The undead dungeon wasn't complex.
On the contrary, it was almost too simple. Like many of Kim Hajin's designs.
It consisted of long circular tunnels, hallways slick with algae, and, of course, scattered broken bones here and there to enhance the "look how scary" atmosphere you'd find in cheap movies.
The problem was what lived inside it.
''Death Knight, Level 1… high intermediate rank.''
[You stand no chance. Give up.]
"Wow," I said. "So encouraging coming from someone who's supposed to help me."
[I merely stated the truth.]
I snorted.
"Not like he was my target in the first place."
The cave floor shuddered beneath my feet.
A dry grinding rang ahead, and bones scraped over rock. From the shadows, pale specters emerged like cold smoke, and skeletons began rising, reassembling scattered pieces with grotesque snaps.
I drew my spear from inventory—the soft glow of materialization made the blade shimmer in the dungeon's damp air.
With a firm twist of my wrist, I took a combat stance.
The first skeleton charged with a rusted axe.
I sidestepped, spear aura slicing clean through the creature's collarbone, splitting it in two.
Another zombie grabbed me from behind—I threw it off with my elbow, slammed it against the wall, and drove the blade into its cracked skull.
The creatures fell one by one without issue, dissolving into putrid mist when my aura-infused blade struck their weak points.
Aura.
That was the key here.
During the early hours, while talking with Luxxion, I'd noticed something interesting.
This world's "attribute" laws—light, darkness, fire, ice—felt biased. Like during the last dimensional jump, they seemed to expect me to adapt to local rules.
But my mana didn't follow those rules.
[It's technically anomalous. We've discussed this before. It doesn't belong to this world's native flow.]
[That's why you can cut through their resistances more easily. A living cheat, basically.]
[Just don't think this will work with every being you encounter. It's likely that to face stronger beings, you'll have to learn proper attribute control.]
I fought two more zombies.
A light leap, a spin, and two headless bodies dropped.
With Luxxion tracking map points that aligned with Hajin's notes, we advanced quickly.
Most creatures here were still weak—the dungeon's entrance was shallow, and these early undead were just "shallow guards."
These situations followed a video-game-like pattern.
The real trouble came later.
As I went deeper, the number of monsters tripled.
Entire hordes, from skeletal zombies to deformed specters that screeched with piercing sounds.
I was getting close.
"Evangel's base…" I said, wiping sweat from my brow with my forearm. "It has to be around here."
[Are you certain you wish to do this?]
"Ever since I read that chapter, I've wondered what I'd do if I had something like Aether," I explained. "But the truth is that I just want an easy life."
According to Kim Hajin, there was a secret phase in the dungeon—a hidden detour leading to the true boss's lair.
Evangel, the Witch of Mount Gari.
The real challenge was finding her.
I had to rack my brains for a while but finally noticed a strange pattern on the walls.
At one of the dungeon's tightest turns—the kind anyone would rush past mid-battle—I spotted something out of place.
A semicircular crack, different from the surrounding stone.
And above it…
A carved symbol.
Extremely small, deliberately made to be almost imperceptible.
I crouched, careful not to inhale the mounds of grime.
There it was.
[You're going to stick your hand in there, aren't you?]
I gave a faint smile.
He knew me too well.
"Do I look like someone who'd resist the urge?"
I pressed the symbol.
Nothing happened.
"Hmm…"
My knowledge of secret mechanisms came solely from action movies.
Who knew being an expert at that was useless?
[It pains me to witness your train of thought.]
[Have you tried pushing the wall, Perseus?]
Worth a shot.
I leaned my shoulder against the stone slab and applied pressure.
A dry click came from within the rock, and instantly, part of the wall gave way, revealing a narrow gap that smelled even worse than the rest of the place.
A shiver ran down my neck—pleased.
"We found it, Luxxion."
[And without telescopic vision. Impressive.]
I stepped inside.
Slowly, like a mouth revealing teeth, dark spiral stairs emerged, descending straight into the mountain's belly.
The stairs seemed endless, but eventually, my feet touched the solid ground of a new chamber.
The contrast was staggering.
From the dungeon's moldy air and rotting dampness… to this.
A silent field, bathed in faint light of unknown origin.
At its center stood a solitary tree. Leafless.
Its gnarled trunk, sheathed in translucent moss, sprouted tiny red stones—like flawed rubies. Some floated slowly around the tree, emitting a soft, whispering glow.
