---
When Arthur stepped out of the gate of the third floor, the ash was still stuck to his shoulders, some of it falling off with every step.
The wound on his side was closed by the healing… but the pain remained.
And his body knew the upcoming run would not be merciful.
The gate before him was not stone or shadow…
It was a sound wave.
A sharp tone… low…
As if the air itself was groaning.
---
[Warning: Floor Four — Mental Echo Zone]
Enemy Type: Crimson Screams — 4 to 5-Star Class
Properties:
• Attacks are sonic — directly on the mind
• Hallucination probability
• Mental collapse possible if mental resistance drops
• Ears cannot be closed against this attack]
---
Arthur raised an eyebrow:
"Combat without touching… annoying."
The moment his foot touched the ground, everything changed.
The walls tightened, the ceiling lowered, and the ground became rough as if made from molten bone.
Then—
A scream.
It wasn't loud.
It wasn't human.
It was like metal scraping across glass, but inside his head.
He felt his pupils tremble, as if someone was knocking on his skull from the inside.
---
[Mental attack — Medium Level]
[Iron Will Protection — Active]
---
Arthur clenched his teeth:
"This is just the beginning, isn't it?"
The first monster appeared.
It had no defined body.
It was a crimson mass shaping itself from red mist, with a human-like head with no eyes, and a mouth torn open all the way to the ears.
The entity opened its mouth…
A second scream.
This time, blood came out of Arthur's nose.
His hand trembled for a moment.
---
[Sonic attack penetrates Will Defense by 12%]
[Recommended: Attack immediately before damage accumulates.]
---
"You're right."
Arthur dashed with his sword, but the monster vanished for half a second, reappeared behind him, and unleashed a scream directly into his right ear.
DOOOOM!
Arthur's vision shook, and his knee dropped automatically.
If not for his Iron Will…
He would've fainted.
While he staggered…
The monster released a third scream.
It was strong enough that the ground beneath Arthur cracked.
---
[Warning: Mind damaged by 4%]
[If it reaches 20%: the host will collapse.]
---
This had to end quickly.
Arthur gripped his sword with both hands and stabbed the monster directly in its open mouth.
The blade passed through the head…
Then the entire body faded.
---
[Voracious Predation — Absorbing Sonic Essence]
+0.01 Strength
+0.01 Mana
+0.01 Mind
[Extracted Lifespan: +5.2 hours]
---
(Note: As you said, if no stat-increase window appears, it means Arthur is recharging his strength.)
"Mind…? That's new."
The system said:
[The fourth floor relies on mental pressure. Predation here reinforces the host's neural center.]
That was good… but the attack wasn't over.
Three entities appeared at once.
One on the wall.
One on the ceiling.
One in front of Arthur.
All opened their mouths at the same moment.
Three screams.
Three directions.
Three vibrations meant to kill the mind.
The ground itself trembled.
Arthur's head dropped against his will, and his eyes began losing focus.
A red system window appeared:
---
[Mind undergoing neural burn!]
[Warning: 9% — 12% — 16%…]
---
"Damn…"
He could no longer move fast enough.
And he could no longer see clearly.
He felt the screaming slip into his memory…
Into his past…
Trying to open something sealed long ago.
For a moment, he saw the image of two black masks… the face of the old man.
The gang members… the man he killed.
A red flame he should never see again.
The system snapped sharply:
[Hallucination! Arthur forget the past.
Reset your focus immediately!]
"I KNOW!!!"
He gathered the remaining mana—
And activated a glimpse of Berserk Krypton — Level 2.
He didn't enter the full form.
But the frost devouring his skull stopped instantly.
His eyes sharpened, and his vision returned.
He lunged like a beast.
In one step, he reached the nearest monster and beheaded it.
Then he jumped onto the wall and cut the second.
He rushed toward the third, which tried to scream—
But Arthur shoved his elbow into its mouth, forced the scream shut, then drove the sword into its body.
---
[Voracious Predation — Absorbing Corrupted Sound]
+0.01 Strength
+0.01 Endurance
+0.02 Mind
+0.01 Mana
[Extracted Lifespan: +11.3 hours]
---
The system said:
[No stat increase… still within the recharge threshold.
But you are now mentally and physically fatigued.]
"We're not done yet."
At the end of the hall…
Arthur saw a tall, distorted humanoid shape, its head stretched backward, and its mouth open so wide the lower jaw nearly touched the chest.
It was silent.
Which made it worse.
---
[Scream Guardian — 5-Star Class]
[Abilities: Mental Sweep Scream + Possession Echo]
[Threat: Extremely High.]
---
Ding..!
Quest!
Objective: Defeat the Scream Guardian.
Reward: Random Skill.
---
The guardian raised its hand…
And gestured at Arthur as if inviting him.
Then—
It screamed.
Not a normal scream.
But a rebound wave that pierced the walls and floor, rising around Arthur like a dome.
He couldn't retreat.
He couldn't move.
He couldn't even breathe for a moment.
The sound entered his skull…
Then his memories…
Then something deeper.
The system spoke in a voice unlike its own:
[Arthur… this attack can make you abandon your will.If you lose control… you will open the gate… that gate…]
(It meant the unknown entity.)
"I… won't… open… anything…"
Arthur fell to one knee.
Blood leaked from his ears.
His vision turned red.
But… amidst the chaos…
He remembered one face.
A woman with red hair who fought him every day to make him stronger.
His little sister who laughed the first time he bled.
And a brown-haired little girl he nearly forgot saying:
"You feel strange… but I'm not afraid of you."
His memories and the original Arthur's memories.
Ding.
