Upon entering the rift they were met with an extremely hot environment. It felt like they were in a volcanic area, and upon further investigation that was in fact the case.
"Crap, volcanic monsters are always annoying. They have tough skin and their fire is annoying, eyes sharp team.", said Marcus with grim annoyance.
"Ael-." He was immediately interrupted by Ael going full battle mode in a split second and slicing what looked like a giant Komodo Dragon, towering 3 meters tall that was sleeping and about to wake up right behind Marcus. He was completely camouflaged with the ground so they couldn't see it.
[+20 exp]
Ael was satisfied that he not only felt the exp but also got the system notification.
"Hey nice save, thats a neat skill using your element to use a sword. I see its extremely sturdy and sharp considering it split this monster in half using just one slice." Marcus said while laughing awkwardly, still not believing that he had been so careless.
"Well team lets get going".
Marcus motioned for the formation to tighten, but Ael had already stepped ahead of the group, shoulders loose, eyes sharp. The residual heat inside the volcanic rift radiated like a living thing—dry, suffocating, and full of unseen tremors. The ground cracked beneath their boots with every step, thin lines of molten red glowing like veins beneath a thick layer of slate.
Ael inhaled slowly.
His pulse had been steady the moment they crossed through the rift… but the lingering fragments of his dream—the screaming sky, the towering demons, the overwhelming Ether that was not his—were clawing at the edges of his mind. Lysa's body falling. Her brother's arm disappearing in an explosion of black flame. The three support mages crushed before they could even cry out.
Five people dead.
Five.
He could still hear the echo of Amanda's wavering voice when she delivered the report to Lyra. The horror hadn't left her eyes. And the dream—whatever it was—had made everything worse.
Something is coming.
Something is wrong.
The E-rank demon… the way it raged about Her… the fear in its voice when it sensed Ether…
He didn't understand any of it, but he understood one thing crystal clear:
He was weak.
And weakness got people killed.
A rumble shook the cavern walls as a second Komodo-like beast crawled out of a steaming fissure, followed by a second, then a third—sleek, crimson-scaled monsters with molten saliva dripping from their jaws.
Marcus cursed. "Three Flameback Drakes. Thick skin, high temp, bad temperament—"
Ael was already gone.
He lunged forward with speed that made the ground crack, Ethereal Weaponry forming in his hand before the others even registered the motion. The blade coalesced as if the world bent around his will—light, sharp, and shimmering with that strange color that wasn't quite visible but undeniably felt.
The first drake lunged.
Ael spun sideways, dragging his blade in a downward arc. The sword didn't slice through—it parted the monster cleanly, like it was made of melting wax.
The drake thrashed once, then collapsed in two halves.
[+20 exp]
But the other two roared and charged, volcanic heat erupting from their maws. Ael's weapon dissolved and reformed into a spear mid-stride—no hesitation, no pause—his hand moving instinctively as if guided by memory and instinct fused together.
He leapt, spun, and threw.
The spear whistled through the air, piercing both drakes with one clean strike before detonating into radiant dust.
They fell simultaneously.
[+20 exp x 2]
Ael landed lightly, sliding across the stone, letting the heat lick at his skin as though daring it to burn him.
He was already moving again.
The rest of the team stared, frozen for a moment.
"…Is he D-rank?" Selena whispered.
Marcus exhaled slowly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't think he knows what he is. He should be E-Rank like us…"
Ael didn't respond to any of it. His mind was a storm—violent, focused, hungry.
He needed more experience. More power. More certainty that he wouldn't hesitate the next time someone needed saving.
Because if he had been stronger…
If he had been there…
If he hadn't been so helpless when Amanda cried in Lyra's office…
Maybe five people wouldn't be dead.
"Movement," Damien said from the back. "Left tunnel."
A cluster of volcanic wolves—mangy, soot-covered beasts with magma dripping from their fangs—charged out from the shadows. At least six of them.
"Team, defensive forma—"
Ael ignored Marcus's command.
He dashed straight into the pack, spear reforming instantly in his hand.
The wolves were fast—but Ael was faster.
He ducked under the first bite, ramming the spear upward through its jaw and out the top of its skull before flicking the weapon sideways, using the momentum to slice another wolf's throat. His footwork was fluid, almost too fluid—like each motion was connected to the next in one unbroken chain.
Dream fragments flickered.
A person's hands—not his—carving through demon flesh.
Movements he didn't recognize but somehow knew.
A battlefield painted in Ether.
A war he didn't remember living.
His breath deepened.
Three wolves leapt at him at once.
Ael slammed the butt of his spear into the ground, vaulting upward with explosive force, twisting mid-air as the spear dissolved and reformed into dual blades—short, curved, perfect for close combat.
He landed in their midst.
A flurry of cuts.
Three heads hit the ground.
The last wolf backed away, terrified.
Ael didn't give it a chance to flee.
He sprinted, pivoted, and plunged his blade into its heart.
[+20 exp x 6]
His chest rose and fell, but his eyes were cold.
He needed more.
The team approached him slowly once the echoes of battle faded.
"…Ael," Selena said softly, "you can slow down. We're not in a rush."
"I am," he said simply.
Marcus frowned. "Look, I get wanting to impress Lyra or—"
"It's not that."
Ael didn't turn around.
"It's because I have a feeling we don't have much time left."
The others exchanged looks, not understanding.
He couldn't tell them that he had dreamed of a demon emperor towering above mountains.
He couldn't tell them that the creature in Amanda's report had screamed in terror of Ether—his Ether—before it died.
He couldn't tell them that every moment in that dream felt like a memory he wasn't supposed to have.
So he walked forward.
Every time they encountered monsters, Ael was the first to move. The first to cut. The first to kill.
A herd of obsidian-armored boars?
Ael slaughtered seven before the others took down one.
[+20 exp x 10]
He felt a surge—heat rolling across his chest as the familiar sensation of leveling washed over him.
[Level Up: 3 → 4]
It wasn't enough.
Ael kept going, deeper into the volcanic labyrinth, deeper into the suffocating heat that clung to their skin like humidity turned hostile. The glow of magma illuminated his expression—a mixture of determination and something dangerously close to anger.
Another cluster of ten drakes.
Twenty more wolves.
Ten massive magma gorillas.
Ael tore through everything with relentless precision.
[+20 exp x 40]
He felt the second surge hit him harder—like fire bursting outward from his core.
[Level Up: 4 → 5]
But the satisfaction was fleeting.
The dream wasn't letting go.
The last moment—the spell the unknown woman cast, the cascade of Ether ripping through the world like a divine execution—haunted him. He didn't know what she was. Who she was. How she summoned such power.
He didn't understand why her hands felt like his own.
But he needed to reach that level. Whatever it took.
When the group finally reached a massive stone gate, carved with twisting magma veins that pulsed like a beating heart, Marcus finally called a halt.
"This is it. Boss chamber," he said, wiping sweat from his forehead. "Everyone regroup, heal, check your weapons."
The others pulled out potions, cloths, water.
Ael stood still, staring at the enormous sealed door.
The dream's whispers resurfaced.
"…Her power is returning…"
"…The Paragon awakens…"
"…Ether… the true enemy…"
He clenched his fists.
He would not be weak again.
"Hey," Marcus said, approaching him quietly. "You good?"
Ael nodded once. "Let's finish this."
The stone gate rumbled… then slowly began to open, scorching heat spilling out like a beast exhaling fire.
The boss awaited.
And Ael stepped forward without hesitation.