Chapter 196: First Call II
He stepped out of the room, locking the door behind him.
Then made his way toward the private training hall.
Same path. Same time.
Everything felt normal.
Until he got closer.
Arthur slowed slightly.
"...Something’s off."
The atmosphere had changed.
It wasn’t loud or chaotic.
But there was a tension in the air that wasn’t there before.
The moment he stepped inside, he saw it.
Everyone was already there.
And..
No one was relaxed.
The commander stood at the front.
Her arms weren’t crossed this time.
Her posture was straight, her expression serious.
She was speaking, but stopped as soon as she noticed him.
Her eyes landed on Arthur.
"You’re late."
Arthur raised a brow slightly.
"...By a bit."
She didn’t argue.
Just nodded once.
"We were waiting."
That alone told him enough.
Something was wrong.
He stepped closer, joining the rest of the team.
No one joked.
No one said anything.
They were all watching the commander now.
Arthur glanced around briefly, then back at her.
"...What happened?"
She didn’t answer him directly.
Instead, she took a step forward.
"We’re not training today."
That got everyone’s attention immediately.
Arthur’s expression didn’t change much, but his focus sharpened.
"Then what?"
Her gaze swept across all of them.
"Deployment."
Silence followed as tension rose.
This wasn’t planned and that much was obvious.
She continued.
"Reports came in early this morning. Multiple, from different scouts."
Arthur frowned slightly.
"About?"
Her voice didn’t waver.
"Cleared dungeons... showing signs of reactivation."
That did it.
The mood shifted completely.
Arthur’s eyes narrowed.
"...That serious?"
She nodded.
"One of the recently cleared D-ranked dungeons is already showing mutation signs."
A few of the others reacted quietly.
Arthur didn’t.
His mind moved quickly instead.
Reactivation... mutation...
He had heard about it.
Everyone had.
Abyss activity.
Unstable dungeons coming back to life.
But this much?
That wasn’t normal.
The commander continued.
"Scouts confirmed changes at dawn. Mana fluctuation, structural instability, and early monster regeneration."
Arthur exhaled slowly.
"...So it’s worse now."
She looked at him.
"It is."
There was a brief pause before she went on.
"This is your first mission as a team."
No one spoke.
But Arthur could feel it.
That shift in everyone.
Training was one thing.
This... was different.
"You are not going there to clear the dungeon," she added.
Arthur tilted his head slightly.
"Then what’s the objective?"
"Investigation."
Simple and direct
She continued before anyone else could ask.
"Based on prior cases, the monster count shouldn’t have fully recovered yet. We have a window."
Arthur nodded slowly.
Makes sense.
"If this is what we think it is," she went on, "then something triggered the reactivation."
Arthur’s eyes sharpened.
"Abyss worshippers."
She didn’t confirm it directly.
But she didn’t deny it either.
"That is one possibility."
Which was enough.
Arthur let out a quiet breath.
"Of course it is."
She stepped forward again, her voice firm now.
"Your job is to find the cause. If possible, remove it."
"And if not?" someone asked.
Her answer came immediately.
"Then the dungeon gets cleared again. Before it breaks."
Silence settled again.
Heavy this time.
Because everyone knew what that meant.
A dungeon break wasn’t something you ignored.
Arthur folded his arms loosely.
"...So we’re going in early."
"Yes."
He nodded once.
Commander Lyra didn’t waste anymore time.
As soon as she finished speaking, she pulled out a stack of papers and handed them over.
"Ryn."
He took them without hesitation.
Arthur watched the exchange quietly. That alone told him enough about how this was going to go.
Ryn stepped forward, already skimming through the pages.
"...Details are here," he said after a second. "We don’t have time to stand around. Read as we move."
Arthur gave a small nod.
Straight to it. Good.
No one argued.
They gathered closer, each taking a copy or glancing over another’s shoulder. The moment the key points settled in, they moved.
Fast.
There was no delay.
Because they all understood time mattered.
The longer they took, the worse it got.
Arthur collected the Mission papers handed over to Ryn and read as he walked, eyes scanning the papers quickly.
Dungeon reactivation.
Early mutation signs.
Unstable structure.
Possible external trigger.
He exhaled lightly.
"...So we’re really chasing something."
Not just monsters.
Something behind it.
That made things different.
More dangerous.
He watched folded the paper once and tucked it away deep into his storage device.
If it’s abyss related...
His jaw tightened slightly.
They all knew what that meant.
And none of them said it out loud, but it was there anyway.
There was a chance..
They wouldn’t just be fighting monsters.
Arthur adjusted his grip slightly as they walked.
If we run into one...
Capturing one alive.
The thought crossed his mind, and he almost laughed.
"...Yeah right."
Not impossible.. but close to.
You had to fight it, overpower it, and still hold back enough to keep it alive.
And those things.. They didn’t go down easy.
Still...
If they could pull it off.. It would change everything about the mission.
Arthur shook his head slightly.
Focus first.
They left the stronghold not long after.
The gates closed behind them with a dull sound.
And just like that...
They were out.
The road stretched ahead, quiet and open.
There was no chatter or jokes. The only sound heard was the one caused by their footsteps.
Arthur glanced around briefly.
Everyone felt the tension.
First mission. A real one.
Not training or controlled.
This was different.
He scratched his cheek lightly.
"...Feels weird."
No one answered him.
But a few glanced his way.
He smirked a little.
"Don’t tell me I’m the only one nervous about this."
Ryn didn’t look back as he spoke.
"You’re not."
That was enough.
The silence returned, but it wasn’t as heavy now.
As they remained focused.
After a while, when they were far enough from the stronghold, Ryn finally slowed slightly breaking the silence.
"Alright."
That got everyone’s attention.
He turned just enough to face them as they walked.
"Quick rundown again."