Isaac watched as the hovering blue sphere floated quietly in front of him.
The mana radiating from it was heavy and dense.
This was the dungeon.
Isaac raised his hand and brought up its information.
...
Great Plains
The Great Plains of Roma where countless behemoths lurk. The dangers hiding in this place are powerful, but the rewards for those who conquer these dangers are equally generous.
Entry Restriction: Up to Overlord rank allowed
Type: Permanent Dungeon
...
"...There’s no limit on the number of awakeners that can enter at once."
Isaac lowered the interface and stared at the sphere again, his expression tightening.
He had read about plenty of dungeons over the past weeks. Almost all of them limited entry by rank, and number. Some only allowed parties of five or ten. The more dangerous would cap the number at eighty or hundred.
A dungeon that placed no limit at all was rare.
And dangerous.
The stronger and more numerous the awakeners a dungeon allowed, the more dangerous the dungeon itself tended to be. It was a basic rule the system never seemed to break.
So if this place didn’t care how many people entered...
"How strong are you really?" Isaac muttered under his breath. "I should try scouting it with my clone first."
There were rare dungeons that forcibly dragged the original body inside if a clone entered. Isaac had been told about them by Professor Catherine. This dungeon didn’t give off that kind of malicious, binding pressure.
Even if it did, someone had to go in and check.
Isaac was the strongest person in the city right now. If anyone was going to take that risk, it made sense for it to be him.
After a brief pause, he nodded to himself.
"Alright. Let’s see what you’re hiding."
He sent his clone straight into the dungeon entrance.
The moment the clone crossed the threshold, the world shifted.
The clone reappeared in a vast grassland that stretched endlessly in every direction.
Tall grass swayed gently under an unseen wind, and the sky above was a clear, unsettling blue.
Before the clone could even take a proper look around, a wave of information slammed into its mind.
...
There were twelve zones in the dungeon.
Clearing one zone would allow movement to the next.
If all zones were not cleared within one month, the dungeon’s exploration progress would reset, forcing everyone to start over from the beginning.
No matter how many people entered the dungeon, they would all appear in the same instance. There were no parallel versions like most dungeons had.
The dungeon could be exited at any time using an [Exit] Ticket. These tickets could be farmed from monster drops inside the dungeon.
Clearing all twelve zones within one month would trigger a special reward.
...
"...Hmm."
Back outside, Isaac rubbed his chin slowly as the information settled.
"A dungeon that lets people enter and exit freely. These are either easy as hell, or difficult as hell."
He already knew which one this was.
"It’s going to be difficult as hell. Our world’s apocalypse is set to Hell difficulty, after all."
His gaze lingered on the final line.
A special reward will be triggered.
"That part’s interesting. If the system’s being vague about it, then it’s probably something big."
He exhaled and focused his attention back through the clone.
"Let’s scout the area first."
The clone crouched slightly before taking to the sky. From above, the scale of the land became clearer. Rolling plains stretched endlessly, broken only by distant hills and darker patches that might have been forests or something worse.
"How big is this place?" Isaac muttered.
He guided the clone in a wide arc, trying to get a sense of the terrain. That was when a massive shadow suddenly swallowed the clone.
The change was instant.
Isaac activated every hiding and disguising skill the clone possessed and forced it to go completely still in midair. Even the mana flow was suppressed to the bare minimum.
Slowly, carefully, the clone turned around.
A chill ran straight down Isaac’s spine.
Behind the clone was a gigantic pterodactyl-like monster, its wings stretching so wide they blotted out the sun. It looked like something straight out of a prehistoric textbook from Isaac’s old world.
Except it was far larger.
And its body was wreathed in flickering flames.
The heat alone distorted the air around it.
"...That thing’s strong," Isaac muttered.
He watched carefully as the monster glided through the sky, its massive eyes scanning the plains below.
It felt powerful.
Almost as—
"No," Isaac corrected himself. "It’s not as strong as Catastrophe. It’s a bit weaker."
That realization left him conflicted.
On one hand, he wanted to laugh. On the other, he wanted to facepalm.
"I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but starting with monsters like this is too much."
A loud cry echoed across the plains.
Then another.
And another.
In the distance, Isaac spotted more of the same creatures circling the skies, their flaming silhouettes unmistakable even from far away.
"..."
The corner of his lips twitched despite himself.
Hell difficulty indeed.
There was no shortage of powerful dangers here.
When he thought about it, it made sense. Isaac was only Adept rank, even if he possessed an Apex rank species. In the past, there had been entire races with Apex rank species, each races’ population numbering in the tens of thousands.
Among them, there must have been countless Overlords. Maybe some who were even beyond.
And yet, those races had been wiped out.
Compared to that, Isaac had no right to feel arrogant just because he was strong in one city.
Still.
A grin slowly spread across his face.
