I nervously sat there, shifting uncomfortably under the gazes of all 5 Enigma members. I could feel Tessa's eyes boring in the back of my head as well, but I didn't dare turn around. Celine, to her credit, seemed more composed than I felt. She looked calm and collected, more than ready to accept the challenge that lay ahead.

"Avarice, do you have anything to say before we proceed?" Gigi turned to my sister next to her. Aurora simply shook her head, still with that stoic expression of hers.

"Very well," Ophelia took charge. "Please stand."

Celine and I rose to our feet as a circular white rune blossomed on the surface of the table. The others at the table watched us intently, their expressions a mix of curiosity and anticipation. Ophelia took a step forward and placed her hand on the rune, muttering words in a language I didn't recognize. There was a flash of light, and a surge of energy rushed through my body as the rune began to glow brightly.

"By way of the insignia rune bestowed by the leader of Enigma, the present members before you two are witness to your pledging," Ophelia finished, removing her hand from the rune. The glow faded, and the rune winked out of existence. "From this moment on, you are officially part of our organization. Congratulations."

I breathed a sigh of relief as I sat back down. The induction ceremony was over. Now came the hard part: proving ourselves to the others. I glanced over at Celine. She met my gaze, her expression unreadable.

"So, Luquier," Ophelia began, her voice cool and calculating, "what do you hope to achieve in Enigma?"

Fuck. I was kind of expecting that question, but I wasn't completely prepared to answer it.

"Er... I'm hoping to help clear powerful dungeon resonances," I stammered. "And, um, make a name for myself. I'm new to this, so I'm just starting out." It sounded like such a lame answer, even to my own ears.

"I am here to bolster Enigma's clearing power and support our forces with my unique Title," Celine interjected, her voice firm and confident. "I hope to work with Immortal to achieve great things together." She smiled at me, and I felt a pang of relief.

"Excellent," Ophelia nodded. "That's the kind of teamwork and dedication we like to hear. Now, let's talk about your first assignments." She paused, glancing between us. "Before you two are able to join our ranks and become assigned to certain parties, we must first see your abilities in action. Therefore, we will have the both of you team-up to clear one of our initiate dungeon resonances."

I had to stop a grin from forming on my face. Finally, something I was good at.

"So, Luquier," Ophelia addressed me, "you'll be partnering with Celine to clear this dungeon. You both should be aware that this is a standard level one dungeon, but it will still be a good test of your abilities. I trust that you will both put forth your best efforts."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Please address me by Chronia."

"Oh, uh, yes, Chronia." I swallowed hard, trying to keep my nerves in check. I glanced at Celine, who nodded encouragingly.

"Do you both need time to prepare, or are you ready to take the initiate dungeon resonance?" Ophelia continued, her gaze flicking briefly between us.

"I'm willing to proceed immediately." Celine surprised me by agreeing so readily. I'd have thought she wanted to prepare, with how meticulous she usually was.

I nodded my agreement, figuring she had something planned already. Ophelia glanced at the other members, who murmured their approval.

"Very well. If you both would be inclined."

[System alert: Player Ophelia Saffron has invited you to a party.]

[Party Leader: Ophelia Saffron | Level: 4587]

[Aurora Vaunt | Level: 2718]

[Celine Saffron | Level: 1804]

[Luquier Vaunt | Level: 1240]

Damn, it seemed that Celine had leveled up quite a bit since the last time I partied with her. A 400-level jump was insane. Not only that, but it seemed like Aurora had leveled up a bit as well. Was it because she lost to me again?

"I will personally oversee this dungeon resonance alongside Avarice. Does anyone object?" Ophelia asked. Gigi and the other two Enigma members shook their heads, but I heard a cough from behind.

"If it isn't too much trouble, would I also be able to observe their abilities?" Tessa smiled cheekily as she approached us. "My request is solely based on personal interest, so my influence as the Lambda Sector's GPA chairman holds no power."

"I don't see why not," Ophelia nodded her approval. "The more skilled eyes, the better." She glanced at Tessa and added, "As long as you don't interrupt us with any unsolicited advice."

"There's nothing to worry about," Tessa chuckled. "Having met both Luquier and Celine, I've come to learn there's nothing they can't figure out on their own."

[System alert: Tessa Iskra has joined the party.]

