Arthur stood before the Seventh Gate. It wasn't a door made of wood, stone, or even ice. It was a tear in the fabric of the universe itself, glowing with a white light so pure it made the shadows of the previous floors look like grey mist.
[Ding!]
[Warning! You are attempting to enter the 'Sanctum of the Architect'.]
[This area is restricted to 'System Admins' only.]
[Access Denied.]
[Access Denied.]
The red warning boxes filled Arthur's vision, flickering like dying stars. In his previous life, as a weak F-Rank porter, a single "Access Denied" would have made him turn back in fear. But now, Arthur didn't even slow down.
"System," Arthur said, his voice cold and heavy. "Who gave you the right to deny the Sovereign?"
He raised the 'Blade of the Void'—the SSS-Rank weapon he had taken from the Warden of the Abyss. Dark energy spiraled around the blade, hungry and destructive. Arthur didn't wait for the system to respond. He thrust the blade into the center of the white gate.
CRAAAAACK!
The sound was not of breaking glass, but of breaking reality. The white light shattered, revealing a world of pure white marble and golden gears. Thousands of massive clocks floated in the air, their ticking sounding like the heartbeat of the world.
[Ding!]
[Unauthorized Breach Detected.]
[Forcing System Reboot...]
[Error! 100x Multiplier has bypassed the Reboot Protocol.]
[Warning: The Architect is watching.]
Arthur stepped onto the marble floor. In the center of this infinite clockwork world sat a figure made of glowing blue code. He was the Architect—the one who had designed the dungeons, the ranks, and the misery of the human world.
"Mortal," the Architect spoke, his voice sounding like a thousand computers processing data. "You are an anomaly. You were meant to die in the shadows of the First Floor. How did you acquire the Multiplier? It was never part of the original script."
Arthur walked forward, his million-soul shadow army rising like a dark tidal wave behind him. The contrast between the pure white sanctum and the absolute black of Arthur's shadows was terrifying.
"The script was written for the weak," Arthur said. "I am the one who rewrote it."
The Architect waved a hand, and the golden gears in the sky began to move faster. "You think a million souls make you a god? You are still bound by my laws. I am the one who gave you the levels. I am the one who gave you the skills. And now, I shall take them back."
[Ding!]
[Architect Skill Activated: 'System Recall'.]
[Host Level: 200 -> 150... 100... 50...]
Arthur felt his power draining. His shadow army began to flicker and fade. Igris roared in pain as his form became transparent.
"Is that all?" Arthur whispered, a dark grin spreading across his face. "You think my power comes from your levels? You forgot one thing, Architect."
Arthur tapped his chest, where the 100x Multiplier was etched into his soul. "I didn't just multiply the loot. I multiplied my 'Will'."
[Ding!]
[Passive Skill '100x Multiplier' has detected an external interference.]
[Triggering Counter-Protocol: 'Sovereign's Denial'.]
[Multiplier Applied to Soul Resistance: 100x!]
The draining stopped. Arthur's level snapped back to 200, then it kept going. 210... 250... 300!
The Architect's blue code flickered with shock. "Impossible! No soul can withstand a Direct Recall! You are breaking the system's balance!"
"The balance was broken the day you let children starve while gods played in their temples," Arthur roared.
He lunged forward, his speed so great that he appeared in front of the Architect before the blue being could blink. Arthur didn't use his blade. He grabbed the Architect's head with his bare hand.
"100x Multiplier... Absolute Devour!"
Arthur's shadows didn't just attack; they began to eat the blue code of the Architect. The 'Sanctum' began to tremble as Arthur started to absorb the source code of the entire dungeon system.
[Ding!]
[Warning! Host is absorbing 'Forbidden Knowledge'.]
[100x Multiplier Activated!]
[Knowledge Multiplied: You are learning 100 secrets of the universe per second.]
Arthur's mind exploded with information. He saw the creation of the world, he saw the true identity of the 'Watcher Gods', and he saw the end of humanity. He saw that the dungeons weren't meant to train humans—they were meant to farm them.
The Architect screamed, his blue light fading into the black void of Arthur's hand. "You... you will be the end of everything! Without the system, the True Gods will descend! They will wipe out your planet in a single breath!"
"Let them come," Arthur said, his voice now a chorus of a million souls. "I've been hungry for a long time. I wonder how a 'True God' tastes."
With a final crunch, Arthur crushed the Architect's core.
BOOM!
The entire Seventh Floor exploded in a shockwave of gold and black energy. When the light faded, the 'Sanctum' was gone. Arthur was standing in a void that stretched forever.
[Ding!]
[The Architect has been slain.]
[System Ownership: 100% Acquired by Host Arthur.]
[You have achieved the Rank: 'Omni-Monarch'.]
[Loot Gained:]
[The Key to the Surface x1]
[The Blood of the Creator x1]
[1,000,000,000 Platinum Coins]
[100x Multiplier Activated!]
[Loot Multiplied:]
[The Key to the Surface x100 (You can now open any portal on Earth).]
[The Blood of the Creator x100 (You can now create or destroy life at will).]
[100,000,000,000 Platinum Coins.]
Arthur looked at the 100 keys in his hand. He wasn't just a hunter anymore. He was the Master of the Dungeon. He looked toward the exit, a portal that led back to the human world—back to the city where Zane and Elara were probably celebrating their 'success'.
"Igris," Arthur said.
The Shadow Knight, now glowing with a divine purple aura, stepped forward. "Yes, my King?"
"Open the gates. All of them. In every city, in every country. Let the world see what happens when the 'weak' return."
Arthur stepped through the portal. He was no longer in the dungeon. He was standing in the center of Times Square, New York. Around him, thousands of people stopped and stared in terror as the sky turned black and a million demons began to descend from the clouds.
The 'Normal' world was over. The era of the Omni-Monarch had begun.