A Delicious Meal

A few minutes before

Aldrich used his maxed-out Agility to arrive in front of the freshly spawned Elite and redistributed his Stats to Strength. He wanted to dispose of this nuisance before something unknown or unpredictable could happen.

He was about to slash the Dullahan in pieces when he heard many snaps about him. It was like snapping threads, but these threads seemed to attach to him. Aldrich, taking caution, tried to back up. But his body didn't respond to his brain. He couldn't even blink or move his eyeball around. He helplessly watched as the surrounding area turned into a dark emptiness.

Aldrich couldn't move, but in the direction where he could see, he saw an archaic altar. He couldn't comprehend the distance, but he felt it was at least bigger than the full moon on a dark night. Unlike the moon, the entire altar shined with a low golden glow. But this glow had an unsettling vibe about it. Aldrich watched as the altar seemed to approach him, growing bigger by seconds. Or he was going towards it. None could tell, as motion had lost its meaning here.

The altar stopped at a distance where Aldrich could still see it in its entirety. He saw the reason for that ghastly golden glow at the top of the Altar. Something was there, something incomprehensible, squirming and rippling in golden color. And a foul and stenchful gas had enveloped it. But Aldrich was sure that the thing was emanating the gas from within it, which he could barely tolerate, even when he was so far from it. The ripples in the golden object subsided, and the object squirmed with a definite purpose.

Aldrich's heart pounded as the object turned in the shape of a golden man with his back towards him. The gas thinned out and turned into a stinking mist. A pressure of deep horror spread out in the darkness around the altar. And the snapping sound near Aldrich was loud enough to blow up his eardrums. Aldrich's mind jolted in hopelessness, not because of fear, but because he was familiar with this kind of pressure. A pressure, horrendous and viler than this.

Aldrich, with his eyes dead set on the enormous altar, saw that thing turning around frame by frame.

BOOM!!!

Aldrich heard a final snap, and his eyes spurted out with blood and other fluids. He couldn't even wince in pain when deep and incomprehensible whispers invaded his mind. The murmurs urged him to kill; the murmurs pleaded with him to bleed, and the murmurs demanded him to pray. With every passing moment, Aldrich felt he was losing himself, and a foreign Will was taking over his body. The murmurs were manifesting themselves in a deafening command. And for the first time in ages, someone learned of the words that shouldn't be spoken.

Foul Mist of Abyss…

Banished Golden Devil…

Dark Crooked One

Aldrich couldn't see anymore. But from the insufferable stench, he guessed that the Mist had enveloped him within it. It was horrible enough to make someone lose his consciousness, and it was tormenting enough to beg for death instead. Aldrich felt his skin rippling and squirming and he knew the same golden color must have been glowing out of his skin, too. The combination of pain and stench slammed itself on his Will like a sledgehammer. The murmurs kept urging him to say one of the names out loud and assured him that all suffering would vanish for eternity.

But neither Aldrich nor his Will was a normal one. The murmurs couldn't have known that the Will they were trying to break down was a product of at least a million years of cultivation and patience. The time it had taken Aldrich to return from death wasn't a short one. But even then, the urge to say the words was so strong that even his soul felt beseeching him to do so. All hope seemed to be lost, and Aldrich's clenched teeth opened a little.

"Foul.. "

He was about to utter the words when a dark hole, like a deep well reaching to the earth's center, surfaced on his forehead. And a memory came to Aldrich, and it brought with it the words he had forgotten. His hair turned white and a black transparent Veil surrounded him like a robe. Another string of words occupied his throat, but this time he didn't feel repulsed by them. An archaic sound came out of Aldrich as he said those words.

"Darkest among Dark…"

A howl full of rage and disbelief came from the distance to Aldrich's ears. But he had no intention to stop now.

"Devourer of Dreams… "

[HOW DARE YOU]

A Will came falling on him like a huge waterfall. But this wasn't the time to falter.

"Eternal Veil of Slumber."

