The group advanced with extreme caution. The oppressive weight of the environment was not something they could ignore. Every step they took made the blackened ground crack beneath their feet, as if they were walking over dry bones. The dense air clung to their skin, and an unnatural cold rooted itself in their bones, despite the absence of wind.
Seth led the march in silence, his golden eyes ever watchful, scanning the darkness with his lightning-enhanced vision. There was no doubt in his mind now—something was watching them. But unlike before, these presences weren't just waiting.
They were moving.
Lila, the assassin, walked just behind him, her steps nearly inaudible. She was trained to move like a shadow, yet even she seemed uneasy here.
"The feeling of being watched won't go away," she murmured. "It's like something is… enjoying this."
Logan, gripping his axe tightly, shot her a serious look. "Then stay ready to kill whatever it is."
The entire group felt the rising tension, but no one wanted to be the first to admit just how terrifying this place was.
Sam, the archer, stopped for a moment and pulled out his magic detection necklace. The jewel at its center was supposed to glow if hostile presences were within fifty meters.
But the stone… was completely dull.
"This is weird," he muttered, frowning. "It should be reacting to something."
Maria, the healer, stepped closer and examined the amulet. "Which means whatever is watching us… is hiding its presence completely."
Kevin, the mage, grumbled, crossing his arms. "Fantastic. We're literally in the dark. This just keeps getting better."
Seth ignored their conversation and kept moving. His instincts told him they were heading in the right direction—but to where exactly? They didn't know. Staying still, however, was not an option.
'Even though this is my first dungeon, it feels instinctive… like I already know what to do.'
After a few minutes of exploration, they reached a clearing.
At its center, something strange stood.
A structure.
It looked like an altar, made of black stone, covered in cracks and engraved with inscriptions in an unknown language. Four broken columns surrounded it, as if they had been toppled during some ritual or battle. Atop the altar sat an enormous skull—belonging to a creature none of them recognized.
Logan narrowed his eyes. "This looks like a—"
He didn't get the chance to finish.
The moment they stepped closer, the ground trembled.
Cracks spread across the earth in a chaotic pattern, and a monstrous pressure filled the clearing.
The entire group instinctively stepped back, weapons at the ready.
And then—
The thing emerged from the ground.
The altar split open like a cracked egg, and from the depths, a creature that should not exist crawled forth.
It was colossal, its twisted body made of dark, rock-like flesh. Its eyes were hollow voids, glowing with a sinister crimson light. Multiple stunted arms jutted from its torso, each ending in deformed claws. Its mouth stretched across its entire abdomen—a gaping maw filled with rows of jagged, irregular teeth.
The stench of rot exploded into the air.
Maria was the first to gag, nearly vomiting.
Kevin stumbled backward. "What... what the fuck is that?!"
Sam barely managed to keep his composure. "This isn't a normal monster... This... this looks like something ripped straight out of a nightmare!"
Seth, however, did not step back. His golden eyes gleamed with intensity. He could feel it. This thing...
It wasn't a beast. It wasn't an ordinary entity.
It was something that should not exist in this world.
The creature let out an inhuman screech—a sound that wasn't just noise but a direct assault on their minds. A nightmarish wail, filled with despair and madness, made Sam's knees buckle, Maria's teeth clench in agony, and even Logan, the strongest among them, waver for an instant.
The very world around them seemed to distort, as if the mere presence of this being was a mistake in reality. The ground pulsed like living flesh, the shadows twisted unnaturally, and the air grew heavier, suffocating, as if being corrupted.
Yet among them all, only Seth remained standing.
His muscles trembled, his skin tingled, and the pressure of that entity crushed his senses. He wasn't the strongest. He wasn't the fastest. But among them all—
He was the most resilient.
He refused to fall.
And then—
[Ability "The End" is adapting to the causality "Fear."]
[Condition met! You have acquired the passive skill: "King's Presence."]
[King's Presence: The aura of a true monarch permeates your existence. A king does not fear. A king does not kneel. A king is absolute. Fear and intimidation have no effect on you.]
The impact was immediate.
The overwhelming weight of fear dispersed like mist swept away by the wind. His trembling body steadied. His thoughts, once suffocated by terror, sharpened like blades.
His golden eyes shone intensely as he lifted his gaze to the abyssal creature.
And for the first time—
The creature hesitated.
The beast's roar was cut short by a brief silence.
Seth didn't just resist its terror.
He ignored it.
That moment of hesitation was all Seth needed to take the first step forward. He didn't know exactly how he understood, but it was instinctual—this thing could not be treated like an ordinary monster.
Logan quickly recovered, tightening his grip around the handle of his axe. "If it's gonna hesitate, then we'll cut this thing down until it stops moving!"
