When I woke up, I didn't know what—or who—had stroked my head that night. It was strange and eerie.
And so, we continued our journey with a repetitive routine: Walking, fighting monsters, gaining EXP, and resting in the nearest cave. This cycle continued until we finally reached a massive, terrifying dark castle. The castle doors suddenly creaked open, inviting us in.
As we stepped inside, the heavy doors slammed shut with a thunderous bang, startling us. Before us lay a dark, filthy corridor. The tension was suffocating; the floor was littered with the corpses of various parties who had been killed, with giant maggots feasting on their flesh.
The stench of decay filled the room. We had to hold our breath and force ourselves to get used to it. It was horrifying—the visuals, the smell... it made me nauseous.
Ughhh.
"Here."
Rock handed me a eucalyptus-scented tissue. I took it.
"Thank you."
As long as we didn't make a scene, those disgusting monsters would likely remain still. But we had no choice but to create a "disturbance" (attack them) to gain enough levels to face the dragon.
"At the very least, we might stand a chance," I whispered.
Perhaps due to the noise we made while attacking the maggot monsters, the ground beneath us began to shake. Areta and I looked back—sure enough, a swarm of maggot monsters and giant flies were chasing us.
Panicking, we ran as fast as we could. We faced countless obstacles; the rooms inside the castle were like an endless labyrinth. First, we relied on Areta, who had the best survival instincts among us.
"To the right!" Areta shouted.
There, we encountered rooms filled with living books, semi-finished skeletons, and slime-filled chambers. We didn't expect to reach the second floor this way, but once we did, we sat down to rest for a moment.
The area where we rested was a luxurious hallway. We had arrived via a grand staircase, yet no monsters followed us up. it was as if they were avoiding something powerful.
This hallway featured walls with large, royal-style castle windows that reflected light like a rainbow. In the middle of these windows stood a stained-glass painting depicting a Gold Dragon and a black wolf with blood-red eyes in a field of flowers, with a river before them. The wolf seemed to be playfully rolling around while the Golden Dragon watched with an intense gaze.
As I stared at the painting, lost in thought...
"Here!" Nicolle handed us drinks and gave me a tissue for my nosebleed (again).
I took the tissue. "Thank you."
Riel then began to neutralize the toxins in my body, despite her exhaustion.
"Noxy, I'm sorry if this is rude, but... do you have a congenital illness?" Riel asked.
I answered honestly. "I don't have a hereditary disease, but there is something in my body that makes my physical form weaker than an average person."
I didn't mention the part about needing Mana (magic energy) just to survive. However, Riel seemed to sense that I was hiding something. It was clear from her expression, but she chose to respect my privacy. She only gave a weary smile.
"I'm too tired to ask anything else, so let it be," Riel said as she struggled to stand up to continue neutralizing the toxins of the other members.
Seeing Riel's exhaustion, Nicolle stepped in to help heal the others, giving Riel water and wiping her sweat.
I turned back to the stained-glass painting, staring so intensely that I could almost feel the emotions within it. I didn't know why, but I felt a strange familiarity with the two creatures in the painting—as if I had met them before or were part of their family.
Who are they? What happened to them? What happened to me?
These questions looped in my mind. Rock then spoke to me.
"Nox, are you curious about that painting?"
I nodded. Rock explained.
"That is a painting of the Golden Dragon Goddess, Leticia, and her husband—one of the Crimson Werewolves who went extinct because they were hated by the gods. They are the parents of the Hydra triplets."
Rock touched the castle wall. "Most likely, this is one of the Dragon Goddess's abandoned castles, now used as a home for the dragons in this dimension."
I then remembered the legend; I had read about it on the internet one night. The love story of the Dragon Goddess and the son of the Crimson Werewolf tribal chief—a story with a happy beginning but a tragic end. As I recalled it, faint memories surfaced... like someone stroking my head and telling me everything would be okay. I felt that something was being hidden in that story, like a hollow void where the truth had been stolen.
