Fallen Lightbringers' Return

Chapter 90: A Ball? More Like a Tree

[The Warrior has successfully entered a mini-dungeon.]

[A Medieval Fantasy

A knight falls, and another one takes their place. But a magician only exists once, their death a whole tragedy for the nation. The commoners weep, the nobilities mourn, and the king is distraught. Never again, shall such tragedy occur, the army exists for them.

Quest type: Mini.

Difficulty: E.

Size: Quacking Duck Mall.

Clear Conditions: Defeat the Boss.

Time Limit: 7 days]

Lee Dojin took a small guess that these malls that had turned into these European-style buildings were a factory of some sort for dolls. A monster spawn-point so to say. He only hoped that these things didn't come from the dead humans that resided in MyeongDong.

"But seriously," he rubbed his head. "What a messed up Dungeon for a first-timer. That Guide seems to have some personal vendetta with humanity." It wouldn't be weird to say that this might be the hardest dungeon in the world right now. No, if there really was a harder one than that, the humans inside had no chance of survival, to put it lightly.

The inside of the building was dark and humid. It was hard to see further than 20 feet, as all the lights had been turned off, replaced by traditional torches. However, at the least, the insides still resembled a mall, though it appeared overgrown, with vines and trees, and looted, as the windows were broken and doors unhinged.

"Usually," Lee Dojin talked to himself, "there will be some kind of hint within these places to help aide the completion of the Main Quest. But, oh well, we still have time left."

[00:06:17:14:46_33]

At the front of him, there were a couple of dolls, just mindlessly wandering about, not having noticed Lee Dojin yet. The whole place was infested with these puppets, as they hid within various stores, behind clothing, in the food hall, and also within the toilets.

But for now, the few five in front of him should be enough of a test. He lifted his finger, and summoned, "Nova's End." And a sudden invisible pressure enveloped him, that seemed to twist the space and air itself. Lee Dojin was so surprised that he swiftly guided his hand away, fearing it would swallow him whole.

Above his finger, there floated a black ball, the size of a golf ball. It was pitch black, with no reflection, as if it absorbed even the light itself. If one paid great attention to it, just like Lee Dojin right now did, then they'd realize it pulsated ever so slightly, akin to a heartbeat.

".. .What in Gods name is this?" Lee Dojin breathed out. His hand shook. It was hard to describe what he was feeling, but within his own ability there exuded danger and safety at the same time. As if being saved by a stray lion, where you'd never know if it would just turn around and rip you apart next.

The dolls cocked their heads, all at the same time. They too felt the presence exuded by Lee Dojin. But for the first time, they did not move. "Are they shivering," Lee Dojin asked in bewilderment. "Even beings without consciousness are terrified of the power this black ball brings? Unbelievable." Goosebumps ran down his whole body.

Nova's End simply remained still on his index finger, jet-black sparks occasionally flaying out. Lee Dojin contemplated shelving this skill for a few seconds, but then would there come a better time than this to test its might?

He guided his finger down, and the ball flew straight towards one of the dolls. The doll lifted its hands and cried out, as the ball passed through the things' two arms and head without any resistance, leaving a gaping hole.

The other dolls moved too, their steps clattering, but unexpectedly, they tried running away. Without Lee Dojin's guidance, the ball advanced on its own drawing innumerable parabolas and destroying all the dolls within seconds. Everything that moved, it swallowed, with its movement, it shaved away whatever was in its pathmetal, stone, glass, and even air disappeared upon the touch of that black ball.

"This is utter insanity," Lee Dojin muttered. He stared at the black ball hovering in mid-air, standing above the broken dolls full of holes. That thing was destruction incarnate, way too dangerous. Especially when it moved by itself, this wasn't an ability that could be used with friends by his side.

Suddenly, every single shop rattled, with dozens of dolls coming out of each. They had all been attracted by the bizarre noise and came out to see what was going on. Hundreds, no, it was thousands, left their abode to approach Dojin. 

