The car was parked near Pandeshwar Temple of the city, where the green dot was marked on Vivi's map.

"I-I was afraid we wouldn't be able to reach it on time, so I shifted the reservation to the evening," I said with an awkward grin as I got out of the car.

"So we have to stay hungry till evening," Jasmine sulked.

I felt bad for lying to her, but I had to do it for the greater cause.

"Shit, it's already time," I muttered inwardly, taking quick steps toward the temple. "I hope nobody has found the gate yet."

"Mr. Raj, wait for me," Jasmine called from behind, quickly following me.

Pandeshwar Temple was a famous ancient temple that used to be filled with devotees and tourists, but strangely, there were barely any visitors when we arrived.

"Why does this place feel so deserted?" I asked as we entered through the boundary gate.

"Since people became Awakeners, their belief in gods has significantly reduced," Jasmine stated. "I'm glad that you still believe in God, Mr. Raj."

"Haha, thanks," I replied awkwardly and reached the marked location behind a large tree inside the temple boundary.

"Huh!? What's that!?" I gasped, pointing at the green-colored portal fluctuating with energy behind the tree.

"A-a D-Ranked gate," Jasmine stammered, moving forward. "We need to inform the local guild of this area."

"I can't let you do that," I murmured inwardly as I began my acting.

"Oh no! What's happening!? The gate...the gate is pulling me inside!" I shouted, skidding my feet toward the gate in an exaggerated rush.

"Oh no, Mr. Raj! Hold my hand!" Jasmine exclaimed, bolting forward.

When she grabbed my hand, I was already halfway inside the portal, pulling both of us to the other side.

"Entering Gate…"

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

D-RANK DUNGEON DETECTED

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Name: Hill of Corruption

Threat Level: D-Rank

Monsters Detected:

• Silverfang Jackals

• Corrupted Mountain Wolves (Lesser)

• Corrupted Mountain Wolf (Alpha)

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Gate Stabilization: 99%

Closing Condition:

Eliminate the boss monster

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

We were lying on grassy land at the bottom of a forested hill. The inclined path ahead was surrounded by trees on both sides, while behind us was the portal we came through and an open land stretching as far as the eye could see.

"Mr. Raj, we need to return immediately," Jasmine insisted, tightly holding my wrist in fear. "Th-this place is very dangerous."

"Since we're already inside, why don't we clear this dungeon?"

"Absolutely not!" she snapped. "To clear a D-Rank dungeon, a team of 20-30 D-Rank Awakeners and at least two C-Rank Awakener is the minimum requirement. The two of us will be instantly killed if we step forward."

After a brief moment, she continued, "Besides, you don't even have a hunting license. Your being here is already a crime."

Letting out a sigh of disappointment, I replied, "Fine then, let's leave. But why was I pulled inside in the first place?"

"Oh, sometimes these kinds of phenomena happen due to mana fluctuations around gates," she explained, turning around to exit the dungeon.

"Mr. Raj, why aren't—"

Thud!

As she was about to exit, I landed a knife-hand strike to the back of her neck, knocking her unconscious.

"Thank heavens it worked!" I sighed.

I was afraid a single hit wouldn't be enough to knock her out since she was a C-Rank Awakener, so just in case, I put some extra strength into the strike.

Without wasting any time, I took her out of the portal and placed her beneath the tree, leaning her against its trunk.

"Now then, that's done. Let's see how this gate entertains me."

I drew Shinku no Sabi from my inventory and began ascending the hill.

Just a dozen steps upward, two jackals with sharp, terrifying silver fangs emerged from the bushes behind the trees. Saliva dripped from their mouths as they stared at me like starving predators that had just found their prey.

Sigh… "Do I have some special connection with animals? Why do I keep getting attacked by them?"

Releasing furious growls, the jackals bolted at me, baring their fangs as they closed in.

I swung the katana in a horizontal arc, its blade landing on the canines of both beasts.

With a screeching sound, the jackals were forced backward and slammed onto the ground.

"The blade is too dull to cut through their fangs. In that case…"

The jackals were still rising to their feet when I rushed forward and stabbed one of them in the belly with all my strength.

Ding…

"Crimson Wound is activated!

The target will continuously lose blood."

Ding…

"Blood Tempering is activated.

Shinku no Sabi is absorbing the blood of the target…"

The blood from the jackal's body was sucked into Shinku no Sabi. Several small crimson veins appeared across the blade as if it were pulsating with life.

Due to blood loss, the monster became too weak to move, so I pulled out the sword and stabbed it into the throat of the other jackal that was about to attack me from behind.

"Yin Energy +10"

"Yin Energy +10"

A layer of rust fell off the katana's blade, and it became slightly thinner than before.

"Whoa! I need to be careful. This sword is dangerous," I gasped, moving forward.

Even though I said that, I was very glad I had chosen this sword. Hunting had become much easier thanks to this terrifying weapon.

After killing dozens of jackals along the way, most of the rust peeled off the blade, revealing the dull metal beneath. By the time I reached the halfway point, I was surrounded by more than seventy large black wolves.

The fur around their necks was unusually thick, and their deep yellow eyes carried no hint of fear. Blue corruption patterns pulsed across their bodies. In several places, the flesh looked fused with hardened substances, providing crude protection around their spines and joints.

Their paws barely made any sound as they slowly advanced, surrounding me from every direction.

In perfect sync, the wolves opened their mouths and released loud howls laced with Soulforce.

"Alert! Multiple opponents have used the skill Territorial Suppression!

All stats of the Host will be reduced by 10%

The sensory organs of the Host will be slowed by 50%"

"Haha~! The beasts of a D-Rank dungeon are on a completely different level than those of E-Rank," I murmured, taking my stance against them.

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