Talent Awakening: Draconic Overlord Of The Apocalypse-Chapter 448: • A Dungeon Like No Other

His sharp, calculating green eyes gleamed through the lens, scanning every shadow, every shifting branch.

Behind him, Marcus adjusted his own mask, making sure his protective gear was secure.

His gaze kept flicking nervously over his shoulder, his fingers twitching near the hilt of his sword.

The rest of the team followed, five others in similarly expensive, state-of-the-art protective suits, all masked and armed to the teeth.

"You think this time we'll actually clear it?" Marcus asked, his voice muffled by his mask but still audible in the silence.

Arden didn't respond immediately, his brow furrowed in thought.

The air was still, and the sound of dripping blood and mud from the swamp was the only thing that seemed to break the oppressive quiet.

Finally, he spoke, his voice cold and full of quiet rage.

"I don't know," Arden said, his hand tightening around the hilt of his blade. "But I don't care what it takes, I'll BURN THIS ENTIRE PLACE TO THE GROUND! My team, my leaders... they died here, damn it!" His voice cracked slightly, but he forced it down. His anger surged, fueling his resolve.

"I will avenge them."

As they pushed forward, the jungle seemed to grow darker. Strange noises echoed from the depths of the swamp—low growls, sickening slithers, and the sound of something large moving through the water, though they couldn't see it. Every step felt heavier, the swamp's dark grip tightening around them.

The team moved cautiously, their eyes darting around, anticipating the worst. Arden's senses were on edge. After all, this was no ordinary dungeon.

"Did you hear about what happend in sector I? About the mutated humans?" one of the guild members asked, his voice shaky despite his attempts to hide it.

A man named Jarek spoke up. "Yeah. Reports said union officers were swarmed by mutated humans—things that didn't even look human anymore. And those things... they were S-ranked. How does a regular

human get mutated then super strong like that?"

Arden's jaw tightened as he glanced over his shoulder. "Not just any humans, Jarek. Aberrants is what the Union is calling them—the kind that used to be people, but now are little more than... monsters." freewebnøvel.coɱ

"Exactly." Jarek's voice lowered. "The first team that went in—failed in just over an hour. Then Sector III... they didn't even last half that time. No one knows what happens to these dungeons, but... none who have entered have made their way back." He glanced at Marcus. "We just need to pray that this time we'll actually clear it."

Arden didn't respond immediately. Instead, he adjusted his mask, tightening the straps on his protective gear. He thought back to the last few days—the failed attempts, the loss of so many good men and women.

The anger in his chest burned brighter, hotter, but it was nothing compared to the pit in his stomach.

He could still see their faces—his former team leaders—smiling, happy for his return from the last mission he'd had outside the walls. Now their bodies were probably mangled and unrecognizable, their lives snuffed out by whatever cursed force dwelled inside these gates.

There was something here, something worse than they could comprehend.

There was nothing he could do but avenge them. There was nothing left to do but to continue, to push forward with the last of the Red Phoenix Guild's elite S-ranked team... Well not all of them, it would be foolish to bring all the guild's top members here only to have them die.

His hands clenched into fists, the metal of his gauntlets creaking under pressure.

He exhaled sharply. "We'll burn them all," he muttered, his green flame sparking in his palm.

The team pressed on, making their way through the blood- and mud-choked landscape. The deeper they ventured, the more the atmosphere felt oppressive, suffocating. The red mist clung to their masks, swirling in a constant, eerie fog that made it difficult to see more than a few meters ahead.

And then, out of nowhere, the sound of a heavy splash echoed through the swamp. Arden's head snapped to the side, his body instinctively tensing, his green flames flickering around his fingers.

A hulking figure emerged from the fog—a creature that resembled a twisted human, though its body was mutated beyond recognition. It stood at least eight feet tall, with long, jagged claws and leathery, stretched skin that dripped with blood. Its eyes glowed with an unnatural red light, and its lips pulled back into a grotesque, twisted grin.

The others tensed, their hands instinctively reaching for weapons, but Arden's voice cut through the moment before they could react.

"Stay back," Arden commanded, his voice steady but laced with fury. "I'll handle this."

He didn't wait for anyone to object. Arden stepped forward, his hand rising to the sky, flames flickering at his fingertips.

The moment he released them, a searing green fire surged from his body, cascading around him in a wave. He sent it straight toward the mutated creature.

The thing shrieked in pain, but it was too late. The flames engulfed it, swirling around its body until it was little more than ash and smoke.

Arden's green flames burned bright in the stagnant air, turning the creature into nothing more than charred remains in a matter of seconds.

The rest of the team stood in stunned silence as the last remnants of the monster turned to ash. Arden's gaze flicked back toward the others, his chest heaving with adrenaline and anger.

"This isn't over," he muttered.

Draven, hidden behind the trees, watched the scene unfold. His breath caught in his throat as he marveled at the raw power Arden had just unleashed.

'That human is fairly impressive'

He silently thought.

The fire—the green flame—was something unlike anything he'd ever seen. It wasn't just a talent. It was something more... something ancient.

A blessing perhaps.

Draven had been quietly following the team, staying in the shadows, gathering information. He knew the Red Phoenix Guild was... powerful, by human standards, but this dungeon was by no means going to be possible fur them to clear, his sense were sheep enough to easily measure ther abilities and that if the creatures here.

Not only did they surpass them in strength, but in numbers as well.

As they pushed deeper into the jungle, Draven couldn't help but be impressed by the sheer resolve of these humans—especially Arden.

He had seen leaders in action in his era, but this was something else.

Arden's drive, even when facing certain doom, his fury, his need for vengeance—it was all-consuming.

But Draven knew that alone would be nothing before the force they approached.