Max found himself in a charred forest as soon as he stepped through the portal.

'Quite a unique place, but it's too hot here,' he thought, wiping sweat from his forehead. He had just arrived, yet he was already sweating, making him wonder how he would fare for the rest of his time in the dungeon.

Looking around, he found himself amidst a forest of charred, smoldering tree trunks. Each trunk was stripped of its leaves, yet they glowed faintly, as if veins of molten energy coursed within.

Scarlet foliage clung stubbornly to a few branches, their fiery hues casting an eerie light over the desolate landscape. Streams of molten lava snaked through the forest floor, the air shimmering with intense heat, making the entire scene feel like a gateway to an infernal realm.

'No wonder it's so hot here,' Max mused, observing the many individuals who had appeared nearby. Since not everyone materialized in the same spot, groups of people were scattered throughout the charred landscape, and Max was within one such group.

"Hey, kid, you're with us, but believe me, we won't help you even if you're about to die here," someone taunted as soon as they saw him.

"Yeah, prepare to die, keke."

"It's your fault for mocking those you shouldn't have."

Max sighed at their stupidity. Did they really think he would come here knowing he'd die with his so-called 'measly' strength? What idiots!

"Damn, those bugs are still following me," he muttered, waving his hands dismissively as though shooing flies.

"This kid! I'll kill him."

"How dare he mock us again!?"

"Doesn't he fear death?"

The people around Max seethed with rage. They hadn't expected him to have the audacity to insult them again, calling them bugs. Their fury boiled over.

"Everyone, don't fight amongst yourselves."

Just as it seemed they might attack Max, a calm female voice broke through the tension.

Max and the others turned to see a red-haired girl addressing them.

"We're in a dungeon. Anything could go wrong, so we should all be careful and work together," she suggested.

Many among the crowd frowned. They didn't like taking orders, especially from someone young, and especially not when one of them had been mocking them.

"And who are you to give us orders, anyway?" someone challenged her.

The red-haired girl looked at the man who had spoken, then at the crowd, and shook her head. "Forget it, then." She turned to the brown-haired lady beside her and said, "Let's go."

The brown-haired lady nodded and quietly followed the red-haired girl as they headed deeper into the charred forest.

Max shrugged and went his own way, disappearing into the forest.

"My target here is the secret chamber and collecting lots of mana crystals," he mused, walking across the barren, blackened ground.

"GROWL!"

Five wolves appeared before him, growling angrily.

"Huh?" Max looked at them and noticed they were regular-sized wolves, but their bodies were covered entirely in flames instead of fur.

"They're level 6," he noted and fired five bullets at the wolves.

Five blue beams of light shot from his fingers, catching the wolves off guard. They didn't even have time to dodge.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

All five level 6 wolves exploded as the bullets hit them.

With his Magic Bullets skill at level 100, these wolves were no match for him.

"They must be beginner-level wolves for this F-rank dungeon," Max muttered, moving to collect the drops.

Just as he reached them, Max swiftly turned and fired another five bullets, this time into the air.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The bullets struck five lava birds flying above, killing them instantly.

These lava birds were half Max's size and entirely made of lava. Their long beaks made them appear menacing, but they weren't very agile in the air.

"All of them were also level 6," Max muttered as he gathered the drops from the wolves and moved to collect those left by the birds.

After collecting everything, Max estimated that the cores from these monsters should be enough to level him up to level 4.

'But there's no safe place here to level up in peace,' he thought with a silent sigh, deciding to press onward for now.

After half an hour of exploration, Max encountered many lava birds and lava wolves, all at level 6. This convinced him that he was still in the starting area of the dungeon.

'Also, why haven't I found a single mana crystal since I arrived?' Max frowned. He didn't believe his luck was so bad that all the mana crystals in this area had already been collected.

"I'm certain no one has been to this part of the forest," he muttered, his expression turning serious. "I should search more carefully—maybe I missed something."

Max began combing through the forest meticulously, killing any beasts he encountered while scouring every nook and cranny. He checked the tops of trees, under rocks and boulders, and even dug into the ground. Still, he found nothing.

"What the hell?!" Max exclaimed, baffled by the absence of mana crystals.

"ROAAARRR!"

A deafening wolf's roar echoed through the forest.

"This?" Max frowned and looked in the direction of the sound. "That roar... could it belong to a level 8 lava wolf?" His eyes gleamed with excitement.

"I should head there, but first, I need to level up to level 4," Max muttered, climbing a tree to absorb the level 6 cores he had collected. He wanted to be cautious when facing a level 8 wolf, unsure of how powerful such a monster might be.

[Congratulations to Max Voidwalker for leveling up to level 4 of Novice Rank.]

After absorbing his sixth core, a notification appeared in his vision, but he didn't stop. He continued until he had absorbed all the level 6 cores.

Feeling the surge of strength, Max jumped down from the tree and headed toward the source of the roar. Since mana crystals were nowhere to be found, he decided that a level 8 wolf would be a fair trade-off.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay