The moment SeTa stepped beyond the borders of the Floor 1 Safe Zone, the sky darkened with new constellations. Gone was the golden glow of safety. In its place, a living, breathing labyrinth — twisted trees that defied gravity, rocks suspended midair, and winds that whispered like forgotten tongues.
He walked alone.
No guidance. No tutorial. Just his instincts... and a blinking prompt on his interface.
> [Floor 1 – Zone 1 Initiated.]
Objective: Survive. Discover. Ascend.
Every few minutes, he passed other Climbers. Most moved in teams of two or three, tense and whispering. A few traveled solo, like him, their eyes hollow, sharp. The days of unity were gone. From here on, it was survival.
Then the system flared.
> [Low-Rank Dungeon Detected – "Den of the Hollow Prowler"]
Optional Objective: Clear Dungeon
AP Reward: Variable – Based on Efficiency, Style, Survival
Dungeon Type: Adaptive – Solo Scaling Engaged
SeTa's fingers flexed slightly.
He stepped through the shimmering dungeon gate.
Everything shifted. The forest was replaced by a bone-lined corridor, pulsing with a sickly green glow. Roots crept along the floor. Shadows moved without source.
And then—movement.
A Hollow Prowler. Level 6. Black-furred. Too many limbs. A mask of blank bone over its face. It dropped from the ceiling like a spider and launched at him, claws screeching through the air.
SeTa didn't dodge.
> [Skill Activated – Threadbind: Stage 1 – Control Point Initiated]
[INT Overclock – 10 seconds – Begin]
Threads lit up across the beast's limbs and joints. Invisible to the creature. Blindingly clear to him.
He struck.
A tug of a thread snapped one leg backwards mid-air. The creature screeched, twisted. But a blade of mental construct was already forming in SeTa's hand — compressed energy in the shape of intent.
He swept through the Hollow Prowler's torso.
> [Execution Complete – Weak Point Hit Multiplier x2]
[Target Eliminated – Hollow Prowler]
The creature crumbled into ash.
> [+290 AP Earned – Solo Kill]
[High Efficiency Bonus – +100 AP]
[First Dungeon Kill Bonus – +100 AP]
[New Item Acquired: Prowler Core – Grade E]
[Total AP: 10,990]
SeTa exhaled once.
His heartbeat slowed.
The dungeon shimmered, its walls beginning to dissolve.
Just before the environment collapsed completely, another prompt blinked in the corner of his vision:
> [Thread Detection: Unstable Link Detected – Unknown Origin]
[Distance: Closing – Threadpulse Active]
It wasn't a voice. Not a presence. Just information. Cold. Neutral.
SeTa stepped back into the wilderness, letting the last of the dungeon's green glow fade behind him.
Elsewhere, Climbers screamed. Fought. Died.
He kept walking.
> [Notice: Floor 1 Now Active]
[All Dungeon Zones Open]
[Ranking System Temporarily Offline – Data Aggregating]
Somewhere deeper in this floor, stronger enemies waited. Richer dungeons. But he wasn't rushing. Not yet.
First, he would map the land.
Then, he would claim it.
He moved like shadow across uneven terrain, toward the next flicker of the unknown, a thread still faintly glowing in his chest.
No help.
No voices.
No fate but his own.