The more they wait here, the more the monster will come out of the gates, and the more chance of them breaking the encirclement of the hunters there and harming innocent citizens.

But these people were still here, arguing like little rats on who gets more benefits.

"How much time would it take?"

Eryke asked, taking a deep breath to calm his surging thoughts.

"It would usually take about an hour or so, but these gates seemed to be a little more rewarding, so there is a chance that they will still need to wait for a while to make a proper decision."

"How much time? Tell me."

"Umm, I don't know," Rold said with a helpless sigh.

As the two were talking, the man wearing the wolf mask stood up from his seat. He walked toward them in large strides, quietly but purposefully, until he arrived right in front of them.

His eyes locked intently onto Eryke.

Eryke turned toward the man and tilted his head: "Do I know you?"

"Keke," the wolf-masked Awakener snickered disdainfully. He pointed at Eryke. "You're nothing but a weakling. How dare you boss others around?"

"...How do you know?"

"I am the vice-captain of the White Wolf Guild, Randolph," Randolph said, pointing to himself and closing his eyes, as if expecting a reaction.

But to Eryke, watching this scene felt like witnessing a furry guy with a strange fetish going insane in front of him.

He glanced at Rolf for an explanation. Rolf looked confused for a moment, then leaned in and whispered to Eryke:

"He can smell the levels of Awakeners. You haven't been to any dungeons yet, so your level is probably low... sorry."

At the end, Rolf's expression was filled with deep apology and sadness.

"Would you like to back out? I can still offer you compensation if you want."

Eryke turned to Rolf with a chuckle.

"No."

Then he shifted his gaze back to Randolph, silently staring at him.

'Something feels off about this guy. Even though he's angry at me, there's no bubble from him... it's as if—'

"Shut up, Randolph."

Another man stood up. He was a little lean, wearing a pair of sunglasses, a high-collared black jacket, matching black pants, and dark boots.

Just by looking at him, Eryke felt a sense of familiarity, though he couldn't quite place it.

"Randolph, it doesn't matter whether he's weak or not. Our White Tiger Sect will be taking 20% of the loot this time," the man said coolly. "Since we have the most C-Ranked Awakeners on the team."

Randolph turned away from Eryke, his eyes bloodshot as he roared,

"Those little twerps are nothing more than decoration! I could kill all of them in minutes!"

"...And could you clear the dungeon in minutes too?" the man in sunglasses asked casually.

"This—!?"

"The gate is likely a high-ranking one. It would take several high-ranking Awakeners just to have a chance of surviving. If you want, we can let you go alone. If you manage to clear it by yourself, all the loot will be yours. What do you think?"

"This..." Randolph clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. "No," he muttered, his mind inevitably overtaking his madness.

"Haha! Then shut up," the man said, laughing. He turned to the others. "Anyone else want to go alone? If you do, all the rewards will be yours."

The man spoke in a mocking tone, raising his fingers high into the air.

Silence followed. No one said a word.

"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" he sneered. His eyes narrowed as he pointed at Eryke.

"You, brat. I heard the whispers. Maybe you're a higher-ranked Awakener, but you must've just come from the Second Awakening. You don't know much about the Awakeners' world yet, do you?"

"So listen up, rank means nothing if you don't have the level."

Eryke just stared at him silently.

'I wonder why Awakeners are always so hot-headed.'

"What are you staring at me for?" the man barked. "Bow to your seniors and show some respect!"

A spit flew through the air toward Eryke. He casually twisted his neck to dodge it.

"So you want to go into the dungeon alone, huh? Just because you have a high rank?" Tyler sneered. "Fine. Go ahead, and you'll get all the loot for yourself. Who knows? You might get lucky and run into a bunch of weak monsters and level up through the entire dungeon. What do you say?"

"Tyler, you bastard!" Rolf snapped with his anger flaring. "Are you disrespecting an Awakener from the Awakeners Association?"

"So what if I am? And what if I'm not?" Tyler said with a shrug.

A strange tension filled the air, thick enough to cut with a knife.

"Haha! You're just a coward," Tyler said, his voice dripping with disdain. "Go home to your mommy. We'll talk about how to share the loot like good little boys while you sit out, kid."

He turned, sweeping his gaze across everyone present: "What about the rest of you?"

Silence.

Nobody was stupid enough to enter a high-ranking dungeon of unknown difficulty, of course...

All except for one person who slowly raised his hand.

"I'll go."

It was, of course, Eryke!

Tyler froze for a moment. His pupils dilated as he stared at Eryke, then a crazed smile crept onto his face.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yes," Eryke replied in the simplest, most indifferent tone.

Rolf immediately leaned closer and whispered, worry evident in his voice:

'This guy's just trying to provoke you into entering the gate. If you go, know that it'll be more troublesome than you think. High-ranking dungeons usually need parties full of A-Ranks — sometimes even S-Ranks can't clear them. It's normal in the Awakener world to try to nip promising newcomers in the bud.'

"It's fine," Eryke said with a nod.

"I'll go into the gate alone. That means all the rewards will be mine, right?"

"Hmph. Yes," Tyler replied, a flicker of excitement flashing in his eyes.

Without another word, Eryke turned and left the camp.

"Is he really going to enter?" Randolph squeaked out, stunned.

Everyone followed outside, only to see Eryke step through the gate without a moment's hesitation.

But the moment he did something happened, the gate began to change.

Terrifying mana surged outward in thick waves, and the portal itself started to distort and slowly vanish.

"An Anomaly...?" Rolf gasped, his face paling in horror.