[Tessa Iskra | Level: 1254]

I was barely able to hide my surprise. I could've sworn just a few days ago, she was sitting around level 500, but she nearly doubled that. I didn't even see her in the tower floors, so what could she have been doing?

Tessa caught my eye and gave me a mischievous wink, as if she could tell what I was thinking. I suppose I'll have to find out next time we have lunch.

"All right, let's get started," Ophelia said, clapping her hands together. "You two will now see how we access dungeon resonances."

[Ooo, I'm kind of curious to see too :o]

"Let's all move to a training room," Ophelia skirted around the table and towards the exit, Aurora following mutely after. "The dungeon portal that will be created might be a bit of an inconvenience to others here."

----------------------------------------

The five of us gathered in a similar training room where I had taken my assessment test before. Celine and I stood before Ophelia, Aurora, and Tessa, silently waiting for our chance to display our skills. I had swapped outfits, going for a jeans and t-shirt combo while equipping my cloak and ring. Celine had opted for a form-fitting black suit. I wasn't sure if that was a more comfortable outfit than her red dress, but it wasn't my business.

Stolen story; please report.

"Creating a dungeon resonance isn't very complex," Ophelia began, pulling out what looked like a smooth, white stone from her Inventory. "This is a monster core, a reward from a dungeon previously cleared. You both are familiar with these types of items?"

Celine and I nodded. I still had the core from the Grudge dungeon that I was planning to sell.

"Normally, you would sell the monster core for gold, since many Players either lack the knowledge or don't bother to learn how to further refine cores for other uses. But there is something that Players can do with it without any advanced knowledge."

Ophelia gripped the core tightly, and a red light enveloped the stone. Then, it blinked once, disappearing from her hand.

"By injecting a certain amount of extra Stat Points, you're able to convert the monster core into a single-use skill to reopen a portal to the dungeon. The only downside is, the higher grade the monster core, the more Stat Points are needed, and the more difficult the dungeon is," Ophelia glanced between the both of us, making sure we were still listening. "However, you're able to gain massive rewards and experience should you successfully clear it. Not only that, but you can often gain the same monster core as a reward, enabling you to clear it over and over again. This chance is greatly increased the more people you have in your party."

Oh shit. High risk, high reward. This was something I could definitely get behind.

"Finally, there are certain things you need to know when running dungeon resonances. First, no Warp Stones or anything that lets you escape can be used inside one. That means you either clear it to escape, or you die. Second, anything can happen inside one. It doesn't matter what the initial quest was, it can all change in a matter of seconds, so you two will need to be on guard at all times. Last but not least, the level of a dungeon resonance depends on the amount and level of Players participating. The dungeon will take the level of the lowest Player, and add the amount of Players to it."

"In other words, this dungeon will be level 1245?" Celine interjected.

"Wait, so what's stopping us from bringing in lower-leveled Players to cheat the difficulty?" I blurted out, immediately regretting it.

Everyone stared at me as I lowered my head. Duh, because then the other party members wouldn't gain much, and it would be dangerous for the lowest-leveled Player.

"Anyway," Ophelia continued, as if I hadn't spoken, "If the both of you are ready, we shall begin."

A portal cracked open in the training room, bathing the usually white area in a pale green hue. I was faintly reminded of the Grudge dungeon as white system messages popped up in front of me.

[Dungeon: Orc Kingdom]

[Level: ???]

[Requirements: Access granted to all Players.]

[Time Remaining: 00:03:00]

Huh. Not too bad. The level would be 1245, and with a time limit of 3 hours, this was a piece of cake for me and Celine.

"After you two," Ophelia said with a smile, gesturing for us to go first.

I nodded and stepped through the portal, my Soultaker out and at the ready. The world on the other side was nothing like the training room. We found ourselves standing in a dimly lit plain, with an ominous castle looming in the distance. The air reeked of blood and death, and the sounds of battle echoed all around us.

[Orc Kingdom]

[Quest: Defeat the Orc King or wipe out all Orcs.]

"Simple enough," I muttered as Celine stepped up next to me. I could feel the presence of the other three behind me.

"Please, do not hold anything back. Avarice and I will be watching your performance," Ophelia announced. I glanced at Celine.

"I'm gonna make this quick. You ready?"

The Saint nodded, her body glowing with an ethereal red aura. "Let's go, Immortal."

"Hope you guys can catch up," I called back to the three behind us, activating Grim Mantle. "We're going to speed through this."

