Inheritance Dungeons.
To the nobles and scholars, they were divine gifts, ancient ruins left behind by gods long vanished from the mortal plane.
But to those who were familiar with how the gods act...
They were simply games for their entertainment.
Cruel ones, designed not with mercy, but with amusement in mind.
Gods, bored beyond reason, left behind these domains for one reason alone: to watch mortals struggle.
To test them, to see if they were worthy of their power.
And if one survived this gruesome test, they would easily skip through the ranks, and everything they wanted would become much easier to accomplish.
Hence why...
CRRK—!
Gray was desperate enough to try and enter, even if it meant his death.
"Agh...!"
Stone grated beneath his boots.
Loose pebbles scattered down the side of the canyon as he slowly descended, gripping onto twisted roots and jagged rock edges.
The air was colder down here, sharp with dampness and the scent of old moss and iron.
The deeper he went, the quieter the world became.
Even the rain felt distant now.
Only the sound of wind blowing through the canyon's mouth accompanied him.
"Haah… I really overestimated how hard this would be," he muttered to himself, a strained laugh escaping his lips.
His fingers were already bleeding, and his arms burned in exhaustion.
"Huff... let's continue."
He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand and pushed on.
Slowly, carefully, he lowered himself the final few meters until at last, his boots touched solid ground at the bottom of Vireux Canyon.
There it was.
Half-buried by vines and cracked stone, a circular archway was carved into the cliffside.
And above it, barely legible, carved in a language he didn't recognize, yet somehow... understood:
[Only the forgotten may enter. Only the broken may rise.]
He wanted to laugh upon seeing those words.
"It perfectly fits my situation, eh?"
However, just as he was about to approach the entrance...
Gray suddenly froze, his eyes narrowed as he pressed his back against the stone, taking a cautious look.
From behind a cluster of jagged rocks, a group of guards huddled around a small campfire, their voices low but carrying easily in the stillness of the canyon.
One burly man chuckled, wiping sweat from his brow.
"Man, you're telling me you've been banging my wife behind my back? How the fuck do you even keep that up without me catching on?"
"Easy. She's more bored than loyal. Besides, you're always drunk or chasing some noblewoman upstairs. I'm just filling the time."
The first guard growled, taking a swig from his flask.
"Better watch your back, then. If I catch either of you two alone, I'll beat the shit out of you."
A third, younger guard snorted.
"Relax, Goran. You're all bark, no bite. Besides, I heard your wife's been bragging about me to the tavern crowd. Says I'm better in bed than you."
There was a burst of laughter cutting through the tense night air.
Gray's lips twitched in disgust.
"…Idiots," he muttered.
"Letting someone else screw your wife... how pathetic."
But his sneer faded as his eyes dropped to their weapons.
"That old man is really meticulous, huh? To the point of putting guards with diamond-steel swords guarding the gates..."
"They are going to be a bit difficult to deal with." His hand reached out to his waist, where a beautiful silver-plated rapier could be seen.
His eyes softened slightly as he slowly caressed it, as if he were actually Gray, and not a soul occupying his body.
"...The only gift left from my mother."
Gray mumbled slightly.
Clink.!
A pebble skittered down the rock.
And immediately, one of the guards snapped his head up.
"Huh? Who's there? Show yourself!"
The man rose, unsheathing his sword, and slowly started approaching the place where the sound came from.
'Fuck... I didn't think that I made too much noise, did I?' he cursed inwardly.
'Besides, they don't seem to be a higher rank than I am... although, I kept my facade as the trash of the family, I made sure to continue training...'
"Where are you, rat? Come out!" Another guard barked into the darkness.
Boots scraped over loose stone as the three shadows crept closer, their swords gleaming in the firelight.
Gray's grip tightened around his mother's rapier.
'...Haah... here goes nothing.'
Then, he exhaled once, then stepped from behind the rocks.
"...Hello."
His voice cracked a little at first. He cleared his throat, awkwardly raising one hand in a half-hearted wave.
The guards froze mid-step.
The man in front, the burly one called Goran, squinted at him, eyes flicking from the rapier at Gray's hip to his battered clothes and bloodied hands.
Then his eyes widened.
"Wait. You— You're… Gray Vireux D'Aurélion? The Eldest Son of D'Aurélion House?"
The younger guard's smug grin vanished in an instant. They all straightened up, exchanging stiff glances, suddenly unsure if they should bow or salute.
Gray forced a sheepish smile, scratching the back of his neck.
"Ah… Yeah. That's me."
Even here, even at the edge of the gods' forsaken playground, the name still worked its spell.
Goran cleared his throat, trying to hide his unease behind a sneer.
"Lord Gray. We… weren't expecting you down here. What's a noble like you doing in this shithole canyon?"
Gray shrugged, letting out an awkward laugh.
"Ah, well… I, uh… got a little bored." He gestured vaguely up the canyon's steep walls.
"Went for a walk in the forest, and then decided to rest for a bit. Next thing I knew, I was halfway down here. Thought… might as well see what's at the bottom, right?"
He spread his hands, as if the entire thing was just another foolish whim.
The three guards exchanged looks again.
