Chapter 14: The Fourth Gate
Back at the Tower Dungeon.
Kelvin stood in front of the dark, flickering gate that led to Level Four. The metal arch with blue light, like it was breathing โ like it was alive. The air around, whispering in short, broken code like sounds.
His hood swayed with the artificial wind that blew up from the lower floors. The smell of dust, magic, and burned energy filled the place.
He didn't move yet. He just stared.
"I need to acquire all the special rewards," Kelvin said softly, his voice low but calm. "In order to have the SSS rank reward "
He lifted his hand.
Three glowing items floated above his palm โ the Crystal Heart, the Data Key, and the Temporal Core. They spun slowly, humming in sync, each one holding a strange, painful glow like they were alive too. The light hit his face and made his eyes gleam.
"Three special artifact down," he whispered. "Time to forge something extraordinary ."
He closed his hand.
The three lights twisted together, their glow bleeding into one another until the colors became something the world didn't have a name for. The air shook. The floor cracked. The tower's walls hummed like they were scared.
A notification appeared in front of him.
[Special Item Fusion: ๐]
Kelvin didn't move for a second. He just stared at the light in his hand โ like he was looking at something sacred. His jaw tightened. For the first time in a while, his heartbeat changed.
He show what the reward was. Not yet.
But from the way his eyes darkened, from the small twitch of his lips, from the low exhale that came after โ you could tell this was something he needed. Not wanted. Needed.
The kind of thing that could turn the world upside down if used wrong.
He slowly slid it into his storage system.
His Mind Action buzzed in response, feeding off the new energy. He could feel the connection deep in his nerves โ something powerful was taking shape, growing, waiting.
Kelvin tilted his head and looked at the Level Four gate again.
"Level Fourโฆ" he said, his voice dropping into a whisper.
"You'll be harder than all the rest. But You are my key to unlocking my special rewards ."
He smirked.
The gate widened like it heard him.
But he didn't go in yet. Not because he was afraid โ Kelvin had forgotten what fear even felt like โ but because he was calculating.
He looked up at the floating status window above him, where the faint flicker of the Admin's eye was watching. He could feel it โ that silent gaze that always followed him, judging, recording, waiting for him to fall.
"Keep watching," he muttered under his breath. "You'll want to see this part. Enjoy it cause it wouldn't last for long"
Then he turned and walked through the gate.
The System's hum grew louder behind him, like a heartbeat that didn't belong to him.
Kelvin's smile widened under his hood.
[Entering: LEVEL FOUR โ Special Dungeon]
[Warning: Lethality Rate โ 98%.]
[Boss Type: Evolved Guardian - Core Devourer.]
[Time Limit: None.]
The moment Kelvin stepped through, everything changed.
The sky above him wasn't a sky anymore โ just an endless red void filled with moving shadows. The ground cracked under every step like it was made of glass. A storm of black dust blew around him, carrying whispers in different voices โ voices of people who had died here before.
He didn't flinch.
He pulled his hood tighter and kept walking until the whispers went quiet.
At the center of the broken arena, something massive moved.
It was a creature โ no, more like a mountain of blades, gears, and black mist. It had no face, only a single glowing red orb in the middle of its chest. Each time it breathed, the whole place shook.
[Boss Detected: CORE DEVOURER.]
[Energy Level: Overload.]
The thing let out a deep, grinding growl that sounded like metal scraping against stone.
Then it charged.
Kelvin sidestepped, his boots sliding across the fractured floor as the beast's claw tore through the ground where he'd just been standing. The impact blew out a crater the size of a small house.
He spun back, his hands glowing.
"Let's dance."
He slammed his palm down. A surge of energy shot up his arm โ the power of his Mind Action syncing with every nerve in his body. His body reacted before thought. Every movement was clean, sharp, perfect.
He dashed forward, leaving a streak of blue light from his eyes behind him. His fist connected with the beast's chest โ and sparks exploded.
The creature roared, its massive arm swinging down like a wall. Kelvin ducked under it and kicked upward, landing another hit that cracked its lower armor.
But the Devourer didn't back down.
It opened its chest โ and the red orb pulsed.
A beam of energy shot out, slicing through everything in front of it.
Kelvin barely managed to throw himself aside. The blast hit a wall and melted it instantly.
He landed hard, dust flying.
"Tch. That hurt."
"But I like it"
He looked at his arm โ the sleeve was gone, skin burned. He shook his hand, letting the pain settle into focus.
For some reason vitality could not heal the wound but Kelvin wasn't bothered at all.
The Devourer roared again, and the ground split as dark tendrils began crawling out from the cracks.
[System Alert: Terrain Corruption Active.]
Kelvin's feet sank a little into the black sludge.
