That day many powers were gathered on Wolfsbane.

  The first was obviously Ray, a transmigrator from another world.

  The second was Misa Amore, a S+ Rank Hero.

  The third were the Briar siblings, with the immense status they held.

  The fourth was the B Rank Fallen, Jason, who had murdered the parents of the Briar Family ten years ago and cursed poor Ryder. He was currently 1000 kilometers away from the coast of Wolfsbane, flying towards his prey at the speed of a jet.

  And finally, the fifth was a hooded figure who was excitedly watching the chaos unfold from a distance.

  "Interesting..."

  As soon as Misa and Rachel arrived at Wolfsbane's portal station, they headed to the Den.

  Meanwhile, Ray’s Appraisal alerted him of the new S Rank presence, as he and the rest had breakfast at the Den.

  Last night, it didn't take Jacob even an hour to hack into Rufus' system, handing him all the information.

  The moment he saw Misa's name, Ray sighed in relief.

  At least someone he was familiar with was coming, meaning he could talk to her about Ryder's wishes, instead of the agent kidnapping Ryder under his nose.

  That's why he brought Ryder and the rest to the Den, under the pretense that they would have breakfast outside today.

  After all, that would be the first pce anyone would head to when they come to Wolfsbane, the same way he did.

  “Rachel?” Ryder froze over his pancakes, as soon as he saw his sister standing a mere twenty feet away from him.

  “Ryder!” Rachel rushed towards him and grabbed her baby brother in a tight hug.

  “Hello, Ray!” Misa nodded at me.

  “Hello, Misa.” Ray greeted back.

  “What are you doing here?” Rachel asked Ryder, concern sketched all over her face.

  “I-I’m here with Misa and Mike.” Ryder answered embarrassed, realizing how stupid and childish his pn was now that he had said it out loud.

  “Ryder, I know, you wanna spend time with your friends, but you have only been cured from your Curse recently. You are still under observation for side effects.” Rachel pleaded.

  But Ryder pulled back. “No, I don't want that. Don’t do it! Don’t treat me like I'm made of gss or something like you guys have done your entire life. The Curse is gone. It's not going to come back and kill me. I’m fine. I can feel it.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it that way." Rachel apologised. “But you have to come home. Grandpa and I are both worried about you.” Rachel reasoned.

  “No! I’m not going back.” Ryder yelled and rushed to the bathroom.

  “Now! Now!” Ray decided this was the best time to interrupt. “It’s still early morning and I am sure none of you have had breakfast yet. So why don’t we stuff ourselves with pancakes, and discuss this back at my house?"

  "That would be great." Misa thanked him in gratitude. With all the information gathering she had been doing, she didn't even know when she st had a proper meal.

  With her S+ Rank constitution, she could go without food and water for a month and still not be too affected, but as a human, she did miss the comfort of warm food.

  Misa and Rachel both politely took a seat. Ryder also came out of the bathroom after a few minutes.

  Instead of talking, they all decided to eat in awkward silence this time. Even Mike, who was usually chatty, understood the tension.

  Meanwhile on an adjacent table…

  “Hey. Hey. Are you guys noticing that even Loop Dungeons are giving out some decent rewards these days?” One of the mercenaries on the table pointed out.

  “I know, right? This week alone, I earned twice as much as I used to in a month.” A second one chimed in.

  "But you know, I noticed that more monsters are appearing inside Dungeons these days. I went to that Leprechaun Dungeon st week一usually it would take me ten days to find even one Rainbow Phoenix, but this time I came across five in just two days. Not that I mind the extra loot." A third replied, slightly concerned about what it meant.

  "Bah! I guess God is finally rewarding us mercenaries what we deserve. Those Guild p dogs will be begging to come back to Wolfsbane." The first mercenary ughed.

  “If we are finally getting proper rewards from Dungeons, do you think anyone will attempt to Raid that Dungeon?” A fourth guy from a table over asked, interrupting the conversation.

  “That Dungeon?” The previous guy was confused before realization dawned on him. “What? Who would be foolish enough to enter that hellhole?”

  “But it makes sense. Before, the risk-to-reward ratio was too high, so only fools or really unlucky guys would go there. But as you just said一the Dungeons are giving out proper rewards now. Some might think it's worth it.” The earlier guy just shrugged.

  "Well, it wouldn't be me for sure." The guys at the table just ughed, before changing the topic to random gossip.

  “Any idea which Dungeon they were talking about?” Ray asked Lucius about it, as he paid for their meals.

  “That Dungeon?" There was a hint of concern in Lucius' face, as he hesitated to speak about it.

  This intrigued Ray even more. After all, what Dungeon could scare an SS Rank, a being at the pinnacle of humanity?

  "Come on. Tell me." Ray nudged him, an intense spark of curiosity burning in his eyes, as he wondered which of the Dungeons he and his friend had written about that could make even an SS Rank shudder.

