Chapter Two: The System.
"We must destroy all mankind and their world, we will show them what we are",a very sinister and dark creepy voice stated.
"Not on my watch",another voice said.
Suddenly, noises of explosion occur like if the world was in another war.
"Get it, it must not escape,".
AT THE ALCHEMISTS' TRAINING HALL
"You think you're so strong uhn?", Kang Jin Soo, a mature grown male in his late 20s said.
"Of course I'm strong", Jung do Hyun said
The training started with powerful magic and arrows flying in every accurate direction. Kang Jin Soo fired a heavy fireball blast that was barely avoided by Jung Do Hyun.
He also attacked but this time with a graceful and fierce strike to the head but that also was countered. Jin Soo held do hyun's leg and threw him with great force making do Hyun to hit the walls of the training room hard.
A backaching do Hyun falls off the wall and walks slowly to the floor, but Jin Soo was ready for him, he tried to land a heavy finishing blow to Do Hyun but surprisingly, the attack was stopped by do Hyun with a magic shield, he landed one punch and Jin Soo was sent flying across the room hitting the upper walls of the training room.
"I guess I am strong", do Hyun said Smirking and holding his aching back.
They were suddenly interrupted by an announcement, that was loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.
ANNOUNCER:
"Breaking news another portal has appeared in the middle of the street, near the city's edge, level.... unknown. All available Alchemists, report to the scene."
At the Portal's Entrance
"Guys, let's do this, go in and come out alive.",Jin Soo yelled.
All responded with a corresponding yes.
"Wait?",a man spoke dressed in shiny, and well iron suit.
"Mr. Sung?",Jin Soo spoke in shock looking over the man's shoulders to see two other people, Kim Min Ho and A girl, Park Ji Woo, a cute looking girl who was obviously scared to go with them.
"The Alchemy Chairman want these two to join you so you can teach them a little or more of what you know",the well dressed Man, Mr. Sung said gesturingntp at the two.
"Alright", jin soo answered,
"If he said so, bit if they die, we will not be blamed for it.", He added
"Of course not", the man responded watching them go into the portal.
IN THE PORTAL
They should have never entered the portal.
What was supposed to be a low-risk dungeon had become a nightmare from which they could not awaken.
The moment the eight Alchemists crossed the shimmering gate, they were trapped—ensnared inside a towering, obsidian chamber with no exits, no monsters… only the stench of death and the overwhelming pressure of something ancient watching them.
An enormous statue loomed above, its face hidden beneath a crown of black thorns, its voice crawling across the chamber like a cold wind:
"Welcome, fools. You have entered a Monarch-Level Dungeon. Your lives now belong to me."
Panic erupted instantly.
Kang Jin Soo fired off a barrage of spells at the sealed portal—but the magic shattered, recoiling violently. He fell to his knees, coughing blood.
"Silence."
The statue's hand moved, and a stone tablet rose from the ground.
"You will each take turns answering my riddles. Fail… and you will die, consumed by the curse of this realm. One mistake—one breath too slow—and your flesh will be torn from your bones."
Horrified, they realized there was no way out.
The tablet glowed.
"The first question goes to… Kang Jin Soo."
His face paled.
"I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have no body, but I come alive with the wind. What am I?"
Kang Jin Soo swallowed hard. His lips trembled.
"An… echo?"
Silence.
Then the tablet flared.
"Correct."
He collapsed in relief, sweat pouring down his face.
But their reprieve was brief.
"Next: Ahn Dae Hyun."
The riddle appeared:
"The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?"
Ahn Dae Hyun stammered, eyes wide. "F-footsteps?"
Correct.
The rounds continued—Shin Yong Jae, Park Soo Yoon, Lee Ji Eun, each narrowly surviving their turn, their faces pale and drenched in terror.
Then came Kang Min Kyung's turn.
Her riddle appeared.
"I have cities, but no houses. I have mountains, but no trees. I have water, but no fish. What am I?"
She froze.
"Come on!" Jung Do Hyun urged.
"Think!" Kang Jin Soo shouted.
But her lips only quivered.
"Five… four… three…"
Her voice cracked. "A… a desert?"
Wrong.
Without warning, the floor beneath her opened. Black chains shot upward, dragging her down as she screamed—her body shredded apart, leaving only a smear of blood on the floor.
Everyone screamed in horror.
It didn't stop.
One after the other, the riddles continued—and one by one, they fell.
Jung Do Hyun answered wrong. His body erupted in flames, burning him alive.
Ahn Dae Hyun was sliced apart by lightning fast blades.
Shin Yong Jae's body froze solid and shattered into pieces.
Lee Ji Eun, in tears, failed her question—and was crushed beneath a giant invisible weight, bones snapping in the air.
Only three remained: Park Ji Woo, Park Soo Yoon, and Kim Min Ho.
Park Soo Yoon faced the next riddle—but failed.
His body was torn to ribbons by whirling winds, gone in an instant.
Now, only Ji Woo and Min Ho were left, standing among the pools of blood and shattered bodies of their comrades.
Ji Woo's hands shook as her riddle appeared.
"I am not alive, but I grow; I don't have lungs, but I need air; I don't have a mouth, but water kills me. What am I?"
Tears streamed down her face.
"I… I… I don't know… I don't know!" she wailed, collapsing in despair.
The statue's voice rumbled:
"One must die for the other to live."
Min Ho stared at her. They hadn't even spoken before this nightmare.
She was sobbing, terrified, trapped.
He took a deep breath.
"I'll answer for her," Min Ho said quietly.
She looked up, shocked. "W-What? No! You can't—"
But the statue's eyes glowed.
"Accepted. One sacrifice offered."
He turned to Ji Woo, offering a faint, tired smile.
"You should live," he said simply.
Before she could speak, chains erupted from the walls, seizing him.
"NO! WAIT!" Ji Woo screamed, clawing toward him, but the forces holding her back were too strong.
Min Ho's body was lifted into the air, surrounded by spiraling dark magic. He didn't resist. He only kept his eyes on her, calm even in the face of death.
"Live well," he whispered.
Then—black lightning struck him.
He didn't even scream as his body disintegrated into glowing ash, fading away in front of her eyes.
The statue's voice echoed one final time:
"The sacrifice has been accepted. You may leave."
Ji Woo collapsed, shaking uncontrollably as a portal appeared beside her.
Barely able to stand, she crawled toward it—her mind a blur of grief and terror—before it sucked her out, leaving the blood-soaked chamber behind.
In the void where Min Ho's body had vanished, something flickered.
A cold, invisible holographic system popped up:
"Unique Soul Detected."
"Revival Protocol Initiated."
"System Authorization Granted."
"Reconstructing Vessel."
Light erupted.
Hospital Room – Later
Beeping monitors hummed softly in the quiet room.
Kim Min Ho's eyes fluttered open, his breath catching as he stared at the white ceiling.
He felt… alive. Whole. No pain. No chains.
Beside him, his sister, Min Soo, sat with tear-streaked cheeks, clutching his hand tightly.
"Oppa… You're awake!" she cried, sobbing in relief.
He blinked, confused but calm.
"I'm… alive?",he said sitting up straight.
Her words tumbled out in between her sobs. "You were said to be dead! They said you were dead! But then suddenly—your heart started beating again, and your wounds disappeared!"
Min Ho's gaze darkened as fragments of the dungeon returned to him—the riddles, the deaths, Ji Woo's horrified face.
Then, the same faint mechanical system popped up in front of him again:
[SYSTEM ONLINE.]
[Congratularions, You Have Been Chosen.]
He exhaled slowly, staring at the system.
"I have work to do."