Chapter 27 - What's Due

Puck's eyes suddenly snapped opened as he took in a sharp breath, as if he hadn't taken one in a fairly long time.

No one noticed the fact that his eyes had flashed to the same color of those of the beast's in the dungeon before returning to their normal colors.

He slowly pushes himself into a sitting position while holding his head, his mind was fuzzy and he forgot where he was for a moment....

But that was all the time he had to himself before he was quickly surrounded by a hoard of screaming reports with flashing cameras, despite the Awakener Bureau's protests.

Even Rebecca, who had tried her best to get through the crowd of people to get to Puck's body in time, was lost in the chaotic sea of people and camera flashes.

But before Puck or anyone could even begin to register what was happening, he was suddenly pulled by his arm into the all too recognizable limousine where it swiftly sped off without a second thought.

Leaving behind a confused and stunned Rebecca to wonder what the hell had happened.

"That's the last time I worry about that brat!" She hissed to herself, glaring art the ground as her hands balled into fists.

________________________

By the time Puck had finally managed to rearrange his thoughts and turned to thank his rescuer, only to come face to face with one Olivia Weepingbell.

She gave him a small smile at his confused and shocked look before gently whispering. "Take all the time you need, I've heard that being in a dungeon for so long can take a toll on your body...."

Puck simply gave her a thankful look before letting out a long sigh as he sank into his seat.

Olivia couldn't help but give Puck's body a quick once over before thinking to herself, "He seems....different somehow."

Puck, on the other hand, simply stared out the window at the passing scenery for a moment before closing his eyes as he began to think back to what happened as soon as he regained control of his body.

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Flashback: Inside the Remnants of the Dungeon~

Puck sat in a daze, his vision was murky and his head was spinning as the memories of the dungeon tried to settle down in his brain.

Though it didn't seem like any of them were his own, which made it that much hard for his brain to organize his thoughts.

Just as he thought everything had settled down, a jolt of pain shot through his body.

He struggled to even to breathe as multiple system notifications began to cloud his vision.

~System Notifications~

~Congratulations! You have successfully defeated a high ranking dungeon! All rewards have now been calculated!~

~Would you like to receive your rewards? Y/N~

~System Notification~

"H-Huh? That's weird....why would it even ask something like this? Something doesn't seem right...." He thought to himself, holding the side of his head as he tried to stop his world from spinning before finally shaking his head to clear it.

"It's whatever. I've already gone through hell, what's the worse that can happen?"

He promptly clicked the accept button with this thought, not even realizing that he just committed the biggest cliche known to man.

~System Notification~

⚠️ WARNING! The rewards you receive will be permanently bound to you upon receiving! Do you still wish to receive these rewards? Y/N ⚠️

~System Notification~

He clicked accept again without a second thought.

~System Notification~

⚠️ WARNING! The rewards you are about to receive are too much for your body to currently handle! Body reconstruction will now be commenced! The pain you will receive will be 100x childbirth! Please brace yourself! WARNING! ⚠️

~System Notification~

"Wait....WHA-?!"

Before Puck could finish his thought....

His body promptly exploded.

The flesh leaving his bones, leaving only the skeleton exposed.

His eyes and brain melted from his skull, but he could someone still feel all of it.

Even as his organs and bones became nothing but dust, he could feel every single sensation as if his nerves were still perfectly intact....

And it drove him even further insane.

Just as he thought he felt what was the last remnants of his consciousness begin to leave him, an unknown feeling exploded from the very depths of his soul.

~System Notification~

⚠️ WARNING! THE BODY RECONSTRUCTION WAS UNSUCCESSFUL! YOUR SOUL WILL BE LOS-

ERROR!

ERROR!

ERROR!

ERROR!

ERROR!

ERROR!

The system will now forcefully restart....

The system has crashed.

~System Notification~

Puck couldn't speak.

Hell, he couldn't even think.

It was like he was trapped in limbo.

Floating in between life and death with nowhere to go.

A white space that went beyond that of a simple void.

No one to turn to

No system to rely on....

All it did was show him the weakness of humanity.

That they were nothing without the system....

That this was all he'd ever surmount to.

A pawn to be used in some type of game with no real will of his own.

Just when he was about to finally close his eyes and cease to exist....

He felt, what he thought was, a hand on his shoulder.

Hoping for some type of help, he quickly snapped his gaze backwards, only to be met with nothing.

His soul was truly lost....

"Was that what you were thinking?"

A voice seemed to reverberate from all around him.

It was....weird to say the least.

Like a mix between several people ranging from different ages and genders....

It was maddening.

But also strangely calming.

"Did you really think something like a system could stop me from saving my apostle? Heh, it'd take a lot more than that to stop me!"

