Darkness pressed in, thick and suffocating. A man with black hair and dull red eyes stirred atop a broken throne. He shifted, fingers trembling against the cold stone. Where… am I?
—Drip!
In the distance, he could hear water dripping.
『It's probably a pool.』
The sound grew louder, echoing more often, confirming his guess.
As he tried lifting himself, the man noticed broken stones and a crushed black slate on the ground beneath him.
His eyes lowered to see how pale his hands looked, with thin wrists that lacked meat.
『Ugh…』
He tried shifting his weight but couldn't put power into his body. Lost in confusion. 'I should be stronger than this,' was all he could think.
His memories fragmented, like shattered glass, as if something was missing.
This realisation caused him to panic.
He forced himself off the ground, slamming his back on the cold backrest of the ruined throne.
—Thud!
A simple question lingered in his mind.
Yet, the man couldn't answer.
When did he come to this place?
Was he transferred here?
Who am I?
The question stabbed at him, sharp and unanswered.
Transferred?
The word stabbed into his mind—sharp, painful. Why does that feel familiar?
While clutching his forehead, sitting on the throne, the man noticed a strange altar.
He noticed a cracked blue crystal leaning against a tiered stone pit. The black stones were black, yet looked sleek and elegant for something in this run-down cave.
Thanks to their faint glow, he could see more of the cavern.
『Strange…』
—Shuffle~
The man's body urged him to move, saying that the crystal was delicious and that he needed to touch it.
Unable to stop himself, he reached out.
"Ah!" He exclaimed from the sudden pain. The sharp crystal shard sliced open his delicate fingertips.
Crimson red.
—Drip!
Fresh blood oozed from the cut, staining the broken gemstone and streaming down like a serpent.
Heat surged from the crystal—alive and hungry. Leon's veins burned as energy crawled through him, his pupils shrinking in shock.
—Snap!
He froze. A faint, wet growl echoed from deeper in the cavern, followed by the sound of something scraping against stone.
"W-What's happening?!"
He blinked several times while grasping his wrist, unable to move it from the crystal.
Suddenly, his eyes widened, and something strange appeared in his vision: a black screen with strange symbols and sigils written on it, like a notepad.
However, that notepad wouldn't leave the corner of his vision.
『Am I going crazy?!』
Despite wanting to inspect the strange characters, a loud sound echoed.
—Shatter!
The ground trembled, a slight tremor at first, before the humming gemstone hurled his body across the cave with a powerful force.
"Argh..."
—Thud!
The moment he hit the wall, his organs shifted. "Ugh!"
A painful ache spread through his abdomen like electricity—unable to break his fall because his weak muscles couldn't keep up, he landed on the broken slates.
Fire seared through his veins like lava. His skin cracked, flaking to reveal smooth, pristine flesh. Claws burst from his fingernails, glowing embers sparking along their edges. His chest heaved, his lungs clawing for air.
『Damn it!』
The pain in his abdomen increased while stretching.
At this moment, the shaking reached its peak, and a loud humming filled the cave, like a soprano screaming in rage.
He covered his ears, groaning as sticky, hot liquid oozed from his nose and ears. The slimy fluid covered his fingertips as he heard a strange voice speaking.
Dust rained from above as distant growls echoed through the cavern. Leon froze. Something was coming.
[#### #### ############ ######!]
At first, it was quiet, like a whisper, before the gentle and mature female voice continued.
『Who are you?』
Desperate to resist the pain, he tried to resist but couldn't. The moment he stopped fighting, a flood of information came rushing into his mind.
『Stop... I cannot understand you... please!』
His head throbbed—words, symbols, sigils—burning into his mind like brands. The flood of voices shifted, twisted, and then snapped into focus.
He didn't understand what they meant at first.
However, he quickly understood their meaning and usage—even the phonetic sound became clear as he screamed out in agony and from the absurdities of his situation.
"Argh... stop!"
A searing pain, like someone pouring molten steel into his skull and mixing it with a sharp claw.
Then, all of a sudden, the pain vanished, replaced with a beautiful voice.
This time, he could understand it.
[Language Upload Complete: Demonic, Monster, Ancient, Elvish, Common.]
All of a sudden, the strange panel that appeared at the corner of his sight, with jumbled-up language, began to make sense...
However, he noticed a timer slowly counting down and became anxious.
『Why is there a timer?』
[Time Remaining: 01:10]
Leon's chest tightened.
The timer blinked in the corner of his vision, its steady countdown hammering into his skull. Think. Move. His fingers trembled as he struggled to reach for the option.
