[The Clockwork Ruins – Sector 2] [Status: Combat Active]
The Scrap Drones buzzed like angry hornets. There were twelve of them left, their red ocular lenses cycling through target acquisition modes.
Whirrr. Click.
[Target Locked: Entity 'Janitor'.] [Threat Level: High.] [Action: Exterminate.]
Laser cutters flared to life. Twelve beams of concentrated heat sliced through the steam, aiming directly for my center of mass.
"Shields!" the Tank behind me screamed. "Get down!"
I didn't get down.
I lifted the Dark Ore Rod in front of me.
Tier 3: Fundamental Forces - Gravity. Target: Rod. Mass: Increase to Maximum.
The rod became a dense wall of black metal.
ZZZZZT.
The lasers hit the rod. They hissed, scorching the surface, but Dark Ore was S-Rank material. It didn't melt. It didn't even get warm. It just absorbed the energy like a black hole.
"Nice tan," I grinned from behind my impromptu shield. "My turn."
I peeked over the top. The drones were hovering in a tight formation, preparing for a second volley.
"System," I whispered. "How much mana for a localized magnetic pulse?"
[System: About 15%. Enough to give you a migraine, but not a stroke.]
"Do it."
I gripped the rod with both hands.
Domain: Magnetism. Target: Dark Ore Rod. Polarity: Negative (Super-Charged).
I didn't turn the rod into a weapon. I turned it into a super-magnet.
"Come here, you little toasters!"
I slammed the butt of the rod onto the metal grate floor.
THOOM.
An invisible magnetic wave rippled out.
The drones, made of cheap scrap iron and steel, had no choice. Physics demanded obedience.
SCREEE!
They were yanked out of the air. They didn't fall down; they fell sideways, dragged violently toward my rod.
"Get off me!"
Twelve drones collided with the rod (and me) at high speed. They stuck to the black metal like fridge magnets, their rotors grinding uselessly against the ore.
I was now holding a stick covered in thrashing, sparking robots.
"Heavy," I grunted, feeling the weight.
I looked at the stunned party behind me.
"Fore!"
I deactivated the gravity spell on the rod, making it lighter, then spun around. I used the centrifugal force to swing the drone-covered club toward the canyon wall.
Magnetism: OFF.
I released the magnetic hold at the apex of the swing.
ZOOM.
The twelve drones were launched like buckshot. They smashed into the brass wall of the cavern with a wet CRUNCH of metal and oil.
[You have defeated Scrap Drone x12.] [XP Gained.]
I rested the rod on my shoulder, wiping a trickle of blood from my nose.
"Clean up on aisle four," I quipped.
[System: You really are committing to this 'Janitor' bit, aren't you? It's weirdly charming. In a sad way.]
I turned to the party.
They were staring at me with slack jaws. The Tank, a burly guy with a dented shield, stepped forward.
"That was... Magnetism?" he asked, eyeing my rod. "Are you a Lightning Mage? Or a Telekinetic?"
"Physics Mage," I said, adjusting my mask. "I just understand how magnets work."
"I'm... I'm Han," the Tank said, extending a hand. "Leader of the Iron Gears party. We... uh... we got overwhelmed. Thank you."
I looked at his hand. Then I looked at the path ahead.
"Don't mention it," I said, ignoring the handshake. "You guys should leave. The Core Sector is ahead. It gets worse."
"We can help!" the party's Mage, a young girl with scorch marks on her robes, piped up. "We can support you! We split the loot 50/50!"
I paused.
Loot was nice. But these guys were D-Rank at best. In the Core Sector, they would just be liabilities.
"No," I said cold, turning my back. "I work alone. Go home before you become scrap metal."
I walked away into the steam, leaving them confused and humiliated.
[System: +1 Cool Factor. +1 'Edgy Loner' Reputation. You broke their hearts, Jin. But you saved their lives.]
"Whatever," I muttered. "I have a date with a clock."
[The Core Sector – Level 3]
The deeper I went, the louder the noise became. The TICK-TOCK sound was deafening, reverberating through my bones.
The environment changed. The walls weren't just brass plates anymore; they were moving gears. The floor was a conveyor belt. The ceiling was a piston engine.
I stood before a massive, circular door. It had no handle, only a complex arrangement of tumblers and locks.
[Gate: The Chronos Chamber] [Boss: The Clockwork King] [Status: Dormant]
"Locked," I noted. "I could try to pick it..."
[System: Or you could knock.]
I grinned.
Tier 3: Friction. Target: Door Hinges. Value: Zero.
I removed the friction from the massive steel bolts holding the door in place. Without friction to hold them against gravity...
Click. Slide.
The bolts simply slid out of their holes like wet soap.
CRASH.
