As the minutes dragged on outside the dungeon rift, the crowd grew increasingly restless. The rift, dark red, suddenly began to shimmer and then shifted to a bright white. This change was a widely understood sign: the dungeon had either been successfully cleared, or everyone inside had perished.
The gathered spectators, their faces drawn with dread and grim curiosity, exchanged worried glances. Whispers of uncertainty spread like wildfire.
"White means it's over."
"Do you think they all..."
Viktor, standing at the forefront with his calm yet imposing demeanor, exchanged a glance with Celia. Her usual playful sparkle was momentarily replaced by an expression of intense focus. Viktor's hand hovered over the hilt of his sword, ready to step in and raid the dungeon.
"It's time to step in and get this over with," Viktor said. He started to walk towards the portal, its white glow reflecting in his intense eyes.
Celia, her lips curving into a slight, excited smile, gave a quick nod. "Okay." She moved to follow Viktor.
Just as they were about to cross into the rift, a voice from the crowd rang out, sharp and urgent.
"Wait! Look, someone's coming out!"
Viktor's head whipped around to see who said it, then back to face the rift, his eyes narrowing as he looked around the portal's edge. Emerging from the shimmering white glow was a young man, stumbling and panting heavily as he carried what appeared to be his teammates. The crowd held its breath, pausing to see who it was.
It was Alister.
But his appearance was strange—he had scales shimmering around his neck, eyes glowing with an intense yellow hue, and an aura of raw, primal power radiating off him.
He was drenched in blood and covered in the grime of battle, his breaths coming in ragged gasps.
"Guess... we made it," Alister mumbled, his voice hoarse and barely audible over the murmurs of the onlookers.
His eyes looked like they could close at any moment as he scanned the crowd before landing on Viktor and Celia. The intensity of his gaze made Viktor's heart skip a beat, and Celia's usual confidence faltered for a moment.
Viktor felt an involuntary shiver run down his spine. Alister's presence was overwhelming, exuding a dangerous, almost monstrous aura. Viktor's hand instinctively tightened around the hilt of his sword, prepared to draw it at a moment's notice.
But before he could act, Alister's eyes rolled back, and he crumpled to the ground, the light in his eyes fading as he lost consciousness.
As Alister fell, the transformation that had overtaken his body began to fade. His scales retracted, the draconic glow in his eyes extinguished, and his form returned to that of an ordinary human.
The silence that followed was suffocating, almost like the moment when everyone first realized an F-rank team was trapped in an A-rank dungeon.
"Did these people just clear the dungeon?"
It was Celia who finally broke the silence, her voice cutting through the stillness. She asked in shock, with a touch of admiration. Her gaze swept over the unconscious Alister and then back to the rift.
Her words jolted Viktor back to reality. He tore his eyes away from Alister and looked toward the rift. To his shock, he saw the rift begin to close, its surface folding in on itself until it vanished entirely. This was undeniable proof that the dungeon had been cleared.
Viktor let out a long sigh, the tension in his body easing slightly.
"I guess you're right," he said, his voice tinged with both relief and awe. He sheathed his sword and turned to address the crowd.
"But... what was that just now?" Viktor wondered, gazing at Alister, and then at his now trembling hand that had been on the hilt of his sword.
The crowd erupted in sheer shock—an F-rank team clearing an A-rank dungeon? That was bizarre; a kid's bedtime story would be more believable than something like that. Yet at the same time, they could all see that was clearly the case.
"Did they really do it?"
"They were just an F-rank team! How is that even possible?"
"That's unheard of. I thought for sure they were all goners."
"They don't look like much. Just kids. How did they manage to survive, let alone clear the dungeon?"
"Maybe they had some kind of secret weapon."
"Or maybe the dungeon glitched?"
So much doubt and speculation filled the air. Such an accomplishment seemed logically impossible, but humans, as we all know, wanted to use their own logical reasoning to explain it.
Viktor and Celia moved towards Alister's unconscious body, their eyes still filled with curiosity and confusion at what had just happened. Viktor's serious expression softened slightly as he looked down at the young man who had defied all expectations.
"We need to get him and the others medical attention immediately," Viktor said, his voice firm but now tinged with urgency. "They've done something extraordinary here, but they're not out of danger yet."
Celia nodded, her playful demeanor returning just a bit as she glanced around at the crowd. "Looks like we're going to have quite the story to tell back at headquarters," she said, a hint of her usual mischief creeping back into her smile.
With that, Viktor and Celia began organizing the recovery of Alister and his companions, their minds already turning to the next steps in the aftermath of this unexpected and astonishing victory.