Chapter 8: The Trial of Unity
The safe zone of Level 5 was unlike any other levels in the dungeon .
The air sparkled like glass, reflecting distorted faces of humans who had survived the previous raid. The ground wasn't stone or metal but smooth, white energy — beating faintly like the surface of a living heart. There was no sound except the faint hum of the system's core.
Then, light descended.
Hexagonal portals opened across the air like wounds in reality, and out stepped a familiar figures — the alien Admin. It's crystalline bodies refracted light into thousands of shards. Where it's sqid like feet touched, the floor rippled as if afraid.
The crowd went silent. They all could feel the authority in their bones even though some of them might have not seen it before.
Even the strongest Ranked replayers stood still. To see the Admins descend meant something serious — or fatal.
"Greetings, participants," the male Admin spoke, his voice deep and metallic, echoing from every direction at once. "Congratulations on surviving the fourth trial. You have proven… minimally functional."
A murmur spread through the crowd. Some smiled nervously. Others clenched fists.
The male Admin floated forward. His body glowed with gold circuit patterns, his tone deceptively soft.
"The next stage," he said, "will test your ability to cooperate. Level Five — The Trial of Unity."
Holographic runes spread across the chamber, forming diagrams of vast battlefields and monstrous silhouettes.
"Your objective," he continued, "is to eliminate the Hive-Mind Beast, a collective organism spanning five sectors. You will form teams of eight. Coordination will be the key."
he paused. Then his expression twisted — almost a smile. "However, we will only allow those we deem… compatible."
One of the humans curiously asked. "Wait, what does that mean—?"
Before he could finish, a bright beam cut through him. His body divided into two instantly .
No warning. No sound. No mercy.
The air turned cold.
Another human screamed and ran backwards— But at the site of the alien admin her body started vaporizing and in seconds her scream faded with the vapor.
And another. Then another.
Within seconds, five players were gone.
The Admins' lights dimmed slightly, it tones mechanical.
"Defective specimens, should be allowed to sight my presence" the Admin said. "Weak DNA. Primitive emotional instability. Removal complete."
The survivors backed away in terror. The smell of burnt air and blood filled the zone.
Kelvin's jaw tightened. He could hear his heart thundering in his ears.
Something snapped inside him.
He stepped forward, eyes cold.
"You killed them because you didn't like them, Not because they were defective?" His voice echoed through the silence. "You didn't even give them a chance and you call yourself a civilized specie?"
The aliens turned toward him. Tilted his head, curious.
"Human," he said, "you misunderstand. We do not hate. We optimize."
Kelvin's aura flared — white and violent.
"Optimize? You're not gods — you're just a racist Self proclaimed god!"
Gasps spread among the humans. No one had ever spoken to the Admins like that.
The male Admin's crystalline skin flickered. "You dare insult your peak entity?"
Kelvin took another step forward. His eyes glowed faintly blue — the faint code-flare that appeared whenever his Will stat spiked.
"You don't own us," he said coldly. "You never did. You just leech off our evolution like parasites. You experiment, pretend to be gods — but you're scared. That's why you keep watching."
A charged silence filled the air.
Then, to everyone's shock… the Admin laughed.
"Fascinating," he said softly. "This one is crazy."
The Admin smiled faintly. "Perhaps that's why you bears the title Odd Breaker. If you hadn't gained our interest you would have been like one of them."
His hand gestured, and the corpses of the vaporized humans disappeared like dust into the air.
"Very well. You live today but next time might never come."
The crowd erupted in murmurs.
"Who the hell is he?"
"The Admins didn't kill him?"
"What the hell is going on?"
Kelvin didn't answer. He simply turned and walked away toward the dungeon gate, his coat billowing like smoke.
[SYSTEM NOTICE ⚠️]
Dungeon Level 5: The Trial of Unity
Mission Type: Co-op
Objective: Defeat the Hive-Mind Beast and destroy all five cores.
Reward: +10,000🌕 | +5,000💎 | Title: World Breaker (Optional)
Note: Solo completion is considered impossible.
Warning: Hive-Mind adapts to individual fighting styles.
Kelvin's window flickered open in front of him as he walked.
