I opened my eyes.
A dingy, ash-gray sky came into view. Turning my head, a familiar bed caught my eye. It was my room, located inside the lodgings.
I tried moving my left arm. The one torn off by the Black Priest's magic.
It moved properly. The hole in my right chest was also gone without a trace.
'So, I survived.'
I thought I might die before returning, but it seems I made it back just in time.
I sat up in bed and looked at the clock. 3:45 AM. A time when everyone in the Waiting Room would be asleep.
I lay down and closed my eyes, but my mind was wide awake.
Eventually, I gave up and went out to the lobby.
Aaron was sitting on the lobby sofa, head bowed.
I sat down beside him and spoke.
"Why the long face?"
"Ah, Boss."
Aaron looked up at me. His eyes looked haggard.
"It's a relief you're okay. We were all worried."
"Worried, my ass. So, what deep thoughts are making you look so glum?"
"I was thinking about why we fight."
"Why we fight?"
"After you went out, the corpses stormed the city. And..."
Aaron's expression darkened.
I could guess without him saying it.
Many civilian NPCs live inside the city.
Even if they evacuated to the inner castle, there's a limit to its capacity. There must have been a massacre carried out by the corpses. Jena, Aaron, and Edith's party, who were inside, must have witnessed it vividly.
I watched Aaron, head bowed, just sipping his water.
'His stress level must be high.'
If battles and training continue without rest, a Hero's stress can build excessively, leading to depression. Or, witnessing a large-scale massacre during a mission or the death of a close comrade can also cause depression. Depression was one of the leading causes of sudden death.
After sipping his water for a while, Aaron stood up.
"I'll head back first. Please rest, Boss."
"Are you going to come out with that face tomorrow too?"
Aaron gave a bitter smile and said,
"I'll be better by tomorrow."
"Alright, go on."
"Yes, sir."
Aaron bowed to me and returned to the lodgings.
I sat alone in the dark lobby, drinking water.
I thought about the one who brought me here.
It was the same before I came to the Waiting Room.
Because of the mosaic effect, I couldn't see its appearance properly. Only the unpleasant voice, like scraping metal, remained in my mind.
'Did it say it was waiting?'
If I'd had the time, I might have asked the Black Priest who wanted to talk, but I killed him.
That dawn, I couldn't sleep until Chloe appeared.
I had pulled an all-nighter.
Anyway, since a major battle was over, measures were needed to lower stress.
Normally, this is Amkena's role, but since that one isn't doing its job, there's no choice.
I spoke to Chloe, who greeted me and was prepping ingredients in the kitchen.
"Get out all the ingredients. Make the best meal you can."
Chloe hesitated for a moment, but soon nodded and took out all the food ingredients from the storage. The baker lady who followed also started showing off her skills.
Breakfast, where everyone in the Waiting Room gathers.
The table was laden with all sorts of elaborate dishes: meat dishes, various breads, salads, soups, and more.
Jena, the first to arrive at the dining hall, her eyes widened.
"What is all this? It's breakfast, why is it so fancy?"
"Why, don't you like it?"
"No! If it's always like this, I'd absolutely love it!"
Jena sat down in a chair, smiling brightly.
Soon, the members of the Waiting Room came out one by one. They were surprised once upon seeing the food, and twice upon seeing me. It was understandable. I rarely showed up in the dining hall.
The meal began.
While casually picking at some bread, I observed the party members' faces.
'Jena's fine, naturally. Aaron's okay too. Iolca's also good.'
They didn't exactly look happy.
But they were maintaining their composure somehow.
I checked Party 2.
The two 3-stars are okay. Usher is managing to eat somehow.
No need to check Schurn and Mackin, the 5th members of each party, since they died.
It was somewhat expected. Those two joined late, and their levels were too low.
'Dika.'
Dika was gagging.
Edith stood up, supported Dika, and led him out.
Managing party members' mental state is also part of a leader's role.
The battle was fierce, but casualties weren't high among us.
That must be the cause.
Still, it doesn't mean they're completely fine.
Stress was accumulating, little by little, whether they realized it or not.
And that day, late in the evening after everyone had returned to the lodgings.
[Welcome to Pick Me Up!]
Amkena connected.
[Loading complete.]
[T O U C H !(Select)]
Lights turned on in the sky.
I was sitting on a bench in the square.
I knew Amkena would show up.
The Low-Grade Fire Attribute Stone given as the 10th Floor clear reward.
The Water and Wind Attribute Stones I had collected were stored in the warehouse.
An alarm popped up with a cheerful sound.
[Master, there is a Hero awaiting Promotion!]
[Promotion Possible Hero - Han(★)]
[Tips/For Promotion, the Promotion Center, an auxiliary building of the Synthesis Lab, is required.]
Amkena's control window appeared.
The Facilities tab was touched.
[You have selected the 'Promotion Center' auxiliary building for the 'Synthesis Lab'. Construct?]
[Yes(Select) / No]
Rumble rumble.
A faint tremor shook the Waiting Room.
[Promotion Center construction complete! Hero Promotion is now possible.]
Next, the Item Synthesis window appeared.
Inside the synthesis window, red, blue, and green stones were rotating in a circle.
[Commencing Item Synthesis!]
