The dungeon shook violently as I ran.
Soon, I reached the portal entrance and came to a stop.
Bodies were scattered across the ground. Unmoving.
I took a deep breath.
We'd have to explain what happened inside. The Eclipse Council's officers wouldn't just take my word for it. Still, that wasn't my priority.
That droplet... it had to stay hidden.
My eyes landed on David, and a small smirk tugged at my lips.
"That's it."
I crouched and pulled the storage ring off his finger. "I'll borrow this for a while."
Sliding the droplet and the trident into its dimensional space, I let out a sigh of relief.
Now all that was left was getting out.
I grabbed David by the arm and started dragging him toward the portal. I stepped halfway through, just enough to see the outside world.
But I didn't go any further.
Once I stepped out, I wouldn't be allowed back in. That was the rule. When a dungeon core breaks, the portal closes off from the outside. No re-entry. No rescue teams.
Then a figure rushed toward me —a vigilant officer with short, blue hair and green eyes, with black armour glinting faintly.
"Are you okay?" he asked, concern etched on his face.
I nodded. "Yes. How long since the core broke?"
"Ten minutes," he replied.
Relief settled in my chest. That meant I still had at least two hours before the dungeon collapse.
"Drag this guy out," I said, gesturing to David. "There are more inside."
Without question, he grabbed David and pulled him through.
Looks like he understood what I was doing.
I stepped back in.
One down.
I found the next unconscious body and started dragging it.
Then another. And another.
I may be a madman. But I'm not evil.
I could've walked out, said I tried my best. The officers would believe me. But the truth?
These guys were in this state because of me.
They just wanted easy coin from a low-tier dungeon, not to die in it.
But let's be honest with ourselves for a second...
Would I do this if the path was truly hopeless? If saving them meant dying?
No. I wouldn't.
I'm not some selfless hero. Even if others suffer because of my choices, why would I risk my own life for strangers?
Does that make me evil?
Maybe. Maybe not.
Evil and good are just tags. Badges people wear when it suits them. Tools for praise or blame.
What matters is staying unseen.
You can only be called evil if someone knows you are.
It's not like I've got some grand villain plan or anything. And besides, even if I did do something messed up... I'm smart enough to cover it up.
***
"Haaa... haaa..."
I collapsed to the ground, breath heaving. I'd finally dragged the last one out.
The blue-haired officer sat down beside me, giving a tired chuckle. "You did a great job, kid."
I didn't respond. Just nodded, eyes fixed on nothing.
Silence settled between us. A few minutes passed before his comm rang.
He glanced at the screen, then turned to me.
"A member of the Eclipse Council is here. He wants to meet you."
'Here it comes.'
He led me through the bustling camp, weaving between officers, medics, and awakened personnel.
Left turn. Right turn. Then another. Finally, we stopped at a closed door.
The officer knocked.
"Come in," a deep voice called from inside.
I took a breath and pushed the door open.
The room was dim and quiet. At its centre sat a white-haired old man behind a table. He looked up at me, his gaze sharp and measuring.
"Tell me everything," he said, without preamble.
"Leave nothing out. I'll know if you're lying."
My heart skipped.
'What the hell…?'
I'd underestimated the range of weird powers out there.
Lie detection abilities exist, sure. But I didn't think I'd get hit with one.
Still, I had a way out.
If the lie becomes the truth, is it still a lie?
I said one word.
"Demon."
That's all I gave him. And that was enough.
Was I lying? No.
Was there actually a demon inside? Also no.
But the truth is more complicated.
The dungeon itself is a demon corpse.
Nobody knows that. Not yet. That revelation's for later, when the real mess begins.
The old man studied me, then nodded.
"I see. You can leave now."
Just like that.
I turned and walked out, calm on the outside, my thoughts still racing.
As I said before, good and evil are just tags.
We can ride on good's back and can always blame evil.
The war with demons has raged for over five centuries.
People believe what they're conditioned to believe.
He heard the word demon and filled in the rest on his own. Maybe he thought the demon broke the dungeon core. Maybe he thought we were lucky to survive.
All I did was give him a word.
A truth built on a lie... or a lie built on truth.
And frankly?
I don't know how demons end up in dungeons. It is never clearly mentioned in the novel. Maybe it is because the dungeon is made from a demon's corpse.
But that's a problem for another day.
***
The blue-haired man walked beside me in silence for a few steps before saying,
"I'll drop you off."
I gave a small nod. "Thanks. I appreciate it."
Night was creeping in, and my stomach growled in protest.
I hadn't eaten anything since I transmigrated, other than that one cup of coffee.
I hesitated, then asked, "Um, sir... do you mind if I stop to grab some groceries?"
He chuckled. "No problem. By the way, just call me Olad."
I stopped mid-step. "Olad?"
He paused too, then turned toward me with a sigh.
"You know what? Just call me Steven."
We resumed walking. I raised an eyebrow.
"So... your name is Olad Steven?"
"Yeah," he replied with a shrug. "Weird name, I know."
He glanced at me. "What about you? What's your name?"
I looked up at the deepening night sky, letting the silence settle for a second before I answered.
"Nicolas Frey," I said quietly.
"It's nice to meet you."
***
A few hours later, in the Apartment
It had been a long day.
Actually, screw that. It had been a long two days.