[ STATUS WINDOW ]
[ NAME: KELVIN {( LEVEL 4 )} ]
3840🌕 | 2594💎 | 2🏆
╠═════════ STATS ══════════╣
║ STR — 710 AGI — 1089 STA — 899 ║
║ DUR — 405 INT — 166 PER — 588 ║
║ WILL — 1694 TALENT — (🔒) ║
╠════════ ABILITIES 🌌 ════════╣
║ Stat Swap ☆☆☆☆☆☆ ║
╠═════════ TITLES 🏆 ═════════╣
║ Solo Hero🥇 One shot Emperor🔮║
║ Odd Breaker 👑 ║ ╠═══════ ARTIFACTS ⚔️ ══════╣
╠═══════ STORAGE ════════╣
╠═════ RECOMMENDATION ═════╣
╚═════════════════════════╝
He exhaled slowly. "Trial of Unity, huh? Figures they'd make me do the one thing I hate."
In his past life, Level 5 had been the bloodiest — not because of the monsters, but because of betrayal. Humans killed humans more than monsters did here. Teams fell apart. Friends turned into enemies. And in the end… the Hive-Mind learned from every fallen player.
"All this happens because those alien get easily bored and give mission to people for their entertainment"
"But not this time."
He checked his status window and used his title Solo Hero.
[ STATUS WINDOW ]
[ NAME: KELVIN {( LEVEL 4 )} ]
3840🌕 | 2594💎 | 2🏆
╠═════════ STATS ══════════╣
║ STR — 710 AGI — 1089 STA — 899 ║
║ DUR — 405 INT — 166 PER — 588 ║
║WILL -1694 VIT-349 TALENT(🔒) ║
╠════════ ABILITIES 🌌 ════════╣
║ Stat Swap ☆☆☆☆☆☆ ║
╠═════════ TITLES 🏆 ═════════╣
║ Solo Hero🥇 One shot Emperor🔮║
║ Odd Breaker 👑 ║ ╠═══════ ARTIFACTS ⚔️ ══════╣
╠═══════ STORAGE ════════╣
╠═════ RECOMMENDATION ═════╣
╚═════════════════════════╝
[Solo hero activated]
[Player can now participate in a group event without having any group members]
Kelvin tightened his gloves and before stepping out stepped out of the safe zone, He was able to sellout all his diamonds for points and transfer those points to stats.
[ STATUS WINDOW ]
[ NAME: KELVIN {( LEVEL 4 )} ]
0🌕 | 0💎 | 2🏆
╠═════════ STATS ══════════╣
║ STR —3710 AGI —5089 STA —3899 ║
║DUR —3405 INT—1166 PER — 1588 ║
║ WILL — 4694 VIT-1349 TALENT — (🔒)║
╠════════ ABILITIES 🌌 ════════╣
║ Stat Swap ☆☆☆☆☆☆ ║
╠═════════ TITLES 🏆 ═════════╣
║ Solo Hero🥇 One shot Emperor🔮║
║ Odd Breaker 👑 ║ ╠═══════ ARTIFACTS ⚔️ ══════╣
╠═══════ STORAGE ════════╣
╠═════ RECOMMENDATION ═════╣
╚═════════════════════════╝
"Now I have the stats of a B ranker and with Stat swap I can have the stats of an s ranker"
[INSIDE: DUNGEON LEVEL 5 — The Hive Territory]
The moment he entered, his vision warped. The sky was a pulsating violet mist. The ground pulsed like a living organ — each step made a dull heartbeat sound. Thin tendrils crawled across the landscape, glowing with green nerve-light.
And far in the distance, a colossal tower of flesh and crystal loomed — the Hive-Mind Core.
Kelvin smirked.
"Let's see how unified F rank monster can handle a S rank stat."
He triggered Stat Swap.
"Stat Swap — 40% Will → Strength:3710(+1877)."
His aura exploded. Rocks cracked under his feet. The wind rippled backward like a shockwave.
Monsters emerged immediately — dozens of giant bee like bugs the size of and helicopter but speed of a jet, connected by glowing veins under their skin. Each moved in perfect synchronization, eyes pulsing in rhythm.
Kelvin vanished. Tearing through their flesh like bread.
[One Shot Emperor 🔮 Activated]
[Get awarded diamonds for ever beast you one shot ]
His first strike tore through ten of them. The second shattered a ridge of bone-like armor. The third ripped open the ground itself, revealing green energy underneath.
