Duo Leveling LITRPG | Post Apocalyptic | SYSTEM-Chapter 179 - 221+222

Fsssshhh.

The hiss of the helmet sealing into the spare spacesuit onboard the Matris echoed softly.

Jhin moved around in the newly equipped suit, testing its range of motion.

"I'm ready. Let's head out."

The Moon.

Earth's only natural satellite.

With a radius reaching nearly 1,700 km, it was the fifth-largest satellite in the solar system.

Back in New Capital, it had appeared to be the size of a mere handspan in the sky. But now that he was actually standing on it, it stretched out like an endless, barren desert.

The wide expanse was shrouded in near-complete darkness, devoid of artificial light.

Above, tens of thousands of stars twinkled like they were ready to spill down.

Jhin took a step forward.

"W-whoa?"

Lutz flailed awkwardly in the air. The Moon's gravity was lighter than he had expected.

"Wasn't the Moon's gravity about one-sixth of Earth's? Just like in the movies."

Even without much force, the body floated upwards. There was gravity, yes—but so weak it felt like even the slightest push could send one flying into space.

"I'll have to be careful."

Even the slightest change in a sword's length could create a difference in combat.

Walking might be manageable, but if a fight broke out, things could get dangerous fast.

Though, of course, that didn't apply to Jhin.

[Activating skill, 'Heavenly Martial Body (S)'.]

[Optimizing body for combat.]

[Adapting to external conditions.]

[Adjusting to 'Lunar Gravity'.]

[3, 2, 1... Adaptation complete.]

Heavenly Martial Body: a skill that optimized the body purely for battle.

Whether the battlefield was the Moon, underwater, or deep space—it didn't matter.

For Jhin, there was no such thing as a disadvantage.

Thanks to that, the awkwardly floating movements soon became as natural as walking on Earth.

In fact, using the low gravity to his advantage, he could leap higher and move faster without exerting much strength.

"That's good enough."

Suddenly, Jhin felt a gaze and turned his head.

Lutz, still flapping helplessly in the air, was staring at him in disbelief.

That expression—he recognized it.

It was the same look students gave the top-ranked kid on report card day—the one who claimed they only read the textbook and still got a perfect score.

"…If everyone's adapted, let's start the dungeon exploration. Mr. Tempah?"

Tempah, who'd been testing various movement techniques using the gravity, was called back, and Millie, who had been doing the same, returned as well.

Lutz teleported to land safely on the ground.

Jhin pointed in one direction.

"The dungeon's just beyond that hill."

Before they landed on the Moon, he had already pinpointed the location of the dungeon. Beyond that hill, various monsters waited.

[Entering 'Invisible Mode'.]

He manipulated the spacecraft's control panel, and the Matris shimmered faintly until it became hard to spot.

It was a protective feature Bellatris had added to the spaceship. It slightly lowered the chances of the ship being discovered by monsters.

"Then, let's move."

They arrived at the hill.

"Those guys are…"

From the Matris, the hill had been visible.

Against the pitch-black sky studded with stars, various animals hopped and played.

Rabbits, puppies, sparrows…

A miniature petting zoo erected on the Moon.

Squeak… squeeek!

"The problem is, all of those are monsters."

They looked cute at a glance, but there was no room for carelessness. Obviously, rabbits didn't just frolic on the Moon.

They weren't pounding cookies like in fairy tales either.

"There seem to be various types, but they're likely just one kind of monster. They must share a common feature…"

Jhin collected his thoughts and let out a quiet sigh.

To his surprise, it wasn't hard to figure out what kind of monster they were.

"…Vampiric viruses."

Parasitic, virus-type monsters that lived inside a host's body, much like fungal spores.

In other words: vampires.

That's why so many different animals were all classified as the same type of monster. And likely, they had escaped into the world through a dungeon break.

Ultimately, the monster wasn't in the animal's form—it was inside.

"The dungeon entrance… I'd bet it's that thing."

