Duo Leveling LITRPG | Post Apocalyptic | SYSTEM-Chapter 165 - 193 + 194

Chapter 193 - Trial by Fire

Facing Nazoral as an enemy... in hindsight, it was a foreseeable problem.

’He was always a villain.’

He had stolen Kyle’s name to infiltrate Ark and used it as a pretext to commit all manner of vile acts. Hadn’t he once tried to harm someone just because they bumped shoulders with him? It was hardly surprising that he had now openly taken the side of the monsters and was aiming to conquer the dungeon. Not in the slightest.

But the part that troubled Jhin lay elsewhere.

’Why reveal himself now?’

If he had powerged to deceive everyone up until now, he could have kept on doing so. Just by wearing a mask like the other Company members, his identity could’ve remained hidden.

Could it be that he no longer intends to impersonate Kei?

’No. There’s no way the unmasking was planned.’

It was obvious from the flustered reactions of the other Company members. They were scrambling to cover Nazoral’s face. That alone proved it—this was Nazoral’s unilateral decision.

Why?

’...I have no clue what he’s thinking.’

You may know the depths of the ocean, but never the depths of a man’s heart. If one were to guess, perhaps he was trying to burn all bridges—erase every trace.

― [The fourth condition has been revealed.] ―

4. Overcome the trials.

A total of three trials will appear before the Dragon’s Seal.

HP potions are sealed.

MP potions are sealed.

[!]

[Due to system constraints, the skill ’Rapid Regeneration (F)’ is temporarily sealed.]

Jhin carved out the rising tension with a deep breath, closed his eyes, and opened them again.

Complex thoughts could wait.

’In the end, there’s only one thing I need to do right now.’

At the center of the circular colosseum, the Dragon’s Seal stood tall, majestic—like an Excalibur awaiting a worthy hand.

’This game ends once I get my hands on that seal. Whatever Nazoral’s true identity is, it doesn’t matter as long as I complete the scenario quest.’

He wasn’t the only one with that goal. Others, too, were casting sharp glances at the center of the colosseum.

It seemed that upon entering the colosseum, a transparent barrier had been erected between the Lizardmen and the Horn Tribe, creating a temporary ceasefire.

Rrrruummmmble—

Three special zones had formed around the Dragon’s Seal. These were the trials mentioned in the conditions.

’A land where pillars of fire erupt all around.’

Beyond that, a zone submerged in water.

And further still, one ravaged by a raging blizzard.

Only then did Jhin understand the true meaning behind the conditions.

’...So the right to claim the Dragon’s Seal is essentially a test to select someone capable of enduring the dungeons of the future.’

The master of a C-grade dungeon would eventually become the master of a B-grade dungeon. And while C-grade dungeons were often tied to "scenario" formats, B-grade ones came with a new prefix: "disaster" or "catastrophe."

Anyone unable to endure trials of this level had no right to inherit what comes next.

A simpler logic than expected.

― [5 minutes until the trial "Burning Land" begins.] ―

Time flew.

The three zones surrounding the Dragon’s Seal fully materialized, and the ticking clock hit zero.

The wall in front of them burst open.

The rush to the Dragon’s Seal would now be a free-for-all.

"Go!!"

"Uwaaaaaaah!!"

The Horn Tribe warriors let out fierce cries and charged into the first trial.

Jhin followed, stepping onto the Burning Land. All around him, towering pillars of fire erupted. The heat choked his breath.

It felt like his body might cook alive.

― [You have entered the first trial: "Burning Land."] ―

― [30 minutes until entry to the second trial: "Submerged Land."] ―

― [Survive.] ―

With a furrowed brow, Jhin narrowly avoided a fire pillar that burst up nearby.

Without a moment’s delay, dozens of Lizardman warriors came charging straight at him.

Was this what they had been waiting for?

Screeeeech!

Lizardmen were being pierced by fire pillars mid-rush, yet still came charging with reckless abandon.

Did the Lizard King order this?

Unlike typical C-grade monsters that usually clung to life, these ones hurled themselves into battle without hesitation, and it made them all the more dangerous.

The Horn Tribe warriors bared their teeth.

"Hold your ground! Take at least one with you, even if you die!"

"KIIIIIEEEEK!"

"Shut up, you damn lizards!"

Atlas roared and swung his spear.

"You filthy lizards dare crawl in here without knowing your place!"

Even after being hit squarely by a fire pillar, Atlas endured—showcasing monstrous resilience. His muscles looked like they might melt, yet he kept swinging his spear.

And his target—none other than the boss of this dungeon: the Lizard King.

"...So this is where I die, huh? Atlas."

As expected of an intelligent monster, the Lizard King exchanged a few words with Atlas mid-combat.

It was a battle between titans within the dungeon’s lore. Every time their attacks collided, shockwaves burst out and extinguished the surrounding fire pillars.

And not just that—

Horn Tribe warriors and Lizardmen nearby were being flung away like rag dolls. Getting caught in that zone of destruction was no trivial matter.

A new disaster born within the flames.

Jhin moved quickly, distancing himself as far as possible from the two monsters’ battlefield.

He wasn’t yet strong enough to intervene in a fight of that scale.

"More importantly..."

Activating Soft skills, Jhin tracked a group sneaking between the fire pillars. Several Company members had hidden themselves near the wall leading to the second trial.

"Hiding to get through unscathed, huh?"

― [Skill: Fireball (F) activated.] ―

Perhaps due to the nature of the Burning Land, even with only half the usual power, his Fireball took on an unusually large form.

Jhin hurled the fireball at the hiding Company members.

