68

Chapter 68: Beyond the Deep Core

Subin climbed.

The staircase seemed much longer on the way back than it had been on the way down. The deeper layers of the Skyfall Dungeon had been separated from the upper floors by enormous distances, and after everything he had experienced, the familiar stone corridors almost felt strangely peaceful.

His footsteps echoed through the passage.

Simple Edge rested at his waist.

The sword felt exactly as it had before.

Its synchronization remained at 99.99%.

Its grade remained unknown.

Its abilities remained hidden.

Yet Subin could tell that something had changed.

Not in the sword itself.

In him.

The Deep Core Territory had forced him to confront nearly every aspect of his swordsmanship. He had fought weapon masters, Sword Intent projections, a Sword Beast, autonomous swordsmanship, and finally a copy of himself.

He had learned to fight with a sword.

Without a sword.

With his body.

With his intent.

And eventually, without relying on any established technique at all.

But he hadn't reached the end.

His Personal Sword Path was still—

99.9%.

That number bothered him less now.

He no longer felt the urge to force the final fraction.

If the remaining 0.1% existed, then he would eventually understand it.

He continued upward.

After several minutes, the system appeared.

[Deep Core Territory successfully cleared.]

[All available trials completed.]

[Dungeon resource access expanded.]

[Congratulations, Subin Vans.]

Subin glanced at the notification.

Then another appeared.

[Hidden evaluation criteria detected.]

He stopped.

His expression changed slightly.

"Hidden evaluation?"

The message continued.

[Sword God class progression has reached a qualifying threshold.]

[New class-related function detected.]

Subin's eyes sharpened.

The Sword God class had always been different from ordinary classes.

Other Awakeners gained skills according to their class.

Warriors received physical abilities.

Mages received spells.

Assassins received stealth and movement skills.

But Sword God had never simply handed Subin a list of powerful abilities.

Instead, it seemed to respond to his understanding.

Whenever his comprehension reached a new level, something changed.

Subin opened the interface.

[Class: Sword God]

[Level: 40]

[Rank: B]

[Sword God Foundation: Complete]

[Personal Sword Path: 99.9%]

Then a new line appeared.

[Class Evolution Requirement: Partially fulfilled.]

Subin stared at it.

"Class evolution?"

The system continued.

[Current class evolution progress: 72%.]

Subin's eyebrows rose.

He hadn't known there was even a progression system for his class.

"What happens at one hundred?"

The system remained silent.

Subin wasn't surprised.

It had become increasingly common for the system to provide information without revealing everything.

He closed the interface.

He would find out eventually.

He continued climbing.

After another stretch of the dungeon, the atmosphere changed.

The dense mana disappeared.

The walls became rougher.

The familiar blue glow of Skyfall Dungeon returned.

Subin eventually reached the upper fortress.

He walked through the empty corridors.

The rooms where he had fought the Skyfall Sword Guardian were still there.

The Weapon Battlefield remained sealed.

The fortress had returned to its original state.

Yet Subin felt different walking through it now.

When he first entered, the dungeon had seemed enormous.

Now it felt smaller.

Not because the dungeon had changed.

Because his understanding had expanded.

Subin reached the fortress entrance.

The massive doors opened.

Natural sunlight entered.

He stepped outside.

Fresh air touched his face.

Subin stopped.

He looked toward the distant mountains.

Earth.

He had spent so long inside the dungeon that seeing the ordinary world again felt slightly unfamiliar.

Then his communication device began vibrating.

Subin took it out.

There were dozens of notifications.

Missed calls.

Messages.

Association updates.

Requests.

News alerts.

He frowned.

"What happened?"

The moment he opened the first message, he understood.

His disappearance had been noticed.

Subin had entered Skyfall Dungeon as a B-rank Awakener.

He had been gone for considerably longer than expected.

The Awakener Association had already begun searching for information about him.

One message was from an Association official.

[Subin Vans, please contact the Association immediately after exiting Skyfall Dungeon.]

Another followed.

[Your dungeon entry record has triggered a special monitoring request.]

Then another.

[Abyssal-class dungeon activity detected in multiple regions.]

Subin's expression became serious.

"Abyssal-class?"

He opened the report.

Several dungeon outbreaks had occurred across the world.

They weren't normal dungeons.

They were larger.

More unstable.

And significantly more dangerous.

The report contained preliminary rankings.

[Abyssal Dungeon — Japan.]

[Abyssal Dungeon — United States.]

[Abyssal Dungeon — Brazil.]

[Abyssal Dungeon — India.]

Subin's eyes stopped on the last one.

"India."

The report was incomplete.

The dungeon had appeared less than twelve hours earlier.

Its estimated danger level was—

A-rank.

But the Association had not yet determined whether the dungeon had a higher internal classification.

Subin looked toward the horizon.

The world had been changing continuously while he was inside Skyfall Dungeon.

He had been focused on his own progression.

But Earth wasn't waiting for him.

Monsters were getting stronger.

Dungeons were appearing.

Awakeners were growing.

And humanity was gradually becoming more organized.

Subin put away the device.

He didn't immediately return to the Association.

Instead, he opened his status.

