{Lucian POV}
Lucian felt it before he saw it.
A violent chill rushed down his spine.
Not fear.
Not panic.
Something worse.
Pure. Unfiltered. Instinct.
His skin prickled, his heartbeat spiked, and his entire body locked up for a fraction of a second.
Something’s coming.
Not the Direwolf.
Not one of the silent behemoths that had ignored him before.
This was different.
This wasn’t the feeling of being chased.
This was the feeling of being hunted.
Lucian’s blood ran ice-cold.
Something was coming.
The air thickened. A crushing, unseen weight pushed against his chest, like the very atmosphere was straining against an incoming force.
Then—
An unnatural silence.
Even the Direwolf stopped moving.
Lucian’s breath hitched as the air turned static, like the moment before a lightning strike.
Then, the ground quaked.
A deep, distant rumble vibrated through the dungeon walls. Loose stones tumbled from the cavern ceiling.
Lucian didn’t think.
His body moved on its own.
He threw himself to the right, barely controlling his fall as he hit the ground hard, rolling against the rough stone.
And then—
BOOM.
A shadow crashed down where he had stood just a moment before.
The entire dungeon floor fractured, stone slabs splintering apart like glass, sending shockwaves through the cavern.
A suffocating gust of wind followed the impact, blasting dust and debris into the air.
Lucian coughed violently, barely able to process what had just happened.
If he had been even a second slower…
He would have ceased to exist.
Lucian forced himself to look up.
What he saw made his breath catch in his throat.
Towering over him, its massive frame blocking out the faint glow of the dungeon’s fungi, stood a colossal monstrosity.
A Behemoth.
A creature of nightmares.
Its body was an armored fortress of dense obsidian scales, each plate thick enough to deflect ballistae.
Its limbs were like living siege weapons, claws razor-sharp and brimming with destructive force.
Two burning amber eyes locked onto its new prey with an intelligence far beyond a mindless beast.
Lucian couldn’t move.
Not because he was frozen in fear—but because the sheer pressure of its presence was suffocating.
His system chimed softly, almost mockingly.
[Ding!] Monster Identified
Name: Titan Behemoth
Rank: S+
Level: 199
[Stats:] (S-Rank monsters use qualitative rank-based stats instead of numbers)
Strength: S+
Agility: A
Endurance: S+
Magic Power: S
Intelligence: B+
Dexterity: A
Perception: S
[Skills:]
[Colossal Might] – Possesses overwhelming physical strength capable of leveling mountains with a single strike.
[Earthshaker] – A devastating stomp that causes localized earthquakes and destabilizes terrain.
[Titanic Resilience] – Skin as tough as enchanted adamantine, reducing all incoming damage significantly.
[Mana Core Overdrive] – Temporarily boosts magic resistance and physical power when taking heavy damage.
[Behemoth Roar] – A concussive roar that stuns enemies within a massive radius and shatters weaker defenses.
[Regeneration (Enhanced)] – Rapid healing of wounds, allowing it to recover from most injuries over time.
[Gravity Suppression] – Passively increases gravity around itself, slowing and weakening nearby foes.
Threat Level: Catastrophic – Only high-tier S-Rank or higher entities should engage.
Lucian’s mind went blank.
…It’s so strong, its stats have left the number system entirely.
The Abyssal Direwolf snarled.
It wasn’t running anymore.
It had stopped its little game with Lucian, now fully focused on the new arrival.
A new threat.
The Direwolf crouched low, its muscles coiling like a spring, preparing to strike first.
Lucian held his breath.
This thing played with me like I was nothing.
Now… it’s the one taking this seriously?
For the first time, Lucian truly understood what kind of place this was.
A dungeon where only the strong survived.
A hierarchy of monsters beyond comprehension.
He was at the absolute bottom.
And even the Abyssal Direwolf—the beast that had toyed with him—was not at the top.
Because in an instant, the Titan Behemoth moved.
And the Direwolf was no longer a hunter.
It was a victim.
The Titan Behemoth’s massive claw swung with a casual, almost lazy motion.
The Direwolf growled, its claws igniting with abyssal energy. It blurred forward, moving at impossible speed—
Faster than the eye could track.
And yet—
The Behemoth saw it.
A single claw lifted. It did not move fast. It did not need to.
The moment the Direwolf entered its reach—
BOOM.
The claw slammed downward.
Air itself detonated from the force.
The Direwolf didn’t even have time to yelp. Its body folded like a ragdoll, crushed mid-motion before being flung across the cavern like a toy kicked by a careless god.
But the force behind it…
Lucian barely tracked the movement.
Then—
CRACK.
The Direwolf yelped—a horrible, guttural sound—as its entire body was launched through the air.
It smashed into the cavern wall with a deafening boom, stone crumbling from the impact.
Lucian’s eyes widened in disbelief.
The same wolf that had tormented him…
The same apex predator that had mocked him, kept him running for its amusement…
Was now nothing more than a toy.
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A plaything for something stronger.
Lucian felt it deep in his bones.
