The half-demon looms in front of me. Its upper body is human, twisted and scarred, while its lower half is like a centaur's, muscles rippling under dark, demonic skin. It snarls, eyes glowing with malice, hooves scraping the ground. The camp around us flickers—a cruel illusion.
I tighten my grip on the blade. Avesta is behind me, hidden in the shadows. She's trembling, but safe.
I lunge forward. Steel meets claws with a sharp clang. Sparks fly, but the creature is fast—too fast. Each strike pushes me back. My breath comes in ragged gasps.
It slams its fist into my side, and I stagger, vision blurring. Blood drips from my lip. I won't last long.
Then, the half-demon's eyes go blank, its body slackening. I glance back at Avesta. Her hands are glowing faintly—she's done something, some ability of hers.
The creature collapses. Avesta falls too. Panic rushes through me, but I can't waste time.
I drop to my knees beside the half-demon's body. There's a pattern—a faint sigil beneath its skin. I recognize it. The
My fingers move quickly, tracing the lines, and decoding the spells. The air crackles as the illusion begins to unravel.
After 10 minutes, the catalyst shatters.
Everything dissolves into light, and the world around us shifts.
||Dungeon Quest Update!
Survive for 2 days.
Optional: Break the illusion.
Time limit: 2 days or until the illusion breaks.
Rewards: 1 Active Skill (C), 1 Passive Skill (D) ||
The world around me begins to shatter once again. Another dream.
I'm standing in the middle of the demon camp again. My heart races—I can guess what's coming.
Avesta is tied to the table, her small frame struggling against the ropes. Her eyes are wide, terrified. Lesser demons surround her, their twisted forms hunched over as they prepare their tools, glinting under the dim light.
I try to move, but my feet won't respond. I'm frozen, forced to watch.
The half-demon enters, its hooves clomping against the stone floor. It towers over the others, its twisted face leering down at Avesta.
It reaches out, claws glinting, ready to take her blood.
Avesta lets out a small, desperate whimper.
Just as the half-demon leans in, there's a burst of light. It's blinding. I shield my eyes.
When the light fades, an angel stands between Avesta and the half-demon. Pure, radiant wings spread wide, casting the demons back. The angel's eyes are fierce, burning with divine fury.
With a single gesture, the ropes binding Avesta snap. She's free.
The half-demon roars, but the angel doesn't falter. In a flash, it strikes, and the half-demon crumbles to dust.
I blink, the dream slipping away.
What does this mean? This must have been something that happened in my previous life. The angels saved Avesta from what she believed were demons.
Perhaps this is why Avesta was with the angels in my previous life.
As I open my eyes, we're back—on Earth. Avesta stirs beside me, and I release a breath I didn't realize I was holding.
||Quest Cleared
Rewards: 1 Random Active Skill (C), 1 Random Passive Skill (D)||
||First Clear!
Congratulations on being the first person to clear a C-rank dungeon!
Rewards: Inspection (Special Skill)||
Aldrich is where we left him, sitting under the swing, teary-eyed. His face is red from crying, his small hands trembling in his lap. He looks up at us, confused but relieved.
It's still the dead of night. Nothing's changed.
I set Avesta down gently. She's exhausted, but she nods, understanding. "Don't tell anyone about this," I say quietly. She doesn't respond—just looks at me with those wide, knowing eyes.
I turn away and step into the shadows, disappearing into the night. As I leave, I can feel their gazes on me, Avesta and Aldrich.
They're holding hands now, standing together under the stars.
In another world, a vast expanse of white clouds covered the floor. 3 massive suns took their place in the sky above. The world stood deathly still, as if trapped in time. This is heaven.
An angel with six glowing wings stands at the center. Its face, calm and innocent, watches over an orb in its hands.
A scene from earlier plays on the orb—A male, a girl, and the half-demon. The male loomed over the unconscious demon and unravels the spell.
Suddenly, the orb cracks. Splintered lines spread across it, then it shatters into pieces. The man's face looks directly into it, almost as if he can see the angel on the other side. Then the glow fades away.
The angel's face contorts. The once pure expression twists into something ugly, and grotesque. The innocence is gone, replaced by a dark fury.
Without another word, the angel's body warps, as if being sucked into a black hole, and dissapears. The clouds begin to move, and time moves on as if nothing happened...
I slowly walk down the streets back in the general direction of the apartment. My clothes have become ragged after staying in the dungeon for so long and the blood stains did not help my case either.
Ignoring the weird looks from the occasional people roaming the street, I walk to a park by the apartment and sit on a bench far away from any lamp posts.
I open up the system menu and claim the skills rewarded from the quest completion.
||Random D-Rank skill
Opening…
Congratulations for rolling D-Rank skill [Phase (Active)]
Random C-Rank skill
Opening…
Congratulations for rolling C-Rank skill [Lacerate (Active)]
Please select skill(s) to replace
Current Abilities (5(+1)/5 slots available): Resilience (D-Growth), Schemer (E-Growth), Stubborn (D), Adrenaline (F-Growth), Phase (D), Inspect (Special Skill)
Extra skill: Lacerate (C)||
My ability slots are already full. I can either forget Lacerate, or swap it with another skill that I currently have. Considering how it's a C rank skill, keeping it is definately the better option.
I took a look at the new skills I had just rolled.
|| Phase (Active)
You can temporarily move through other objects.
Duration: 10 seconds
Cooldown: 10 minutes
Lacerate (Active)
Attacks the enemy target 6 times, with 80% chance of hitting critical points.
Requires: 30 strength, melee weapon.
Cooldown: 30 seconds||