Eren's gaze turned toward his third authority, Form Alteration.
"Another absurd ability... I wonder how it works..."
Closing his eyes, Eren tried to concentrate on his newfound ability through the spiritual energy within his body.
Just as the girl had taught him, he had been channeling his spiritual energy the same way all this time, except while sleeping.
Channeling spiritual energy from his gut was not hard for him.
In fact, it felt too easy.
Only a small fraction of his consciousness was needed to guide the energy evenly toward every part of his body.
The real problem lay in the constant need for awareness.
If Eren let his guard down even a little, just like yesterday, his ability would activate on its own.
Within a few moments, Eren felt the spiritual energy spread through every part of his body and eject from his skin.
When he opened his eyes, he saw in the taxi's front mirror that his hair color, eye color, and skin tone were changing rapidly as his spiritual energy was consumed at a noticeable speed.
His dark brown hair became pitch black.
His bright brown eyes turned gray.
His skin tone became noticeably fairer.
"...!"
The taxi driver, who saw it through the mirror, widened his eyes in shock just like yesterday.
Eren immediately reverted to his original appearance.
"Sorry for startling you. I was just practicing a new skill I got yesterday..."
"N-No, no... don't be... It's nothing..."
Eren wasn't in a hurry to make money like he was yesterday, so this time he took his time talking with the driver.
The conversation began with introductions.
His name was Leo, and he lived on a nearby street not far from Eren's house.
Eren introduced himself as well.
They got to know each other a little, and the awkwardness faded as they arrived at the city outskirts.
The destination was at the far east of Tidewatch City.
A tall city wall stood there, separating the human residential area from the monster-infested forests surrounding it.
Once someone crossed the wall, they would enter the territory of wild monsters, all above Level 10, Tier 2 creatures, where Eren's father usually went hunting with his team.
It was a very dangerous place for a Tier 1 awakener like him.
Even if Eren wanted to go outside, he had to reach at least Level 10 and update his information at the Awakener Association.
Those below that level were forbidden from leaving the city without proper protection.
Eren knew that compared to the dungeons inside the city, monsters outside the walls had a higher rate of dropping Life Essence and valuable items.
But they were also far more powerful than dungeon monsters.
The car stopped at the entrance of a three-story building.
After paying the taxi fare, Eren's bank balance dropped to two digits, only 60 Alliance Coins were left.
Eren walked directly inside the building.
The ground floor was filled with countless booths selling all kinds of items.
Some sold weapons and armor, others offered various potions, and some displayed jewelry.
Eren's eyes did not pause at any of them and instead landed on the counter directly opposite the entrance.
Three young boys, who looked like academy students, were standing in line.
When Eren looked into their information, he found that they were all Level 10.
They seemed to be aiming for the same dungeon as him.
When it was Eren's turn, he directly handed over his Awakener ID for verification.
Once everything was processed smoothly, the old man at the counter took out a talisman from his drawer and handed it to Eren.
"Since it's your first time entering a dungeon after registering, you will be given this escape talisman for free. Buy one for your safety from next time onward."
"Thank you."
When Eren held the talisman, information popped up:
[Dungeon Escape Talisman
Type: Consumable
One-time consumable talisman. By activating this talisman, the user can trigger the dungeon teleportation mechanism and safely escape from dungeons that have already been conquered and regulated by the Awakener Association. This talisman is useless outside of regulated dungeons.]
This talisman had the same function as the beginner dungeon teleportation mechanism that had transported Eren outside when the eight-hour time limit was up.
Eren stored it in his inventory and followed an official who guided the four of them down to the underground floor.
As they descended, Eren noticed a number of cameras positioned at the corners of the corridor, recording everything in every direction.
The amount of security measures around the dungeon gate amazed him greatly.
He couldn't help but exclaim,
"This whole building was built above the dungeon gate? It's kind of amazing..."
His words immediately attracted the attention of the staff member and the other three students.
The staff's eyes scanned Eren from head to toe as he asked, "Is this your first time seeing this? Are you one of the students who awakened this year?"
Eren felt slightly puzzled as four pairs of eyes looked at him eagerly, but he nodded.
"Yes, I am..."
The staff smiled and said, "Only three days have passed since the awakening ceremony, and there's already a student who reached Level 5, huh? That's faster than last year..."
The other three students looked at him in amazement as the staff continued with a smile,
"This building wasn't built around the dungeon. The dungeon was transported into this underground floor."
"Transported?! Can a dungeon be transported?"
This was the first time Eren had heard of such a thing. Even in school, there had been no mention of it.
The staff member and the other three gave him knowing looks at his reaction.
"Not all the time. Dungeons are usually fixed in a single place when they first appear. The so-called dungeons we use are actually portals to confined spatial spaces connected to a specific spatial coordinate in our world."
"But under certain circumstances, the spatial coordination can weaken enough to allow the dungeon core along with the dungeon space, to be teleported elsewhere."
"Certain circumstances?"
Eren asked curiously.
"Dungeon Break or Dungeon Evolution."
The staff looked at Eren to check if he was following before continuing.
"This dungeon, Gloomfang Den, was once a beginner dungeon used as training ground for newly awakened high schoolers three years ago. Even among beginner dungeons, it was considered very dangerous at that time. Because of continuous usage, constant killing of monsters and even casualties, the dungeon core absorbed a tremendous amount of energy and evolved into the dungeon we have now, all within just two years."
