As the sun touched down on the horizon, the clouds shifted their colour to a deep orange and red.
*Swish. Swish. Swish.*
Over the dense canopy of the visceral forest, a small red imp glided silently above the towering trees.
*Shh.*
"Hmm...?"
The imp's eyes narrowed. Something had moved in the distance.
Without wasting another second, he shot towards it.
Below, a monster prowled through the undergrowth, lizard-like in shape, yet several times larger than any ordinary one. Long claws scraped against the earth. Three thick tails swept behind it. Thousands of old scars carved across its body like a map of past battles. But now, It was searching for food.
"Okay."
The imp touched the iron ring on his finger. In an instant, the skin of both his hands transformed — hardening, darkening, shifting into solid iron.
*Tang. Tang. Tang. Tang.*
He slammed his hands together, producing a sharp, ringing sound that cut through the forest air.
"Hissss...?"
The monster froze. Confused, it snapped its head upward, searching for the source of the sound.
But the moment it looked up—
*Swish. Swish. Swish.*
Three dark blades emerged from three different directions simultaneously, slicing clean through its body — head, tail, and torso.
*Thud. Thud. Thud.*
"...That was clean."
Leon stepped out of the bushes, his expression calm and indifferent.
[Congratulations! You have Levelled Up.]
"Master." Dusk deactivated his invisibility, materialising silently beside the monster's torso. "This Vadizard has a mana core. Look."
*Bite.*
He tore open the torso without hesitation and pulled out a small, green glowing rock from within.
"Let's see..."
[Name: Vadizard's Mana Core]
[Rank: D]
[Description: A Vadizard is a very fragile and agile creature. They can alter their body colour to blend seamlessly into their surroundings. It is nearly impossible to capture one alive for taming.]
"Another D-ranked monster..." Leon muttered, his brow furrowing slightly as he glanced toward Dusk. "How deep are we inside the forest?"
"I have no idea, Master. But I believe we are fairly deep — the fact that we are crossing paths with a Vadizard is proof enough for that. They are natural prey to my kind." Dusk replied, his expression neutral.
"We need to go even deeper." Leon turned his gaze forward. "Imp, continue searching for monsters."
"Yes, Master."
The imp's hands reverted to normal. He rose back into the air and resumed his search.
Leon stared quietly at his inventory as he dropped the D-ranked core inside.
---
— Inventory —
73x F-Rank Mana Cores
52x E-Rank Mana Cores
25x D-Rank Mana Cores
500x Monster Body Parts
---
'One hundred and fifty mana cores in total, most of them F-rank. Around two hundred corpses cut down into parts. And I've levelled up to Level 20 in just one hour.
The progress is decent... but not good enough. I need to find higher-ranked monsters and get more experience points.'
Leon closed his inventory, his expression unreadable.
"Master... look."
Dusk walked up to a nearby tree and began dragging his paws slowly across its bark.
"What is it?" Leon asked, glancing over.
"A Worldroot Tree, Master."
Leon's eyes snapped toward it. "What?"
Without wasting another second, Leon used his skill on it.
[Name: Worldroot Tree]
[Race: Tree]
[Rank: S]
[Description: A mysterious tree that continuously wanders throughout forests. Cannot be spotted or identified by humans, elves, or demons.]
"I've seen one of these before..." Leon murmured, studying the tree. "Last time I crossed this forest with that slime, we passed through one just like this. But how did you even notice it? It looks completely identical to every other tree here."
"It's difficult to explain, Master. It's more like... a feeling." Dusk said. "When we draw close to one, we can sense its presence."
"I see." Leon folded his arms. "So where does this one lead?"
"That's what I'm trying to determine, but..." Dusk's paws stilled against the bark. "...something is wrong. The tree's other side isn't speaking to me properly. It's as though something is preventing it."
"What's preventing it?"
"I can't quite tell. It's communicating, but the words are... broken. Fragmented." Dusk paused, tilting his head. "It keeps saying — 'rapped in side geon.' I don't understand what a side geon is."
Leon stared at him flatly. "...Is it perhaps saying trapped inside a dungeon?"
"Oh." Dusk turned back to the tree and resumed scratching the trunk. "Are you trapped inside a dungeon?"
A short silence passed.
"It says yes, Master." Dusk replied.
Leon's eyes narrowed. "Then why can't it simply teleport itself out?"
"Under normal circumstances, no dungeon would be capable of confining a Worldroot Tree — they are far too powerful for that." Dusk's tone grew heavier. "But this one is trapped. Which means the dungeon holding it, this is anything but ordinary."
He turned to face Leon directly.
"To restrain a Worldroot Tree, a dungeon must be at minimum Realm-Hold class — or as humans classify it, SS-rank."
Leon went still.
"...Did you say SS-rank?"
"Yes, Master." Dusk nodded. "These dungeons are capable of containing entire realms within themselves and can persist for thousands of centuries. When they overflow with mana, a bridge forms between the dungeon and a world such as this one. That is when the monsters sealed inside begin to cross over."
Leon was quiet for a moment. Then—
"Can we enter it?"
"Master." Dusk's voice dropped. The usual neutrality in his expression was gone, replaced by something rare — genuine unease. "We should not go anywhere near a Realm-Hold dungeon. It would be certain death. Every monster within is sentient. Every single one of them is far stronger than either of us."
He paused, his eyes distant.
"I entered one once... out of pure curiosity. It took me three years just to escape. Every single day inside was a fight for my life."
"I see." Leon replied simply.
[Quest Found]
[Quest: World Tree's Grace]
[Rank: S]
[Description: Enter the SS-rank dungeon and free the Worldroot Tree from within. Successfully rescue the tree and escape the dungeon — and the Worldroot Tree will grant you a reward befitting your efforts.]
[Reward: Unknown]
[Would you like to accept the quest?][Yes/No ?]
Leon stared at the notification for a moment.
Then, slowly, a small smile crossed his face.
"Hey, Dusk."
"Yes, Master?"
"Ask the tree to let us in."
"U-Umm... What Master ?" Dusk asked with a confused expression.
"Ask the tree to let us into the dungeon so we can free it's other side." Leon replied with a smile.
"Master... The dungeon is-" Before dusk could've completed his sentence, his paw sank into the tree's trunk.
"Ah look... The tree opened up the path, let's go." Leon spoke as he immediately jumped inside the tree's trunk without wasting another second.
"Fuck." Dusk spoke as he also jumped inside the tree following Leon.
"Wooooohooooooooooo...." Leon shouted in joy as he slided down the tree's trunk as if it's some kind of amusement park ride.
Dusk followed behind him with a neutral expression on his face.
*Thud-Thud*
Both of them came out from the other side and a bright light shined on their eyes.
"What the fuck ?" Leon asked as he slowly opened his eyes and noticed that he was sitting on an open grassland.
The sun was shining brightly in the sky and winds were blowing naturally.
"Is this really a dungeon ?" Leon asked as he stood up and turned around only to notice the Worldroot tree.
It was the only tree on the whole grassland.
"It's a realm inside the dungeon master... I think this is a resting area of some kind. These areas are common in these dungeons." Dusk explained.
"I didn't knew these areas had kingdoms in them." Leon spoke with a neutral expression as he pointed towards the south.
"What kingd-" As soon as Dusk turned his head towards the pointed direction, his eyes widened in shock.
"T-That's not possible... A kingdom inside a dungeon. That shouldn't... be possible." Dusk spoke with a confused expression as he couldn't understand what was happening.
"Let's go and check it out." Leon spoke with a smile as he started walking towards the kingdom.
"Master... We should stay cautious, we don't know what kind of creatures are living inside-"
"Hey look there are some kids playing there..." Leon spoke as he pointed towards the children.
Some of them were humans, some were elfs and some were of beastkin.
"Now that's a weird combination of kids I have seen for the first time. Dusk turn into your cat form." Leon ordered.
"Yes, Master." Dusk replied as he immediately shaked his body and his size started to shrink down.
In just a few seconds he turned into a small black cat.
Both of them started walking towards the kids...
"You can't do that that's cheating." The human boy spoke with a serious expression.
"No, No, No... I touched the stone first so I win and you lose now you are crying." Elf girl replied with a smile as she looked at him.
"No I was talking about the magic... You used magic didn't you ?" The boy spoke with a serious expression.
