Screams sliced through the heavy, sulfur-choked air of Sector Seven.
Dust-covered concrete blocks lay scattered like broken teeth where the Central Orphanage once stood.
Leo squeezed his fists until his knuckles turned white, his heart hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird.
Behind a collapsed load-bearing wall, five younger children huddled together, their small bodies shaking with silent, desperate sobs.
Mina, the oldest at just nine, tried to cover the mouths of the younger ones, her eyes wide with terror.
Three meters away, shadows detached themselves from the smog.
Obsidian Wolves.
Four-legged nightmares covered in jagged, crystalline armor plates that clicked with every step.
Acidic saliva dripped from their jaws, sizzling as it hit the ruined linoleum floor.
Red, soulless eyes scanned the rubble, locking onto the scent of fresh blood and fear.
Leo felt a familiar, cold void open in his chest.
Images of his lost family—the brothers and sisters who had been torn away during the first dungeon rupture—flashed behind his eyelids.
He had sworn he would never let it happen again.
Back then, he had been too small, too weak to do anything but hide.
Now, looking at Mina and the others, a fierce heat erupted in his belly, melting the ice of his fear.
Weaponless, eighteen, and utterly powerless against C-rank beasts, his legs moved before his brain could protest.
He couldn't let history repeat itself.
Even if he died, he had to buy them enough time to reach the underground sanctuary.
Looking around frantically, his eyes searched the rubble for anything resembling a weapon.
Nothing but rotted wood and twisted rebar met his gaze.
A low, guttural growl echoed nearby, snapping his attention back to the present.
Obsidian beast crouched, its hind legs tensing as it prepared to leap over the debris separating it from the trembling children.
"Hey! Over here, you rabid pieces of trash!"
Leo screamed the words, lunging out from his hiding spot behind a rusted steel beam.
He hurled a heavy piece of shattered concrete with all his strength.
It struck the lead wolf squarely in its crystalline snout.
A sharp, metallic crack echoed through the ruins.
Slowly, the beast turned its massive head, its glowing red eyes narrowing as it locked onto Leo.
Two more wolves emerged from the thick smog, their throat-sacs expanding as they let out low, vibrating growls.
"Run, Mina! Get them to the storm drains!" Leo roared, backpedaling furiously toward the edge of the ruined pier.
Behind him lay the toxic harbor, a churning soup of industrial waste and mutated slime.
Its surface was a sickly, iridescent green, emitting a thick, choking vapor.
Lead wolf lunged, its claws tearing through the asphalt, throwing up sparks.
Fangs clicked inches from Leo's face, the stench of decay washing over him.
Instinct took over.
Rather than letting them corner the children, Leo spun on his heel and plunged off the edge of the concrete pier.
Down he fell, straight into the toxic soup below.
---
Freezing, acidic liquid swallowed him whole.
Chemicals burned his eyes and stung the open cuts on his arms, filling his throat with the taste of rusted metal and battery acid.
Thrashing wildly, he tried to find his bearings in the murky, green depths.
Bubbles rose around him as he sank deeper into the dark.
His hand scraped against the muddy harbor floor, striking something hard, metallic, and strangely warm.
It was a rod.
Rusted, pitted, and covered in barnacles, yet it thrummed with a faint, pulsing blue light.
Curiosity, or perhaps sheer survival instinct, made him wrap his fingers tightly around the cold grip.
Instantly, a jolt of pure electricity shot up his arm.
Leo screamed underwater, a torrent of bubbles escaping his lips.
Metal melted directly into his flesh, fusing with his bones.
Jagged, glowing blue lines raced up his forearm, carving under his skin like liquid fire.
He could feel his veins burning, his nervous system screaming as the artifact bonded with his soul.
Agony racked his entire body, making his muscles lock in place.
Suddenly, a sharp chime echoed directly inside his skull.
Glowing holographic letters materialized before his eyes, cutting through the dark water.
