Duo Leveling LITRPG | Post Apocalyptic | SYSTEM-Chapter 167 - 197+198 - The Clause They Never Told You

The problem lay with the Dragon's Seal.

'The master of a dungeon can exercise absolute authority over all lifeforms within it. Right now, Nazoral is essentially this dungeon's boss monster.'

Absolute command.

That meant that entities officially belonging to the dungeon—like the Lizardmen and the Horn Tribe—could not disobey the Dragon's Seal.

The orders of the one who possessed it were enforced by the system itself. Refusal? That meant death.

You could see it in Atlas. Every time he tried to resist, his head swelled and burned red-hot—on the verge of bursting.

The system didn't allow bugs.

That was why Jhin had struck Atlas's head with a surprise team kill earlier.

'Sure, a player probably can't be controlled by the Dragon's Seal… but still.'

There's always a "what if."

What if—because of the quest tie—the player who had become the Horn Tribe's savior, who was now a part of their fate, became bound to the Seal's power?

What if he were forced to obey?

If that happened, there'd be no turning back.

For all he knew, had he not struck Atlas, Jhin himself might be dancing like a puppet under Nazoral's control.

But now?

'I've betrayed the Horn Tribe. That link's broken. I'm no longer part of their shared fate.'

A player is an outsider by nature. He'd come from outside the dungeon. Technically, he didn't "belong" to it.

And sometimes, C-grade dungeons had preset scenarios like this, where the boss monster was already decided in advance. In such cases, a new quest would be issued, and the player was meant to progress the dungeon accordingly.

This isn't over yet.

Sure enough, a new quest popped up in front of Jhin.

<Quest – Dragon's Seal>

Type: Scenario

Difficulty: C+

Condition: The master of the "Lizardman's Well" has been chosen. The master, Nazoral, wants you dead. There is only one way to survive: Steal the Dragon's Seal.

Time Limit: None

Reward: Dragon's Seal

Failure: Death / Submission

Sounds easy in theory.

But in reality, Jhin was in the worst possible situation.

Fwoooosh!

BOOM!

Rumble!

He twisted, dodged back, barely evading two thrusting spears. If he hadn't invested his stat points into Agility, he would've been skewered by now.

"Run, savior! Run—kgh!"

Atlas's spear struck the ground with force great enough to crater it. The walls cracked. The shockwaves forced Jhin to leap wider distances, draining his stamina even faster.

"Human…! You struck me from behind!"

The Lizard King, too, was on a rampage. It was almost satisfying that his betrayal by the Company stung—but unfortunately, he was now channeling that rage toward Jhin.

Why him?

Why was he catching the blame?

This is ridiculous.

Two boss-class enemies attacking simultaneously.

Even with Phantom Legion active, dodging everything was impossible. As time went on, the ghostly armor wore thin. The souls within were vanishing.

What would happen once the armor came off?

Looking at the rapidly approaching Atlas, Jhin grit his teeth.

There was a way.

But the odds were bad.

"Atlas, you can hear me, can't you?"

"Grrrhh…!"

"I'll take that as a yes, so I'll keep this short."

Even knowing his life was on the line, Jhin stepped into Atlas's range. A spear slashed past, narrowly grazing his waist.

No shockwave this time.

But Atlas's face turned beet red, blood leaking from every pore on his body. His face looked like it might explode at any moment.

There wasn't much time left.

"I'll give you a single moment. A chance."

"…What?"

"But in exchange, you may lose everything."

Jhin quickly, clearly laid out what he was about to do.

Whether Atlas would believe him—trust him enough to go along with it—was another matter.

But there was no other option.

With a faint look of apology, Jhin asked:

"Can you do it?"

In response, Atlas—his right eye having just burst from the strain—grinned, without a second's hesitation.

"…My life was already forfeit."

That was enough.

Jhin stepped forward and activated his skill.

[Title Skill, 'Hundred Ghosts (S)' activated.]

[No additional spirits in the area can be registered.]

The skill was usually meant to bind the souls of the dead.

But Jhin didn't hesitate—he connected it to Atlas.

Lykan had once been turned into a ghost even while still breathing. There were no hard, unbreakable rules here. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

If it worked on him…

It should work on Atlas, too.

[!]

[Horn Tribe's Chief 'Atlas' overwhelmingly exceeds your level. Registering him may result in complete loss of his power.]

[Proceed with registration?]

Just as he thought.

There was more to this skill than what the system menu described.

A hidden function.

A loophole.

And this was it.

That's how the Exodia always is.

What you see is never the whole truth.

Register.

[Requesting subject's consent...]

[...Consent granted.]

[Initiating compatibility assessment.]

Now, it was up to Atlas.

The skill will likely fail.

The basic registration process for Hundred Ghosts had two conditions. First, to link Jhin's soul with the target's.

And second—complete and total submission of the target's soul.

That second part… was impossible.

But it'll create an opening.

Just for a moment—while Atlas was listed as a candidate for registration. At that exact point, he would not be recognized as "Chief of the Horn Tribe," but rather as a prospective ghost.

In that tiny frame of time—

He's no longer an NPC of this dungeon.

And that was the single, razor-thin path to survival.

BOOOOOOM!

With an ear-shattering explosion, Atlas's spear skewered the Lizard King clean through. Taken completely off guard, the Lizard King was impaled and flung against the far wall of the colosseum.

Jhin didn't miss his moment.

[Skill 'Vital Strike (F)' activated.]

[Skill 'Fireball (F)' activated.]

[Skill 'Rapid Regeneration (F)' activated.]