What seemed like a black vortex began to swirl to life in front of him.

It was a stark contrast against the white area Puck found himself in.

The vortex vanished as quickly as it appeared, leaving a featureless being in its place.

It was like he was starring at someone's shadow.

It didn't have any eyes, mouth, nose....

Nothing.

It was ghostlike, yet steady.

Clear as day, yet if you blinked you could've easily missed it.

And it's presence weighed on Puck's soul like he was starring into the eyes of the void itself.

And it started right back.

"Hello~ My child~~"

Suddenly, two red holes for eyes suddenly snapped open where the eyes were supposed to be....

Then a red, toothless, grin.

And then Puck knew no more.

________________________

~System Notification~

Rewards Received:

999,999,999,999 Experience

The title: Unstable Hero

The title: Dungeon Destroyer

The Title: God Killer

The title: Apostle of an Old God

Congratulations! You are now level 99!

All stat totals will now be calculated....

⚠️ WARNING! Due to a sudden error in the system, all skills and statuses acquired will not be fully forgotten! WARNING! ⚠️

The system's balance will now be recalibrated and will not be accessible for a certain amount of time.

Though all class statuses, inventory, and such will be available, no one will be able to enter a dungeon during the time.

Time Estimated: 24hrs....

Additional rewards:

The title: A Hero Nobody Wanted

The title: Heir of the Dragon God

The title: Child of Dragons

The Skill: Draconic Presence

The Skill: Draconic Elegance

The Skill: Draconic Authority

The Skill: Monster's Presence

All Items Gathered in this dungeon will now be remov-

Error!

Error!

Error!

These items cannot be forcibly removed due to the user's unique blood!

All items have been restored.

The Armor Set: "The Dragon King's Scales", has now been equiped.

~System Notifications~

~Status~

Name: Puck Gier

Age: 21

Lvl: 99

Race: Dragon (?)

Job: Summoner (Rank: Mythical)

2nd Job: Unstable Hero (Rank: ???) (Sealed)

Status: Awakened, Confused, Sealed, Cursed by God

Class Type: Gacha (Humanoid)

2nd Class Type: Demonic Berserker (Sealed)

Rank: SSS

Str: 750,000 (+200,000)

Int: 750,000 ((75,000)

Dex: 750,000 (+140,000)

Luck: 9999 (Max)

All Stats Increased by an additional: +250,000

All physical and elemental resistances +100%

(Not including effects from armor)

Armor/Defense: 50,000 (+195,000)

Fire Res: 1250 (+700)

Ice Res: 1250 (+700)

Poison Res: 1250 (+700)

Other Res: 1250 (+700)

HP: 90,000,000/90,000,000

Cost: 99,999/99,999 (Max)

Exp: 850,000,650/99,999,999,999

Current Titles: God of Gacha, Dragon Slayer, Bane of the Undead, Hero of Legends, Otherworlder Returnee, Blessed by the God of Insanity and Absurdity, Hero or Villain, A Hero Nobody Wanted, Heir of the Dragon God, Unstable Hero, Dungeon Destroyer, God Killer, Apostle of an Old God

Skills: Gacha Summoning, Gacha Inventory, Gacha Wave, Assimilation, Full Assimilation, Berserker's Rage (Sealed), Immortal (Hidden) (Sealed), Super Regeneration (Hidden) (Sealed), Monstrous Trance, Sanity's End (Sealed), Black Energy (Sealed), One Man Army (Sealed), Wrath of a Titan, Whale Stomach, Meat Head, Insanity's Blessing (Sealed), Inspection, Hero's Heavenly Body (Sealed), Conviction (Sealed), Ungodly Adaptation (Sealed), Martial Prowess, Martial Prowess: Adaptive Martial Arts, Hide Status, Draconic Scales (New!) (Sealed), Monster's Presence (New!) (Sealed)

~Status~

".....Well....at least I don't have to worry about not being able to keep up status wise anymore...."

That was the only thing Puck could think as he sat in the remnants of the destroyed dungeon, which was the usual black abyss.

He couldn't remember what happened after he met that weird ethereal being in the space in between reality.

All he knew was that it was some type of godly being and that it saved his life.

But when he opened his eyes, he was already back in the dungeon.....

Albeit completely naked.

Though he couldn't help but admire his newly constructed body.

The system really wasn't joking about completely rebuilding his body!

Puck could barely recognize it!

Instead of his normal pale skin (from spending so long indoors), his skin was a tan, almost bronze complexion and, what could only be described as  scales, littered his chest and certain other parts of his body like armor.

His canines became large to the point where either one or two would poke out from his lips from time to time.

And his pupils became even sharper and reptile like in nature.

So all in all....

He had no idea how to explain any of this to the Awakener's Bureau.

