The Codex's glow pulsed around Elias like a second heartbeat.
The knights advanced, weapons raised, their hollow steps echoing against the cracked stone.
Elias's chest heaved, sweat dripping from his temple. His fingers tightened on the plank.
"I can't fight them all…" he whispered, staring at the wave of armored constructs. "But if I run…"
He glanced back. The library's doors were gone, swallowed by the rift. The shelves bent unnaturally, curving into the abyss as though reality itself had been rewritten.
No escape. Then forward.
The Codex flipped a page of its own accord.
> [Quest Activated: Dungeon Clear]
Clear Objective: Defeat the Dungeon Boss.
Reward: Advancement to Chapter II.
Failure: Death.
Elias's lips pressed into a thin line. "So I'm in one of their stories now…"
---
Guild Society – The World Outside
To most people, dungeon notifications like this were familiar. Hunters faced them daily. The strongest of them made it look effortless. Their battles were broadcast on holoscreens, and entire stadiums filled with cheering fans to watch a raid unfold live.
Guilds were more than just fighting forces. They were kingdoms. Each city had its Guild Halls—fortresses where S-rank hunters walked like gods. They owned corporations, politics, even media. When a dungeon opened, guilds raced to secure it, because clearing one didn't just mean glory. It meant loot. Weapons, artifacts, skills—treasures that sold for fortunes.
Children grew up idolizing hunters. Soldiers dreamed of joining guild armies. Merchants lived off supplying them.
And Elias?
He was background noise.
Hunters wouldn't even glance at a man like him. In their eyes, he was no different from the paper he stacked—a tool to be shelved and forgotten.
But now—he wasn't watching guild raids on flickering screens. He was in one. Alone.
---
The First Dungeon Crawl
The knights marched in formation, halberds lowering. Their steps boomed in unison.
Elias swallowed hard. "Think. Don't panic. Books, not swords. Read the pattern."
He watched. Each step was measured. Left, right, left. Their weapons swung in arcs, identical as mirror images. A flaw. A rhythm.
The Codex shimmered.
> [Page Recorded: March of Chains]
Skill: Increases group coordination and attack speed.
Elias's glasses glinted. So they're only strong together. Break the rhythm…
He dashed forward, heart hammering. A halberd cleaved down where his head had been, but he slid under, swinging his plank with surgical precision. Wood splintered against runes, and the knight's leg buckled.
The formation faltered.
Pages ignited around him.
> [Annotation Available]
March of Chains → Fractured March.
Apply change?
"Yes."
The glow spread. The knights stumbled, their perfect rhythm breaking. Their halberds clashed against one another in a mess of steel.
Elias's eyes widened. He wasn't just surviving. He was dismantling them.
He moved with frightening precision—sidestepping, ducking, slamming his makeshift weapon into joints and runes. Each strike collapsed another knight, their blue flames sputtering out.
One. Two. Three.
He didn't even feel human anymore.
When the last knight fell, Elias collapsed against the wall, gasping for breath. His arms shook, sweat soaking his shirt. But he was alive. Alive, and surrounded by glowing fragments of armor and scattered tomes fluttering from the rift.
The Codex opened again.
> [Archive Updated]
Skills Collected: Heavy Swing, Iron Guard, Precise Swing, Fractured March.
Total Pages: 4.
[Footnote Unlocked]
"These knights were once the guardians of the Author's unfinished palace. When the Author abandoned the draft, they became hollow echoes, bound to protect nothing."
Elias stared at the words. His fingers trembled. "Author? Draft? What the hell does that mean…?"
The ground shook again. Dust rained from the ceiling.
Then he heard it—heavy, guttural breathing from the depths of the rift.
The Dungeon Boss was coming.
---
The Boss Emerges
The knights' bodies rattled as though answering a command. Their scattered armor reformed, spiraling upward, combining into a towering monstrosity—a Knight Commander. Twice the size of the others, wielding a greatsword as long as Elias was tall.
Its helm snapped toward him. Blue fire blazed brighter.
Elias staggered back, panic clawing at his chest. His plank looked like a twig compared to that blade.
The Codex opened before him.
> [Page Suggestion Available]
Combine: Precise Swing + Iron Guard.
Result: Breaker's Strike.
Would you like to create?
Elias's teeth clenched. "Yes!"
His plank glowed, runes etching themselves into the grain. Power surged through his arms. For a brief moment, he felt like the hunters he had watched on screens—like the heroes children idolized.
The Knight Commander roared and swung. The blade cleaved downward with the weight of mountains.
Elias stepped forward. He swung once.
Plank met steel.
The greatsword shattered in two. The Commander staggered, hollow fire sputtering. Elias's follow-up strike cracked its helm wide open. Blue flames burst, spilling upward like smoke. The giant collapsed, armor scattering into lifeless heaps.
Silence fell.
Elias stood in the wreckage, chest heaving, body trembling. His weapon splintered to pieces, falling at his feet.
The Codex glowed brighter than ever.
> [Dungeon Clear: Success]
Reward: Advancement to Chapter II.
[Chapter II: Pagewalker Unlocked]
Feature Gained: Manifestation.
Description: Skills may now be materialized into physical constructs. Weapons, shields, wings, and summons can be formed from recorded Pages.
The tome snapped shut, hovering quietly in the air before him.
Elias pressed his hand against his chest, feeling his racing heartbeat. His lips curved into a shaky, disbelieving smile.
For years, hunters had mocked him as background noise. An unranked nobody. A man meant only to shuffle paper while others wrote legends.
But now… he wasn't reading their stories anymore.
He was writing his own.