He charged like thunder, his powerful legs propelling him forward at incredible speed. As his axe came down, the air around it howled with force.
CLANG!
The impact was brutal, but it didn't have the expected effect. The blade sliced into the creature's dark flesh, but not deeply enough. The beast's arm—a grotesque fusion of muscle and rock—whipped through the air, striking Logan with overwhelming force and sending him flying like a cannonball.
"Logan!" Maria screamed, already sprinting to help him.
Kevin, the mage, quickly raised his hand, glowing magical circles spiraling around him. "We can't afford to hesitate. Sam! Cover me!"
Sam, still pale, nocked three arrows and fired in quick succession. His hands trembled, but his training prevailed.
THWIP! THWIP! THWIP!
The arrows flew true, but the creature's flesh seemed to twist and swallow the projectiles, absorbing them like a swamp of rotting meat.
Kevin gritted his teeth and finished his spell. "If projectiles won't work, then let's see if this does—"
"Arcane Inferno!"
A sea of violet flames erupted from the ground, engulfing the creature in a vortex of magical fire. The heat was so intense that the very air shimmered.
But before they could feel even a moment of relief, a monstrous arm shot out from the flames, lunging straight for Kevin.
"Shit!"
Lila moved like a blur, yanking Kevin aside at the last second. The impact obliterated the ground where he had just stood, sending shards of rock and embers flying in every direction.
"This thing is completely ignoring direct attacks!" Lila growled, her dagger already coated in magical venom. "We need to find a weak spot—fast!"
Seth remained still, absorbing every detail. He didn't have overwhelming magic like Kevin, nor brute strength like Logan. But he had analysis.
His golden eyes gleamed even brighter as he activated his ability.
The difference between lightning manipulation and electrokinesis was simple. While lightning manipulation focused purely on raw power, electrokinesis was the complete opposite. It wasn't limited to creating and controlling destructive electricity—it allowed him to sense and influence any electrical current around him, even the minuscule neurotransmitters that transmitted impulses in living bodies.
And Seth could feel everything.
The currents vibrated, danced in the air, resonating against his skin like a silent call. That's how he noticed it.
"The core... it's inside its chest." He stepped forward, his voice cutting through the tension like a sharpened blade.
"Everyone, distract this thing! Its weak spot is in its chest!"
No one hesitated.
Lila vanished in a blur of speed, reappearing beside the beast and slashing precisely at the atrophied tendons of its legs. The monster convulsed, its movements becoming erratic.
Sam, now fully focused, adjusted his aim and fired a series of arrows, targeting the creature's deformed joints.
Kevin raised his hands, beginning to cast a high-level spell, his eyes glowing with accumulating mana.
Maria, sensing the opportunity, cast a blessing over Logan, infusing him with power. The warrior spat out some blood but grinned as he felt his body revitalized.
"If the chest is the target, then I'll clear the way!" He charged forward like a thunderstorm, his presence dominating the battlefield. His axe gleamed with a surge of condensed mana, crackling with destructive energy.
"Thunder Impact!"
The blade struck the creature's flank, unleashing an electric explosion that surged through its entire body. The monster convulsed violently, its flesh charring under the searing discharge.
This was the moment Seth had been waiting for.
His body moved with absolute precision, slicing through dust and ash like lightning. He leaped over the wreckage, his muscles responding in perfect synchronization.
His golden eyes shone, and he felt something different. The residual shock from Logan's attack still lingered in the air. The energy was there—pulsing, alive.
'Let's see if I can use this…'
Sucking in the residual electricity, Seth condensed the energy around his hand, forging a makeshift lightning sword. Sparks crackled around his weapon, illuminating the dark, oppressive atmosphere of the dungeon.
The beast raised one of its deformed arms to intercept him—but it was too late.
[Mortal Slash – Activated]
The electrified blade shone like a miniature sun, tracing a flawless arc.
The sword sliced through the monster's rotting, dense flesh, cutting through muscle and bone like butter until it reached the pulsating black core in its chest.
"DIE!" The strike plunged deep.
The monster let out an agonizing roar—a sound that wasn't just heard but felt deep within the soul. The air distorted as waves of energy erupted, and its form began to unravel.
The shadows surrounding its body trembled violently before bursting outward in every direction. The ground beneath them quaked as if the dungeon itself was reacting to the creature's destruction.
Seth dropped to one knee, his breathing heavy, adrenaline still surging through his veins.
And then—
[You have defeated a Corrupted Entity.]
[Calculating Rewards...]
"Ah..." he exhaled, panting. 'It makes sense why she's an S-Rank Hunter… If my version of Electrokinesis is this strong… I can only imagine hers…'