The dust settled in the Level 1 cavern. Philip, Level 12, leaned on his Abyssal Sting, his body rapidly mending under the influence of his high Vitality. The immediate danger was neutralized, but a prickle along his spine—Predator's Instinct—told him the silence was temporary. The mana in this abyss didn't act normal. It flowed up.
His System Architect trait analyzed the data. The "Abyss" was inverted. He hadn't fallen to the bottom; he had stumbled into the forgotten entrance. Every soul sent here had tried to go down. He was the first one to realize the way out was an ascent.
He needed to organize his haul. He accessed the Archive of Origin. The Grimoire pulsed with "galaxy light" as he commanded a full area scan. "Devouring Void!" The debris and residual magic vanished into the ring instantly. [NOTICE: RAW ABYSMAL ORE (X45) STORED]. He wasn't just looting; he was systematically stripping the environment of its essence.
He opened the Grimoire mentally. A map materialized on the interface. It was huge, depicting a vast, multi-layered dungeon—The Abysmal Dungeon (Floors 1-?). Every floor above him was a solid black void. Only his current location pulsed with light. The Grimoire was a guide to a place that supposedly had no map, a mystery waiting for him to fill in the blanks. The ring and the book were tied to this place, and he was the key.
He spent the next few hours ascending through the first "floor," a relentless gauntlet of twisting rock and shadow-beasts. The fights were tactical—a chess game of instinct and intellect. He used Fast Step to outmaneuver, Shadow Bind to control, and the Abyssal Sting for the kill. He devoured every material, every ore, and every beast he defeated, his stats climbing rapidly. He mastered his new skills, the Grimoire providing the data for perfect execution. He was growing stronger, faster, building his arsenal for the true dangers that lay ahead.
[LEVEL UP! LEVEL 12 —> LEVEL 15]
He reached a massive, iron-banded door, covered in runic warnings of immense power—the true exit of the first floor. He pushed it open, stepping into a cavern so vast it housed its own ecosystem. The air was hot, sulfurous, heavy with ancient mana.
A soft, rhythmic pulse echoed from within. He activated Architect's Sight.
[WARNING: FLOOR BOSS DETECTED][ENTITY: DRACO LUMINOS ABYSSALIS (LVL ???)]
He slowly approached while it lay rested, sleeping. He was analyzing the dragon and the surrounding area, mapping everything he saw. His eyes darted between potential weaknesses and possible exits—just in case he needed to collect data and retreat.
He was focused on a stress point in the cavern wall when he stepped on a vine. It snapped under his right foot.
A loud roar shredded through his ears and the chamber. Every instinct in his body screamed danger, danger, danger, RUN!
But Philip knew he wouldn't progress further unless he fought. He would either win, collect his data, or die trying. He tightened his grip on the Abyssal Sting, his eyes locking onto the massive dragon as it unfolded its wings in the flickering light of the lava pits. The game had just begun.
The dragon didn't roar a second time. It struck. The move was a blur of ancient, primal force. Philip couldn't even activate Fast Step. The massive, black-scaled tail slammed into his chest, launching him through the air. He slammed back-first into the iron-banded entrance door, the impact rattling his bones.
[SYSTEM WARNING][VITALITY CRITICAL: 5%]
He crumpled to the ground, pain blooming across his chest. He coughed, spitting blood onto the stone. The dragon was already moving, an overwhelming force. Philip forced himself up. He countered, using his newfound Void Spear skill, a shard of pure darkness aimed at the beast's eyes.
The dragon simply blinked. The spell shattered against its scales like cheap glass. It was hit again, and again, its massive claws swiping at him. Philip dodged using Fast Step, but he couldn't keep up. The beast was a natural tactical genius, far beyond the wolves he'd faced.
He was getting injured, collecting more damage with every missed counter, but his mind was in hyper-drive. His 52 Intelligence was mapping the battle. He wasn't losing; he was collecting data. Information on the dragon's attack patterns, its feelings (anger, arrogance), its everything.
It sees me as a bug, he realized. Not a threat.
He used that arrogance. He made a desperate lunge, aiming the Abyssal Sting at the monster's flank. He was trying to land a Paralysis Bite, a desperate gambit.It didn't work. The dragon easily swatted his arm away. A sharp snap, followed by a searing pain. His left arm flew one way; his dagger, the Abyssal Sting, flew another.
