I sat up in bed, rubbing my eyes with a heavy yawn.
"Why did your mom call me this early? Did she say anything to you?" I asked, still stretching my stiff limbs. My body felt a little shaky—the aftermath of the nightmare I had just escaped.
Evelyn shook her head, her wide, innocent eyes locked on mine.
"No, no. Mommy didn't say anything… but she looked really serious."
Serious? That was rare. I'd never seen Sophia look anything other than calm and composed.
Something about this… felt urgent.
"So—"
Before I could finish, Evelyn suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled.
"W-Wait! Not so fast! I might trip—and then we'll both fall, Evelyn!"
But she didn't slow down.
Determination was written all over her small face. She was clearly following her mother's words like they were sacred orders.
"Mommy said you have to come quick! I don't want her to wait!" she said, still dragging me across the long hallway of the mansion.
Finally, we arrived at the throne room.
Sophia sat tall and regal upon her throne, draped in elegance and power. Beside her was Draven, his expression unreadable yet firm. Standing at his side was Steve, arms crossed, eyes sharp.
And all of them looked serious. Dead serious.
Evelyn let go of my arm and ran to Sophia, who immediately welcomed her into her lap, wrapping her arms around her protectively.
"Ah, there you are," Sophia said as her gaze fell on me. "We've been waiting for you, Kelvin."
"Right… but why so early in the morning?" I asked, my voice cautious.
Sophia smiled gently.
"You'll understand soon."
She exchanged a glance with Draven, then turned back to me.
"We've received… some information about Vanessa Tepes."
My body tensed.
Vanessa?
I focused, my sleepiness fading in an instant.
Draven cleared his throat, his tone low and serious.
"As we told you before, all four kingdoms—including ours—sent search teams to investigate. Today, a few of those guards returned. And they brought something."
Steve stepped forward, continuing the tale.
"About 13 kilometers from here, our team found an ancient dungeon. Inside it… a long-headed sword, unlike anything we've seen. Thick with age and dark energy."
He paused, then added, "The stone wall beside it had something carved—symbols in an ancient language. Our best wizards tried to read it, but… nothing."
My eyes narrowed. "So the writing was unreadable?"
Steve nodded. "Except for one word."
"One?" I asked. "And what was it?"
Draven and Steve glanced at each other. Then Draven said it.
"Kelvin."
The name echoed in my ears like a thunderclap.
My name?
It was carved into a wall inside an ancient dungeon?
Steve stepped in again.
"Yes. That was the only word our wizards could decipher. And putting everything together… there's only one conclusion."
He exhaled slowly, letting the weight of the words drop.
"Vanessa is looking for you, Kelvin. She's after your blood—and she'll do anything to get it."
I felt like the air around me had thickened.
My blood? She wants me?
It hit me all at once. The nightmares. The strange shifts in power. The feeling that someone was watching from afar.
This wasn't just coincidence.
But then—my instincts kicked in.
I have my World Scan ability. If she's really that close, I can find her before she gets any closer. I can even locate that dungeon.
I turned toward them.
"Thanks for telling me. But I can't waste time. If she's after me… then I need to strike before she does."
Without another word, I bolted toward the roof of the mansion—my next move already forming in my mind.
As I reached the roof, I called out quickly,
"Alita!"
A few seconds of silence followed, before her voice echoed softly in my head,
"Yes, my beloved master... how may I help you today?"
I shook my head and chuckled.
"Hm, you sound like you're actually in the mood to work."
"Aww~ my darling, before you even say what task you want me to do, I already know it," she replied in a soft, teasing tone.
"Yeah, yeah. You're always wired into my mind. Since you already know, then proceed—I want Vanessa's exact location."
"Well..."
Suddenly, a glowing blue system window materialized in the air before me, displaying a wide view of the world map.
"Whoa... so this is how World Scan works, huh?" I whispered, eyes locked on the screen in awe.
"Of course, my naïve darling~" she giggled sweetly.
The scan began. Alita worked through the process, and the map shifted again—this time showing a dimly lit dungeon chamber.
"This is the dungeon mentioned in the report you received earlier," she said calmly.
"Oh..." I muttered. "Alright. Try again. Use World Scan to find Vanessa's exact location."
"Let me try, my love."
The system map zoomed back out, collecting data, sweeping across lands—but suddenly, the screen flashed red and began to beep.
"Uh... what happened?" I asked, eyes narrowing.
"Darling... something is blocking me. I can't go any further to trace Vanessa's data."
I let out a sigh, frustrated.
"Tch... just as I thought. Finding her won't be easy."
"You're right—for once," Alita teased gently. "She's using an ancient spell that distorts any tracking attempt. It hides her completely from detection-based abilities."
"Don't joke right now—we're in a serious situation," I said, trying to stay composed.
"Well, then," I said, shifting focus. "Teleport me to that dungeon. I need to see the sword and what's written on the wall myself."
The system window shifted to display a loading message:
[TELEPORTING...]
"Here we go, my love," Alita whispered.
Of course, I thought. She's not going to drop the pet names anytime soon.
The world around me began to blur. The rooftop vanished. In the blink of an eye—
I was standing inside a dungeon, surrounded by pitch blackness.
"What the fu—" I gasped.
"Why is it so dark... Put some light here, damn it!"
In response, small glowing orbs appeared, floating gently into the air, casting soft, blue light throughout the chamber.