In the midst of the rabbits and puppies playing tag on the hill, there was a large coffin.

It had a handle.

"Even a coffin lid is a kind of door, I guess."

A door to death?

At any rate, it had a handle and opened and closed like a door, so it could be considered one.

On top of that, the coffin shimmered red as if signaling an imminent dungeon break. Nothing could be a clearer sign.

Jhin spoke softly.

"Just be careful of your napes. As long as the vampire virus doesn't sink its fangs into the back of your neck, you'll be fine."

Lutz replied.

"I don't see any fangs, though?"

Sure, they looked like small, adorable animals at the moment. It was natural that he couldn't spot any vampiric traits.

He really had no idea.

"…You'll see soon enough."

Then he added,

"You all know this already, but none of us can afford to get even a scratch. Stay sharp."

Jhin could probably survive even if his spacesuit tore, but what about the others?

Tempah and Millie had no immunity to radiation. Even a minor breach could be fatal.

"Then, Ms. Millie?"

She nodded, drew her magic revolver, and charged it with mana.

She aimed at a rabbit that was furthest from the group.

Fwwuuush.

Perhaps because they were in space, there was no sound.

Or maybe her skill had simply grown more refined than before.

The magic bullet pierced through the rabbit's shoulder in complete silence. The rabbit turned and shrieked at them, viciously.

KyaaAAAHH!!

The rabbit bounded toward them.

Its cute features began to morph grotesquely.

Its eyes multiplied like a fly's, and when it opened its mouth, dozens of sharp fangs gleamed.

[Monster, 'Vampiric Rabbit (D)' activates 'Headbutt Charge'.]

The monstrous form hidden beneath the cuddly exterior revealed itself.

Jhin exhaled sharply and drove the Calamity Meteor Blade straight into the rabbit's head.

[Monster, 'Vampiric Rabbit (D)' has been slain.]

[Gained experience.]

"As you can see, it's not particularly difficult. So try not to worry too much."

"…Understood."

From there, the party moved directly toward the dungeon. It didn't take long for the nearby monsters to start swarming them.

KyaaAAAH!!

The closer they came, the more vivid the true forms of the vampiric viruses became.

The puppy's tongue split into several strands, whipping through the air like lashes. Sparrows darted in formation, relentlessly jabbing with their sharp beaks.

[Activating skill, 'Fireball (F)'.]

A mass of flame, shaped by mana, tore through the air. Without oxygen, its power was halved compared to Earth, but it was still the best tool for chasing off the sparrows.

"Hrah-cha!"

Tempah grabbed hold of the dog's whipping tongue and swung it in return.

They were in space, with the harsh rule of not allowing even a single hit to land. Yet, the battle was flowing smoothly.

Which made sense.

No matter how nasty the vampiric virus monsters were, none of them even hit level 100.

Their team had an average level well over 120. For monsters like these to pose a real threat would've been stranger.

[Monster 'Vampiric Puppy (D)' has been slain.]

[Gained experience.]

The final vampiric puppy was struck down, and with that, the skirmish came to a close.

It had gone by with almost laughable ease—nowhere near the challenge they had anticipated.

'That's enough… this isn't the main event anyway.'

Jhin cast a glance at the Calamity Meteor Blade in his hand, whose blade was now greedily slurping up the blood clinging to it.

The dungeon—source of the Moonfall and the true cause of the calamity—sat silent before them.

He checked its information first.

Millie narrowed her eyes and murmured, "Jhin… I think this dungeon…"

Even before she finished, Jhin knew what she meant. He had just been thinking the same.

[C-Rank Dungeon 'Calamity's Meteor' has been discovered.]

It wasn't a coincidence.

'Meteor. Vampiric virus…'

He knew this dungeon. So did Millie. Maybe even most players were familiar with it.

It was the same dungeon they had once cleared back in Exodia 1.

'Back then it was B-rank, though…'

But that wasn't the problem.

