---
He didn't speak.
He didn't threaten.
He vanished.
Not like a flash of lightning… but like a shadow that devoured light itself, erasing his presence as if he had never existed.
He reappeared beneath the closest wyvern, his blade slicing through the air with a faint whistle before ripping upward through the creature's ribs.
A burst of dark blood exploded out—yet the shadows swallowed it before it could touch the ground.
The wyvern screamed, wings flailing in a desperate attempt to regain balance, but its body crashed into the bone-filled ravine below, bones clattering against ancient remains as though the valley itself consumed the fallen.
Arthur's lips slowly curled… into a demonic smile. A smile no human should make.
The second wyvern spread its jaws, spewing a torrent of black venom capable of melting stone—but Arthur had already appeared above its head, his form rippling with shadows, his blade wrapped in a faint aura of corruption.
One strike.
A direct stab through the eye, followed by a slight twist of his wrist…
The blade pierced out through the back of the creature's skull.
For a moment, its body trembled—
Then the effect of Ravenous Devour spread through it, consuming flesh, bone… even the last echo of its life.
The second wyvern dropped without a sound, as if even death refused to acknowledge it.
The third hesitated.
That single moment… sealed its fate.
Shadows seized its wing and slammed it into the ground.
Arthur anchored his shadow-formed feet into the skeletal terrain—the lower half of his body no longer human, but something darker, incomplete, monstrous.
The wyvern looked at him in terror—
But not at Arthur alone…
There was something behind him.
A pair of massive golden eyes materialized like a mirage… then sharpened into terrifying clarity.
One glance made the wyvern's heart quiver.
Arthur raised his sword.
Ignited Destruction Flame.
And brought it down in a single merciless arc—
The head separated cleanly, like slicing through soft butter.
Silence claimed the valley.
Even the wind paused, as though nature itself acknowledged what had transpired.
The echoes of the previous roar drifted across the distant cliffs… then faded.
The aura surrounding Arthur dimmed gradually—but the shadowed half of his body, the dark limbs he had formed, did not fade.
Instead, they hardened.
Cracks spread through the surface.
Changing… mutating… calcifying.
Then he felt it—
A burning sting on his forehead, as if something inside him was trying to break free.
The system spoke:
---
[Warning: Berserk Krypton — Stage 3 duration ended.]
[Returning body to normal…]
[Error… Error… External interference preventing termination of Berserk Mode.]
[Initializing Emergency Protection Protocol…]
[Error... Unknown entity granted override permission…..]
---
Arthur's eyes widened.
For the first time… he felt he was controlling the berserk state, not being consumed by it.
Yet the skill… refused to end.
Something else—
Something unknown—
was pulling the strings of his body.
Cracks echoed through his bones.
His chest tightened.
His heartbeat stumbled—
Even the system's voice trembled.
He ignored every notification.
His focus fixed only on the final gate.
His one way out of this hell.
The moment he stepped toward it, a golden notification forced itself into view:
---
[Beginning Protocol: Purification.
Restricting extreme corruption energy within the host.
Prepare for severe pain…]
---
Arthur didn't even manage to speak before—
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"
Agony tore through him like a burning death—
followed by another.
And another.
His knees hit the ground.
His hands shook violently as shadows whipped around his body in a frenzy.
Inside his fading consciousness… a whisper echoed.
Not the system.
Something darker.
"This weak seal won't restrain me for long…"
He couldn't understand.
He didn't have the luxury to try.
---
[Purification in progress…]
[12%… 22%… 44%… 89%… 99%… 100%.]
---
Golden chains erupted from the air—
Heavenly, divine, merciless.
They wrapped around Arthur, constricting him, crushing the shadows, forcing them back inside with overwhelming pressure.
His forehead burned hotter.
As if something was carving itself into his soul.
Minutes of unbearable agony passed before his body finally began to collapse.
The shadow-forged limbs were crumbling.
His original bones, muscles, skin—
everything was at its limit.
And then a new window appeared—one he had never seen in his life:
---
Ding!
[Status Detected: "Post-Purification."]
Emergency Quest Activated — Survival Class.
Quest: Survive after losing half of your body
Description:
The host has exceeded the allowable physical damage threshold. Without immediate intervention, cardiac arrest will occur within seconds.
Reward:
• Legendary-grade Healing Elixir
[Complete reconstruction of the body, including deep-layer damage.]
---
A dark glass vial materialized before him, glowing from within with a gentle golden radiance.
Arthur stared at it, barely conscious…
but lifted it.
Drank every drop.
Heat surged through his veins.
The shadows recoiled instantly.
Bones reformed.
Organs regenerated.
Skin tightened back into place.
His posture straightened as if resurrected.
He collapsed onto his knees, his palm striking the bone-covered ground as he gasped—
his first breath with a fully restored body.
His vision blurred… darkened…
but he heard the system one more time, calm in a way he had never heard before:
---
[Body fully restored: 100%.]
[Vital functions stabilized.]
[Predation Report:]
• Extracted lifespan from three wyverns:
— +16 days
— +18 days
— +16 days
[Total lifespan gained on this floor: +50 days]
[Previous remaining lifespan: 253.0 hours (≈10.54 days)]
[Current remaining lifespan: 1453 hours (≈60.54 days)]
---
The moment he processed that—
Arthur lost consciousness.
His newly rebuilt body dropped onto the valley of bones, swallowed by a suffocating stillness…
As if the dungeon itself was waiting for the moment he awakens again.
---
(So what is your opinion so far? I would appreciate an honest answer in order to improve the upcoming chapters.)