The air in the dungeon was exactly as Kaito remembered: cold, damp, and thick with the smell of wet stone and something feral. The only light came from the faint, eerie glow of luminescent fungi clinging to the walls, casting long, dancing shadows. The memory of this place—the laughter of goblins, Haruto's battle cries, the crushing weight of failure—threatened to overwhelm him. He clenched his fists, the cool metal of his motorcycle keys biting into his palm, grounding him.
Not this time.
He moved silently, his senses stretched taut. He knew the goblins would appear from the side tunnel ahead. Twenty of them. Last time, it had been a frantic, exhausting brawl. This time, it would be different.
He willed the interface to life. It shimmered into existence before him, a sleek, silent screen of light in the gloom.
USER: Kaito Liu
LEVEL: 4
QTY (Active Summons): 0/4
SYSTEMS UNLOCKED: Infinite
Select a System to Summon:
[Infinite Harem of Beautiful Girls]
[Succubus System]
[Magic: The Collection System]
[Eden Girls System]
[Harem x Harem]
... (Scroll for More)
The QTY, he understood now, was his summoning limit, tied directly to his level. Four summons. He had to choose wisely. He selected the first option, [Infinite Harem of Beautiful Girls].
A soft, golden light emanated from him, and four figures materialized from the glow. They were nymphs, their beauty ethereal and disconcerting in the grim dungeon. The first had hair like cascading water and eyes the color of deep forest pools. The second seemed woven from sunlight and autumn leaves. The third had the serene grace of a mountain peak, and the fourth a playful, fiery spirit that flickered in her amber eyes.
They looked at him, not with confusion, but with a calm, ready understanding.
"The air here is foul," said the first, her voice like a babbling brook. "What requires cleansing, Summoner?"
Kaito, momentarily stunned by their sentience, shook his head. "Goblins. Twenty of them. They'll be here any moment."
The fiery nymph cracked her knuckles, a surprisingly human gesture. "Vermin. They will provide good sport."
As if on cue, raspy laughter echoed from the tunnel, and the first goblin emerged, its beady eyes glinting with malice. Then another, and another, until a horde of twenty filled the corridor.
"Alright," Kaito said, tightening his grip on a heavy dungeon stone he'd picked up. "Let's go."
The battle was nothing like before. Where he and Haruto had been a chaotic whirlwind of steel and fists, the nymphs were a symphony of precise, elemental force.
The water nymph moved like a torrent, her flowing strikes sweeping goblins off their feet and dashing them against the walls. The earth nymph stood firm, her roots entangling the creatures, making them easy targets. The wind nymph was a blur, her kicks and strikes too fast for the goblins to follow. The fire nymph was the most direct, her every touch leaving scorch marks on green skin, her laughter a bright counterpoint to the goblins' shrieks.
Kaito fought alongside them, his brass knuckles a solid, dependable weight. He was no longer just brawling; he was part of a unit. He covered the wind nymph's flank, his powerful punch shattering the jaw of a goblin that tried to ambush her. She nodded her thanks, a flicker of respect in her eyes.
It was over in minutes. The goblins lay defeated, the dungeon silent once more save for the nymphs' soft, steady breathing.
"You fight with surprising grace for a man," the earth nymph remarked.
"It's been a learning process," Kaito replied, wiping sweat from his brow. The fight had been quicker, more controlled, but he still felt the strain. Haruto's level 4 is different from mine, he thought, a familiar pang of inadequacy hitting him. But he pushed it down. He had won. Alone.
He led the nymphs deeper into the dungeon, to the pulsating red orb of the spawn point. He interfaced with it, his fingers moving with practiced ease, and set the quantity to zero. The orb vanished with a soft pop.
He held his breath, waiting, his eyes fixed on the spot where the colossal, ornate gate had appeared last time. The spot where everything had gone wrong.
Nothing happened.
The dungeon remained just a dungeon: dark, empty, and safe.
A wave of relief so potent it left him dizzy washed over him. It worked. I changed it.
"Your task is complete?" the water nymph asked.
"For now," Kaito said softly. "Thank you."
They bowed their heads and dissolved back into motes of golden light, returning to the infinite library from whence they came.
The sound of hurried footsteps echoed from the entrance. Haruto burst into the chamber, his silver armor gleaming, his face a mask of concern.
"Kaito! The workers said you came in alone! Are you insane?" Haruto's eyes scanned the room, taking in the defeated goblins and the missing spawn point. His anger faltered, replaced by confusion. "You... you handled this by yourself?"
"Looks that way," Kaito said, trying for nonchalance.
Haruto wasn't buying it. He stepped closer, his voice dropping. "How? This is a level 1 dungeon, but twenty goblins... that's a lot for one person. You're not even winded."
Before Kaito could fabricate an answer, a new voice cut through the chamber.
"No! They finished the quest already!"
They turned to see three figures standing at the dungeon entrance. Hardi, the knight, his expression thunderous. Behind him, the sorceresses Cedonia and Juniper, their faces a mixture of surprise and resignation.
"We're late," Cedonia sighed.
Hardi glared at Kaito and Haruto. "Leatherback Sea Turtles. Of course. You took our payday."
Haruto bristled. "We were here first. Your tardiness isn't our problem."
Kaito barely heard the bickering. He was staring at Cedonia and Juniper. Alive. Their faces, which had been frozen in terror the last time he saw them, were now just mildly annoyed. The sight was a balm on his wounded soul.
As Hardi turned to leave, grumbling, Kaito called out, "Cedonia. Juniper."
They paused, looking at him with mild curiosity.
"Be safe out there," Kaito said, his voice thick with an emotion they couldn't possibly understand.
Cedonia blinked, then offered a small, polite smile. "Thank you."
They left, and Haruto turned to Kaito, a knowing smirk on his face. "What was that? Trying to add a sorceress or two to your collection?"
Kaito managed a weak laugh. "Something like that."
As they exited the dungeon into the late morning sun, Kaito took one last look over his shoulder at the now-harmless construction site. He had saved them. He had averted the disaster.
But as he walked away, a cold knot of doubt tightened in his stomach. The gate hadn't appeared because he had finished the quest before Haruto arrived. He had changed the sequence of events. But had he solved the problem, or merely postponed it? The world of infinite possibilities was at his fingertips, but it seemed the world of infinite consequences was, too.