If his predictions were correct, this dungeon had a far more pressing trait.

Jhin looked down at the Calamity Meteor Blade in his hand. If things lined up as he feared, this was going to turn into a worst-case scenario.

'Calamity's Meteor…'

There were 9 days left until Moonfall.

The dungeon on the Moon that he needed to conquer—known as "Calamity's Meteor"—was the very birthplace of the Calamity Meteor Blade itself.

And this was a Theme Dungeon.

Theme Dungeons.

Special dungeons where, upon entry, players are given a quest. The goal is to unravel the story and reach the boss monster at the end.

Starting from D-rank, Theme Dungeons contained light narrative elements, but from C-rank onward, their genre depth intensified.

A C-rank Theme Dungeon.

This kind of dungeon couldn't be cleared in a single day, no matter how high your combat power.

'The Lizardman's Well had a story too, sure, but you could win just by killing the Lizard King.'

That won't fly here. Not anymore.

As said before, in C-rank Theme Dungeons, the story takes over.

Moreover, this was not exactly the same as the "Calamity's Meteor" he knew from before. A C-rank dungeon is, in a way, the past version of a B-rank one.

His knowledge would help, yes—but not all of it would still apply.

"…Everyone, gather up."

Jhin gave the group a short explanation of what Theme Dungeons were. Millie added the missing details.

Lutz asked, "So… what roles are we going to get?"

"Each of us will likely be given a different task."

"Man…"

Roles.

C-rank Theme Dungeons assigned each player a sort of role—an act to perform.

"We'll each be cast into a role in the dungeon's scenario. Playing it through to the end is the only way to clear it."

And that was the core problem.

'The roles will even change our stats and skills.'

Depending on what role was assigned, the difficulty would shift accordingly. This wasn't a place where grinding alone could see you through.

Lutz, visibly uneasy, asked, "So we can't stick together?"

"Everyone will start in different locations."

"Then how are we supposed to meet up?"

For reference, being assigned a role also meant changing appearances. Even if they crossed paths inside, they wouldn't recognize each other.

So Jhin came up with a signal.

"Let's use a handclap to identify each other."

"A handclap?"

"No Corelandsn could miss it."

Clap! Clap-clap-clap!

Clap-clap! Clap! Clap-clap!

"…The World Cup beat. Nice."

Even Tempah, who didn't know games, recognized it. He clearly remembered the 2002 World Cup.

Still, he grumbled.

"Wouldn't it be easier to just say our names? Why make it so complicated?"

"I already told you—we have to act our roles. If you break character and your identity is exposed, you get kicked out of the dungeon."

And here's the catch: once a player is kicked out of a dungeon, they can never attempt it again.

It was, in true Exodia fashion, cruelly difficult.

"Ugh… fine."

With that, the group silently turned to stare down at the coffin.

Further explanations were meaningless now.

What lay ahead was something they had to experience for themselves.

"Everyone ready?"

The heavy silence was their answer.

They exchanged looks. Then, without another word, they opened the lid of the coffin.

[You have entered C-rank Dungeon 'Calamity's Meteor'.]

[This is a 'Theme Dungeon'.]

[A 'Role' will be assigned to you.]

Wuuuuung…

Their bodies lifted from the ground, and one by one, their forms faded like ink washed away.

Jhin, moments ago on the Moon, now felt heat rising around him.

What… is this?

As confusion surfaced, his vision widened.

The role had been decided.

"You piece of shit… what're you starin' at?"

Thud!! 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

A heavy fist struck him squarely.

Jhin resisted the instinct to block, letting the blow land.

His spine folded like a shrimp.

He crumpled to the floor, eyes flicking about, while squat, bearded dwarves surrounded him, spitting curses.

"You disgrace to all dwarves!"

"Die, you bastard!"

Hhwack! Ptoo!

Even spit flew through the air.

And then, the system whispered to him:

[You are now 'Discarded Blacksmith, Dwarf Rof'.]