To him, the dungeon didn’t feel like a death trap.
It felt like a buffet.
"It’ll take some time to take one of these down without causing a single casualty from my team. But once I manage that..."
He chuckled softly.
"As soon as I do, I’ll have Emily tame it’s spirit."
With one tamed monster of this level, fighting the next one would become easier. And once that one was tamed too, the process would snowball.
One would lead to two.
Two would lead to many.
"I can farm this place dry," Isaac said, his grin widening.
Powerful monsters?
He welcomed them with open arms.
Within the Great Plains, the monsters suddenly felt an inexplicable chill run through their massive bodies, as if the land itself had sensed something dangerous entering their domain.
...
Isaac stood outside the dungeon entrance, his arms loosely crossed as he watched the hovering blue sphere.
From the outside, it still looked calm. Too calm, considering what his clone was seeing inside.
His attention shifted inward for a moment, syncing with the clone’s senses.
Vast plains. Flying behemoths. Monsters strong enough to threaten entire regions if they ever escaped.
He exhaled slowly.
"The angel told me this dungeon would help resolve the Blood Lord’s situation. So whatever that ’resolution’ is, it has to come from here."
There were only two realistic possibilities.
Either a specific drop hidden somewhere in the dungeon, or the reward triggered after clearing all twelve zones.
"Knowing the system, it’s probably not going to be easy to get."
Isaac pulled out his device and began typing.
The message went straight to the top three universities first. He included the dungeon’s basic information, its danger level, and one clear suggestion.
If they wanted a real training ground for their students, they could use the dungeon.
After that, he sent similar messages to the ogres, the nagas, the Crawling Serpents, and several major human guilds. He didn’t sugarcoat anything. The dungeon was strong. Strong enough to kill careless awakeners.
But it was also exactly the kind of place that could temper people fast.
"This place can sharpen them, and the rewards would help them go beyond their limits."
Deaths were unavoidable. That was the reality of the world. Isaac had already done his part by giving a clear warning. If people chose to enter the dungeon, their lives were their own responsibility.
He lowered the device and glanced at the dungeon entrance again.
"I’ll put a small tax on people from my city who enter the dungeon. For the outsiders, though I’ll put a proper tax."
Resources didn’t come from nowhere. Managing a dungeon like this would cost manpower, infrastructure, and time.
Isaac summoned another clone and positioned it near the dungeon entrance.
He would use this clone to make a record of who was exiting and entering the dungeon.
He then called over a few workers from the city. They arrived quickly, already carrying tools.
"I want a proper building here for administration, records, entry management," Isaac told them.
One of the workers nodded. "We’ll start right away."
"Good. And make sure it’s sturdy. This place is going to get busy," Isaac replied.
Once that was settled, Isaac turned and headed toward the inner city.
As he walked, his thoughts shifted away from the dungeon.
"The city’s finally Tier 2. That means Ruby should be able to give me a Class Quest appropriate for my rank now," he said to himself.
A small smile crept onto his face.
He had been waiting for this. More than waiting—anticipating it.
If he could rank up his class, the difference in power wouldn’t be small. It would be overwhelming.
Isaac passed through the City Hall, one of the locations that now handled Class Quests after the upgrade. The interior was familiar, but the atmosphere felt more welcoming and elegant than before.
Ruby was already there.
She looked up as Isaac approached, her expression calm as always.
"Hey, Ruby. Give me a Class Quest appropriate for my rank," Isaac said casually.
Ruby reached out, gently grabbing his hand. As usual, she closed her eyes, her focus shifting elsewhere.
Isaac waited without interrupting.
After a few seconds, Ruby turned and walked behind the counter. She reached into the space behind her and pulled out a thick document, placing it down carefully. From within it, she extracted a single sheet of paper and slid it toward him.
"Here," she said.
Isaac picked it up and began reading.
...
Class Advancement Details
Class: Ruinblood Conqueror
Rank: Transcendent+
Requirements:
Master all Class skills to Level 10
Create three sapient Tier 2 plant-type beings
Harvest a hybrid plant created from a mix of Tier 2 crops from the Divine Realm, Hell, and Mortal Realm
Conquer a Tier 2 City using your crops or plants
Create a one-thousand-strong army of war-plants
Upgrade your Talent to Transcendent+ rank
...
Isaac stared at the paper for a long moment.
"...The rank’s higher than my Talent," he said finally.
"Something like that could be possible," Ruby nodded. "It means you have the potential to upgrade your Talent to that rank. Of course, giving Class Quests like this—a rank higher than your Talent—is only possible now because the city is Tier 2."
Isaac nodded slowly, his eyes returning to the list.
Three sapient plant beings. A hybrid crop involving three realms. Conquering a Tier 2 city with plants alone. A thousand war-plants.
None of it was impossible.
But none of it was easy either.