"I-I didn't use magic... Y-You are lying." The elf girl replied in a stuttering tone as she looked at him.
"I think you did... Even I can't run that fast." Another beastkin boy spoke as he looked at her.
"I-I didn't used magic... Why are you guys lying ?" The elf girl spoke as tears started to appear in her eyes.
"What's wrong with using magic ?" Leon's voice came from a distance.
All the kids immediately turned their heads towards him with confused expressions.
"Isn't magic a good thing ?" Leon asked with a smile as he walked upto the kids.
"You aren't from here are you ?" One of the human kid asked as he grabbed Leon's right hand and started looking at it with a confused expression.
"How do you know ?" Leon asked with a neutral expression as his eyes immediately fell over the kid's right hand and there was a tattoo on it.
The tattoo looked very similar to a sigil with two swords crossing a unicorn's head.
"You don't have the mark of any house... are you a newcomer ?" The kid asked with a confused expression.
"What if I say, I am ?" Leon asked with a neutral expression.
"The newcomers must meet elder Morin and elder Trody." The elf girl spoke as she walked upto Leon.
"Can you take me to them, little girl ?" Leon asked.
"My name is Elissa and I am not a little girl... I am 20 years old." Elissa replied with a pouting and angry expression.
"I know someone who has a similar name to you and 20 elf years are around 4 human years. Now how about you tell me why you can't use magic ?" Leon asked as he looked at her with a neutral expression.
"The rules of our kingdom, Sephir. No one can use magic, if someone is found using magic they will be executed immediately. Although I don't know the meaning to executed but I can tell you it's not a good thing." The human boy spoke as he looked at Leon.
"It is not kid... Say, if I used magic right now what will happen ?" Leon asked with a confused expression.
"If no one sees you... Nothing but if the guards see you, they will throw you in jail." The beastkin kid replied with a neutral expression.
"Sounds like a bad place... Huh ?" Leon spoke with a smile as he pulled out a wooden bead from his pocket.
He immediately applied some blast seals over the wooden bead and threw it towards the Kingdom's entrance.
"I don't know but my mother and father says that it's a very horrible place and only bad people go there."
"Why are you throwing stones towards the kingdom ?" Elissa asked with a confused expression.
"Yeah cover your ears... especially you." Leon spoke as he pointed towards the beastkin boy.
All of them immediately covered their ears and looked at the Kingdom's gate with a confused expression.
"Kaboom.."
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*
Suddenly a loud explosion took place in front of the Kingdom's gate but no one was harmed in it.
"Dusk... do it as planned." Leon spoke with a smile.
"Yes master." Dusk spoke as he immediately disappeared into the air.
-x-X-x-
Sephir Kingdom, front gate...
Two human guards are sitting on their chairs and they are dozing off on the Kingdom's front gate.
*Zzzzzzz*
*Zzzzzzzzz*
But their naps didn't last long.
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*
A loud explosion and both of them fell down from their wooden chairs.
*THUD-THUD*
"W-What happened ?" One of them asked with a confused and scared expression.
"I-I don't know... " The other one replied with an equally scared expression.
"Hmm..? What is happening here ? I thought I heard some explosions." Suddenly an old man with long white hairs and elf like ears, appeared near the gate.
His face was completely covered by his long hairs and beard, he was holding a very cane in his right hand and there was a golden bracelet on his right hand.
"Elder Morin... T-There was an explosion and we were just about to check... w-what was going-"
"He did it..." Morin spoke as he immediately raised his cane towards Leon who was coming towards the Kingdom's gate.
"S-Should we catch him, Elder ?" The guards asked with confused and scared expressions.
"Isn't that what you are trained for ?" Elder spoke as he continued to look at Leon.
"Y-Yes... Elder but-"
"Are you the elder ?" Suddenly Leon's voice came from a lot closer and as soon as Morin turned his head Leon was standing right in front of him.
"W-What the- ?" Both of the guards got even more scared and confused as they noticed that Leon covered such a large distance in a matter of seconds.
"My name is Elder-"
"Morin... I know." Leon replied with a smile as a semi-transparent screen floated in front of Morin's face.
[Name: Morin L. Grey]
[Class: Mage]
[Race: Half-Elf]
[HP: 70,000]
[MP: 80,000]
[Description: Morin L. Grey belongs to the seventh generation of kingdom Sephir and he has learned magic from ancient books that were written by his ancestors. While hiding his identity as a Half-Elf.]
"How about we go back to my house and have a talk... Mister ?" Morin asked as he looked at Leon.
"Leon... Leon Luster."
"Please follow me... Mr. Luster." Morin spoke as he immediately started walking inside the kingdom.
As soon as Leon entered inside the kingdom, he noticed that it was awfully quite inside and only very few people roamed on the streets.
"An awfully quite kingdom in daytime, huh ?" Leon asked with a confused expression.
"We don't have the concept of time here... That is a fake sun and the atmosphere here always stays like this.
These people don't know that. But, once in every four to five years, we get people like you who are summoned here from the outside world. From that tree..." Morin replied with a neutral expression as he continued to walk forward.
"I suppose you don't like these people..." Leon asked with a smile.
"They are people... It's just they always end up dying while trying to escape." Morin replied with a neutral expression.
"I see." Leon replied with a neutral expression as Morin stopped in front of a house.
It wasn't a big house and it was made out of stones complete to the roof, except the door.
"Please come in." Morin spoke as he entered inside the house.
Leon followed him in and closed the door behind but as soon as he turned around, his eyes widened in shock.
The house that looked as small as a single room was bigger than a guild hall from inside.
"Space expansion magic..." Leon spoke in a low voice.
"Indeed." Morin spoke as he walked upto south corner of the room, picked up a wooden chair, cleaned it and placed it near the wooden counter.
He then walked upto the counter that had many white coloured bottles over it's shelf.
"Do you drink alcohol, Mr. Luster ?" Morin asked as he pulled one bottle from shelf and poured the white liquid into two wooden mugs.
"You make alcohol here ?" Leon asked with a confused expression.
"This kingdom is more than a thousand years old, Mr. Luster. We do everything here that you do out there." Morin replied as he slided one of the Wooden mug towards Leon.
*Slideee*
Leon caught the mug in his hands and looked at Morin with a smile, "I never heard the reason why you hate the people who come from outside."
Morin picked up his mug took a sip from the alcohol and placed the mug back on the counter.
"Because they always talk about things to my people... Evil things." Morin spoke as he looked at Leon.
"What type of evil things ?" Leon asked with a confused expression.
"How they kill monsters to live and how elfs and Humans are mortal enemies to each other in the world outside. How magic is good and it can make our lifes easier." Morin replied in an angry tone as he took another sip.
"Why magic ? You have used magic in here didn't you ?" Leon asked with a smile as he picked up the mug and took a sip out of it.
*Sip*
"Woah... This stuff is good." He spoke with a smile.
"I don't doubt that you already have prior knowledge to where this kingdom is situated, right ?" Morin asked with a neutral expression.
"How about I take a guess ? And my first guess is that it can be situated inside a Realm Hold Dungeon." Leon replied with a smile.
"I have only seen only two people who had this knowledge before figuring out on their own and one of them is you."
"Who was the other one ?" Leon asked with a smile.
"My father... He was transported into this place, fell in love with my mother and I was-"
"Wait... You forgot an interesting fact, what you meant to say was 'Human Mother's right ?" Leon asked as the smile on his face turned evilish.
"H-How did you-!?" Morin asked as his voice changed from confident to confused.
"You are not even a full elf... You are a combination of Human and Elf, a half-Elf." Leon replied with a smile but suddenly, he stopped feeling his body.
'What-!?'
{You have been Paralyzed}
*THUD*
Suddenly Leon's whole body fell down over the counter.
"Don't you worry Mr. Leon... This is just a temporary paralysis drug. Although I don't understand... How did you know that I am a half-Elf ?" Morin asked with a confused expression as he looked at Leon's paralyzed face.
"Ah... My mistake. How can you speak when you are Paralyzed. Well... Since the effect of this drug won't wear off for another six hours, I will tell you why I hate people like you.
You see... My grandfathers built this kingdom with their sweat and blood... But then my stupid father fell in love with a fucking human bitch and now here i am, a fucking lunatic.
I don't have the patience of an elf but I do have their destructive powers. My own grandfather used to look at me as if I am some kind of freak.
