Bruce stepped closer. His gaze narrowing on the wall before him...

Through the translucent surface, another landscape lay beyond. A shock of color. A world untouched by winter. Trees of deep emerald swayed in gentle wind, their leaves shimmering with life. Sunlight, real sunlight, filtered through a lush canopy. A forest, vibrant and warm, existing impossibly inside the same dungeon that moments ago drowned them in snow.

Bruce sighed softly.

"So this is why it's called a dual dungeon…"

Ash pressed its snout to the barrier with fascination, fogging the glassy surface with warm breath.

Bruce studied the forest further, eyes narrowing thoughtfully.

"Does that mean another variant of Abyssal Direwolves is waiting on the other side…?"

Possibilities rotated in his mind, hot-climate predators, wind-affinity wolves, or something else entirely. Either way, he doubted the creatures inside would be any friendlier than their snowbound counterparts.

He reached out casually, summoning Red...

One clean slash and the glass-like wall split open as though made of brittle ice, shattering into a rain of glowing shards that dissolved before touching the snow.

Bruce stepped through first. Ash followed, wings tucked close, eyes gleaming with anticipation.

Together, they crossed into the second half of the dungeon, the place where the real challenge waited. They entered deep into the green forest before them...

The moment Bruce stepped into the forested expanse, the atmosphere shifted. The air grew warmer, heavier, saturated with natural mana.

Leaves rustled overhead, scattering shifting patches of green light across the soft earth. For a heartbeat, it didn't feel like a dungeon at all. It felt alive.

Bruce noticed that change, but casually shrugged it off, there was no use thinking too much about something that's bound to reveal itself sooner or later.

Ash sniffed the air, nostrils widening as it took in the scent. Something was here. Something different from the snow variants they had just slaughtered outside.

Bruce moved forward with quiet curiosity, eyes scanning the vibrant undergrowth. "So… what kind of beast lives on this side?"

He didn't wait long for an answer.

A shadow peeled itself away from the trunk of a towering tree.

Then another.

Shapes emerged, sleek, silent, predatory. Their bodies were darker than night itself, fur absorbing every hint of light. Violet eyes glowed from within the gloom, cutting through the emerald haze like frozen stars.

Abyssal Direwolves. But different. These ones are leaner and possess thick dark fur...

They do not growl. They don't charge. They simply watched, poised and calculating. Their presence warped the forest shadows around them, stretching darkness like liquid ink across the ground.

Bruce's gaze sharpened. "…Dark variants."

A low rumble rolled through Ash's chest at the recognition. The young dragon stepped forward, wings half-flaring as soft flames bloomed between its fangs.

One wolf answered the challenge.

The forest dimmed. Its shadow stretched unnaturally long,

then vanished.

Ash lunged,

but its claws sliced through nothing but fading darkness.

Bruce sensed the shift a heartbeat too late.

A ripple in the air.

A flicker beneath the ground.

A distortion blooming from Ash's feet.

It rose from the dragon's shadow.

Instantly.

Effortlessly.

A wolf larger than the rest, its entire form rippling like living darkness. Eyes burned with predatory cunning. Its claws glowed with a razor-thin film of void energy as it slashed upward from the blackness, straight at Ash.

The movement was so fast the air cracked.

Bruce's eyes widened, shock breaking through his calm for the first time since entering the dungeon.

He hadn't expected that ability.

Not here.

Not this early.

Not from a beast.

A wolf that could teleport through shadows,

An S-Ranked Dark Variant of the Abyssal Direwolf.

And it had chosen Ash as its first kill.

The shadow-wolf's claws erupted upward with lethal precision, aiming straight for Ash's throat.

But Ash reacted instantly.

A violent instinct surged through the young dragon's body, its tail snapped around in a golden blur, smashing into the wolf's side with a force that had shattered bones of A-Rank beasts minutes earlier.

THWAAAP!!

The impact rang through the forest like a whip cracking against stone.

But the beast did not fly back. It didn't even flinch.

Ash's eyes widened for a split second, its tail strike, powerful enough to break ice cliffs and pulverize direwolves, had done nothing. The Dark Variant slid across the moss as though it were made of smoke and metal fused together, absorbing the blow with unnatural resilience.

The shadow-wolf blinked once.

A faint flicker of surprise crossed its violet eyes.

It hadn't expected Ash to react that quickly.

But the surprise faded in an instant.

Then it lunged again.

Shadows twisted around its limbs, swirling like ink dropped into water. Its body dissolved mid-stride, vanishing into darkness as if it had never existed, before reappearing behind Ash with claws raised for another strike.

This time the attack was faster. Sharper. Aimed to kill.

Bruce moved.

He appeared in front of Ash in less than a breath, his presence slicing through the air like a drawn blade. Mana surged through his veins in a sudden pulse, crackling beneath his skin and scorching faint lines into the earth. He caught the angle of the beast's strike instantly, arm snapping up to parry...

But the wolf dissolved again.

Its form melted into shadow before his palm could connect, slipping through his mana like black smoke escaping a clenched fist.

It reformed several meters away, watching them in utter silence.

Playing with them.

Bruce's jaw tightened. His eyes narrowed, a rare flicker of excitement breaking across his calm.

Such unique ability fighting this beast is going to be really fun

The forest dimmed as the beast's aura expanded, stretching through the shadows around it until they crawled across the ground like living veins. Ash growled, flames leaking from between its fangs in molten threads of gold, but even it hesitated. This creature wasn't merely strong.

It was impossible to pin down.

Bruce exhaled once, the emotion sharp and brief, cutting through his chest like a warning.

'This one…' he smiled, eyes locked firmly on the shifting darkness, 'is going to be tricky, but that's what makes it fun...'

'Who knows, I might get inspired to think of an entirely new theory to counter this...'

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