"…He's going to be fine, right?"

Exactly three hours later.

Just as the sun dipped below the horizon and dusk stretched across the sky—

Jhin's team entered the dungeon.

A D-rank Twin Dungeon.

And true to the information that it was an undead-type, the very first monsters they encountered upon entering were zombies—half-rotted flesh still clinging to bone, their limbs twitching unnaturally.

Then came ghouls—varied in type and shape.

There were poisonous Toxic Zombies that released noxious clouds, and Bulldozer-type undead that charged forward in massive, brainless lunges.

Even the name of the dungeon—City of Corpses—felt chillingly appropriate.

Ed gritted his teeth and swung his sword.

…This is insane!

It had already been six hours of non-stop combat.

And in those grueling hours, Ed was forced to recall something he'd foolishly overlooked:

"…This dungeon is on the verge of a dungeon break!"

Because of that, the onslaught was relentless—an endless tide of zombies crashing into them like waves on a helpless buoy. The team barely managed to stay alive.

Panting, forcing his breath down, Ed kept his blade swinging.

Fine.

Zombies? Weak armor. Kill them before they touch you—that's all.

But the real problem?

Was the fact that their team leader, Jhin, had vanished without a trace shortly after they entered the dungeon.

Dodging a poison cloud from a Toxic Zombie, Ed sliced through its neck in a clean arc.

And then—yet another howl in the distance.

More zombies were coming.

Again?

As he hacked down the monsters, Ed glanced around to assess the dungeon state.

The dungeon break was approaching fast.

At this rate, they wouldn't even reach the boss room before the dungeon break empowered the boss into a monstrosity far beyond normal difficulty.

Slicing through the hordes, a dark thought crept in:

Even if I die here… I'll never forget this. I'll get my revenge. That bastard Jhin—I'll kill him myself!

It wasn't just him.

Every team member shared the same bitter fury.

Their Power had run dry. Their stamina was shot. They were surviving on pure instinct and desperation.

At this point, most of them didn't even want to fight anymore.

Death might actually be easier.

And every time that thought crept in—the face of their missing team leader floated into their minds, fanning the flames of their anger.

"*And that's supposed to be Kyle?! Damn scamming son of a—!"

Ed shouted, pouring the last of his mana into a swing. His body gave in with it. His strength drained, his limbs shaking.

That was it.

Other teammates, breath ragged and shaky, began staggering toward the center, forming up in silence.

No one said it aloud—but they all felt the same thing.

This was the end.

Sskkrrrrrk—!

A sharp slicing sound whispered through the chaos.

And then—through the haze of blood-splattered vision, a lone figure moved like a blade through the horde of undead.

Ed wiped the blood from his eyes and forced himself to focus—

And as the figure came into view, he recognized him instantly.

"…Jhin?"

And the first thing he did was explode in anger.

"Where the hell have you been all this time?!"

Compared to their tattered, ragged clothing soaked in blood and sweat, Jhin looked exactly the same as when they had entered. Not a hair out of place.

That just made it worse.

But no one had the energy to curse anymore.

They simply stared—half in awe, half in disbelief—as Jhin silently and effortlessly tore through the zombies.

Ed, teeth gritted, could only think:

…Damn it. He's ridiculously good at fighting.

Within moments, the zombie wave that had surrounded them was completely annihilated.

And Jhin—without a single disrupted breath—spoke.

"It's time to finish up. Let's go clear the dungeon."

"…You disappeared, and now you just show up and say that?!"

But Jhin didn't even look back.

He simply started walking.

Stunned and speechless, Ed hurried after him—and suddenly noticed the massive doors ahead.

The boss room.

"Wait!"

Before he could protest, Jhin casually pushed the doors open—and walked inside alone.

Ed and the others stood outside like a bunch of abandoned dogs, left blinking at the entrance.

"…!"

RUMMMBLE—!

Moments later, the entire dungeon trembled.

Not an earthquake.

The noise, the vibration—it was all coming from inside that room.

KIEAAAAAAK!!!

[A dungeon break has occurred.]

"Ugh—!"

The system message flashed before their eyes.

The team fell silent.

And oddly enough, the dungeon—once a whirlwind of moans and roars—grew still.

And then…

Jhin returned.

It hadn't even been ten minutes.

He passed through the threshold, calm and collected.

Behind him, the slaughtered corpse of the boss monster lay in pieces.

Another message followed.

[Dungeon 'City of Corpses (C)' has been cleared.]

[The dungeon break in 'City of Corpses (C)' has been forcibly terminated. Monster respawn within the dungeon is now limited. Barring exceptional circumstances, further dungeon breaks in this zone will not occur.]

Ed gulped.

…This can't be real, right?

He put aside his anger, just for a moment, and spoke in a shaky, cautious voice.

"Um… Jhin?"

"Yes?"

"…Didn't you say your level was 73?"

"Oh, it is. Or rather—now it's 92."

"…What?"

Jhin answered coolly, as if this were nothing.

"Leveled up. Didn't you guys level up pretty well too?"

At that, the other team members quickly checked their status windows.

And sure enough—

They had entered the dungeon at level 100. Now, they were approaching level 110.

Jhin casually shrugged.

"Good hunting today."

Then turned and began walking out of the dungeon.

Ed followed after him, dazed, and suddenly realized something.

Come to think of it… those zombie waves were kinda… regular?

Whenever it felt like they were about to die, the monsters would suddenly stop coming—only to resume again after a short break.

Ed narrowed his eyes and whispered:

"…A pulling hunt."