The ten-ton door fell forward, slamming onto the floor.
"Knock knock," I stepped inside.
The room was a masterpiece of engineering. It was a sphere, lined with millions of ticking clocks. In the center, suspended by chains, was the Boss.
It was a fifteen-foot-tall automaton made of gold and polished steel. Its chest was a transparent glass case, and inside, I saw it.
The Gear of Chronos.
It wasn't just a machine part. It was swirling with blue mana. It was the heart of the dungeon.
[Boss: The Clockwork King] [Rank: C+ (Elite)] [State: Awakening]
The robot's eyes—two massive clock faces—lit up green.
"TIME... IS... MONEY."
Its voice sounded like grinding gears.
"AND... YOUR... TIME... IS... UP."
It raised a massive hand. The fingers were sword blades.
[System: Boss Logic: Speed. It accelerates its own internal time to move faster than you. You can't outrun it.]
"Who said I'm running?"
I unstrapped the Dark Ore Rod.
The Clockwork King vanished.
Blur.
It reappeared instantly in front of me, the blade-fingers swinging for my neck.
It was fast. Too fast for my eyes.
But not too fast for my Zone.
[Domain: Friction Control - Area of Effect] [Radius: 5 Meters]
I slammed my foot down.
"Slippery Floor," I whispered.
I reduced the friction coefficient of the floor around me to absolute zero.
The Clockwork King planted its foot to strike—and slid.
SKREEE!
Its massive metal leg flew out from under it. The giant robot did a cartoonish backflip, crashing onto its back with a sound like a collapsing building.
"ER-ROR. TRACTION... LOST."
"Physics doesn't care how fast you are," I said, walking toward it. "If you can't grip the ground, you can't move."
I stood over the fallen giant. It flailed, trying to stand up, but its metal feet just spun uselessly on the zero-friction floor. It looked like a turtle flipped on its shell.
"UN-ACCEPT-ABLE!"
The robot opened its mouth. A cannon barrel extended.
"INCINERATE."
It began to charge a beam of concentrated heat.
"Oh, a laser?" I raised an eyebrow. "I have one of those too."
I pointed my rod at the robot's chest—specifically at the glass case protecting the Gear.
I didn't have a laser. But I had Light.
Tier 4: Light (Locked). Tier 1: Basic Light Manipulation (Unlocked).
I couldn't shoot a laser beam. But I could bend light.
I created a lens of condensed air in front of my rod.
"System, calculate the refraction angle of its own charging laser."
[System: You want to reflect it back into its own mouth? Risky. You need perfect timing.]
"Trust me."
The robot fired. A beam of red energy shot toward me.
I held up the air lens.
Refract.
The beam hit the distorted air pocket. It didn't pass through. It bent 180 degrees.
ZWOOM.
The laser shot right back down the robot's throat cannon.
BOOM!
An internal explosion rocked the giant. Smoke poured from its ears. The glass case on its chest shattered from the pressure wave.
"SYS-TEM... FAIL... URE..."
The green lights in its eyes flickered and died. The Clockwork King went limp.
[You have defeated The Clockwork King.] [Level Up!] [Level Up!] [Current Level: 11]
I walked up to the smoking chassis. I reached into the shattered chest cavity and pulled out the prize.
[Item: Gear of Chronos] [Rank: B] [Type: Artifact / Crafting Material] [Effect: Contains a fragment of temporal energy. Used to craft time-manipulation devices.]
It hummed in my hand, warm and vibrating.
"Got it," I smiled.
[System: Quest Complete. The Chairman will be pleased. But... look at the description again.]
I squinted.
[Hidden Attribute: This Gear is actually a listening device.]
My blood ran cold.
"What?"
[System: It's transmitting a signal. Not to the Dungeon... but to the outside. This isn't just a machine part. It's spy tech.]
I stared at the Gear. Chairman Lee sent me to retrieve a bug. He wanted to spy on someone. Or... he was testing to see if I would figure it out.
My phone buzzed.
[Sender: The Chairman] [Message: You cleared it in 14 minutes. A new record. Bring the Gear to the drop point. And Jin? Don't try to disassemble it. I'll know.]
I looked at the Gear, then at the camera lens of the dead robot.
"He's watching," I whispered.
I put the Gear in my pocket.
"System, can we block the signal?"
[System: I can wrap it in a 'Negative Energy' bubble. It will jam the transmission, but he'll think it's just interference from the dungeon.]
"Do it."
A faint purple aura coated my pocket.
"Your move, Chairman," I said to the empty room.
I walked out of the Core, stepping over the frozen, zero-friction floor.
I was Level 11. I had the artifact. And I was starting to realize that the monsters inside the dungeon weren't nearly as dangerous as the ones outside.
[End of chapter 12]