Chapter 38 - Irreversible changes The night was a hazy blur and passed by in a blink. I woke up the next morning feeling invigorated as I saw the sight in front of me while feeling the colors and boosts of multiple activated skills that seemed to fill my body with inexhaustible power. If I didn’t have [Stealth] and [Shadow Veil] activated at all times, people would just see a mass of colors and defensive layers surrounding me at all times I freshened up and left the living quarters to start this day early, planning to be holed up in the [Mangrove Swamp] for the remainder of the day to see exactly how many times I could clear it before a rank A skill would show itself I flew through the clear skies and arrived at the huge monolith, which seemed to have turned to a shade of light blue after I cleared it so many times. That day, I spent my entire time diving and I was able to clear the dungeon more than 40 times. Forty. That number did not seem realistic, and something like this had never occurred in the past. Nobody had the unending stamina to do what I did repeatedly for an entire day One good thing came out of it, as I was finally able to receive a rank A skill from this dungeon. My next rank A skill was [Guardian Light-A light that cures injuries, ailments, and diseases descends down]. It wasn’t a defensive or movement skill that I was thinking about, but it was an amazing skill nonetheless. Its usefulness would be even more apparent whenever the time comes where I get injured again Also, besides my original three rank C [Ring of Storage], I was able to get an additional drop of these rare rings, this one even being rank B and holding a much larger space that was now holding a ton of [Item]s, [Core]s, and [Skill Book]s from the past 40 dungeon runs I was leaving the dungeon for the last time today to sift through the useful skill books and those that I would be giving away. Most of the items that dropped were duplicates of [Scale Armor] or the other items that dropped in this dungeon before I placed my hand on the green crystal and transferred to the outside world once more. I nodded to the guards and was about to head towards the Vice Admiral’s office when I felt the ground start shaking The tremors were emanating behind me and I turned back to see the huge dungeon monolith that was now a light fade of blue... had cracks spreading out from the middle. Oh shit The cracks expanded as the tremors got even stronger, and the huge monolith began trembling before an explosion ran out BOOM! A huge blast was sent out as I was flung away and any hunter soldiers that were near were heavily injured. I had watched the huge monolith of the [Mangrove Swamp] expand with cracks and then implode. When the dust cleared, there was an empty space where the monolith used to be, only a small shimmering crystal lying at the center I looked at this with my mouth wide open. What the hell did I do now?! I was trying to calm my emotions as I went forward to observe the shimmering crystal that remained from the monolith when I was suddenly met with a searing headache AAH! I screamed out loud as I clutched my head and felt this pain that threatened to make my head explode. In my agony, a few faint words rose up in my mind that I could barely make out [...Move...Faster...] --- An hour after. Tumultuous waves were spreading throughout the empire. News had just been transmitted to all the leaders and governments of various cities of an incident where a dungeon...had completely disappeared This was the first-ever change to occur since they first began appearing. New dungeons could appear at any time, but there was never a case of them ever disappearing unless a dungeon break occurred. The more shocking news that was coming out was that...a hunter was involved in causing this! Leaders from all over were scrambling to find the authenticity of these news. If any of this was true. If any of this could be replicated...Higher-ups who understood the current world were trembling in anticipation for the possible future --- In a grand palace at the center of Blessed City. There was a large hall lined with guards wearing golden armors. At the forefront was a striking throne that shone with a purple light. A person was sitting on this throne looking at the Admirals kneeling down below the steps A feminine voice rang out in the large hall "I want a thorough report about all the events surrounding that dungeon. By the end of the day, I expect to be briefed with all the information about that hunter as well." The voice paused after this was heard before continuing "Treat the hunter very carefully, he might just be what we have been waiting for" 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂 On the throne was a figure fully covered from head to toe. A royal mask was hiding the face and an exquisitely defined crown lay atop their head. --- A man whose body was crackling with lightning was just transferring out of a rank B dungeon when his phone began blowing up. He pulled the phone out in annoyance as he read to see just who would dare to bother him so much There were multiple texts and missed calls from people he didn’t wanna talk to all, but the things he was reading were giving him a shock. "Get back to base soon" (Admiral X) "What is your connection to the rising hunter of Star City?" (Amiral XX) "Call me back. Now." (Admiral XXX) Nothing he was reading from the texts was making sense. A name kept popping up that he didn’t recognize, Noah Osmont. He was busy clearing dungeons and didn’t even get the news of the deathmatch he inadvertently caused this same day. After reading some more and seeing a lot of the questions were revolving about the event a few days ago where he handed the winner of an impromptu match a rank A skill, the name and person came together The lightning was sparking out in an unstable manner the more he read on about what had just occurred. He was in shock as he thought "My impulsiveness actually led to something good?" --- An incident had occurred that caused shock waves to spread not just throughout the Empire, but to the many allied countries in the United Federation. The news leaked out the moment it began spreading, other countries soon learning of this momentous affair Delegates were assembled and tensions rose. The excitement was palpitating. Everyone could feel it. A change was coming.