The air outside the dungeon was thick with tension, heavy with the scent of damp earth and the faint metallic tang of blood. The entrance loomed before them dark, foreboding, and uninviting. Shadows danced across its jagged edges, as if the dungeon itself were alive.
Cha-Jong paced restlessly, his boots crunching against the gravel. His eyes darted between the dungeon's entrance and the Terra agents standing rigidly before him. A knot of unease twisted in his gut, tightening with every passing second.
Behind him stood fourteen elite guild members, their expressions grave. They were ready—geared, armed, and prepared for what lay ahead. But Cha-Jong's mind wasn't on the mission. It was on him.
"Akira…"
He couldn't shake the gnawing feeling in his chest, a fear that clawed at him like an unseen predator. The memory of Akira's reckless determination haunted him. "What if he's already gone too far? What if I'm too late?"
One of the Terra agents, a stern-looking man clad in the standard uniform, exhaled sharply. "Your Guildmaster Sylara instructed us to relay this message directly: Get inside as soon as possible."
He paused, his tone tightening. "And there's one more thing. Before Sylara arrived… someone else entered."
Cha-Jong's heart skipped a beat. His breath hitched in his throat. "Who?" he demanded.
The agent hesitated. "We don't know. But judging by the way they moved—how quickly they passed us—they were anything but ordinary."
Cha-Jong felt as though the ground beneath him was cracking apart. His hands clenched into fists. "Please, God. Tell me he hasn't come out yet."
Grido, noticing his distress, placed a heavy hand on his shoulder. "We move now," he ordered.
Without another word, the group rushed forward into the abyss, their figures swallowed by the dungeon's darkness.
The cavern was a nightmare brought to life. Jagged stalactites hung like teeth from the ceiling, dripping with moisture that echoed faintly in the vast emptiness. The air was thick with the stench of blood and scorched earth, and the ground was littered with shattered stone and the remnants of battle. The faint glow of mana crystals embedded in the walls cast an eerie light, flickering like dying embers.
A notification again flickered before Akira's eyes.
!DING!
[System Notification]
[Damage Calculated. The user has gained +4 to all stats due to the Cursed Infernal Weep.]
A slow, sinister grin spread across Akira's bloodstained face. His aura was monstrous now, like a storm barely contained, ready to break free. Blood dripped from his chin, but his eyes gleamed with something worse than madness—certainty.
"The more you hit me," Akira murmured, his voice smooth yet venomous, "the stronger I become."
His grip tightened around the PanthoSword, white mana surging through it, crackling like a living force barely contained within the blade. The cavern trembled under the pressure of his growing power, the walls groaning as if in protest.
Another notification pulsed in his vision.
[Warning]
[Energy Infusion has reached the maximum limit the object can handle.]
Akira exhaled slowly. White energy sparked wildly off his weapon, the raw force warping the air around him. His stance shifted—low, ready, final.
"It's over," he said.
The Troll King, oblivious to the death looming over him, roared in defiance. His massive axe gleamed under the dim cavern light, raised for one last desperate strike. The ground cracked beneath his charge, the sound reverberating like thunder.
"Damn you, human! Die already!"
Akira laughed—low, sharp, victorious. "No," he whispered. "You first."
The Troll King swung, but the world had already left him behind.
Akira vanished—a blur, a ghost. He slid beneath the towering monster, his blood-smeared face flashing like a specter in the dim light. The wind howled as he skidded to a stop behind the beast, his movements effortless, precise—inevitable.
The PanthoSword ignited.
White lightning surged from the blade, twisting into a focused arc of destruction. The cavern erupted in a blinding flash, a supernova in the dark depths of the dungeon. A shockwave tore through the air, sending dust and shattered stone flying in every direction. The force of the blast knocked Akira back, his body skidding across the rough ground. Pain flared in his ribs, but he gritted his teeth, refusing to yield.
The Troll King froze mid-motion. A shudder ran through his colossal frame. The world seemed to hold its breath.
Then, blood. A thin, perfect line split across his chest, glowing white-hot. The wound deepened, widening—until his entire torso caved inward, splitting apart in a grotesque spray of crimson. His axe slipped from lifeless fingers, clanging against the stone floor, ringing like a death knell.
Silence.
The Troll King staggered, his knees buckling as his towering frame wavered unsteadily. His massive form swayed for a moment before collapsing like a fallen mountain, sending tremors through the ground. A thick cloud of dust billowed into the air as his body crashed down with an earth-shaking thud.
A broken, rasping breath wheezed past his lips. His dimming eyes, filled with something between horror and awe, sought Akira one last time.
"Y-you… what the hell… did you do?" the dying king croaked.
Akira exhaled, his glowing white eyes narrowing, his expression unreadable. "You owe me some answers before you go, right?"
Ding!
Akira's status window flickered before his weary eyes.
