Genesis Rift was a novice dungeon directly controlled by the Edoria Royal Family. It was renowned across the kingdom as the only dungeon that contained the Awakening Altar and the chance to unlock hidden abilities.
The thing about the dimensional dungeon in this world was that it was filled with weirdness.
Even as a son of a Viscount, Lucien didn’t know much about it.
In fact, not only he, but even his parents didn’t know much. It was closely guarded within the Royals and nobles of the Kingdom and the Empire.
His grandfather might know more, but he was in a coma, and he couldn’t ask.
[Welcome to the Genesis Rift.]
However, as soon as Lucien entered the massive gate opened by the Grand Magister Orin, he heard a robotic sound just like that of his system.
Only this time, he wasn’t the only one who was hearing the announcement, but everyone else who entered the dungeon with him.
[It is detected that the candidate limit has been reached. The dungeon gate is now sealed.]
The voice was robotic and detached, echoing autonomously through the vast hall from no discernible source.
But the moment it spoke, the massive portal behind them vanished—like it had never existed at all.
Only then did Lucien realize they were inside an enormous chamber veiled in pale, shifting fog.
He and Liora, along with the others, stood on an immaculate marble floor that gleamed beneath their feet. Most of them had surprised looks on their faces as this was the first time they had witnessed such a place.
[Detected that all candidates inside are eligible to proceed. Commencing the Class Awakening process.]
The robotic sound didn’t care about their surprise and announced the beginning of the Class Awakening.
Then, without warning, Lucien suddenly saw the fog before him begin to fade, revealing another towering gate leading somewhere beyond.
Above the gate, glowing letters flickered into view: "Class Awakening Test!"
[All candidates who wish to awaken their class are advised to take the test. The class you awaken will depend on your performance. Good luck.]
After the announcement, the voice fell silent, leaving them alone with the massive gate looming ahead.
The instructions were clear: all they had to do to awaken their class was to take the test behind that gate.
However, what left Lucien bewildered was the system’s announcement, so blatantly game-like that he never expected it to be .
"That is the spirit of this Dungeon: Genesis Rift."
Just when Lucien was confused, Liora suddenly appeared beside him and softly explained from the side.
"Spirit? How can a novice dungeon have spirit?"
Lucien raised his eyebrow and asked.
As far as he knew, dungeons in this world were divided into Novice, Common, Rare, Epic, Legendary, Mythic, and Divine ranks.
Classes were also categorized in the same way, as they were closely tied to the dungeon system.
However, from what he knew, only dungeons ranked Rare or above had spirits.
When did a Novice dungeon ever have a spirit?
"Umm, it’s not exactly a spirit, more like a semi-conscious one, you know. It just helps manage the dungeon better."
Liora further explained and then looked at him with her beautiful emerald green eyes and asked with a curious look,
"So, what is your plan?"
Although she warned him not to take the test outside, she noticed that Lucien had recently changed somehow. So, she wanted to know whether he had the intention of taking the test.
Lucien heard her question and swiftly scanned his surroundings once more, but couldn’t spot the Awakening Altar anywhere.
So, he couldn’t help but ask, confused,
"Hey, Liora, where’s the Awakening Altar that lets you awaken your class?"
After all, his father had warned him not to take the test and to go straight to the altar.
But no matter where he looked, all he could see was thick fog—there was no structure resembling an altar at all.
"Awakening Altar will only appear once the test is complete. Heh... you can just wait here alone if you have no intention of taking it."
Just as Liora was about to respond, a discontented male voice, thick with sarcasm, echoed from the side.
Then, Lucien suddenly noticed a tall, massive man clad in full-body armor, a long axe resting casually on his shoulder as he stared at him menacingly.
Even though Lucien was tall himself, standing next to this giant made him feel like a mere child.
’Isn’t this the guy who was standing next to Princess Lilith?’
Lucien frowned, recognizing him from earlier when he had glanced at the princess outside.
After all, the guy had been practically drooling when Lilith smiled — it was comical enough to be hard to forget.
’But why is he here?’
Lucien was genuinely confused. He didn’t think he had any connection with this bear.
"Listen up, pipesqueak. Your majesty, the Third Princess Lilith has a message for you."
His confusion was immediately cleared up by the burly guy’s next word.
Only the way he addressed him made Lucien face black.
However, the guy didn’t care about his face and immediately explained Lilith’s message,
"Her Majesty has said that the promise made by Second Prince Dorian to your family will be honored. Just wait patiently, and you’ll be granted an awakening quota at the end."
This time, his voice was noticeably louder, drawing the attention of the surrounding crowd preparing to take the test.
It was obvious he intended to embarrass Lucien in front of everyone.
"That’s all. Heh... now you get to decide—take the test or sit here like a lame duck."
After saying that, the burly guy smirked and swiftly left towards the Third Princess Lilith without giving him a chance to react.
Only, his arrival had now made Lucien the laughing stock of the whole crowd, as evident by the faint laughter around and gossip spreading rapidly.
However, Lucien didn’t care what they thought, but suddenly looked in front, towards Third Princess Lilith with cold eyes.
’Why did she do that?’
He was standing here minding his own business, and someone suddenly came to him to taunt him. He would be foolish to believe there was no ploy involved.
Honestly, his mood was completely ruined by that bastard. He almost didn’t attack just now. Unfortunately, he knew he was no match.
Just as Lucien turned his cold gaze toward Lilith, unexpectedly, the third princess also suddenly glanced back—meeting his eyes head-on.
Then, suddenly, in that instant, a strange restlessness surged throughout the body of Lucien uncontrollably.
The burning sensation was sharp and sudden, laced with a desire that was hard to control.
It was countless times more than before when he looked at her.
It was so sudden and uncontrollable that Lucien had to lower his gaze just to shake that feeling off.
Still, before he lowered his gaze, he managed to catch that look in her eyes—mocking, playful, and shamelessly flirtatious, filled with contempt.