His mind was still empty; the strange runes now made sense.
[You have received a second chance! - Accept the chance?]
"What?"
To suddenly learn that he seemed to have died, yet having no recollection caused his head to become white and empty.
Yet the ticking timer didn't allow him to stop.
[Yes] [No]
[00:52]
Less than a minute remained, and the clock continued to drop, causing his body to rush to its feet. He almost stumbled once more.
The once-broken gemstone is now glowing a dark purple and whirring with a mysterious aura.
[00:46]
The countdown flashed, each second hammering in his ears. Leon staggered forward. Think! His fingers trembled—no time to hesitate.
His mind held mysterious knowledge from earlier, places, terms and information that didn't seem related to this world.
『But I know and understand them...!』
The mysterious knowledge told him that this would never become a bad thing for him. Even if he died again, if he died once, could he blame anyone but himself?
[00:10]
Leon's breath hitched. His fingers slipped—once, twice—before slamming the screen. Don't think. Just press it!
The moment he noticed the clock, his heart almost stopped.
[00:02]
Two seconds left. He slammed his hand onto the screen—hard.
『I almost died!』
However, the moment he recovered his senses, the broken crystal shattered into thousands of shards, violently swaying inside the obsidian stone pit.
The crystal howled. Violet shards swarmed like hornets, slicing through the air. The fragments snapped back into place—beautiful. Terrifying.
"Huh?"
He suddenly grabbed his head, feeling a jolt of pain, followed by another, until he dropped to his knees.
A pain like being struck by a hammer repeatedly.
The man tried to endure the feeling of his skull cracking from substantial amounts of information and a strange... tingling energy.
It was the purple mist—once the crystal seemed repaired—the mist began pouring into his body.
[Congratulations!]
[You chose life against all the odds!]
He couldn't fully understand the words because his mind began to fade. Darkness clouded his eyes, and the soft female voice became like a lullaby.
[You have accepted the role of Dungeon Master - Welcome to your dungeon!]
『Wait...』
[Current Location: Gladius Kingdom (Outskirts)]
[Warning!]
[A low-level monster is attacking your dungeon!]
『Don't do this...』
[Please Survive!]
『Damn it!』
The male's consciousness faded, and his mind still tried to focus and understand the current situation. Yet the moment the purple mist filled his body, his body began to shine.
[Congratulations!]
[Specimen 69: Evolution Complete – Form Unlocked: Inferior Chimera.]
[Transferring all dungeon control to the Master...]
There was a sudden silence—the form of the male changed. His face twisted in pain while his veins boiled like liquid tar.
Something changed inside him as his skin peeled, revealing a smooth and silky soft layer.
The man transformed from his previous self.
His dull blue eyes suddenly became vivid and shone with a slight azure glow, creating a trail of light when he moved his gaze.
"I am going to vomit..."
He felt intense nausea, immense pain, heartburn, and a tight chest.
Yet... something felt different—he could feel his body become stronger than before, his fingernails now glossy claws with flaming gems embedded into them.
And when he focused on them, small threads of flaming silk grew from their tip.
『What happened to me...?』
In front of his eyes, he saw a strange screen that caused him to freeze on the spot after dragging himself to his feet.
Before he could focus on more than his name and a few details, the ground trembled—not from the crystal this time. A low snarl echoed through the cavern as glowing red dots appeared at the entrance of the dungeon.
[Quest Accepted: Survive]
[Name: Leon (Specimen 69)]
[Class: Dungeon Master]
∟ Level: 1
∟ EP: 0/200
∟ XP: 0/200
∟ DP: 0/1000
[Race: Inferior Chimaera]
∟ A failed attempt to create the strongest magical creature.
∟ Because of the failed experiment, your life force is extremely weak!
∟ Lifespan: 7 Days
[Chimera]
∟ Fae
∟ Djinn
∟ Arachne
[Passive]
∟ Can Produce a sticky, adhesive webbing.
∟ Slow mana regeneration that speeds up in natural environments.
∟ Able to copy skills and magic when analysed fully using Fae and Djinn Pupils.
[Element]
∟ Fire
[Skills]
∟ Magic Copy, Skill Copy
[Spells]
∟ Firebolt - Hurl a small bolt of fire at a creature or object in range.
[Stats]
∟ STR: F [0/100]
∟ VIT: G [85/100]
∟ DEF: F [0/100]
∟ AGI: F [0/100]
∟ INT: E [0/100]
∟ CHA: C [0/100]
——----------------------
[Quest Started - Survive The Attack!]