Adrian's POV
Leaving the dungeon, our clothes torn and stained with blood, we made our way back to the hotel we had booked for the night.
Once there, we split off to our rooms. I treated my wounds with potions, changed out of the ruined clothes, and washed away the grime of battle.
After bathing, I slipped into fresh clothes from my space ring. The exhaustion of the day weighed heavily on me, but more than anything, hunger gnawed at my stomach. Almost on cue, a knock sounded at the door.
The hotel staff stood there, delivering a tray of food. I ate quickly, letting the warmth of the meal chase away the day's fatigue, before sleep claimed me.
Morning came with sunlight spilling across my face through the window. The sky outside was bright, a sharp contrast to the shadows we would soon return to. Rising, I reminded myself of my goal: the artifact.
In the novel, Kael stumbled upon it by chance while clearing this very dungeon with Nymera. But now the future has shifted—Kael isn't here. I am.
As I mulled this over, I found Nymera already waiting at the dungeon's entrance. After exchanging greetings, we stepped through the portal once more, our feet landing on familiar stone, ready to face the dungeon again.
Into the Depths
The portal shimmered like a pool of liquid silver, rippling with unstable mana. I stepped through first, boots pressing into damp earth on the other side. A chill wind swept across my face. The dungeon always smelled the same—moss, iron, and rot.
Nymera followed close behind. Her emerald eyes gleamed in the half-light, wary but steady. She drew her blade without a word, the polished steel catching the faint glow of the moss that lit the tunnel.
"This is the second layer," I said, scanning the darkness. My voice came out lower than I intended. "Be careful. The monsters here won't go down easy."
She nodded once. "Understood."
The tunnel stretched on, walls slick with condensation. Mana crystals jutted from the stone, glowing faintly blue, casting long shadows that shifted with every step we took. The deeper we went, the heavier the air became. My aura stirred restlessly.
And then came the growl.
Two red eyes glared at us from the dark. Then more.
A pack of wolves emerged, lean and unnatural. Their fur was patchy gray, their eyes fever-bright, their claws glowing faintly with mana.
"Mana Wolves," Nymera murmured, lifting her sword.
The beasts circled us, growls rumbling like distant thunder.
"They're waiting for us to slip," I said, flexing my fingers around the hilt of my sword. "Let's not give them the chance."
One lunged. I sidestepped, my blade flashing in a clean arc. Blood sprayed across the cavern wall as its head rolled to the ground.
The rest howled and charged.
"Left flank!" Nymera called.
I pivoted, catching one wolf mid-leap and cleaving it in two. Nymera darted past me, her blade severing another's spine. The pack swarmed, but we moved in sync—ducking, slashing, turning each other's openings into kills.
A claw raked my arm, leaving a burning cut. I hissed and twisted, impaling the wolf that dared get too close.
Moments later, silence.
The cavern floor was littered with twitching corpses. Blood pooled, mixing with the dungeon's mossy stench.
Nymera exhaled and flicked her blade clean. "Not bad."
"Don't relax yet," I muttered, scanning the tunnel ahead. "This was just the appetizer."
The Swarm
The path spiraled downward, walls narrowing, the air thick with damp. A faint scraping noise echoed ahead.
Nymera stiffened. "You hear that?"
The sound grew louder—hundreds of tiny legs clicking against stone.
Then they appeared.
Spiders, the size of carriages, descended from the ceiling on threads of shimmering silk. Their eyes glowed green, their mandibles dripping venom. The cavern was a nest, its ceiling layered in sticky webs pulsing faintly with mana.
"Of course," I muttered. "Because wolves weren't enough."
One spider spat a stream of webbing at me. I slashed upward, severing the sticky strand before it bound me. Another lunged, fangs snapping. My blade met its head, black ichor splattering across my face.
"Behind you!" Nymera's warning came sharp.
I turned, but too late—the mandibles were already descending.
Her sword pierced through its skull, the creature collapsing at my feet.
"Don't slack, Adrian." She smirked despite the blood streaking her cheek.
I grinned back, adrenaline rushing through me. "I wasn't planning to."
We fought side by side, cutting through webs, ichor spraying with every strike. The spiders shrieked, their legs thrashing, the air thick with venom. Minutes blurred together, a storm of steel and screeches.
When the last spider twitched and fell, silence returned, broken only by our ragged breaths.
We pressed on, deeper still.
The Guardian
The tunnel finally widened into a cavernous chamber. Crystals glowed faintly along the walls, illuminating the figure at its center.
A gorilla.
Not an ordinary beast, but a monster that radiated power. It stood nearly four meters tall, its muscles bulging, black fur sparking with blue arcs of mana. The sheer weight of its aura pressed down on us, crushing, suffocating.
I gritted my teeth. Breathing was harder already.
Nymera's jaw clenched, but she didn't falter. "That pressure… this one's different."
"B-rank," I confirmed. "The guardian."
The gorilla pounded its chest, the sound echoing like a war drum. Dust rained from the ceiling as its roar shook the cavern walls.
The fight had begun.
The Battle
It charged like a living avalanche. I dashed forward, aura flaring, blade slashing across its chest. Sparks flew where steel met mana-hardened hide, leaving only a shallow cut.
"Tch. Its skin's like armor," I hissed.
"Then we bleed it piece by piece!" Nymera darted behind it, her sword biting into its thigh.
The beast roared, swinging at her.
"Nymera, move!"
She rolled back just as its fist cratered the ground, the shockwave nearly throwing me off balance.