And then it hit him.

"…I got power-leveled."

This was the Kyle-style dungeon strategy.

Nazoral sliced through the necks of the twin-headed zombie in a clean arc and let out a slow exhale.

"So, total clear time… about eleven hours?"

He shook the blood from his sword and surveyed the battlefield, now nothing more than a sea of corpses—literal mountains of dead undead.

Zombies that were now nothing more than converted experience points, littering the ground like garbage.

At level 173, none of it had been remotely challenging.

The final boss had proven slightly irritating with the nighttime buffs, but even that had been a mere delay—not a threat.

His party began approaching from a distance, faces beaming.

"As expected of Nazoral! You cleared this huge dungeon alone! Amazing!"

"And in eleven hours… that has to be a record!"

"Truly legendary! Our respect, sir!"

Nazoralcast them a withering glance.

Worms. All of them.

If not for these useless parasites, this run wouldn't have taken eleven hours. Maybe six would've sufficed.

I want to kill them all.

But he held the urge back. Even if they were useless, they were technically teammates. He couldn't just slaughter them mid-raid.

This dungeon needed to be flawless.

Were it any other raid, he might've justified it by saying they annoyed me, so I killed them—but not this time.

If he was going to play the part of Kyle, he had to show a perfect dungeon clear.

No casualties.

Solo combat.

And above all, cleared in the shortest time possible.

That was the flawless Kyle-style dungeon clear Nazoralhad crafted.

…I wonder how long it took that guy.

He briefly recalled the feel of Jhin's sword back in Zone 2—the sharpness, the weight. The unmistakable technique of someone who hadn't wasted his former glory.

Even if Nazoralhadn't gone all out, the fact that Jhin had held his own against a level 173 spoke volumes.

A guy who just came out of the Labyrinth of Choices… That's not normal.

No wonder people worshipped him.

No wonder the legend of "Kyle" had taken root.

If Nozoral's plan had been even a little delayed, Jhin might have grown too strong to contain.

It wasn't paranoia.

In Exodia 1, the real Kyle had gone from nobody to Rank 1 faster than anyone imagined.

But not this time.

Not against him.

Kyle's terror came from his overwhelming talent—yes—but also his monstrous rate of growth. Right now, though, he was still a sapling. A rookie.

And who fears stepping on a sapling?

He can't beat me yet.

Nazoralwas sure of it.

There was nothing about Kyle he couldn't match—especially not in Exodia 2, where the environment and people were different.

This was his turf.

In fact, this wasn't just his opinion.

"Congratulations in advance, Nazoral!"

"Long live Nazoral!"

"Long live Ark!"

"Woooooo!!"

Dungeon clear time: 11 hours 2 minutes.

Team size: 1.

Nazoralreminded himself of those stats with satisfaction as he exited the dungeon.

Outside, someone had already made themselves comfortable.

Bellatris, sprawled lazily on a picnic mat she'd laid out on the collapsed overpass, looked like a girl on an afternoon outing.

"…What? You're already done?"

A slight snap in her voice.

She stood up and stretched as she scanned Hart's team with a bored gaze.

Nazoralquickly turned his attention across the plaza—to the opposite dungeon gate.

Still closed.

Still uncleared.

Jhin hadn't returned.

Exactly as expected.

He was still a rookie. There was no way he could've cleared it faster.

Victory is mine.

Oddly, though, Nazoral felt no joy.

He had expected… more. A fight. A challenge.

He had even rushed a little, just in case.

Disappointing.

The motivation that had been driving him drained away like air from a punctured balloon.

Time passed, and the break threshold drew near.

Now even Nazoral's team—standing watch for Jhin's return—was sweating nervously.

At this point, it was clear.

Jhin's team had failed to prevent the dungeon break.

The worry had become reality. At any moment, hordes of undead might burst forth—

[D-Rank Dungeon 'City of Corpses' has entered Dungeon Break!]

Nazoral's team groaned in unison and turned toward Bellatris.

This had gone too far.

They couldn't just stand by anymore.

A teammate stepped up urgently.

"Bellatris! We should go in. If we act now during the reset window, we can still—"

"Wait."

"…Ma'am?"

"I said wait."

With her command, Nazoral's team froze.

Stuck in limbo, gripping their weapons tighter, preparing for the oncoming tide of zombies.

Still—they weren't too worried.

They had Nazoral.

They had Kyle.

But then—

As they stared at the dungeon gate, something else appeared.

Not a horde.

Not a monster.

But a message.

[Dungeon 'City of Corpses (C)' has been cleared.]

[Dungeon break forcibly terminated. Monster respawn now restricted. Further breaks in this dungeon will not occur barring exceptional circumstances.]

Someone whispered:

"…A bug?"

But then—out of the gate—came a group of people.

Covered in blood.

Wounded.

Dragging their feet like survivors from a war.

But their eyes were alive.

They radiated a quiet, undeniable momentum—the kind of sharpness only born from near-death.

It was Jhin's team.

And behind them—

Jhin himself.

Walking leisurely. Calm. Not a speck of blood on his clothes.

"Kyle…"

Nazoral's eyes twitched.

He felt like he'd been slapped across the back of the head.

So that's why he took so long.

"You didn't even think of me, huh…"

Now the two teams stood facing one another, gathered to await the final verdict.

Only one person could decide.

Bellatris.

The genius of Heaven Beyond Heaven. The top-tier Player of Ark.

All eyes turned toward her.

Who won?

Most people… believed it was Hart.

The clear time difference was massive.

Surely that had to mean something.