The moment the last portal collapsed, the dungeon exhaled.
Not figuratively.
Mana surged outward in a slow, controlled wave, like a beast calming after sensing its master's presence. Cracks in the walls sealed themselves. The ceiling stabilized. The dungeon core—once exposed—retreated back into the stone.
Balance restored.
But not by the system.
By him.
Jinwoo stood still, eyes half-lidded, listening.
Something inside him had shifted.
Not power rising—
But something loosening.
His chest burned faintly, like an old scar being pressed for the first time in years.
Then it appeared.
Not in his status window.
Not as a system message.
But as a memory forcing itself forward.
He remembered kneeling.
Not in submission—
But exhaustion.
A battlefield layered with corpses. Hunters. Monarchs. Creatures that no longer existed in this world.
The sky had been broken.
And standing before him—
A being made of light and code.
The System Core.
"You are incompatible," it had said.
"You will destroy the balance."
Jinwoo had laughed back then.
"Balance?" he had replied. "You mean control."
Pain flared in his chest.
The present snapped back into focus.
Jinwoo staggered slightly.
The Devourer reacted instantly, shifting closer, its massive body acting as a shield.
"…It's starting," Jinwoo muttered.
A thin, black line appeared across his forearm.
Not a wound.
A crack.
Like a seal splitting under pressure.
Text appeared—slowly, reluctantly.
[Seal Fragment Released]
[Concept Unlocked: Absolute Presence (0.01%)]
The dungeon trembled.
Not violently.
Reverently.
Jinwoo clenched his fist.
The air around him compressed.
Not mana.
Existence.
The Devourer lowered its head fully to the floor, trembling.
"So that's what you locked away," Jinwoo whispered.
Back then, the system hadn't been able to erase him.
So it had done the only thing it could.
It had lowered him.
Stripped his level.
Reset his rank.
Buried his authority beneath rules and numbers.
But seals weren't permanent.
And he was still here.
Above ground—
Every high-rank hunter in the city froze simultaneously.
Their instincts screamed.
Not danger.
Recognition.
"This pressure…" an S-rank whispered. "It's like the gates first opened."
"No," another said, shaking.
"…It's worse."
In the deepest layer of the system—
A hidden process activated.
[EMERGENCY PATCH INITIATED]
[OBJECTIVE: REINFORCE SEALS]
[FAILURE RATE: 87%]
Jinwoo felt the system push back.
Harder this time.
"Too late," he said calmly.
He raised his gaze.
Not to the dungeon.
Not to the hunters.
But to the sky itself.
"You wanted me small," Jinwoo continued.
"So I became untouchable."
The crack on his arm spread slightly.
Then stopped.
He relaxed his hand.
The pressure vanished instantly.
The dungeon survived.
For now.
Jinwoo exhaled.
"…I can't let it all out yet."
Not because he feared the system.
But because the world wasn't ready.
He turned toward the dungeon exit.
The Devourer followed silently, guarding him like a knight.
Behind them, etched into the dungeon wall by residual authority, were words no system message could erase:
ONLY I CAN DOWNGRADE.
And when the gate finally closed—
The system recorded something it was never meant to.
[HISTORICAL EVENT LOGGED]
[TITLE: THE FIRST IRREGULAR DESCENT]
The legend had begun.