Duo Leveling LITRPG | Post Apocalyptic | SYSTEM-Chapter 186 - 235+236

"Was the call successful?"

Jhin's voice was low.

Bellatris, who had just ended the call, nodded silently.

The moon had already entered Earth's orbit.

Ironically, it was because of that fact that the signal had gone through. They'd been able to reach the Moon Raid Team—those four brave souls still inside the dungeon.

"The dungeon's nearly cleared, and everyone's alive. Looks like they'll finish soon."

"…I see."

It was the kind of situation people called a "small mercy." Bellatris lifted her head and looked up at the sky.

The moon, now caught in Earth's orbit, was so close that you could see its craters with the naked eye.

It was like something out of a disaster movie.

Unreal. Hauntingly beautiful.

"How's the situation?"

"It's a mess. Most people don't believe it… not fully."

"They'll have to move anyway. We've got only three days before it enters direct impact range."

"I know."

Jhin gave a dry laugh.

"We've already started evacuating people through the mobile dungeon system. We're moving them to the Lizardman Well."

"That won't be enough."

"Of course not. We're using overland routes too. It's dangerous, sure, but sitting still means certain death… so everyone's moving, like it or not."

The Ark was in full-blown panic.

Until now, only a handful of high-ranking players had known the truth: the moon was falling. But as it loomed larger in the sky—and as the evacuations began—people could no longer be kept in the dark.

And now, the world was staring down the barrel of an extinction-level meteor crash.

Still, it wasn't exactly new.

"At least people are cooperating. They've been living with death hanging over them for a while now."

If the peaceful Earth of the past had seen the moon descending, humanity would've been paralyzed by terror.

But the people of Ark had been living in an apocalyptic world for some time now. For them, a crashing moon wasn't the end—it was just another Tuesday.

There was confusion, sure.

But they'd recover fast.

Even the non-players had been surviving dungeonizations in their own way.

They were used to crisis.

"Ms. Bellatris, we're arriving at the dock."

"Got it. Tell everyone to get ready."

And so, the team that had left for the uninhabited island to launch a spacecraft finally returned to New Capital.

At the same time—

"Come on, move it!"

"Ugh, what the hell is this mess?!"

"Stop pushing! You're gonna get someone hurt!"

The outskirts of Ark were packed wall-to-wall with a surging tide of people.

Thousands of evacuees.

Since reality had turned into a game, there hadn't been a single moment like this—where so many people moved at once.

Even the monsters roaming the streets looked thrown off by the sheer mass of humanity.

The low-level ones—F-rank, E-rank—saw their chance and lunged.

"Orcs to the right! Eight of them!"

"Seven o'clock! Hammer Goblins incoming!"

"Kobolds in front!"

Players dashed forward, showing off their skills with practiced ease.

It had been five months.

Running into monsters on foot was nothing new. And players were far stronger now than they'd been in the early days.

Only D-rank threats and above warranted real concern anymore.

As expected, though, the mass movement of Ark's citizens triggered a mass response.

"Lizardmen! We've got Lizardmen!"

"Nine o'clock! Multiple hostiles incoming!"

They had breached the Lizardman Well, sure—but thousands of Lizardman soldiers had already spilled into the outside world through dungeon breaks.

It was impossible to hunt them all down.

So naturally, some clashes during evacuation were inevitable.

Captain Adonis barked commands as he led the military units.

"Stick to the plan! First squad, ready?"

"Yes, sir!"

WHIRRR.

At his command, the first squad quickly pulled compact beam projectors from their inventories.

They aimed the projectors at the dark walls near the Lizardman troops—and hit play.

ROAAAAARRRR!

A thunderous cry erupted from the prepared speakers. A massive image of a dragon filled the wall, roaring with terrifying fury.

SKREEEEEE—!

It was a strategy inspired by "Kimmy" from the battlefield.

Lizardmen feared dragons on an instinctive level. And even with their limited intelligence, a fake dragon was terrifying enough to shake them.

"Now! Hit them hard!"

The Lizardmen hesitated, visibly startled—and that hesitation was all the mages needed to paint the skies with spells.

The firepower wasn't devastating—but it was more than enough to drive them back.

"Don't let up!"

The strategy worked.

If the Lizardman army had charged in blindly, Ark would've suffered catastrophic losses.

But this psychological trick—scaring them with illusions and stunning them with flash—kept them at bay, at least for now.

While the monsters faltered, Ark's citizens kept marching.

"…Captain! The trick's wearing off!"

"Use your guns! Buy time with raw firepower!"

"Three o'clock—more Lizardmen!"

The problem was, the longer the battle went on, the smarter the Lizardmen got.

They started realizing the spells weren't all that damaging—and that the dragon wasn't real.

Even the player-formed barricade, designed to be airtight, began to crumble under the Lizardmen's relentless pressure.

"We can't hold much longer!"

Eventually, the Lizardman army breached the refugee line.

People were already exhausted—barely breathing as they fled from one wave of monsters to the next.

Casualties began to mount.

Some started breaking away from the group.

"…If we just get into a dungeon, we'll be safe, right?"

"Let's head for an F-rank dungeon. We just need to survive!"

"Yeah! We can hide out there—just until it's over!"

Half-truths and wishful thinking.

The idea that any dungeon could offer safety just by hiding inside…

Adonis clicked his tongue, frowning hard.

They had no idea what they were talking about.

"If the moon crashes, New Capital's environment will be ruined for the next ten years. Unless you're a Player, survival is impossible."