  "Ah, fine! It's you, so I am sure you would be careful." Lucius finally gave in. "Even before I established Wolfsbane here, there was a Rank S Dungeon here. I'm pretty sure it was one of the first Dungeons that appeared during the Great Catastrophe. Its entrance isn't fixed to a particur space, constantly moving like a wandering gypsy. But what's even scarier is what its entrance looks like."

  "What does it look like?"

  "Just a set of four trees一two of them as tall as rge buildings, while the other two are as short as our tallest basketball pyers. The opening of the Dungeon is heralded by the two smaller trees falling on the ground, setting up a boundary一sort of saying ‘Only enter if you dare!’.” Lucius expined. “And once someone crossed that threshold, they were just…gone.”

  “What do you mean gone? Like forever?” Ray asked, but Lucius just shook his head.

  “A Dungeon with a moving entrance. And an S Rank too? No wonder people aren’t raiding it yet."

  Since it’s S Rank, that means the monsters inside will definitely be strong. And since the entrance to the Dungeon is always moving, a mercenary group will have to search for days before they can even attempt to enter the Dungeon.

  And it also meant one couldn’t expect immediate reinforcements while they were trapped inside.

  That was the worst scenario anyone could put themselves in.

  Lucius suddenly interrupted his thoughts. “One more thing, Ray. I have a Skill一Lunar Blessing. I can’t exactly tell you what it does, but one of its powers includes informing me when someone is going to experience misfortune. So…just be careful.” He warned me, though he didn't look concerned.

  On the contrary, it looked like he was expecting something, maybe even enjoying it.

  'He definitely knows something is going to happen. But this bastard won't help me if he finds it interesting.'

  In the end, he decided to express his gratitude for the free information.

  “Thank you.”

  Ray wanted to stop there, but seeing that smug look on Lucius' face, as he talked about his misfortune, kinda ticked him a bit. “Let me ask you something. You have a Skill that warns you about misfortune, and you still almost lost your boxers?"

  Lucius' smug face immediately flustered up. “I-I admit that was ego on my part, but you can't bme me. No one would ever believe that was pure luck and not a Skill.”

  “Well…” Ray couldn’t argue that.

  “So, what kind of monsters are inside this Dungeon?” Ray tried to check if he could get his hands on some insider information.

  Lucius shook his head. “Can’t help you with that! Anyone who ever went inside has never returned.”

  “But you are an SS Rank…” Ray pointed out. “Couldn’t you escape that Dungeon alive?”

  Lucius pced his hand on Ray’s shoulder. A bit harshly. “Son, when you are alive my age, it isn’t because you fought every battle. It's because you choose the battles you fought. And this ain’t a battle I am choosing.”

  “Alright. But do you have any information on this Dungeon at all?” I pleaded.

  “Well, the only thing I know is the status screen description of the Dungeon.” Lucius revealed, looking kind of proud. "I got myself an Appraisal Artifact when I was young. So I had my guys analyze it from the outside."

  “What does it say? Some kind of myth about a dangerous pce?” Ray tried to guess.

  He had helped his friend in building these Dungeons for his novel. And just because he’s too weak to enter an S Rank Dungeon, doesn’t mean he can’t hear about them.

  It was part nostalgia on his part.

  “The weird thing is, the description doesn’t expin anything. It's something like you get at the end of children’s stories. You know, like the moral of some children's story一'Honesty is the best policy.' & 'Don't judge a book by its cover.'一something like that.”

  Ray instantly understood what this particur Dungeon was.

  A Lesson Dungeon!

  In novels, most Dungeons and their monsters are usually based on existing myths一which are essentially stories.

  So, Happy and Aries decided to add children's stories to the mix.

  We called them Lesson Dungeons一whose monster, instead of being based on monsters in myths一the purpose of the entire Dungeon would be to teach the Hero that lesson.

  ‘But a S Rank Lesson Dungeon? That's troubling.’

  While Aries liked the idea of Lesson Dungeons, he thought that children's stories didn't have enough monsters he could gain inspiration from to make strong monsters.

  So instead, he decided to borrow some memorable quotes from movies he liked and decided to base the higher-ranked Lesson Dungeons around them.

  The only problem was that Ray wasn't sure if he had seen or could even remember the movie from which the quote was from.

  “So, what moral lesson does this Dungeon want to teach?” Ray asked, eyes sparkling.

  'You may not change the past but I dare say you can learn from it.'

  Ray’s face froze as he heard those words come out of Lucius’ mouth.

  Lucius looked at him worried. “Um, Ray…You okay?”

  Ray grabbed onto Lucius’ shoulders. “Are you sure that’s what it says?”

  “Yeah, I am sure.” He confirmed, giving it a brief thought.

  ‘Oh my god. This is it.’ A hungry smile started to widen on his face, creepy enough that it made Lucius flinch. ‘This is my way back to my world.’

  Deus, who was telepathically listening in on their conversation, was startled by Ray's comment. ‘Wait! What do you mean by that?’