The three other youngsters listened with interest as well.
"The levels of dungeons are not fixed. The more we use them to collect resources, the stronger they become in return. Due to a lack of precaution in the past, humanity lost many lives to such changes."
"So now, every conquered dungeon falls under the strict jurisdiction of the Awakener Association. The beginner dungeons our city currently has were all purposely led into Dungeon Break by the Association to alter their spatial coordination to the area you students use now."
Eren immediately nodded in understanding.
He had always thought it was strange how six different beginner dungeons were gathered in the same location to help students level up.
Only now did he understand how it had been done.
"Monitoring dungeons is not only for that purpose," the staff continued.
"It is also to prevent traitors among humans from tampering with dungeon levels to cause dungeon outbreaks."
Eren noticed how everyone's expressions turned cold at the mention of traitors.
Traitors were humans who accepted the grace of other races, rejecting the Gaya System in order to gain power.
In the past, to grow stronger, these so-called traitors had caused massive destruction using methods taught by races hostile toward humanity.
Even Eren knew of their existence.
But incidents caused by them had decreased significantly in this century thanks to strict security measures.
"Still, there have been incidents where traitors sneaked into dungeons with high-level corpses or rare items, forcing the dungeon core to absorb more energy than it could handle, triggering outbreaks or sudden evolutions."
The staff and the four of them arrived at the dungeon gate.
It was far more intimidating than the beginner dungeon gate.
This one was much wider, and visible purple energy leaked from its surface, sending goosebumps across Eren's body.
"Once you select your difficulty, you will be transported into the dungeon. The teleportation location is random, but all entry points are in the outer regions of monster-infested zones. Still, be careful."
He paused before adding seriously,
"Especially if you find yourself unable to handle an enemy, feel that something is wrong, or notice the monster levels increasing abnormally, do not hesitate. Use your Escape Talisman immediately."
Even though the staff member seemed to be addressing everyone, his gaze lingered specifically on Eren before he excused himself, leaving the four of them behind.
One of the three youngsters, without wasting any time, placed his hand on the gate.
"Normal!"
The moment he uttered the word, the purple gate turned white.
The three of them entered one by one, leaving Eren alone.
They didn't try to speak to Eren or invite him into their party.
It was understandable, Eren's displayed level was only 5, and he was a complete stranger to them.
The three looked like they were already used to fighting together, so adding a low-level awakener to their team would only become a burden, even if Eren seemed talented based on his leveling speed alone.
They were indeed amazed by him, but nothing more than that.
Then, following their actions, Eren placed his hand on the gate.
A message popped up:
[Select the difficulty: Normal, Hard, Nightmare]
"Hard."
The moment Eren selected it, the color of the gate changed into a deep blue.
Taking a deep breath, Eren stepped into the portal.
His whole view shifted in an instant, and the next moment he found himself standing in the midst of a forest.
In front of him was a three-meter-high tunnel entrance, emanating a suffocating, predatory atmosphere.
The surrounding trees were withered, charcoal black, their twisted branches stretching like claws toward the dim violet sky.
Eren didn't waste a moment before fully transforming into his Moonborn Silver Wolf form.
Strength surged through his body.
His spiritual sense activated perfectly in this form.
His silver-white fur dazzled in the faint wind as his deep blue eyes focused sharply on the tunnel entrance.
Eren glanced at the time limit and saw that he still had more than seven hours left.
'It's okay... I just need to try... If it's too difficult, I can escape using the talisman...'
Reassuring himself mentally, he stepped forward into the tunnel.
An unpleasant stench of rot filled the air, echoing through the confined space and making him uncomfortable.
Ignoring it, Eren spread his senses outward and soon detected a wet tearing sound coming from nearby.
Moving slowly and carefully, he approached.
The sound grew louder.
Rrrrip...
Crack...
Crack...
His eyes fell upon a group of wolf-like creatures, each about one meter tall.
[Gloomfang Hound Lv.6]
Strength: 8
Agility: 9
Spirit: 3
Constitution: 8
Beast Skills:
[Dreadful Howl Lv.3]
[Rotfang Bite Lv.5]
[Shadowrend Claws Lv.5]
[Dreadful Howl Lv.3:
Releases a long spirit-infused howl that can inflict Fear status on enemies with lower Constitution than the beast. Also reduces the target's movement speed.
Type: Active Skill
Cooldown: 45 sec
Range: 50 meters]
[Rotfang Bite Lv.5:
The beast's fangs carry corrupted abyssal energy that inflicts Corrosion and Rot upon biting. Additionally, reduces Defense by 10% for 8 seconds if used against a target with Constitution lower than 10. Corrosion can stack up to 2 times.
Type: Passive]
[Shadowrend Claws Lv.5:
Basic claw attacks that deal Bleeding damage with a 20% chance for 5 seconds.
Hidden Effect: Targets under Fear take additional damage.]
***
Author's Note:
Sorry, everyone. It seems I let my personal feelings weigh on you all. I'll focus on writing and improving from here on. If this story gets rejected, I'll refine it and republish it better than before. That's all I need to do.
Thank you all for your continued support.