`[SYSTEM INITIALIZATION COMPLETE.]`
`[SOUL-BOUND WEAPON DETECTED: COSMIC RECLAMATION ROD (RUSTED).]`
`[UNLOCKED CLASS: COSMIC FISHERMAN.]`
`[CURRENT STATUS: LEVEL 1 (0/100 EXP).]`
`[SYSTEM NOTE: THE OCEANS, SEAS, AND RIVERS OF EARTH NOW CONTAIN THE LOST ESSENCE OF COLLAPSED DUNGEONS. CAST YOUR LINE TO RECLAIM WHAT WAS LOST.]`
Dazed, Leo watched the glowing blue text float in the dark water.
Pain of the fusion began to fade, replaced by a strange, cool energy that flowed through his veins.
He realized the rod wasn't just a tool; it was now a part of him, its base seamlessly integrated into the flesh of his forearm.
Every microscopic vibration in the water was suddenly clear to him.
It was like having a thousand new senses.
He could feel the current, the temperature gradients, and most importantly, the glowing pockets of raw power drifting in the deep trench below.
Some were faint, like dying embers.
Others burned with a blinding intensity that made his soul ache with longing.
Instinctively, he knew, with absolute certainty, that he had to catch them.
With a fluid motion, he flicked his wrist.
An ethereal, shimmering blue fishing line projected from the tip of the fused rod, slicing through the murky water.
It sank deep into the seabed, wrapping around a brilliant, pulsing golden orb.
`[BITE DETECTED! REEL IT IN!]`
Leo gripped the rod with both hands, planting his feet on the muck.
He pulled with all his might, his muscles straining against the immense drag.
Shimmering line hissed as he reeled, drawing the golden light closer and closer.
With a final, desperate heave, he yanked the line backward.
Golden orb broke free from the silt, flying directly into his chest.
`[YOU HAVE CAUGHT: ELEMENTAL ORB OF PHYSICALITY (+10 STRENGTH).]`
A surge of raw, unadulterated power exploded through his veins.
His chest expanded, his shoulders widening as new muscle fibers knit together in a fraction of a second.
His grip on the rod tightened, crushing the barnacles on its surface to dust.
Crushing pressure of the deep water suddenly felt like nothing more than a warm embrace.
Fear evaporated, replaced by a fierce, burning resolve.
---
On the ruined pier, the five children cowered behind the crumbling brick wall.
Mina pressed her back against the rough clay, her hands clamped over Toby's mouth to keep him from crying out.
Dust and ash fell around them like gray snow.
Just beyond their hiding spot, the three Obsidian Wolves paced back and forth near the edge of the harbor.
They growled, their heavy paws clicking against the concrete as they stared down into the glowing, bubbling water.
One of the smaller wolves sniffed the air, its snout twitching as it detected the scent of the children.
It turned slowly, its red eyes locking onto the broken wall.
Mina squeezed her eyes shut, pulling the younger children closer to her chest.
She prayed to whatever gods might still be listening in this ruined world.
Suddenly, a heavy splash echoed from the harbor, drawing the beasts' attention back to the water.
---
Water exploded upward as Leo breached the surface, gasping for air.
He didn't struggle this time.
Instead, he propelled himself upward with a single, powerful kick that launched his body half out of the water.
He grabbed the edge of the concrete pier with one hand.
Concrete crumbled under his fingers, but his grip remained absolute, his newly gained strength making his fingers hard as steel.
Pulling himself up effortlessly, he swung his legs onto the deck.
Water dripped from his soaked clothes, sizzling where the toxic residue met his skin, but he barely felt the sting.
His body felt light, coiled like a high-tension spring.
Right in front of him, the three Obsidian Wolves had abandoned their hunt for the children.
They had smelled his blood, but now they hesitated, their ears twitching as they sensed the sudden change in his aura.
Growling softly, the alpha wolf stepped forward.
It was easily twice the size of the others, its obsidian armor plates jagged and razor-sharp, with steam rising from its nostrils.
Leo didn't back down.
He stood tall, the fused fishing rod resting in his right hand, glowing with a steady, pulsing blue light that cast long shadows across the ruins.
"Come on then," Leo whispered, his voice dropping to a dangerous quiet.
He took a step forward, his boot crushing a loose stone into fine powder.
Savage beasts bared their fangs, preparing to spring.
As Leo stands to face the alpha wolf with his newfound strength, the harbor water behind him begins to boil violently, releasing a colossal, multi-eyed shadow that locks its gaze directly onto his glowing rod.