He stared in shock at the stump where his forearm used to be. Not a single scale had been penetrated. His unique weapon, his pride, couldn't even scratch this beast.[WARNING: LEFT ARM SEVERED.][CRITICAL INJURY: BLEEDING OUT.][VITALITY FAILING.]
Philip looked at the dragon, then at the exits, then at his armless body. This was not a fight he could win today. This was not a game.
Philip turned and he ran. The screams of the dragon faded as he used Fast Step, a blur of dark smoke heading back toward the level 1 entrance. He ran until his lungs burned, falling to his knees near the dry, empty lakebed where his journey began. His arm was gone, a bloody stump, and his body was a wreck of broken bones and torn flesh.
[SYSTEM WARNING: CRITICAL INJURIES SUSTAINED][VITALITY FAILING. MINOR REGENERATION ACTIVE, BUT INSUFFICIENT.]
This wasn't a game. He had nearly died. He accessed the interface, his mind racing. There has to be something in here. The Abysmal Spring Water...
He navigated the storage menu. The Abysmal Spring of Life was there, a single entry at 0.01% capacity. He mentally commanded a release.
A torrent of glowing blue water erupted, instantly reforming the lake in the cavern floor. Philip plunged his body into the healing water.
[NOTICE]Major regeneration applied. Critical injuries stabilizing.Left arm regrowing... (ETA: 4 Hours)
He lay in the water, his mind calm now. The pain was dulling to a thrum. He looked through everything he had gathered—the raw ores, the crushed wolf bones, his broken dagger (stored safely). He needed a plan.
That's when it hit him. The Archive of Origin had a new spot on the map interface, pulsing with a faint light. A hidden area. It was the only spot on the map, besides his current location, that wasn't blacked out.
He rose three hours later, a full arm regenerated and his body restored. He walked back to the spot on the map—the wall near the lake. There was nothing there but some vines and a solid wall. He rattled the information around in his head. How could the dragon hide a room here?
Then it hit him. He pulled out the Abyssal Sting, his newly repaired dagger, and struck the wall. It wasn't stone. It was a false wall, now corroding due to the dagger's acidic effect. It dissolved like paper.
Inside was a treasure trove of artifacts, weapons, resources, and materials—the dragon must have been keeping this stash from all its battles within the dungeon. A lifetime of war loot, untouched for centuries.
Philip's eyes widened. He didn't hesitate.
"Devour! Everything!"
[SKILL ACTIVATED: DEVOURING VOID]
The system went haywire. Ancient relics, powerful weapons, and thousands of units of materials vanished into the void of the ring.
[WARNING: SYSTEM OVERLOAD][NOTICE: ARCHIVE CAPACITY SURPASSED][ERROR: DATA CORRUPTION DETECTED]
His system couldn't keep up. It was going crazy, out of control, a storm of notifications that felt like a scream in his mind. Then, silence. The System finally came to its senses, the Architect trait prioritizing the data streams.
[SYNCHRONIZATION COMPLETE. ARCHIVE STABILIZED.][INITIATING APPRAISAL PROTOCOL...]
He decided to go through and appraise everything, methodically cataloging a new arsenal. He had a variety of weapons to choose from. New gear, new armor, a seemingly infinite amount of resources.
Then, he felt a pull. A staff he was drawn to. He materialized it from the ring. It was a beautiful, powerful item. A staff with a deep blue crystal as its catalyst, with gold and black embroidery on the shaft, which was a deep navy blue color. It bore the exact same emblem as the grimoire and the ring. Interesting.
He pulled out a cloak and outfit next that seemed to match the staff and drew him in. It was a regal cloak in red, black, and gold, with a very royal look to it.
Lastly, a weird eye-looking crystal. It was gold. He took it out of the ring. The moment it left the sub-dimension, it flew across the cavern and immediately slammed into his empty left eye socket.
His vision went blurry. He screamed in agony as the crystal integrated with his nervous system.
[SYNCHRONIZATION WITH WORLD SPIRIT EYES SUCCESSFUL]
His vision cleared, a new golden hue tinting his sight. The world now had a second layer of code over it. He was very confused. "World Spirit Eyes?" he asked. Yet again, a new ability and alteration to himself.
Now he was fully equipped, body restored, and armed with dragon-level gear. He needed to practice on regular monsters and magical beasts before he could battle the dragon again.