Two days ago, I was on Earth, barely keeping myself alive.
Now? I was in a different world. Pangea.
I'd entered a dungeon. Talked to a spirit warden named Sylara. Walked through the memories of a forgotten land called Greenheart.
And I'd somehow inherited power from someone who was never even mentioned in the damn novel.
Let's just call him Sensei.
I figured "Master" was too confusing. Too many people already walk around with titles like that. At least "Sensei" sounded vaguely ominous.
Right now, I sat cross-legged on the apartment floor, facing two objects laid out before me like offerings to a god I didn't trust.
On the left: a droplet glowing with a pulse of red and blue, Sensei's legacy.
On the right: a black, jagged trident once wielded by a demon, pure destruction.
This was it. Only one could become my bonded weapon.
And I had to choose.
The trident was the obvious pick. Bonding with it would boost my stats to D-rank instantly. I'd even be able to stand toe-to-toe with most early-stage awakened. Hell, I'd be close to the main cast.
Except for Leonard Shade.
He was probably already pushing B-rank by now. Freaking protagonist privileges.
But the droplet? That was the unknown. The wild card.
I didn't know what exactly Sensei's inheritance contained. But I knew it was powerful. Maybe even game-breaking.
So why was I hesitating?
Because of the conditions I'd somehow satisfied.
1. The user must know the future.
2. The user must be mad enough to use it.
And yeah. That felt like a huge, screaming red flag.
My gut twisted at the thought. But if I chose the trident, I'd always wonder what I left behind. And my annoying, always-right instincts kept pointing me toward the droplet.
Sensei's legacy might be tied to Greenheart. To spirits. Maybe even chances of increasing my potential.
If I wanted to survive here, I needed more than brute force.
I needed the potential to grow stronger, to survive here.
I let out a long breath.
"Alright. Droplet it is."
It would've been nice if I could bond to both. That trident was still an S-class weapon. There was no way I'd toss it aside.
I'd find a use for it later.
But now… it was time.
Bonding a weapon wasn't complicated. A drop of blood. A bit of mana.
I glanced at my hand. Still bruised from yesterday's madness.
I sighed and made a fresh cut. No hesitation this time.
As the blood slid down my skin and dripped onto the droplet, I muttered under my breath,
"Am I becoming a masochist? This can't be healthy."
Mana unevenly flowed on the droplet, but it worked.
The droplet pulsed once. Then twice.
And that's when the pain hit.
Blood-hot. Nerve-searing. Like someone was carving their name into my bones.
I gritted my teeth and curled in on myself.
The droplet started to shift.
Its form twisted unnaturally, warping in and out of focus like it couldn't decide what shape it wanted to be.
Then the pain spiked, sharper than before.
My vision blurred.
And the world fell into darkness.
I don't know how long I was out.
Minutes? Hours?
But when I opened my eyes again, something felt... different.
My body felt light. Too light.
I sat up slowly and immediately winced. My clothes reeked like sweat, burnt mana, and something worse I didn't want to identify.
But even through the stench, my mind was sharpening.
Memories slotted back into place.
Then it hit me.
Body reformation.
That explained everything. My eyes widened as the realisation sank in.
A grin spread across my face before I even knew it.
Excitement surged through me.
I clenched my fists, testing the feel of my muscles became more responsive, more fluid.
Then I whispered the one word.
"Status."
Then right before my eyes… an interface phased into existence
===STATUS===
Titles: Wanderer, Seeker, Visitor of Greenheart.
Main Title: Future Avatar of War.
Name: Nicolas Frey
Race: Human
Age: 16
Rank: Awakener [Tier-7]
Potential: Master [Tier-4]
Discipline: Wielding, Weaver
Secondary Attributes:
Strength [STR]: E
Agility [AGI]: E
Endurance [END]: E
Intelligence [INT]: B
Charm [CHA]: B
Gift:
--> Wanderer: [Locked]
----Choose wisely or let time choose for you.
--> Visitor of Greenheart: [Passive]
----Blessing of Nature.
--> Avatar of War: [Passive]
----Born for war.
Weapon Bond:
Name: Ludicium Irae
Grade: Unknown
Fragments: 1/4
Wraths collected: [0/15]
--> Description:
----Forged in the heart of a dying star and quenched in the blood of a thousand gods, Ludicium Irae is a decree of annihilation. Said to be wielded only by the true avatar of war, each swing delivers not just death, but divine judgment. It glows with runes of wrath, and its edge sings a chorus of fallen gods.
--> Flaw:
----Once the sword was raised, it needed to kill a being. If not, the user would die.
Bonded Skills:
--> Empty Requiem: [Blue]
----Unleash the emotions and memories of all you've consumed. In the form of an AoE mental/psychic attack. It stuns enemies with grief, rage, and fear, depending on the echoes stored. The more effective as the more memories you carry.
--> Verdict: [Can't be used] [Red]
---- Ludicium Irae can issue a Judgement, turning the wrath of the heavens into a single, catastrophic blow.
Skills: (None)
=============
My eyes scanned the interface, trying to keep up.
Each line hit harder than the last.
Future Avatar of War.
Ludicium Irae.
Judgment. Wraths. Death on a condition.
"...Damn."
---------------
[A/N: No more full-length status with descriptions in future chapters, unless necessary]