Chapter 11: Do not let them climb any higher

The canyon of the seventeenth level felt like the inside of a giant machine. The walls were made of jagged mineral ore that shifted slowly, creating a constant grinding motion. The ground beneath Dante’s black boots was covered in rust flakes that shifted with every movement.

Yenna closed her eyes, activating her text map. Her black cat ears rotated toward a narrow opening between two iron pillars.

"Two hundred meters ahead, the canyon narrows," Yenna reported, her voice steady. "There is an iron reptile blocking the movement upward. It is an iron-scaled python. It feeds on the minerals in the walls, and its scales are harder than the door of a vault."

Dante didn’t slow his movement. "Keep behind me. If it moves, let it strike." As they rounded the corner into the narrow opening, the reptile manifested. It was a twenty-meter-long serpent, its entire body covered in overlapping plates of dark mineral scales that scraped against the canyon floor. Its eyes were like dull yellow stones, and when it saw the intruders, it opened its jaws to reveal rows of metallic teeth.

The serpent hissed, its body coiling tightly before launching forward like a released spring. Its jaws aimed directly for Dante’s torso, intending to crush him against the iron walls.

Dante simply stood his ground, his hands deep in his hoodie pockets. He looked at the charging reptile with a flat, uncaring expression.

The serpent’s teeth slammed into his chest.

The impact vibrated through the narrow canyon, but Dante didn’t move an inch. Instead, the invisible mirror body initialized. The immense force of the reptile’s strike was doubled to 200% and blasted straight back into its own skull.

The serpent’s front teeth shattered into dust. The amplified force tore through its head, causing its dark mineral scales to rip away from its body, exposing the red fluid beneath. The giant reptile tumbled onto the ground, thrashing in absolute agony as its own momentum ruined its frame.

Dante didn’t wait for it to die. The dark token on his belt flared with a dim crimson text notification.

[System Notification: Sovereign’s Tax is working.]

[Draining 5% of attributes from the iron-scaled python.]

[You permanently gained: +3 Strength, +3 Vitality.]

Meanwhile, on the fiftieth level, the main office of the Radiant Dawn guild was in total chaos.

Marcus stood before a large communication table, staring at a flashing text alert on the central monitor screen.

[Guild Security Alert: Lower Floor Tracking Lost.]

[Status: Floors 12, 13, 14, and 15 have been completely disconnected from the guild monitoring grid.]

[Reason: Unknown entity has destroyed all local surveillance devices and security guards.]

"What do you mean we lost the tracking?" Marcus shouted, slamming his hand onto the table. "We own those lower floors! We have hundreds of sensors down there!"

A high-ranking scout bowed his head, his skin sweating from stress. "Sir, whoever is doing this is using an unknown method to erase their presence. Our magic devices are turning off the moment they enter a zone. We can’t see their face, their name, or their class. The only thing we know is that they are climbing the levels one by one, and they are currently on Floor 17."

Marcus felt a cold sensation in his stomach. He remembered how Dante used to clean out entire dungeon zones without leaving a single trace behind.

"Send the elite vanguard to Floor 20," Marcus commanded, his voice shaking with anger. "Block the main elevator gate. If this entity reaches the twentieth level, destroy the entire zone with fire. Do not let them climb any higher."

Back on Floor 17, Dante walked past the dead serpent, his steps making zero noise on the ground. Yenna followed close behind, her eyes scanning the text on her map as the gate to the eighteenth level appeared ahead.

"They are panicking up there," Yenna said, looking at the shifting lines on her interface. "I can feel the network signals jumping. They are moving resources down to the twentieth floor."

Dante reached out, pushing the gate open with one hand. "Let them move everything they have. It just means I can burn them all in one place."