The gorilla spun, swinging its arms in massive arcs. I ducked under one, countering with a slash that carved deeper this time. Blood welled, but the beast barely flinched.
It slammed both fists into the ground. Mana erupted outward in a shockwave, hurling us across the chamber. I crashed into the wall, pain exploding through my ribs. Blood filled my mouth.
"Adrian!"
"I'm fine!" I spat crimson, staggering upright. "Don't lose focus!"
Nymera met my gaze, nodded once, and charged again.
We fought relentlessly. Thirty minutes of blood and steel. My arms ached like lead, my lungs burned. Nymera was drenched in sweat, her movements slowing.
The gorilla, though wounded and bleeding heavily, still stood.
"Damn it… why won't you fall?" I growled, wiping blood from my eyes.
Nymera's voice was hoarse but fierce. "If you collapse, Adrian, I'll drag you myself—so don't you dare give up!"
Her words lit a fire in me.
Painful memories surged—my failures, my weakness, the weight of regret. Not again. Never again.
My aura erupted. Power surged, raw and violent, clashing against the gorilla's mana. The ground cracked beneath our feet, air trembling with force.
Nymera blinked at the surge, then smiled through her exhaustion. "If you're going all in… then so am I."
Together, we charged.
My blade carved across its chest, tearing flesh. Nymera's pierced its back, twisting deep.
The gorilla staggered, bellowing its final roar.
"This ends here!" I shouted, pouring everything into one last strike.
Steel ripped through hide. Aura split mana apart.
With a thunderous crash, the beast collapsed, shaking the cavern floor.
Silence.
We stood, trembling, blood-soaked, but alive.
And victorious.
Aftermath
I dropped to my knees, gasping, sword slipping from my hand. Nymera collapsed beside me, equally drained.
Then it came—the rush of breakthrough. My aura solidified, my body surged with strength. B-rank.
Sixteen years old. Already B-rank. The world would call me a monster.
But right now, as Nymera's tired smile met mine, I didn't care.
We had survived.
We had won.
Hotel Rest
By the time we returned to the surface, night had fallen. Adventurers waiting by the portal stared, whispers following us as we passed.
"They cleared the core?"
"Already…?"
"They look half-dead, but—gods, they're still standing."
I ignored them. My legs shook, but I kept moving. Nymera did the same.
The innkeeper flinched at our appearance but quickly composed himself, bowing low as he handed over keys. "Your rooms are prepared, honored guests."
I muttered thanks and dragged myself upstairs.
Potions first. Wounds sealed with a cool burn, bruises fading. Then the bath. The water ran red at first, then clear. Steam eased the tension from my battered muscles.
By the time I emerged, dressed in clean clothes, I almost felt human again.
Food arrived shortly after—roast meat, bread, fruit, soup. I devoured it in silence, exhaustion clawing at my mind.
Only one task remained.
The Necklace
I unwrapped the cloth bundle I had taken from the gorilla's chamber.
A simple necklace lay in my palm. Black cord. Silver-etched pendant in the shape of a crescent. Fragile. Ordinary—at least, to the untrained eye.
But I knew better.
In the novel, this necklace had fallen into Kael's hands by chance. He wore it for years, unaware of its true power, until it shattered in battle and granted him a temporary surge strong enough to kill an S-rank demon.
A turning point in his story.
But fate had shifted. The necklace was mine.
I traced the silver lines with my thumb. A faint pulse of mana thrummed beneath the surface, subtle but unmistakable.
"This time," I whispered, slipping it around my neck, "it will be my weapon."
The pendant rested cool against my chest.
Status
I summoned my status window. Blue text flickered into existence.
STATUS WINDOW
Name: Adrian Kaelthorn
Race: Human
Class: Swordsman, Assassin
Rank: B-
Stamina: 503 (B-rank)
Strength: 505 (B-rank)
Speed: 502 (B-rank)
Intelligence: 501 (B-rank)
Endurance: 506 (B-rank)
Charm: 703 (B-rank)
Luck: 502 (B-rank)
Mana: 506 (B-rank)
Aura: 746 (B-rank) Growth Type Skill
Title: Transmigrator, Regresser, Survivor
Skills:
Shadow Blade (Lv 7) S
Shadow Veil (Lv 7) S
Scarlet Execution Sword Codex (Lv 8) SS
Quick Step (Lv 7) S
Perfect Memory (A-rank)
A slow smile spread across my face. Sixteen years old. Already B-rank.
The academy wouldn't know what to make of me.
Satisfied, I dismissed the window and let sleep claim me.
The Return
Dawn came too soon. The sun streamed through the window, painting the room gold. My body was lighter, wounds nearly gone thanks to potions and rest.
Nymera and I left together, heading toward the teleportation gate back to the academy. Neither of us spoke much—after a battle like that, silence was enough.
When the academy's island came into view, she suddenly stopped.
I turned, startled.
She was smiling, emerald eyes bright. "I had a good time, Adrian. Let's… go on adventures like that again sometime."
Her voice was soft, but her words struck deeper than any blade.
I met her gaze, my lips curving into a faint smile. "As you wish."
We parted ways at the gate. I walked back to my dormitory under the silver glow of the moon, the academy grounds quiet, the world at peace.
As I lay in bed, thoughts of the gorilla's roar, the necklace's cold weight, and Nymera's smile swirled in my mind.
And for the first time in years, I let myself believe—
Maybe life wasn't so bad.
Sleep took me, carrying me into dreams of battles yet to come.