Duo Leveling LITRPG | Post Apocalyptic | SYSTEM-Chapter 191 - 245+246 - The Administrator’s Message

Jhin asked softly.

"…Who are you?"

And the moment the words left his mouth, he realized something.

The backdoor.

A secret passage coded into the game to allow unauthorized access—so that someone from the outside could directly interfere with the program.

If someone was sending messages through this path…

Then it could only be one person in this world.

The Administrator.

But the other party seemed in no hurry to reveal their identity.

Instead of answering his question, a completely unrelated reply appeared:

[Actually, I've been a fan of yours. I've watched all your accomplishments in Exodia. I admire you.]

"What the hell are you talking about?"

[I realized it during the Bey World incident. That you had actually entered the CMD domain.]

A few exchanges later, Jhin understood the nature of this communication.

The system messages in front of him—

They weren't part of a two-way conversation.

They were one-way transmissions only.

His own voice wasn't reaching the other side.

[So just in case, I left a backdoor behind. I figured you might return to this place again someday.]

The space created by the backdoor had started to disintegrate.

Cracks began forming in the air, and from them, the black tide slowly began to creep in.

This was, after all, just a temporary shelter.

[We won't have time for much. The backdoor's durability isn't that high.]

Then—

a new system message appeared:

[#0114 channel has been connected.]

[Would you like to transfer?]

#0114 channel?

A flood of thoughts rushed through Jhin's mind.

He looked toward Aurora, who met his eyes with the same bewildered look, lips nervously clenched.

She didn't understand either.

The messages continued flashing, independent of their reactions:

[Cross over. I'll be waiting for you.]

As if hurrying him, the message blinked rapidly.

Jhin furrowed his brow tightly.

But there was no real choice to make.

There was only one option.

[Transferring to #0114 channel.]

He felt his body begin to dissolve like mist.

Lighter even than when he ascended to the moon.

No—

He was becoming air.

[Search for a name: Ike. He will show you the way.]

A wave of nausea struck as he felt a massive suction force pulling him forward.

He was being sucked into somewhere.

As he fought to stay conscious, his eyes caught one final string of text before everything blurred:

[Exodia—where your dreams come true!]

[Welcome. You've arrived at the "Fantasy Island Area."]

[Player 'Kyle' has logged in.]

…What?

—Chosen…

His thoughts felt distant and hazy.

Like he was drunk, his senses wavered.

Like his ears were underwater, muffled static blanketed his hearing.

—Chosen One…

It felt like a dream.

A long dream.

A dream he never wanted to wake from.

Jhin wanted to sink deeper into it.

But—

—Chosen One!!

His ears rang with a thunderous voice.

He snapped back to awareness.

The fog around him lifted, and reality came into sharp focus.

Every sensation was vividly clear.

And in that irony, he knew—he was still alive.

Grimacing, he rubbed his temples and slowly stood up.

"Ugh…"

Then—

a message immediately filled his vision:

[You have been poisoned.]

[Skill 'Hyper Regeneration (F)' activated.]

[The accumulated dosage is too great. Detoxification failed. You will die within 5 minutes.]

The rain falling here—was poisonous.

Not even Hyper Regeneration, which had withstood space radiation, could neutralize it completely.

First, he fumbled through his inventory.

[Used High-Grade HP Potion.]

Thankfully, the inventory was functioning normally.

He pulled out a long-saved potion and drank it down.

The poison invading his body began to recede.

"Phew…"

Only then could Jhin look around properly.

It was a small, enclosed cave.

He asked,

"…What happened?"

"Poison fell from the sky. You were muttering in your sleep. Do you know how hard it was dragging you all the way here?"

Aurora's white coat was torn with holes.

The rain must've had an acid component on top of the poison.

Jhin pulled out spare clothes from his inventory and offered them.

"I'm good. Not really my style."

Aurora looked worn out.

"Anyway… got any food left? I think I'm starving from the injuries."

"There's no food in a place like thi—oh."

Jhin suddenly remembered a bag he'd stored in a corner of his inventory.

He pulled it out.

Inside were a variety of snacks—gifts from Shin Woo-hyun back at Gangnam Station, given in thanks.

He passed her some of the snacks he liked.

"Wait, what?! Chosen One!! You had all this and you're just pulling it out now?! You were totally planning to eat this by yourself, weren't you?!"

"…I was not."

"Wooooaaaahhh!!"

Aurora plunged her hand into the bag and began devouring the snacks by the handful.

The only sound in the cave was her munching—crunch, crunch, crunch.

"You're not even gonna offer me a bite?"

"…Wanna eat?"

"Forget it."

Jhin settled for an energy bar—high-calorie, chocolate-rich, with almonds. It was filling.

Crackle.

With every bite Aurora took, the holes in her coat visibly began repairing themselves.

She must have dragged him all the way here while enduring that acid-rain herself.

He couldn't bring himself to take anything from her share.

"Still… where are we?"

Outside the cave, the heavy rain continued falling.

But it was clearly not the same world they'd seen in "Meteor of Calamity."

