The cave was barely a refuge against the madness Josuke felt in every cell. Sitting on a rock polished by years of exile, he stared at the red sky with empty eyes.
Time here was a cruel joke: there were no days or nights, only that perpetual light bleeding across the horizon as a reminder he would never wake up.
He didn't know if years had passed, decades, or if he himself had already become something other than human. He could only guide himself by the notification that appeared every cycle:
[BLOOD MISSION IN PROGRESS. TIME LIMIT REMAINING: 146 HOURS.]
Every time he closed his eyes, he remembered the phrase he once murmured with conviction:
—It's temporary— he repeated, voice breaking.
But that memory was more mockery than comfort.
Long before…
A different Josuke was running between pillars of crimson basalt, the hood of black rags flapping behind him. A gigantic serpent rose from the volcanic mist, its body made of red rock that crackled as it touched the air. Its eyes, yellow gems of ancient hatred, tracked his every move.
The scarlet serpent opened its jaws. A jet of acid hissed through the air. Josuke made an impossible leap, bouncing off a ledge and landing on the monster's back. He activated his information vision:
[Species: Scarlet Serpent]
[Level: 150]
[Rank: AA+]
—Finally, something worthy— he growled, a spark of rage in his eyes.
He drove the crimson dagger into a scale. The blade snapped with a dry crack.
—Damn it! I forgot about its rock armor!
A tail like a mountain pillar struck his stomach, launching him across the plain until he was embedded in a cliff. The rock splintered around his body. The pain was inhuman. But he stood up. He always stood up.
—I won't die here— he muttered, blood running down his chin.
The serpent spat acid again. Josuke slashed it with a cut so fast the burning liquid splashed into the monster's eyes. He seized that single moment of vulnerability. He leapt with a roar that no longer sounded human. His blade pierced the serpent's soft belly. A geyser of blue blood erupted.
The Crimson Oni Mask emerged across his face. It drank every drop it could, making a horrid sound.
Josuke collapsed on the corpse. His breathing was ragged, his gaze empty. He opened his level panel.
[HOST LEVEL: 9]
Rage flooded him.
—YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING MEEEE— he screamed at the sky that never changed.
In the corner of his vision, an endless counter of blood points:
[+2,000,000 BLOOD POINTS ACCUMULATED.]
It was a useless treasure. He could only spend them on stats and skills that had transformed him into something no longer a man. His strength, speed, and senses surpassed anything conceivable, but his level remained stuck.
…
Later, Josuke remembered when he thought he'd finally get a reward for his efforts. A notification shone like salvation:
[CHOOSE YOUR CLASS!]
It was the first thing that felt like real progress. An almost forgotten emotion ran through his chest as he reviewed the options:
[Assassin]
[Mage]
[Swordsman]
[Archer]
[Beast Tamer]
He smiled, lips cracked from dryness.
—Finally, something— he whispered.
Without hesitation, he picked the option that had called to him since he was a child: [Mage].
A message appeared.
[ERROR: CLASS NOT COMPATIBLE WITH HOST. PLEASE CHOOSE ANOTHER.]
The void opened in his throat.
—Why…— he said, voice broken —You offered the choice yourself…
He tried another option: [Assassin].
[ERROR: CLASS NOT COMPATIBLE WITH HOST.]
A tremor climbed his spine. Despair mingled with fury. Every attempt met the same rejection. Meanwhile, the ground shook. A monstrous worm erupted beneath his feet. Without even looking at it, Josuke slashed with his blade. The creature burst into a puddle of blue blood.
—I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!— he roared into the void.
In the end, he chose the only option that wasn't rejected: [Swordsman].
[CLASS ACCEPTED.]
[SYSTEM ADAPTED TO SWORDSMAN CLASS.]
His stats updated:
[Strength]: +9800 experience
[Speed]: +9800 experience
[Endurance]: +9800 experience
[Defense]: +9800 experience
[Attack]: +9999 experience
He stared at those absurd numbers with cold disdain.
—I have all this power and experience… and I'm still trapped in the same hole.
Back in the cave, Josuke tossed a charred bone into the fire. The corpse of the scarlet serpent served as his food. The meat tasted of rust and ash.
—All because of that damned Messenger… and the so-called god of souls— he said, chewing with disgust —If this is punishment, I've paid for it a thousand times over.
He sighed. The silence of the underworld was so absolute that sometimes he truly believed he would go insane.
Over the years, the cave bore the marks carved by the time he had survived in that underworld—ten years of suffering and a loop that seemed infinite.
