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ALERT! BLACK GATE DUNGEON DETECTED

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Name: Grendel's Underhall

Threat Level: E-Rank → Low B-Rank

Monsters Detected:

• Goblins

• Goblin Shaman

• Trolls

• Troll King Grendel

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Gate Stabilization: 60%

EXIT CONDITION:

Eliminate the boss monster

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"A Black Gate!?" I unknowingly blurted out, causing a wave of dread to sweep through the group.

"I-it's… it's a Black Gate?" Payal mumbled, instantly breaking into a cold sweat.

The group of girls even fell to their knees, losing the strength in their bodies as if they had lost the will to escape.

"We are as good as dead then," Nisha murmured, her complexion darkening.

Well, their reactions weren't exaggerated in the slightest. I had read about the phenomenon of Black Gates on the internet. It first occurred in America. A team of Awakeners entered a D-Rank gate, but after a few minutes, the portal erupted with black lightning before turning completely black.

Under this phenomenon, the rank of the gate suddenly soared by two levels. For the Awakeners inside, the portal vanished entirely, while for the people outside, the gate became inaccessible.

The only way for outsiders to enter was when the gate turned grey from black. However, this color shift wasn't an opportunity—it was a sign that everyone trapped inside had died.

Meanwhile, for those inside the gate, there were only two ways to escape—either wait for a dungeon break or kill the boss monster.

"I should have guessed it already when the quest told me to enter this E-Rank gate," I sighed inwardly.

"This Troll King Grendel must be the boss monster of this gate," I thought, glancing at the quest detail window.

"Vivi, a Black Gate should only increase the dungeon difficulty by two ranks. So why is it showing Low B-Rank?"

"The boss monster of this dungeon, Troll King Grendel, is at B-Rank, which has led to an increase in the overall difficulty of the quest."

"A B-Rank? So Troll King Grendel is as strong as a first-level Awakened Sage. If I fight him at my current level, I'll surely die."

While I was thinking about how to handle this situation, the teenager who had remained silent until now tugged at my blazer and said, "There is a monster coming from the front."

"A monster? But I don't sense any presence."

He stayed silent for a moment before forcing his voice out again. "The monster is one and a half kilometers away from us."

"You can sense a monster from that far away?" I asked, surprised by his observation.

I didn't doubt him immediately. From the way he spoke, it was clear that he was forcing himself to convey this information. Just by his behavior alone, I understood that he was an extreme introvert—perhaps even more introverted than I was before joining college.

I was well aware that when an introvert chose to initiate a conversation, it meant the situation was too important to ignore.

"Don't worry. I can easily handle a monster," I replied with a gentle smile.

"No, this one is strong!" the young man said, tugging tightly at my blazer.

"How strong?" I asked, my expression turning serious.

He slowly raised his head, revealing his unique, clover-shaped, glowing white pupils as he stared at me.

"Only slightly weaker than you."

"Y-your eyes…" I unknowingly mumbled, seeing eyes like those for the first time.

He quickly pulled his hood over his head, deliberately hiding them.

"Your eyes are beautiful. You shouldn't hide them," I said, gently tapping his shoulder before asking, "What's your name?"

"Alex," the young man muttered under his breath.

"Alex, thanks for letting me know about the monster," I said as I grabbed my sword.

"Everyone, gather behind me!" I ordered loudly. "A strong monster is approaching."

The group moved behind me toward the end wall of the dungeon, while I stood at the front, Shinku no Sabi in my hand, waiting for the monster Alex had sensed.

After a few minutes of eerie silence, I suddenly felt an immense bloodlust surge from the darkness ahead.

"There really is a strong one here," I muttered, tightening my grip on the sword.

A few minutes later, a tall monster with gray skin emerged from the shadows. Its lower tusks jutted upward past cracked lips, slick with saliva. In its hand, it carried a large machete.

"A-a troll!?" Payal exclaimed from behind me in shock.

"A troll is a C-Ranked monster. Mr. Raj, let me handle it. You should save your strength."

"I appreciate the consideration, Instructor Payal, but I want to take care of this myself."

Strangely, instead of charging at us, the troll approached at a casual pace.

When only a dozen feet separated us, it stopped and muttered, struggling to speak,

"Yu… humann… why… kill… gwoblins?"

"D-did that monster just speak!?" Dhruva exclaimed, his voice cracking in disbelief.

Not just him—everyone present was stunned beyond reason at the sight of a monster speaking human language.

Well, their reactions were understandable given the absurdity of the situation.

Since the appearance of the gates, there had never been a record of intelligent monster species. Researchers had tried to communicate with gate monsters, but all attempts failed. The moment monsters sensed a human presence, they attacked relentlessly—as if programmed with a single directive: kill humans.

Even I was momentarily taken aback by the words that came out of the troll's mouth.

"They tried to kill us, so I killed them," I replied, regaining my composure.

"Yu… come… King Grendel… meet… yu…"

"Your king wants to meet us?"

The troll nodded.

"Why does your king want to meet us?" I asked.

The troll's expression instantly darkened as it shouted, bloodlust seeping into its voice.

"Don't qustion… the king!"

I rubbed the back of my forehead and said with a grin,

"Well, if your king really wants to meet us, tell him to bring his ass over here."

The troll's eyes narrowed in rage. Its grip tightened around the machete, veins bulging grotesquely along its arm as it barreled toward me.

"Yu dare insult king!!!!"

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