[Chapter 314. Above and Beyond]

They stood silently for a moment, looking up into the sky before one of them spoke.

"Is that a planet?" Lana asked, her eyes wide. She stared at the massive orb dominating the heavens—a swirling tapestry of blues, whites, and patches of ochre that seemed impossibly close. Close enough to touch.

"Yes, it is," Searanox answered, his voice calm as he continued walking toward the center of the caldera where the dungeon exit portal shimmered.

"Where are we?" Carmen asked, her voice barely above a whisper as she tilted her head back. Her dark eyes attempted to process the sheer scale of what she was seeing. The alien sky above was a tapestry of unfamiliar constellations, with the enormous planet serving as a celestial anchor that dwarfed everything else.

"I have no idea," Searanox admitted, his pace slowing as he approached the portal's shimmering edge. "The System doesn't provide such information."

Vanessa looked from the planet to Searanox, then back at the planet, her mind struggling to reconcile what she was seeing with everything she thought she knew about the world. "Are we in space?" Her voice trembled slightly, despite her best efforts to maintain her composed demeanor.

"No," he answered. "We are on a different planet." The simplicity of his statement was at odds with its profound implications.

The four of them stood frozen, their gazes locked on the alien world above. The sheer scale of it was incomprehensible—a swirling tapestry of colors and atmospheric patterns that defied everything they knew about physics and reality. Even Sarah, who usually seemed more interested in immediate survival than cosmic mysteries, stood transfixed, her typical sarcastic demeanor completely absent.

"How is that possible?" Vanessa asked, her voice barely audible as she continued to stare upward, her mind racing to understand.

"It's the System," he said simply, his voice carrying an unnerving calm that belied the cosmic horror he was describing. "It moves entire worlds, creates pocket dimensions, and connects places that should never meet. This is just another one of its functions. The dungeons we've been clearing don't exist in a single physical location—they exist within the System, in a space between worlds, like threads woven through reality itself." He looked up at the planet, its swirling colors casting eerie reflections in his dark eyes, making them seem almost luminous in the alien twilight.

Vanessa's mind raced. The analytical part of her brain desperately tried to process the information, while another part screamed in denial. The pieces clicked into place with terrifying clarity, each connection more horrifying than the last. "So these dungeons... they're not just challenges. They're invasion points where the System drags creatures from other worlds and drops them into our reality? Portals for conquest?" Her voice held a note of panic she couldn't quite suppress, her corporate composure finally cracking under the weight of cosmic revelation.

"No, not exactly," Searanox answered, his gaze never leaving the celestial body above. "The System creates these places. It uses actual locations and events as a reference to construct these dungeons. At least, that's what I believe." He paused, as if weighing how much more he should say. "It's more... curated. The System isn't just dragging things through; it's replicating, adapting, and deploying. Think of it as a simulation, if that helps."

He stopped as they walked up onto the platform. Its surface was a tapestry of destruction—the remnants of the drake's defeat still smoldering in cracks and craters, undeniable evidence of the violence that had transpired just moments before. "Would you like a moment longer before we head out?"

The four women shook their heads almost in unison, their gazes still fixed on the alien sky, each face a mask of shell-shock. They had seen too much in too short a time. Each revelation was more unbelievable than the last, building a reality so far removed from their previous existence that it felt like a dream they couldn't wake from. Searanox watched them for a moment, noting the subtle tremor in Carmen's hands, the way Lana kept swallowing as if fighting nausea, and the vacant look in Sarah's usually expressive eyes. Then he looked to Iris, who stood quietly to the side. Her expression was unchanged as she cleaned the blood from her blade with practiced strokes, her movements entirely unconcerned by the cosmic significance of their location.

He turned back toward the portal that would lead them out of this scorched hellscape and back to a world that was becoming more alien to them with every passing day. The shimmering gateway pulsed with energy—a distortion in the air that promised an escape from the impossible sight above, but also threatened to deliver them back into a world irrevocably changed. "We're leaving, then."