—At least…— he looked up at the floating panel —At least I can store the monsters' items and minerals I find out there… even if it's only to watch them rot with me.
He had amassed weapons, minerals, magic stones. But there was no merchant, no village, nowhere to trade them. Only him, the Crimson Oni Mask, and eternity.
He stood up. He knew his fate wouldn't change if he stayed there. And at some point, his humanity would be lost forever.
That was why he set out toward the last bastion of the continent: the dragon's kingdom. Maybe killing the most powerful beast of that continent could bring something new with his level 9—maybe something would break. Maybe he would shatter that endless loop… finally level up.
…
The dragon's kingdom was a giant crater, where the ground was cracked and the air burned like an oven. The dragon rose from the molten rock, so colossal its shadow covered the entire plain.
Josuke drew his Ruby katana, forged from unique minerals of the Seventh Underworld. He shrugged off the black coat and let his muscular, scarred body feel the poisonous wind.
—I don't intend to die in this place or any other— he murmured, the Oni mask materializing over his jaw —Let it be fighting.
The dragon roared. A colossal blaze engulfed his figure. Josuke ran through the fire without flinching. His stats had turned him into a monster. He leapt and struck a slash that carved a deep wound in the beast's chest. Purple blood poured out in torrents.
—I want to see… what skills you'll give me when I devour your blood— he said in a dark tone.
The dragon opened its mouth. A violet glow ignited in its throat. Josuke raised the katana, ready for the final strike.
But then, a white light surrounded him. Everything vanished in a blink.
…
The world changed. Suddenly, he was falling from a blue sky, crashing through clouds with a roar of wind. His body struck a river. Water splashed high into the trees.
A new silence filled his ears. The true silence of a living world.
He surfaced, coughing, and breathed for the first time in years air that didn't burn.
On the shore, a figure was watching him. A tall elf girl, with silver hair and long pointed ears. Her green eyes regarded him warily, her white hair dancing with the sudden breeze.
—Again… another damned transported one— she said, her voice icy.
Josuke clutched his chest, gasping. He looked up at the clear sky, the forest, the water.
—What… just happened…? Where the hell am I…?
The system notification appeared:
[LOCATION: SEVENTH WORLD. STARTING POINT.]
He went silent. Water streamed down his face. A tremor of hope and fear twisted in his gut.
—Have I… finally escaped hell…? Who brought me here…?— he whispered, as the Oni mask sank back under his skin.
The world had changed. But his story seemed like it was only just beginning.
The icy water slid down his skin as Josuke Hachimizu emerged from the river. His breath was still shaky, and a faint steam rose from his body, as if his flesh itself still remembered the toxic heat of the Seventh Underworld.
His dull red eyes lifted toward the shore. There, standing firm, her bow drawn and an arrow of jade energy pulsing in her right hand, an elf girl aimed at him with trembling fury.
Her white hair fell in silky strands over her forehead, and her long ears quivered just slightly, though her green gaze never wavered from his.
—And who are you? —Josuke asked, his voice deep and wary as drops from the river slid down his jaw—. Why are you pointing that thing at me?
The elf kept the string taut until it seemed ready to snap.
—Filthy transported one —she spat with hatred—. You must have come like the others, to steal the mana from the Great Tree of this forest.
Josuke raised an eyebrow.
—Great Tree? I have no damn idea what you're talking about —he replied, in the cold tone of someone who'd seen too many horrors to be fazed by an arrow in his face—. I just got here.
She did not lower the bow. The green arrow grew denser, sparking with luminous particles that danced between her fingers.
—Back! —she shouted—. If you take one step, I swear I'll pierce your heart.
Josuke sighed wearily and lifted both hands with studied calm.
—Alright… —he said softly—. Relax. I'm not looking for a fight.
But her gaze flickered with unease. There was something about him that unsettled her more than any other threat she'd ever felt. A subtle stench, suffocating, like sulfurous miasma and rotting flesh.
In her mind, she invoked a perception spell to check his mana.
(Nothing).
She sensed no mana flowing in his body. No magical fluctuation. No spiritual signature.
Only… that smell. A black void with a murderous edge that made her shiver.
—I'll ask you one last time —she said, her voice cracking—. What do you want from this forest?
—I don't want anything —Josuke answered, staring at her without blinking—. I'm just passing through.
—Liar! —the elf screamed—. All of you transported ones come seeking the power of the Great Tree. I won't let you destroy it!
Josuke clenched his jaw.
