"Try to keep up."
One of Bao's men laughed as the others joined in. Haru said nothing.
The moment they stepped inside the Rift, the atmosphere pressed heavily against him. Thick. Suffocating. He closed his eyes briefly. Memories surged back—
Running recklessly into countless Rifts before. Searching. Bleeding. Failing.
Then— Heavy footsteps. Fast. Approaching. Haru opened his eyes. Orcs.
Red-skinned. Massive. Bone blades protruding from their elbows. Bottom fangs jutted upward from snarling mouths. Some carried crude weapons. Others needed none.
Oddly— Haru looked calm.
Too calm for an ordinary human.
"…Orcs," he thought.
Bao's guild charged immediately.
Steel clashed. Roars echoed.
Bodies dropped one after another as they carved through the first wave.
Then something flew toward Haru.
He fumbled awkwardly and caught it against his chest. A sword.
"Here, brat," Bao shouted while fighting.
Haru stared at the weapon, unsure how to even hold it properly. "Thank—" Bao was already gone. "…you." The word escaped quietly.
The battle pushed deeper. Orcs died.
More appeared. Haru could do nothing except follow behind the group, clutching the sword tightly.
Then—
The shadows shifted. Time slowed.
Haru's head turned instinctively. An orc.
Larger than the others. Its fist was already inches from him. No time to react.
BOOM.
His body blasted into the wall violently.
Stone cracked. The moment the last orc in front of Bao's team fell, everyone turned toward the impact. Silence.
Then— THUD.
Heavy footsteps echoed from deeper within the Rift. Several massive orcs emerged from the darkness. More muscular. More savage.
More dangerous. "What the hell…?" one of Bao's men muttered. "Oi… the porter," another said nervously. "Is he dead?"
Bao's gaze locked onto Haru.
Somehow— Still alive.
Blood streamed down Haru's forehead. His breathing came out ragged and uneven. The impact had likely broken several ribs.
The orc near him slowly turned its head toward him.
"Tch."
Bao stepped forward to help—
Then another figure burst from the shadows.
A monstrous punch slammed into Bao.
He barely blocked with both forearms before getting launched backward.
The rest of the team had no choice but to engage. But now— They were the ones struggling.
The orc near Haru attacked.
This time— Haru saw it coming.
He rolled aside desperately, fingers grasping for the fallen sword. Unsheathing it awkwardly, he forced himself upright and faced the monster. Pain screamed through his ribs. The air felt crushingly heavy.
Even so— He wasn't afraid.
The sword trembled in his hands as he raised it. "It hurts…" he thought, gripping tighter. Blood spilled from his mouth.
"It really hurts… but…"
He steadied his breathing.
"…I want to. I need to survive."
The orc charged.
Haru focused desperately, trying to counter the incoming punch. CLANG.
His blade collided against the attack—
—but the difference in strength was overwhelming. His body barely dodged in time. Pain shot violently through his trembling arms. Before he could recover—
Another fist was already inches from his face. He dropped to the ground at the last possible second, rolling through dirt and blood. The orc's arm slammed into stone and lodged briefly.
Haru tried to stand— but his body shook violently. More blood spilled from his lips.
A body hit the ground nearby.
One of Bao's men. Dead.
The distraction caused another death. Bao roared, activating Brute Force, his body swelling with enhanced strength and durability as he fought one of the massive orcs head-on. C-rank Rift…?
His eyes narrowed.
"Why do these things feel like a C-rank boss?!" He dodged another attack—
Then saw Haru. Broken. Bleeding.
Still trying to stand. Bao hurled his chain mace. The weapon wrapped around the orc attacking Haru and yanked violently, dragging the creature straight into another charging orc. But the monster Bao was fighting punched him backward again.
"Boss, let's run!!" one of his remaining men shouted while desperately holding his ground. "We're all gonna die here!"
"Damn it… fine!" Bao snarled.
"Everyone! Move!! We're leaving the dungeon NOW!!"
They rushed toward the exit.
They were trapped between the boss room and the entrance.
One more man died trying to escape.
Bao grabbed Haru roughly like baggage and kept running. Then— Near the exit—
More orcs emerged from the shadows.
Blocking the path completely. The group stopped cold. "…Shit," Bao hissed.
"Leave him." Bao looked toward his last surviving subordinate. "Make the brat bait."
Haru's eyes widened. "…Bait?"
The word echoed inside his skull. The two men exchanged glances. Then moved.
They charged through the orcs— and Bao threw Haru into the air. The monsters immediately turned toward him.
One of the orcs grabbed Haru by the leg—
and hurled him deeper into the dungeon.
He slammed hard across the ground.
Dazed, barely conscious— Haru lifted his head just enough to see it. Bao.
And the last surviving guild member.
Escaping the Rift. Leaving him behind.
"…Yue…"
The name escaped Haru weakly.
The orcs closed in around him. Weapons raised. Killing intent pressing from every direction.
Then— Thump.
A heartbeat echoed through the dungeon.
Everything slowed. Another beat.
His vision dimmed. Another.
Darkness spread through his veins like ink flooding water. Quinacity— Born. Weak.