[System Notification]
[Since the user has defeated the Troll King an enemy far beyond his level, EXP and rewards are being calculated.]
[This will take some time to provide the user with something deserving.]
[The user is advised not to engage in further combat, as it is currently too dangerous.]
His thoughts raced. "Shit… I haven't leveled up yet. My strength hasn't recovered. If that demonic human shows up now… I'm done."
Then—movement.
Akira's heart clenched.The Troll King, half-dead and drenched in his own blood, began to rise again.
"No… no way but the system said I defeated him."
Akira's grip tightened around his sword, his bloodied fingers trembling from exhaustion. His body screamed at him, but he forced himself into a stance, ignoring the searing pain in his limbs. White lightning crackled faintly around him, but it was weak—barely flickering. His reserves were spent.
And yet… the monster was still rising.
The Troll King's deep, guttural breathing filled the silence. His once-mighty frame trembled under the weight of his wounds, blood pooling beneath him. Yet, despite his state, his crimson eyes held something unexpected.
Not rage. Not vengeance. Something else entirely.
Then, the beast spoke.
"You have won, human," the Troll King rumbled. His voice was strained but steady. "I will not fight you anymore."
Akira's breath hitched. "...What?"
The Troll King exhaled slowly, his massive form swaying but standing firm. "A King… is a being of his word. I accept defeat."He met Akira's wide-eyed stare. "And as such, I shall honor your victory. Ask your questions, and I will answer."
Akira stood there, stunned, his blood-streaked face unreadable. His glowing white eyes locked onto the Troll King's massive figure, struggling to comprehend what he had just heard.
A monster—a dungeon boss—yielding?
He had prepared himself for another desperate clash, to push beyond his limits one last time. But now…The battlefield, once roaring with power and destruction, had fallen into silence.
The Troll King coughed, thick blood spilling from his lips. His massive form swayed, his time running out. "You need to ask quickly… I don't have much time," he rumbled, his voice weaker now but still carrying the weight of a ruler.
Akira, still gripping his PanthoSword tightly, narrowed his glowing white eyes. His body screamed in exhaustion, but he didn't have time to hesitate.
"The demonic human that came here—what did he want, and where did he go?" Akira asked, his voice steady and demanding.
The Troll King exhaled heavily. His wounds, deep and fatal, leaked more blood onto the ground, but he forced himself to stand just a little longer.
"He asked me… if I wanted to grow… several times stronger," the king muttered. His lips curled in distaste. "He offered me an item… something pulsing with dark red energy… and promised to free me from this cage."
Akira's eyes narrowed. "Cage?"
The Troll King grunted. "I refer to this dungeon," he clarified. "It is nothing more than a prison… a forced existence. But I refused his offer."
"Why?" Akira pressed, his instincts telling him there was something more.
The Troll King let out a low chuckle that quickly turned into a painful cough. "I am a King… I do not accept power I did not earn with my own strength," he said with what little pride remained in his fading voice. "But before he left… he smiled. And he mentioned something that should not be known to you Earthlings."
Akira's blood ran cold. His fists clenched. "What did he mention?"
The Troll King turned his head slightly, locking eyes with Akira. Even through the haze of death, something in his gaze sent a shiver down Akira's spine.
"He knew about… The Merger."
Akira's breath stopped. His entire body tensed. "The Merger?"
The Troll King chuckled one last time, weak and rasping. His massive shoulders trembled, the last embers of life flickering away. "Everything that will happen in the years to come… will…"
His voice faded. His colossal frame shuddered. And with one final exhale, the King of Trolls collapsed, his body hitting the ground like a fallen mountain. The air trembled with his passing.
Silence.
Akira stood frozen, his glowing white eyes locked onto the corpse of the defeated ruler. His heart pounded like war drums in his chest. "The Merger…"
He had never heard of it before, nor did he know what it meant. But one thing was certain since it came from a talking, intelligent beast that even the demonic humans were interested in, it was a revelation that would change everything.
As the weight of the battle settled over him, Akira's knees buckled. He sank to the ground, his sword slipping from his grasp. The adrenaline that had fueled him was gone, leaving only exhaustion and the faint ache of his wounds. He stared at his trembling hands, stained with blood—both his and the Troll King's.
"Not wanting power that he didn't earn?" The thought crept in unbidden. The Troll King's pride, his refusal to accept unearned power, lingered in Akira's mind. For a moment, he felt a strange kinship with the fallen king. Both of them were bound by their own codes, their own struggles. But where did that leave him now?
The cavern was silent, the air heavy with the aftermath of battle. Akira closed his eyes, letting the darkness envelop him. He had won, but the victory felt hollow. The Troll King's final words echoed in his mind, a haunting reminder that the fight was far from over.
The Merger… Whatever it was, it loomed on the horizon, a storm waiting to break.