But, I accepted the fact that I will never be treated like them... They wanted to create a party that can clear this dungeon and get everyone out of here.
And... Every single person that comes out of that damned tree, they live here, eat our food and water, then they figure out that this kingdom is inside a dungeon and suddenly they want to get everyone out of here using magic.
They... They want to teach magic to everyone and make a fucking party that can clear this dungeon and suddenly I start seeing my father and grandfather in them.
Haa... You know Mr. Luster, all I want to make is a peaceful kingdom that I can rule and die in peace while watching it flourish.
I mean you don't know if your world is true... What if it's also inside a huge dungeon and your world sounds so disgusting, rape, murder, killing of the innocent and prostitution.
In here... We don't have any of that. This is a very good kingdom and it will remain like that.
After people like you kept appearing from that tree, I noticed a pattern in them... The tree only spawned someone when it's night time here and that's when I decided that I am going to protect my kingdom from the evil of the world and-"
"And then you decided that you will be drugging the new people and killing them." Leon spoke as a big smile appeared over his face.
"What the hell !? How are you-!?" Morin asked with a confused expression as he noticed that Leon was cleaning the dust from his face and his body was working completely fine.
[Congratulations ! You have successfully learned {Paralysis Resistance (D)}]
"You said that your father was transported to this world and then you said that your grandfather built this place... Can you help me understand that ?" Leon asked with a confused expression.
"My father searched for my grandfather for years and found the tree on the other side, he was also transported to the dungeon.
That is the strongest paralysis drug inside this whole dungeon... How could you, a human be safe from it ?" Morin asked with a confused expression.
"My body can adapt to posions and other drugs... It was useless to drug me." Leon replied with a smile.
"Fine... If it's like that, I will just kill you with magic." Morin spoke as he picked up his cane and pointed it towards Leon.
"Al che-" Before he could've even begin to speak the incantations of the spell, he felt something cold pressing against his neck.
"You should really look behind you..." Leon spoke with a neutral expression.
*Turn*
As soon as Morin turned back, his eyes widened in fear, a furious black creature with glowing blue eyes was staring at him while his claws were inches away from tearing his whole head apart.
"W-W-W-What !?"
*Thud*
The cane immediately fell down from his hands and true fear striked him motionless in one position.
"It's good that you stopped speaking or you wouldn't have been able to speak for the rest of ten seconds of your life." Dusk spoke as he retracted his claw from Morin's neck.
"H-He can s-s-sspe-ak!!!"
"Calm down, Dusk... I don't want him to die of heart attack." Leon spoke with a smile as he walked upto Morin.
"Now... How about you take a seat and we have a real chat ?" Leon spoke with a smile as he sat down on the counter.
"Y-Yes... S-Sir." Morin spoke as he immediately sat down on the chair and continued to look at dusk.
"I don't give a fuck about what you are doing here... You want to run your stupid little kingdom, sure do.
I will not tell your people anything about magic or freedom or the world outside. I don't have any interest to be honest in teaching them about anything. Do you understand ?" Leon asked with a smile.
"O-Okay... T-Then what do you want ?" Morin asked with a confused expression.
"What I want are three things... First I want is for you give me a tour of this Dungeon. I want to know about every single detail that you know and I want to see every single corner of the dungeon where you have gone. You take me into a trap room or something, dusk will kill you immediately.
Second thing... I want to live here for sometime, so I want you to take care of my food and stay. Fuck with my food like you did now, I will fucking bend your body and insert your head into your asshole. Don't doubt it, I have all the capabilities to do it and it will not feel good believe me." Leon spoke with a smile.
"I-I understand..." Morin replied with a neutral expression.
"Now for the final and third thing... How many milfs do you have inside your kingdom, how many of them have kids and how many have a dead husband. The alive ones will work as well.
Do you have the concept of cheating here ?" Leon asked with a curious expression.
"W-What !?"
-x-X-x-
Leon and Morin are now walking towards the Kingdom's exit and dusk is walking behind them in his cat form.
"So... You are saying that tree is here before this kingdom was even built and it's the reason why this kingdom was built in the first place ?" Leon asked with a confused expression.
"Yes." Morin replied as he slowly turned around and looked at Dusk with a cautious expression.
"These trees are very hard to even spot for a human or an Elf... then how come it's teleporting them here ?" Leon spoke in a low voice.
"Master... I think the tree is being forced by the dungeon to open the teleportation gate. Whenever a human or elf gets past it, the dungeon must force the world tree's this end to open a gate." Dusk explained.
"Dungeon can do that ?" Leon asked with a confused expression.
"A Realm Hold Dungeon can do many things master... Forcing a world tree is nothing." Dusk replied with a neutral expression.
"But... Why ? Why would it teleport only humans, Elfs and beastkins here and not any monsters ?" Leon asked with a confused expression.
"My father did a research on that... He said something about dungeon overload or-"
"Wait... Did you just say, Dungeon Overload ?" Dusk asked with a serious expression as he stopped walking.
"W-What happened ?" Morin asked with a confused expression.
"What's 'Dungeon Overload' Dusk ?" Leon asked with a confused expression.
"Master every dungeon has a limit of holding sentient creatures, who can think like humans and take action on their own.
Now it doesn't matter what species the creature is from, monster, human, elf or beastkin. As long as they are intelligent... They will counted in the limit.
The limit in a real hold dungeon must be huge, meaning it can hold around tens of millions sentient creatures in it... But, once it's crossed, dungeon will go in overload and it will open up.
Every single monster inside it will be free to leave it anytime it wants." Dusk explained with a serious expression.
"Ah so... You are-" Before Leon could've completed his sentence, the whole kingdom started shaking.
*THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD*
"What the-" Leon spoke with a confused expression as his balance went a little off.
"What was that ?" He asked as he looked at Morin.
"I-It's the giants..." Morin spoke with a neutral expression.
"What ?" Leon asked with a confused expression.
"They live on the lower floor and keep fighting all the time, but going down there is not possible... The place is burning hot." Morin replied with a serious expression.
"Can you take me there ?" Leon asked with a serious expression.
"I am sorry but no human, elf or beastkin can-"
"I heard you the first time. How about you take me there now ?" Leon replied with a serious expression.
"Y-Yes." Morin replied with a scared expression as he immediately nodded his head and all three of them exited through the Kingdom's entrance gate.
"No one woke up even in such a big earthquake ?" Dusk asked with a confused expression.
"Everyone in the kingdom is very familiar with this. So... Now it's a common thing here." Morin replied as he continued to walk forward.
"C-Can I ask you something ?" He asked with a hesitated expression as he looked at Leon.
"What ?" Leon asked with a neutral expression.
"You really don't want to help the people who are living in this kingdom ?"
"Why would I want to help someone without getting anything in return ?" Leon asked with a neutral expression.
"You are strong and have such powerful magic, but there is something about you that feels-"
"Evil ? Selfish ? Demonic ?" Leon spoke as he smiled widely and immediately turned on his skill.
As soon as he turned on the skill, his eyes turned completely black.
"W-Wh-at !?" Morin spoke as he immediately took a step away from Leon.
"But don't worry... I am just a normal human." Leon spoke as he turned off his skill and his eyes returned to their original form.
"W-What the hell are you ? A-Are you also a monster ?" Morin asked in a scared tone.
"Dusk... If he asks any other questions, cut his head off. I don't want to get blood on my clothes." Leon replied with a smile as he continued to walk forward.
"Yes master." Dusk replied with a smile.
After that Morin didn't dared to utter a single word from his mouth and they continued to walk south from the kingdom for 30 minutes straight.
...
30 minutes later,
Morin came to a halt and started searching for something on the ground.
"What are you doing ?" Leon asked with a confused expression.
"The path to the lower floor... It's here." Morin spoke as he immediately pressed down on some specific spots on the ground and...
*SHHHHHHHHHHHHH*
Suddenly a huge door that was hidden under the grass patch opened up and a staircase was revealed that was going down.
The stairs of the staircase were really huge, almost as big as 17 feet every step.
"These weren't made for humans huh ?" Leon asked with a neutral expression as he immediately jumped down on the first stair and dusk followed him from behind.
But as soon as he landed down on the stair, a message popped up in front of him.
[You have entered into a
[All type of magic will be neglected here.]
"What-!?"
"Master it's a trap." Dusk spoke as he immediately turned and tried to jump up but he couldn't jump higher than 2 feet.
