The three-star dungeon was cleared.
For a moment, there was only silence.
Then the system responded.
Light surged across Yuan Wu's body—thin at first, then swelling into a steady, luminous tide. It wrapped around him like a second skin, sinking into his flesh, his bones, his very core.
His aura tightened.
Condensed.
Refined.
Lv.16 → Lv.20.
The notification hovered in the air, cold and absolute.
More followed—lines of data cascading down like falling blades.
Drops scattered across the forest floor, shimmering faintly in the fading remnants of the boss's death.
For Yuan Wu, it was nothing.
For Fang Yuqing—
It was everything.
She stepped forward almost instinctively, her exhaustion momentarily forgotten. Her fingers moved quickly, efficiently, gathering each item as though afraid it might disappear if she hesitated.
"A Red Crystal… Mantis Heart… skill fragment…"
Her breathing grew uneven.
"Three thousand four hundred spirit stones…"
That number alone made her pause.
Three-star dungeon.
Solo clear.
Three runs in a single day.
This wasn't just efficiency anymore.
It was abnormal.
She let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding.
"We actually did it…"
Behind her, Yuan Wu said nothing.
He simply stood there, watching the space where the boss had been erased. His crimson eyes reflected nothing—no excitement, no pride.
Only calculation.
Only absence.
—
The teleportation circle activated beneath their feet.
Light swallowed them.
When it faded—
They were back at the academy's dungeon entrance.
The world felt… smaller.
For a fraction of a second, no one spoke.
Then the noise came back all at once.
"They're back—!"
"Wait… already?"
"Didn't they just go in?"
A ripple spread through the crowd.
Eyes turned.
Voices lowered.
"They cleared it…"
"Three-star… again?"
"That's impossible…"
Shock.
Doubt.
Envy.
All of it mixed together into something almost tangible.
Fang Yuqing felt it press against her skin—but this time, she didn't shrink from it.
Her grip on the loot tightened.
For the first time since entering the academy—
She felt ahead of everyone else.
—
Not far away, Lin Yue stood frozen.
Her gaze locked onto Yuan Wu.
White hair.
Calm posture.
That same indifferent expression.
The same one that had once stood before her—waiting.
Waiting for her choice.
Her throat tightened.
She looked down at the contract spirit beside her.
A skeletal general, its hollow eyes flickering faintly with borrowed energy.
Ten thousand spirit stones.
A debt she hadn't even begun to repay.
And still—
C-rank.
Her fingers trembled.
"They were supposed to be mine…"
The thought surfaced again, sharp and poisonous.
That UR spirit.
That overwhelming presence.
That future.
It had been within her reach.
And she had let it go.
"No…"
Her nails dug into her palm, hard enough to hurt.
Not "let go."
She had thrown it away.
"Lin Yue!"
A voice snapped her out of it.
She flinched, turning.
A senior student stood nearby, already looking annoyed.
"What are you staring at? Move."
His gaze swept over her—calculating, dismissive.
"If it weren't for your looks, I wouldn't even bother bringing a rookie like you."
For a moment—
Something ugly flickered in her eyes.
Disgust.
Hatred.
Then it vanished.
Replaced instantly by something soft. Sweet.
Compliant.
"Coming, senior~"
Her voice was light, almost playful.
As if nothing had ever been wrong.
—
For Yuan Wu and Fang Yuqing, the next few hours blurred together.
Enter.
Clear.
Kill.
Repeat.
The process became mechanical.
Predictable.
Efficient.
Fang Yuqing's spirit power was drained again and again, pushed past its limits, then forcibly restored with potions.
Each time, it hurt more.
Each time, she lasted a little less.
But she didn't stop.
She couldn't.
Because every run—
Was progress.
By the third clear, her vision was already starting to blur.
Her legs trembled when she tried to stand.
Yuan Wu didn't ask.
He simply picked her up.
Carried her back.
Dropped her onto the bed.
She didn't even protest.
Didn't have the strength.
"Yuan Wu…"
Her voice was faint, barely coherent.
"I'm… done…"
Her body sank into the mattress like something lifeless.
A moment later, she mumbled again—
"…don't… not there…"
Yuan Wu looked at her.
Silent.
Then reached out and pulled the blanket over her body.
Covering her.
Shielding her.
As if sealing something away.
—
Night settled.
Deep.
Heavy.
By the time the clock reached 4:00 AM—
The world had gone quiet.
Except for one place.
The training room.
Inside, the air pulsed faintly with movement.
Kagune unfolded.
Contracted.
Split.
Reformed.
Again.
And again.
Yuan Wu moved through the space without pause.
Each motion precise.
Each adjustment deliberate.
No wasted effort.
No hesitation.
His breathing remained steady.
Unchanging.
Time lost meaning.
Minutes stretched.
Hours dissolved.
The only thing that remained—
Was refinement.
Control.
Evolution.
Something inside him stirred.
Not violently.
Not suddenly.
But slowly.
Like a creature opening its eyes in the dark.
—
Then—
The sirens came.
Sharp.
Violent.
Tearing through the stillness like a blade.
Yuan Wu stopped.
Instantly.
The kagune dissolved behind him.
The broadcast followed.
"Attention—!"
"Abyss Dungeon outbreak detected in the southern district of Mofang City!"
"Alliance forces are insufficient—requesting immediate reinforcement!"
The voice repeated.
Faster each time.
More urgent.
More strained.
Yuan Wu listened.
His expression didn't change.
But something in his eyes shifted.
—
The door opened.
Fang Yuqing stumbled in, still half-asleep, hair disheveled, eyes unfocused.
"What… what's happening…"
Her voice was hoarse.
Unsteady.
Yuan Wu didn't turn.
"An abyss dungeon," he said.
Calm.
Too calm.
That word alone—
Was enough.
Fang Yuqing froze.
Her mind snapped awake.
"Abyss…?"
The sleep vanished from her face.
Replaced instantly by something else.
Fear.
Real fear.
"That's not like academy dungeons…"
Her voice dropped.
"Those things… kill people."
Not "can."
Kill.
Yuan Wu finally looked at her.
Studying her reaction.
Then—
He smiled.
Not wide.
Not warm.
Just a faint curve.
Cold.
Detached.
Almost… curious.
"Good."
The word fell lightly.
As if it meant nothing.
As if it meant everything.
He stepped past her.
Already moving.
"Let's go."
—
Outside, the world was no longer quiet.
Even at four in the morning—
The academy was alive.
Figures moved across rooftops.
Jumping.
Dashing.
Summoned spirits carrying their contractors through the night like shadows.
All heading in one direction.
The same direction.
The southern district.
Fang Yuqing followed closely behind.
Her heartbeat quickening with every step.
"Abyss dungeons…"
She whispered, almost to herself.
"They don't follow rules…"
"Monster count… can exceed a thousand…"
"Sometimes more…"
Her voice trembled slightly.
"Every time one appears… people die."
Yuan Wu glanced at her.
Then forward.
Toward the distant horizon.
Where—
A faint red glow had begun to rise.
Like a wound in the night.
His lips curved again.
Slightly deeper this time.
"Sounds efficient."
Fang Yuqing stopped for half a step.
"…What?"
But he was already moving.
Faster.
Ahead.
Toward the light.
Toward the unknown.
Toward the abyss.
—
And for the first time—
She realized something.
She hadn't summoned a protector.
She had summoned something else entirely.
Something that didn't fear the abyss.
Something that walked toward it.
Smiling.