It had taken days—longer than he'd anticipated.
But he had finally crossed the threshold.
Status: A-Rank (Confirmed)
The notification glowed faintly in the corner of his interface, simple yet monumental. He let the message linger for a moment, absorbing it. His body felt the difference too—his mana pool was deeper, his casting faster, sharper. His reflexes, movement, and control had all sharpened into something beyond what most hunters could ever reach.
But it hadn't been just training. No... the real secret lay in his system.
In the web of dungeons he had scattered across the globe.
At first, he'd created them as diversions. Smaller gates, balanced carefully around E or low D-rank to avoid suspicion. But then he'd noticed something strange—a faint pulse through his interface every time a monster was killed inside one of his dungeons, no matter where it was.
It was subtle, but measurable.
At first, he thought it was a coincidence. But as time went on, it became clear:
Every time a spell was cast, a creature was slain, or a dungeon action was performed within his creations… he gained something in return.
A fraction of mana. A drop of experience. A sliver of their energy—all funneled back to him through the system's invisible thread.
So, he had leaned into it.
Now, his "basic" dungeon network spanned across continents:
Argentina, Sweden, Istanbul, Cairo, Poland, and many more, all of them active. All of them subtle enough to avoid panic. Each one acting like a passive battery, feeding him slowly, steadily.
And now, he stood among the ranks of A-rank hunters. Not by title alone—but by power.
But Alejandro wasn't content.
The raid on the Black Spire in Hyde Park was drawing near. The world had focused its gaze on London, watching with bated breath. Governments, associations, and hunters alike were waiting to see if this was a threat… or something more.
And he?
He was considering tipping the scales—again.
"Maybe it's time to give them more surprises," he muttered, eyes narrowing as he pulled open the dungeon interface.
This time, he wasn't looking to distract.
He was looking to provoke thought, stir imagination—fear, maybe. But also… unity.
A world divided would never survive what was coming. And nothing made people talk like a good story—especially one pulled from fiction into reality.
He dragged open a blank slot in the interface, his fingers hovering over the customization panel.
"Let's see… what should come next?"
And somewhere, as another team cleared a harmless dungeon in Central Asia the system fed him again. A ripple of energy. And Alejandro smiled.
------------------------------------------
Japan – Karakura Rift
Location: Mt. Osore, Aomori Prefecture
A sacred, desolate place long believed to be a gateway to the afterlife—now home to a rift mimicking the spiritual pressure-laced chaos of Bleach.
Inside, it's a fractured cityscape haunted by Hollows, with Reaper-like constructs patrolling the skies, and a masked Vasto Lorde-style boss with immense speed and devastating energy blasts.
The dungeon warps spiritual energy itself—standard magic becomes unstable, and only the most attuned hunters survive within.
USA – East Coast – Sylvan Reckoning
Location: Appalachian Mountains, Virginia
A massive, sprawling forest where wood elves rule from hidden cities grown into the trees.
But they are not friendly. This dungeon twists the typical fantasy—they are xenophobic, militant, and view humans as invasive pests. Ambushes are constant.
The boss: a Forest Warden, riding a stag made of living vines and bark, commanding nature itself.
USA – West Coast – Frigid Sovereignty
Location: Olympic National Park, Washington
Encased in sudden, unnatural snowfall, the icy wilds are home to the Ice Elves, a stoic, brutal race ruled by logic and cold magic.
Their structures are elegant, crystalline—impossible geometry shimmering with mana.
The boss: a Frost Empress who wields blood-chilling frost magic and a glaive of enchanted ice.
Latin America – Temple of Ix'kanul
Location: Deep within the Guatemalan jungles
A Mayan-inspired dungeon, buried beneath ancient ruins. Inside, traps, illusions, and shifting rooms protect a realm ruled by serpent spirits, jaguar-shifters, and obsidian golems.
The dungeon pulses with fire and shadow—ritualistic and unpredictable.
The boss: a colossal, divine jaguar named Tezkan the Ember-Fanged, wreathed in volcanic flames.
Russia – Frozen Horde I & II
Location 1: Siberian Taiga
Location 2: Sakha Republic, near Oymyakon
Both dungeons are different limbs of the same monster.
Ancient steppe ruins, endless tundra, and ice-bitten winds form the battlefield. Within: undead Mongol-like warbands mounted on skeletal horses, wielding cursed weapons and black banners that sap courage.
The final room opens into an icy battlefield where the warlord bosses—Tömörjin and Batkhuyag—await.
China – Crimson Sect of Murim
Location: Wudang Mountains
The dungeon appears like a shattered monastery, elegant but rotting.
Within live members of the Crimson Sect, a demonic offshoot of Murim warriors who have fused dark arts and forbidden cultivation.
Their movements are impossibly fast—chi-infused strikes tear stone apart, and their spells cause hallucinations and soul erosion.
The boss is The Grand Scourge, a former master turned abomination with flowing red robes.
Each of these A-rank dungeons appear simultaneously, like coordinated signals across the globe.
To the public?
It feels like escalation.
To those watching closely?
It feels like a signal.
Alejandro watches the ripples spread across news networks and hunter forums and leans back, smiling slightly.
"Let's see how they handle myth becoming reality."
The world had focused too long on Hyde Park.
Now it had seven more reasons to rethink everything.