"Hah... Let me count, how many have fallen for this trick now... Ah right, 28 if I count the black monster.
You know, I liked you when you said that you don't want to help these people... But you are still a stupid and greedy human after all." Morin spoke with a wide smile.
"You know... I will rip your head apart once I come out of here." Leon spoke with a neutral expression as he looked at him.
"No one ever... came back from here. Enjoy the rest of your pathetic life... Mr. Luster." Morin replied as he closed the huge door once again.
*SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH*
"Well... Now I know why I am going to kill him. Come, staying here won't help us." Leon replied with a neutral expression as he started walking forward.
-x-X-x-
"Hahh... Haah... Haah..." Leon is now sitting on one of the stair and dusk is lying besides him both of them completely tired and huffing.
"How many stairs does this one make again?" Leon asked in a low voice as thick beads of sweat dropped down from his forehead.
"Twenty Eight, master..." Dusk replied in a very tired tone.
"Yeah... Only two more left." Leon spoke as he looked down and noticed light coming in from under a huge metallic door.
"Master... I am so useless without my mana." Dusk spoke as he mustered all of his strength and stood up once again.
"Come..." Leon spoke as he immediately jumped down from the stair and landed down on the 29th stair.
[YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY ESCAPED FROM THE {NULL MANA} ZONE!!]
[Magic usage will be restored shortly.]
'The stairs between the floors work as null mana zones, but why ? Why only the stairs ? Is it to prevent anything from going up or coming down-' Before Leon could've completed his thoughts he saw a bunch of human and elf skeletons lying on the final stair.
*Thud*
As soon as Dusk jumped down on the stair, his fur started to glow brightly blue and his body started to expand as he turned back into his original form.
"Now this feels good..." Dusk spoke with a smile as he started licking his fur.
"Hmm... Something is not right." Leon spoke as he looked at the skeletons with a serious expression.
"What's wrong master ?" Dusk asked with a confused expression as he also looked at the skeletons.
"Skeletons are white or yellow if they are lying there for long time... But why are they black ?" Leon asked with a confused expression.
"It's as if they are-"
"Burnt." Leon spoke before dusk could've completed his sentence.
"Morin wasn't lying about the temperature thing... The temperature is really hot behind this door, they must've tried to go in through that small gap under it and got burnt alive." He spoke with a serious expression.
"Master... Should we go back up and kill that elf ?" Dusk asked with a neutral expression.
*THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD*
Suddenly the whole staircase started shaking violently once again.
"I didn't come down so much just to go back up, Dusk. We will go up and kill that guy but first I need to go inside that gate." Leon spoke with a neutral expression as he jumped down to the last stair.
Dusk followed behind him immediately.
*SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH*
Suddenly both of them felt very hot winds hitting their bodies from the gap under the door.
The heat was so much that Leon's skin started to turn red immediately and all the water in his body started to convert into sweat.
"Master... I can't sustain this. My fur is burning." Dusk spoke as he immediately jumped back to the twenty nineth stair.
Leon immediately turned on his skill.
[User's body is experiencing extreme heat on the outside.]
[Altering skin genes to adapt.]
Suddenly his skin darkened and hardened within seconds, pores slamming shut, the outer layer of his skin rapidly thickening into something almost ceramic-like.
[Rewiring Blood flow away from body surface.]
[Adjusting Sweat Gland to extract heat-resistant oils.]
[Adjusting whole respiratory system to cool down air and mucus protection.]
[Adjusting body temperature to lessen the temperature differential.]
[Touch senses will be decreased by 70%]
[Total Stamina will be decreased by 35%]
'Phew... Feel a lot cooler now. Adaptive Body went all out this time. Altering my skin completely.' Leon thought with a neutral expression as he slowly walked upto one of the skeleton but as soon as he touched it, the skeleton immediately turned into a pile a dust.
"As expected." Leon spoke in a low voice as he immediately started walking towards the gap under the door.
"Master... Please don't go there, I can't follow you in there." Dusk shouted.
"Stay here... I will be back soon." Leon spoke as he entered inside the room from under the gap.
"Master..." Dusk spoke in a low voice as he continued to stare at Leon.
...
As soon as Leon entered inside the room, he felt the temperature and pressure rising significantly.
"What the hell is this place ?" Leon spoke in a low voice as he looked up and noticed a huge moutain of black rocks standing in front of him and it was covered with a green liquid.
He slowly walked upto the green liquid and used his ability on it.
[Name: Diamond Garler's Blood]
[Rank: SSS]
[Description: Diamond Garler's Blood is highly potent. Merely touching it will take away life from one's body. It can also be used to make {Drudan's Elixir}.]
"A Diamond Garler ? What's-" Before Leon could've completed his sentence,
*THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD*
The whole floor shook violently... So, violently that Leon lost his balance but as soon as he looked up, he noticed two very huge and giant monsters fighting with each other.
One of them looked like a long lizard that was covered with dark hardened scales from head to tail.
On it's tail there was a huge black morning star like thing that was made out of a purple glowing crystal and it looked lethal.
"Fucking hell..." Leon spoke with a shocked expression as he immediately used his skill on it.
[Name: Kumigano Tali]
[Class: ??]
[Race: Bullmaster Monitor]
[Level: ????]
[HP: ????]
[MP: ????]
[Description: Bullmaster Monitor is #Error# not enough information available to show at this level.]
The monster that fought the Bullmaster was bigger in height, almost reaching 70 meters and he was covered with diamonds completely.
Both of his knuckles had very sharp diamond gloves, but it wasn't he was invincible.
Without wasting another second Leon used his skill on him as well.
[Name: Lesrath Lokera ]
[Class: ??]
[Race: Diamond Garler]
[Level: ????]
[HP: ????]
[MP: ????]
[Description: Diamond Garler lives #Error# not enough information available to show at this level.]
'Fucking hell... My level is too fucking low to even see their stats or descriptions.' Leon thought with a serious expression as he continued to observe them both.
-x-X-x-
The bullmaster monitor immediately used his tail and striked it with full strength onto the diamond Garler's diamond knuckles.
*THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD*
In just a few seconds the bullmaster monitor striked at the same spot five times, giving the garler no other choice but to block it and back off.
"Woah... He is fast." Leon spoke in a low voice as he walked side ways into the room to get a better angle of the fight.
*SWISH-
*Grab*
This time before the Bullmaster's tail assumed the same attack stance, the garler grabbed it with his hand and twisted it before the bullmaster monitor could've reacted, he was already in the air.
The diamond garler used all of his strength and started spinning him in the air using it's tail.
*SWISH-SWISH-SWISH*
He then let go of the bullmaster monitor and it crashed directly into a huge mountain made out of sharp black obsidian.
*THUDDDDDDD*
"GWAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH..." The monitor shouted loudly as it felt the obsidian piercing through it's skin.
*Step-Step-Step*
The garler stepped back and crashed down onto the ground as well, more green blood flowing out of it's injured body.
*THUDD*
'Both of them are equally injured.' Leon thought in his mind as he looked at Garler with a serious expression.
'Nay... 'tis I who am the more grievously wounded.' Suddenly an unknown voice rang inside Leon's head.
"What...?" Leon spoke with a shocked expression as he immediately looked back in confusion.
'How art thou even alive inside this room? Thou art a lesser life form and shall not be permitted to exist within this environment.'
'Is this telepathy ?' Leon asked with a serious expression as he looked towards the garler.
'Thy tongue is unknown to me, yet I send forth magical signals unto thy mind, and they are transformed into thine own native tongue without effort. The same doth occur when thou speakest unto me.'
'A higher form of telepathy...' Leon thought with a serious expression.
'Why are you two fighting ? If you don't mind me asking.' Leon asked in his mind.
'This battle is not new to us... Kumigano and I, Lesrath, have waged war since ages long forgotten. For nigh upon five hundred thousand years hath this struggle endured — fought for dominion over this very chamber. Yet now... at this very moment... it shall finally reach its end. Kumigano's wounds are lesser than mine own, aye... but I, Lesrath, am gravely wounded.' Lesrath replied as he slowly placed his back against another obsidian mountain and showed a deep wound right next to his abdomen.
It was a weak spot that wasn't covered in diamonds and it was completely overflowing with green blood.
'You really are injured... Take another blow on that place and you will not be able to recover.' Leon thought as looked at Lesrath.
