Aldrich returned to the Dungeon after getting pulled by the opening in the Veil. But he wasn't alone.
The world was white and black, and Aldrich saw many versions of himself throughout the Dungeon. But like an inaccessible option of a windows function in a computer, he couldn't approach them. Aldrich turned to his left and saw the 'Broken Faith' hovering beside him. For a moment, fear took over him, but he pushed it down to the deeper depths of his heart. He didn't want to bring this thing with him. It was ominous, saying this would be highly underestimating it. This thing shouldn't even exist for all Aldrich's care.
Grrrrrrr!!!
The world had been gaining its color back since Aldrich's return. But with every new color, it shuddered. Aldrich didn't know if it was just Dungeon or even the Earth outside. But the sound of paper tearing and breaking of glasses came out of the surrounding space and it left him flabbergasted. He eyed the Item beside him and knew that this world couldn't possibly sustain this Item. And the world would rather break down than coexist with this thing. Aldrich couldn't open his Inventory in this state. Even if he could, he wasn't sure if he could store this "arm" there. The only thing he could do now was as told to him by that call before sending him back to Dungeon.
Aldrich held the Item, the world still shaking like a boat in a storm, and pressed it on his forehead. The "arm" like returning to its home shrank and went inside the bottomless hole in his forehead. Aldrich saw his lifeless body on the ground. And before the calmed down world could regain its color, he plunged within it. When Aldrich opened his eyes, the wound on his chest had already healed and his shadow rippled with waves. It felt like there were millions of worms crawling under there. Shadow Homunculus had sensed its master's presence.
Only a moment had passed in the world, but Aldrich didn't know how many ages must have passed in the solitude of eternal darkness. He remembered himself eyeing the pillar with unbearable rage. An emotion he had deliberately let himself taken over by, before committing suicide. He feared he might not remember that feeling the next time he got to think of those faces.
With slow steps, Aldrich approached the transparent film of Mana and thought of the Dream that had started it all. If it were in his hand, he would rather not have that dream. The only reason he had undergone all these events was that he had gained lucidity in his dream, just before getting his Class assigned. And for that, he had almost been annihilated. For that, his existence in the Dream-world had almost been erased. But Aldrich didn't regret it. He had dedicated his whole life to reign over his dreams. What he had done was only natural for him to do so. The only thing he could do now was to live with that decision.
But he wondered sometimes what would have happened if he hadn't gained his bearings at the last moment within the Dream. What kind of Dreamer he would have turned out to be? But Aldrich knew the world, and he knew himself even better. Anything that had gone wrong would have gone wrong, anyway. The epigram "Murphy's Law" wasn't just a joke.
The one thing that baffled him was that he didn't gain any Quest Rewards for hunting the Elite. He wondered if it was related to the WIll, which had become a meal. Or was it related to that enormous being who had savored its flavor? There was no Return Stone in the Random Dungeon. Only those who could complete their Quest could leave. Aldrich believed it was the prime drive behind Sonu's decision to sacrifice himself. They couldn't go back to the previous level and wait it out, and they couldn't wait for Aldrich, who didn't seem to survive himself.
Aldrich stepped into the Boss chamber, and a notification greeted him.
[…
The Boss Crawler has detected your presence
…]
None needed an introduction to the being that Aldrich had determined to annihilate today. Cu Chulainn was a demigod from Irish mythology. He was an incarnation of his father, God Lugh. The stories related to this mythical hero reeked with the blood of thousands if not millions. Cu Chulainn wasn't just a hero, he was a killer. There weren't many in history who had faced him alone and remained alive.
Aldrich neared the pillar and saw the Crawler seated on top of it. Its waist-length black hair fluttered with the hot and dry wind. The scorching temperature full of dust had surrounded it like an archaic aura. Its bare body was lean but muscular and Aldrich could see only loose trousers and a pair of boots on it. He focused the entirety of his attention on the markings that had covered its chest and arms, and probably it's back. The hole in its forehead wasn't any more unfamiliar to him.
Slowly it opened its eyes, which were like two embedded emerald gems, and looked down on Aldrich. No words came out of its mouth, unlike Aldrich's last encounter with a Dungeon's Boss. The gaze full of contempt had conveyed all that the Crawler wanted to say. And seeing its Stats, Aldrich felt it had all rights to do so.
