Dungeon King of the New Era

A tense silence hung in the air as Raven and Shura were about to step out of the association office when hurried footsteps echoed behind them.

"Wait!" 

A hoarse voice called out.

Raven stopped but didn't bother turning around. Shura, however, glanced back to see an old association leader rushing toward them, his face lined with deep concern. Beside him, Jeremey Horland strode forward with a smirk, exuding confidence.

"Leaving already? Not so fast." 

Jeremey said, stopping a few feet away. 

Raven exhaled, already growing tired of the conversation he hadn't even heard yet. 

"What now?"

The older association leader stepped forward hesitantly, worry evident in his expression. 

"Raven, listen… You've been gone for a decade. The world has changed. We can't have someone of your caliber running around without a proper registration in the Arena system."

Raven tilted his head slightly. 

"And why would I care about that?"

Jeremey crossed his arms. 

"Because it's the only way we know how strong you actually are. We need you to test your skills in the Arena and get registered."

Raven let out a short laugh and waved his hand dismissively. 

"I have no intention of playing with kids in the Arena. I've already lived through the real thing."

Jeremey's smirk widened. 

"That's a nice excuse. Convenient, even."

Raven arched a brow. 

"Excuse?"

Jeremey took a step closer, lowering his voice just enough to sound condescending. 

"Let's be real, Raven. You're afraid, aren't you?"

Shura tensed, but Raven simply looked amused.

"You don't want to step into the Arena because deep down, you know things have changed. You think you're the same warrior from ten years ago, but what if you're not? What if you're outdated? You'd rather walk away than face the possibility that you've been outclassed."

Jeremey expected Raven to get angry. Maybe to scowl, to challenge him right then and there. But instead, Raven chuckled. It was a genuine, low, amused sound.

"I swear! ignorant people are the funniest ones to look at. You don't even realize how stupid you sound." 

Raven said, shaking his head.

Jeremey's smirk vanished in an instant. His jaw clenched, but before he could snap back, Shura placed a hand on Raven's shoulder.

"Raven, it might not be a bad idea."

Shura said, sounding unusually serious.

Raven turned his gaze to him, mildly curious.

Shura continued. 

"You were in that dungeon for ten years. We don't know if something changed about your body, your abilities. If you go through with this, at least we'll have confirmation that nothing's wrong."

For a moment, Raven considered his words. Then, with a lazy shrug, he sighed. 

"Fine. Let's get this over with."

Jeremey looked both surprised and victorious, though he masked it well. 

"Good. Follow me."

______

Minutes later, they arrived at one of the Arena system's registration rooms. The room was sleek and advanced, lined with monitors and scanning equipment. A large capsule-like module stood at the center, its purpose clear.

One of the technicians, a woman in a lab coat, gestured toward it. 

"Please step inside, and we'll begin the scan."

Raven rolled his shoulders and stepped into the module without hesitation. The glass door sealed shut, and the machine hummed to life.

Numbers flashed on the monitor as the system began scanning him. A progress bar appeared, filling up rapidly. Then, suddenly, the screen flickered.

An error message popped up, large and bold for everyone to see:

[ERROR: USER POTENTIAL CANNOT BE MEASURED. EXCEEDS SYSTEM CAPACITY.]

The room went dead silent.

The technician's eyes widened in disbelief. 

"W-What?"

A second line of text appeared:

[User must choose one of two options: 

1) Limit stats to system's max capacity. Skills and assets will be restricted until integration is complete. 

2) Reject system synchronization and be removed from the Arena database.]

The air was thick with shock. The technician's fingers trembled as she turned back to the group. 

"This… This has never happened before."

Jeremey's smirk disappeared. His face darkened as he processed the implications. 

"That… can't be right."

The older association leader looked as if he might faint. His mouth opened and closed, but no words came out.

Shura was the only one who remained somewhat composed, though even he exhaled slowly in disbelief.

Raven, on the other hand, looked completely unfazed. He leaned back against the capsule wall and smirked. 

"Guess your system can't handle me."

One of the technicians hesitantly spoke up. 

"S-Sir, you have to choose one of the options."

Raven let out a sigh. 

"I think I'll pass."

Jeremey scowled. 

"What's wrong? Afraid you won't be as strong as you think if you let the system balance you out?"

Raven rolled his eyes. 

"I don't need a glorified calculator to tell me what I already know."

Jeremey clenched his fists. 

"That's just an excuse. Without official stats, no one will take your strength seriously."

Raven took a step forward, locking eyes with Jeremey. His voice was calm, but it carried an edge. 

"Do you want proof?"

Jeremey hesitated for a fraction of a second.

Raven smirked. 

"I could show you."

The challenge was clear.

Jeremey's pride wouldn't let him back down.

"Fine. Let's take this to the training arena. You can show us all what you got against one of the hardest practice modes. But I must warn you that it is not going to be easy."

The technicians gasped. The old association leader tried to intervene. 

"This is reckless! We can't—the system cannot handle Sir Raven. What if it crashed-"

"It'll be fine. The system cannot handle me at my full power, so I will have to fight with a handi-cap ... .not that it is going to be much of one."

Raven did not look worried in the slightest. He also ignored the tension that was escalating in the room as he walked toward the capsule to get back inside it. 

Shura sighed, rubbing his temple. He knew that the younger was reckless, especially when it came to his own body and testing it's limits, but this had potential to be a problem.

"This is going to be a disaster."