For a heartbeat after the Necrolin's body turned to ash, Ji-hoon thought the world was finished with him.
Then the floor opened.
A second tore itself out of the air behind him, swallowing everything in crimson light. He barely had time to raise his weapon before the pull caught him too fast, too strong. The others shouted something he couldn't hear.
Then, nothing.
Only darkness.
He didn't dream. He fell.
Endless black gave way to blinding white, and his body shot through the air like a thrown stone. Wind tore at his clothes, his ears screamed with pressure, and the world spun beneath him. Ji-hoon's eyes snapped open just in time to see the clouds rushing past.
He wasn't just falling he was plummeting from the sky.
"Damn it...…!"
His Instinct roared louder than fear. Mana surged down his legs.
[Skill Created: Iron Boots][Type: Active / Passive Hybrid][Effect: Reinforces user's legs with condensed mana; enhances physical resistance and striking power. Can be used for attack or defense.]
A shimmer of metallic light coated his boots, humming faintly with power.
He twisted midair, trying to control his fall. Below him stretched a vast, green wilderness trees like waves, stretching all the way to the horizon. But at the forest's edge a …..town. Stone walls, smoke rising from chimneys, roads built for wagons instead of cars.
It wasn't Earth.It wasn't Seoul.
And it wasn't the dungeon anymore.
The wind howled as the ground rushed closer.
He could see the tops of trees now then dirt then the faint, distant rooftops of that medieval town. His system's combat instinct triggered automatically.
[Dragonization: Stage I:Eyes Activated][Anchor strain: Stable]
Gold flashed in his eyes. Muscles hardened.He poured mana into the new skill, bracing for impact.
The world hit him like a hammer.
BOOM.
Dirt exploded outward as Ji-hoon crashed into the earth, dust and leaves scattering in every direction. The shockwave toppled the smaller trees nearby, birds screaming into the sky. His legs burned a white-hot with pain; it felt like the bones had splintered, his muscles tearing apart.
Then… nothing.
The pain dulled. His breathing steadied. The golden glow around his boots dimmed.
[Iron Boots: Active][Impact absorbed. Damage nullified.]
He lay still for a moment, staring up at the patch of sky above the clearing, chest heaving.Then, slowly, he laughed once half disbelief, half exhaustion.
"….I'm alive."
He sat up, brushing dirt off his coat. His legs trembled slightly, but the pain was fading fast.The metallic sheen had receded from his boots, leaving faint cracks in the soil beneath them.
The forest around him was too quiet. It smelled real fresh pine, soil, air that wasn't polluted. But his instincts screamed wrong.
"Another world?," he asked himself.
His eyes lifted to the town visible in the distance beyond the treetops. Smoke rose lazily from the chimneys. People moved along the roads tiny figures, unaware that someone had just fallen from the sky not far from them.
He took one step toward it.
That's when the system appeared again.
[New Quest Assigned][Main Scenario: Subjugation][Description: The town ahead is under imminent threat. Numerous monsters are preparing to attack. Eliminate the threat and restore safety.][Objective: Fix the situation :0/1][Reward:???][Failure: Town destruction / Quest termination/death of player]
Ji-hoon stared at the screen for a long time.
"Monsters," he muttered, scanning the horizon. There was nothing visible yet but he could feel them. That subtle wrongness in the air. The same kind of pressure that gates carried, but distant, muffled.
So, it was another test.Another battlefield.
He looked down at his hands, flexing them. The faint traces of dragon mana shimmered under his skin like molten gold.
"Guess rest isn't part of the deal."
He turned toward the town and began walking, each step echoing faintly against the dirt. His new skill pulsed quietly, ready to trigger again if needed.
The forest stretched endlessly before him, trees whispering in a language older than memory. Somewhere far off, he heard a roar deep, guttural, and too organized to be a wild beast.
He didn't know how he'd fallen here.He didn't know if this was even his world anymore.But one thing was certain.
The System had plans for him.
Ji-hoon exhaled, gripping Grudge tighter as the wind shifted toward the town. The faint scent of burning reached his nose.
[Quest Progression Updated: 0% → 1%][Objective: Subjugate the invading monsters.]
"Alright," he whispered to himself. "Let's see what you've got for me this time."