[Scaled Devourer Defeated: 50/50]
[Quest Complete.]
[You have cleared the 4th Floor of the Labyrinth.]
—
[You are the First to Clear the 4th Floor.]
[You are the Fastest to Clear the 4th Floor: 37 minutes, 19 seconds]
[Rewarding Bonus Experience…]
—
[Anomaly Detected: Floor contained non-native entity.]
[One (1) Upper Class Scaled Devourer identified—unauthorized variant for standard difficulty.]
[Adjusting Reward Parameters…]
[Rewards Calculated.]
[Reward Tier Increased.]
—
▸ Skill Update: [Feral Grappling – Bonebind Technique] Lv.1 → Lv.2
– Improved grip speed and counter timing
– Grapples can now chain into ground-based finishers
– Passive [Pain Ignorance] upgraded: minor resistance to stun during close-quarters engagements
– Slam-based attacks now apply a 1-second stagger to enemies over 2x your size
—
▸ Skill Update: [Emberfang Style] Lv.1 → Lv.2
– Base fire damage increased
– Movement techniques enhanced with combustion knockback
– Critical strikes apply 2 stacks of Burn instead of 1
– Passive synergy with Blank Protocol detected: partial flame trail suppression while active
—
▸ Full Equipment Set Acquired: 『Specter Fang Set』 [Rare+, Set Type: Stealth-Combat Hybrid]
Forged from phase-threaded hide and chitin recovered from high-tier dungeon phantoms. Designed for Vassals who walk unseen through death.
Set Bonus (Equipped Items Become Invisible): Wearing any two or more pieces will render the gear invisible and silent. No visual distortion. True concealment.
—
▸ 『Specter Fang Vestplate』
Flexible body armor, light but durable. Reinforced for close-quarters brutality.
+18% Resistance to Blunt Force
Reduces stamina loss from sprinting and grappling by 20%
Passive: [Pulse Dampener] – reduces heartbeat and mana emission during movement
—
▸ 『Specter Fang Gauntlets』
Hardened wraps and claw-channel bracers that enhance grip and raw striking force.
+15% Unarmed Damage
10% Grapple Speed
Passive: [Ghost Impact] – 10% chance to silence enemies for 2 seconds on unarmed critical hits
—
▸ 『Specter Fang Greaves』
Reinforced with lightweight obsidian alloy, enhancing explosive movement and takedowns.
+12% Movement Speed
+20% Critical Strike Damage when airborne
Passive: [Whisper Step] – suppresses footstep sound and reduces enemy aggro radius while sprinting
—
▸ 『Specter Fang Mask』
Smooth, featureless, and cold as death. Connects faintly to the Labyrinth's unseen systems.
+8% Evasion
+5% Resistance to Mind-affecting Magic
Passive: [No-Face] – reduces chance of magical tracking or identification by 40%
—
▸ Set Bonus (4/4): 『Specter Fang Set Bonus – Ghost Operative』
+12% Total Combat Effectiveness while undetected
All equipped pieces become fully invisible
Grants passive [Predator Veil] – damage dealt from stealth gains 25% amplification
Grants passive [Null Tag] – immune to enemy tracking or tagging effects for 10 seconds after landing a critical hit
—
'I didn't expect to get my hands on this set so soon. Back then, the one who wore this was Astraia from Tokyo, the current number one in the Astral Rankings. She made this armor infamous. Untouchable. People used to say if you saw her move, it was already too late. But now… it's mine.'
The moment I fastened the last strap of the Specter Fang Set, it vanished from sight—completely gone. No shimmer, no flicker. Just… nothing.
Even my hands looked bare. But I could feel the weight. The tight fit. The hum of something unnatural woven into the material.
"…this is insane," I whispered, but even my voice came out soft, dampened by the armor's effects.
I opened my status.
Both skills had leveled up.
[Feral Grappling – Bonebind Technique] Lv.2.
[Emberfang Style] Lv.2.
I stared at the updated descriptions, my eyes narrowing as I read through the new effects again.
'I didn't even need a new skill book this time.'
I smiled. "I'm ahead. Way ahead."
But I also knew what that meant.
If the Labyrinth was already throwing variant-class anomalies this early, it wasn't going to let me keep this lead forever.
[All rewards have been transferred to your inventory.]
[Updating Floor Access...]
[You may now enter Floor 5.]
[Fast Travel Unlocked: Floor 1 ↔ Floor 4]
As usual, a notification will pop up once you cleared the floor faster than anybody else.
-
[System Alert – First Clear Recognition]
Your achievement shall be recorded in the Hall of Firsts.
A name is required for the inscription. This name will be eternal, visible to all challengers who follow. Choose wisely.
Please input the name to be etched into the Hall of Firsts:
(....)
And as usual, I entered the name "Blank"
[The name 'Blank' has been registered.]
[Labyrinth – 4th Floor: Cleared]
[Cleared By: Blank ]
[Completion Time: 37 minutes, 19 seconds]
[You are being returned to Earth.]
[Please stand by.]
[You have cleared Floor 4.]
[Returning to Earth…]
-
In a blink, the air shifted, and I was back on earth and noticed that something was off so I looked around, and I saw people were gathered near the perimeter, all of them staring at the Rift, unease written on their faces.Murmurs floated through the crowd.
"…Wait, isn't it too early?"
"The fifth floor isn't supposed to open for another hour…"
"Did something go wrong with the system?"
I followed their gaze back to the Rift.
It was glowing brighter than before—its usual deep red now threaded with a violent flickering gold. Like the energy was boiling over.
Then I remembered.
´Oh, yeah. Four floors cleared. That was the threshold.´
Once any challenger cleared four Labyrinth floors in total, the system would begin preparing the Fifth Floor—the first major Boss floor.
Normally, there was a delay. A 60-minute buffer for the world to prepare, for systems to adjust.To give others time to brace, but now there was no delay.
I grabbed my cellphone and I went to Astral Community.
_
▸ [GLOBAL THREAD – Fifth Floor of the Crimson Rift is Now Accessible ]
▸ [Global Emergency Alert] – Floor Opening Time Skipped. Cause: UNKNOWN. Investigation Pending.
▸ [Trending Post – Tokyo Region]
「Who the hell triggered the Fifth Floor early!?」
Posted by: [Astraia] | Ranked #1
Comments: 4.1K | Shares: 9.7K
_
I scrolled through the chaos, and each one feeding into the chaos and awe unraveling across the globe.
└@RiftWatcher: "Hold up—Fifth Floor just went live? That's not supposed to happen yet."
└@PulseHack: "Did we miss the countdown or is the system bugging?"
└@DreadMuse: "Not a bug. Someone cleared the fourth floor way too fast. Triggered an override."
└@CipherRain: "I'm sweating. Whoever pulled that off didn't just break pacing—they rewrote it."
└@GhostClerk: "It's happening again. Like Floor 3 all over again. No warning, no team. Just bam, boss unlocked.
└@Runestone88: "I swear, if this is Blank again, I'm buying every guide that psycho writes.
└@FragmentPulse: "Crimson Rift's about to turn into a graveyard. We're not ready for Floor 5."
└@NullSpecter: "Blank doesn't wait for the world. The world adjusts to him."
└@WyrmSplicer: "Can we even call this 'early access'? Dude speed ran the damn dimension."