[Selected Materials - Low-Grade Fire Attribute Stone, Low-Grade Water Attribute Stone, Low-Grade Wind Attribute Stone]
[Resulting Item - Low-Grade Promotion Stone]
[Success Rate - 87%]
[Synthesis Method – Auto]
[Synthesize?]
[Yes(Select) / No]
[Clang clang bang bang!]
[Fairy Power!]
[Good!]
[Synthesis Complete!]
[You have obtained 'Low-Grade Promotion Stone'!]
The warehouse door opened, and Isel popped out.
She was hugging a rainbow-colored shining stone.
[Congrats on the Promotion!]
I silently caught the rainbow stone Isel threw.
[With this, you graduate from 1-star! Let's keep pushing straight to 7-star! Bang bang Tower conquest!]
"I don't know if I can even reach 7-star."
[Huhu, if it's not Loki, who else would reach 7-star!]
If that were true, Ciris would already be 7-star.
I tried every way possible, but I could never obtain a 7-star Hero.
[Master, commencing Promotion!]
Clunk.
The Synthesis Lab door opened.
Holding the Promotion Stone in one hand, I slowly walked inside.
Inside the Synthesis Lab, with its purple magic circle, another door stood open.
I went through the second door.
The Promotion Center was a room with almost the same structure as the Synthesis Lab. However, the magic circle was red, and in the center of the room was a small altar suitable for placing the stone. I placed the Promotion Stone on the altar.
A faint red light emanated from the Promotion Stone.
BANG!
The Synthesis Lab door slammed shut violently.
The Promotion Center door closed next.
Promotion.
One of the areas a Master cannot see.
Put the Hero and materials into the Promotion Center, and after a while, the Hero comes out promoted. Even the Master couldn't know what happened inside.
Red light pulsed from the entire magic circle.
Similar to what comes from the Space-Time Rift, but for some reason, it felt like it clung more to the skin.
It felt like being submerged in deep water.
The red light enveloped my entire body.
When I opened my eyes again.
"My baby."
A small, shabby room made of wood.
A middle-aged woman sat in a rocking chair, soothing the newborn baby in her arms.
"Good boy, such a good boy."
"Who are you?"
No answer.
This woman seemed to be in a similar state to the NPCs on the 10th Floor.
But slightly different.
Thump.
I reached out a hand towards the woman, but it bounced off mid-air.
'Can't even touch her?'
I looked around the room.
A space not even 10 pyeong. The furniture was old and shabby.
The woman, with black hair and black eyes, stroked the baby and said,
"You're going to be a great person."
Her touch was full of affection.
Intuitively, I realized the baby's identity.
'Han Israt.'
Not me.
I don't have anything like a family.
The guy who should have come here instead of me was over there.
I recalled when I first came to the Waiting Room.
Han Israt of the Heim Peninsula.
Isel called me by that name.
'I don't understand.'
I looked at the window in the corner of the room.
Beyond the window, an unknown darkness squirmed.
"Good boy, such a good boy."
I don't have time to waste on useless things like this.
Just then, I noticed a door leading outside on the right wall. I grabbed the doorknob. This time, it didn't repel me. I opened the door in one go and stepped outside.
Outside was the square of the Waiting Room.
The square was bare, completely empty.
Not Amkena's Waiting Room. I couldn't tell where it was.
The lights were off in the sky.
I slowly walked through the empty Waiting Room.
There was only one door in the square. No lodgings, no warehouse, no training center. Looking back, the door I came through had vanished sometime.
The nameplate on the large door read 'Space-Time Rift'.
Screeeech.
The door opened with an unpleasant sound, and something emerged, scattering light.
Two pairs of wings glittering with stardust. A black one-piece dress and a distinctively cute face.
'Isel?'
Different.
This little one was about the size of a fist. Isel isn't this small.
The fairy flew around me, chuckling. Then, with a tiny finger, it pointed inside the Space-Time Rift.
"You want me to go in?"
Nod.
Suspicious, but staying here wouldn't change anything.
I took a short, deep breath and stepped into the Space-Time Rift.
In the center of the circular room lay a single mirror.
[Prove thy strength!]
[Advent Dungeon: Difficulty - Transcendent]
"This is..."
SLAM!
The door leading back to the square closed. The fairy giggled, continuing to circle around me. Black light began to leak from the mirror.
The jet-black light enveloped me before I could do anything.
And then, I was standing alone in a dark space.
[Drrrrum!]
[The Advent Dungeon Opens!]
[Warning! Warning! Warning!]
Instantly, a crushing pressure enveloped my entire body.
"Ugh...!"
I dropped to one knee.
It felt like someone was pressing down on me from above with a machine press.
My vision blurred. I couldn't breathe. If I lost focus for even a second, it felt like my whole body would be crushed into a handful of meat.
[Han(★) feels Fear! All stats decreased by 30%.]
I drew my sword and stabbed it into the ground.
I couldn't tell if it was the ground or somewhere else. It was just pitch black.
Gripping the sword hilt, I desperately held on. My body trembled violently, and blood seeped from my clenched teeth.
At this rate, I'd pass out.
I cut my left palm with the sword. Blood dripped down the blade.
I felt a sensation in my head as if something blocked was breaking through.
[Han(★) has entered a Berserk state!]
[Han(★) has overcome Fear.]
"Hoh."
"...Haaah."
I slowly inhaled, then exhaled again.
I regained control of my body.
I stood up.
It stood before me.
[SS▩SH黑⊙∈※ Lv.999]