[Dungeon Crumbling]
[Exit Dungeon Before: 5:00 Minutes]
[Countdown Started]
A sharp chime echoed through the chamber like a bell tolling doom, and a glowing blue system panel materialized mid-air. Its translucent light flickered urgently in front of them, each word pulsing like a heartbeat:
[WARNING: DUNGEON COLLAPSE IMMINENT. EXIT IN 5 MINUTES TO AVOID PERMANENT CONTAINMENT IN…]
One Extremely Dark, Inescapable, and Boring Cave.
"Welp," Aren muttered, raising an eyebrow at the dramatic flair of the system message. "Looks like the dungeon wants us gone. Talk later."
He turned on his heel with zero hesitation, casually whistling as he strolled toward the boss gate he'd entered through, hands in his pockets like it was just another Tuesday.
Raven didn't follow.
She stood frozen in place, mouth slightly agape. The sheer audacity—no, the utter disregard—he had for her left her stunned.
She had revealed her full name. Her title. Her legacy.
And this E-Rank… this nobody... had walked away mid-sentence. Like she was background noise.
"…He just completely doesn't care!?" Raven finally shrieked, collapsing to a crouch on the dungeon floor, hands clutched in her hair as a fresh wave of secondhand embarrassment consumed her.
"Yep," Aren called over his shoulder, not even slowing his stride. He answered her rhetorical question as effortlessly as breathing, like someone who'd just tuned out a sales pitch at the mall.
I just got humiliated by a random nobody…
Raven bit her lip hard enough to leave a mark.
No. I refuse. There's still time. There's still a way to fix this…
She stared at Aren's retreating figure.
Judging by his personality… and those dumb boyish looks…
He's probably my age. Which means—
He should be weak to charm.
Her pride had already dropped to an all time low. What was a little more shame in the name of salvaging this partnership—and all the potential cash flow that came with it?
She inhaled, switched gears completely, and spoke in a voice so soft and breathy, it could've melted chocolate.
"…Hey…"
The word floated out like silk.
Aren paused.
He blinked.
Danger.
His instincts buzzed—too late.
He turned.
And immediately froze.
Raven remained crouched—but now, her raven-black eyes shimmered with something indescribable. Wide, glossy, and devastatingly pitiful.
She was giving him full-force, max-level puppy dog eyes.
THUD!
[CRITICAL HIT!]
Aren staggered backward as if he'd been physically struck. His knees gave out. The next moment, his forehead slammed against the stone floor with a sickening crack. Blood pooled beneath him like spilled wine.
"What the hell was that just now…?" Aren rasped, lifting shaky fingers to his face. He looked at his hand, then started laughing—quietly at first, then with increasing hysteria.
Death! What has gotten into you!?
"WHY DID THAT WORK ON ME!?" he suddenly yelled, voice echoing across the dungeon like the cry of a soul betrayed.
Wait a sec…
It's this damn body.
This vessel's instincts are too weak to seduction!
He groaned, rolling onto his back to stare at the flickering dungeon ceiling. As he gazed upward, Raven was still there, still locked into full-glam puppy mode. No mercy. No shame. Just 100% weaponized cuteness.
Yep. Definitely this vessel's fault.
Aren's mouth dropped open in silent horror, jaw unhinged like a ghost escaping his soul and returning to the ethereal plane.
Meanwhile, Raven continued without hesitation, doubling down on her charm offensive. Her expression remained adorably earnest, but her internal monologue told a very different story.
What a sucker…
She barely resisted the urge to cackle.
This was manipulation at its finest.
"Welp, guess I'm going blind then…" Aren muttered, as if he were talking about switching flavors of toothpaste.
The nonchalant statement made Raven pause mid-glare, her dramatic energy faltering like a record scratch.
"…What?" she asked, blinking. Her posture stiffened in genuine confusion, the momentum of her charm offensive abruptly short-circuited.
Aren, clearly done with the situation—and her eyes of mass destruction—closed his eyes with ceremonial calm and stood up, turned on his heel, and began walking away.
Yes.
With his eyes shut.
As if navigating a collapsing dungeon like a blindfolded bat was just another feature on his résumé.
Each step he took was confident. Ridiculously so. Like he'd suddenly tapped into some inner echolocation. He whistled casually, arms swinging, head held high—as though walking away from a flustered S-Rank wasn't a dangerous situation to be in.
[Exit Dungeon Before: 4:23 Minutes]
[WARNING: Dimensional Collapse Imminent. Good Luck.]
The system's chime returned, painfully chipper despite the impending doom. It echoed off the cavern walls, reminding them both that time was quite literally crumbling beneath their feet.
Raven stayed rooted to the spot, her mouth a thin, twitching line. The silence wrapped around her like a blanket of shame.
Another attempt: failed.
Another fragment of dignity: evaporated.
"I…" she muttered under her breath, the word dragging out like a loading screen bar.
Her eye twitched.
Her hands curled into fists.
Her soul screamed.
"I'LL RIP HIM TO SHREDS!!" she roared, her voice bouncing off the cavern like a lightning bolt off a church bell.
Sparks exploded beneath her boots, arcs of electricity racing across the stone as her rage surged high enough to fry lesser Hunters just by proximity.
He was not getting away with this.
Not with her pride in ruins.
Not with that smug little whistle still echoing in her ears.
And definitely not with the memory of those cursed puppy eyes working on that idiot.
Raven shot forward like black lightning, the dungeon floor shattering beneath her as she launched into pursuit.
This wasn't about loot anymore.
Or even recruitment.
This was about revenge.
And reputation control.
There could be no witnesses.
Aren wasn't just escaping the dungeon anymore—
He was running from divine retribution in the form of a woman whose charm had backfired terribly.