There was no sky where these events were happening. But if it were to have one, one could see a Black Veil replacing it entirely like a vast river of darkness. Aldrich couldn't see what was happening, but he felt that the surrounding mist had receded and his skin had regained its color. And he could hear echoes of a familiar sound. A sound not much different from eating something. The crunching, the chewing, and the gulps of the throat could have made anyone hungry. It didn't matter who was eating what, Aldrich felt it must have been quite a delicious meal.

BREAKKK!!!!!

Aldrich heard a shattering sound like that of broken glass and he returned to the Dungeon. Whatever had happened in that unknown place had given him his sight back and had left a message. This message had neither words nor any scenes. It felt more like a call. A call to the place where no living must go.

Aldrich saw the monster gaining his senses back and his Divine Sense portrayed the scenes behind him. With a slight crease on his forehead, Aldrich slashed maddeningly using the two Daggers. The armor was too strong for the Daggers, so he focused his rage on the rotten head. When Aldrich was done with it, not a trace of it could be seen.

[…

You have killed 1 Common Dullahan

ExPs obtained: 1950

You have leveled up

…

…]

BOOM!!!

Leaving behind the crumbling Crawler and the dropped reward, Aldrich appeared in front of the original Elite. The armor on its body was full of dents and half of its face was bloodied, with a broken jaw. Tun Bo Ag had laid powerlessly on the ground and the monster was about to smash his head with its foot. Red vapor emanated out of Aldrich as he kicked the monster's chest.

BANG!!!

The seemingly unbreakable armor shattered in pieces and the Crawler's body struck its head in midair. But before it could even react, a vertical slash from the dagger cut its head in half. And Blood with foul mist oozed out from within it.

[…

You have killed 1 Common Dullahan

ExPs obtained: 1950

You are eligible for Class Update

….

…]

Briefly glancing over the notifications, Aldrich dropped a pair of Health Potion and Stamina Potion near Tun Bo Ag. With slow steps, he approached the impaled Sonu's body. The pool of blood laid like a red blanket under him. Aldrich crouched down and checked for any sign of life, even when he already knew the outcome. For a moment, Aldrich observed the smile on Sonu's face and remembered the curses Sonu had let out during their last encounter online.

Aldrich saw the blue-green portal on his left, which seemed to repel him. The group of four must have completed the Quest for it to open. He got up and made his way towards the hole in the wall where Tomiko and Seong were embedded. Only after pouring three bottles of Health Potion in each, they could regain their consciousness. Aldrich saw the painful look in their eyes as they saw their leader's state. With teary eyes and shaky hands, Tomiko neared the body and took out Naginata. But Seong's eyes were full of rage.

"You Bastard… "

Aldrich saw the punch coming from miles away, but he didn't avoid it. The punch didn't seem to have any strength behind it at all. Other than jerking Aldrich's head to the side, it couldn't even budge him. Leaving Seong with his clenched fists, Aldrich turned around and walked towards the doors.

As he passed by Tomiko, he said, "Send the rewards from this Crawler to Sonu's fiancee."

"You fucking heartless piece of shit…" Seong raged behind him.

Aldrich saw Tomiko's nod and eyed the 2nd Crawler's reward. The hovering globe's glow couldn't wash away the feeling that had taken root in Aldrich's mind. Aldrich touched the reward, and the System showed its data on his Stat window.

[…

Skill: Banish (Common)

Lvl: 1 (0/3 Skill Points to next level)

Nature: Active, Upgradable

Cooldown: 00:05:00 hrs

Minimum Usage Condition: Will of ?#?#?#

Consumption: Not Applicable

Description: Dreamer can Banish the Laws

Warning: The duration and effect of Banishment depends on the Skill's Rank and Level

Do you want to equip the Skill?

…]

"Yes."

The dark globe crumbled, and Aldrich focused on the pending notification.

"Update Class."

[…

Level: 10 (9800/9000 ExPs to next level)

Warning: ExPs overflow

Class-Specific Skill: Metacreativity (Lvl Max-upgraded)

Unassigned Skill Points: 4

Conditions met…

Updating Class…

…]