Duo Leveling LITRPG | Post Apocalyptic | SYSTEM-Chapter 168 - 199+200 - This Is No Longer a Game

Jhin heard the heavy, scraping footsteps as a group entered the colosseum.

They were Ark's players.

"Jhin… what on earth is happening?"

Exhausted and battle-worn, they entered only to freeze at the sight of the towering monster ahead of them. Covering their mouths in disbelief, they stared up at the grotesque mass that loomed above.

Jhin walked toward them calmly.

"...When we saw the Lizardmen and the Horn Tribe all suddenly drop to their knees and go still, we figured something had happened. But… what is that?"

Lutz approached, quietly beginning a potion-based healing spell as he examined Jhin's condition. Letting his tired body rest, Jhin replied flatly.

"That's Nazoral."

"…Who?"

"My impersonator. The fake Kyle—Nazoral."

The Ark players stared in stunned silence. There was no trace of anything human left in that form. It was hard to believe it had ever been a man.

"We figured it was a monster… but that's a whole other level…"

Extender of Jealousy.

A special breed of high-tier monster—a dungeon disease-born Grid that evolves through a trigger phase into a humanoid horror.

In essence, they were like players—retaining memories from their human life.

Except for one thing:

Once triggered, they can never return to a human form until their desire is fulfilled.

Back in Ark, I could've stopped him before he evolved…

He'd nearly defeated Nazoral before things spiraled out of control. But the unexpected interference—and the Company's influence—had helped bring about the monstrosity before him now.

Jhin sighed quietly.

"…Then what happens to our quest?"

Their alliance with the Horn Tribe had already shattered when Jhin attacked Atlas. The bond was broken.

As a result, every Ark player had received a new quest, just like him:

Steal the Dragon's Seal from the enemy.

But that "enemy" was now an abomination that defied logic.

There was nothing any of them could realistically do.

Jhin furrowed his brow.

"For now, get out of here."

"Huh?"

"Soon, 'arrows' will rain down. Touch one, and your body will disappear. Instant death."

Adonis understood immediately. He, too, had survived the horrors of Bey World alongside Jhin.

"…Those things from back then, huh?"

His face went pale.

He immediately began organizing an evacuation. It was unfortunate that they couldn't save the paralyzed Horn Tribe warriors lying frozen on the battlefield…

But the players had no room to risk their own lives for them.

"Get as far away from here as you can. Let that monster get reset if that's what it takes."

While Adonis coordinated the retreat, Jhin walked in the opposite direction—toward Nazoral.

"…You're not coming with us?"

"I still have something to finish."

"What could possibly—?"

Jhin walked—step by step—until he stood at the base of the beast.

Nazoral, sensing his approach, responded.

A monstrous fist came crashing down.

"Jhin!"

Of course, Jhin dodged it.

Moments later, he reappeared on top of a broken colosseum wall, staring down the hulking Nazoral with calm, unwavering eyes.

The monster's red eyes flared beneath him.

Jhin turned his gaze briefly toward the field.

Countless Lizardmen and Horn Tribe warriors lay collapsed—like puppets with their strings cut.

He turned back.

"Everyone, leave. From here on out… I'll take care of it."

"But Jhin—it's far too dangerous!"

They weren't wrong. This was dangerous.

In the first Exodia, he would've already pulled out.

Even when he had three spare lives left, survival was always priority.

Ironically, it was because of that understanding that Jhin now refused to run.

This isn't just a game anymore.

The Horn Tribe warriors. Even the Lizardmen.

They weren't just binary code—mere data made of zeroes and ones.

From C-grade dungeons onward… there were stories here.

Characters. Backstories. Real choices.

How were they any different from players?

They were alive.

Jhin caught the eyes of Atlas—now one of his ghosts—who looked up at him with emotion brimming in his gaze.

Right.

How could he possibly run away after Atlas had cast everything aside to become a ghost for him?

And most of all—

"…I think I can beat him now."

[Item Acquired: 'Meteor Blade of Calamity'.]

Consumed by jealousy, Nazoral had carelessly discarded his most powerful weapon.

A weapon that now belonged to Jhin.

Meteor Blade of Calamity.

The weapon Jhin had used and relied on back in Exodia 1. A weapon he had carried with him through some of his hardest fights.

Its grade alone was comparable to the Magic Bullet Revolver used by Millie.

…Then again, they came from the same dungeon.

<Meteor Blade of Calamity>

A sinister aura coils around the blade.

Required Level: 300

Attack: ???

Grade: S

Unique Skill:

• Blood Suction – Absorbs blood to increase its power.

Due to shutdown compensation, many functions are sealed. Depending on the user, some of these seals may be lifted. For player Jhin, the seal level is reduced.

In strict terms, though, this blade wasn't quite equal to the Magic Bullet Revolver.

The difference was in the reward tiers.

Jhin had earned an S-tier weapon as the highest contributor in that dungeon.

Millie's revolver was an A-tier reward, given to the second-highest contributor.

"There's a big difference in both power and danger."

That's why Millie had always treated the revolver as a backup sidearm.

Her real weapon was the sniper rifle. The revolver was just insurance.

Now gripping the Meteor Blade of Calamity, Jhin felt its familiar, cold weight settle into his hands.

And for the first time in this hellish battle—

he smiled.

A cursed weapon always has something about it—something that sends a chill down your spine.

"I can't even tell you how shocked I was to see you again."