"Oh no~ I've never seen my beloved master's scared face before. What a lovely sight," Alita teased with a mischievous giggle.
"S-Stop it!" I stammered. "You don't know how much I hate the dark..." I panted, still trying to catch my breath.
I slowly scanned my surroundings, my eyes adjusting to the soft glow of the orbs, until they landed on the object resting quietly in the center of the chamber—a massive, ancient sword, half-buried in the ground.
"Ah... there it is," I muttered.
I approached carefully, heart racing with anticipation. As I bent down to reach for the hilt, my system window suddenly materialized in front of me:
[DO YOU WANT TO LIFT THIS SWORD?]
"Yes!" I said with excitement.
"Too eager, huh~ my love?" Alita teased again.
Then the system window shifted:
[NOTE: THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF STRENGTH NEEDED IS 100 BILLION]
My eyes widened.
"W-What the hell?! Are you kidding me?! 100 billion strength?! That's insane!"
Alita chimed in sweetly,
"Ahem~ My love, you're forgetting something..."
Another window popped up beside the first, showing my current stats:
[STATUS WINDOW]
Name: Kelvin
Race: Human
Title: Chosen One
Level: ∞
Mana: ∞ / ∞
Strength: ∞
Agility: ∞
Endurance: ∞
Intelligence: ∞
Charisma: ∞
Luck: ∞
Rank: F
I blinked.
"Oh yeah... I totally forgot my own stats," I said, rubbing the back of my neck, laughing awkwardly.
"Well, well~ since you finally remembered, what are you waiting for? Lift it!" Alita urged playfully.
"Right. Let's do this."
I gripped the sword's hilt firmly and began to lift.
[USING 100 BILLION STRENGTH]
With a single, smooth motion, I raised the sword from the ground as if it were weightless in my hands. Its dark, jagged blade shimmered in the dim glow of the dungeon lights.
"This is... incredible..." I whispered.
[SUCCESSFULLY LIFTED: RULER OF NIGHT]
"Huh? Ruler of Night? Is that the sword's name?"
"Of course, my beloved," Alita responded. "That blade you're holding isn't just any weapon—it's a legendary sword forged with unmatched power. Only a true ruler can lift it."
She continued with a calmer, yet more reverent tone,
"The Ruler of Night holds the power to bend reality itself... and its most terrifying ability is this: it can cut anything into pieces with just a single swing."
I slowly began to swing the blade with one hand, feeling its weightless grace and unshakable strength. It moved like an extension of my arm—smooth, silent, and lethal.
"Yeah, not too bad of a sword… but kinda average," I said casually, swinging it once again without paying much attention to the insane power it held.
"You're seriously acting like that sword is just a twig, huh?" Alita said with a sigh.
"Well, it is nothing compared to the one you gave me before," I replied without missing a beat.
"Oh~ I remember that quite clearly," she giggled. "The Hailstorm Skeletal—my finest gift to you. Far more powerful than this Ruler of Night thing."
"Mm-hm." I nodded coolly.
"Anyway, let's keep that aside. We need to find the words Vanessa left behind," I said, scanning the walls around the dungeon.
"Ah~ my love... look behind you," Alita said with an exasperated sigh.
I turned—and there it was.
A stone wall, old and cracked, yet etched with deep, deliberate marks. Strange runes and jagged lines formed a message.
I approached slowly.
"So this is it..." I muttered, raising my hand to trace the carvings. I could feel the roughness of the stone, the uneven cuts, the intensity in each stroke.
"Looks like this was carved with something sharp—maybe a dagger, or even a claw. You can feel the pressure in every letter," I murmured.
The characters were foreign, nothing I'd seen before. Certainly not English or anything familiar.
"Darling, use your Translation Ability," Alita gently reminded me.
"Right… do it."
The system window materialized instantly and scanned the markings.
[TRANSLATING...]
A few seconds passed.
[TRANSLATION COMPLETED]
[PROCESSING THE WORDS...]
_"I know everything about you, my dear Kelvin.
I've already seen the future—the moment you'd stand here, guided by Gaia's will.
Haha~ but does that even matter now?
Let me tell you a truth you never saw coming…
Everything you are, everything you've become, and even this very place you're standing—
It's all part of my design.
I've known you long before this world.
I've watched you… even back on Earth.
And now that you're here, I don't just seek your blood to reclaim my power…
I crave your heart. I yearn for your soul.
You belong to me—always have.
~Your Vanessa"_
For a moment, silence filled the dungeon.
I stood frozen, my breath caught in my chest. That message... she didn't just want my blood—she wanted me. She knew I would come. She planned all of this from the start.
"She's... truly beyond what we imagined," I whispered, still stunned.
Even Alita stayed quiet for a beat—something rare for her.
"...Darling," she finally spoke, her voice softer than usual, "She's already two steps ahead of us."
My mind spun.
Wait... if this was all part of her plan—
Then that means…
"She's here," I muttered, panic slowly creeping in. "She trapped us. This dungeon... this was all a setup!"
I spun around, scanning the shadows.
Suddenly, the air thickened.
From the depths of the dungeon, a silhouette began to form.
A woman's figure… slowly materializing from the darkness.
"Hah~ Took you long enough to realize, my Kelvin,"
came the chilling, seductive voice I knew all too well.