After watching Akeno disappear down the hallway, Arthur let out a slow breath he hadn't realized he was holding. He placed a hand over his chest, feeling his heartbeat gradually return to normal.
Using the Boosted Gear's dragon aura had been a mistake in such a confined space. The power didn't just amplify strength, it amplified instinct, desire, and impulse. For a moment, he'd felt like something far more primal than human.
"I really need to be more careful with that…" he muttered.
Once he was certain his emotions were back under control, he leaned against the wall and exhaled again, forcing his mind to focus.
"Anyway," he said quietly, straightening up. "Let's check my rewards."
A familiar mechanical tone echoed in his head.
---
[Main quest completed]
[Rewards are being distributed]
[You have obtained "Special Roulette Draw" x2]
[You have unlocked the "Monthly Training Dungeon"]
[You have obtained 50,000 system points]
---
A faint smile crossed his face.
"That was worth the effort."
He didn't hesitate.
"Use."
---
[You have used "Special Roulette Draw" x2]
Ding!
[You have obtained "Embryo"]
---
A warm sensation spread across the back of his right hand. Light gathered there, not blinding, but dense, as if something was being carefully woven into reality itself.
When the glow faded, a jewel-like object had embedded itself into his skin. Its surface was opaque and smooth, almost organic, as if it were alive rather than crafted.
Arthur studied it closely.
"So this is an Embryo…"
He remembered this clearly. An item from Infinite Dendrogram. A symbiotic existence, half physical construct and half informational entity. Not a weapon in the conventional sense, but a companion that would eventually take form based on its wielder's nature.
"What you become depends on me, huh?" he murmured.
Until it hatched, there was no way to know what kind of being it would turn into. That uncertainty only made it more exciting.
Then the system chimed again.
Ding!
[You have obtained "Yongpyo"]
---
The temperature in the room dropped.
A formless black mass appeared in the air before him, rippling like smoke submerged in water. The pressure it radiated was immense, ancient, and oppressive in a way that made even the Boosted Gear feel quiet by comparison.
Then he heard it.
A voice. Feminine, distant, and cold, echoing directly inside his mind.
"Prove that you want to live… Until then… You will not be worthy of being my master…"
Before he could respond, the black mass condensed, reshaping itself into a bracelet composed of dark wooden beads. It drifted down and settled naturally around his left wrist, as if it had always belonged there.
Arthur stared at it, his breath shallow.
"Yongpyo…"
This wasn't just any artifact. It was the Monkey King's armor from The God of High School. A legendary armor said to be nearly indestructible, capable of adapting, evolving, and overwhelming gods themselves.
And it had a will of its own.
He clenched his fist slowly, feeling the immense presence resting quietly against his skin.
"So you're testing me."
A thought crossed his mind, and he addressed the system.
"Hey, system. Since this is a reward, shouldn't I be able to use it immediately, even without its approval?"
There was a brief pause.
---
[I'm sorry, host. Unfortunately, the artifact's will is so powerful that the system could only reach a compromise.]
[The host must prove worthy. However, in return, the armor will completely submit to you.]
[It will never seek another wielder.]
[And it will grant you unlimited time to demonstrate your qualifications.]
---
Arthur was silent for a moment.
Then he smiled.
"That's fair."
He glanced down at the bracelet again.
"An unwavering will to live, huh?"
He thought of everything he had done so far. The choices he had made. The battles he had fought. The people he had protected, and the future he was determined to carve out with his own hands.
"I'm not suicidal," he said calmly. "And I'm not done living. Not even close."
He closed his eyes, feeling the steady rhythm of his heart, the dragon heart beating alongside it, the Embryo resting quietly on his hand, and Yongpyo watching silently from his wrist.
"If that's the test," Arthur continued, his voice firm, "then I'll pass it eventually. No matter how long it takes."
The bracelet did not respond.
But for just a moment, he could swear the oppressive presence eased slightly.
Finally, Arthur decided to check the newly unlocked Monthly Training Dungeon.
=====
Monthly Training Dungeon
Once a week, it allows the host to enter an isolated space in the form of a dungeon where enemies whose strength has been adjusted to their level will be generated. Time does not pass outside the dungeon.
For each floor cleared, all kinds of unique rewards will be given.
All floors will grant a large number of system points.
=====
Arthur read the description slowly, his eyes narrowing.
"So it's essentially infinite, scalable combat with no time penalty…" he muttered.
A dangerous tool, but also an absurdly powerful one.
