The air shifted the moment they crossed the threshold.
The familiar distortion of space rippled outward, and then gravity returned with a dull thud beneath Ael's boots. Heat washed over them in waves—not the suffocating pressure of a volcanic rift, but a charged warmth, as if the air itself carried static. The sky above was a bruised yellow-gray, clouds churning slowly in spiral formations, occasionally streaked by silver-white flashes of distant lightning.
Ael exhaled.
D-Rank.
This was different.
Not overwhelming, not yet—but heavy. The kind of pressure that pressed against the senses rather than the body. He could feel Ether responding to the environment, faintly vibrating within his core, as if recognizing something familiar.
"Formation check," Felicia commanded calmly.
She stood at the front, tall and composed, flame-red hair tied back tightly. Heat shimmered subtly around her, the sign of a seasoned fire awakener maintaining passive control. As the only C-Rank present, she carried authority without needing to raise her voice.
On her left was Bram, a shield-bearing defender with earth reinforcement. On her right, Nyx, a lean woman whose shadow affinity clung unnaturally close to her feet. Behind them moved Rook, twin daggers spinning casually between his fingers; Elira, a water-element caster already muttering range calculations; Calder, a wind manipulator scanning the skies; Miren, support and detection; and finally Ael, at the rear—not because he was weak, but because Felicia had insisted on watching how he moved.
"Hostile density appears high," Miren said quietly. "Movement signals across a wide radius."
Felicia nodded. "Good. That means we clear fast and clean. Ael—don't hold back. I want to see what Lyra's disciple can really do."
Ael didn't answer with words.
He stepped forward—and the Ether answered.
Silver light condensed along his forearm, elongating, shaping itself into a blade with clean, elegant lines. The sword hummed softly, its edge rippling as if reality bent slightly around it. Then, as an afterthought, he willed more Ether through the construct.
The blade ignited.
Not fire as the others knew it—no orange flicker or crimson flare—but silver flame. Fluid, quiet, impossibly hot. Ether-Fire, raw and refined, licking upward along the weapon without smoke or sound.
Several members stopped moving.
"…That's not fire," Elira whispered.
Felicia's eyes narrowed, interest sharpening. "No. It's worse."
The first monsters surged from the cracked stone ahead.
They resembled armored hounds, bodies plated with blackened hide veined in glowing lines, lightning arcing between their limbs as they ran. D-Rank Stormjaw Beasts. Fast. Aggressive. Resistant to conventional elements.
Perfect.
Ael moved.
He vanished from the rear of the formation, reappearing ahead of the charging pack. Ether reinforced his legs, propelling him forward just as the beasts howled.
The sword came down.
Silver fire cleaved through armored hide like parchment. One beast split cleanly in two, momentum carrying its corpse past Ael's shoulders.
[+200 EXP]
Another lunged—and Ael pivoted, dissipating the sword mid-motion as Ether reformed into a long spear. The change was seamless, instant. He thrust forward.
The spear punched through the creature's skull, Ether-Fire detonating outward in a contained burst.
[+200 EXP]
"Already two!" Rook barked, laughing as he leapt into combat himself.
The pack broke apart, surrounding them. Lightning spat from snapping jaws.
Ael raised a hand.
Etherbolt.
The air screamed.
A condensed lance of silver lightning erupted from his palm, piercing straight through a Stormjaw midway through its leap and continuing onward into another behind it. They convulsed once before collapsing in charred silence.
[+200 EXP × 2]
Not finished.
Three beasts converged at once.
Ael planted his foot—and released restraint.
Silver Tempest.
The Ether above them twisted violently, clouds spiraling downward as a localized storm formed in the space of a heartbeat. Arcs of silver lightning slammed repeatedly into the ground, tearing through flesh and stone alike. The beasts didn't even have time to scream.
When the light faded, nothing remained but scorched ground and residual Ether humming faintly in the air.
[+200 EXP × 3]
Ael exhaled slowly.
His core pulsed—not strained, not depleted. Controlled.
"Seven kills," Felicia murmured. "In under a minute."
"Damn…" Calder muttered. "He's a walking disaster."
They advanced deeper.
The terrain shifted constantly—cracked stone giving way to metallic growths that conducted lightning, spires acting like natural rods. Monsters grew denser. Larger.
A coordinated group of Thunderhulks emerged next—massive, gorilla-like beasts crackling with stored energy.
"Team, suppress!" Felicia ordered.
Wind, water, and shadow surged forward—but Ael was already moving.
He switched to spear again, Ether-Fire coating roaring brighter. He slid beneath a sweeping arm, drove the weapon upward, then detonated Ether through the shaft.
The Thunderhulk collapsed inward, its core imploding.
[+200 EXP]
Another roared—Felicia incinerated half its body with compressed flame, opening it wide.
Ael finished it with Etherbolt, the silver strike punching through exposed core matter.
[+200 EXP]
More poured in.
This time, he let Silver Tempest loose again—wider, controlled, overlapping bursts of Ether lightning tearing through clustered enemies while allies cleaned the survivors.
[+200 EXP × 6]
The system chimed softly in his awareness.
[Level Up: 5 → 6]
Ael barely registered it beyond the sensation—his Ether deepened, refined itself, execution becoming smoother, sharper.
"This guy is a monster…", you could hear the murmurs of the team on the background.
Ael was fighting both long range and close range at an insane pace.
They pushed on.
Another wave fell—then another.
Ael lost count of individual swings, only aware of the rhythm: spear for penetration, sword for sweeping cuts, Etherbolt for anything reckless enough to attack at range, Silver Tempest when numbers threatened to overwhelm.
[+200 EXP × 5]
[+200 EXP × 4]
[+200 EXP]
Felicia adjusted formation without panic, trusting Ael instinctively now. The team flowed around him like a living system.
EXP climbed relentlessly.
Core resonated again.
[Level Up: 6 → 7]
Not with explosive fanfare—but with certainty.
Ael felt it. The quiet confirmation that he was no longer catching up.
He was ahead.
They stopped at last before a massive stone gate, etched with glowing runes pulsing slowly in time with the dungeon's heart. Heat and pressure bled through the cracks.
Ael wiped silver flame from his blade as he dismissed it, Ether sinking back into him obediently.
Behind those doors—
Something waited.
Something strong.
And for the first time since his Awakening, instead of dread, Ael felt clarity.
Readiness.
"Status", he murmured to himself, afraid someone would hear him.
─────────────────
STATUS SCREEN
─────────────────
Name: Elyrion Vaelora
Race: ???
Ether Core Level: 7 (3230/6400)
Title: The Vessel
Class: Ether Paragon (Unique)
Class Skill: Ether Manipulation
─────────────────
Stats:
Strength : 28 -> 32
Agility : 28 -> 32
Vitality : 28 -> 32 [HP: 320 / 320]
Stamina : 28 -> 32
Intelligence : 32 -> 38 [Ether: 380 / 380]
─────────────────
Skills:
Ethereal Weaponry(A) - 13 -> 18%
Barrier(E*) - 10%
Sun of Oblivion(S) - 1%
Ether-Bolt(C) - 10%
Silver Tempest(B) - 15%
─────────────────
Unknown future.
Unanswered dreams.
But his hands were steady.
And this was only the beginning.