[…
Record of Boss–Cu Chulainn
Status: Healthy
Level: 15
HP: 554/554
SP: 1130/1130
MP: 605/605
Rank: Rare
Attributes -->
Strength: 60
Defense: 29
Agility: 50
Vitality: 27
Perception: 40
Correspondence: 25
Active Skills -->
1. Riastrad
2. Field of Slaughter
3. Perception Nemesis
4. Megaton Crusher
5. Summon
Passive Skills -->
1. Flaw Detection
2. Bloodlust
…]
Its hand reached just behind him towards the cliff. Aldrich could see a rod inserted into the cliff's wall. The Crawler held the rod and with a sudden jerk pulled it out.
CRUNCH!!!
The rod wasn't a rod, but the hilt of a sword. A sword, even bigger than the Crawler himself. Its brownish blade gave an impression that it was made out by carving a stone. The enormous broadsword that the Boss had pulled out was a Buster sword. It had a length reaching 6 ft and a width of 1 ft. This sword was the primary object of Aldrich's Quest. It was the sword that had slain armies in the songs from the old myths. This sword was the "Stone Splitter".
The Boss jumped down from the top of the pillar with the heavy sword on its shoulders.
BOOM!!!
A boom rang out as the earth quaked from the impact. Aldrich could see an enormous dust cloud at the bottom of the pillar. This Boss was the worst match-up for him so far. It had both high Strength and Agility, while he could only choose one of his Attributes. The Boss Crawler came out of the riled-up dust, with the sword still on him. Aldrich felt like it was taunting him to run while he could. Aldrich's hands moved towards his shadow. The shadow, obeying the command, rippled and jumped up into his hand. As Aldrich tightened his grip, the shadow turned into two black Daggers, with ominous shadowy vapor emanating out of them.
"Change."
[…
…
Agility: 104 (+4 +75)
Perception: 75 (-75)
…
…]
Aldrich dashed towards the Boss, leaving behind a blurry trail of black shadows. Just as their eyes met each other, Aldrich vanished from its Divine Sense. The Boss raised his eyebrows and with a swift reaction put the sword on his back.
Tink-krrr!!!
The daggers struck the heavy sword, but couldn't leave a scratch on it. The sword slid down to the earth and, using the hilt, Cu Chulainn sent a kick to Aldrich's face. But the kick passed right through his face. And as the Boss brought its leg back, the wind had swept away Aldrich's afterimage. Aldrich appeared a hundred meters away from the Boss and looked at it, who had a smile on its face. The Crawler raised the sword high in the air and, like swatting a fly, slammed it on the earth.
MEGATON CRUSHER
BOOOOM!!!
Within the 200 meter radius of the Boss, everything got turned upside down. Aldrich had already jumped in the air, searching for the Boss through his Divine Sense amidst huge piles of rock and sand. Suddenly, he sensed something falling from the sky right above him. Aldrich was still on the way to the highest point of his jump when he saw a massive rock coming straight at him from above. Even with his Agility, Aldrich couldn't fly in the air.
As the rock was about to crush his head to a pulp, Aldrich struck the Daggers on it and changed his trajectory. But it turned out to be a mistake. Behind the rock, on Aldrich's blind spot, high above in the air, was the Crawler. It was far away to not even be sensed by his enhanced Divine Sense. Aldrich saw the monster come falling down frame by frame. Cu Chulainn aimed at Aldrich and threw the monstrous sword at him like a missile. Aldrich could only dodge one more time. With a slight twist of his wrists, Aldrich struck the sword and the dagger in his hands went flying. But before the sword could go past him, Aldrich held onto its hilt.
A massive fist followed the sword. The expression in the Boss's eyes had turned ferocious. Its eyes moved in search of something on Aldrich's body and found his entire body was full of flaws. The fist came crashing down on Aldrich's chest with the force of many trucks.
BANG!!!
No one knew how deep it had blasted Aldrich into the earth. With his entire body shuddering and dragging the sword, Aldrich came out of the ditch. He found the Boss waiting for him, standing just a couple of hundred meters away. For the first time, the Boss-Cu Chulainn seemed to say something to him. A sweet but sharp, and heavy but gentle voice came out from him.
"You are no fighter. But it was fun; brief, but fun. I will let you decide the manner of your death. Choose wisely."
With that, the mythical being closed his eyes, awaiting Aldrich's response.
Aldrich touched the area around his chest and looked at the sword he was dragging out of the ditch. There was a reason he hadn't managed to lift the sword. He looked at his Stats and straightened his posture.
[…
Defense: 95 (+75)
Perception: 75 (-75)
…]
"Change."
Cu Chulainn was already looking at him with sheer shock in his eyes. Aldrich lifted the sword and pointed it towards the Boss.
"You are right. I am no fighter. I... I am just a normal scholar."