Back at Duty

The battlefield was still. The scent of burnt flesh and blood lingered in the cold air. Akira exhaled, rolling his shoulders, feeling the lingering aftershocks of the fight. Around them, the bodies of slain Lingols and the defeated Golion Tant lay in ruin.

Sylara wiped a streak of black blood from her cheek, then turned her sharp violet eyes toward Akira.

"You've grown even stronger," - She muttered, a trace of something in her tone—impressed.

Akira smirked slightly, flexing his fingers as white lightning crackled faintly around them.

"Yeah. I can feel it."

Before he could say more, the sound of approaching footsteps echoed through the ruined streets. A group of armed hunters emerged from the shadows, their guild uniforms marked with Sylara's Guild Silver Aegis insignia. At the front of the group was a familiar, figure—Grido.

Beside him, another familiar face.

Anna.

The blue-haired girl with her daggers was among the group, walking a few steps behind Grido. She had been alongside Victor, Grido, and Akira during the C-rank evolved dungeon. And now, like Victor, she had returned from her break.

Her eyes flickered toward Akira for a brief moment before she quickly looked away, as if embarrassed.

Akira raised an eyebrow slightly.

The guild members halted a few feet away they straightened their posture and saluted Sylara with respect.

Grido crossed his arms, scanning the scene with a low whistle.

"Hell of a mess here."

His gaze locked onto Sylara.

"Guildmaster, is everything okay? We met some of the Terra Agents on the way—they told us a little, but not much."

Sylara sighed, sheathing her sword.

"The brat and I handled it." She pointed her finger toward Akira. "Every last one of them, including the Middle Boss."

Grido's expression shifted.

"Middle Boss?" His eyes widened slightly.

"So that's the kind of dungeon this is, huh?"

"No wonder those Terra Agents looked nervous."

Akira said nothing, merely watching Grido's reaction. The veteran STAR had seen enough to know what a Middle Boss meant.

Grido rubbed his chin, his mind already working through the implications.

"So, what's the plan, Guildmaster?"

Sylara didn't hesitate.

"Since this is an emergency outbreak dungeon, we don't need permission or claiming to enter the gate. The best move is to locate it and raid it sine only the real boss i think is left."

She glanced at the gathered hunters, her violet eyes assessing.

"With you guys here now, I feel a little safer taking him down."

Grido nodded. "Understood."

"Then, turning to the guild members, he barked, "You heard the Guildmaster! Spread out and find that gate! Move!"

The STARS saluted once more before splitting off in different directions, their footfalls fading into the distance.

Grido turned his head, scanning the aftermath of the battle once more. The sheer destruction was staggering—the corpses of monstrous Lingols piled like broken dolls, their grotesque forms twisted in death. The Golion Tant's carcass loomed over the battlefield, its massive frame still crackling with residual energy from Akira and Sylara's attacks.

He exhaled sharply, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Unreal…" he thought. "And to think—he even raided a dungeon with us this morning."

His gaze drifted to Akira, watching as the younger star stood there, seemingly unfazed, his dark eyes cold. Grido had seen many prodigies, but Akira was something else entirely.

"Never ceases to amaze me," Grido mused under his breath.

"And to top it off, he even managed to bring that cursed artifact tatto under control… the one locked away in the guild vault. Unbelievable."

Beside him, Anna stood in silence.

Grido voiced the same question aloud. "Anyway, lucky you two were here," he said, arms crossed.

"How did you even run into each other, Guildmaster?"

Sylara lazily placed a hand on her hip, tilting her head as she gave Akira a sideways glance.

"Oh, the brat just happened to be passing by, and I was out looking for a little fun. We just bumped into each other."

She smirked, then sighed dramatically. "We were having such a fun time… until those damn beasts ruined it."

Anna blinked. Something about Sylara's tone… something offhanded, yet deliberate. Then the words hit her.

"We were having fun? Together?"

Her mind stumbled over itself. "Fun? What kind of fun? Wait… no way—"

Her mind was in chaos.She felt her stomach twist.

"No way. No way, right? Sylara was older. Way older. But… but age didn't matter anymore in this era?"

"And GuildMaster Sylara…is breathtakingly beautiful. Even other women admitted it. And Akira—Akira is… well, Akira."

"Who won't be drawn to him?"

Sylara's sharp violet eyes flicked toward her, an amused glint hidden beneath her lashes.

Anna quickly turned away, willing her cheeks to stop burning.

Akira, meanwhile, had enough.

Akira narrowed his eyes as he scanned the darkened streets around him. The hunters were moving swiftly, spreading out to search for the dungeon entrance, but something about this situation gnawed at him.

"It's taking too long…" Frustration creeping into his thoughts. "Is the dungeon really that well hidden, or is something else at play here?"

He didn't like wasting time. Every second spent searching was a second lost.

Then—

Ding!

A sharp chime echoed in his ears, followed by the sudden appearance of a translucent blue window before his eyes.

[Does the user wish for me to locate the entrance of the dungeon?]

Akira narrowed his eyes at the glowing text. The system… can do that?

His fingers twitched slightly before he muttered, "You can do that?"

[Yes. If the user permits it, I will begin the search. However, a higher vantage point is recommended for optimal area scanning.]

Akira exhaled sharply, rolling his neck. The system has been really helpful to him. It had always been a step ahead, pushing him to limits beyond what he thought possible and helping with his growth. If it said it could find the dungeon—then it could.

"No more waiting."

Decision made, he turned sharply, reaching out. His hand landed firmly on Sylara's shoulder.

"Cut this bullshit," he said, his voice low but firm.

"We need to find that dungeon."

Sylara arched a brow, unimpressed. "Oh? And what do you expect me to do? I've already sent a whole squad out, and sooner or later, they'll—"

"Nope."

Akira cut her off.

"I'm not standing around for 'sooner or later.' I think I can find it myself now."

Sylara stared at him, then smirked slightly. "Oh? And how exactly do you plan on doing that?"

Akira didn't answer. He didn't need to.

He bent his knees slightly—

And jumped.

The force cracked the pavement beneath his feet as his body shot into the air like a missile. The city blurred below him, buildings shrinking in an instant. The wind roared past his ears as he soared higher—higher than rooftops, higher than the tallest structures in the district.

Akira reached the peak of his jump, high above the city. From this height, the entire landscape spread out before him like a detailed map. The shattered streets, the trails of devastation left by the monsters—it was all laid bare beneath him.

From below, the others looked up, stunned by the sheer scale of his leap.

"Damn…" Grido muttered

Anna gawked. "He… really just jumped that high?"

Sylara simply crossed her arms, watching with a knowing smirk. "Showoff."

"This should be high enough." Akira let himself hover at the peak of his jump, suspended in the night sky. The moon cast a silver glow over his form as he exhaled.

"Find it." His voice was calm. Absolute.

[Command accepted.]

His status window flickered violently—lines of text racing across its surface as the system worked.

[REGISTERING AREA…][SCANNING FOR TRACES OF MANA DISTORTION…][CALIBRATING…][PINPOINTING LOCATION…]

Then—

[LOCATION CONFIRMED.]

Before his eyes, a glowing red marker appeared in the distance, far beyond where the other stars were searching. His pupils dilated slightly as he locked onto it.

"There." His lips curled slightly.

"What a spot that's why they couldn't find it"