'Thou art correct... should I suffer but one more fatal blow upon this very wound, mine end shall come without delay.' Lesrath replied in a defeated tone.
'Wait... Wait... Wait... Maybe I can help you. I have a healing spell that can probably heal you.' Leon replied instantly as a plan formed in his mind.
'Thou jests... There is no possible way that small vessel of thine holds mana enough to mend mine wounds, I, Lesrath the giant. Thou shouldst flee before mine end comes... For once I perish, this chamber shall no longer be fit for the living. Kumigano shall seize dominance and fill every corner of this place with his vile poison.' Lesrath replied in a neutral tone.
'Trying doesn't cost anything... If I were to be successful, you will be fully healed. If I were to fail, you are dying already.' Leon replied with a neutral expression.
'Aye... thou speakest true. But what reason hast thou to help one such as I? What dost thou seek in return?' Lesrath asked in a confused tone.
'How about we discuss that later... That Kumigano thing is waking up once again.' Leon spoke as he pointed towards Kumigano.
Kumigano was coming back to it's senses as it stood up from the ground and shaked it's head furiously.
'Speak then... what wouldst thou have of me?' Lesrath asked.
'Your hand extended it over here so I can touch it.' Leon replied with a neutral expression.
Without speaking any further, Lesrath... Raised his hand and placed it near Leon.
Without wasting another second, Leon placed both of his hands over Lesrath's diamond knuckles and used his skill.
"Heal."
[WARNING: HOST HAS USED THE SPELL ON A VERY STRONG ALLY. HUGR AMOUNTS OF MANA EILL BE CONSUMED IN ORDER TO HEAL THE ALLY.]
[WOULD YOU LIKE TO CONTINUE ?][YES/NO ?]
"Yes." As soon as Leon selected yes, he felt all the mana in his body getting sucked out instantly and regenerating at the same time.
Very severe headaches started to occur in Leon's head as his vision started going blank.
'N-No... Just a little more. If I can heal him. I will be able to achieve something much more bigger... This pain is nothing, Leon.' He thought as his legs started shaking but his will wasn't shaking even a bit.
*SHHHHHHHHHH*
Suddenly, Lesrath's whole body started to glow brightly green and all of his wounds started closing. Even though the process was slow but they were closing at an incredible speed.
'Thou hast surprised me... thou art far stronger than thine appearance wouldst suggest. I, Lesrath, shall never forget thy kindness.' Lesarath replied as he noticed that Kumigano has started walking towards him once again.
"KREEEEKKKKKKKKKK..." Kumigano shouted as if it had sensed that Lesarath was being healed.
*THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD*
Kumigano's tail started glowing brightly purple as it started running towards Lesarath with full speed.
"Haah..." Leon took a long breath as he finally lost his consciousness from the severe headaches.
*THUD*
*SHHHHH*
Lesarath stood up from the ground as he was completely healed and started rubbing his diamond knuckles together.
"KREEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKK..." Kumigano stopped exactly 200 meters away from Lesarath and swinged it's glowing tail towards Lesrath's under abdomen.
"BHAAAAAAAANNNNNNNN...." Lesarath shouted as he immediately tightened his first and this time instead of blocking he threw a punch towards the Kumigano's tail with full force.
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*
-x-X-x-
Leon touched Kumigano's body and used his spell.
The moment the spell left his fingertips, Kumigano's entire body dissolved from the floor as if it had never existed, swallowed whole by the darkness pooling beneath Leon's feet.
*Swish*
Then the ground split.
A single black line tore open across the stone floor directly in front of him, wide and deliberate, as though something on the other side had dragged a blade through the fabric of the world itself.
*Crack — Crack — Crack — Crack*
The line fractured outward into jagged cracks that spiderwebbed across the cold floor. From deep within those fractures, a red light began seeping upward, not the warm red of fire, but something angrier, like the glow of something that had been burning for centuries and had long since forgotten how to stop.
The air around Leon thickened even more. A low, resonant hum vibrated through the soles of his boots, as if the stone itself was groaning under the weight of whatever was pressing against the other side.
The cracks widened.
Leon crouched slightly and looked down into the opening.
The pit beneath had no visible bottom. Only depth, an endless, churning dark that writhed with pale shapes. Thousands of damned souls pressed against one another in a suffocating mass, their translucent forms twisting and weeping, their cries reduced to a faint, distant choir that floated upward like smoke.
They were straining, clawing at something, pulling back against something, their hollow fingers wrapped around a silhouette that moved steadily, calmly, upward through them regardless.
Something was climbing.
It moved without urgency. Each pull upward was slow and deliberate, like a man ascending a ladder he had climbed a thousand times before. The damned souls around it wailed louder as it rose, their efforts to restrain it growing more frantic the closer it came to the surface.
*Thud.*
One hand, large, dark, and completely featureless, pressed flat against the edge of the cracked floor.
Then it stepped out.
Leon's eyes went wide.
It stood upright. Humanoid in shape — two arms, two legs, a torso, a head — the proportions were correct, even ordinary at a glance. But there was no face. No hair. No skin. No texture of any kind.
Where a man's features should have been there was only a smooth, seamless void — a silhouette carved from pure absence, wearing the shape of a person the way a coat rack wears a jacket.
The ambient light of the room bent slightly around it, as though the air nearest to the creature refused to illuminate it. Even the faint red glow rising from the cracks in the floor seemed to stop at the edge of its form rather than touch it.
It was less a creature and more the idea of one — a shadow that had learned to stand.
"What the fuck are you?" Leon asked, and without waiting for an answer, he used his skill.
---
[Name: Malebolge (Thirteen Damned Souls)]
[Race: Spirit]
[Class: ??]
[HP: 800,000 / 800,000]
[MP: 400,000 / 400,000]
[Description: Summoned from the deepest abyssal pits, Malebolge is a volatile, walking oubliette containing thirteen damned Arch-Sinners who constantly tear and reconstruct their shared flesh to seize control.
Cloaked in deep, chiaroscuro shadows, this nightmare of shifting anatomy absorbs ambient light, emitting only a faint, low-light crimson glow from the cracks in its rusted, bone-plated armor. As the thirteen distinct, megalomaniacal wills violently cycle through the host body, wielding powers ranging from nerve-flaying strikes to soul-burning hellfire — the entity continually adapts its terrifying, hyper-realistic form to obliterate its enemies, all while quietly hungering for their sanity.]
---
"Malebolge?" Leon repeated, tilting his head slightly, the name sitting oddly on his tongue.
*Swish — Swish.*
The void rippled. Like ink dropped into still water, the featureless darkness of the creature's form began to churn and reshape — flesh and stitching materializing from nothing, pulling itself together with a wet, rustling sound until a human male stood in its place.
He was broad shouldered and pale — deathly pale — and covered from his jawline down to his ankles in thick, black stitches that crossed his skin in uneven, overlapping lines, like a body that had been taken apart and reassembled by someone working too quickly in the dark. His eyes were colorless. His smile was not.
"Ah..." he said, his voice low and unhurried, carrying the ease of a man who had never once been surprised by anything. "So you are the one who summoned us."
"I did," Leon replied, expression flat, eyes already cataloguing every detail of the man in front of him.
"The name is Maverick the Third." The stitched man rolled his neck slowly, the sound of his joints cracking filling the stone room. "You can also call me the Butcher. I like chopping people, demons, monsters, anything built from flesh... into very, very small pieces of meat." As he finished speaking, his fingernails lengthened with a soft *schink*, stretching into long, curving blades.
He turned them over in front of his face with visible appreciation.
"So you are a butcher," Leon said. Same flat voice. Same flat expression.
"That's right." Maverick grinned wider, and the stitches along his cheeks pulled taut with the expression. "Used to skin souls in hell. People, when I was still alive. Hehehe. Just give me the order and I'll chop anything for you — since you're my master now."
"Hey." A different voice. Sharper, feminine, cutting through Maverick's sentence like a blade. "Change places. Now."
The stitched body dissolved.
*Swish — Swish.*
The void returned for a half-second — that same lightless, featureless silhouette — and then it rebuilt itself again, smoother this time, deliberate. A woman took shape.
She was tall. Her skin was a deep oceanic blue, and fine scales traced the lines of her cheekbones and the backs of her hands like natural ornamentation — the kind that looked beautiful and dangerous in equal measure. Her posture was impeccable. When she looked at Leon, her eyes didn't blink.
