Before Zael could respond—
A loud sound suddenly echoed throughout the entire dungeon.
BOOOOOOM!!
The sky above the ruins distorted violently as countless streams of light appeared overhead. The ground trembled faintly afterward while system notifications began appearing in front of every awakened present.
[Dungeon Duration Complete]
[Extraction Beginning]
[Returning Participants...]
Auralis groaned immediately.
"Damn."
She kicked a nearby piece of rubble irritably.
"We wasted so much time."
Lily looked at her flatly.
"You mean fighting people you tried to kill first?"
"They insulted me spiritually."
"That's not a thing."
Meanwhile Damien looked upward as the extraction light slowly began surrounding him.
"Well," he said with a grin, "that's my cue."
His gaze shifted back toward Zael afterward.
The playful look remained.
But there was genuine excitement there too.
"Be careful, Zael."
Then his grin widened slightly.
"And next time we meet…"
Golden energy flickered briefly around him.
"I'll win."
Zael smirked faintly.
"Yeah," he replied calmly. "Not happening."
Damien laughed loudly at that.
Then moments later—
His body dissolved into streams of light before disappearing completely, likely returning to wherever he originally entered the dungeon from.
One after another, the remaining awakeners also began disappearing as the extraction process accelerated.
Soon only Zael's group remained.
The familiar light slowly wrapped around Zael afterward as well.
But before completely disappearing—
He turned and looked back at the dungeon one last time.
Then smiled faintly.
Because he had gained a lot here.
Far more than expected.
Strength.
Levels.
A new bloodline.
New abilities.
But more importantly—
Information.
Now he knew something crucial.
Talents above mythical rank existed.
And apparently—
He wasn't unique.
That realization alone changed many things.
Though one thought suddenly made Zael pause slightly.
"…I forgot to ask what the actual ranks are called."
Auralis blinked.
"You're thinking about that now?"
Zael ignored her.
Because another thought had already surfaced in his mind.
A much deeper one.
Damien had awakened his talent naturally.
Which likely meant others did too.
But Zael's case was different.
Authority of Infinite Growth originally wasn't his.
It had been upgraded.
Evolved through Talent Bank.
That meant one thing.
Its current existence—
Was artificial.
Created.
Which naturally led to another question.
What exactly was Talent Bank?
For a long time, Zael had intentionally avoided thinking too deeply about it.
Because every time he did—
The implications became increasingly unsettling.
A talent capable of upgrading even mythical abilities beyond their original limits…
Something like that shouldn't exist normally.
And if it did—
Then where did it come from?
The extraction light swallowed him completely before the thought could continue further.
And moments later—
The dungeon disappeared behind him entirely.
The ruins fell silent after the final extraction completed.
The once chaotic battlefield was now empty. Broken structures littered the ground while faint traces of blood thunder lightning still flickered occasionally across the shattered terrain before fading away completely.
The Blood Thunder Dragon was gone.
The awakened were gone.
Even the system notifications had vanished.
Only silence remained.
Then—
Space distorted faintly near the center of the ruined battlefield.
A black-robed figure stepped out slowly.
His face remained hidden beneath the dark hood covering him completely, but the pressure surrounding him was suffocating. The moment he appeared, the surrounding mana in the dungeon seemed to grow unstable instinctively.
The man looked around at the devastation silently.
The destroyed battlefield.
The collapsed ruins.
The lingering traces of abyssal and draconic energy.
Then his gaze settled on the massive crater where the dragon had died.
A dangerous aura slowly leaked from his body afterward.
"That bastard…" he muttered coldly.
His voice carried clear killing intent now.
"He killed Azure and Crimson…"
The names lingered ominously in the silent ruins.
"And now the dragon is dead."
The man's hands slowly clenched beneath the robe.
For this entire operation, they had sacrificed enormous resources. The awakened massacre. The dungeon manipulation. The dragon evolution ritual.
Everything—
Gone.
Destroyed by a single person.
"What do I do now…" he muttered darkly.
For several moments, silence filled the ruins again.
Then suddenly—
The man laughed.
A low, sinister laugh.
His hidden face twisted beneath the hood as madness slowly crept into his voice.
"If I'm going to die…"
The pressure around him exploded outward violently.
"…I'll take you with me."
BOOOOM!!
The surrounding ruins shattered further under the surge of energy leaking from his body.
And for the briefest moment—
A faint system panel flickered beneath the black robe before disappearing again.
[Level: 150]
[Fourth Class Change — Mid Stage]
Then the figure vanished into darkness completely.