[One Shot Emperor 🔮has awarded +7💎]
[One Shot Emperor 🔮has awarded +8💎]
[One Shot Emperor 🔮has awarded +4💎]
[One Shot Emperor 🔮has awarded +6💎]
But then — they adapted.
Every monster he killed, the others learned faster. Their speed increased. Their timing adjusted. It was as if the entire dungeon were studying him.
He grinned.
"Learning from me? Fine. Let's see how fast you evolve."
He switched mid-battle — Strength into Agility, Agility into Will — constantly shifting rhythm. His movements became unpredictable.
[You have defeated 30 Hivebug +1500🌕]
[One Shot Emperor 🔮has awarded +7💎]
[One Shot Emperor 🔮has awarded +7💎]
Even the Hive couldn't calculate him.
But the terrain itself began to move.
Massive spires rose from the ground — pillars of muscle and crystal merging into shapes like hands and faces.
The Hive-Mind was awakening.
[Meanwhile — Observation Room]
Inside the alien pyramid, the two Admins watched the screen again. Kelvin's energy signature spiked beyond expected range.
"He's adapting faster than our AI simulations," the female murmured. "He's outscaling the system's adaptive code manually."
The male crossed his arms. "This is… problematic."
She smiled faintly. "No. This is entertainment. It's not like his breaking the rules"
Back in the Dungeon
Kelvin sprinted up the living wall, dodging claws and acid streams. Every nerve in his body burned — his Stamina was dropping fast.
"Stat Swap — Stamina +50% from Perception!"
His wounds sealed instantly. The monsters lunged again, but this time he didn't dodge. He caught the first by the throat, slammed it into the ground, and used its body as a shield against the acid spray.
Then he jumped — straight toward the main core tower.
A thunderous heartbeat echoed across the dungeon. The Hive-Mind spoke through a thousand mouths at once:
"UNIFY… OR DIE."
Kelvin landed on the tower's surface, fist glowing with compressed energy. "Sorry," he said quietly, "I don't do unity."
[(80%)All stat → Strength:3,710(+16,952)]
[WARNING.WARNNG🌡️:Strength>10,000]
[RECOMMEND: Immediate stop of action]
He drove his fist forward.
The explosion was massive — a sphere of white light engulfed half the battlefield.
[One Shot Emperor 🔮has awarded +7💎]
[One Shot Emperor 🔮has awarded +7💎]
[One Shot Emperor 🔮has awarded +7💎]
[One Shot Emperor 🔮has awarded +7💎]
[One Shot Emperor 🔮has awarded +7💎]
[One Shot Emperor 🔮has awarded +7💎]
[One Shot Emperor 🔮has awarded +7💎]
[One Shot Emperor 🔮has awarded +7💎]
[One Shot Emperor 🔮has awarded +7💎]
[One Shot Emperor 🔮has awarded +7💎]
[One Shot Emperor 🔮has awarded +7💎][One Shot Emperor 🔮has awarded +7💎]
[One Shot Emperor 🔮has awarded +7💎]
[One Shot Emperor 🔮has awarded +7💎]
[One Shot Emperor 🔮has awarded +7💎]
[One Shot Emperor 🔮has awarded +7💎]
[One Shot Emperor 🔮has awarded +7💎]
[One Shot Emperor 🔮has awarded +7💎]
[One Shot Emperor 🔮has awarded +7💎]
Monsters disintegrated instantly. The core cracked — green veins snapping like broken glass threads.
For a moment, everything went silent.
Then his system flared red.
[SYSTEM ALERT ❗]
Warning: Unidentified Anomaly Detected. Adaptive Copy Created. Entity Name: KELVIN-Ω Power Level: Equal.
Kelvin's eyes widened. "What?"
From the smoke, a figure walked out — same height, same face, same smirk. But his eyes glowed with alien code.
The clone spoke, voice slightly distorted.
"Solo Hero… meet your reflection."
Kelvin stepped back, feeling the air distort with power. "This isn't supposed to be the boss"
[SYSTEM: Boss Battle changed-KELVIN-Ω]
The copy raised its hand — and the same Stat Swap glow enveloped it.
Kelvin's heart sank, then hardened.
"So this is their game," he said quietly. "They made me fight myself."
He smirked.
"Dammit this must be the interference of the Admins... Fine. Let's see which one of us breaks first."
Instantly Their fists met — and the ground and air around exploded into a massive shockwave wave.