Investing In My Four Crippled Yandere Wives Get 1000x Returns
Chapter 33|Testing the New Strength

Chapter 33: 33|Testing the New Strength

The A-rank rift sat deep within a collapsed mountain range three hours outside the city, classified as one of the more dangerous active dungeons currently monitored by the Association — a stark contrast to the E and D-rank rifts that had marked Fallen Crown’s earliest days together.

"Last chance to reconsider," Myria said, tablet displaying the rift’s threat assessment as they gathered at the barrier’s edge. "A-rank territory doesn’t forgive mistakes the way lower-rank rifts do. One coordination failure could prove fatal, regardless of how much stronger we’ve all become."

"We’ve trained for this," Vivian said, confidence steady despite the acknowledged risk. "And more importantly, we’ve trained together. That matters more than raw power alone."

Irene cracked her knuckles, flames already flickering eagerly at her fingertips. "Besides, what’s the point of Supreme-tier abilities if we’re too scared to actually use them properly?"

Everlyn’s notepad appeared with a simple, determined message.

’Ready when everyone else is.’

Allen studied each of them in turn, weighing the risk carefully before nodding. "Then let’s find out what we’re actually capable of."

They stepped through the barrier together.

---

The dungeon’s interior sprawled across jagged, collapsed cavern systems, violet light pulsing from deep within the mountain’s ancient stone, the air thick with a density of dungeon mana Allen hadn’t encountered in any of their previous dives. The first beasts they encountered — Obsidian Golems, hulking constructs of living volcanic rock — moved with a deliberate, crushing power that made even Ironback Boars seem trivial by comparison.

Myria’s ice, restored to Supreme-tier capacity, proved instrumental immediately, freezing entire sections of cavern floor solid beneath the golems’ feet, disrupting their movement with a precision and scale she hadn’t managed since before her injury. Irene’s flames, wild and fierce with newfound Supreme-tier intensity, carved through obsidian plating that would have been impervious to her pre-injury capabilities.

"This is incredible," Irene shouted over the chaos, grinning fiercely as a golem crumbled beneath a concentrated blast of phoenix fire. "I forgot what it felt like to actually cut loose like this!"

Everlyn’s roots, no longer dependent on vocal resonance for activation, surged through the cavern floor with startling speed, anchoring and constraining multiple golems simultaneously while Vivian moved between them with lethal, silent precision, her enhanced spatial awareness allowing her to navigate the chaotic battlefield with an ease that made her blindness entirely irrelevant.

Allen found himself at the center of it all, Mythic-tier Precision Throw carrying devastating dragonfire-infused force through gaps in the golems’ armor, Guardian’s Instinct weaving him seamlessly through the chaos, anticipating threats to his wives with an accuracy that had only grown sharper since the duel against Edward.

They cleared the first chamber within minutes, the coordinated devastation of four Supreme-tier abilities working in perfect concert leaving Allen momentarily stunned by the sheer scale of what they’d become.

"That felt almost easy," Vivian observed, sheathing her blade with quiet satisfaction. "Concerning, given this is supposed to be A-rank territory."

"Don’t get complacent," Myria warned, though even her usually cautious tone carried an undercurrent of genuine astonishment. "This is only the first chamber. A-rank rifts typically escalate significantly deeper in."

Her warning proved prophetic within the hour, as they descended further into the mountain’s depths and encountered the dungeon’s true guardian — a massive Obsidian Wyrm, easily thirty meters of armored, volcanic scale, its roar shaking loose rock from the cavern ceiling as it emerged from a molten chasm at the chamber’s center.

The fight that followed tested every ounce of coordination and power they’d built together, the Wyrm’s devastating attacks forcing rapid, precise teamwork as Myria’s ice fought to contain its molten breath, Irene’s flames providing cover while Everlyn’s roots struggled to gain purchase against its constantly shifting, unstable footing.

It was Allen who found the opening, Guardian’s Instinct flaring sharply as the Wyrm’s guard dropped momentarily during a devastating strike aimed at Vivian, and he moved without hesitation, Ashfall Talons blazing with dragonfire intensity as he drove a precise, concentrated throw directly into the exposed gap between the creature’s armored scales.

The Wyrm’s roar turned to an agonized screech as the strike found its mark, dragonfire spreading rapidly through the wound, and within moments, the massive creature collapsed, dissolving into a cascade of fading light and scattered, valuable core fragments.

[Dungeon Cleared: A-Rank Rift — "Obsidian Wyrm’s Hollow"]

[Reward Generated: +3,500 Investment Points (Dungeon Clear Bonus)]

[Total Investment Points: 39,120]

The chamber fell silent save for their own exhausted breathing, all five of them staring at the fading remains of the massive Wyrm with a mixture of disbelief and fierce, shared triumph.

"We just cleared an A-rank dungeon," Irene said slowly, as if needing to hear the words aloud to fully believe them. "Two months ago, I was helping a guy who threw bottles at a fence for practice. We just cleared an A-rank dungeon."

"Together," Myria added, quiet pride threading through her usually composed voice. "Every single one of us contributed something essential to that outcome. This wasn’t Allen carrying dead weight through a difficult fight. This was five genuinely capable Hunters, functioning as a unified team."

Everlyn’s proud, silent smile spoke volumes, and Vivian’s satisfied exhale carried the particular relief of someone who’d just confirmed her restored abilities held up under genuine, lethal pressure.

Allen looked around at all of them, exhaustion and overwhelming pride warring in his chest as the reality of what they’d accomplished settled fully into place.

’Four months ago, we were four disowned legends and one disposable failure, discarded into a run-down house nobody else wanted,’ he thought, watching Irene already animatedly recounting the fight to anyone who’d listen. ’Now look at us.’

"Same time next week?" Vivian asked, a fierce, satisfied grin tugging at her lips. "I believe there’s an S-rank rift currently under Association review that might prove appropriately interesting."

Allen laughed, warm and genuine, exhaustion melting into something closer to eager anticipation. "Let’s not get ahead of ourselves," he said. "But... soon. Definitely soon."

Around them, the collapsed cavern gradually stilled, violet light beginning its slow retreat as the rift’s core registered its own clearance, and for a long moment, all five of them simply stood together amid the wreckage, exhausted, triumphant, and entirely certain that whatever came next, they’d face it exactly the same way they’d faced everything so far — together.