From behind, there appeared to be a few knights coming out too, except their weapons, they looked just like the ones that had made the lives of the people in the cafe hell.

"Shit," he said wryly and backed away. He hadn't expected the dolls to scream for their comrades, and even then, that they would all come out at the same time. It almost seemed like a dungeon break. He turned around. The door was bolted shut, indicating that he could not leave unless completing the quest.

Lee Dojin breathed out and calmed himself down. This was quite the predicament he found himself in, he thought. Will he make it out alive? No, he had to, no matter what. he placed his arms in a cross.

Suddenly, without any warnings, every single doll stopped moving. Lee Dojin also let his arms slowly fall. Every single eye was upon the black ball that pulsated quietly. The thing had started bubbling without anyone noticing.

"Wait, had they come out because of Nova's End?" Lee Dojin realized something. The reason for all these dolls to step out, was it because they felt a threat to their very existence? What occurred next, confirmed all his suspicions as true, and even showed him something he would never had dared imagine in his wildest dreams.

The black ball burst out into innumerable black branches, their ends sharp. From these branches, even more branches spurted out, birthing even more branches, until they were too many to count. Every single one cleanly pierced the dolls through their heads, leaving a fist-sized whole.

Thousands of dolls all fell to the ground. It didn't matter whether they wore helmets like the knights, or hid behind walls, the ball pierced through any obstacle as if they weren't there.

".. ." Lee Dojin did not even breathe. He gulped, as just right in front of him, there was a branch, only a few centimeters away from piercing through his head. It had stopped because the limit of its expansion had been reached. If not, the boy would have been laying next to these dolls.

His eyes slowly moved up, looking at what used to be the black ball. His ability had spread out so far, calling it a tree was a lot more apt. A tree of which its fruit were the lifeless corpses of the dolls.

The branches receded quickly, and the ball disappeared, leaving only the aftermath of destruction and Lee Dojin.

[A skill has leveled up!]

[A skill has leveled up!]

[A skill has leveled up!]

[A skill has leveled up!]

[A skill of yours has reached level 10. Would you like it to undergo a small revolution now or later? The upgrade will take 1 hour.]

"I mean, what am I supposed to answer here?"

...

Lee Dojin walked to the top of the mall. There, he saw a big doll, twice the size of him, dressed in purple robes and a long staff, exuding great bloodthirst.

However, it was already dead. It had a great hole in its chest, the biggest one of all, he found. This was the mini-dungeon boss, the magician. The message saying he had cleared the dungeon and the open doors confirmed it.

He had also completed another legacy, though he did not pay them any heed, as its rewards came only at the end of the whole dungeon.

Lee Dojin only came here for one reason. He scoured through the top floor, not minding the dead dolls. After a few minutes of searching, he found a small chest (around the size of a fist), hidden underneath a pile of clothes. His eyes sparkled. "Great, there really was one."

Opening it, he found a gleaming diamond.

[Water Bead.

Rarity: D

Do not worry about dehydration anymore! Put this item into your mouth and it will produce water for you to drink.]

"Well, it's not bad," he thought and stashed it in his pocket, forgetting about it. The real reason why he came here wasn't for the diamond, but the chest.

[Water Chest.

Rarity: E

Holds things.]

A smile escaped him. What a great find, he thought to himself. Excitement welled up once more. This item held a hidden secret, which will be integral to the completion of this dungeon and Lee Dojin's goals. A cheeky trick, placed by the system, that not even the guide knew about.

"Fire, Air, and Earth. Three more, and I can put an end to this dungeon," he muttered. 

7 days? There was no need to wait this long. If possible, he wanted to end everything in three days.

The boy took everything valuable with him and bit the magician farewell. Walking through the door, he was greeted by the survivors' incredulous stares. They couldn't believe that he had made it out alive. Even Jyejin thought he had waltzed into a suicide mission, but evidently, he had a lot more secrets than she had guessed.

Lee Dojin rubbed his stomach. "Is anyone else hungry," he asked them.