Raven had a lot of freedom thanks to recent events; most people were staying indoors, so the streets were nearly empty. That suited him just fine.
Moving at inhuman speed, he sprinted toward the next gate, barely a blur across the roads.
It's not like he had a mini map showing all of the gates, but he knew he was right in the direction he had chosen.
He could feel it.
Also, with gates appearing every few minutes across Russia alone, it didn't take long to find one.
This one looked slightly different.
A glowing mark hovered above it.
[F-Rank Dungeon]
"So they have ranks now," Raven mused.
'Or maybe it's due to the Divine eyes. Guess even gates count as objects.'
This rank seemed to align with the D-rank gate he'd just cleared, so this must be a much lower-tier one.
Without wasting time, he stepped inside, eager for the first clear bonus.
[Goblin– level 7 (F-Rank)]
[Goblin – Level 8 (F-Rank)]
[…]
Dozens of them. Far weaker than the Ogres from before.
Perfect.
Time to test out his new magic.
'Mmm... the description said I just have to imagine what I want…'
Raven focused, picturing a small flame flickering in mid-air.
A dark red fire appeared before him, pulsing with heat. The goblins immediately grew cautious, recognising the danger.
The flame wavered slightly. He wasn't used to it yet. But the potential was obvious.
Then, a wild idea struck him.
What if he skipped conjuring the flame entirely?
What if he simply imagined the goblins were already on fire?
Grinning, he gave it a shot.
Screams echoed instantly.
ARRRGHHH!!
A flame from literally nowhere formed around the monsters.
Goblin after goblin ignited in vicious fire. Their limbs thrashed, eyes bulging in pain as they roasted from the inside out. The flames weren't even visible, but the result was.
Burnt, blackened husks littered the floor within seconds.
The stench of charred goblin filled the cave.
'Urrggh,..'
Raven almost puked from a smell that was worse than rotting corpses of rat-infested sewers.
'Mental note: Next time, don't grill goblins.'
'Still, weakness was weakness. Whether it smelled foul or not, dead was dead.'
Even though it was obvious that this method massively decreased the effectiveness of his flame, the destruction it caused was still staggering.
These were level 10-ish mobs; far too weak for him now.
[You have slain a Goblin level 7 (F-Rank)] ×15
[You have slain a Goblin level 8 (F-Rank)] ×12
[You have slain a Goblin level 6 (F-Rank)] ×18
[You have levelled up]
{Name: Raven Dmitry}
Level: 50
EXP: 50 / 7500
[You have reached level 50]
[You have unlocked a skill slot and a random skill]
[Special achievement unlocked: First to reach level 50]
[Reward: Higher chance to unlock a better skill]
'I was wondering when I'd get another reward for being first, and it seems my patience and hard work have paid off.'
[…]
[You have received the skill Aether Manipulation (A-Rank)]
'So it's a passive that increases basically every aspect of my magic... Neat.'
'And it's A-Rank, not bad at all, this will come in handy, but let's clear this dungeon first.
The EXP gain was lower than before, each goblin only gave around 300, but the testing opportunity was worth it.
Then came the boss.
[You have slain the dungeon boss: Goblin Chief - Level 10 (F-Rank)]
[Dungeon Cleared]
[Reward: 1000 Gold, 1kg of Mana Stones]
'As expected, the rewards are tiny compared to that D-Rank dungeon from before.'
Checking his status window, he made a mental note. 'So it's 10000 of both gold and mana stones for a D-Rank dungeon, but only 1000 of each for an F-Rank.'
'These rewards aren't really worth it.'
'Huuuh, it's basically a waste of time considering I'll get one level from each dungeon.'
[Special Achievement Unlocked: First F-rank Dungeon]
[Reward: 3 levels and a D-rank Bronze Shield]
[You have levelled up] ×3
[Global Notification: First F-rank Dungeon has been cleared]
And just like that, he was already level 53.
…
The room was dim, silent except for the hum of the monitor displaying a document.
Although almost empty, it did have a title: Death.
A man in a dark coat stood at the head of the table, expression unreadable.
"Report," he said.
The agent beside him laid down a near-empty file. "Still no solid intel, sir. No name. No image. No confirmed abilities."
"Nothing?" the man asked, voice calm but sharp.
"Only scattered accounts. Some say he wore a mask. That he used both magic and a sword in the same breath. But most died without getting a good look."
The man's eyes lingered on the screen. "Death, huh…"
He folded his arms. "Halden, what are the odds he was part of the dungeon clears?"
"Speculative at best. But it would fit as no official team claimed responsibility."
"If it was him, he'd need to be part of a group… and not just any group. We are talking about a group that would have to have multiple rankers."
The silence between them stretched.
"How many other Rankers have we identified?" The man finally broke the tension.
"Just over ten, sir, but no one in the top ten as of yet."
"It's not that they're actively hiding, just that the only ones we can track this quickly are those willing to cooperate with us or other government agencies."
"Keep watching," the man said at last. "He's most likely with others, so that should narrow the search down a bit."
"Yes, sir."