"I should not be here."
The Titan Behemoth stepped forward, shaking the entire dungeon.
Lucian didn’t wait.
He turned—
BOOM.
The Titan Behemoth’s next step sent a seismic shockwave tearing through the cavern. Stone walls cracked and shattered. Massive chunks of debris rained down, blocking the paths behind him.
A jagged boulder hurtled toward him—
"Nope, nope, NOPE!"
Lucian twisted mid-step, Shadow Step activating instinctively, sending him blurring to the side just as the rock slammed into the ground where he had been.
He barely landed on his feet—his ankle twisted slightly, a sharp pain shooting up his leg.
But he didn’t have time to care.
Another explosion shook the cavern as the Behemoth took another step. The air itself rippled from the force.
His legs screamed, his lungs burned, but he didn’t stop.
The Abyssal Direwolf wasn’t the monster he feared most.
The Behemoth didn’t even notice him.
Lucian was too weak to matter.
And for now, that was his only saving grace.
He sprinted into the darkness, leaving the monsters to their battle.
Praying that he would live to see another hour.
———————
Lucian ran.
His lungs burned, his legs screamed, and every breath felt like fire in his chest.
But he couldn’t stop.
The Titan Behemoth’s thunderous steps had faded behind him, leaving only the echoing silence of the dungeon.
Yet his mind wouldn’t calm.
He was alive, but for how long?
His body stumbled over uneven stone, his vision swimming from exhaustion.
If he didn’t find a place to rest—he was done.
Then—
He saw it.
A massive cave entrance, hidden within the winding corridors of the dungeon. A void of complete darkness.
Lucian skidded to a stop, panting heavily.
Something was off.
The other monsters in the dungeon, the ones that ignored him before, were avoiding this cave.
It wasn’t subtle.
It was absolute.
They didn’t even look in its direction.
It was as if an invisible boundary surrounded it—an unspoken rule, a law of the abyssal hierarchy.
Lucian swallowed hard.
This was a bad idea. A terrible idea. Every survival instinct screamed at him to turn around.
The monsters behind him ignored this cave like it was cursed ground. Why would that mean safety?
And yet… the air beyond its threshold felt different. Lighter. Quieter.
A gamble. Life or death.
But what choice did he have? He was already dead if he stayed here. The Behemoth wouldn’t ignore him forever.
That could only mean one of two things.
It’s safe. A hidden sanctuary where nothing dares to tread.
Or… what’s inside is worse than everything outside.
His body ached. His mind screamed at him to be smart.
But the cold grip of exhaustion left him no choice.
Lucian exhaled sharply, stepping forward. Damn it all.
The moment he crossed the threshold, the air shifted.
It was instant.
The immense pressure of the dungeon’s aura vanished.
No oppressive hunger. No crushing malice.
Just… silence.
Lucian let out a shaky breath.
"Did I actually… find a safe zone?"
He took another cautious step forward.
Then—his instincts flared.
Something was here.
Something massive.
Lucian froze.
Silence. A silence so perfect, so unnatural, it felt like the world itself had stopped breathing.
No dungeon pressure. No monstrous auras. Just... nothing.
His pulse pounded violently as his eyes adjusted.
A shape.
Coiled.
Colossal.
Shifting ever so slightly, as if the very darkness had taken form.
His eyes strained, adjusting to the void. The faintest outline became visible—a mountain of shifting scales, resting at the heart of the cave.
Lucian felt his breath catch.
Then realization hit him like a thunderbolt.
"No… no way."
It wasn’t a cave.
It was a lair.
And at its center—
A sleeping dragon.
A monstrosity beyond anything he had seen.
Yet, unlike the Abyssal Direwolf…
Unlike the Titan Behemoth…
There was no aura.
Nothing.
It was as if it didn’t even exist.
And that was somehow worse.
Because Lucian’s entire being screamed at him to run.
This wasn’t a hunter’s presence.
This was the void before destruction.
Something so beyond comprehension that even its mere existence defied recognition.
His heart pounded violently.
He had to get out.
Then—
The eyelid twitched.
Lucian stopped breathing.
A slow, deliberate motion.
Golden reptilian eyes slit open.
And then—it saw him.
It didn’t glare.
It didn’t attack.
It didn’t roar.
Instead—
The dragon tilted its head slightly.
As if it had only just now noticed his existence.
As if it had only just decided he was real.
Then—
A voice.
Deep.
Rumbling.
Amused.
A single breath.
That was all it took.
The cavern shifted. The air rippled, vibrating through Lucian’s bones, sending cold dread crawling beneath his skin.
It’s awake.
And yet—it did not move.
The golden eye locked onto him, unblinking.
Studying.
Not with hunger. Not with malice.
But with curiosity.
As if deciding whether or not he was even worth recognizing.
"You’re interesting."
Lucian couldn’t move.
His entire body was locked in place, every instinct telling him to run, but knowing it was already too late.
Because this…
This was something beyond even the monsters of the abyss.
And it had just acknowledged him.