Without a word, she stepped forward and lowered herself into a bow so composed and unhurried it bordered on theatrical.
*Bow.*
"My name is Lady Marla." Her voice was different from Maverick's — smooth, measured, with a subtle resonance underneath it that made the air feel slightly heavier. "I am a siren master. I can sing songs so hypnotizing that the weak-minded cannot help but obey them. I can also reach inside your opponents and play with what they feel — fear, despair, obsession — as I see fit." She straightened, and a slow, deliberate smile crossed her scaled face as she held Leon's gaze. "It is a pleasure to serve, master."
"Huh." Leon looked at her for a moment, then let his eyes drift back to the void form that briefly flickered at the edges of her silhouette. "Thirteen psychotic souls possessing a body that shape-shifts between them." A small smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. "Very, very interesting. I hope you are worth a ss ranked monster's body and mana core."
*Swish — Swish.*
Marla dissolved.
The form that replaced her was slimmer than the others — narrow-shouldered and strange, with elongated legs that bent slightly backward at the knee like a rabbit's hind limbs, the feet ending in thick, clawed pads pressed flat against the cold stone floor. Where a face should have been, there was only smooth, unbroken skin — no eyes, no nose, just a faint ridge where a brow line might have sat.
It was still. Completely, unnervingly still — the kind of stillness that made made the enviornment seem a little eerie.
"Master." Its voice was quiet, precise, and carried no inflection of personality. "My name is RXV-666. I am a chimera — constructed by Dr. Hofelworth. I have no eyes." A brief pause, as though allowing that fact to settle. "But I can locate any enemy, their position, their movement, their distance, with perfect accuracy, regardless of proximity or concealment. I can kill on your command. I can die on your command."
It bowed.
'Chimeras have souls?' Leon thought, watching the eyeless face tilt downward. 'I always figured they were just body parts, different monsters stitched together to make something bigger and worse. Apparently not.' He held the thought for a moment, then let it go with the casual ease of a man filing something away for later. 'Oh well. Whatever.'
He reached down without looking and picked up a small obsidian stone from the cracked floor.
*Throw*
Leon then tossed it into the air.
"Attack it..." He spoke while looking at RVX-666.
"Yes, Master." He spoke as he immediately disappeared from his position and re-appeared in the air directly above Leon.
*SWISH-SWISH-SWISH-SWISH-SWISH-SWISH-SWISH-SWISH-SWISH*
Before Leon could've looked up, RVX-666 disappeared and re-appeared on his original position, where he was standing from the start.
But as soon as Leon looked up he noticed that the obsidian stone has disappeared from the air and only black dust remains.
"Did you just crushed that stone into dust before it could fell down ?" Leon asked with a serious expression.
"Actually... I chopped it into dust, Master."
"You chopped it ? With what ?" Leon asked with a confused expression as he looked at RVX-666.
"I used-" Before he could've completed his sentence, Leon heard Lesrath's footsteps coming back towards him.
"Yeah... We will discuss it later." Leon spoke as he immediately used another one of his abilities.
The Malebolge disappeared instantly and desarath returned back with a huge piece of metal in his hands.
'Hmm...? Where hath Kumigano's body gone?' Desarath asked with a confused expression as he looked at Leon.
"Kumigano's body... It disappeared as soon as you left, I don't know how but it just disappeared." Leon replied as he pretended to be confused.
'What?! Kumigano's body hath vanished of its own accord? But how canst such a thing be possible?' Lesarath asked in a confused tone.
"How can I know that ? I am just a lesser Life form... I don't know what happens to you guys when you die. Maybe your body will also disappear when you die." Anon replied with a neutral expression.
'Thou art right... thou art but a lesser life form. How wouldst thou know the reason behind Kumigano's vanishing?' Lesarath replied as he looked at Leon.
"What's that you are holding in your hand ?" Leon asked with a confused expression as he looked at Lesarath.
'Ah... This is a very rare metal known as pure locust. If you use weapons made out of this material they will gain immeasurable powers but can you carry it ?' Lesrath asked as he placed the piece of locust right next to Leon.
"Hmm...?" Leon looked at it with a neutral expression as he used his skill.
[Name: Locust Albersum]
[Rank: S]
[Description: A very rare material that can only be found inside secret rooms of high level dungeons. Although it has a very high melting point, but the weapons made out of it are guaranteed to gain two or more skills based on it's quality.
The material in itself is very light but when sharpened into a weapon properly, it can cut through mana patterns as well.]
"Well... Isn't that something." Leon spoke as he immediately touched the Locust and noticed that it almost had no weight.
'I can pick this up with one hand, yet touching it feels as if it's made out titanium or something. So this is what an S rank metal looks and feels like.' Leon thought as he immediately placed the whole piece of locust into his inventory.
'Huh... Thou canst wield space magic as well? Thou art a most intriguing being. Wouldst thou wish to become a friend of Lesrath?' Lesarath asked.
"Your friend... I don't see any problems with that. So, okay." Leon replied with a neutral expression.
'So... What is it thou art doing here? What purpose hath brought thee into Lesrath's lair?' Lesarath asked in a curious tone.
"For now... I am trying to find out a way on how to get out of this Dungeon. Do you know any ?" Leon asked with a neutral expression as he looked at Lesarath.
'Hmm... Escaping this dungeon... that is no easy feat. Yet I have heard whispers from the seventh floor that some hath discovered a crack through which one might escape.' Lesarath replied as he looked at Leon.
"A crack ? So... There is an escape route on the seventh floor, right ?" Leon asked with a smile.
'Thou art right... yet I, Lesrath, wouldst not counsel thee to venture unto the seventh floor. To go there is to invite death to dine with thee.
The Mongers make their dwelling upon that floor... vile creatures of the darkest nature — ones that couldst bring even Lesrath to his knees. The deeper thou dost descend into this dungeon, little one... the more wicked and fearsome the creatures thou shalt encounter.' Lesarath explained.
"Then... What's in the end of it ?" Leon asked with a curious expression.
'A Tomb...'
"Tomb ?"
'Lesarath hath only heard rumours of such things... Yet they speak of a most wicked demon — one who canst bend minds to his will, twist reality itself, and determine the outcome of any battle fought beneath these cursed skies... Yet for all his terrible power, he was betrayed by those he held most dear... and hath been imprisoned within these depths ever since.' Lesarath replied.
"I see... Well, I think it's time I take my leave." Leon spoke as he started walking towards the room's gate.
'Where dost thou think thou art going? The gate to the third floor lieth this way.' Lesarath spoke as he pointed towards the opposite direction.
"I have to go back to the first floor in order to do something. Then I will come back." Leon replied with a neutral expression.
'Well, Lesarath will look forward to meeting Leon Luster again.' Lesarath replied as he bowed down a little showing respect.
"Me too..." Leon replied as he did the same and started walking towards the gate.
As he reached near the exit gate's gap... Leon heard something,
"...ter."
"Hmm...?" He immediately looked around and tried to find the source of low pitched voice.
"M-Mas...ter."
"Dusk..." Leon spoke as his eyes widened in shock.
"Dusk... Where are you ?" He shouted loudly as he started looking around with a worried expression.
"Mast...er."
It didn't took him long to find Dusk, who was lying behind a small mountain of obsidian, his body sweating like crazy and even though a thick layer of mana was covering his body, his fur was slowly burning down.
"What the fuck are you doing inside ?" Leon spoke in serious tone as he walked upto him, picked him up in his hands and started running towards the exit gap under the door.
Without wasting another second... Both of them exited the room and Leon jumped to the 29th stare in order to get away from the blazing heat waves that were coming from under the gap.
As soon as he got away from the heat waves... Adaptive Body stopped working and his body returned back to it's original form.
"Heal." Leon spoke as he placed his hand over Dusk's head and suddenly his whole body started to glow green.
"Fucking hell... You are hotter than the sun right now." Leon spoke as he felt his hand's skin ripping away from the heat.
-x-X-x-
*Blink-Blink*
Dusk slowly opened his eyes and noticed a blurry face in front of him.
"...ght ?"
"... Hello ? Can you you hear me, Dusk ? Are you alright ?"
"Master...?" Dusk asked with a confused expression as his vision cleared up and he noticed that Leon was looking at him with a smile.
