CHAPTER 45: DUNGEON BREAK

Ash rushed, hearing the turmoil outside the building. He stood there, seeing the commander and other rankers sitting in the van in a hurry and left.

The ones left followed on foot.

A cacophony of scream and bangs could be heard in far distance.

"What happened?" Ash asked a ranker, but he had already left with non-human speed.

Jessie’s device buzzed.

"Code Red—Dungeon break.

Repeating—Code Red—Dungeon break. All rankers, come to the northern side of the city."

Ash and Jessie looked at each other, mortified. It was the abnormal dungeon that had supposedly stabilized according to the commander.

They also followed behind.

Rushing towards the dungeon, Ash saw people running in the opposite direction, screaming in fear. A lady with a child in her arms tripped. An old man was shoved aside by the fleeing crowd.

Bird monsters with large beaks circled in the air.

He instantly recognised the beasts.

The commotion continued when he saw a large boulder falling from a broken building.

His eyes caught sight of a man floating in the air. The boulder halted mid-air, levitating, and was then placed down slowly.

It was the cold, middle-aged man who was with the Commander.

Jessie’s eyes wavered looking up.

Not everyone was strong enough to defend against the beasts.

So far, he hadn’t seen any beasts except the birds flying, since they were still far from the dungeon.

He kept running ahead. When he passed the panicked crowd, he noticed hundreds of beasts fighting rankers.

Not many rankers had reached there, and those who had were barely holding on.

The commander stood in front of the gate, a black energy swirling around him, corrupting the beasts into fighting each other.

Those that managed to get past him were dealt with by the rankers.

It didn’t matter which guild they belonged to or what their motives were. Everyone was united to defend the city they lived in.

Mages casted spells, knights cut through tough hides, while tankers crushed beasts with sheer might.

Ash saw two individuals struggling against a serpentine beast. They had already taken multiple bites, their hands and legs darkened. At this rate, their death was certain.

Ash whistled past behind them. His hand gripped the dagger as he lunged at the serpentine beast. His blade sliced across its fangs, breaking the icy shards.

It was definitely a D-rank. His title Rank Slayer glowed, giving him a 10% boost. Combined with the stat boosts from his armor and short blade, his power reached a new height.

He could feel the force in his hand as the dagger pressed against the serpent’s neck, slicing it apart.

[+50 Exp]

He had barely managed to stand up when a wolf lunged at him from the side. He was about to retreat when a fireball shot past, burning the beast alive.

Ash felt another surge of power from his other title, Twin Fang. Currently, his stats were boosted by 30%.

Looking back, both rankers were on their knees, their hands blackened from frostbite.

It wasn’t something serious—he had already recovered from frostbite once—so they just needed healing. But if they stayed in the middle of this mayhem, they might not survive.

"Jessie, heal them."

Jessie nodded, casting an upgraded spell that lit a small circle around them, restoring their wounds. She no longer needed to touch someone directly to heal.

But while he killed the serpent, he saw other rankers bleeding and panting. Ash rushed toward another group.

D-rank individuals were holding well, but some E-rankers were forced on the defensive. It was nearly impossible for them to stand against these beasts.

Ash’s blade moved like lightning, cutting through hide and bone. Each strike pushed him deeper into the battlefield, each kill leaving blood and steam in the air.

[+60 Exp]

[+45 Exp]

[+50 Exp]

The notifications stacked up, but he had no time to notice. At some point his muscles burned and his lungs screamed but his body moved faster than ever under the surging boost of his titles.

Yet for every beast he cut down two more emerged. Wolves leapt at mages, serpents sank their fangs into tanks and the screeching bird monsters overhead were falling killed by the flying man. battlefield felt like a cage.

Ash ducked under a claw, dragging his blade across the monster’s chest, and kicked it away. He looked up—just in time to see the dungeon gate ripple.

The blue vortex turned black and pulsed violently.

Then it expanded.

A horde of beasts spilled out, not in dozens but hundreds—a living tide of fangs, wolves, and birds.

The ground shook as fearsome figures pushed through. Rankers shouted, spells lit brighter than day, but the sheer number of creatures drowned everything.

The commander held his ground, killing with every move, but he was already covered and pushed down by the horde.

"Fall back!" someone screamed.

"No! Hold the line!" another yelled desperately.

Chaos erupted. The organized defense crumbled in seconds. Even D-rankers were being buried under claws and teeth.

Killing one D-rank beast was completely different from facing a horde of them.

Ash’s eyes widened—he could cut down one, ten, maybe even twenty. But not this. He slid his blade back into its sheath and gripped his pistol tighter, sweat dripping down his face. ’Is this what a dungeon break really means?’

Beside him, Jessie’s face was pale. She had been holding back until now, but not anymore. She couldn’t cast Dragon Flame many times with her mana pool.

A dragon of fire erupted, burning dozens of monsters.

Ash no longer cared about the fight. His plan was to slowly back away and run. He looked toward Jessie, who was already retreating after casting Dragon Flame once.

Ash fired a couple of bullets at charging beasts, killing them instantly. Rankers were dying one after another.

The commander stood in front of the gate unwavering, he barely had any scratch of him and had already killed more than a hundred beasts. But he could only do so much at single moment.

Despite his attempt to hold the beasts—

Behind him, the rankers were being overwhelmed.

As hope began to crumble...

A thunderous voice cut through the screams.

The ground cracked as a massive golden aura erupted, scattering beasts like dry leaves in a storm. A man in black, ominous armor strode forward, his sword glowing like the sun—the leaders of the guilds.

His single swing cleaved a horde in half, the shockwave tearing through dozens more.