Solo Dungeon Runner-Chapter 37: [ Truth ]

While walking back toward the crossroad where the archmonster awakened they could see the devastation it left behind.

"We've been lucky," he said, while looking at the destroyed walls and ceiling.

"If we didn't level up at the moment we did... The Adventurer's Guild might have won."

He could feel through her gaze how much she enjoyed being spoken to. Every time he said something, it was as if her eyes glistened beyond the mask.

He wished he could take the mask off, but it was the only thing allowing her to be slightly more expressive — and like Sunder said, the only thing alleviating her condition.

"Sunder mentioned the entity. That thing behind my class. I felt its presence before but it was extremely distant and faint. During the last fight I heard it for the first time..." he said, trailing off in thought.

"I'm not sure what it was saying..."

It was as if it was whispering in the distance, the wind only bringing fragments of its words.

"Sunder's mark is keeping this entity on the outside, which is probably why it doesn't work on these monsters..."

Alexander fell into thought again, replaying his fights mentally.

The goblins weren't affected by the gift, but they had spent a long time under the entity's influence. They had gone blind from the dark sun floating above them, something that must've happened over a long period of time.

The zombies most likely didn't have a mind to influence at all, something shared by the statues.

"As I grow stronger, it'll slip through the cracks, that's why Sunder wants me to focus on control rather than pure strength."

He glanced at Fae once more who was still silently listening.

"I'll rely on you a lot, for the monsters. It's clear my strength lies with a different kind of monsters."

Humans.

She nodded, as if to say 'count on me'.

Alexander's eyebrows suddenly shot up.

If I leveled up all the way to twelve then I must have new spells, he thought.

He summoned his spell list before him.

The [ Gaze ] category hadn't changed. It was clear it was tied to his inner path, the same way he stole the sight of the first level's boss, his best guess was that to unlock new [ Gaze ] spells he'd need to go further through it.

He still read over the spells, making sure they hadn't changed. None of them did, the class level still at 2 from the moment he had defeated the Will Breaker.

Let's look at the other categories.

He swiftly scrolled with his mind into the [ Fragments ] category, looking at

[ The Gift ] as well as [ Reach Beyond ] were still there, with the same definition, but there was a new addition.

He frowned, coming to a stop as he read.

[ Whispers Beyond ]

Its vibrations are summoned—older than language, and heavier than thought.

It moves without sound, carried on the stillness between thoughts. Those staring into the abyss as it passes are drawn inward, minds tested by the tones of something vast.

This spell... 

Alexander chuckled softly under Fae's gaze. When he stopped, her head was slightly tilted to the side.

He tried getting rid of his grin yet couldn't.

"This..."

He paused.

"They're right. I don't even understand my own spells. I'm not casting. I'm invoking something I don't even know. That [ Reach Beyond ] spell, it's not coming from me. I'm summoning parts of it. Those whispers aren't my own, it's the entity's voice. This gaze I have, I'm borrowing it from it."

He grabbed his own head, his eyes wide open as they stared at the ground.

"I'm essentially a summoner, but what I'm summoning is something far scarier than a beast or a monster. Something far more dangerous, with powers that the mind can't possibly comprehend."

He took a deep breath, the smile on his face slowly fading.

"From what I understand, I'll summon its whispers, and if they look through my gaze their minds will be tested. [ The Gift ] shares my sight, and the entity's grasp on my mind as well. Because the rune protects me, I'm fairly safe from my own sight, but those who crumble under [ The Gift ] are essentially assaulted without any runes protecting them."

He then pointed at [ Whispers Beyond ].

"[ The Gift ] isn't meant to be used to assault the mind. Its purpose is sharing my own strengths with others as long as they can handle it. [ Whispers Beyond ] is designed to break minds."

Alexander opened his profile once more.

I was too focused on my level, I didn't even look at my effects.

[ Name : Veil ]

[ Level : 12 ]

[ Archetype : Specialist ]

[ Class : Beholder ]

[ Fate : Command, — ]

[ Effects : Darkness, Will Breaker's set, The Weight— ]

" The Weight," he read.

He pressed it, opening another description.

[ The Weight ]

[ Gazing into the depths reveals the edge of the abyss one stands upon. The thin thread they balance themselves on while it lies beyond. ]

Alexander's chuckle came back, this time louder and wilder.

He tried holding it back, his fingers grasping at his chest yet he couldn't hold it in.

It echoed on the walls, reverberating through the corridor. He tilted his head back, incapable of stopping himself from smiling.

The laugh that broke out of him was raw and bitter. It wasn't joy or happiness.

His voice cracked, yet he couldn't contain himself.

He finally understood, everything that had happened until that point unraveling in his mind.

"They were right," he said between broken laughs.

He closed his profile, still unable to contain himself while he turned to Fae who looked at him all the same.

"I am a cultist."

Fae didn't even flinch, her eyes staring at his.

He slowly came to a stop, catching his breath while still unable to get rid of his grin.

"As I grow stronger, it grows with me. It'll only get worse, from here on out. They should be scared. I shouldn't have been allowed to become a cultist in the first place..."

His voice lowered, his eyes going to the ground as he was contemplating his position.

"Yet, they still tried to kill me..."