They scattered instantly in every direction.

Fwoooosh!

But he couldn’t give chase.

The first trial zone was located along the outer edge of the colosseum, making it the widest in scale.

If he strayed too far chasing after them and lost distance from the Horn Tribe, he might end up isolated instead.

Chapter 194 - The Fifth Condition

"Let’s see how it ends."

This quest had one defining characteristic: the closer you got to the center where the Dragon’s Seal lay, the tighter the space became. Even if you didn’t encounter someone now, eventually, you’d meet them—right before the Seal.

Nazoral... You too.

Steadying his breath, Jhin began hunting for Lizardman warriors once more. He targeted those lingering too close to the fire pillars—kicking them straight into the flames.

They plunged in like moths to fire.

Experience points settled in.

― [Level Up] ―

Still not enough.

Activating Soft skill sat full intensity, he picked up speed. He didn’t let any near-death Lizardmen escape.

― [Skill ’Vital Strike (F)’ activated.] ―

In this disaster-scarred land, perhaps no one was experiencing such dramatic growth as he was.

― [Level Up] ―

― [Level Up] ―

All stat points into Agility.

The Lizardman warriors varied in level, anywhere from 120 to over 150.

Compared to them, Jhin had only just broken past level 100. Even after grinding through a series of full-scale battles and gaining over 10 levels, his pace of leveling showed no signs of slowing.

More! Just a bit more!

With every point into agility, his body grew lighter. He could move faster—score more final blows.

― [Level Up] ―

Nothing was holding him back.

Disasters? Fire pillars?

Honestly, this place wasn’t all that threatening to him anymore.

I’m used to disasters now.

He had survived three months in a hell-difficulty quest. This level of catastrophe couldn’t even scratch him.

― [Second trial is now open.] ―

― [1 minute until entry.] ―

With a sigh of mild disappointment, Jhin crushed a Lizardman’s skull and dusted off his hands. He’d gained maybe three levels. That was enough—for now. Time to move on.

The next trial...

Submerged Land.

As soon as he passed through the open wall, the pressure slammed into him—the scent of water stinging his nose, the force pressing down on his entire body. It felt like falling into the deep sea, even though he’d just stepped over a threshold.

― [You have entered the second trial: "Submerged Land."] ―

― [Find the exit.] ―

There was no time limit here, since it was an underwater zone where you couldn’t even breathe.

Instead, you had to locate the path to the next trial, deep within this murky abyss.

And Jhin felt confident.

This much...

If there was an exit, it meant power had to be leaking from somewhere. Activating Soft skills, he traced the flow of energy within the water.

He found it instantly.

...Follow me.

Signaling to the nearby Horn Tribe warriors, Jhin gestured them forward. Atlas took the lead, and the others followed closely behind.

It looked like Atlas hadn’t been able to defeat the Lizard King during the first trial.

Well, can’t be helped.

Defeating a boss-level monster in thirty minutes wasn’t exactly a reasonable expectation.

Atlas let go of the regret quickly.

Together, they passed through the second trial without much trouble.

― [You have entered the third trial: "Land of the Blizzard."] ―

― [Find the exit before your body freezes.] ―

― [Due to system constraints, the skill ’Fireball (F)’ is temporarily sealed.] ―

The system had targeted his only magic spell, Fireball, and sealed it.

As Jhin emerged from the water, his already-wet body began freezing instantly.

The ground beneath him turned into a sheet of ice in mere seconds.

If he stayed like this, he’d die without lifting a finger.

― [Skill ’power Focus (E)’ activated.] ―

Wrapping himself in power made it barely possible to move again. One by one, Atlas and the Horn Tribe warriors figured it out and activated their own skills.

"Q-Quickly, let’s move!"

Around them, Lizardmen incapable of properly wielding power—those ranked captain or below—had already frozen to death.

Even though the exit wasn’t far, they hadn’t been able to hold on.

Good thing I didn’t bring the Ark people.

If they’d entered the colosseum, they would’ve been burnt to ashes in the first trial.

Seriously... What was with this insane difficulty for a C-grade dungeon?

"Here we are?"

At last, the survivors who had endured all three trials could see the Dragon’s Seal with their own eyes.

A translucent sphere still blocked the final path, but they were close enough now for it to feel real.

Jhin scanned the remaining challengers.

Five from the Horn Tribe.

Four Lizardmen.

The numbers may have been slightly in the NPCs’ favor, but the Lizardmen who had made it through the trials were undeniably elite. Weak ones couldn’t possibly survive this long.

And he saw Nazoral.

That damn Nazoral, still alive—Company members still guarding the Lizard King at his side.

Jhin spoke.

"I’ll leave the Lizard King to you."

"Just what I wanted."

There was no hesitation.

Without blinking, Jhin dashed toward Nazoral and the Company members. The Horn Tribe warriors followed, weapons gripped tightly, engaging the enemy head-on.

If they could wipe them all out now, there’d be no need to waste time trying to meet whatever the final condition was.

Even as he rushed Nazoral with Fireball in hand, Jhin’s thoughts churned restlessly.

Then suddenly, he saw it:

― [The fifth condition has been revealed.] ―

A message blocked his view.

Possess the highest number of surviving allies.

Numbers began to tally before his eyes. Every single survivor in the dungeon was being counted.

Still, Jhin didn’t stop. He lunged at Nazoral, undeterred.

But the system finished first.

― [’King’ with the greatest number of survivors has been identified.] ―

― [The Spore King, "Extender of Jealousy: Nazoral," claims the Dragon’s Seal.] ―

...What?