Chapter 192
Statue
Beginning of Volume Five
"Damn it! Sit down, you idiot!"
With a strange, rough shout, Arthur was grabbed forcefully from behind, yanked backward, then thrown to the ground and forced into a deep bow so harshly that he felt his back was about to break.
"What is going on here?!"
Arthur raised his head slightly and looked around in bewilderment.
Dozens of people were bowing with their faces lowered, kneeling on the ground in suffocating silence before a towering blue statue, unnaturally tall, one that inspired a sense of suffocation just from looking at it.
"Didn't Sung Jin-Woo just tell us to bow?! Why did you stand up, kid?!"
A one-armed man shouted at Arthur, his voice trembling between anger and fear as he remained bowed, not daring to lift his head.
"Where the hell am I...?"
Before he could finish—
|You are now... in the world of Solo Leveling.|
Arthur's mind froze for a moment.
'Cain... what happened? Why did I undergo a spiritual transfer?'
|...|
Several heavy seconds passed, and no answer came.
'Damn you! Answer me, you bastard!'
|Shut up, you insignificant piece of trash!|
For the first time since Arthur had obtained Cain—
For the first time in his entire life—
Cain shouted at him with genuine hatred and anger.
'Cain?! What's wrong with you? Why are you so angry?'
|You stupid bastard... you almost got all of us killed! Do you realize that?!|
Before Arthur could reply—
The ground beneath them shook violently.
Arthur forgot he was bowing and instinctively raised his head.
He saw the statue.
That blue statue...
It was smiling.
An ugly, evil, inhuman smile.
And it was moving.
Panic spread among the people, and trembling murmurs began to rise.
"Mr. Sung Jin-Woo! What should we do?!"
All eyes turned toward a young man who appeared no older than twenty.
"First... worship the Lord.
Second... praise the Lord.
Yes... that's it."
With those words, a man holding a cross stepped forward and began muttering prayers with a trembling voice filled with fear.
But it did not last.
Without any warning—
The stone statue raised its foot,
And crushed the man with overwhelming force.
Everything ended in an instant.
As terror spread,
Arthur remained unusually calm,
Listening only to Cain's voice inside his mind.
|You damned, stupid, insignificant idiot... damn it!|
'Cain, calm down... please. What's wrong?'
|You... are truly going to be the death of us.
I warned you not to use your full power in the previous world, but you completely ignored me.
You killed... destroyed... and did whatever you wanted, yet you never used the power that surpassed the laws of that world, so I only warned you calmly.
But that wasn't enough for you.
You came along, you little bastard...
And used the First Manipulation!|
'Yes... I used it to erase the world's power.'
|Arthur... my brother.
I know you're angry.
Broken.
Shattered.
But... have you ever stopped to think about us?|
'Us?'
|Me...
Wrath...
Astaroth...
We all loved little Moon.
We all considered her our sister.
Perhaps Wrath less so, since he has no soul...
But have you forgotten how much Astaroth played with her?
How much he loved her kindness?
And do you think the time I spent with her meant nothing to me?
Do you think you were the only one who was angry?|
Arthur fell silent.
And at that moment—
He felt an attack descending toward his head.
He retreated quickly—
But—
He was slow.
Far too slow.
He looked at his legs.
Shorter than he remembered.
His body was weaker than the Eternal Immortality Body...
Even after all the damage it had suffered before.
'Damn... I remembered... I underwent a spiritual transfer.'
He struck the ground forcefully and slid away at the last moment, but pain exploded through his left side.
The sword slammed into the ground violently,
And with the force of the leap and impact,
Arthur's body was thrown backward and crashed into another statue.
The moment he collided with it—
The statue began playing gentle music.
The warrior statue did not advance toward him.
"Damn it... am I inside a game or something?!"
Arthur shouted as he looked at his left hand...
Lying where he had been standing moments earlier.
That previous strike...
Had severed his hand.
It had nearly killed him,
But his retreat at the last moment had caused the sword to consume only his arm.
