Markus waved his hand, retrieving Yusef's storage ring and the Cerberus Corpse.
He walked over to the pulsing dungeon core and stored it in his storage ring.
The dungeon shook; without its core, it began destabilizing.
A purple exit portal appeared at the end of the dungeon.
Markus stepped through, and he laid down on the barren mountainous ground.
"Ahhhhh, much better," a pool of sweat pooled beneath Markus's body.
[System quest: 2/5 Dungeons Cleared]
[Reward: 10 Attribute Points]
**
"My Lady, the young boy you met yesterday is the Grandchild of the Blackwells." Rachel looked into the horizon from her room's balcony.
"The Blackwells, huh, the Grandchild of two Tier 7 powerhouses," Rachel mumbled, "A fire lord and an alchemy master from the Aurelian lineage."
"Markus Blackwell."
Rachel twirled her locks, dreamily muttering Markus's name.
**
Markus made his way back to the academy.
Unbeknownst, a storm is brewing in the capital.
Natasha infiltrated Vane Enterprises.
As Sylas was eagerly waiting for Yusef's updates.
[Yusef's life talisman has been incinerated.]
Natasha received the update on her communication watch.
"Slice"
Sylas's vision blurred as he saw his body falling to the ground.
Natasha retrieved Sylas's head and headed for the Blackwell estate.
[Master Sloane, an unexpected visitor, has arrived.] NOVUS reported.
Natasha left Sylas's head by the gates of the Blackwell estate and left promptly.
Afraid of the fallout from a tier 7 existence.
Sloane saw Sylas's horrified expression on his face and incinerated it.
As the ashes of Sylas Vane scattered across the estate's lawn, Sloane didn't feel triumph.
He felt a mild annoyance, as one might feel after swatting a particularly loud fly.
"Hmph, at least they know their limits", Sloane grunted as he reviewed the security footage.
He looked at the screen where Natasha was bowing. "Smart girl," he muttered, turning back to his fishing rod.
In the world of the Tier 7, the 'Vane Empire' was never a mountain—it was just a sandcastle waiting for the tide.
**
At Vane Enterprises,
Chaos ensued.
Sylas's children and his siblings were fighting for control over the company.
Factions went to war.
Businesses under several Vane members fractured.
The enterprise Sylas held under an iron fist fell apart.
The Valerian Department of Investigation reported the Assassination as a suicide.
Their reports to the higher-ups about the assassination were covered up.
Natasha left her signature mark on the bloodied floor.
R. – Natasha the Reaper
The higher-ups in the Valerian Society knew Sylas had struck an iron plate.
Natasha has never moved against the Valerian council.
They knew this incident had to be related to the combat trial.
Where Saylor was publicly humiliated by the prodigy of a generation, Markus.
Natasha covered up Markus's failed assassination by eliminating the root cause.
**
[Grandfather has passed]
[Return to the Vane Estate]
Saylor's communication device beeped.
It was during the morning Elemental Manipulation class.
Tears streaked down his face; his grandfather Sylas was the pillar of his life.
Saylor was Sylas's favorite grandson since birth.
Saylor was the spitting image of Sylas when he was young.
Furthermore, Saylor awakened a rare elemental affinity, Poison, at S tier.
He was the pride and joy of the Vane estate.
Saylor left the class abruptly and headed for the administrative hall.
"I would like to request a leave of absence," Saylor said, his voice trembling with emotion, "My grandfather Sylas Vane just passed away."
"Request Approved," the administrative staff replied, "We are sorry for your loss."
Saylor left the academy grounds, and an armored DNW vehicle was waiting for his arrival.
**
Markus arrived back at the Royal Capital Underground Metro.
This time, alighting from platform 9 ¾.
[Thank you for riding with RCUM]
[We wish to see you again]
[Contribution Points: 510 Remaining]
Markus boarded a taxicab and headed back to the academy grounds.
At the mission hall.
[Tier 3 Portal Exploration Mission Complete]
[Contribution Points: 3000+510 Remaining]
[Please head to Mission Hall, Room 4 for reporting]
Markus entered the reporting room 4.
A mission hall elder sat by the desk.
A digital camcorder is recording the process.
"Welcome, first-year student Markus Blackwell. I believe you have something for us?"
Elder Ke Xin beckoned Markus over.
Markus placed the Tier 3 dungeon core on the desk.
The core swirling with violent purple mana shone in its absolute radiance.
Ke Xin's eyes widened slightly, a rare show of emotion as a mission hall elder.
She stored the dungeon core in a containment box and sent it down a chute to the portal team in the basement.
"That chute leads directly to the portal team in the basement."
"So let's continue, can you report the details of the tier 3 dungeon?"
Markus nodded, "The dungeon is in a zone with extreme heat, and I had to use a domain skill to isolate the heat from drastically affecting me."
"It would be prudent to send a fire-type awakener to do a reading of the dungeon's temperature from its entrance to its boss room."
"I faced several Magma snapping turtles at the dungeon entrance."
"After which I sprinted to the boss's room."
"I bypassed the mid sectors of the dungeon to the boss room."
"Within the boss chamber, there was a 3-Headed Cerberus alongside 5 lava hounds."
"The boss was level 42, whilst the lava hounds were level 37-39."
Elder Ke Xin sat in complete stillness, her jaw hung loose, looking at the ten-year-old child.
He had just soloed a tier 3 raid as if it were a stroll down the beach on a Sunday morning.
"Well done, Student Markus, do you have anything else to add?" Ke Xin tapped on her tablet.
"There is nothing else, Ma'am." Markus stood up and bowed, showing grace and elegance.
**
Headmistress Elena sat in her office as she watched the interrogation in real time.
On multiple screens, reports of Internal investigations on the Vane empire, Sylas's murder, Markus's dungeon investigation, and geopolitical issues.
She looked at the various reports within the school and from external empire sources.
"It seems like Markus's dungeon diving had a cause and effect with the Vane's misfortune," she laid back onto her leather couch, a phantom cat fading in and out of existence on her lap.
"What do you think, Lucy?" Elena stroked the pristine white British shorthair.
It was a household cat that gained mana characteristics after the apocalypse.
"At least we don't have to worry about the Blackwells turning the Capital into a warzone," Elena chuckled.
"That old fool Sloane and his short fuse will probably melt the entire Vane enterprises and everything surrounding it into molten lava."