Another journey across the desert pins began. This time, Ats opted to ride his Dune Phantom, while Manna piloted the floating throne, with Edrik and Kurogasa seated alongside her on its ptform.

  The floating throne was undeniably more fortable—it allowed him to rex pletely, even nap, as it carried him to his destination. Though the hover bike could also operate on autopilot, its seating wasly suited for catg any sleep.

  As the bike glided effortlessly over the sands, Ats took the opportunity to review his progress so far. Two victories under his belt, and he needed just one more successful defeo advao Division 2.

  If he succeeded, his challenge invitation slots would reset, and three new challengers from Division 2 would repce the current lineup. It was a step up—a new level of difficulty—but also aing opportunity.

  Staying in Division 1 for a while might seem easier, sidering the level of oppos. But no—not really. Even his first challenger, Soren, had been incredibly strong. He sighed deeply.

  Should he sider joining an allia was tempting, given the early support a Lord could gain from such a move. However, joining an alliance would also mean granting others a degree of trol over him—something Ats was unwilling to accept.

  Being a solo Lord, as he had chosen, came with signifit risks. While he did have Summoned Lords from other worlds at his side, they were far from their peak forms. With their powers downgraded in this realm, their abilities were a shadow of what they once had been.

  It left him with much to sider.

  He still had oack Toke, which he po use wisely, sidering he would faore defenses after this.

  He o make the most of the opportunity, aiming for the rgest rewards possible while ensuring he didn’t bee reedy—something that could put him at risk.

  He finally secured the World Shards upon arriving at the Awakener Associatioer!

  At st, he would be able to build the Gateway Altar and wouldn’t o return here again—though he did enjoy visiting this bustling city.

  Ats also secured additional materials and supplies for his isnd, spending 760 gold s in the process.

  Having plenty of money was a relief, allowing him to shop more freely. However, he made sure to save a signifit amount, knowing he’d to recruit more troops soon.

  For a Seeker Division 1 Lord, would 40 troops be enough? Or should he aim for more?

  In the end, Ats decided to recruit 10 more troops from the applits he’d evaluated weeks ago.

  Once everything was settled, he and his subordinates left the Awakener Associatioer, ready for the phase of preparation.

  He g Manna, alking beside him.

  "Want to head straight home?"

  Manna looked at him briefly but didn’t reply.

  "What about trying some more sweet treats from the city?"

  Still, no answer.

  He sighed, running a hand through his hair, when suddenly—

  "Hey! Watch where you're swinging that tail!"

  Ats tur the sound of someone shouting angrily in their dire.

  Kurogasa quickly bowed to the irritated man. "I apologize for the trouble."

  "Dammit!" the man growled, gring in disgust at his sleeve. "Now I have to ge clothes again!"

  Ats stepped forward, pulled out a few banknotes, and pressed them into the man’s hand. "Buy yourself some new clothes with this."

  He turned and resumed walking without waiting for a response.

  "Hey! Are you mog me? Do you think I ’t afford my own clothes?!" the man shouted after him.

  Ats didn’t even look back.

  After walking for a while, a sudden bre of sireed from every dire.

  What’s going on?!

  Ats stopped in his tracks, watg as people began running in panic. His gaze swept across the streets until his eyes nded on the massive digital boards mounted on nearby buildings. Every single one dispyed the same urgent broadcast.

  “Emergency alert! Emergency alert! The dungeon expedition ducted two months ago has failed. The awakeners sent to clear the Level 250 dungeon have beeed.”

  "Dungeon break," Ats muttered.

  A Dungeon Break occurs when a dungeon fails to be cleared before its expiration period ends. When this happens, the dungeon colpses, and the monsters inside are unleashed, attag the surrounding enviro with brutal ferocity.

  What makes this worse is that monsters emerging from a dungeon are far mgressive than the oypically found roaming iside. Uernal mohat tend to stay within specific areas, these dungeon monsters actively seek out targets, making them a far greater threat to any nearby popution.

  “They couldn’t handle a Level 250 dungeon?” Edrik asked, frowning as he turo Ats.

  Ats shrugged slightly.

  Edrik tinued. "You mentiohe highest-ranked Lord here is a Rank 6 Marshall, right? Their power should be somewhere between Level 300 and 400. A Level 250 dungeon shouldn’t have been an issue."

  “Do the Lords where you’re from even care about what happens in the Lower Lands, Edrik?”

  Edrik sighed, the ers of his mouth twitg. "Well, now it makes sense."

  Ats let out a tired sigh. "Awakeners in the Lower Lands don’t usually reach high levels. For them, a Level 250 dungeon is nothing short of a disaster."

  “Even worse…” Ats tinued, “if they failed to clear the dungeon, it means they’ve died there. Losing a rge number of high-level awakeners at once would be a massive blow to this city.”

  “Dungeons have valuable resources to harvest. Those Lords should have seen it as a win-win solution to help clear dungeons in the Lower Lands,” Edrik said.

  “Eveer than what we harvest from unoccupied floating isnds, Edrik?”

  Edrik smiled and gave a small bow to Ats. “In specific cases, some materials only be found iain types of dungeons.”

  “Ah, got it,” Ats replied with a nod.

  People were running everywhere. Cars honked furiously as traffic began piling up, and some drivers abaheir vehicles entirely, choosing to flee on foot.

  “Where’s the dungeon located?” Edrik asked, sing the chaos. “It ’t be ihe city, right?”

  Ats g the digital boards again, whiow showed live footage from outside the city. The view revealed massive preparations underway to repel an ining monster wave. Soldiers were lining up, and automated defenses were ing online.

  “No, it’s from outside.”

  After a moment of thought, Ats added, “Let’s head to the café and watch how Dune Bastioy’s heavy turret defense system—hahe monster waves. We also see how the Saharian Army fares against them.”

  They made their way to the café, which was still opee the chaos outside. Only a few patrons remained, but the staff appeared surprisingly calm.

  Ats ordered drinks and a meal, noting the rexed demeanor of the café workers even as the city outside desded into panibsp;

  The café had a rge s, perfect for keeping track of the unfoldis.

  “How bad is a Level 250 dungeon, Edrik?”

  Edrik leaned back slightly. “It depends, but if they mentiohe expedition was two months ago, this isn’t a typical dungeon. It’s likely a raid dungeon—something that requires far more people and time to clear.”

  “Which means we’re looking at waves of Level 250 monsters,” Kurogasa added.

  Ats started a versation with the waiter, a man in his 30s whht their food to the table.

  “Does this sort of thing happen often around here?” Ats asked.

  The waiter smiled. “No, this is the first time we’ve had a dungeon break of this level. But I think the Dune Bastion should hahe monsters just fine, right?”

  “You seem pretty calm, especially with how panicked everyone else is outside,” Ats noted, raising an eyebrow.

  The waiter chuckled. “Well, I’m an awakeoo. But in the end, I chose to open this café instead.”

  “Ah, good to know,” Ats replied with a small nod.

  The waiter gave a polite bow before returning to the ter.

  Their attention turned back to the s, where the monsters began emerging in the distance, a seemingly endless wave rushing across the desert pins. Their numbers were staggering, stretg from one edge of the horizon to the other.

  “Oh, are you kiddihat’s way too many!” Ats excimed, leaning forward in disbelief.

  “Now,” Edrik muttered, “this doesn’t just look like a Raid Dungeon anymore.”