Duo Leveling LITRPG | Post Apocalyptic | SYSTEM-Chapter 175 - 213+214 - The Phantom Cruise

It was dawn.

A faint chorus of cries—unidentified monsters unable to sleep—echoed in the distance, fading into the gray-blue sky.

Jhin crouched low, eyes fixed on the Montehigh, holding his breath.

"Begin the operation."

The lead players slipped into the dock under cover of darkness. Their movement was ghostlike—utterly silent.

They were assassins, combatants specialized in stealth.

The radio returned quickly.

—Dock secured. Moving toward the target.

Jhin followed shortly after, stepping lightly onto the dock as he scanned the surroundings.

The eerie quiet of the scene only amplified the tension.

—Dungeon confirmed. D-rank. Dungeon break color: orange. Repeating, color is orange.

Orange—just one step below red. A forewarning of imminent dungeon break.

Somewhat of a relief, at least.

Furrowing his brow, Jhin approached the dungeon gate.

The players who had arrived first were holding their positions, waiting for the main unit to regroup before entering.

Bellatris muttered.

"Still too quiet."

Threads of Power spiraled out from her fingertips, fanning across the area like silk. Detection magic.

She sniffed at the stillness and clicked her tongue.

"I was expecting serious resistance. We brought in an entire battalion, and it's this quiet?"

Around a hundred elite players from Arc had gathered—only to stand there with deflated expressions.

'Yeah. Way too quiet.'

This was supposed to be a Company base of operations.

No one would've been surprised if all hell had broken loose the moment they set foot here.

And yet, nothing.

Jhin murmured.

"Must be a trap."

Could the enemy have failed to anticipate the attack? That would be naïve.

'We just torched five Death Gardens. No way they wouldn't raise their alert level.'

Especially with Kroch involved.

That guy had a skill that allowed him to parasitize another person's vision and observe events remotely.

If anyone had noticed what was coming, it would've been him.

Which meant, yes—they had to be expecting this.

"Proceed with caution. Squad One, go in slowly."

"Yes, sir."

It might be a trap.

But they had no choice but to move forward.

The moonlight poured over their backs, cold and unrelenting. Even if a cliff lay ahead, it pushed them forward.

[D-Rank Dungeon: 'Phantom Cruise' — Entered.]

"Too quiet…"

The so-called D-rank dungeon 'Phantom Cruise' looked more like a haunted ship.

All the lights had been shattered, cobwebs and moss clung to the walls like decorations, and the air stank of rust and mildew.

It felt like undead could pop out at any moment.

But—

"...Nothing."

Jhin scanned the hallways with narrowed eyes.

They'd already walked a good stretch through the ship's dark corridors, yet hadn't encountered a single thing.

Was that even possible?

It was an orange-coded dungeon.

The darkness seemed to eat up all sound. Not even the scrape of a rat's claw or the echo of their own breathing lingered.

Unnerved, Lutz murmured as he stared into the impenetrable blackness.

"There's a large hall up ahead."

This is why players with spatial perception skills were invaluable inside dungeons.

Even without vision, they could churt a path.

Following Lutz's lead, the group arrived at the main hall of the ship.

The flashlights on their phones flickered across a shattered chandelier overhead.

"Something definitely went down here," Bellatris said.

Jhin nodded.

The air stank of blood—thick and coppery.

Sure enough, there were corpses.

"Looks like they were ambushed."

All the dead had one thing in common: they died while trying to flee.

But from what?

That part remained unclear.

Only the scattered wreckage—smashed walls, blood-smeared floors, a ruined stage—remained to tell the tale.

The deep crimson stains confirmed something horrible had occurred here.

"Maybe there was a mutiny."

No way to tell.

Whatever happened, there wasn't a single trace of spiritual energy left behind. Not even a whisper of a soul.

"We need to split up. Kyle, you take the lower decks."

"Alright."

It was time to divide up.

The dungeon was big, as expected from D-rank, and sticking together would only waste time.

"If you find anything weird, report it immediately. And don't forget your 10-minute check-ins."

With that, Jhin parted from Bellatris, stepping over the bloodstained tiles of the main hall as he descended into the ship.

But even below, the signs of chaos were everywhere—damaged walls, blood smears, shattered doors.

And yet, no clue what had caused it.

"Could it be Shadows?" Millie murmured as she scanned the dark corridor.

A fair guess.

A shadow-parasitic monster would be a perfect fit for this dungeon.

But—no.

"Shadows hate light. They would've attacked us immediately."

And if they were hiding in the shadows, Jhin's S-rank skill, Soft skills, would've caught them.

No way they could escape that.

'Then where did all the souls go?'

But the most suspicious detail emerged once they reached the cargo hold below.

Lutz suddenly stopped.

"There's something behind this door."

The rusted iron doors along the walls radiated a sickening aura.

Chills ran up their spines.

"…Everyone stay sharp."

They all gripped their weapons and drew a steady breath.

This was the first significant lead inside the dungeon.

Boss chamber? Trap? No one disagreed—it needed to be opened.

"I'm opening it."

The creaking door gave a shrill scream as it swung open.

And with it came a wave of rot.

Jhin grimaced and peered inside.

"What the hell…?"

Something was crammed inside—like Tetris blocks.

Corpses.

Bodies piled on top of each other, mangled beyond recognition.

Most still had their eyes open in horror. Maggots wriggled from agape mouths.

"...Ugh!"

Someone gagged behind him.

The kind of scene that would haunt your dreams for years.

Even Jhin had to steel himself not to retch.

"...Everyone, stay sharp."

Each person tightened their grip on their weapon and took a deep breath. In this dungeon filled with unreadable traces, this was the first one that actually meant something.

