Level by level, Jaemin pushed through.
149 levels cleared.
Despite the pace, levelling up had slowed to a crawl.
Status:
Name: Han Jaemin
Level: 75
Status Effect: Null
Fatigue: 0/100
Valour Surge: 90000/90000
Title: Ascendant Arbiter
Verse: Overseer
HP: 190000 / 190000
XP: 87,000 / 190,000
Skillset:
1. Dash
2. Brute Strength
3. Healing
4. Super Jump
5. Flight
6. Master Swordsman
7. Dual Daggers
8. Binary Orbital Overload (Weapon Specific)
9. Phantom Grasp
10. Storm Call
11. Divine Winds
12. Thunderbolt
13. Shadow Walk
14. Wraith
15. Biome Burst
16. Core Override
17. Core Regeneration
18. Gravechain Legion
19. Black Sun Invocation
"Still just level 149…"
Jaemin muttered.
He looked up.
The false sky above him remained pitch black, occasionally pulsing with threads of violet lightning that cracked through the clouds like veins.
"I wonder if level 150 would be a boss…"
He finished the level and stepped forward.
Level 150.
But it was empty.
No boss. No abyssals. Nothing but the massive Rift Tree that appeared after every stage—a towering spire of twisted bark and glowing lines of energy.
Then—
FWUIP-PING!
[You have reached level 150 of the Echo Rift. Would you like to collect the rewards?]
Jaemin blinked.
"No, boss. Looks like this level's just a checkpoint. See rewards."
The interface shifted. Rewards scrolled.
Rewards Earned:
[New Title: Diviner]
[New Skill Upgrade: Core Regeneration → Diviner's Blessings]
[New Verse: Legion Commander]
[New Status Unlocked: Passive Ability]
[New Passive Ability: Commander of the Unholy]
TING!
[New Errand Available: To Curse The Darkness.]
[Further quest information unavailable.]
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
TING!
[Notification: Level 151 to 250 will increase difficulty.]
[Would you like to claim the rewards above?[Y / N]]
Jaemin scratched the back of his head.
"Why am I always bombarded with all this? There's gotta be a way to change the settings…"
He sighed.
"Yes. I accept."
TING!
[New Errand Started: To Curse The Darkness]
"…Great. Now what do I even do with this? It's giving me zero information…"
He stared at the tree.
Nothing else appeared.
No direction. No map marker. No hint.
Just silence and the voided wind curling around him.
Jaemin squinted at the hollow words on his interface.
"No description. No location. No target. Not even a fucking clue..."
He closed the window, irritation flickering across his face. The rift didn't give easy answers—and he was learning to stop expecting them.
He turned his attention back to the changes.
Jaemin pulled his status screen once again.
Status:
Name: Han Jaemin
Level: 75
Status Effect: Null
Fatigue: 0/100
Valour Surge: 90000/90000
Title: Diviner
Verse: Legion Commander
Passive Ability: Commander of the Unholy
HP: 190,000 / 190,000
XP: 87,000 / 190,000
Skillset:
1. Dash
2. Brute Strength
3. Healing
4. Super Jump
5. Flight
6. Master Swordsman
7. Dual Daggers
8. Binary Orbital Overload (Weapon Specific)
9. Phantom Grasp
10. Storm Call
11. Divine Winds
12. Thunderbolt
13. Shadow Walk
14. Wraith
15. Biome Burst
16. Core Override
17. Diviner's Blessings
18. Gravechain Legion
19. Black Sun Invocation
"I'll have to find a few more Rift jobs soon. It's getting kinda boring in here."
Jaemin said while stretching, his joints cracking. His clothes shifted slightly, the shadows clinging to them like mist.
Without wasting another breath, he stepped into the shimmering threshold.
Level 151 unlocked.
The glyphs on the archstone flared. The air turned dry. The light twisted unnaturally.
Jaemin's foot touched the new floor—ashen, cracked, and steeped in a slow, rising fog. Something was waiting in here.
He didn't flinch. Just rolled his shoulders and muttered.
"Let's see what's next."
Now the Rift widened.
Its edges stretched and blackened, warping into a vast open terrain, jagged and scorched under an artificial, pulsing sun. But this sun wasn't divine—it was rotting—a corrupted mockery radiating slow death over the land.
Out of the dark emerged the new wave.
Sun-Terrors. Mutilated humanoid beings with no faces—only burned-in masks of agony. Their bodies oozed thick abyssal sludge; everything they touched withered in seconds. Poisoned. Tainted. Their movements were twitchy, like broken marionettes spasming with corrupted intent.