Unstable. Violent.
BOOM—
The orcs smashed the ground where Haru had been lying moments earlier.
Smoke exploded outward.
The monsters froze. Slowly—
Their heads turned deeper into the dungeon.
Outside the Rift—
Bao and his last surviving subordinate staggered away from the entrance, breathing heavily.
"What happened in there?!" one of the observing officers shouted in disbelief.
"Call higher ranks," Bao growled. "B-ranks. Maybe even A-ranks."
"Sir, tell us what happened insi—"
The officer choked mid-sentence as Bao grabbed him by the neck.
"I LOST MEN because of your wrong measurements!!"
The nearby officers rushed to calm him down. At that moment, four passing aberrants noticed the commotion and approached.
"Hello. I'm Xhou Jing from Nilon Guild."
An A-rank Archwarden.
The officers turned toward him immediately.
"There's something wrong inside th—"
"A fucking C-rank Rift feels like B-rank or worse," Bao interrupted furiously. "My men died in there."
The expressions of the four aberrants darkened. "Did the measuring device malfunction?" Xhou asked.
"No, sir," an officer answered nervously. "The readings were normal."
"What if the Rift itself is changing?" a woman suggested. Yao Yao — A-rank Archblade. Beside her stood Jeng Gao, an A-rank Archrange with a bow across his back, and Yang Liu, an A-rank Archweaver.
"Will you allow us to investigate?" Xhou asked. The officer nodded immediately.
The four stepped toward the Rift—
CRACK.
Dark lightning exploded from the entrance.
Xhou was blasted backward. Everyone froze. "…Huh?" Yang muttered.
Xhou pushed himself back up, stunned.
Yao Yao carefully reached toward the Rift—
The same force rejected her instantly.
"A barrier?" she asked. Yang narrowed her eyes. "No…there's no barrier. it's the Rift itself is denying entry." Silence fell.
Even Bao stared. Uneasy.
Inside the dungeon—
Silence—
The smoke slowly cleared.
Haru was gone from where he was lying earlier.
Far deeper in the corridor— A figure stood motionless. Haru. Eyes closed.
The orcs roared and charged.
The first attack came fast— Haru moved.
Effortlessly. He dodged the strike and landed atop the orc's arm before ripping it off completely. The monster screamed.
Haru kicked the body aside and landed smoothly, grabbing the bone blade protruding from the severed arm.
More attacks rushed him. He avoided them all. His movements weren't stable—
But they were inhumanly precise.
Like a body moving without thought.
Without fear.
One slash. An orc's head rolled.
Another attacked with a sword— Haru blocked instantly. A third came from the side with a crushing punch. He kicked the swordsman backward, twisting his body midair to evade the punch, then severed the attacker's arm and head in one motion.
Faster and faster. The corridor became a blur of movement. More high orcs coming. His arms, legs, and blade flowed together seamlessly. Counter. Dodge. Kill.
The last orc charging at him stopped suddenly. Confused. Haru was infront of it second ago and then he was already behind it. The monster turned— Its body split vertically in half. Blood crashed onto the stone floor.
Haru continued walking through the army of corpse deeper into the dungeon. Eyes still closed.
Inside the boss room.
The massive doors creaked open.
Haru stepped inside holding a real sword now. A single creature waited for him.
An enormous orc three times larger than the others. Horns curved from its skull.
A massive sword rested in its grip.
It looked closer to a demon than an orc.
Both began walking forward. Closer...
Closer— Then both vanished simultaneously.
CLANG!!
Their blades collided violently, sparks erupting across the chamber.
The Devil Orc swung again from the side—
Haru narrowly jumped over it. A fist followed instantly. The moment the punch passed—
The Devil Orc's arm split apart.
The monster roared in pain.
Enraged. Its attacks became faster.
More brutal. Sword. Kicks.
The chamber shattered around them as both figures tore through the battlefield at impossible speed.
Then—
SLASH.
The Devil Orc's arm fell. Severed completely off. Still roaring, the creature charged recklessly, mouth opening unnaturally wide as if to devour Haru whole while it's right arm hangs on it's shoulder like a noodle due to being split apart,
Haru stopped moving. Waiting.
At the last second— He leapt upward, nearly reaching the ceiling. Both hands tightened around the sword.
"…Open."
Dark aura erupted from the blade.
The Devil Orc launched upward toward him.
Mouth wide open.
And the moment they crossed paths—
"Voidreign."
The slash descended. Silence.
Then— The monster split apart. The chamber split apart. The dungeon split apart. A colossal line of destruction tore through the Rift itself and burst outside into the real world. The ground outside exploded open. Trees splits instantly. A vehicle was sliced cleanly in half. Dark lightning crackled along the fading trail of the attack.
Xhou barely survived. Yao Yao's sense kicked in and immediately shoved him away at the last second. Everyone outside stood frozen. Speechless.
Then—
A figure emerged slowly from the Rift.
Haru. Eyes still closed. Sword in hand.
Every gaze locked onto him. Bao. The officers. The Nilon Guild members.
Shock covered every face.
Haru took one final step.
Thud—
He collapsed.