The massive Golden-Void Gate of the Sixth Floor pulsated like a dying star, emitting a low, rhythmic thrum that vibrated through Kaito's marrow. This was the final threshold-the boundary between a talented student and a legend. Behind him, the icy caverns of the fifth floor were silent. Before him lay a realm that had remained unreached for decades.
Kaito took a deep, steadying breath, his Intelligence (570) working at a fever pitch to suppress the instinctual terror rising in his gut. He checked his status one last time.
[Status: Kaito Yamada - Level 24 (C-Rank Peak)]
[Mana: 2,400 / 2,400 (Overcharge Potential: 2,880)]
[Active Gear: Ring of Eternal Mana / Star Rank 3 Vanguard Tunic]
"Luna," Kaito whispered, his voice cracking slightly. "This is it. If we win this, we change everything."
The Celestial Fox let out a melodic, high-pitched chime. Her silver fur wasn't just glowing now; it was shedding wisps of blue flame, her tails fanning out into five ethereal plumes of starlight. She was at the Silver-Rank Peak, vibrating with the need to evolve once more.
Kaito pushed the gates. They didn't resist. They dissolved into particles of gold and shadow, pulling him into a localized dimension.
[System Notification: Final Floor Entered — The Abyssal Throne]
[Boss Encounter: Calamity Behemoth (Level 40 - Gold Rank Peak)]
The arena was a floating disc of white marble suspended in a sea of swirling black gravity. At the center sat a mountain of obsidian flesh and golden armor. The Calamity Behemoth stood twenty feet tall, its head adorned with three curved horns that crackled with black lightning. Its six eyes opened simultaneously, glowing with the baleful light of an ancient predator.
[Warning: Absolute Power Gap Detected. Probability of Survival: 12%]
"Twelve percent?" Kaito spat, a manic grin spreading across his face. "The system clearly doesn't know how much I've invested in Agility."
The Behemoth didn't roar. It simply raised a clawed hand, and the very space around Kaito imploded.
"Dimensional Blink++!"
Kaito reappeared fifty feet in the air, but the Behemoth was already moving. For a creature of its size, its speed was a paradox. It lunged, a trail of black lightning following its wake.
"Luna! Celestial Shield++: Max Output!"
The blue dome erupted, but the Behemoth's fist shattered it like glass. The feedback sent Luna tumbling across the marble, her light flickering. Kaito felt a surge of rage. He plummeted downward, his sword coated in the most intense Shadow-Flame he had ever conjured.
"Shadow Cloak: Void Strike!"
He struck the Behemoth's shoulder. The blade sank deep, devouring the creature's golden mana. The Behemoth finally roared—a sound that shattered the marble beneath their feet. It swiped at Kaito, a blow that would have turned him into a red mist, but Kaito used the Ring of Eternal Mana to fuel a double-blink, appearing beneath the beast's belly.
"Starfall++!"
Luna, recovering with terrifying speed, unleashed the heavens. Shards of white-hot starlight rained down, pinning the Behemoth to the ground.
[Behemoth HP: 65/100]
[Mana Remaining: 1,100 / 2,400]
The battle turned into a dance of attrition. Kaito was a fly buzzing around a god, his Agility (460) allowing him to survive by millimeters. He was bleeding from a dozen shallow cuts, his tunic shredded, but his eyes were locked on the beast's core—a pulsating violet orb embedded in its throat.
"I need one opening," Kaito gasped, his lungs burning from the thin, ozone-heavy air.
The Behemoth gathered energy in its horns, preparing a Calamity Breath—an attack that would wipe the entire arena. This was it. The high-risk, high-reward moment.
"Luna! Use the Egg's Resonance!"
The Unidentified Egg in Kaito's bag suddenly flared with a crimson, gluttonous light. For a split second, it acted as a mana-vacuum, pulling the Behemoth's charging energy toward Kaito's bag. The beast's attack sputtered, its timing ruined.
Kaito didn't hesitate. He funneled every remaining drop of Mana into his sword.
"Final Strike: Dimensional Rupture!"
