gone. The monsters were… dead. Every single one of them. As if someone erased them."
A murmur rippled through the court.
Impossible.Unnatural.Divine?
No explanation made sense.
But it was Jake's next words that silenced the entire palace:
"Your Majesty… he didn't struggle. At all."
Eldric leaned forward.
"Describe him."
Jake hesitated.
Annabel answered instead.
"He's different. He walks like someone who owns the ground. Like the forest… follows him."She exhaled shakily. "And the knights felt it. The pressure. The way the air bends around him."
Bends.
Eldric's eyes widened.
That word was used only for one type of aura—the kind belonging to high-ranking divine beings from legend.
Impossible.
Dominic was a boy.A rejected one at that.
Yet… the knights who accompanied Jake and Annabel collapsed upon entering the forest domain. Not from attack—but from sheer presence.
The king stood.
"Is he a threat?"
The hall held its breath.
Jake answered carefully."No… not yet. He actually came here to reassure you. To tell you the kingdom is safe."
"Safe…" Eldric repeated.
Dominic promising safety?The same Dominic they sent to die?
No.It didn't add up.
Commander Thalos stepped forward."He didn't show hostility, Your Majesty. But… I cannot shake the feeling that if we become his enemy, Avelion will fall in a single night."
Silence washed through the court.
Annabel nodded."I don't think he hates us. He's cold, but not vengeful. Not anymore. But… something changed him."
Jake lowered his head."We still don't know how he got so strong."
Those words pricked at Eldric the most.
Because unknown power was the most dangerous kind.
The king turned to the Royal Mage.
"Kaelis. Could a human grow this quickly through magic?"
"No."The old mage shook his head immediately."No spell, no blessing, not even prophecy could accelerate a mortal at such a rate. Even hero blessings take months to manifest."
"Then what is he?" the king whispered.
Kaelis swallowed."I suspect he touched something divine. A forbidden relic, a sealed presence, a sleeping entity… something beyond our understanding."
Annabel blinked in shock.
Jake stiffened.
Eldric felt cold sweat forming at his temples.
A divine force?Inside the outcast boy they had exiled?
Gods…
Eldric dismissed the hall.
Everyone bowed and retreated quickly—no one wanted to remain during the king's rising anxiety.
When the doors closed, Eldric finally let the truth surface.
He whispered:
"We should never have cast him out…"
Kaelis nodded grimly."If he continues to grow… Dominic Mendez may rise beyond kings. Beyond nations. Beyond realms."
Eldric's voice trembled.
"What do we do now?"
Kaelis' answer was quiet.
"We pray."
Dominic — Outside the Palace
The moment Dominic exited the palace gates, the suffocating tension behind him evaporated.
He stepped into the sunlight, expression blank, hoodie drifting gently with the wind.
He didn't spare the king another glance.
Instead, he looked toward the far horizon—toward the distant mountain line marking the boundary of the Beastkin Territory.
Four S-Rank dungeons.
Four sources of corruption.
Four storms waiting to be erased.
Dominic exhaled.
Two days.That was all he needed.
DAY ONE — DUNGEON 1: "THE MAW OF ECHOES"
Location: Abandoned canyon on the outskirts of the Beastkin Kingdom
Dominic stopped at the entrance of a massive canyon split open like a screaming mouth. Black fog coiled from within, distorting the air.
A normal adventurer would've approached carefully.
Dominic simply walked in.
His footsteps echoed like thunder in the hollow abyss.
Growls layered over each other—thousands. The dungeon core pulsed deeper inside like a black heart.
The first wave of monsters charged.
Gigawolves.Shadow-coated beasts with vibrating fangs.
Dominic didn't move until they were inches away.
Then—One exhale.A ripple of energy burst from his body.
The wolves dissolved into ashes.
"Next," Dominic muttered.
The dungeon roared.
He folded his hands behind his back and walked forward through the storm of claws, teeth, and corrupted spirits as if strolling through a park.
Every monster that touched his aura simply… evaporated.
Like dust before fire.
