Dex slumped against the cave wall, his breath ragged, the adrenaline from the fight still buzzing in his veins. His shattered leg was a throbbing mess, his HP hovering dangerously at 5/255 after the level-up boost.
He pulled up his system window, scrolling past the usual menus—then froze.
[NEW MENU UNLOCKED: CYBER LORD'S SHOP]
[CYBER CURRENCY (CC): 500]
What the hell is this?
The shop was divided into categories:
. POTIONS
. WEAPONS
. ARMOR
. SKILLS
Dex tapped POTIONS, his brow furrowing as the list loaded. These weren't normal health vials.
[PHANTOM STEP BOOST (TEMPORARY)] – 50 CC
[OMNISIGHT OVERCLOCK (1 HOUR)] – 75 CC
[FULL RESTORATION ELIXIR] – 100 CC
His eyes locked onto the last one.
"Heals all wounds. Instantly."
A hundred CC. He had five times that.
"Fuck it."
He purchased it, the CC counter dropping to 400.
A vial materialized in his hand—neon pink, bubbling like soda.
Dex stared at it.
"Please don't taste like ass."
He chugged it.
And—
It tasted like a fucking strawberry milkshake.
Dex blinked.
"How?!"
Before he could question it further, his body glitched, a wave of blue static washing over him. His shattered leg reknit itself, bones snapping back into place, flesh sealing. His HP bar maxed out in an instant.
[HP: 255/255]
[STATUS: FULLY HEALED]
Dex flexed his restored leg, then let out a loud, satisfied burp.
The Origin Mask sighed.
"Of course it's strawberry."
Dex's fingers hovered over the armor section, his eyes scanning the armours available till his eyes land on one particular cloak,, reading the description as a grin slowly forms on his face, the grin growing wider as he reads on.
Dex's excitement over the cloak was immediate—until he saw the price.
[MANTLE OF THE VOID WALKER]
[DEFENSE: 500]
[SKILL 1: "PHANTOM THIEF" – STEAL ONE SKILL FROM A TARGET (DURATION: 5 MINUTES)]
[SKILL 2: "FACELESS" – MIMIC ANY PLAYER OR NPC'S APPEARANCE (DURATION: UNLIMITED)]
Cost: 2000 CC
Dex's soul left his body.
"Two thousand?! Who the hell has that kind of—"
Then he kept scrolling.
And found something else.
Nestled between a pair of gauntlets and a lightweight chestplate was… pajamas.
Pajamas.
[THE SOVEREIGN'S SLUMBER SUIT]
"Why fight when you can nap?" - Cyber Lord, probably.
[DEFENSE: 100]
[SKILL 1: "AUTO-PILOT"]
Falls into deep sleep while the Cyber Lord gene takes over, fighting automatically for 3 minutes. [Cooldown: 12 hours.]
[SKILL 2: "SLEEPY TIME HACK"]
Attempts to forcibly log the target out of consciousness for 20 seconds. Effectiveness scales inversely with target's level. (Can evolve!)
Cost: 400 CC
Dex's eye twitched.
The description continued:
"The Cyber Lord was the laziest of the Five—and the most perverted. He believed in 'efficiency,' which mostly meant 'doing nothing while his powers did the work.' These PJs were his pride and joy. Yes, really."
Dex stared.
The Mask wheezed with laughter.
"Oh my god. He actually monetized his laziness."
Dex's fingers hovered over the BUY button.
On one hand, it was embarrassing.
On the other… 100 Defense wasn't terrible. And Auto-Pilot sounded kind of broken.
He sighed.
"Fuck it."
[PURCHASE CONFIRMED]
[CYBER CURRENCY: 400 → 0 CC]
The animal hooded pajamas materialized in his hands—soft black and white fabric with glowing blue circuit patterns, suspiciously cozy.
The Mask snorted.
"You look so intimidating."
Dex ignored it and stripped right there, yanking the PJs on over his gear.