He moved so fast he left a silhouette of fire behind. He drove the blade through the violet orb in the Behemoth's throat. The world went white. An explosion of pure energy threw Kaito backward, his vision fading as the system notifications screamed in his mind.
[Calamity Behemoth Slain!]
[XP Gained: 200,000 (10x Boost Applied)]
[Level Up! Level Up! Level Up! ...]
[Kaito Yamada: Level 30 (B-Rank Initial)]
[Reward: Star Rank 5 Weapon — 'Void-Slayer Katana']
[Reward: Unique Title — 'The First Challenger']
Kaito felt the cold stone of the Rift exit beneath his cheek. His body felt like it had been put through a meat grinder, but his Mana core was thrumming with a new, terrifying density. He had reached Level 30. He was a B-Rank Hunter at eighteen years old.
He tried to push himself up, but his arms gave out. "Luna... you okay?"
A soft nuzzle against his hand confirmed the fox was alive, though exhausted.
Suddenly, the air in the hallway changed. The smell of ozone was replaced by the scent of expensive sandalwood and... blood? A pair of polished black leather boots stopped inches from Kaito's nose.
"So," a voice said—cool, melodic, and terrifyingly sharp. "This is the 'disaster' Haruto was talking about."
Kaito forced his head up. Standing over him was a woman who looked like she had stepped out of a war goddess's dream. Her crimson hair was a vibrant flame against her white instructor's coat. Her emerald eyes weren't looking at him with pity; they were dissecting him, analyzing his mana flow, his injuries, and the way he gripped his broken sword.
This was Instructor Seraphina.
"You're... the new teacher?" Kaito wheezed, trying to offer a defiant smirk despite the blood on his lip.
Seraphina knelt, her A-Rank aura flaring just enough to make Kaito's hair stand on end. She reached out, her gloved hand grabbing his chin and forcing him to look at her.
"I am the woman who is going to make you wish you had stayed on the First Floor," she said, her lips curling into a predatory, beautiful smile. "You cleared the 6th Floor, Kaito Yamada. That makes you a target for every assassin in the Eclipse Order. And currently? You fight like a panicked rabbit with a lucky foot."
Kaito felt a spark of annoyance. "A rabbit... that just killed a Gold-Rank Behemoth."
Seraphina's eyes flashed. She moved with a speed that made Kaito's Level 30 Agility look like a joke. In a heartbeat, she had her silver rapier at his throat.
"Luck is a finite resource, brat. Raw power without discipline is just a loud way to die." She sheathed the blade in a blur. "Stand up. If you can't walk to the infirmary on your own, I'm failing you before the first lesson."
Kaito gritted his teeth, his Endurance (401) screaming as he forced his battered body to stand. He leaned heavily on his sword, but he stood. He looked Seraphina dead in the eye, refusing to flinch.
Seraphina's emerald eyes softened by a fraction of a percent. He has spirit, she thought. Dangerous, unrefined, SSS-Rank spirit.
"Good," she said, turning her back to him, her red ponytail whipping through the air. "Follow me. Your life as a student is over. From tomorrow, you are a soldier in training. And Kaito?"
She looked back over her shoulder, the moonlight from the hallway windows catching her sharp features.
"Don't expect me to be gentle. I don't like losing my partners to the void."
Kaito watched her walk away, his heart thumping—partly from the injuries, and partly from the sheer, overwhelming presence of the woman who now held his future in her hands.
In his bag, the Unidentified Egg pulsed a deep, satisfied red. It had tasted the Behemoth's soul. It was growing. And soon, it wouldn't be the only thing evolving.
Kaito Yamada
Level: 30 (Rank: B-Initial)
New Stats (Level 30 Scaling):
Strength: 680 (+170)
Agility: 650 (+190)
Intelligence: 740 (+170)
Endurance: 550 (+149)
HP / Mana: 4,800 / 3,200
New Title: 'The First Challenger' (Effect: +10% Damage against Rift Guardians).
New Weapon: Void-Slayer Katana (Star Rank 5) — Currently Sealed.
Celestial Fox (Luna)
Level: 20
Rank: Silver (Peak) — Ready for Gold Evolution.
The Unidentified Egg
Synchronization: 15%
Condition: Dormant (Processing Behemoth Soul).