When he reached the heart of the dungeon, the core lashed out—sending pillars of chaotic energy spiraling around him.
Dominic touched the core with one finger.
It shattered like glass.
REWARD OBTAINED…(But the system window stayed hidden. As instructed.)
Dominic left the canyon before the collapse fully consumed it.
Day one, dungeon one: erased.
DUNGEON 2: "THE ABYSSAL GROVE"
A forest drowned in purple fog. Trees twisted unnaturally. Whispering voices clawed at the mind.
Dominic stepped in.The whispers stopped.
Even corrupted spirits understood instinctively:
This was not prey.This was an apex existence.
A massive treant—an S-Rank boss—rose from the ground, vines writhing like serpents.
It roared.
Dominic lifted one hand.
A single spark of divine lightning dropped from his fingertip.
The treant didn't die.It ceased existing.
The forest fell silent.
Dominic walked to the core, buried under roots.
He flicked a finger.
The entire grove shook.The roots unraveled.The crystal slid into the open.
He crushed it with his palm.
Another reward.Still hidden.
He turned without a word and left.
DAY TWO — DUNGEON 3: "THE HANGING DESERT"
A floating desert.An impossible landscape where sand hovered mid-air like suspended waves.
Dominic stood at the base of the levitating dunes.
"Tsk. Annoying environment."
He stepped up.
The sand bent under his foot, creating a path where none should exist.
Sand wraiths, scorpion-titans, and desert phantoms swarmed the intruder.
Dominic raised his hood.
"Move."
His voice alone created a shockwave.
Half the monsters burst instantly into particles.
The boss—a colossal golden scorpion—lunged from the highest dune.
Its stinger plunged toward him.
Dominic caught it with two fingers.
Crack.
He pulled once—The entire creature split into glowing dust.
Then he floated upward, stopped in front of the dungeon core, and tapped it lightly.
The crystal exploded like fireworks.
Reward three.
Still hidden.
DUNGEON 4: "THE CHIMERA BURIAL GROUNDS"
This one was the most dangerous.
The dungeon was a massive underground labyrinth filled with grotesque experiments—creatures fused together, screaming in agony.
Dominic tightened his hoodie.
"Disgusting."
Rows of abominations charged the moment he stepped inside.
He didn't bother using aura.
He simply walked—hands in pockets—and shadows around him warped like blades.
Every mutant that approached was sliced clean in half.
When he reached the core chamber, he froze.
A massive chimera—lion head, serpent tail, draconic wings—stood trembling.
Not attacking.
Trembling.
Dominic stared at it."…Move."
The creature collapsed to its belly, whimpering.
"Didn't expect that," Dominic muttered.
He placed his hand on its head.
Calm washed over the beast.Its corrupted flesh purified instantly under his touch.
Then he approached the core.
The moment he touched it—
FLASH.
The system pulsed.
Not with rewards.
But with something else:
"ALL FOUR S-RANK DUNGEONS CLEARED.SYNC REWARD PENDING."
Dominic exhaled slowly.
"…Finally."
The chamber collapsed behind him as he stepped out without looking back.
Dominic at the Cliff — Preparing for the Eastern Continent
The sun was setting over the Beastkin outskirts, painting the skies gold.
Dominic stood atop a cliff, overlooking the vast lands beneath him. Four dungeons gone. Four cities freed. Four disasters erased without witnesses.
And now… preparation time.
He opened his palm, summoning faint divine sparks.
The system spoke:
"All prerequisites met.You may now prepare for Eastern Continent Approach."
Dominic's expression hardened.
"MURIM…"
He remembered the Seraph's words.
The Western world cannot handle that place.You must go.A storm is brewing.
Dominic exhaled.
"Two days left before I depart."
He tightened his gloves.
"Time to finish everything here."
The cliff wind blew past him, carrying whispers of coming chaos.
Murim.Qi masters.Gods fallen.Worlds colliding.
Dominic smirked.
"Let them come."
He turned and walked into the horizon, cloak fluttering behind him like a shadow of a rising god.