The second the fabric settled, a notification popped up:
[EQUIPPED: THE SOVEREIGN'S SLUMBER SUIT]
[BONUS EFFECT: "NAP TIME" – RESTING IN THIS OUTFIT DOUBLES HP REGEN]
Dex blinked.
"…Okay, that's actually kinda busted."
Dex yanked the hood over his head, the panda ears flopping slightly as he moved. The slippers—plush, black-and-white monstrosities with tiny glowing claws—made a soft pomf pomf sound against the cave floor.
The Origin Mask was howling with laughter.
"Oh, this is too good. The mighty Cyber Lord heir, slayer of Guardians, dressed like a child's bedtime story."
Dex scowled, adjusting the hood. "Shut up. It's got 100 Defense and a free auto-battle mode. I'd wear a clown nose if it kept me alive."
The Mask wheezed. "Please tell me there's a tail—"
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
[NEW QUEST: "HEARTSTONE CHRONICLES"]
[OBJECTIVE: RETRIEVE THE HEART OF THE INFERNO]
[REWARD: 1000 CC | +1 CYBER LORD GENE EVOLUTION]
Dex's eyes narrowed.
"Finally. Something useful."
He didn't wait for the Mask's next jab.
He ran.
The Sovereign's Slumber Suit was stupidly comfortable. The fabric breathed like it was alive, the panda hood keeping his head warm in the cave's unnatural chill. The slippers? Absurdly bouncy.
Dex barely felt the ground as he sprinted, his eyes blazing blue with Cyber Lord energy.
Then—movement.
A Gloomfang Arachnid (Lv. 26) dropped from the ceiling, its eight eyes locking onto him, fangs dripping with paralytic venom.
Dex didn't break stride.
He raised a hand.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: "SLEEPY TIME HACK"]
A pulse of glitching blue code shot from his palm, slamming into the spider. Its legs wobbled. Its eyes rolled back.
[STATUS AFFLICTED: FORCED SHUTDOWN (20 SECONDS)]
Dex leapt, driving his Data Dagger into its skull mid-air—CRUNCH—before yanking it free and landing without slowing down.
[ENEMY DEFEATED: GLOOMFANG ARACHNID]
[EXP GAINED: 800]
The Mask whistled. "Okay. The PJs get points for style."
Dex didn't answer.
The cave was deepening, the walls now pulsing with veins of molten data. The air smelled like burning ozone and something older—something alive.
And then, he saw it.
Dex slowed as he reached the cavern's heart, the air thick with the scent of burning sulfur and something metallic—like old blood.
There, in the center of a pool of bubbling black tar, floated the Heart of the Inferno.
Except it wasn't a gem.
It was an egg.
A grotesque, pulsating obsidian egg, veined with cracks of molten orange. It looked less like treasure and more like something that belonged in the chest cavity of a demon king.
Dex hesitated.
"In movies," he muttered, "when you take the shiny thing, the whole place collapses."
The Origin Mask scoffed. "This isn't a movie. Grab it and go."
Dex exhaled, then reached out—
His fingers closed around the egg. It was warm, almost alive, its surface thrumming like a heartbeat.
[ITEM ACQUIRED: HEART OF THE INFERNO]
[QUEST UPDATED: "RETURN TO IGNIS"]
[REWARD: 1000 CC | MALO'S SAFETY GUARANTEED]
He stuffed it into his inventory and turned to leave—
Nothing happened.
No rumbling. No cave-in. No traps.
Just… silence.
Dex blinked. "Huh. That was—"
Then he saw it.
A hand—rotted, skeletal, clawed—burst from the ground near the now-empty pool.
Then another.
Then dozens.
The tar bubbled violently as something began dragging itself free.
Dex didn't wait to see what.
"Hell no."
He bolted, his panda slippers slapping against the stone as he sprinted for the exit. Behind him, the cavern erupted in a chorus of shrieks—wet, guttural, hungry.
The Mask cackled. "Okay, now it's a movie!"
Dex didn't look back.