And beneath that tree… was her.
Evangel.
She looked more like an apparition than a monster.
A pale, semi-translucent little girl. Her skin shimmered like frosted glass, and her eyes—a faded light green—seemed vacant, distant. Her hair, tinted a soft green, cascaded in gentle waves to her waist, contrasting with the purple veil that covered her entire body.
She played with a golden liquid between her hands, shaping it into strange forms, smiling to herself as if it were her only friend.
For a moment, I hesitated.
I now understood why Kim Hajin had faltered when facing Evangel.
But I didn't have the luxury to stop here.
''...''
Evangel didn't notice my approach.
Perhaps she couldn't even sense my presence yet.
With a sharp motion, I summoned my spear from inventory.
Energy surged down my arm, coating the weapon in pulsating aura.
I threw it.
The spear flew, tracing a trail through the air like a silver comet.
She only had time to look up. It struck her chest, slamming her violently against the tree.
It wasn't enough.
I charged forward instantly. The spear hadn't killed her, but it created an opening.
I drew the short dagger I'd set aside for this. Channeled the last of my aura into it.
The little girl was already trying to rise when I reached her.
Spirits began pouring from her palms—screaming, deformed, faces twisted in pain—perhaps reflections of what she felt.
They flew toward me like living projectiles.
But they were rather slow. Even compared to the rotting corpses and skeletons upstairs.
I ducked. Rolled sideways. Sliced one in half.
Charged again.
She tried to summon more, but my dagger was already buried in her spectral side.
Then again. And again.
Each strike made her veil unravel, her body waver, the spirits shudder.
I drove the dagger in once more—
She looked at me one last time. Her expression completely sorrowful.
Or perhaps confused, as if she couldn't understand why this was happening.
''I'm sorry.''
One more stab.
And then, the specters were sucked back into her. Her body glowed with a distorted purple light, like black ink in clear water.
With a muffled snap, Evangel simply imploded.
No screams, no dramatic effects.
Just a burst of dark energy spreading and fading into the air.
Silence returned.
I slowly approached the tree where Evangel had vanished. The purple aura saturating the air was already dissipating.
I retrieved my spear from the ground, its shaft still faintly warm from the aura I'd channeled. I wiped the spectral blood from the blade, took one last look at the silent field, and returned it to inventory.
The dagger followed shortly after.
Then, I knelt.
Two items hovered amid fragments of light, precisely where Evangel had disappeared.
I touched the first.
[Evangel's Seed (Sealed)]
[Description: A seed containing the soul of the Witch Evangel.]
[Effects: → When this seed sprouts, the Witch of Despair, Evangel, will be reborn.]
The thing pulsed softly in my hands, like a heart.
Not something I intended to keep.
"This is yours, Kim Hajin. I just need... to figure out how to deliver it."
I sighed.
Then touched the second item.
[Aether (growth)]
[Description: A versatile, powerful liquid-form equipment. Has no fixed shape.]
[Effects: → Bonds to its master and their weapon, fortifying their essence.
→ Evolves with the user. Can transform into various armaments.]
There it was. The item I'd wanted.
Aether.
I felt a surge of triumph in my chest... but also something uncomfortable—a strange metallic tang of rust and regret in my mouth.
It made me remember scenes from the manhwa. The countless times Kim Hajin survived only because Aether was with him.
The doubts I had pushed under the rug flooded my head for a moment.
If I kept this... what would change?
Who might die because of that shift?
Were Luxxion's earlier words about "the script correcting itself" just empty comfort?
[You're hesitating.]
"Isn't it obvious?"
[You're alive. That means you're already disrupting the script. So... disrupt it properly.]
I reached out.
"Fine...'' I swallowed hard. ''Aether... come with me."
The silvery liquid reacted instantly, as if hearing my call.
It coiled, flowed toward my finger, then slithered up my arm with an almost living fluidity.
The sensation was unnerving.
Cold. Then hot. Then cold again.
And then—a sharp sting. Like a parasite burrowing beneath my skin.
[Item: Aether]
[Bind this equipment to your body?]
[Yes]-[No]
"Yes."
However—
[BINDING ERROR!]
[Unable to establish synchronization with user's body.]
[Item will be relocated to temporary inventory until requirements are met.]
The glow vanished.
Aether halted mid-flow, slid off my arm like water... and disappeared.
I frowned.
"…What the fuck was that?"