CHAPTER 150: TEAM DUNGEON ENTRY

The moment Lucen hit the tree line, movement flared, low, sharp creatures with hook-like limbs crawling from cracks in the earth. Their movement was jittery, like broken spiders.

Lucen reached for the sword. Drew it.

The steel hummed faintly. Not enchanted. Just eager.

He let the first one rush. Then cut low, flat across its body. The blade hit clean. The creature dropped in two pieces. No fanfare.

Lucen breathed once.

’Okay. That worked.’

The second one darted in faster. Lucen stepped in this time, angled the sword sideways to parry, then twisted and kicked it back into a tree.

Another rushed. He slashed again, missed.

Its limb caught his side, light contact, nothing critical, but enough to bruise.

He grunted.

Swung again, this time with a smaller motion. Less power. More control.

It died.

"Adjust your stance!" Gen yelled from a few meters away, launching a spell across the path.

Lucen rolled to the side, adjusted grip. Two more enemies lunged.

He dodged left, let the first swing wide, and stabbed up from below, caught the center of mass. The creature let out a hiss, then collapsed.

The second leapt from behind.

Lucen didn’t turn. He pivoted and slammed the hilt backward into its head. A dull crack. It dropped.

Gabe called, "How’s your mana?"

Lucen didn’t look up. "Haven’t touched it yet."

"Showoff."

The fight didn’t last long.

Maybe fifteen minutes total.

Once the last body hit the ground, the breach began to flicker. Weaken. A pulse of blue rolled through the air. Shrinking.

The guild crews regrouped. Injuries were minor. Only one major fainting incident. Still unconscious.

Gen walked over, brushing blood off his sleeve. "I liked the sword thing. You’re weirdly natural with it."

Lucen nodded once. "Thanks. Might keep it."

Gabe gave him a side-eye. "You elbowed a guy, Lucen."

"Yeah."

"In front of everyone."

"He was about to start a fight."

"You hit him so hard he made a new pose on the floor."

Lucen thought for a second. Then said, "’Pose of regret.’"

Gen cracked up.

They started walking back toward the retrieval point, boots crunching through ash and broken leaves.

Lucen’s sword still rested across his back. Lighter now.

Or maybe he was just getting used to it.

—

The forest cleared ahead into a hollow of granite and fractured earth, looks like the core of the rift. The air pulsed darker blue at its center, silence pressed tight.

Around it, creatures lay scattered, bodies of bark-fused beasts and malformed vines. Guild crews assembled around the perimeter, swords drawn, bows notched, system overlays flickering.

Gabe whispered through her comm: "Our breach will collapse in fifteen. Main objective: eliminate the central beast before field destabilization."

Lucen drew his sword. A low hum rose, not audible, but in his bones. The sword blade flickered with electric-blue sheen. Not magic. Just channeling his mana into steel. He didn’t announce it.

A shadow moved through the haze, and they saw it.

The creature emerged from the rift core. Massive. Fur like rock dust. Twisted horns that curved outward. Its legs were trunks. Veins pulsed with blue mana-light. Mouth crooked open like a cracked vault. Its eyes, galaxy panes, locked on them.

’That’s not going to be fun,’ Lucen thought.

The beast snorted. A tremor rolled through the ground. Soldiers squealed and backed away. Arrows flew, but shard-like vines deflected them mid-air. The creature roared, sound like tearing concrete.

Gabe called out: "Light mages first to slow it! Melee reserve, strike orders only!"

Gen raised shield over his arm, system overlay flashing status: shields up, cooldowns ready.

The beast charged.

Lucen stepped forward. The sword glowed brighter. He felt mana tingle through every handhold.

Without hesitation, he lowered his shoulder and rounded in. Steel sang across the creature’s knee-joint, ignited in a flare of blue-white energy. Flesh tore and fire bloomed. The beast bellowed, staggering. But didn’t fall.

Lucen gripped the blade hard, felt the hum beneath his palm. He pulled back and plunged forward, swinging upward into the chest. Mana burst like a star. The creature’s arcane core cracked. Steam and dust spiraled.

It screamed, raising a huge limb to strike out.

Lucen pivoted and drove forward with two more strikes, eyes closed, body pushing beyond fatigue. Arc burns bloomed at the final cut. A shockwave rippled.

Within seconds, the creature collapsed, body cratering the earth and mana field flipping inert. Silence fell. The rift core closed like a snapped lid.

Guild people stared in awe.

Lucen exhaled. He held sword at rest. Blue light faded. He was breathing hard.

Then movement behind him, a heated argument between two hunters over recognition. Emotion flared fast. Fists clenched. Words loud.

Lucen turned. Walked over without haste.

Taller hunter said, "You think you can just claim the kill?"

Shorter one said, "I fired the breaking shot—"

Words cut.

The taller guy swung.

Lucen stepped in front, shifting weight. He grabbed the man’s wrist and with one circular motion spun and shoved. The bigger man spun off balance, legs took him over, and he collapsed with a snap. Silence shocked. No fight. Just a hard landing.

Lucen exhaled. ’Alright. That was still more force than I expected.’

Gabe jogged over: "Lucen. You saw that coming?"

Lucen shrugged. "Fist was coming. I stopped it."

Gen arrived, eyeing the unconscious figure groaning on the ground. "We’re filling a medic report or we pretend he tripped?"

Lucen looked at the guy’s face landing in dust. "We say guard training brace."

Gen nodded. "Okay. Fine."

Gabe frowned: "That’s two knockouts in one mission."

Lucen ran a hand through his hair. "Guess that’s how today works."

Gen smirked. "Need more gloves?"

Lucen shook his head. "I’m good."

—

The rest of the cleanup was quiet. Guild members cleared bodies. Engineers secured zone. Gabe keyed her pad and addressed wider channels.

Lucen walked out centered. His sword decked at his side, the glow gone. Dirt on the blade. A reflection of authority now, not just steel.

Gen fell in beside him.

"You’re breathing like a furnace."

Lucen exhaled. "Could do with more mana zones in missions."