Chapter 31: Say No More

Frey glanced toward the Asterion Vanta XR-9 and smiled proudly. "Jealousy is ugly on you, brother. That machine is art. Besides, people were taking pictures. What was I supposed to do, ignore them?"

"Yes. That’s exactly what normal people do."

"Sounds boring."

"You posed against the door."

"They needed a better angle."

"You blew kisses at girls you don’t know

"I’m polite."

Jet looked at him for several seconds before deciding there was no point continuing. Frey had always possessed an almost supernatural resistance to embarrassment.

Instead, Jet asked about his father, and Frey’s expression softened slightly as he explained that the old man was doing fine and had already started telling business partners that his son had awakened an A-Rank Divine Rune.

Apparently, Frey’s father had also complained that Jet hadn’t visited recently and threatened to drag him over personally if he kept disappearing.

When Frey asked about Inez, Jet told him she was back at the academy and had spent the entire morning complaining that his new clothes made him look like a bank robber.

Frey laughed so loudly that two customers looked over, then immediately declared that Inez had always been the smartest Saint-Clair.

The conversation continued without direction, exactly as their conversations always had. Money came up briefly when Frey jokingly reminded Jet about the five million dollars he’d transferred before the Second Red Moon, only to wave it away when Jet said he intended to repay him.

Frey complained about relationships again. Jet reminded him that he had willingly gone back to his ex twice before finally ending things.

Frey accused Jet of having no romantic qualifications after getting dumped by Miriam.

They argued about which of them had worse taste in women, somehow moved on to whether the coffee shop’s pastries were overpriced, and then spent several minutes discussing a teacher from high school who had once told both of them that if they put half as much effort into studying as they did finding ways to cheat on assignments, they might actually pass comfortably.

Every now and then, Jet simply watched Frey while he talked.

It still felt strange.Frey had no idea why Jet occasionally went quiet, and Jet had no intention of explaining it.

He was content to listen to his friend complain about meaningless things, watching that familiar gold tooth flash whenever Frey laughed.

Ten years of memories still existed inside Jet’s head, including years when conversations like this had stopped happening entirely. Sitting here now, arguing over pastries and stupid school rankings, felt almost embarrassingly ordinary.

Jet hadn’t realized how much he had missed ordinary.

Just thinking about all of these made him sigh in relief.

Then the world outside exploded.

BOOOOOOM!

A violent impact shook the entire coffee shop. The glass wall beside them trembled hard enough to make several customers scream, cups rattled across tables, and one ceramic plate slipped from the counter before shatteringagainst the floor.

The lights flickered twice as people instinctively ducked or looked toward the street in confusion. Jet and Frey were already standing before most of the café had even processed what had happened.

Every trace of humor disappeared from Frey’s face.

He turned sharply toward the glass, his eyes narrowing as an invisible pressure spread through the surrounding air. "Did you feel that?" he asked, his voice completely different from the idiot who had been arguing about school rankings seconds earlier.

Jet’s white pupils sharpened beneath the brim of his cap.

The sensation was unmistakable. The air had become heavier, and a dense pulse of supernatural energy was spreading across the street in waves strong enough for even the ordinary people inside the café to feel something was wrong."Mana Pressure," Jet replied.

Neither of them wasted another second.

They moved toward the entrance together, pushing through the doors as other customers crowded near the windows behind them. Outside, traffic had come to a complete stop.

Drivers were abandoning vehicles, pedestrians were backing away, and several Awakeners on the sidewalks had already drawn weapons while trying to understand what had appeared in the middle of the avenue.

Space itself was twisting.

A gigantic white vortex rotated several meters above the asphalt, expanding with every passing second as the surrounding air bent toward its center.

Loose paper, dust, leaves, and small fragments of debris were dragged across the road before spiraling upward into the distortion.

Nearby streetlights flickereduncontrollably while vehicle alarms erupted one after another, filling the avenue with noise. The white vortex pulsed again, and another wave of Mana Pressure rolled across the district.

Frey stared at it, his cross-shaped earring swaying slightly as the wind generated by the distortion pushed against his clothes. "...A Dungeon?"

Jet said nothing for a moment.

His white pupils burned with unmistakable excitement.

He had already entered the Beyond. He had fought its monsters, obtained Monster Cores, discovered his first Relic, and learned firsthand why the other world was essential for the development of Divine Runes.

But Dungeons represented the other half of an Awakener’s progression. They were where Awakeners accumulated the raw Mana resources necessary to increase their Star Rank.And now one had appeared directly in front of him.

Jet turned toward Frey, a grin slowly spreading across his face. "You have your Raider License?"

Frey’s serious expression immediately cracked.

He slipped one hand inside his cream-colored jacket and pulled out a dark crimson card, flicking his wrist until the Raider License appeared between two fingers. His gold tooth flashed as his grin widened.

"Say no more."

Jet laughed.

That was enough.

The two of them looked at each other oncebefore simultaneously breaking into a sprint.

People shouted behind them as Jet and Frey shot across the street, weaving between abandoned vehicles while the Mana Pressure grew stronger with every step.

The gigantic white vortex twisted violently ahead of them, swallowing their approaching silhouettes in blinding light as they reached its boundary and plunged straight inside.

A second later, both of them disappeared.