[Name: Subin Vans]

[Class: Sword God]

[Level: 40]

[Rank: B]

[Strength: 71]

[Agility: 70]

[Vitality: 63]

[Intelligence: 36]

[Mana: 41]

[Unassigned Points: 0]

His eyes rested on Mana.

It had increased from 32 to 41 after his controlled absorption of the Deep Mana Core.

He closed the interface.

Then he looked at Simple Edge.

The sword remained quiet.

"Let's go."

Subin began walking.

He hadn't decided what he would do about the new dungeon yet.

First, he wanted information.

He needed to know how strong the monsters were, how the Association was responding, and whether the dungeon represented a genuine threat to the surrounding population.

He wasn't interested in becoming a hero.

But he also wasn't going to ignore an opportunity to test his sword.

More importantly, he wanted to know whether the new dungeon contained something that could push him further.

As Subin approached the main road, several vehicles suddenly stopped.

Association personnel stepped out.

One of them recognized him immediately.

"Subin Vans!"

Subin stopped.

The man hurried toward him.

"You finally came out."

"You were waiting?"

"We've been trying to contact you for hours."

Subin looked at him calmly.

"I was underground."

"We know. That's why we're surprised you're alive."

Subin raised an eyebrow.

The official hesitated.

Then he laughed awkwardly.

"Sorry. That came out wrong."

Subin didn't mind.

"What's happening?"

The official's expression became serious.

"The Association needs to brief you."

"About the Indian dungeon?"

"Yes."

Subin nodded.

"Then let's go."

The official seemed relieved.

As they entered the vehicle, another message appeared on Subin's interface.

[World Dungeon Activity increasing.]

[Global mana density increasing.]

[Monster evolution rate increasing.]

Subin stared at the notifications.

The system continued.

[Human awakening rate increasing.]

Then one final message appeared.

[Global progression stage has advanced.]

Subin's expression became thoughtful.

The invasion had started only recently.

Yet the world was already moving into another stage.

He looked through the vehicle window as the road disappeared behind them.

Cities had changed.

Buildings had been reinforced.

Awakener Association banners appeared in several places.

Training centers had opened.

Monster-material markets were expanding.

People with weapons walked openly through the streets.

Humanity was adapting.

Not perfectly.

Not peacefully.

But naturally.

Subin leaned back.

He had spent the last several weeks focused almost entirely on becoming stronger.

Now he needed to see what the rest of humanity had become.

The vehicle eventually arrived at the regional Awakener Association headquarters.

The moment Subin stepped inside, conversations stopped.

Several Awakeners looked toward him.

Some recognized him immediately.

Others whispered.

"That's him."

"The Sword God."

"He cleared Skyfall Dungeon alone."

"I heard he fought a Sword Guardian."

"He's only B-rank?"

Subin ignored them.

He walked toward the meeting room.

The Association official opened the door.

Inside were several senior members.

A large screen displayed a map of India.

Multiple red points marked dungeon locations.

One was much larger than the others.

The official pointed toward it.

"This is the problem."

Subin looked at the location.

The dungeon was near a heavily populated region.

"The initial classification was A-rank," the official said. "But our scouts couldn't reach the inner area."

"Why?"

"They encountered monsters above the expected level."

Subin's eyes narrowed.

"How high?"

The official hesitated.

"Level seventy."

The room became quiet.

Subin remained calm.

Level seventy wasn't impossible for him anymore.

He had fought a Level 78 Sword Beast.

But the important question wasn't the highest monster level.

It was why such monsters had appeared in a newly formed dungeon.

The official continued.

"And there's another problem."

Subin looked at him.

"The dungeon isn't stable."

"What does that mean?"

"The entrance is changing."

The official displayed several images.

The dungeon entrance had changed shape multiple times.

Its mana signature was also increasing.

Subin studied the images.

Then he noticed something.

The mana fluctuations weren't random.

They were gradually becoming stronger.

The dungeon was developing.

Not simply spawning monsters.

Developing.

Subin leaned forward.

"When does the Association plan to enter?"

"Tomorrow morning."

"Who is going?"

"An A-rank expedition team."

Subin nodded.

That was reasonable.

Then the official looked directly at him.

"We would like you to join them."

Subin remained silent.

The request wasn't surprising.

He was still officially B-rank.

But the Association knew he had cleared Skyfall Dungeon alone.

They also knew that his actual combat ability was difficult to measure through conventional ranking.

Subin looked back at the map.

The red point pulsed.

He could almost feel the dungeon's mana through the screen.

A new dungeon.

Stronger monsters.

An unstable environment.

And possibly a new opportunity to improve his swordsmanship.

Subin stood.

"When do we leave?"

The official blinked.

"Tomorrow morning."

"Fine."

He turned toward the door.

"I'll be there."

As Subin walked away, the system quietly appeared.

[New Regional Dungeon identified.]

[Recommended challenge level: A.]

[Potential sword-related growth: High.]

Subin smiled faintly.

The Deep Core Territory had taught him that his sword path couldn't be completed by simply collecting stronger techniques.

Now it was time to test that understanding against the wider world.

He tightened his grip on Simple Edge.

Tomorrow, he would enter another dungeon.

But this time, he wouldn't be entering it as the same swordsman who had walked into Skyfall.

He had changed.

And Earth was beginning to change with him.