The golden text hung in the air like a divine proclamation, pulsing with an urgency that made Zeph's heart race.
His fingers moved without conscious thought, mentally commanding the System to expand the notification.
[SYSTEM EVENT: DUNGEON BREAK - RANK E]
[Location: Seattle Ruins - Sector 7 (Industrial District)]
[Status: ACTIVE - Portal Destabilization: 73% and Rising]
[Estimated Monster Emergence: 1 Hour]
[Threat Level: Regional Emergency]
[EVENT DESCRIPTION:]
An E-Rank dungeon has destabilized and is preparing to breach containment. Without intervention, the portal will achieve full stabilization and begin releasing monsters into the surrounding area.
Historical data suggests E-Rank breaks produce 200-500 hostile entities of varying threat levels over a 72-hour period.
[PARTICIPATION INCENTIVES:]
- Base Reward: 1000 EXP + 5,000 SP (All Participants)
- Performance Bonuses: 500-15,000 EXP and SP based on contribution
- Achievement Rewards: Various unique titles and skills
- Salvage Rights: All participants retain looting rights for defeated monsters
- Emergency Access: Temporary suspension of normal dungeon entry restrictions
[PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS:]
- Awakened Status (Level 1+)
- Physical presence within 10km of breach site
- Registration with System Event Coordinator (Automatic upon arrival)
[WARNING: E-Rank threats are designed for awakened level 11-20. Lower-level participants engage at own risk.]
Zeph stared at the display, his analytical mind racing through implications while his enhanced hearing tracked the subtle sounds of the ruins beginning to stir.
Even at this distance, he could detect increased activity; faint rumblings in the distance, movement patterns changing, the general restlessness that preceded major events.
'A dungeon break,' he thought, the concept both terrifying and exhilarating. 'An actual, honest-to-god System event with rewards that could jumpstart my progression by months.'
But the warning was clear enough to give him pause. E-Rank threats were designed for awakened between levels 11-20. The ranking system was straightforward and brutal in its clarity:
F-Rank: Levels 1-10
E-Rank: Levels 11-20
D-Rank: Levels 21-30
C-Rank: Levels 31-40
B-Rank: Levels 41-50
A-Rank: Levels 51-60
S-Rank: Levels 61+
At level 1, Zeph was barely qualified for F-Rank content.
An E-Rank dungeon break was designed to challenge awakened who had ten to twenty levels on him, meaning they possessed 50-100 additional attribute points spread across their stats.
And that was without considering enhancements due to skills or techniques.
'A basic level 5 awakened with balanced development would have 25 attribute points distributed,' he calculated grimly.
'Probably sitting around 8-9 in each stat, with specialization pushing their primary attributes to 12-15. They'd have at least 300 MP, more than double or triple my stamina, and a few skills at E or D rank.'
The math was sobering. In a straight fight, he wouldn't last thirty seconds against a level 5 opponent, let alone the level 15-20 awakened this event was designed to challenge.
But the rewards…
Base participation alone offered 1,000 EXP and 5,000 SP. The experience would push him halfway to level 4, while the SP represented nearly a month of PP generation for normal awakened. Performance bonuses could multiply those rewards several times over.
More importantly, the achievement system offered "various unique titles and skills."
Zeph wouldn't lie that the appeal of powerful skills and titles with unique effects was alluring to him.
'Risk versus reward,' he thought, weighing the possibilities. 'High chance of death against potential game-changing advancement.'
The strategic considerations were complex. This region of the ruins wasn't exactly packed with high-level awakened.
Most competent fighters either joined a sanctuary for better job options or migrated to more profitable hunting grounds.
The locals were primarily scavengers waiting for their awakening, failed awakened who'd lost their System connection, or criminals hiding from sanctuary authorities.
But "most" wasn't "all."
'The gangs definitely have muscle,' he reasoned, his enhanced hearing picking up distant engine sounds that suggested increased vehicle movement throughout the ruins.
'Not everyone wants the ordered life of sanctuary civilization. Some awakened prefer the wild lands specifically because there are fewer rules and more opportunities for… creative problem-solving.'
The major criminal organizations would have awakened enforcers, probably E-Rank forces with a few D-Rank leaders.
They'd be the first to respond to an event like this, seeing it as both threat and opportunity. If monsters overran their territory, it was bad for business. But if they could claim salvage rights and System rewards while eliminating a threat…
That gave him an idea.
A brilliant, probably suicidal, definitely characteristic idea that he wasn't quite ready to articulate even to himself.
'I need to be there,' he decided, the conviction settling in his chest like cold iron. 'Whatever the risks, the potential rewards are too valuable to ignore.'
But first, he had a practical problem to solve.
The industrial district was roughly eight kilometers southeast of his position. On foot, through ruins filled with obstacles and hostile creatures, that represented at least two hours of hard travel.
By the time he arrived, the initial chaos would be over and the best opportunities claimed by faster-moving competitors.
'I need wheels.'
His enhanced hearing was already tracking engine sounds from multiple directions throughout the ruins. Various groups were mobilizing, and they weren't planning to walk to the party.
Zeph moved through his base with practiced efficiency, gathering everything he might need for an extended operation.
Phantom went into its back sheath, the familiar weight settling comfortably across his shoulders. The tactical enhancement glasses found their place on his face, immediately improving his vision in the pre-dawn darkness.
His loot from Chen and Buster went into various pockets—cash, mana pills, and the locked storage ring.
The twelve crude mana restoration pills alone represented his primary insurance policy against resource exhaustion, while the two thousand in cash might be useful for emergency purchases or bribes.
Food and water for three days, basic medical supplies, backup weapons, emergency shelter materials. Everything a professional scavenger needed for operations in hostile territory.
As he worked, his enhanced hearing continued tracking the increasing activity throughout the ruins.
Multiple engine signatures, suggesting motorcycles, modified cars, and possibly larger vehicles. The gang response was mobilizing faster than he'd anticipated.
'Which means I'm already behind schedule.'
The nearest source of transportation was probably the Scavenger's Market, a semi-permanent trading post about two kilometers north of his position.
Various groups maintained vehicles there for supply runs and emergency evacuations. Most would be locked or guarded, but desperate times called for creative solutions.
Alternatively, he could try to intercept one of the vehicles he was hearing. Riskier, but potentially faster if he could find an isolated target.
'Theft it is,' he decided, the moral implications barely registering against the potential rewards. 'Survival trumps property rights.'
His PP counter read 23,847 and climbing with every breath. Combined with an opportunity to earn System rewards that could reshape his entire development trajectory.
The risks were enormous. E-Rank monsters could kill him with a casual swipe, and he'd be operating in territory controlled by awakened gangs that might not appreciate freelancers muscling in on their operation.
But the potential rewards justified almost any risk.
Zeph adjusted his gear one final time, checked his weapon accessibility, and stepped out into the pre-dawn darkness.
Time to acquire transportation and crash a dungeon break.
And if he was very lucky, very smart, and very careful, he might just survive long enough to collect the biggest payday of his short awakened career.
The industrial district awaited, and with it, opportunity disguised as certain death.