"Well, at least you are alive." Leon replied with a neutral expression as he looked at Dusk.
"Master... What happened ? I-I went inside and-"
"Why the fuck would you go inside when you know that your fur can't handle that much heat ?" Leon asked with a confused expression.
"Master... I heard your voice from inside and I felt a huge surge of mana being used inside. Then I heard that loud explosion and I gave into my instincts." Dusk replied with a neutral expression as he looked at Leon.
"Well, your instincts weren't wrong... It was dangerous inside but not anymore, I made a new friend inside. He is kind of a big deal." Leon replied with a smile as he stood up from the floor.
"Master... Your aura..." Dusk spoke as his eyes shined brightly blue and he sensed that something is different about Leon.
"What ?" Leon asked with a neutral expression.
"It has changed so much..." Dusk replied with a shocked expression.
"Yeah... I killed an SS-rank monster, must be because of that." Leon replied in neutral tone as he turned back and started looking at stairs that were going up.
"Master... H-How did you killed an SS-rank monster ?" Dusk asked with a scared and shocked expression.
"That's a long story... But, I have found a way to get out of this dungeon, it's from the seventh floor but first we need to go back to the first floor." Leon replied with a neutral expression as ideas started to fill his mind.
'Turning my weight zero can work but It will be purged as soon as I step-up to the twenty-eighth step.
Wait... Can I make a spell that can stop it ?' Leon thought as he immediately activated his skill.
He then looked at the 28th step and a semi-transparent screen popped up in front of him.
[Name: Serimac Stone]
[Rank: S]
[Description: Serimac Stones can only be found inside S-rank dungeons or above. These stones are used to make staircases in between two dungeon floors in order to stop monsters from invading each other's space.
These stones are enchanted with very powerful {Null Area} magic that prohibits any type of magic to be used until you are standing on them.]
'As expected... These stares are magic enchanted. So breaking them won't be any useful until I can break the magic but since the magic in itself is a
Ten minutes passed but Leon didn't stopped thinking, he thought of every possibility that could've been used to get back to the first floor.
Dusk on the other side continued to rest as he recovered his lost mana.
20 minutes later...
"Okay, this should work." Leon spoke as he used another skill.
[Please pick a name for the skill...]
"RE:Spell"
[Skill 'RE:Spell' has been created.]
[Rank has been settled to 'D' by default.]
[State the use of skill.]
'This is something of a concept that I saw back on earth in comic books and manhwas that I used to read. They called it reverse engineering spells.
If any kind of magic is being used this spell will scan it and reverse engineer it. Once I can see how the spell is working, I will be able to remove it or maybe make some adjustments.' Leon thought as he started speaking.
"This skill will analyse magic spells for mana patterns and how they work by reverse engineering them. The skill doesn't need to come in contact with the spell in order to scan it. Once scanned the spell's working knowledge will be directly sent to my brain."
[Processing....]
'Since it's just a monitoring spell and doesn't do anything, it should get acce-' Before he could've completed his thoughts another screen popped up in front of him.
[Description has been accepted.]
"Good."
[Please select the chant for the skill {RE:Spell}.]
"Re:Spell" Leon spoke with a smile.
[Chant 'Re:Spell' has been selected.]
[Estimated mana cost to use the skill has been calculated, 100,000 mana/use.]
[Cooldown has been calculated, 10 seconds after every use.]
[Would you like to learn the skill or Destroy it ?]
"Hmm... Mana amount is not an issue. Learn it." Leon replied with a neutral expression.
[Congratulations ! You have successfully learned the skill {Re:Spell}]
"Good..." Leon spoke as he immediately raised his hand towards the 28th step and activated it.
As soon as he used the skill, two completely blank white magic circle appeared hovering on the backside and on the frontside of his hand.
Suddenly the magic circle that was on the front side of his hand started to shoot white lasers at the stair's step as if scanning it.
*Zzzzzzzz*
Suddenly a half-transparent screen popped up in front of Leon.
[
[Copying has begun.]
[1%>>>>2%>>>>>3%>>>>....]
Incantations started to appear inside the white magic circle that was on the frontside of his hand.
'The Front magic circle copies the spell. The back one must be for reverse engineering it.' Leon thought as he noticed that another circle has appeared on the front side.
"It's not a small spell..." Leon spoke in a low voice as he waited patiently.
30 minutes later,
The spell that started copying with one single magic circle has now increased upto 31 magical circles some big, some small and some that had ancient enchantings in them.
[98>>>> 99%>>>> 100%.]
[Copying process has been completed.]
"Fucking finally..." Leon spoke with a relived expression as he noticed that all the circles have started to spin slowly.
[Reverse Engineering the spell]
[1%>>>2%>>>>]
"Fucking Hell..." He spoke in a frustrated voice as he sat down on the ground.
-x-X-x-
One hour later...
Leon is sitting on the twenty nineth stair looking at sixty black magical circles hovering in the air in front of him, alongside with a small screen.
[98%>>>>99%>>>>100%]
[Reverse Engineering has been completed.]
[All the information will be sent to host'smind now.]
"Final-" Before Leon could've completed his sentence, he felt a severe headache.
He started loosing his balance as an incredible amount of knowledge entered inside his mind without any stops.
"Fuck..." Leon spoke as he fell down to his knees and barely managed to stay conscious.
[All the information has been submitted.]
*Thud*
He immediately fell down to the ground on his back and stared at the darkness above.
"HUFF-HUFF-HUFFFFF.... What the fuck was that?" Leon spoke with a serious expression as he grabbed
his head tightly.
'I can feel the information inside my brain... The enchantment of
This skill is the centre of this enchantment... What it does is whenever someone gives it even a shred of mana, the intensity of mana eater scales accordingly and it consumes even more mana and the loop continues.
In order to protect the loop from being broken, the enchantment is covered with 36 different magical circles working as guards, out of these thirty-six circles, ten circles share the same configuration to the mana eater but they miss the looping component turning them into the perfect decoys.
Even for a super intelligent Lich who starts to read this enchantment today... It will still take him around 70 years just to find the right magic circle that this enchantment works on. If he successfully copies the skill on a paper.
But, my skill only took 90 minutes to decode all of that at the risk of exploding my skull and brain, but it was so fucking worth it.
Now that I know it's working all I need to do it keep my mana away from the mana eater's magic circle and as long as it doesn't get activated, the rest of the enchantment is stupid. Leon thought as he stood up and walked upto the twenty-eighth step.
"When a skill is used mana is released from the body... It spreads around without any limitations but when body soaks in crude mana from the enviornment it only soaks in a limited amount.
All I need to do is when I cast a spell... The extra mana that is being released from my body, I need to soak it back in before it can reach the mana eater." He spoke in a low voice as he switched off all of his
passive skills, placed his hand over twenty-eighth step.
'As expected nothing is happening... But if I started using mana right now, the enchantment will activate. Now let's see if I can do it. Leon thought as he raised his another hand to activate a skill.
Slowly a small spark generated over his hand but...
[You have entered into a
[All type of magic will be neglected here.]
"Fuck..." Leon spoke in a low voice as he removed his hand from the stair and placed it back.
This time Leon focused very carefully on his body as he felt the mana that was being released with the spell.
"Come on..." He spoke in a low voice as he closed his eyes.
*Inhaleeee*
Suddenly he felt a warm sensation near his face.
"What the- FUCK!" Leon shouted as he noticed a huge ball of fire hovering over his hand that was coming all the way to his face and it was shining brightly blue.
He immediately cancelled the spell and took a step back from the twenty-eighth stair.
'What the fuck was that?" Leon asked with a shocked expression.
"Wait... Wait..." He spoke as he raised his hand in front of him once again and activated the spell.
Immediately a small orange fireball appeared over his hand.
"Okay..." Leon spoke as he closed his eyes and focused once again.
*Inhaleeeee*
As soon as he sucked in all the extra mana that was being released by the spell, the small fireball in his hand immediately changed colours to blue.
Leon slowly opened his eyes and noticed that not only did it changed colour but also it's size has started to grow bigger.
'The mana consumption of the spell... Leon thought as his eyes widened in shock.
"When a spell is being used it will use some mana and release rest of the mana through the body but when I sucked back in that mana it's intensity increased and from the results, I don't think this spell is using even 40% of it's total mana usage.
Fucking Hell..." Leon thought as he stopped the spell at once and used another skill.