[Skill 'power Focus (E)' activated.]

The more skills stacked, the heavier Jhin's body became. power drained at an insane rate, and as he charged, it felt like even his soul was being shredded.

Nazoral, realizing the reversal, roared with fury and raised his blade.

"You worm… AGAIN?!"

BOOOOM!

Their powers collided in a thunderous clash. The shockwave sent them both flying.

"Ghk...!"

Jhin groaned as he pushed himself back up.

The consequences of facing Atlas and the Lizard King together were catching up fast.

Then—

[Compatibility assessment complete.]

…Already?

[You have completely subjugated the soul of upper-tier NPC 'Atlas'.]

['Chief of the Horn Tribe, Atlas' has been added to your Hundred Ghosts.]

…What?

That was not supposed to happen.

That Atlas—actually joining Jhin's ghost legion?

It was an enormous gain. But there was no time to celebrate.

[Ghost 'Atlas''s stats are being comprehensively rebalanced.]

The once overpowered Atlas shrank in stature. Even at a glance, his level had dropped below Jhin's. Every stat fell drastically.

All the skills he had built up over a lifetime… gone.

Atlas was no longer a level-200 boss-tier entity.

Now, he was on par with Lykan and Rocket—just another ghost.

What about the Lizard King…?

Thankfully, the blow Atlas landed before becoming a ghost had sent him flying. It had been a desperate, full-power strike.

His recovery was slow.

"Mr. Atlas!"

"…Understood!"

Now linked by their souls, there was no need to speak at length. Plans, intent—it was all shared instantly.

Jhin summoned Lykan and Rocket to the battlefield.

He'd need every hand—paw, claw, and tail he could get.

Before the Lizard King comes to... I have to end Nazoral.

"...Why is it always you?! Why are you the special one?!"

Atlas charged in first, fists flying. Lykan followed with a club swing. Rocket lashed his tail.

BOOM!

Nazoral fended them all off with disturbing ease, then swung the Meteor Blade of Calamity at Jhin.

"It's always been like this! One step for you was ten for me!"

"What the hell are you ranting about—?!"

"If only you didn't exist…!!"

CRASH! CRASH! BOOOOM!

To block the Meteor Blade, Jhin conjured thorned bracers—but they were being shattered, piece by piece.

His left bracer finally broke apart, and unable to withstand the power, Jhin was thrown back.

This bastard… He's getting stronger.

There were several possible reasons.

Maybe the Dragon's Seal was lending him power.

Or maybe Nazoral had met some hidden condition that was forcibly unlocking his true potential as an Extender.

"...One more time!"

Even so, there was only one thing Jhin could do:

Defeat him, no matter what.

Take the Dragon's Seal.

He clutched his spinning vision and forced himself to his feet.

The ghosts were already charging Nazoral again.

BOOM! BOOOOOM!

Jhin wasn't far behind. With Vital Strike distorting the space around him, he surged forward and began preparing his strongest spell.

Atlas grappled Nazoral's torso.

Lykan held onto his legs.

Rocket slammed him head-on to draw his focus.

[Combo Skill 'Fire Explosion (F)' activated.]

Yet from somewhere, Nazoral drew another burst of strength.

He hurled Atlas away with one hand.

He kicked Lykan into Rocket like a ragdoll.

And then, staring straight at Jhin with venom in his eyes, he hissed,

"You're nothing. I'm Kyle. I'm the real one!"

Then he pulled something out—

and stabbed it straight into his own heart.

It was the moment Jhin's Fire Explosion connected.

KABOOOOOM!!

And he felt it.

[Skill 'Crisis Detection (A)' activated.]

Too late.

KRRRRK-KRAK-KRAK!

A monstrous surge erupted from below. Jhin didn't have time to dodge—only enough to cross his arms and protect his chest.

[Item 'Scarecrow's Thorn Gauntlets' have been destroyed.]

He was flung across the arena like a broken puppet, skidding across the floor before finally stopping.

Blood gushed from his mouth.

His HP was hanging by a thread.

His forearms… shredded to the bone.

[Skill 'Rapid Regeneration (F)' activated.]

Muscle and skin regrew in real time, and his HP began to climb—but he couldn't relax.

Jhin clenched his jaw and looked ahead.

[Boss Monster (?) has appeared.]

It no longer had a human shape.

The thing in front of him was a massive, expanding lump of darkness. Its form swelled by the second, and two glowing red eyes locked onto Jhin.

A living embodiment of jealousy.

It fed off its own overflowing envy and kept growing—larger and larger.

It was so powerful that even the sky responded.

Thunder rumbled. The clouds blackened. Rain threatened to fall.

But Jhin knew.

...That's not weather.

It wasn't a normal storm.

Even with Soft skills, he couldn't properly read the flow of energy in those clouds.

He'd seen them before—hovering over Bey World.

Backspace…!

The system's "delete" command—

Power that erases bugs from existence.

That meant even the system had tagged Nazoralas something unnatural. A monster that shouldn't have appeared here.

Don't tell me... he consumed a Dungeon Flower!

More accurately—a concentrated extract of Dungeon Flower mixed with Spore Virus.

A Company-exclusive item that forcibly evolved monsters.

And apparently… it worked even on Extenders.

If anything, the virus itself being his origin might have made it more effective.

Just like how Dungeon Disease patients could evolve multiple times after consuming one.

"SKREEEEAAAAH!!"

Nazoral—now a bottomless pit of jealousy—continued to swell.

And before long, he grew larger than the colosseum itself.