And beyond them, half-shrouded in a cathedral of bone and flesh, towered the boss.
The High Priest of Sun-Terrors.
One command from Jaemin cut the air.
"GO."
Without hesitation, his Resonants moved.
Ink launched itself forward, limbs twisting with unnatural glee. The legion collided with the abyssal front, weapons ringing, shadows tearing, spells detonating.
Jaemin didn't move.
This was still beneath his hands. His Resonants were leveling with him—evolving, adapting, getting sharper and deadlier with each Rift cleared.
He pointed a finger toward the far ridge where the boss chanted in corrupted hymns.
"Arcanists. High Priest is yours."
Magic circles flared, their runes glowing sickly green as his Arcanists peeled off, eyes locked on the towering figure. The air started to warp under the weight of their incantations.
The battle dragged on. Explosions thundered across the terrain. Mist and poison interlaced the battlefield like a second skin.
And yet, through all of that, only one voice kept cutting through it all—
Ink. Yelling. Laughing. Barking with thrill.
Jaemin sighed and rubbed the side of his temple.
"Looks like Ink really likes fighting."
"Oi, Ink!"
Ink's head snapped back instantly. One eye gleaming with glee, body twitching excitedly.
"Having fun?"
Jaemin called out.
Ink grinned widely and raised an arm, cheering loudly like a kid on a sugar rush.
Jaemin waved lazily.
"Yeah yeah, well—go help the Arcanists kill the boss... and while you're at it... fetch me the mats you get."
A sheepish grin crept onto Jaemin's face as he leaned against a fractured obelisk. Resource collection? Absolutely not his vibe. It was tedious, boring, and worse—manual. Ink, however, seemed to love it.
His eyes flicked back to the status window as it hovered again.
"I need to reach at least level 250 before I'm outta here…"
He muttered. Then he groaned.
"Damn. This is more boring than the Rift I had to suffer for the Core of Tempest."
He sat down, resting his chin in his palm, listening to the ongoing chaos like background music. The boss screams—spell detonations. Ink's laugh echoes. The Legion was doing its job.
All Jaemin had to do… was wait.
PLOP!
Ink dropped the twisted, half-charred corpse of the High Priest of Sun-Terrors right at Jaemin's feet, then looked up—grinning ear to ear like a kid who just brought back a gold star from school.
"Nice work, Ink. You're making me proud."
Jaemin said, patting Ink's shoulder with a short nod of approval.
The system chimed next.
[High Priest has dropped the following items:]
[Orb of Enchantment (3)]
[Orb of Discord (2)]
[Scroll of High Priest]
[Recovered Log]
[Would you like to claim the above items?[Y / N]]
"Yes."
Jaemin tapped the prompt midair.
The first thing he reached for was the glowing red orb.
[Orb of Enchantment: Reduces the target's damage by half.]
"Oh? Not bad at all."
Jaemin flipped it between his fingers, letting the energy pulse faintly against his palm.
Next up, a black orb veined with violet:
[Orb of Discord: Increases the damage dealt by the holder and further increases the damage felt by the target.]
"Oh damn, this is even better."
Jaemin muttered.
"I could use these orbs in combination."
He scratched the side of his head, gears turning. Might be fun to experiment with these later.
Then he checked the third item.
[Scroll of High Priest: Increases magic-based attack damage.]
Jaemin blinked once. Then again.
"Magic-based attacks? Do I look like a magician to you???"
He scoffed.
"Hmm… though I could give it to them…"
He turned to the side.
The Arcanists were circled by a flickering green bonfire, their hands raised as they chanted silently. The other Resonants were gathered around, watching the show like it was prime entertainment.
BOOM!
The flames erupted—then twisted midair into a towering figure… of Jaemin himself, standing in an exaggerated, cool pose.
The entire Legion burst into cheers.
Warden clapped slowly and solemnly.
Jaemin sighed, hand to his face.
He strolled over. The moment the Arcanists noticed him, they dropped the theatrics and quickly gathered, kneeling in formation with eerie synchronicity.
"Here you go, guys."
Jaemin said, handing over the Scroll.
"Y'all hold this, and share the power equally, okay?"
The Arcanists gave a nod so enthusiastic it nearly looked robotic.
Jaemin smirked.
"Well then… let's try all this stuff out in the next level."
He turned his eyes to the tree as it pulsed once more, the portal blooming into a new path.
[Next level: 152 unlocked.]
