"The Silent Ascension"

Byran groaned, struggling to push himself up from the cold stone floor. His arms trembled beneath him, slick with blood, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He wasn't getting up. Not anytime soon.

I should have felt some kind of satisfaction. After all the years of torment, of him using me as a punching bag, throwing insults like daggers at my back, I had finally beaten him. But there was no victory in this. I had won, but it didn't change anything.

I wasn't here for Byran.

A soft pulse from the golden crystal at my waist pulled me from my thoughts.

---

[Threat Neutralized]

Health Restored: +5

Experience Gained: +30

---

That word again. Experience.

The system had been awarding it every time I fought, but what did it actually mean? Was it just a measure of progress? Or was it something deeper? Every time I gained experience, I felt… different. My body adapted, my reflexes sharpened. Was the system changing me?

I exhaled slowly, forcing myself to focus. I couldn't afford to get lost in my own thoughts right now. There was something more important demanding my attention.

A cold, uneasy feeling curled in my stomach as I remembered something the system had warned me about before.

Anomalies.

The Shadow Stalker, the beast that had nearly killed me, had done something unnatural before it died. It had started to regenerate. I had barely noticed in the moment, too focused on survival to question it. But when I killed it, the system had issued a warning.

---

[System Alert: Anomaly Not Resolved]

---

I had dismissed it at the time, thinking it was just a message about the monster itself. But now, staring at Byran's broken form, another notification flashed across my vision.

---

[System Priority Alert]

Active Anomaly Detected

Location: Deeper within the Dungeon

Threat Level: Unknown

---

A chill ran down my spine. The anomaly wasn't gone.

I clenched my fists. I had almost forgotten in the chaos of the past day—the cryptic warnings, the strange behaviors of the Dungeon creatures, the shifting environment. Something unnatural was happening in this place, and the system wanted me to find out what.

The golden crystal pulsed again, almost as if confirming my thoughts.

My eyes flickered back to Byran. He was still breathing, though barely. His head hung low, and his body twitched as he tried—and failed—to move.

I took a step toward him. What do I do with him?

I could finish it now. It would be easy. He had tried to kill me. He would try again. Leaving him alive was an open invitation for future trouble.

But as I stood over him, blade in hand, I hesitated.

Would I really be any different from him if I ended his life here? If I gave into his idea of power?

I had already changed so much since stepping into this Dungeon. The system had made me stronger, but had it made me colder, too?

I exhaled through my nose.

No.

This was the Dungeon's territory, not mine. If Byran wanted to crawl his way back out, he could. If he wanted to die here, that was his choice. But I wasn't going to do it for him.

I stepped back. "Stay here and lick your wounds," I muttered. "Or crawl back to the surface. I don't care."

Byran lifted his head slightly, bloodshot eyes glaring at me through the pain. "You think this is over?" he rasped.

I didn't answer. Because it wasn't about him anymore.

The system was calling me deeper.

---

I turned away, my boots echoing in the silence as I moved toward the next set of tunnels. The moment I stepped beyond the chamber, a new notification appeared.

---

[New Quest: Anomaly Hunt]

Objective: Investigate and eliminate the anomaly within the Dungeon.

Rewards: ???

---

A quest. The system had never given me one before.

That made my stomach tighten. It meant one of two things: Either I had finally progressed far enough for the system to start guiding me actively, or whatever lay ahead was dangerous enough that I needed the guidance.

Neither option was comforting.

I moved cautiously, my grip tightening on my knife. The blue crystals lining the walls began to thin the further I went, their glow dimming. It was as if even the Dungeon itself was warning me away.

The air grew thicker, charged with something I couldn't quite explain. Every step felt heavier, every breath slower.

And then I saw it.

A deep crack in the stone floor, jagged and unnatural, pulsing with a faint red glow. The light wasn't coming from the usual Dungeon crystals—it was something else. Something wrong.

My stomach twisted.

Is this what the system meant by "anomaly"?

I knelt beside the crack, examining it closely. The glow flickered erratically, like a dying ember, and I swore I could feel a faint pull from within it. It was subtle, but the closer I leaned, the more I felt the energy pressing against my skin.

I reached out instinctively, my fingers hovering inches above the glow.

The golden crystal flared violently at my waist.

A new warning appeared, flashing across my vision.

---

[WARNING: ANOMALY INTERFERENCE DETECTED]

System Integrity at Risk. Proceed with Caution.

---

My breath caught. The system had never warned me like this before.

I drew my hand back quickly, my heart pounding. This wasn't just some odd monster.

This was something bigger.

And the system was afraid of it.

I swallowed hard, my fingers tightening around my blade. I had a choice to make.

I could turn back, pretend I never saw this, go back to the safety of the Nexus and rest.

Or—I could go deeper, follow the path the system was leading me down, and find out what was really happening in this Dungeon.

I already knew the answer.

I stood, squared my shoulders, and took a deep breath.

Then I stepped forward.

Toward the anomaly.