And then there was his new status conditions that were a cause for concern.

~System Notification~

⚠️ WARNING! Under the special status condition "sealed" all your stats are cut in half and some of your class related skills will not be available until the status condition is removed! WARNING! ⚠️

⚠️ WARNING! Under the special status condition "cursed by God" your luck will now be decided by a flip of a coin each day. Meaning that it could either be completely positive or negative depending on the outcome! WARNING! ⚠️

~System Notification~

"Eh, I guess it could be worse.... My luck was like that from the beginning anyway.... Plus being sealed could be more of a benefit for now...." He mumbled to himself while crossing his arms.

And he was right, it'd be a pain to explain his newly acquired abilities, class, and appearance.

At least now he had time to think up a good excuse....

....

And maybe make some new clothes.

(I'll put his new clothes at the end of the chapter.)

_______________________________________

Flashback End: Back to the Present~

Puck was suddenly pulled from his thoughts as the limousine lurched to a sudden halt.

"What the hell's going O-?!"

Before Olivia could even voice her complaints to the driver, the limo began to shake violently.

Confused and frightened screams of terror could be heard coming from the other cars on the road around them.

Puck looked around out the window and his breath suddenly caught in his throat at what he saw.

They seemed to be on their way to the Anchorage airport....or what was left of it anyway.

In the middle of the airport, which they were a few hundred feet away from, was a unbelievably massive, swirling, portal.

The portal didn't seem to be like any other Puck's ever seen before, being a ominous purple and black in color and being over several hundred feet in diameter.

But it was reminiscent of one that he's personally experienced before....

The one dungeon that turned into a dungeon break immediately upon creation....

A dungeon he's all tok familiar with, for it was a permanent scar in his memory....

Puck's first ever experience with a dragon.

His death and resurrection as an S Rank.

Puck gulped heavily, his throat felt dry and his hands were shaking slightly at the memory, but he quickly steeled himself, a wide toothy grin suddenly splitting his face.

"What the hell am I doing? That was the old me.... Let's see what the hell the system has in store me this time!" He exclaimed to himself before exciting the limo.

Puck quickly made his way to the driver of the limo. "What the hell are you doing?! Your main priority is protecting Mrs. Olivia! Now go! Take her somewhere safe! And grab anyone you see a long the way!" He ordered sternly to the stunned driver, snapping him from his trance.

"R-Right!" He exclaimed before slamming his foot down on the gas and zooming off.

Puck smirked at this, shoving his hands into his pockets as he turned to face the newly formed portal.

He watched as the air around it began to crack violently, red and purple bolts of energy beginning to erupt from the portal as something began to force its way through.

"Well.... Whatever the hell it is....it sure is big. It'll take a bit for the Awakener's Bureau to send backup so...."

Puck watched a humongous Godzilla type monster began to force the portal open even wider to allow it's gargantuan body through.

His grin slowly fades away when it finally fully exited the portal.

"Fucking hell.... WHAT HAVE THEY BEEN FEEDING YOU?!" He exclaimed, only for the system to pop up in response.

~System Notification~

System Calibration Complete!

Thank you for your patience.

Dungeon breaks on earth have now been accelerated by 3x!

All monster ranks have been increased by +2!

All system rewards have been increased by 5x in response!

Your luck for today has been decided....

Sorry, you flipped tails.

Your luck will now be -9999 for the rest of today.

Better luck next time!

Good luck!

~System Notification~

"W-Wait.... There's no fucking way.... I JUST.... NO! FUCK YOU! YOU SHITTY ASS BROKEN SYSTEM! LUCK MY ASS! THIS IS JUST STRAIGHT BULLSHIT!" Puck roared, causing the humongous Godzilla-esk monster's eye to slowly lock solely on him before....

ROOOOOOOOOOAR~~~!!!

The mountain of a monster let out a deafening, earth shaking, roar that broke every piece of glass for at least 100 miles.

Puck looked taken aback by this before gritting his teeth and taking a deep breath.

It took a moment as his chest puffed out with air, he threw his head back and then forward.

RAAAAAAAAAHHHHH~~~!!!

It sounded more like a monstrous scream than a roar.

Like if a billion girls were to scream at once with a deep twisted undertone.

It was ominous, but the message was clear.

A challenge.

As clear as day.

Name: Giganttosaurus Rex

Rank: SSS

Title: Walking Continent

Race: Monster God

Vs.

Name: Puck Gier

Rank: SSS

Title: God Killer

Race: Dragon

A message....

"LET'S FUCKING KILL EACH OTHER!"

To be continued~

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End Chapter 27~

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Author's Note: I had some images for this chapter that I can't upload here, so sorry! But it shouldn't affect the chapter much!