They left the dungeon through the portal, the transition from the alien sky back to familiar territory jarring in its suddenness. As they arrived on the grasslands, Searanox immediately shielded his eyes from the rising sun, pulling out his sunglasses with the practiced motion of someone accustomed to light sensitivity. As the stinging glare vanished behind the shaded glass, his vision cleared to reveal a system window informing him that the Webbed Tunnels, Burrowing Depths, and Fungal Caverns had been cleared.

`Three dungeons... if the Carrier clears all six of the dungeons inside the forest every eight hours, that would be fifty to sixty silver a day. It would reimburse itself after two weeks... that is, if it can safely collect the loot.`

He mentally calculated the investment return, his mind automatically shifting from cosmic revelations to pragmatic concerns. The efficiency was unprecedented, but the unknown variables left too many questions unanswered.

Searanox stood there for a moment, thinking. The morning breeze carried the scent of grass and earth, a feeling that was almost normal after the sulfur-choked air of the volcanic dungeon. He watched his companions adjust to the sudden daylight, each moving with a weariness that went far beyond physical exhaustion, their minds still grappling with the revelations of the alien sky. As they gathered themselves, he summoned his Intermediate Travel Drones, their metallic forms materializing beside him with a soft hum.

From behind, Sarah ran her armored hand over his coat and suit, her fingers tracing the scorched fabric and melted portions of the advanced material. "It's all burned," she observed, her voice soft with uncharacteristic concern.

"Yeah, that happens when you stand in front of a dragon and your shield breaks," he said casually while mounting the drone, his tone entirely dismissive of the near-fatal encounter that had left his gear in tatters. The others followed suit, their movements stiff from mental exhaustion as they mounted their own drones.

"You fought a dragon?" Sarah asked, her eyes wide with disbelief and a thrill of excitement that temporarily eclipsed her usual sarcastic demeanor. "Like, a real, breathing, fire-spitting dragon?"

"It's called a Greater Drake," Lana corrected quietly, her gaze shifting nervously between Searanox and the drone as she strapped herself in. "I saw it in the list of slain beasts."

"Right, well, whatever it's called, it's dead now," Searanox stated flatly, kicking the drone into gear after Iris took her place behind him, her movements fluid.

As the drones lifted off, Iris remained distant for a moment, her silver eyes fixed on Searanox. She seemed to be weighing her next actions carefully, her earlier frustration at being censored by the System still evident in the tension of her shoulders. Finally, she leaned forward and pressed herself against his back, her claws lightly grazing across his chest in a possessive gesture. "How much experience did the four of you get?" she asked, her voice low and intimate.

Carmen answered from the drone next to his, "Enough to reach level fifteen."

"That's good," Searanox said. "I was thinking about sending Iris into the next dungeon alone."

"Alone?" Lana, Carmen, and Vanessa spoke at once. Their voices overlapped in a chorus of shock and concern, while Iris's grip tightened, her claws pressing slightly harder into his chest.

"Yes, alone. I have cleared the dungeon already, and it will suit her very well. I've cleared the one after that on our list, too. I hope that by clearing the next dungeon alone, she will gain enough experience to reach level twenty-five and carry you through the next."

"What about the boss?" Vanessa asked, her face pale as she imagined the dangers. "What if that dungeon also has a dragon in it?"

He looked over at her. "I've cleared it. There are no dragons in Fog Cliff Castle."

Searanox fell silent as the drones ascended higher, the grasslands stretching out below them like a vast green carpet dotted with occasional clusters of trees. He was already calculating the experience gains needed for Iris to reach level twenty-five—a significant jump, but if she cleared it alone, it would grant her ten times the normal amount, even as a third clear.

"I will do whatever is necessary to serve you," Iris said, her words steady despite the gravity of the task ahead. Her gaze remained fixed on the horizon, her body still pressed firmly against him. "If this is your wish, I will clear the dungeon alone."