One of them couldn't quite hide the curl of disgust on his lips.
"Tch. Figures," the young one muttered under his breath. "Trash son of a duke. Always was a freak."
Goran forced a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Lord Gray… this place isn't safe for someone of your… stature. We'll escort you back up, all right?"
The other two stepped closer, eyes flicking to the rapier at Gray's side.
Gray's awkward smile froze.
For a heartbeat, he was silent, but then his lips curled into something sharp.
A devilish smirk.
"…No," he whispered.
"You won't."
Before Goran could react, Gray lunged forward, rapier flashing in the dim light.
Swing!
A silver arc flashed in the dark.
Splurt!
A wet, sick sound echoed as blood sprayed from Goran's throat.
His eyes widened in complete shock.
"Ugh—!" Goran clawed at the wound, hands slipping uselessly over the gushing blood.
He crumpled forward like a ragdoll, silence swallowing him whole.
The two remaining guards hesitated, eyes locked on the twitching body.
Then steel rasped from scabbards.
"You little shit—!" The young guard lunged first, blade flashing for Gray's neck.
CLANG!
Sparks flew as Gray's rapier met the attack. He twisted his wrist, pushing the blade aside, then slammed his shoulder hard into the guard's chest.
THUD!
The guard stumbled back.
The other swung wide, a vicious cut for Gray's ribs. But Gray dropped low, the blade whispering past his hair.
SWISH!
Then, without breaking his rhythm, Gray shot his heel out.
CRACK!
A sickening snap echoed as the guard's knee gave way beneath him.
"Agh!" the guard gasped, collapsing to one leg, his guard momentarily dropped.
Gray's rapier darted forward like a snake striking its prey.
SPLAT!
The blade slid beneath the man's jaw, piercing soft flesh and exiting the back of his neck.
The guard shuddered violently, then fell limp onto the cold stone floor.
The younger guard scrambled back to his feet, eyes wide and full of disbelief.
"W-What? Wasn't he supposed to be trash?!"
Gray said nothing as his body moved again.
The guard retreated, swinging wildly in desperation. His blade hissed past Gray's cheek, tearing a hot line of pain through the skin.
"Shit!" Gray muttered through clenched teeth, ignoring the sting.
He stepped inside the guard's reach, driving a brutal elbow into the man's face.
CRUNCH!
Bone cracked sharply under the blow.
"Ugh! Fuck!" the guard howled, clutching his shattered nose.
His sword dropped to the floor with a heavy clang.
Desperate, he swung a wild fist at Gray.
It caught Gray hard in the ribs.
THUD!
"Kagh!" Gray grunted, the pain flaring hot and sharp, but his eyes burned with fury.
He retaliated immediately, slamming his forehead into the guard's face with brutal force.
CRACK!
The guard staggered, dazed and unsteady.
Gray grabbed a handful of hair, yanking the man's head down sharply.
His rapier slid easily between ribs, beneath the arm.
SPLASH!
Warm blood spilled over Gray's hand.
The guard twitched once, then sagged lifelessly to the floor.
Gray let the body fall, standing tall and steady.
But the fight wasn't over.
The youngest guard, wide-eyed and trembling, wiped blood from a split lip and lunged again, blade stabbing at Gray's side with frantic speed.
Gray twisted sharply, the rapier spinning in his grip.
CLINK!
The blade caught the guard's sword flat, knocking it aside.
Gray seized the moment, his free hand shooting out to grab the man's wrist and wrench it upward.
With a savage grunt, Gray slammed his fist into the guard's ribs.
CRACK!
The man doubled over, breath knocked out.
Gray's other hand released the wrist and launched forward with a sharp punch to the guard's jaw.
SMACK!
The guard's head snapped back, eyes rolling as he staggered.
Before he could recover, Gray grabbed the back of the man's neck, yanked him forward, and delivered a crushing knee strike to the temple.
THUD!
The guard collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Gray stood amid the fallen, chest rising and falling as adrenaline coursed through his veins.
A thin trickle of blood slid down the side of his face from the cut on his cheek, but he wiped it away without hesitation.
"Haah… fucking hell…"
He went and grabbed his rapier once again before stabbing it into the chest of the unconscious guard.
"Ugh..."
His stomach suddenly clenched violently, twisting like a knotted rope.
He staggered back a step, hand shooting out to grip the cold stone wall. His vision blurred, the edges darkening.
"No…" he whispered, voice trembling, but the sickness was winning.
His knees buckled, and before he could stop it, a harsh, guttural sound tore from his throat.
HHHHK—BLURRRGHH—!
He vomited violently onto the cold ground, bile and blood mixing in a sick swirl. The acrid taste burned his tongue, and he coughed, choking on the harsh reality.
Gray's breath came in ragged gasps, chest rising and falling wildly. His hands shook as he wiped the fluids on his mouth, giving one last glance at the people he had killed.
"Stand up, Gray…"
"This isn't your world. Not anymore."
"In this world, only the strong survive. And to survive…"
"…you'll have to kill everyone who stands in your way."
He slowly stood up and finally started walking towards the entrance of the inheritance dungeon.