Walking out of the portal, I met a familiar sight.
The throne room was vast, its weight carried by sculpted columns of eerily handsome men—all of them sharing the same perfect face. Along both walls sat low, cushioned chairs and polished side-tables. At the far end of the hall, on a raised platform, waited a jagged metal throne permanently stained a deep, wet red.
Medieval torches lined the walls, but none were lit, cloaking the room in shadow.
Nightfall Dominion's throne room.
> Ding!
[Sit on the throne to claim your place as Lord of Nightfall Dominion.]
I frowned. My instincts said there was more to it, yet I climbed the steps anyway and stood before the throne. The blood-stench was suffocating, and a slow heartbeat echoed from the metal itself.
"New world, new experiences," I muttered to encourage myself, then sat.
> Ding!
[Establishing connection between host and territory…]
The moment I settled, it felt like iron clamps locked me in place. Red mist seeped from the chair, spiraling around me and blotting out my vision.
"The hell—?"
I tried to rise. Couldn't.
Then the pain hit.
BAM!
"Gah!" A scream tore from my throat. It felt as if a spike drove clean through my back. I couldn't breathe. Chains rattled—faint, dragging noises—like something was hauling my insides out.
It lasted two full minutes. I ground my teeth, half-convinced my heart would burst—until a chime cut through the agony.
> [Connection established.]
[+1 000 EXP]
Crimson flames flared along the torches, and the invisible force pinning me down vanished.
I collapsed, rolling down the short staircase and slamming onto the floor. Staring at the vaulted ceiling, I gasped for air.
"What… was that?" Every word burned.
After a minute, my chest loosened. I pushed up—then froze. Chains clinked again. A faint, red-tinted link stretched from my sternum back to the throne—almost invisible unless you looked straight at it.
No wound, no blood. Just a spectral chain buried in my chest.
> [Welcome, Lord Ashford.]
[Within your territory, all stats +3.]
[Shop available!]
More messages flickered past, but I barely registered them. My eyes fixed on the ghostly chain. I remembered the bound souls at the gateway.
"What the hell is this?" I whispered, fingers hovering over my chest. The chain pulsed—answering nothing.
Bam!
All of a sudden, the doors swung open with incredible force, and a small group of about ten people rushed in. Only two of them had familiar faces—the rest were members of the non-combat units that had been tagged along during the expedition.
I wasn't sure, but it seemed sitting on the throne had triggered something that alerted them. Each person carried a weapon, even the non-combatants. They were holding GK-spears—metallic spears with an aether crystal tip—but the crystals had lost their glow in the hands of normal humans.
Only Limitless could make aether equipment work.
They were visibly confused the moment they saw me. People exchanged glances, unsure what to do. But while they focused on me, my attention was elsewhere.
I'd just received another 1000 EXP—and I finally understood why.
Inside the shop section were dozens of overpriced perks I had never seen before: territory maps, fast travel nodes, military units for hire. It even offered castle repairs. But nothing—not one damn thing—cost less than 1000 EXP.
Even fixing the damages to this castle from our raid cost an astronomical 10,000 EXP. At this point, the system should just pull out a gun and rob me. Because seriously, what the fuck is this?
"Adam?" someone called out.
My frown deepened, but I looked toward the voice anyway—and my eyes widened in surprise.
Blade.
The bald, thick-bearded bastard who tried to intimidate me into being his lackey on the very first day of school.
Beside him stood a much younger girl with white hair and a golden streak running through the middle.
Angel. Blade's current girlfriend and one of the most versatile Limitless in our class thanks to her unique ability.
"How did you get back here?" Blade asked, speed-walking toward me. His voice was slightly shaky—with a hint of relief.
This fool actually thought I would let them live?
He placed his hand on my shoulder, fighting the urge to hug me. Instead, he settled for a firm grip. I didn't have my Rai'ki with me—back on Earth, it was stripped away when I got arrested—so I was currently unarmed.
Not a big deal. Blade had a dagger strapped to his waist.
I slowly reached for it—only freezing when he spoke again.
"How did you get here?" he repeated. "I saw you leave three months ago."
Three months ago?
I withdrew my hand, my brain trying to process what he just said.
Wait a minute...
We had spent three days here, but when we returned to Earth, it was still the same day—just later in the evening.
Time here passed much faster than it did on Earth.
My gaze returned to Blade, who was now dressed in plain medieval clothes. I tilted my head and looked past him. The others were dressed the same.
I see...
I decided not to kill them. Not yet, anyway.
If they'd stayed here for three months, they probably knew a lot about this territory. Once I extracted every piece of information they had, I'd send them off.
Besides, this was better than fighting ten people unprepared. Now I had time—to plan, to plot, to do it right.
"It took me a while, but I finally did it!" I faked a bright smile.
They all exchanged glances again, eyes full of curiosity, questions, and hope.
"The same way I can tear open space to store things in my pocket dimension," I began. "I tried to open a door that led directly to this place. And I succeeded!"
I lied with a straight face.
Shock and excitement replaced their confusion.
"Then... you can send us out, right?" a non-combatant asked from the back.
I nodded, raising my index finger to lip level.
"I can," I said. "But I'm worn out right now. I'll need three days to recover before I can send you guys out."