It was all well and good to enter the dungeon to avoid the moon's fall. But then what?

Food?

Sleep?

As things stood, the only place that could provide all of that in perfect order was the C-rank dungeon, Lizardman's Well.

It had vast forestland rich enough to live off, and it offered zones that could be secured from monsters.

Ten years there? Manageable.

Adonis drove his squad hard.

"Spread the word—quickly! Heading to an F-rank dungeon is suicide!"

"No one's listening!"

Even those used to crisis rarely stayed calm when the blade hovered right in front of their nose.

Chaos, in the end, was inevitable.

At this rate, the people of Ark would lose all cohesion and scatter throughout New Capital in desperate attempts to survive.

"Damn it…"

And then—

KUUUUUNG!

A massive chunk of ice crashed down atop the Lizardman legion.

A large-scale spell.

Adonis knew instantly who had cast it.

"It's Miss Bellatris! Bellatris has joined us!"

And this was only the beginning of Bellatris's magic.

The downpour of ice from all directions tore through the Lizardman legion like a storm of meteors.

So much for saying combat magic wasn't her specialty!

"Everyone, focus! We're moving to the Lizardman's Well!"

The Players, momentarily entranced by the spectacle of magic, regained their momentum and pushed back against the monsters.

"Once we get to the illumination gate, we're safe! Hang in there!"

Thus continued the endless exodus of Ark's refugees.

The call ended with a dull click.

A black screen now reflected only their silent, anxious faces.

"..."

No one could speak. They just swallowed hard.

It was too much to take in.

"…So you're saying it's already over?"

A sense of reality began to return.

A sudden call from Earth.

Bellatris had insisted—unbelievable though it sounded—that the moon's fall was inevitable.

"No matter what we do in the dungeon, the fall is already set in motion and there's no way to stop it?"

Lutz looked to Jhin, still not ready to believe it, repeating the same question.

He bit his lip and said,

"Miss Bellatris must be joking. That can't be true. Right? If we clear the dungeon, we can stop it, right?"

No one answered. The confusion was shared.

"Why… why can't we stop it? Huh? Didn't they say the fall could be avoided if we just cleared the dungeon?"

"Mr. Lutz."

"I can't accept this. After everything we've been through, you're telling me it was all pointless?"

"…Mr. Lutz."

Jhin finally spoke, calm and steady.

"Everyone will be safe. If we evacuate into the dungeons, we'll survive even if the meteors fall."

This wasn't just hopeful thinking.

In Exodia 1, when the "Meteor of Calamity" fell on a continent, everyone had survived by evacuating into dungeons.

The kingdom had persisted.

Even history books recorded that after a long period of chaos, a new kingdom rose again.

"That's not the point!"

"..."

"You're saying the moon—the moon is going to crash into the Earth. Not just anywhere, but right in the middle of New Capital!!"

Lutz clutched his head in anguish. At least Millie kept her composure, took a deep breath, and asked:

"Jhin, is there really no way?"

"..."

"There could still be a strategy we haven't figured out yet."

The problem they faced now was, at its core, simple.

The C-rank dungeon "Meteor of Calamity" was a scenario in which the moon falls to Earth to initiate a B-rank dungeon event.

Their mission had been to clear the dungeon and prevent it from becoming a B-rank scenario.

If they succeeded, the moon would have no reason to fall.

But Bellatris said it's already entered Earth's orbit.

Earth has gravity.

Once something enters its gravitational pull, it gets dragged toward the surface.

So even if there's no longer a reason for it to fall, the moon will fall anyway—because it's already too late.

"It's probably true."

Why would Bellatris joke about this at such a critical time? What grudge could she possibly have?

There was nothing to gain from lying.

It had to be the truth.

"The moon is going to collide."

That was now an unchangeable outcome.

"…Jhin."

When Jhin didn't reply, Lutz let out a dry laugh and collapsed onto the floor.

He must have run out of energy to stay angry.

"…After everything we went through… it all meant nothing? What kind of broken game is this…"

Humans become powerless when they realize no effort will ever be enough.

Before an unavoidable disaster, there's nothing to do but accept the despair.

Lutz,

Tempah,

Millie,

the people of Ark,

perhaps even every survivor left on Earth—all might be feeling the same thing right now.

"This is garbage. So it's really just a bad ending?"

Truly, just as Lutz said, this game's balance was totally broken.

How long had it even been since the C-rank dungeon appeared, and already a B-rank scenario was upon them?

Goddamn game.

…Wait a second.

"Hey, Mr. Lutz?"

"…Yeah?"

"You just said this game is trash, didn't you?"

A series of memories flickered through Jhin's mind like scattered light.

At first, it felt ridiculous—but gradually, the thought grew heavier.

There was a possibility.

"The reason the moon is falling… it's not a game mechanic. It's because it's already entered Earth's orbit. That's why we can't stop it."

He began to untangle the ball of complex thoughts in his mind.

The more he spoke, the more he was convinced.

"But if you think about it more fundamentally, there's really only one reason the moon is falling."

"…What do you mean?"

"The dungeon. The moon is falling because of the dungeon."

Lutz gave him a blank look, as if to say, "And what else is new?"

In response, Jhin raised one finger.

"Then that means there is a way."

"…Huh?"

"There's one—and only one—scenario in which the moon doesn't crash into Earth."

Where there is a cause, there will be a conclusion.

And the only conclusion in their current situation… was a bad ending.

But what if they thought about it differently?

What if they erased the cause itself?

Jhin grinned.

"We're going to roll back this dungeon."