The air in the gateway to the Fifth Floor didn't smell like ice or swamp; it smelled like ozone and pure, unfiltered power. Arthur stood at the threshold, his Shadow Monarch armor rippling like dark water. Behind him, the Frost Giant King and Igris stood like twin pillars of destruction.
[Ding!]
[Warning: High-Energy Mana Signatures detected at the Dungeon Entrance.]
[Identification: S-Rank Hunter 'Marcus the Titan' (USA), S-Rank Mage 'Ling' (China), and S-Rank Assassin 'Kael' (Europe).]
[Status: They have entered the Fourth Floor and are moving at supersonic speeds toward your location.]
Arthur leaned against the sapphire-ice wall, a cold smile playing on his lips. "The world's 'gods' have finally arrived to play. System, what are their levels compared to mine?"
[Calculating...]
[Average Level of the Pursuit Squad: 95.]
[Host Current Level: 100.]
"So I have the level advantage, but they have the experience of a hundred wars," Arthur mused. "But they don't have a 100x multiplier. They don't have an army that grows with every kill."
Suddenly, the ice ceiling above Arthur shattered.
BOOM!
A streak of silver light crashed into the floor, creating a crater fifty feet wide. As the dust settled, a man standing nearly seven feet tall emerged. He was Marcus, the top-ranked hunter from the United States. His body was covered in enchanted plate armor that glowed with a blinding white light.
"So, you're the one causing the Calamity Announcement," Marcus growled, his voice echoing like thunder. He didn't even look at the Shadow Soldiers; his eyes were fixed on Arthur. "You don't look like a monster. You look like a kid playing with powers he doesn't understand."
"Size and light don't equal power, Marcus," Arthur said calmly.
Before Marcus could respond, a feminine voice whispered from the shadows behind Arthur. "He's right, Marcus. Look at his shadows. Those aren't summons... those are souls."
A woman in flowing green robes appeared, floating inches off the ground. This was Ling, the legendary mage. And standing next to her, almost invisible against the ice, was Kael, the assassin whose blade had ended the lives of a dozen S-Rank monsters.
"Three S-Ranks for one F-Rank porter," Kael whispered, his twin daggers humming with a lethal frequency. "The Association is really scared of you, kid."
"I was an F-Rank when you people ignored me," Arthur said, his voice dropping an octave, becoming heavy with authority. "Now, I am the one you should fear. You talk about trespassing? You are trespassing in my kingdom."
Marcus laughed, a harsh, metallic sound. "Kingdom? This is a dungeon, and we are the cleaners. Die! Earth-Shattering Strike!"
Marcus leaped into the air, his massive hammer glowing with enough mana to level a city. He brought it down directly toward Arthur's head.
Arthur didn't move. He didn't even draw his dagger.
"Igris. Block him."
The Shadow Knight moved. In a flash of violet lightning, Igris met Marcus mid-air. The spectral sword clashed against the enchanted hammer. The resulting shockwave sent cracks through the entire Fortress of Eternal Frost. Marcus, the 'Titan' who had never been pushed back by a monster, was forced into a stalemate by a single shadow.
"What?!" Marcus gasped, his muscles bulging as he tried to overpower the knight. "This summon... it has the strength of an S-Rank!"
"And he's just the vanguard," Arthur said.
Ling, the mage, realized the danger. She began chanting in an ancient language, dozens of glowing magic circles appearing in the air around her. "Heavenly Rain of Fire!"
Thousands of spears made of white-hot mana rained down on Arthur. Arthur looked up, his violet eyes flashing. "Sovereign's Command: Void Shield."
Arthur raised the Command Staff. A dome of absolute darkness enveloped him and his soldiers. The fire spears hit the shield and were instantly absorbed, their mana fueling Arthur's own core.
[Ding! Passive Skill '100x Multiplier' has detected incoming mana.]
[Mana absorbed and multiplied! Host Mana Pool increased by 10%.]
Ling's face went pale. "He's... he's eating my spells!"
Kael, the assassin, saw his opening. He moved through the shadows, appearing directly behind Arthur's neck. "Goodbye, Monarch."
His daggers struck—but they didn't hit flesh. They hit the icy armor of the Frost Giant King, who had emerged from Arthur's shadow at the last millisecond. The King grabbed Kael with a massive frozen hand, squeezing with enough force to crush diamonds.
"Let go of him!" Marcus roared, finally breaking away from Igris and charging toward Arthur again.
Arthur sighed. "I was hoping for a challenge, but you're all still playing by the old rules. Let me show you the new ones."
Arthur took a step forward. He activated his full aura. The black electricity crackled, and the very ground of the Fourth Floor began to disintegrate.
"100x Multiplier... Monarch's Domain!"
The entire chamber was submerged in absolute darkness. The hunters couldn't see, couldn't hear, and most importantly, couldn't feel their own mana. They were trapped in a world where Arthur was the only god.
"In this space," Arthur's voice came from everywhere and nowhere. "Your ranks mean nothing. Your fame means nothing. Here, you are just more materials for my army."
One by one, the hunters felt the cold touch of shadow blades at their throats. They, the 'gods' of the human world, were completely helpless.
"Wait!" Ling screamed into the darkness. "We were sent by the Association! If you kill us, every country on Earth will declare war on you! You'll never be able to live a normal life again!"
The darkness receded slightly, revealing Arthur standing in front of them, his black dagger glowing with a faint, ominous light.
"A normal life?" Arthur laughed, and for the first time, there was a trace of the old, broken porter in his voice. "I lived a normal life. I was hungry, I was beaten, and I was left to die by people like you. I don't want a normal life anymore."
Arthur looked at the three hunters, his eyes cold and final. "I want to be the one who decides who lives and who dies. If the world wants war, I'll give them a war they can't win."
He raised his dagger. "But today, I'm feeling generous. I'll let you live. Go back to your Association. Tell them that the Fourth Floor is closed. And if anyone else enters without my permission... I won't just kill them. I'll make them serve me forever."
With a flick of his wrist, Arthur sent a blast of mana that threw all three S-Rank hunters back through the portal and toward the surface world.
He stood alone in the ruins of the frost courtyard. He was Level 100, a Shadow Monarch with an army of thousands, and he had just humiliated the strongest humans on the planet.
[Ding!]
[Quest 'The First Confrontation' Complete.]
[Reward: 100x Multiplier Activated!]
[You have received: 'Dragon's Blood Elixir' x100, 'Ancient Skill Tome' x100, 100,000,000 Gold!]
Arthur drank one of the elixirs, feeling his strength reach a level that the system couldn't even calculate anymore. He looked at the Fifth Floor portal, which was now glowing with a golden light.
"The real game begins now," Arthur whispered.
He stepped into the light, leaving the world behind and entering the realm where even gods feared to tread.