[Please pick a name for the skill...]
"Mana Absorber"
[Skill 'Mana Absorber' has been created.]
[Rank has been settled to 'D' by default.]
[State the use of skill.]
"A basic passive skill that when active, it can suck back the mana that is being released when any spell is used."
[Processing....]
'Why didn't I think of this before?'
[Error: Skill's description doesn't match the Rank. Please Try Again...]
"Huh...? But... It's a basic skill, the description is like two lines long. I can't even change anything in it, it's a mana- Suddenly something clicked inside Leon's brain.
"Ah right... It's a fucking mana based spell, why would the system let me make a spell that will help me modify any spell to work at it's 2-3x original power.
Haa... Fuck it, I will just use my concentration to do it. Destroy the skill." Leon spoke as he destroyed the skill.
"Wait... I can make that." Leon spoke as he activated the skill once again.
[Please pick a name for the skill...]
"Body Enchantment"
[Skill 'Body Enchantment' has been created.]
[Rank has been settled to 'D' by default.]
[State the use of skill.]
"When used this skill will consume mana regularly to strengthen the host's body's strength, agility and dexterity."
[Processing....]
[Error: Skill's description doesn't match the Rank. Please Try Again...]
"Yeah... I need to add defined parameters. How about, ten thousand mana per second for increasing everything by ten folds ?"
[Error: Skill's description doesn't match the Rank. Please Try Again...]
"Nine folds,"
[Error: Skill's description doesn't match the Rank. Please Try Again...]
"Eight Folds."
[Error: Skill's description doesn't match the Rank. Please Try Again...]
....
"Okay... Five Folds."
[Description has been Accepted.]
"Hmm... What if I increased the mana consumption to twenty thousand per minute? Will the strength increase by ten folds then?
Since I have such a big mana reserve now I should be able to do that, let's try... Destroy this skill as well.
We will start from the start."
[Skill has been Destroyed.]
-x-X-x-
[Error: Skill's description doesn't match the Rank. Please Try Again...]
"What about twenty thousand mana for seven folds?" Leon spoke in alow voice.
[Error: Skill's description doesn't match the Rank. Please Try Again...]
"Okay... Going down than that is stupid. The mana change didn't do anything I guess there really is a cap to what I ca- wait... wait... wait....
What if the mana cap is lower and that's why these spells are throwing the useless mana out... Fucking hell I never thought of that, Nine thousand mana for five Folds." Leon spoke in a low voice as he stared at the screen in front of him.
[Description has been Accepted.]
"Eight thousand mana for five Folds."
[Description has been Accepted.]
'Five thousand mana for five Folds."
[Description has been Accepted.]
"Four thousand mana for five Folds ?"
[Error: Skill's description doesn't match the Rank. Please Try Again...]
"Obviously... It caps at five thousand mana." Leon spoke with a frustrated expression as he placed his hand over his head.
"Five thousand mana for five Folds, the chant will be 'Strengthen' and learn the damn skill." He spoke without stops.
[Description has been accepted.]
[Please select the chant for the skill (Body Enchantment}.]
[Chant 'Strengthen has been selected.]
[Estimated mana cost to use the skill has been calculated, 5000 mana/use.]
[Cooldown has been calculated, 5 minutes after use.]
[Would you like to learn the skill or Destroy it ?]
[Congratulations! You have successfully learned the skill (Body Enchantment}]
"Good Good... Dusk, wake up... We are leaving boy." Leon spoke as he walked upto dusk and tapped on his head.
"Hmm...? But... How are we going to leave master? Magic doesn't work on those damn stairs." Dusk asked with a confused expression as he woke up from his sleep and looked at Leon.
"Yeah... Just get into your cat form, hop onto my back and grab tightly." Leon ordered.
''As you command, master." Dusk replied as he immediately turned back into his cat form, hopped onto Leon's back and grabbed tightly.
As soon as Leon activated the skill, his body started to glow blue for a second before it returned back to normal.
Leon felt the power surging throughout his whole body as he immediately bent down placed both of his hands on the ground and took the runner's stance.
"Fuuuuu... Here goes fucking Nothin." Leon spoke as he immediately started running towards the twenty-eighth step.
As Leon ran his speed increased with each step and in just a few steps he was running ten times faster than a normal human.
"Masterrrrr... How are you running so fassttttt?" Dusk shouted as he struggled to keep his eyes open in his cat form.
"Tighten your grip, Dusk... We are about to jump." Leon spoke as he took a sudden stop, springed down and released all the energy at once.
*Jump*
He jumped so high that both of them completely skipped the twenty-eighth stair and landed directly on the twenty-seventh stair.
*THUD*
*Crack*
As Leon landed on the stair, a small crack appeared on the ground.
"Master we skipped the first two steps... That's amazing now we can walk-" Before dusk could've completed his sentence, Leon started running again with the same speed.
*Step-Step-Step-Step-Step-Step-Step*
"This feels so fucking amazingggggg...." Leon shouted loudly as his speed increased once again and he closed in to the next stair.
"HUP..." As he jumped once again into the air, dusk looked down and noticed that they were flying higher than before.
*Jump*
"Umm... Master shouldn't you-"
This time they skipped two stairs and landed on the twenty-fouth stair.
*THUDD*
*Crack-Crack*
"Woah..." Dusk spoke as his whole body shaked from the landing vibration but before he could've recovered from it, Leon started running once again with full speed.
'Master's speed is increasing with every jump and he is using magic but I can't do it... How is that possible?' Dusk thought as he continued to hold tighter onto Leon's clothes.
"Hahahaha.... This is so much fucking fun." Leon spoke as he increased his speed once again.
"Here comes another one... HUP." He shouted while jumping even higher this time.
*JUMP*
"Too high... Master we are too high..." Dusk spoke with a serious expression as he looked down and calculated a death risk.
But Leon wasn't hearing anything, this time both of them crossed over five stairs, landing directly on the nineteenth stair.
*THUDDDD*
*CRACK*
This time when Leon landed, a big crack appeared on the stair's surface.
''Master we should take a break-"
*STEP-STEP-STEP-STEP-STEP-STEP-STEP-STEP-STEP-STEP*
"HUPPP..."
*JUMP*
Leon didn't listen to what dusk was saying. He jumped once again and crossed over five more stairs.
*THUDDDD*
*CRACK*
'Fuck... I can't jump higher than that." Leon spoke as he landed on the fourteenth step.
"Dusk you alright?" Leon asked as he turned around and noticed that dusk wasn't feeling very good.
"Master... I-I think my head is spinning since I am in a smaller form and everytime you land, I feel like my whole body shaking up and down." Dusk replied in a sick tone.
'I can stop if you want... But there is a chance that we will have to go down all those stairs once again and start over if I lost my focus. Do you want that?" Leon asked with a smile.
'No... Please continue." Dusk spoke as he immediately regained all of his strength and tightened his claws around Leon's shoulder.
'As I thought." Leon spoke as he immediately started running once again.
*STEP-STEP-STEP-STEP-STEP-STEP-STEP-STEP-STEP-STEP*
'Don't puke over my shirt... It's brand new. HUP." Leon spoke as he bent down once again and Jumped.
*JUMP*
"H will... Try... M-Master." Dusk spoke as he closed his mouth tightly.
....
In just a few minutes Leon reached on the first stair...
*THUD*
*CRACK*
"Fucking Finally... Dusk one more fucking jump and we will be out of here." Leon spoke as he looked at Dusk.
"Y-Yes... Master." Dusk spoke as he covered his mouth.
'I have to take care of that fucking gate now." Leon spoke as he pulled the Nyxter out of his inventory and started running towards the front wall with full speed.
"HUP..."
Leon jumped towards the front wall, then pressed both of his legs against the wall and jumped once again towards the upper gate.
He immediately closed his eyes and focused sharply on his sword's tip.
*Sshhhhhh*
Leon inhaled air into his lungs and released it slowly, while whispering the words.
"ALL RISE: THE RISING FULL MOON."
Although Leon has practiced this technique many times and he needed to perform it many more times in order to learn it perfectly, but in that moment... something changed inside him.
Leon entered in a true focus state as he imagined a full moon in his mind and his hands moved automatically, not on instinct but on enlightenment.
He made a flawless circular pattern without any stops, without any shakes and without any hesitation.
*CUT*
*THUD*