  ‘I’ll tell you ter.’ He quickly dismissed it.

  Bidding Lucius goodbye, Ray turned back to Misa and Rachel, who was nervously looking at her brother, hesitant to speak.

  “Let's head to my house. Everybody will be more comfortable there.” He offered.

  Misa nodded in agreement. “I agree. Let's move this conversation somewhere private.”

  The kids got in Ray’s SUV, while Misa followed them on her bike.

  Jacob, Rohan, Mike, and Izzy stayed out in the living room, watching Netflix and pying with the twins.

  Ryder, Rachel, Misa, and Ray decided to talk in Ray’s temporary office.

  “Listen, Ryder, you don’t understand what’s going on here. Your grandfather is furious that you left. You really have to get back.” Misa expined the severity of the situation.

  “Ryder, you just got your Mana after so many years of it being suppressed. The doctors said there is a chance of it destabilizing and need to put you under observation. You need to come back.” Rachel also tried to reason with him.

  “Listen, it’s my body. I have been feeling it deteriorate for as long as I can remember. And now I know it’s better. I can expin what my mana can do better than any doctor out there.” Ryder yelled back, refusing to back down.

  “Now. Now, Ryder. We are going to keep things civil.” Ray quickly interrupted their fight, before it got too serious. "Remember what we discussed st night?"

  “Miss Misa just told you what my grandfather's doing to the League! If I go back, he's never going to let me leave the house again.”

  Ray brought his face close to Ryder and looked directly into his green eyes. “Ryder, your grandfather loves you. Much more than you think you know. Ask him for permission. He’ll give it to you.” And then he whispered as lightly as he could in Ryder's ear. "If he doesn't, use the trick I told you."

  Misa looked at Ray in suspicion, as Ryder reluctantly nodded.

  “Well, then, Now that this discussion is over, who's up for some tea?”

  “Sure!” Misa nodded, and the four of them headed back to the living room.

  “You guys done?” Jacob asked.

  “Yup. Ryder will be heading back…” Ray answered.

  A set of groans and compints erupted from the kids. But before they could argue, Ray put a stop to them.

  “...But no worries. He will be back with us soon. He just needs to ask his grandfather for permission.”

  Izzy and the rest stared at him with distrustful eyes, since they were acquaintanced with him, and found that to be highly unlikely. Even the Spirits were suspicious.

  Ray just smiled from within the sea of wary eyes. "Now then, do you guys take sugar?"

  Lucius was setting things up for the lunch rush when the hair on his neck stood up一an approaching sense of danger.

  ‘But the hostility一it’s pretty passionate. I think I know who's here.' An interesting smile tickled Lucius’ lips. “Bobby, I got to do something. You are in charge of the bar for today.”

  A tall, skinny man poked his head. His blond hair was shaved on the sides, with his hair being extremely long on the top of his head and kept in a neat braid.

  A tattoo of a snake wrapped around a staff was branded on the right side of his neck.

  “I get to handle the booze today? Sweet!” Bobby whistled, returning to what he was doing一chopping onions.

  “Just make sure you leave some for the customers.” Lucius cautioned him as he stashed his apron away, and exited through the back door.

  It was noon now, so his powers were at a minimum at the moment. But he could still perform spells at an A Rank's strength.

  “Shadows, be my wings. Carry me where I wish.” Lucius chanted, his voice yered with mana.

  The shadows around him began quivering. The trees, the birds, his own. All the shadows were suddenly sucked out from underneath their owners as they swirled under Lucius and rose up, forming two rge bat wings on his back.

  “Veil of Invisibility!” Quickly casting an invisibility spell, he took off in the direction of Ray’s house.

  The Fallen seemed to be under some kind of pressure because his corrupted mana was leaking like crazy, making it easy for Lucius to narrow down his location.

  From the speed of moving mana, and how far he was from the coast, Lucius would give him ten minutes to reach Ray’s house.

  Plenty of time to reach them and watch the drama.

  Easily bypassing Lucius’ radar as well as Ray and Misa’s detection, something impossible was happening right in front of Ray’s house.

  A beautiful dy covered with a bck hood stopped behind the house, gazing at the bickering children inside.

  Sensing his approaching presence, Nyx turned towards the distant Jason, who had just entered the isnd. “I hope you like my gift, Nero.”

  A cold breath escaped her lips, as it mixed with the soil in front of her. Instantly four seeds sprouted from her breath, rising and rising, until they gave rise to four trees. Two, tall trees of around 10 meters stood at the back, their branches entangled together as if forming a gate.

  In front of the gate, two smaller trees stood guard, as if protecting the gate...or maybe even protecting from the gate.

  Suddenly they began quivering, as if their roots couldn’t handle their sudden growth and were colpsing under their own weight.

  Both the trees fell, forming an eerie cross-like structure.

  “Enjoy!” Giving them her best wishes, Nyx dissolved in the shadows.