The Meteor Blade of Calamity wasn't actually the strongest weapon Jhin had ever wielded. He'd surpassed level 500 and cleared S-grade dungeons, where he'd earned far more powerful gear.

But if you asked him which weapon he remembered most from Exodia 1?

It was this one.

A level-300 weapon from a mere B-grade dungeon.

And yet he'd wielded it all the way to level 500 in the final stages of the game.

That's how vicious this thing is.

So when Nazoral had simply swung it around like any ordinary sword—

Jhin could barely hide his disappointment.

That's not how you use it...

Then again, the sword's unique skill—Blood Suction—wasn't something you could just pull off on a whim.

Just like Millie's main skill Burn Blood let her burn her blood to strengthen her body, this sword drank blood to amplify its power.

And its absorption limit? Practically infinite.

Sure, it could absorb blood from monsters during combat, too.

But that wasn't how you unleashed its real strength.

At best, the sword would only grow marginally stronger that way.

"...Hoo."

Jhin gripped the sword tightly and looked up at the sky.

From the gathering storm clouds, the "arrows" were beginning to rain down—deadly, silent shafts of death.

[Activating equipment skill 'Blood Suction' of 'Meteor Blade of Calamity'.]

[Draining caster's blood.]

A red mist coiled out from his body and wrapped itself around the blade.

His already exhausted body felt dangerously lightheaded. It was like anemia incarnate.

The dizziness came fast.

But he had to endure.

[Activating skill 'Rapid Regeneration (F)']

And so it began: an endless ping-pong match between draining and replenishing.

Take blood, restore blood. Take again, restore again.

It was hell.

But he'd been right to learn this skill.

He always knew he'd get the sword back someday.

THUDTHUDTHUDTHUD!!

"TKARUQTKF! AJRRHTLVEK!!!"

Nazoral screeched in some incomprehensible tongue as the arrows rained down on him. They pierced through his massive frame, eroding him bit by bit.

The end of someone who'd forcibly strengthened himself through unbalanced, forbidden power.

The system had come to collect its due.

But Nazoral didn't fall.

He thrashed through the colosseum, tearing down stone with furious hands, unleashing his rage everywhere he could.

"Yeah… it's time to end this."

Beneath him, Jhin launched himself off the wall and sprinted forward.

Even more arrows began falling—this time on him.

But—

[Activating skill 'Soft skills(S)']

[Activating skill 'Vital Strike (F)']

With Soft skills, he read them.

With Vital Strike, he dodged.

Nazoral's colossal frame served as a shield, casting a vast shadow.

In that shade, the arrows of death held no threat.

One chance. Just one.

Nazoral must've noticed his approach.

Even as the arrows disintegrated parts of him, he threw a monstrous punch.

The impact alone cratered half the colosseum floor.

Cracks spread. Water surged from below. The entire arena began to sink into the lake beneath.

"…Brute strength, and nothing else."

Jhin's golden irises gleamed.

He launched himself off scattered rubble, not wasting another second.

He wasn't planning to drag this out.

[Activating skill 'Spirit Eye (A)']

The monster's body was a mess of swirling, violent power.

Reading the flow with Soft skills was pointless.

But inside that bloated flesh, there was still only one soul.

And that—that he could find with Spirit Eye.

"..."

Arrows fell.

Nazoral's movements grew more violent.

The air churned.

Muscles twitched.

The scent of blood thickened in the air.

And in that chaos, Jhin's mind honed to a singular point.

[Activating skill 'Focus (S)']

…Got you!

A thin spiritual thread extended from his sword—leading directly to the malicious spirit buried deep inside the monster.

He followed that thread.

The Meteor Blade—now soaked in his blood—howled as it sliced through the storm.

Jhin moved with perfect precision, slipping through rubble, dodging arrows, ignoring pain.

And finally, he reached it.

WUUUUUUM!

Then something unexpected happened.

「What did I even do wrong?! Why is it always me?! Nothing ever works for me!」

…What?

「I won't accept this. He's the cheater, not me. He was just born lucky. A gifted freak who never had to try!」

It spilled from the tip of the blade—a remnant of memory.

The soul was little more than a tangle of broken thoughts and raw emotion.

This monster, born from the explosion of jealousy, was nothing more than a storm of feeling.

And Jhin understood.

...He's already dead.

That flood of impossible power?

It had already killed him.

Jhin had been fighting the tantrum of a soul too far gone to realize it had already ended.

"…Tch."

He clicked his tongue softly and tightened his grip on the blade.

He couldn't afford to let it drain any more blood.

Rapid Regeneration wouldn't be able to keep up.

It was time to end it.

But before he did… he had something to say.

Even if the thing in front of him was already dead—even if it couldn't hear—

Leaving it unsaid would just feel wrong.

"Who said I was born with anything?"

A life with nothing.

Part of the "N-th generation"—the kids with no future.

A lifetime of stagnation, stuck in place, clawing for scraps.

That was Jhin.

He was just like Nazoral.

Parents who left him behind with nothing but debt.

School days with no time to study, because he had to work.

Living in a damp, moldy half-basement.

Barely getting by.

He knew hardship.

But.

"No matter what kind of life you had, there's one difference between us: I kept fighting. You just gave up and complained."

Jealousy was normal.

Everyone thought the grass looked greener on the other side.

What mattered was what you did about it.

"I look like I have everything because I figured out the strategy.

The only thing I didn't have… was level. That's all."

SHHRRRRRRKKKK!

The Meteor Blade of Calamity tore clean through the quivering soul—

and split it apart.

Once and for all.