We continued our journey accompanied by the shimmering rainbow light from the glass. We arrived at a giant dining hall filled with small reptile monsters.
Rock began to chant a Taunt spell: "Kaléste tous echthroús mou, giatí tha prostatéfso tous syntrófous mou! Sklirýnete tin aspída kai to dérma mou!"
Nicolle cast a continuous recovery spell: "O Apóllona, dóse tin evlogía tis aperióristis apokatástasis."
Areta created invisible nets by sneaking along the walls like a lizard, coating the webs with poison. Riel created a light of courage that increased the team's damage by 10%. "Quaeso, audi preces meas, ostenta studium meum sodalibus meis, da eis plus virium."
When the lizards were trapped in the poison nets... Krieeeeekkkkksssssss!
I took my stance and lunged, reaping the heads of dozens of lizards. We did this at least three times, yet my level didn't increase. Perhaps this is what is called a Transition Level?
What is a Transition Level? It is a level where a "Dewan" (Council/Player) reaches a certain point to receive rewards and new passives. These passives are gained through leveling, not items. Stats increase massively after overcoming this level. The rarer and more difficult the class, the harder it is to pass the Transition Level.
And this "Creator" job given directly by the Author seems to be truly rare.
Note: Of course, my dear, you are my "bubub" after all! 😘
The others had probably gained around 60 levels, while I was still stuck at Level 4. I made a sour face.
Note: Don't be so sad, bub! 😘
Bub? I fell silent with a furious expression.
"Shut up, Author!!!!!" I shouted in my heart.
How long had we been here? One month? Two? Three? Or maybe a year? We didn't know, because time inside a fissure is different from the outside world—it can be faster or slower. The rank of the fissure affects the time dilation; the higher the rank, the greater the difference.
In this fissure, we had lived for at least 5 years, yet our faces hadn't aged a bit. However, our clothes were full of holes. You might ask why we didn't just return to the start? A portal closes from the inside once someone enters. Until the boss is dead, no entrance or exit will open. The military would need massive equipment to force a portal open, and that is no easy feat.
Eventually, we found a room with a clear, warm fountain and a kitchen full of utensils. In the bathing area, there was a photo of a black-haired man sitting and holding a fish he had caught. We couldn't tell who it was because the face had been torn off. I guessed this room was the one most frequently visited by the Dragon Goddess; that was why the monsters didn't come here—because of her lingering, powerful energy.
Feeling safe, we rested again, eating monster meat that had been turned into soup. We were used to this by now. After living in this glitched fissure for years, if we were still disgusted by such things, we wouldn't have survived this long.
I chewed the lizard meat without hesitation. It tasted like typical lizard meat. Yes, I've eaten lizard before. Once, when I had a severe fever and seizures, my father heard that reptile meat could cure it. He casually gave me giant lizard meat (who knows where he got it), grilled it with barbeque sauce, and force-fed me. But after eating it, it actually tasted quite good. So, I haven't had a problem with reptile meat since then.
After eating, we worked together to clean the utensils and investigate the room. We found paintings in the bath area, a fish pendant in the bedroom, and a baby crib that was far too small—only big enough for one large egg. We also found a note with ancient letters; they were too blurry to read, but it was clear the note was filled with words of love.
"...As I suspected, the Dragon Goddess hid something from the other gods and creatures," I said in a very low voice.
All the clues pointed to how much the Dragon Goddess loved her husband. I had heard that the Goddess hadn't truly appeared since the Great Massacre of the Gods long ago. Is it all connected?
As I looked up at the ceiling, I saw another painting of the Dragon Goddess and her husband. Again, the face and upper body of the husband, as well as what the Goddess was holding, had been torn away.
"I wonder who tore it," I muttered.
With nothing left to find, we continued our journey. About two weeks later, we finally arrived at the main door of the Dragon's chamber—the ruler of this glitched fissure, an anomaly that shouldn't even exist here.
~ TO BE CONTINUED ~ Story and Art = Nexus Venus