[Synchronization Rate: 57.14%.]
Arthur exhaled slowly.
Then said:
"We're done."
He vanished.
Lightning step—
Strike—
Just one movement.
The sword cut the guardian's head in half.
Its body collapsed into dust.
Ding
Quest completed:
Reward: Telekinetic Manipulation — Level 1
Description: Allows the host to move objects according to his mental force.
Note: Host's mental force is extremely low; currently you can only move some stones.]
---
[Voracious Predation — Absorbing Mental Echo]
+0.02 Strength
+0.01 Endurance
+0.03 Mind
[Extracted Lifespan: +12.0 hours]
---
(Note again: The system is turning stat fragments into restoration, so Arthur gets no upgrades.)
His vision returned.
The sounds stopped.
Arthur stood up tiredly and looked at the screen, then sighed.
"Great… a new skill that won't help me right now."
Then—
A gate appeared… but not like the previous ones.
It was wider.
Deeper.
And colored with ash leaning toward black.
When Arthur entered, the place looked like a giant stone arena.
Circular.
Tall.
The ground in the center polished as if blood had been drained from it.
---
[Analysis: The fifth floor consists of 5-Star monsters with tactical intelligence.]
[Note: These… are not just monsters. They are killers.]
---
The first thing Arthur noticed…
Was that nothing moved.
Then—
Tok… tok…
Footsteps.
From behind.
He turned.
Two monsters appeared at the entrance:
Tall bodies, moving with a humanoid bend.
Faceless heads.
Skin black-gray.
Long fingers like fangs.
And they were smiling… without mouths.
The sound came as a collective whisper:
[We… smell… Hashim…]
Arthur raised his sword.
"Then come."
The first monster attacked from a low angle, the second from above.
A human tactic.
Arthur blocked two strikes, but the third came from the first monster because they switched positions unnaturally fast.
One of their fingers pierced his skin near the shoulder.
The other struck his leg.
Arthur fell to one knee.
The system said:
[Their movements rely on analyzing your steps.
They learn every strike you execute.]
"Excellent analysis…"
Arthur used Shadow Manipulation, but the monsters leapt back before the shadow completed.
Fast.
Aware.
Deadly.
The first monster charged—
Kick to Arthur's chest.
He fell on his back.
The second leapt above him, trying to pierce his neck.
Arthur dodged, but its claws scratched his face.
Blood dripped into his right eye.
"Enough."
Arthur did something crazy.
He activated the berserk skill and…
He lifted his sword—
The air around him darkened.
A black spark appeared along the blade…
Then widened…
Then ignited into a thin but insane flame.
Ruin Flame.
He didn't need much.
Just a touch.
The system panicked:
[Arthur… you're insane! Why use two skills that increase the Abyss's desire for you? This will accelerate the corruption inside you!]
"It's fine… I won't let them eat… too much."
The first monster attacked—
One slash from the sword, and its arm disappeared.
The flame devoured it entirely, even the dripping bone.
The monster screamed…
For the first time.
The second attacked from behind, but Arthur twisted his body—
And swung the sword in an arc—
The fire didn't cut its body.
It erased it from existence.
The monster turned into black dust in a second.
The flame tried to grow…
But Arthur gripped the sword tightly and said:
"Enough."
It slowly faded.
---
[Voracious Predation]
From both monsters:
+0.02 Strength
+0.02 Endurance
+0.01 Mana
[Extracted Lifespan: +9.4 hours]
---
The ground shook.
The front wall opened.
The fifth-floor guardian appeared.
It was almost human.
Tall.
Thin.
Its face covered by a cracked gray mask, shadows pouring from its back.
Its voice was a whisper… but clear:
[Your… fall… now.]
It vanished.
Appeared behind Arthur.
A shadow strike.
Arthur retreated.
Appeared above him.
Kick.
Appeared beside him.
Claw.
This enemy… moved inside the shadows themselves.
The system said:
[Arthur… you must use the Ruin Flame… but at a low percentage!]
"That's what I'm doing."
Arthur raised his sword again—
Just a small spark, not enough to release the hellfire.
The guardian attacked head-on.
Arthur's blade passed near the shadow—
The Ruin Flame devoured the shadow itself!
The guardian staggered, its real body revealed for a split second.
That chance was never wasted.
Arthur rushed with everything he had left—
Drove the sword into the guardian's chest—
And pushed with all his strength.
The shadows on its back tried to wrap around him…
But the Ruin Flame ate them the moment they touched the air.
In the end…
The guardian exploded into dark gray ash.
---
[Voracious Predation — Absorbing Living Shadow]
+0.03 Strength
+0.02 Endurance
+0.01 Mana
+0.01 Magic Power
[Extracted Lifespan: +11.8 hours]
---
[Total Lifespan extracted from both floors:]
• Floor Four: +28.5 hours
• Floor Five: +21.2 hours
Total: +49.7 hours
---
[Previous Lifespan: 203.3 hours]
[Current Lifespan: 253.0 hours (≈ 10.54 days)]
---
[Updated Stats:]
Strength: 42.69% (E)
Endurance: 41.69% (E)
Mana: 36.01% (–E)
Magic Power: 35.97% (E)
---
Arthur fell to one knee, breathing heavily, blood dripping from his chin.
The system said:
[One floor remains before the dragon.
But… your physical and mental condition is on the edge.]
Arthur smiled:
"Good… then let's rest a little, and continue… I'm very sleepy."
He lifted his head toward the next black gate—
The gate of the sixth floor.
The Dragon's Guardians.
He stared at it for a few seconds, then fell asleep instantly.
---