"Damn you, kid! Didn't you say you were an Awakened One with healing powers?!
Heal yourself already!"
The one-armed man shouted at him.
'Awakened One? Healing powers? What is he talking about?'
|Because you used your full power in the previous world,
And because you erased that world's power—
Some creature managed to trace you into the Path of the Universe,
And nearly killed you.|
'Fine... and why are you this angry?'
|I don't care if you die, you bastard.
But what about Astaroth?
What about Wrath?
What about me?
And what about that person?!|
As Cain shouted,
Arthur's mind slowly began to calm.
And he started seeing the truth.
His failure.
His mistake.
His madness had nearly gotten them all killed.
His anger had blinded him,
Making him stop caring about himself—
But... what about the others?
Did he want them to die?
No.
A thousand times no.
|Astaroth is seriously injured and is currently inside the storage.
I used a Miraculous Healing Potion on him, and he's fine...
But he lost all his power.
Wrath is fine, though he simply lacks magical energy.
As for your original body—
It lost all its power,
And lost its healing and regeneration factor.
It didn't become human...
It became weaker than a human.
It's inside the storage as well.
It hasn't completely lost its healing ability,
But the situation is bad... if you understand what I mean.|
'Cain... what about the two of them?'
|They're fine.
Tell me, Arthur...
When do you plan on bringing him out?
It's been a very long time.|
"I know... I know.
I promised him, as you know, but not yet.
I still haven't found the right world, and he has already lost his power.
I want to find a world worthy of him."
A brief silence followed before Cain replied. His voice was as cold as usual, though it carried a trace of restrained impatience.
|As you wish. He's safe for now with that bastard.
But tell me... why did you bring Hwangbo with you as well?
Why didn't you kill him?|
Arthur sighed slowly, his eyes fixed on the cold stone floor while the echoes of terrified screams and hurried footsteps continued to reverberate around him.
"I have plans for him."
|Fine... everything in its own time. Now is not the time for this discussion.|
A short silence followed before Arthur spoke again, his tone lighter and more sincere.
"Cain... before you start.
I want to thank you for what you said.
If not for your words just now... I might have remained that reckless damned idiot.
And perhaps... I really would have killed myself."
He paused for a moment before adding in a low voice:
"As you can see, we're in a damned situation right now.
But tell me... where in the Creator of the Universe's name are we?"
|I don't want your thanks, you bastard. Keep it to yourself.
Right now... we're inside a magic dungeon.|
Arthur's eyes widened slightly.
'A magic dungeon?'
|I'll keep it brief.
Ten years ago, a gate opened that connected this world to a world of monsters.
Some people obtained powers,
And they came to be known as Hunters,
To fight those monsters and protect humanity.|
Cain paused briefly before continuing:
|You are now inside the body of a Hunter who possessed healing powers.
But because of the emergency intervention,
And because I was unable to save your damned ass in the Path of the Universe...
This body lost all its power.|
Arthur clenched his fist and felt a strange emptiness within himself.
'Do you mean... I'm now inside the body of a living person?'
|No.
This boy died.
Fear shattered his heart and mind before the statues actually killed him.
And after his death... he was the closest body available for me to implant your soul into.|
Arthur let out a faint sigh of relief.
'Good... I don't want to possess a living person.'
He raised his head slightly and looked once more at the distant statues, their slow movements, and the lethal pressure filling the area.
'So we're inside a dungeon now... or whatever it's called.
I—or rather, the owner of this body—entered with a group to obtain rewards, power, and all that...
But we ran into a damned setback.'
He paused for a moment before adding:
'These statues.'
|Yes, that's the situation.
But... there is something strange about these statues.
Something I can't identify yet.|
The atmosphere shifted slightly, as though the dungeon itself were watching them.
|And now...
Do you want to see the status window?|
A faint smile appeared on Arthur's face despite the pain and danger.
"Yes... please."
----
You can contact me through my official page on the following Accounts:
telegram:
miraclenarrator
tiktok:
miracle_narrator
instagram:
miracle_narrator