"If time doesn't pass outside…" he said quietly, a faint grin forming. "Enter."
---
The transition was instantaneous.
One moment he was sitting on his bed, the next he found himself lying on a surface of polished black stone. The temperature was cool, but not uncomfortable.
He sat up.
The room was enclosed by perfectly smooth white walls, completely seamless, as if carved from a single piece of material. There were no visible light sources, yet the space was evenly illuminated.
As he looked around, he noticed several objects that felt strangely out of place in such a sterile environment: a simple bed, a refrigerator, a small bathroom door, and what appeared to be a lone black doorway standing upright against one wall.
Then the system's voice echoed again.
---
[Welcome to the host's rest area]
[Since this is your first time in the dungeon, I will explain the details]
[Between each floor, you can rest for as long as you like in the rest area. For now, you only have the most basic amenities…]
The explanation continued at length, detailing recovery functions, purchasable expansions, and even future permissions that would allow him to enter this space freely without activating the dungeon itself.
Arthur listened patiently, absorbing every word.
"So it's a personal training dimension… with full regeneration," he summarized once the system finished. "That's broken."
He couldn't help but compare it to the tutorial tower from The Tutorial Is Too Hard, though this version was far more forgiving and clearly tailored to his growth.
Feeling his blood stir with anticipation, Arthur didn't bother resting.
"I'm ready."
---
Reality warped again.
This time, he found himself standing inside a cavern.
Jagged stone walls stretched upward into darkness, and the air was thick with dampness and the faint scent of decay. The ground beneath his feet was uneven, littered with small fragments of bone and rusted metal.
Ordinary darkness would have been suffocating here.
But to Arthur, it was meaningless.
His Six Eyes peeled away the shadows instantly, flooding the cavern with clarity. Every crack in the stone, every shift in air pressure, every anomaly became visible.
He began walking forward, boots echoing softly through the corridor.
Then—
A crawling sensation prickled at the back of his neck.
Arthur stopped immediately.
His body tensed, muscles coiling as instinct overrode thought.
He turned, adopting a combat stance as his vision sharpened further.
From the darkness emerged a figure.
A skeleton.
Its bones were blackened, as if burned long ago, with scraps of rotted clothing clinging to its frame. In its hands, it dragged a massive, rust-eaten greatsword, the blade chipped and jagged, yet radiating a faint, malevolent aura.
Within its hollow eye sockets burned two red flames, flickering unnaturally as they locked onto Arthur.
The moment it crossed an invisible boundary, the creature's movements changed.
Its body twitched.
Then it lunged.
The speed caught Arthur off guard.
"So fast—!"
There was no time to think.
"Halla!"
His leg snapped upward in a sharp, rising kick that struck the skeleton's jaw. Bone cracked, and the impact forced the creature back half a step—but it didn't stop.
The sword came down in a brutal arc.
Arthur barely managed to raise his arms in time.
The impact was devastating.
The force slammed into his guard, rattling his entire body, knocking the air from his lungs as he was thrown backward into the cavern wall.
Stone shattered behind him.
He coughed, blood running down his chin.
"…I got overconfident," he muttered grimly. "I thought skeletons were weak."
Black energy surged around him as Anti-Magic enveloped his body, reinforcing muscle and bone. Dark lightning crackled across his boots and gauntlets, grounding him once more.
The skeleton advanced again, sword howling through the air.
This time, Arthur focused.
His Keen Insight activated fully.
The curse took hold.
The monster's movements slowed—not physically, but perceptually—as its attack paths, balance points, and structural weaknesses lit up in Arthur's vision like glowing fault lines.
He ducked beneath a horizontal slash, the blade passing inches above his head.
Another swing came down.
He pivoted aside, feeling the wind tear past his face.
Now.
Arthur lunged forward, driving a powerful right hook into the skeleton's knee.
Crack.
The joint shattered instantly.
The creature staggered, balance failing.
Arthur didn't hesitate.
He spun, delivering a crushing kick to the base of its skull. Lightning exploded outward, surging through the creature's body.
The head separated cleanly, flying across the cavern.
Before it could recover, Arthur stepped forward and brought his heel down.
The skull shattered into fragments, red flames extinguishing in an instant.
Silence returned to the cavern.
Arthur stood still for several seconds, chest rising and falling as adrenaline slowly faded.
"…That was just the first floor," he said quietly.
If this was the baseline, then the dungeon wasn't here to coddle him.
It was here to break him down and rebuild him stronger.
He straightened his posture and turned toward the darkness ahead.
"Let's keep going."