The dungeon gate appeared three days after exams.
That alone was abnormal.
It rose from the academy's restricted lower grounds, a swirling blue-black oval carved with unfamiliar runes.
Rank limit etched in glowing text:
Recommended Rank: D–C
Lucien stared.
"…This dungeon doesn't exist yet."
Kael turned sharply.
"What?"
Lucien coughed.
"Uh—rumor."
Seraphine smiled thinly.
"You recognized it instantly."
Elarion looked nervous.
"Should we even enter?"
Lucien clapped his hands together.
"Party formation time."
PARTY ROLES (LUCIEN STYLE)
Kael: Frontliner / Burst DPS
Seraphine: Assassin / Finisher
Elarion: Support / Control
Bron: Tank / Structure Breaker
Lucien:
Strategist
Aggro manipulator
Blue Flame control
Emergency carry
Alden hesitated at the edge.
Lucien waved him over.
"Hero class unlocked. You're with us."
Alden swallowed—and nodded.
The moment they entered—
The world shifted.
Stone corridors. Cold air. Mana density doubled.
System notifications appeared faintly in Lucien's vision.
Dungeon Detected
EXP Gain Multiplier: x2.3
Lucien grinned.
"Nice. Bonus weekend."
FIRST ENCOUNTERS
Monsters emerged—
Bone Serpents, Rank D.
Kael moved first.
He did not use Crimson Sovereign Art.
Just raw strength.
Lucien flicked his fingers—
Blue Flame ignited, burning through the serpent's mana core, not its body.
The creature collapsed instantly.
EXP Gained: 1,200
Alden's eyes widened.
"It burned without… fire?"
Lucien winked.
"Mana combustion. Stylish edition."
EXP TRACKING (AFTER FLOOR 1)
Character
EXP
Lucien
6,800
Kael
7,200
Seraphine
6,400
Elarion
5,900
Bron
6,100
Alden
5,500
Lucien nodded.
Efficient clear. No injuries. No overuse.
Pressure plates. Mana arrows. Gravity traps.
Bron took point.
Lucien called commands like a raid leader.
"Kael—left pressure. Seraphine—ceiling. Elarion—wind lift."
They moved smoothly.
Too smoothly.
Kael glanced back mid-run.
"You planned this."
Lucien shrugged.
"Dungeon design patterns repeat."
Seraphine smirked.
"Otaku."
MINI-BOSS APPEARS
A Stone Warden awakened.
Rank C.
Lucien raised a finger.
"No Sovereign Art."
Kael growled—but obeyed.
The fight was brutal.
Lucien used Blue Flame sparingly—just enough to destabilize the core.
Alden delivered the final strike.
EXP Gained (Boss): 18,000
Bonus: Bond Combat +12%
Alden panted.
"I—I did it."
Lucien smiled proudly.
"First boss assist. Good job, protagonist."
END OF DUNGEON DAY 1
They camped inside a safe zone.
EXP tallies rose.
Lucien leaned back, hands behind his head.
At this pace…
Rank D consolidation in weeks.
Rank C entry before Chapter 70.
He stared at the dungeon ceiling.
"…And this dungeon wasn't supposed to open."
Kael cleaned his blade.
"Good," he said simply.
"Means we're ahead."
Lucien laughed.
"Or about to get wiped."
STATUS SCREEN — EXP BAR SYSTEM (CANON)
Lucien is the only one who sees EXP as a bar due to
Heir of Converging Fates + Goddess of Sight's Favor.
Others feel growth—but can't quantify it.
🧾 STATUS WINDOW — LUCIEN VALE
Copy code
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Name: Lucien Vale
Race: Human
Rank: D (Advanced Awakening)
Talent:
Heir of Converging Fates (S)
Affinity:
Blue Flame (Unclassified)
Ice (B) — Locked
Physique:
Arcane-Adaptive Body (A)
Bloodline:
Vale Bloodline — Dormant Sovereign Strain (B)
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
EXP: 32,450 / 100,000
[███████░░░░░░░░░░░░░]
32%
Active Bonuses:
• Bond Combat EXP +12%
• Dungeon Multiplier x2.3
• Fate Deviation Bonus +5%
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Lucien grins every time it appears.
"Yep. This is a grind-heavy patch."