I grabbed Celine by the waist and flew off, zipping through the air at breakneck speed. The landscape blurred into a green-and-brown smear as we dodged trees and rocks, closing in on the distant castle. I wasn't too surprised to sense Aurora and Ophelia keeping pace close behind us.

"So, do you have a plan?"

"No. I was thinking I could take a page from your book, Immortal."

Oh. I was at a loss for words, because I fully expected Celine to have a plan.

"How much do you want to impress your sister?" I muttered quietly to Celine as we quickly approached the entrance to the castle. There were swarms of ugly and dirty green Orcs around.

Celine shrugged, seemingly unconcerned. "I'm sure she'd understand if we didn't kill them all. Just defeating the king would be enough, right?"

"That's fine by me."

We zipped over the heads of the Orc army, past the entrance of the castle, and straight to the throne room. There, sitting on a throne of bones and skulls, was the Orc King himself, a massive green brute with a crown of twisted gold. He was surrounded by his elite guards, all stronger and more powerful than the average Orc.

[Name: Orc King Hullado | Level: 1245]

[Health: 175000 | Strength: 55000]

[Speed: 25000 | Magic: 18500]

[Description: The leader of a barbaric race of monsters, the Orc King Hullado is a towering figure, even by Orc standards.]

I almost laughed. Compared to Levius, this boss was a complete joke. Celine might have had some trouble with him if she was running this dungeon solo, but with me here, we'd clear this in an instant.

"Let's give them a show," I said to Celine, setting her down and taking my position at the front of our little group. The Saint nodded in agreement. As much as I wanted to get this over with, I couldn't stop myself from passing up free experience points and Soultaker damage.

Despite only having fought together a few times, Celine and I adapted to each other's techniques quickly. While I was busy slicing through the elite Orc guards, Celine kept me buffed and in good condition, simultaneously holding back the lesser Orcs with bolts of fire.

[You have gained 0.1 (x1000) experience points.]

[You have gained 100 experience points.]

[Level up!]

Oof. I was only jumping a level at a time with every kill, but that didn't really matter. My Stat Points were exponentially increasing, which made me feel a little ecstatic. The fight was practically over before it even began, and the only thing left to do was to deal with the Orc King himself.

I took a moment to check my stuff. Unfortunately, my 'Overwhelming Strength!' achievement had already been used, and my 'Untouchable.' wore off since I was now a higher level than the Orc King. That was fine, since I ended up with nearly 800000 Stat Points.

"Do you want the final blow?" I casually asked Celine, investing my Stat Points and keeping a hundred for later. "Sorta as a cool finisher to impress the others."

Celine grinned, a genuine expression rare for her. "Sure, why not?"

I casted Flooded Kingdom, deciding to empower it with a Holy Element and boosting the 5% slow to a near 105%. Holy shit, that was insane. The Orc King was basically rendered immobile as Celine bombarded him with fireballs, whittling down his Health. I didn't have to worry about her anymore, so I checked my stats, feeling an overinflated sense of power.

I distributed the majority of my points into my stats, saving a hundred for later. I added an additional 40000 to the Soultaker, figuring that after Celine killed the boss, I'd level up at least twice and gain even more Stat Points. Ophelia mentioned that opening a dungeon resonance required excess Stat Points, but I didn't know how many would be needed for the stronger ones I hoped to clear.

The Soultaker moaned, and I quickly stowed it away in my Inventory before it could say anything. In the back of my mind, I wondered if other people would be able to hear it, but I didn't want their first impression of my sword to be less than awe-inspiring if they could.

"Immortal," Celine suddenly popped up next to me, slightly panting. "Can you divert the boss's attention? I'd like to invest my Stat Points into more Risk."

"Fine by me," I grinned, stepping forward. "Disappointed by the low numbers?"

"A bit," the Saint replied, a faint blush on her cheeks. "I sensed an enormous leap in your strength and figured your insane Risk stat had proven bountiful. Don't worry, it'll only take a moment."

****

[Updating…]

[Name: Luquier Vaunt | Level: 1280]

[Title: Reckless Immortal (A)]

[Health: 500000 | Strength: 300000]

[Speed: 250000 | Magic: 100000]

[Risk: 50000 | Stat Points: 100]

[Experience: 8%]

[Items]

[Soultaker: 1162096]