Zinyul POV:
The fall of Filkruj wasn’t shocking; it took a King to take down another. Without The Five, an internal war ensued between their respective factions during the Dungeon Adjustment phase. However, before lives could be lost, the Dungeon made a decision on our behalf; it favoured Livil.
This selection allowed her to replace the ruler with a member from her own faction: a Sentri Guardian. The hope was for Livil to defend against a Dungeon Raid in order to garner even more approval from the Sentri.
She succeeded. She succeeded until the humans changed tactics. They began raiding in the hundreds, equipped with Ki Artifacts, and utilising complex battle formations. Livil’s defeats caused the balance to shift between the four factions once more. Gilja came out on top; her message of preservation and controlled growth, which didn’t stop the nature of Sentri, resonated stronger than before.
The Dungeon Layout changed. The only Sentri forced to participate in the Dungeon Defence were Livil’s faction. She was too prideful to relinquish the control she was given, so the Dungeon System increased the birth rate of those under her.
‘…’
I stood atop a derelict building and peered down at the wave of humans fighting against a Sentri Warrior’s unit on the 5th Floor. A Sentri Guardian wasn’t a Sentri King. They didn’t have the qualifications to unite the Sentri, so the Dungeon refused to increase the rank beyond A.
Livil wasn’t eager to sit on the throne either—she was selfish, yet she cared about improving the strength of her faction. Livil didn’t want the Sentri to keep dying, but she also couldn’t deny herself.
I flickered out of view and arrived near the outskirts of the Dungeon Floor. The area was buried in rubble, indistinguishable from the common theme the sub 30s adhered to. A war led to the extinction of another species that had no interest in taking control. It was a war carried out by the late king, who lost himself in his ways.
‘I’m sorry.’
I kneeled on the rubble and lowered my head before standing again. A splayed hand made the debris part to reveal a small hole. I hopped inside, then disappeared.
The black helmet in my hand blended with the darkness until a nimble landing illuminated the masterful design it carried. Torches lined the large tunnel when I flicked my fingers toward an opening the size of a tiny dot. The earth concealed it and restored the scene to its original state.
The underground area branched off into hundreds of different routes, but only one led to the exit. Green grass, numerous houses in the distance, and a bright sky greeted me upon my return.
This Hidden Area didn’t always exist—a black wall from the Dungeon halted our progress from going forward. We lived in the wide tunnels until the Dungeon shook several times. I sensed a shift before the blockade began to crack. It exploded, and sunlight flooded the passage.
‘Home.’
My cheeks rose at the Shadow Monsters sparring with one another. I observed Talky: the light from above added to the depth of her beauty. She sat on a bench beside Yulzi, teaching her how to read, write, and speak. However, the sadness magnified over time; Talky was never the same once our liege ceased all communication with them.
I shifted my gaze to Reaver. Sharp violet eyes and features that captivated females without looking in their direction were on full display. He didn’t need to have his hood on all the time now.
My eyes softened at Fishy, resting her head against his shoulder as they sat beside a small cluster of trees. I crossed the grass field, prompting the Shadow Monsters to dip their heads to their senior whenever I passed by. I reciprocated the action since I was not only a student but also a subject of the same Master.
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I reached the front garden when Yulzi put the books down on the bench. Every step toward me removed the tension beneath her armour and helped ease the worries she spoke to Talky about. I opened my arms, and Yulzi rushed into them.
“Zinyul. Home. Safely!”
Her reaction was always the same when I returned: innocent, genuine, and warm. I stroked the top of her head to reassure her I wasn’t injured anywhere.
“Yes, Yulzi.”
After a few minutes, Yulzi let go. Her fist rested against her palm, and she bowed. Once her gaze rose, it focused on the Shadow Monsters relaxing in the distance. She looked back at Talky, appealing to her by blinking several times. Yulzi didn’t need to use words with her teacher, so permission was granted with a gentle nod.
Her vibrant eyes brightened before she dashed off to play with the other shadows—no one would hurt or mock her anymore. Yulzi had true friends here.
“Zinyul, how did it go?”
I took a seat beside Talky.
“Exactly as you predicted. Dibla’s faction appears to be supporting Gilja, while Livil’s faction has merged with Faliruj’s. The shadows remain hidden, Talky.”
Her gaze fell to the earth; it showed the agony growing inside.
“The suppression of my power won’t affect the Dungeon’s ranking for now.”
“You have already gone far beyond Boukyaku, Zinyul. However, you have also not made an attempt to rule or to expand, so perhaps the Dungeon System has taken that into account. I imagine if you sat on the throne, the difficulty would spike to SS+ in an instant.”
Talky was suggesting that even an accidental attack on a human could change the dynamic of how the Dungeon System structured this Dungeon. Our current theory only held if even my intentions remained focused on not getting involved with the Dungeon Raids.
“…”
I examined my hands. The feeling of growth continued at such a rapid rate that there were moments when it scared me.
‘Will this feeling change me? I… don’t want to lose myself to power. I want to be better and be able to protect my loved ones.’
I narrowed my eyes before clenching resolved fists when Talky placed her slender fingers over mine.
“I trust you not because of the Title Effects. I trust you not because of your power but because of your nature, Zinyul. You had several opportunities to kill our liege; however, you showed restraint and understanding. On behalf of us all, thank you.”
Her hands quaked, but her words cleared the few specks of doubt that temporarily entered my mind. I knew who I was, and I knew who I couldn’t be.
“You know… how much my liege means to me.”
I understood him well. His inspiring willpower to chase after self-improvement and the hardships that forced him to walk this path. Beneath the thick smog of darkness was a heart full of warmth, love, and care.
“You are welcome, Talky. How are your Ki Reserves now?”
She moved her hands away before staring at the Shadow Monsters.
“At full capacity, but I have yet to understand why.”
“Are you drawing power from the Dungeon or the shadows within?”
Talky’s thin eyes widened, and I knew she was flipping through dozens of reports to locate the cause behind this phenomenon.
“I’m… not sure, Zinyul.”
I got to my feet, feeling the gentle breeze ruffle my short hair. True growth came in the form of knowledge, and this became power. The amount I knew when our liege first trained me couldn’t be compared to what I knew now; the difference was night and day.
‘It has to be that.’
I watched the scenery with Talky before moving my thoughts to another observation. Our liege’s intentions to kill those he trained changed at some point. An incident awakened more of who he was—a part that he couldn’t suppress. It didn’t seem logical for him to keep delaying a final duel to the death with me without knowing whether his party would opt for a Dungeon End. He also wasn’t the type to leave things unfinished if he could help it.
‘Hmm…’
His last message to me was only advice to further improve myself, and based on Talky’s calculations, four months had passed in Ayadell’s time, but our liege never returned.
‘I wonder if something happened…’
His method of improvement wouldn’t take him far. There was a small chance that our liege had hit a limit he was unaware of. No. His intelligence was otherworldly; he would figure out a solution to progress again if that was the case.
I folded my arms when my lips curved into a confident smile.
“Talky, let’s find the others.”
“Zinyul, are you referring to that?”
There were others out there that had been trained by him. There were others out there that knew the man behind the shadow, and they were the ones we needed to find.
“I am. We’ll bring them all together and wait. One day, our liege will appear again, and when he does, we must be ready.”
End