[Ding! Announcement!]
[The Eastern Plane ranking has been updated.]
[Top 5 Players]
[1st Place: Helen — 200 Points]
[2nd Place: Jayden — 187 Points]
[3rd Place: Rael — 161 Points]
[4th Place: Liora — 144 Points]
[5th Place: Marcus — 132 Points]
Across the entire eastern plane, the notification rang out at once.
Every player heard it clearly, whether they were fighting, hiding, running, or resting. For a moment, several battles slowed down as people looked at their wristbands with wide eyes.
"Of course Helen is first," one player said, wiping blood from his cheek. "That girl has been burning monsters since the start."
Beside him, another player laughed while dragging his sword from a dead beast. "And Jayden is right behind her. Those two are monsters. I expected this much."
"Rael is third too," someone added from the side. "The top three are basically what everyone guessed."
Several players nodded, but not everyone looked pleased. Some clenched their teeth, while others stared at the numbers like they had been slapped.
In another part of the plain, Rael stood on top of a dead monster, his wristband glowing against his arm. His eyes moved across the rankings, and when he reached fifth place, his lips curled.
"Not there."
One of his followers glanced at him. "Who?"
Rael snorted and stepped down from the monster's corpse. "That useless Zich. For a moment, I thought he might surprise me, but it looks like garbage stays garbage."
Laughter broke out around him as his followers reacted like he had said something clever, further boosting his already bloated ego.
Meanwhile, at the entrance of the mountain, Zich stared at the notification floating before his eyes.
His expression barely changed.
[Top 5 Players]
After his gaze moved over the names once, he raised his wrist and tapped the screen.
[Mute Zone Announcements?]
"Yes."
The panel disappeared. Zich rolled his shoulder and looked back at the dark entrance ahead. Blood Leech stood beside him, slightly hunched, its claws twitching as the needle on its face moved slowly.
Without another word, he stepped into the mountain. The moment he crossed the entrance, the air changed. It was cooler inside, and the rough ground stretched deeper into the mountain. Ahead of him, a faint glowing light pulsed from something in the darkness.
'A light?'
Zich paused. His eyes narrowed slightly, but his smile only grew.
Following the glow, he moved deeper inside. After a short distance, he saw the source.
A dungeon portal stood inside the mountain, emitting a faint light that spread across the surrounding stone. The glow was not strong, but it was enough to make the entrance look unnatural.
Once he walked closer, a system panel flashed before him.
[Ding! You have discovered a hidden dungeon.]
[Dungeon Name: Silver Ape Settlement]
[Recommended Level: 5 and above]
[Clear Condition: Kill the boss]
[Reward: unknown]
"A dungeon," Zich said quietly. "So that map was better than I thought."
Blood Leech turned its head slightly, waiting for an order.
Zich pointed forward. "You go first."
The creature obeyed without delay. Its body lowered slightly before it stepped into the dungeon portal with silent steps. Zich followed a short distance behind, keeping his hand near his weapon while watching everything around him.
Inside the dungeon, the entrance tunnel was strangely clean. There were no bones, no rotten smell, and no random filth scattered around. Polished stone covered the floor, and patches of silver fur had been placed along the walls like decoration. It was crude, but there was order in it.
A few moments later, soft footsteps echoed ahead.
[Silver-skinned Ape Lv.4]
[Silver-skinned Ape Lv.5]
Two juvenile silver-skinned apes appeared from the corner, moving in a fixed patrol. They were smaller than the one Zich had fought earlier, but their arms were still thick, and their eyes carried a dull red shine.
Neither of them attacked immediately.
Instead, they stopped and sniffed the air.
Their eyes shifted toward Blood Leech.
The blood aura leaking from its body seemed to disturb them. Both apes bared their teeth, their hands pressing against the ground as low growls left their mouths.
Zich lifted his chin and commanded, "Attack."
Blood Leech surged forward with surprising speed.
Boom!
One ape screeched and swung its arm, but dark yellow plates hardened across Blood Leech's body.
[Chitin Guard activated.]
Its strike landed against the summon's shoulder, but the damage was reduced. Blood Leech slid back half a step, lunged in close, and slashed across the ape's chest with its claws.
Slash!
From the side, the second ape jumped in.
Blood Leech twisted its body and took the blow against its hardened ribs. Its claws stabbed into the ape's arm, holding it in place before its proboscis shot forward.
Puchi!
The needle pierced the ape's neck.
A wild screech tore from the ape's mouth, but Blood Leech clung to it like a starving beast. Its body twitched as it drained blood, and the wound on its shoulder began to close slowly.
Zich watched with raised brows.
'Okay. That's disgusting, but useful.'
The first ape rushed again, but Blood Leech dropped the drained body and met it head on. Its claws tore at the ape's face and chest while its proboscis kept stabbing whenever there was an opening.
Puchi! Puchi! Puchi!
This fight was savage and direct. Zich's expression shifted slightly as he watched. Unlike Slimy's hit and run tactics, Blood Leech was all claws, armor, blood, and speed.
Soon, more footsteps came from deeper in the tunnel. Three more juvenile apes rushed in after hearing the noise, but Blood Leech was already moving. It used Silent Step to slip to the side, avoiding the first charge before slicing into the back of one ape's knee.
The monster fell, screeching while Blood Leech pounced on it.
Zich stepped back as another ape tried to rush past the summon and reach him.
"Wrong target."
His summon reacted instantly. Its claw hooked the ape by the shoulder and dragged it back. The creature stabbed its proboscis into the ape's back and drained it while blocking the last ape's attack with Chitin Guard.
Within minutes, five guards were dead.
Their bodies lay across the polished floor, blood spreading around them while Blood Leech stood in the middle, breathing faintly through its strange mouth.
Zich looked at the corpses, then at his summon.
"Heh. I take back the ugly part. You're ugly and efficient."
Blood Leech lowered its head slightly as if pleased with the praise.
Out of habit, Zich glanced at his wristband, but the announcement sound was still muted. His points had jumped sharply from the kills, and he still had a whole dungeon ahead of him.
"Let's keep going," he said, stepping over one of the bodies.
Not long after, they encountered more juvenile silver-skinned apes, and this time Zich summoned Slimy as well to act as support.
Meanwhile, unknown to Zich, outside across the eastern plane, another announcement rang out.
[Ding! Zone Announcement!]
[Ranking Updated.]
[5th Place: Zich — 138 Points]
For a moment, the eastern plane went silent again, and Rael's arrogant smile from moments ago froze.
***
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