The air inside the B-Rank Dungeon felt unnaturally heavy.
Unlike the outside world, there was no sound of birds or flowing rivers. Only endless silence echoed between the towering stone cliffs. A cold breeze carried the scent of damp earth, making the atmosphere even more unsettling.
Rayan slowly stepped through the narrow rocky path while Sketch hovered beside his shoulder.
"So..." Rayan broke the silence with a smile. "This is my first dungeon."
Sketch immediately replied,
"Correction, Master. This is your first legal dungeon."
Rayan looked at him.
"...There are illegal dungeons?"
"Of course! Criminal organizations secretly enter Gates without reporting them. The government calls them Illegal Raiders."
Rayan sighed.
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that."
Sketch proudly puffed out his tiny metallic chest.
"I am an educational companion."
"No."
"You are a noisy toaster with wings."
"What is a toaster?"
"...Forget it."
For a brief moment, both of them laughed.
The tension disappeared.
Only for a moment.
Crunch...
Rayan suddenly stopped walking.
Something had cracked beneath his foot.
He looked down.
A strange gray stone fragment lay half-buried in the dirt.
Unlike ordinary rocks, its surface contained countless tiny rune-like carvings.
"...This isn't natural."
He picked it up.
Immediately—
[Blueprint Vision Activated.]
Blue geometric lines spread across the fragment.
Dozens of floating symbols surrounded it.
> Material: Titan Stone
> Composition: Artificial
> Source: Exterior Armor
> Owner: Stone Golem
Rayan's expression froze.
"...Stone Golem?"
Sketch also looked at the fragment.
"Master... according to my database..."
"This dungeon shouldn't contain one."
Rayan slowly looked ahead.
"If these are only pieces of its armor..."
"...then how big is the real thing?"
Silence.
The two quietly followed the trail of broken stones.
The deeper they walked...
The larger the fragments became.
Palm-sized.
Head-sized.
Wheel-sized.
Finally...
Pieces larger than a human body.
THUD...
A distant vibration shook the ground.
Sketch froze.
"...Did you feel that?"
Another step echoed through the valley.
THUD...
Small pebbles rolled across the ground.
Dust fell from the cliffs.
Rayan slowly tightened his grip around the stone hammer hanging behind his back.
"...Something's coming."
THUD...
THUD...
THUD...
The footsteps grew louder.
Each one felt like a heartbeat of the mountain itself.
Then...
A gigantic shadow emerged from the thick mist.
For a brief second...
Rayan thought it was another cliff.
Then it moved.
Two enormous blue eyes slowly opened.
Ancient runes lit up across its rocky body.
A creature nearly five meters tall stepped into the open.
Its body looked like an entire mountain carved into the shape of a warrior.
Its fists alone were larger than Rayan's entire body.
The pressure it released made breathing difficult.
Sketch's mechanical voice trembled.
"...Master."
"...I have officially changed my opinion."
Rayan raised an eyebrow.
"About what?"
"We should run."
The Stone Golem slowly lowered its head.
Its glowing eyes locked onto Rayan.
Silence filled the battlefield.
For one terrifying second...
Nobody moved.
Then—
BOOOOOOOOM!!
The Stone Golem charged.
The ground exploded beneath its feet.
"So much for a warm welcome!"
Rayan instantly jumped sideways.
A massive stone fist crashed into the place where he had been standing.
The impact created a crater several meters wide.
Broken rocks flew everywhere.
Dust swallowed the battlefield.
Rayan rolled across the ground before quickly standing back up.
"...One hit."
He stared at the enormous crater.
"...That's all it would take."
The giant raised its arm once again.
No hesitation.
No emotion.
Only destruction.
Rayan slowly closed his eyes.
"...Blueprint Vision."
The world changed.
Countless blue lines appeared across the Stone Golem's body.
Its joints.
Its center of gravity.
Its movement pattern.
Its structural weaknesses.
Everything became visible.
A smile slowly appeared on Rayan's face.
"I see you now..."
"I just need to create an opening."
He stretched out his hand.
Cold mana gathered around his fingertips.
The copied Ice Manipulation activated.
CRACK...
A thick layer of ice instantly spread beneath the giant's feet.
The Stone Golem stopped moving.
Its legs became completely frozen.
Sketch's eyes sparkled.
"It worked!"
Rayan didn't celebrate.
"...No."
"It only bought us time."
The giant looked down at the ice.
Then—
BOOOOOOOM!!
With nothing but raw strength, it shattered the frozen ground beneath its feet.
Ice exploded into countless fragments.
Sketch's smile disappeared.
"...That's cheating."
The Stone Golem roared and charged once again.
Rayan looked around the battlefield.
His eyes suddenly stopped on a massive cracked stone pillar standing beside the cliff.
Blueprint Vision immediately highlighted it.
A single precise impact...
And the entire pillar would collapse.
A plan formed inside his mind.
Rayan smiled.
"I've got you."
To Be Continued...