Whether it led to a boss room or a trap, there was no disagreement—they had to open it.

"I'm opening it."

With an unpleasant screech, the cold metal door slowly swung open. And with it came a wave of rot—an overwhelming stench that surged from within.

Jhin frowned deeply and peered inside.

"What in the world is this...?"

It looked like someone had tried to force pieces into place, like a grotesque game of Tetris.

Bodies.

Just corpses, crammed together.

Who knew how long they'd been dead?

Nameless people, their eyes still open as if unwilling to accept their fate. Maggots wriggled from open mouths.

"...Urgh!"

Someone gagged.

A scene so dreadful, one might fear it returning in a nightmare. Even Jhin barely held down the nausea surging in his throat.

Millie, her face stricken with horror, spoke softly.

"This is... just horrible."

Still, they checked the faces of the corpses.

Most of them must've been ordinary civilians trapped here when the dungeon first materialized. Not players. That much was obvious from their appearances.

Beside them, Lutz, pale as a sheet, muttered,

"Don't tell me... every room in this place?"

Jhin opened another door.

Damn it. Just as expected—another scene nearly identical to the last.

Some bodies were still fresh, the blood not yet dried. White masks marked them as members of the "Company."

What the hell was this place?

Then, Millie glanced at the nameplate.

"...Memory?"

Jhin looked around at the rooms filling the entire floor and swallowed hard.

A morgue. A place called Memory.

And then it struck him.

"These were... trophies."

That was when a voice slithered in like a serpent, chilling and vile.

『So you figured it out?』

Jhin immediately gripped his Catastrophe Meteorblade. He activated Soft skills, but couldn't locate the speaker.

The magic was swelling from every direction.

But he knew who it was.

『Sorry for keeping you waiting. I needed a bit of time myself.』

"...You."

『Kyle. Long time no see.』

The voice was like steel being dragged against steel—horrible and unmistakable.

Only one freak had this kind of sick hobby.

"Arman."

The one who, under the name of "The Farm," had cultivated gardens of death across New Capital.

The one who fed on human desire to grow monsters.

『So, how did it feel?』

"What?"

『Peeking into my memories. I'm asking what you thought.』

From the crack of the half-open door, limbs spilled out—hands and feet, their owners' faces now too decayed to even recognize.

"It made me certain I have to kill you."

『Glad to hear it left an impression.』

When the bastard laughed, it felt like the whole ship was rocking violently. Somewhere, the sound of rushing water echoed loud.

Not just imagination.

KUUOOOO.

『Since you came all this way, how about a parting gift?』

No, thank you.

But it seemed refusal wasn't an option. Jhin spotted it—a black wave of water flooding in from the end of the corridor.

"...Mr. Jhin!"

The players quickly backed away in panic. But the black water began seeping in from the rear as well.

And before they even realized it, the staircase leading back upstairs had completely vanished.

Lutz, ghost-pale, shouted out.

"It's completely blocked!"

Even with spatial awareness skills, there was no finding a way out of here.

No one could tell what the black liquid was, but it was fast filling the corridor. Already, it was rising to their chins.

"What do we do?"

Millie fired magic bullets upward, trying to break through the ceiling. But it was useless—the ceiling remained intact, as if protected by the system itself.

And now, there was barely any space left to breathe.

The players were spiraling into panic.

Jhin spoke, calm and measured.

"Everyone, stay calm. This isn't real."

"What?"

"Just accept everything slowly. That's the only way."

"What? What do you mean—?!"

The black wave engulfed them all, swallowing the ceiling, leaving nothing uncovered. They were drowning, suffocating in darkness. Some choked violently, struggling to breathe.

And in the midst of it all, Jhin's eyes flew open.

The black water passed down his throat, blocked his nose, and completely stopped his breathing.

Still, he remained still.

Skill 'Calmness (S)' has been activated.

Then, in an instant—

The suffocating tide, the corpses adrift, the nightmarish room labeled "Memory"—

All of it vanished as if washed away.

'You have overcome the skill 'Illusion Prison (A).

When he opened his eyes again, he was standing in the main hall they had passed earlier.

"So it doesn't work on you after all."

He turned. Arman stood there, smacking his lips with mock disappointment.

The bastard was perched atop a broken piano, one leg crossed over the other.

"How did you know?"

Then came the projections—holographic footage filling the air.

All around, teammates were fighting madly against invisible enemies. Like lunatics swinging at shadows.

Even Bellatris. Even Tempah.

"Not even the other Whitevalley realized... but of course, Kyle is different, huh?"

Jhin shrugged casually.

"The corpses had no souls."

"...Souls?"

"So I wondered: if this isn't real, how should I interpret this situation?"

And just then, the name of the dungeon came to mind.

The Fantasmic Ferry.

With that, it made sense. Everything here could be accepted as illusion.

Even the soulless corpses.

Arman chuckled, a rasping sound.

"So you gambled your life on a guess?"

"Guess? No. It was a reasoned certainty."

Back when Jhin saw the wave of black water—and chose to do nothing.

The moment of truth: his "Crisis Sense" didn't activate.

That was the proof. This was all illusion.

"Aah... Kyle, you never change."

Arman spread his wings wide and soared into the air. Ridiculous as it was, a long tail swayed behind him.

It had been a while since Jhin last saw that true form.

Not since Exodia 1.

Tch.

The monster narrowed its fierce eyes and gathered oower into both hands.

"Looks like it's finally time to end this."

Arman of the Dragon's Fang.

A chimera forged from the flesh of an S-Class dragon and countless monsters.

The beast let out a roar—and swung its blade with savage force.