The sound of dripping water echoed through the stone corridors — rhythmic, hollow, like the dungeon itself was breathing.A torch hissed in Rheon Vael’s hand, the weak flame struggling against the cold damp air. Ahead of him, five figures moved in confident formation — armor gleaming faintly, weapons drawn, eyes alert.“Keep up, Rheon!” Kira called over her shoulder, her tone teasing, her lips curved into that same perfect smirk he’d once found charming. “Or the slimes might finally have a meal.”The others chuckled.Rheon forced a grin, though his stomach churned. “Don’t worry, I’ll try not to trip over your ego.”“Still got that mouth, huh?” said Darius, the group’s tank — a wall of muscle wrapped in steel. His laughter echoed like thunder. “If only you could swing a sword as well as you talk.”He couldn’t.Not like them.Rheon’s role was Support. A glorified assistant, a healer with subpar mana and no offensive skills. His system stats were laughable — half of what even a rookie ad

The air was thick with decay.Faint motes of dust drifted through the blue glow pulsing from Rheon’s chest. Each pulse echoed through the corpse pit — a low, rhythmic thrum that made the stone quiver.Something answered from the tunnel.A growl. Wet and low. Like meat grinding through broken teeth.Rheon’s fingers clenched around the rusted blade. His knuckles were pale, his breathing sharp. Every inhale scraped against the jagged edges of pain still blooming inside his ribs.He could feel it — them — moving closer. The sound of claws dragging across stone. Snarls. The rattle of bone.Then, they came.A pack of beasts slithered out of the darkness — creatures that might once have been wolves, or men. Now they were neither.Their spines jutted through torn skin. Their eyes glowed faint red, smoke leaking from their mouths as if their blood burned instead of flowed.Mutated dungeon spawn.The lowest rank of the Rift’s monsters — scavengers that fed on mana, and corpses.Perfect.Rheon s

The corridor stretched endlessly, carved from black stone streaked with veins of glowing mana. Each step Rheon took resonated like a drumbeat, the sound merging with the faint pulse in his chest.The dungeon had gone silent — at least, it seemed so. But the Codex whispered constantly in his mind, subtle threads of energy tracing his nerves like electricity. He could feel every seam in the stone, every flicker of mana, every echo of life or death that had passed through these halls.[SYSTEM: Host Synchronization – 57%][New skill slot detected: Reserved for Codex sub-core abilities.]Rheon flexed his fingers. The light under his skin shimmered in response, reflecting off the jagged walls. The ruins felt… alive now, but not threatening — not yet.Then he heard it: a voice.Not his own, not mechanical, but layered, fractured — the kind of voice that seemed to echo across centuries.“Who dares disturb my sleep?”Rheon froze. His blade tightened in his hand, the metal humming faintly with

The chamber trembled under his feet.The mana storm swirling from Rheon’s chest had grown beyond his control, a living, breathing torrent. Shadows writhed in the corners, drawn to the blue-white pulse of the Core, twisting into forms both monstrous and familiar — echoes of past hosts, failed adventurers, and monsters long dead.[Bloodstorm Energy Accumulation: 100%][Core Dominion Active – Maximum Output.][Warning: Host neural integrity at 72%. Potential cognitive fracture imminent.]Rheon’s chest throbbed in tandem with the dungeon, every heartbeat synchronized with the pulsing runes along the walls. He could feel it — the Core’s consciousness, the dungeon’s will, the Codex itself — all converging, all pushing him to his limits.The first wave of Rift predators surged from the darkness. Massive, malformed beasts, their flesh burned with corrupted mana. Their roars reverberated through the stone like thunder, shaking dust from the ceiling.[High-tier Rift Entities detected: Count – 1

The chamber trembled violently, and Rheon’s pulse quickened. The remaining Rift entities — massive, predatory, and corrupted beyond measure — surged toward him. But this time, it was different. The dungeon itself seemed alive, feeding on the chaos it had created, growing hungrier, stronger. The walls pulsated with mana, dripping black ichor, while shards of stone and corrupted crystal rose to form jagged obstacles.[Alert: High-tier Rift Entities – 24 detected simultaneously.][Threat Level: Catastrophic.]Rheon staggered, blade trembling in his grip. His chest glowed as the Core pulsed violently, hunger flaring through every vein. The Codex whispered in his skull, smoother now, almost coaxing.“Rheon Vael… survival is a contract. Accept, and ascend. Refuse, and be consumed.”He gritted his teeth, feeling the immense strain on his body — muscles burning, nerves screaming, his mind teetering on the edge of collapse.[Warning: Host neural integrity 85%. Core influence escalating.][Bloo