But instead of stepping back, he laughed โ a short, dry sound.
He closed his eyes.
His Mind Action reacted instantly. His nerves moved automatically. His breathing synced with the pulse.
"Alright," he whispered. "Time to see what you can really do."
[(30%) All stat โAgility 203,289(+403,022)
The air rippled.
He disappeared.
The Devourer swung โ but hit nothing.
A split second later, Kelvin appeared behind it. His hand was already glowing blue-white, energy from his hoody sparking around his fingers. He punched straight through one of its metal wings, ripping it off clean.
The monster screeched.
Its tail lashed out, hitting Kelvin square in the chest and throwing him back across the field. He smashed into a broken pillar and spat blood.
He grinned through it.
"That's more like it."
He got back up, chest rising and falling hard, and activated his Stat Swap โ strength for agility. His muscles tensed, eyes flaring.
He vanished again, moving too fast for the eye to follow.
Each movement was a blur โ a strike, a dodge, a flash. He tore through the beast's legs, arms, and chest, one hit at a time. Sparks and black fluid splattered the ground.
But the Core Devourer wasn't dying.
Each time Kelvin landed a blow, the creature's wounds closed back up with dark energy. It fed on the dungeon itself.
Kelvin frowned. "So that's your trick."
He raised his hand again. The pulse from inside his coat grew stronger. His Mind Action went quiet โ waiting.
[(40%) Agility โ Intelligence]
He then gave a smile "Then let's break the source."
The Devourer's red core pulsed again โ brighter this time โ as it charged up for a final attack.
The whole arena shook. The sky cracked like glass.
Kelvin stood there, unmoving.
(95%)All statโAgility 203,289(+1,367,890)]
The moment his mind commanded, the entire dungeon froze. The dust in the air stopped. The monster stopped mid-scream. Even the flicker of the System's light slowed down.
[WARNING... WARNINGโผ๏ธ: Agility > 1.5 M]
Kelvin looked up. His eyes glowed faintly.
He stepped forward slowly, his voice calm again, every step echoing in the still world.
He appeared in front of the frozen Devourer and placed his hand on its red core.
The world snapped back into motion.
And then โ boom.
A wave of energy exploded outward. The entire arena was swallowed in white light.
When the light cleared, half the dungeon was gone.
The monster was lying in pieces, its red core cracked open and flickering weakly.
Kelvin stood over it, with a straight calm face. His coat was torn, his hands burned, but his eyes were still sharp.
He crouched and grabbed the shattered piece of the monster's core.
[System Message: Boss Defeated.]
[Reward: ๐.]
Kelvin stared at the message for a long time, then smirked.
He looked at his status window
__________________โ๏ธ_________________
[STATUS WINDOW]
[ NAME: KELVIN {( LEVEL 6)} ]
60,900๐ | 2,114๐ | 5๐
โ โโโโโโโโโ STATS โโโโโโโโโโโฃ
โSTR -202100 AGI -203289 STA -33299โ
โDUR-102105 INT -2166 PER -10388 โ
โ WILL โ 303494 VIT-1200 TALENT-(๐)โ
โ โโโโโโโโ ABILITIES ๐โโโโโโโโโฃ
โ Stat Swap โโโโโโโ โ
โ Mind Action โโโโโโ โ
โ Space Walker โโโโ โ
โ โโโโโโโ TITLE ๐โโโโโโโโโโโโฃ
โSolo hero๐ฅ One shot Emperor ๐ฎ โ
โ Odds breaker ๐. Monster Mind ๐๏ธ โ
โDiabolical Demon king ๐. โ
โ โโโโ. ARTIFACTS โ๏ธ โโโโโโโโฃ โScales of the weak Mystic Egg(๐)โ
โ โโโโ. STORAGE โโโโโโโโฃ
โ โโโโ. RECOMMENDATION โโโโโโฃ
โโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโ
"I Got the reward golden key to unlocking any restricted Ability like my talent"
"But right now I need it to unlock the Mystic Egg even though am not the one who will use it."
[Congratulations ๐: Mystic Egg ๐]
[Mystic Egg : The Ancient Egg of the k@lio#
A sacred mixed breed of the universe]
[One Egg is hatched it will take on the form of the users spirit beast]
Kelvin Wrapped his friend Max's cloth around the egg to give it warmth.
"I'll Wrap this egg with Max cloth so it will remember him as it's mother using its sent"
"With this max can protect himself during the catalytic apocalypse without my help"
He turned and started walking toward the exit gate that had opened behind him. His steps were slow, heavy, but proud.
" I wonder what form the egg will take."
As he reached the gate, he looked back once.
The remains of the Devourer were already turning to dust.
Then he disappeared into the light.