—I told you I don't know what tree you're talking about. You know what? I'm done. Do whatever you want. I'm leaving.
He turned on his heel, leaving a trail of droplets on the grass. The sunlight reflected on his bare shoulders, still tense from years of contained violence.
—I said don't move! —she roared, releasing the arrow with an emerald thunderclap.
A green flash tore through the air.
But Josuke lifted his hand in a movement so fast the air cracked. His fingers closed around the mana arrow, stopping it cold. A shockwave rippled through the trees.
The elf's eyes widened in terror.
Josuke tilted his head, grim, as an oppressive pressure spilled from his skin, saturating the forest with the scent of ash and death.
—Are you deaf? —he said, his voice hoarse like a distant drum—. I won't waste my time with you. If you force me, you'll meet God in person.
A cold tremor crawled up her spine. Her breathing turned shallow, as if an invisible fist were crushing her chest. The mana arrow in her palm fizzled out helplessly.
And then, for the first time, she understood: the thing before her was not just a transported one. It was something older. Darker. Something that should not be walking under the sun.
Without thinking, she fell to her knees. The bow slipped from her hand onto the grass. She lowered her head, trembling.
—P-please! Please don't kill me…!
Josuke remained silent. Then he sighed, like a man tired of always being misunderstood.
—Hey… —he murmured—. I didn't mean to scare you. Come on… get up. I'm not going to hurt you.
—A-are you serious…? —she asked in a thread of a voice, tears glistening on her lashes—. You're… you're not going to kill me?
Josuke rolled his eyes with resignation.
—Of course not. Why would I? We're almost… —he tapped a finger to his temple in surrender— …buddies, I guess.
Far away, in a plane impossible to describe with human words, the Divine Messenger floated. Seated on a black cube rotating slowly in an endless white space, he watched everything through a searing veil.
His robe shone like the midday sun, and two white wings stirred solemnly at his back.
—Good thing I hurried to pull him out of that pit —he murmured, his voice an echo without origin—. If he'd stayed in the Underworld… with every creature he devoured… he could have become a threat to all of us.
His golden pupil contracted.
—Unfortunately, I can't kill him. Or fully seal his power… that… ability that should never exist —his lips twisted into a grimace—. But as long as his leveling system remains corrupted, he'll be chained to his own failure. Just as I was ordered… by the God of Souls.
He folded his hands over his knees.
—Let's see… how long you survive in a world like this, Josuke Hachimizu.
Under the light of the forest, Josuke and the elf finally sat together in a grassy clearing to talk. The girl—Irielle, she introduced herself in a timid voice—explained how many transported ones had come to her forest, greedy to absorb the mana of the Great Tree, a millennial being whose sap sustained the valley's fertility.
—Every time they try, the life of the forest withers —she said sadly—. That's why… I don't trust your kind.
—I get it —Josuke replied with a sigh—. Believe me, I've also had to survive surrounded by creatures who only wanted to devour whatever they found.
In silence, he opened the crimson inventory. The red window floated before his face. An endless list of relics and minerals scrolled before him.
[Inventory: Objects, minerals, and magical relics +23,000 items].
"Let's see… Magma Quartz should be enough to show good faith."
He took out a burning fragment the size of a fist. He set it before Irielle with casual ease.
She brought a hand to her lips, astonished.
—H-how did you make this appear?
—Just take it —Josuke said—. It's yours.
Irielle hugged the quartz as if it were a treasure. Then, he asked her where he could sell all the items he'd accumulated in the Underworld.
—On the other side of the forest —the elf replied—. There's a guild that trades in all kinds of artifacts. If you say I sent you… they won't bother you.
Josuke nodded.
—Thanks.
For the first time in many years, he walked without a red sky above his head. As he advanced along paths wreathed in golden mist, he felt something strange: clean air.
Maybe… here, he could finally remember that he was human.
When he reached the guild, he pushed the door open with a creak.
A deadly silence fell at once.
Dozens of adventurers stopped their conversations. Their gazes fixed on his silhouette, wrapped in dark miasma. The faint sulfurous smell spread, pressing against everyone's chests.
One of the adventurers swallowed hard.
—I-it's a… a monster…?
The tension turned unbearable.
—MONSTER! —someone screamed.
A rain of drawn blades glittered in the gloom.
—Keep it under control! —they bellowed, raising spears and staves.
Josuke stood in the doorway, shadow hiding his eyes. His voice, when he spoke, was a frigid whisper.
—Ah… really? Again?
And the air filled with a foreboding chill.