A holographic screen unfurled in front of Bruce, shimmering with a blue hue. Ash perked up on his shoulder, little golden eyes widening, pupils narrowing to slits of interest. It tilted its head, pressing closer to the glowing display like a curious cat made of scales and mana.

To Bruce's surprise…

The list was much shorter than he expected.

Far too short.

Just 10 S-Rank Dungeons in the entire region, each with its own reputation, notoriety, and warning symbols.

Bruce took a slow breath, calm and deliberate as he studied the names. Ash leaned forward as well, whiskers trembling slightly, as if the little dragon wanted to choose for him.

He observed the holographic screen in silence, eyes narrowing thoughtfully.

The world suddenly felt smaller than he remembered.

And yet… the thrill of possibilities stretched endlessly before him.

...

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[📜 S–RANKED DUNGEONS, CURRENTLY SCOUTED]

(Guild-Certified Overview)

[Region: Central-Western Dominion]

[Available S-Rank Dungeons: 10]

[Clear Rate: <1%]

[Solo Clearance: 0 Recorded]

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[1. Abyssal Fang Nest]

[Classification: Beast-Type]

[Dominant Threat: S-Rank Lycans...]

[Warning: "Entering alone is considered suicide. Nest density unpredictable."]

---

[2. Verdant Colossus Hollow]

[Classification: Nature-Type]

[Dominant Threat: Ancient Titan Treant]

[Warning: "Vegetation is carnivorous. Even the ground breathes."]

---

[3. Blackwater Revenant Keep]

[Classification: Undead-Type]

[Dominant Threat: Warden of Drowned Souls]

[Warning: "Mana dampening present. Resurrection anomalies detected."]

---

[4. Crimson Meteor Forge]

Classification: Elemental-Type

[Dominant Threat: Lava-Born Meteor Golem]

[Warning: "Heat exceeds 3,000°C. Only fire-resistant parties recommended."]

---

[5. Frostbite Tyrant's Cavern]

[Classification: Ice-Type] [Dominant Threat: S-Rank Frost Emperor Drake]

[Warning: "Temperature drops to −120°C without warning."]

---

[6. Silent Moonshade Labyrinth]

[Classification: Illusion-Type]

[Dominant Threat: Moonshade Phantasm Queen] [Warning: "Mental contamination probability, 98%."]

...

[7. Stormheart Skyrift]

[Classification: Wind-Type]

[Dominant Threat: Tempest Roc Monarch Warning: "Spatial distortions may rip unprotected adventurers apart."]

---

[8. Emerald Venom Hive]]

[Classification: Poison-Type]

[Dominant Threat: Emerald Widow Empress] [Warning: "All recorded parties died within 6 minutes of exposure."]

---

[9. Sunken Obsidian Bastion]

[Classification: Dark-Type]

[Dominant Threat: Obsidian Knight Prime]

[Warning: "Armor unbreakable to standard A-Rank weapons."]

---

[10. Radiant Helix Sanctuary]

[Classification: Light/Hybrid-Type]

[Dominant Threat: Fallen Archwing Seraph]

[Warning: "Blessings invert into curses. Healing becomes poison."]

---

.....

The holographic text pulsed faintly, waiting, inviting, daring Bruce to make a choice.

Ash's pupils dilated the moment the first dungeon appeared, golden eyes widening with hunger.

The scent of prey, imagined or remembered, already flickered in its instincts.

Wolf meat.

Ash wanted it.

Bruce followed the little dragon's gaze and a quiet smile touched his lips.

He didn't need more persuasion.

He tapped the first dungeon.

Instantly, a detailed profile unfurled:

────────────────────────── [ABYSSAL FANG FOREST, S-RANK] Warning: Scouters report inconsistent layouts. This Dungeon exhibits properties of a Dual-Dungeon fusion. Threat level high. Proceed with extreme caution.

──────────────────────────

Bruce's smile widened just a fraction. 'A dual dungeon. Unstable. Unpredictable.'

Exactly the kind of challenge the world assumed an S-Rank adventurer should fear.

And exactly the kind of challenge Bruce chose to walk into alone.

He tapped a small icon in the corner, and the hologram shifted into a topographical map, terrain, mana lines, estimated beast territories, and entry routes traced clean blue lines across the display all the way to where the dungeon portal is located.

He rubbed Ash's head affectionately.

"Let's go, Ash," he murmured, voice calm. "Food is waiting."

Ash chirped sharply, excited, hungry, ready.

Swoosh!

The world blurred.

And Bruce vanished from the street in a single, sound-shattering burst of speed.

---

…Meanwhile, at the Adventurer Guild Base…

Bale received the notification.

A quiet chime. A glowing line of text pulsed across his smart bracelet.

He glanced once and froze.

[Bruce Ackerman has initiated a solo raid: Abyssal Fang Forest, S-Rank Dungeon]

For a moment, Bale didn't move. He simply stared at the words as if his mind needed a few heartbeats to process the weight behind them. The office air felt suddenly still, suspended around him like the calm before a storm.

"…That boy," Bale muttered under his breath.

He tapped the alert and opened the dungeon details, eyes narrowing as he skimmed through the hazard report. The very first line made his jaw tighten.

[Abyssal Direwolves: Estimated numbers, unknown. Alpha intelligence, high. Dual-Dungeon fusion, confirmed by scouts. Raid teams recommended: 5–7 members minimum.]

More notifications slid into place.

[Abyssal Lycans present. Threat level: extreme.]

And Bruce was going alone.

Bale let out a long, quiet breath. His fingers brushed across his forehead, the beginning of a headache building behind his eyes.

"Sigh… Even if I wanted to stop him… I can't."

Bruce's Anomaly title stood above every regulation the Guild or Order enforced. An anomaly didn't need a party. Didn't need formal approval. Didn't need oversight or escort units. They operated outside the system because the system couldn't contain them.

He had unrestricted access.

The Order couldn't deny him.

The Guild couldn't block him.

No authority could slow him down.

Because the anomaly title carried one absolute meaning:

Bruce Ackerman possessed the highest probability of breaking the world's restrictions… more than any adventurer alive.

More than the former anomaly.

More than anyone who had ever come before.

And holding him back would only stunt that growth. Experience, danger, near-death brinksmanship, these were catalysts for anomalies. The more dungeons Bruce entered, the more mistakes he made, the more he evolved. Every fight sharpened him. Every beast refined his class. Every extreme pushed him closer to something unprecedented.

So the world bent the rules for him.

Every gate opened.

Bale took a long sip of his coffee, the steam curling upward like a lazy omen. He watched it rise for a moment, thoughtful.

"That boy could slaughter S-Ranked beasts when he was still A-Rank…" he murmured, half in awe, half in resignation. "Now that he's S-Rank?"

He glanced back at the glowing screen, rereading the danger classifications.

"Facing multiple S-Ranked beasts… might actually be easy for him."

The words were absurd. But so was Bruce.

Bale set the cup down, letting the steam drift into the quiet of his office. A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, a strange blend of pride, concern, and something like anticipation.

"Let's see then, Bruce," he said softly. "Is your strength truly great enough to solo an S-Ranked Dungeon…?"

He leaned forward, elbows on the desk, eyes fixed on the screen as it slowly dimmed.

"Time will tell."

The reflection on the darkened surface captured Bale's expectant gaze, steady, sharp, waiting to witness what kind of monster Bruce Ackerman would reveal himself to be next.

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