That place had at least some forest.

This was a desolate wasteland.

Not a single blade of grass.

Then again, how could anything grow where the very rain poisons on contact?

Jhin decided to use Soft skills to gather more information.

Know yourself, know your enemy, and you'll never lose.

If he could figure anything out, his odds of survival would rise.

[Skill 'Soft skills (S)' activated.]

"…The powerhere's unstable. It feels like it could explode at any moment."

Maybe it was because of that.

The ground occasionally trembled, and fierce winds would lash through the terrain.

Far off in the sky, bolts of lightning poured down in rapid succession.

The unstable power seemed to be affecting nature, triggering environmental disasters.

Next, Jhin calmly checked his log records.

[You have acquired the title: "One Who Crossed Worlds."]

[Nullifies 100% of the impact from crossing between worlds.]

"One Who Crossed Worlds, huh…"

He thought back.

The figure—presumably the administrator—had told him to "cross over."

It had sounded deeply suspicious at the time, but with no better options, he'd gone for it.

If he had truly crossed worlds…

Then this place must be…

Just then—

"Uh, Chosen One?"

Aurora, who had been busy snacking, pointed nervously into the distance.

Through the rain cutting across the barren land, a massive shape was charging straight toward them.

Jhin narrowed his eyes.

"…Cerberus?"

But there was no time to panic.

He swiftly gathered his equipment and dashed out of the cave with Aurora.

The rain immediately soaked him, its poison damage accumulating—

but that didn't matter anymore.

KRAAAAAAAAAAH!!

The hellhound with three heads let out a roar, exhaling flames.

Purple flames—of death.

It was a scorching spell that set their entire shelter ablaze.

"…You've got to be kidding me."

The beast of hell—Cerberus.

A monster over level 300.

One that typically appeared only in A-rank dungeons.

"Craaah"

One of its other heads turned toward Jhin, fur bristling.

From its maw, it blasted a wave of cold air—

so frigid it felt like it could freeze the entire world.

Jhin instantly spread his wings and took flight.

[Equipment 'Wing of the Dragonbone Soldier' activated.]

[You can fly freely for 10 minutes.]

"Aurora, grab my hand!"

Dodging the frost beam, he soared into the air with Aurora in tow.

But nothing had really been solved.

Cerberus's back sprouted wings, and it launched into the sky in pursuit.

"Chosen One! It's chasing us!"

"I know!"

Gritting his teeth, Jhin tore through the air as fast as he could.

The third head opened its mouth wide—

and unleashed a lightning strike.

[Skill 'Crisis Detection (A)' activated.]

He narrowly folded his wings and dodged the bolt.

While evading, he used Soft skills to monitor Cerberus's movement and brainstormed any strategy he could.

One thing was certain,

this wasn't a fake.

A real level 300 monster…

The gap was staggering.

That he was even surviving right now felt like a miracle.

No matter how much effort he put in, fighting one monster like that was impossible.

Right now, Jhin could only manage opponents around level 200.

"Chosen One!"

But the situation grew even worse.

Just when his wings had about 3 minutes of power left, something emerged from the sky—

a shape with an elongated head, gliding through the air.

Jhin recognized it instantly.

A one-eyed gargoyle.

As if one monster wasn't enough, now another level 300-class creature had joined the chase.

Grinding his teeth, Jhin dove toward a canyon and folded his wings.

He managed to land with a risky maneuver.

He'd hoped to find a place to hide—

KEEEEIIIIIII!!

—but that was pointless.

The gargoyle was using sonic detection.

"Just as I thought. It's tracking me."

Against a gargoyle, stealth was meaningless.

After all, it was a chimera created specifically to detect intruders sneaking into the Demon King's Castle.

There was no hiding.

"Damn it…!"

Just as expected, the gargoyle flew directly toward his position.

Right behind it, Cerberus roared and landed powerfully beside it.

[Equipment 'Wing of the Dragonbone Soldier' has expired.]

He was trapped.

No way forward. No way back.

"…Chosen One."

Jhin bit his lip and drew the Meteor Calamity Blade, leveling it forward.

Cerberus snorted in amusement, clearly unthreatened.

Aurora, her voice trembling, said softly:

"Chosen One… I had fun with you."

Damn it.

What was he supposed to say to her, stepping right on a death flag like that?

Two level 300-class monsters.

Even if Kyle's own grandfather were here, could he get through this?

No matter how well you understood the mechanics, some things—like raw level—were absolute.

"…Still, I'm not planning to die that easily."

Gritting his teeth, Jhin pushed his Meteor Calamity Blade to its limit.

Blood Suction activated, drawing power, and he transformed with a Peculiar, enhancing himself even further.

He summoned his Hundred Ghosts, each preparing for battle.

Aurora clenched her tiny fists beside him.

"Phew…"

He exhaled, shaking off the last of his tension.

He was ready.

He had made up his mind.

But then—

…Data detected.

When had it arrived?

A round, soccer-ball-sized orb floated beside Cerberus and the gargoyle.

A machine? A drone?

They couldn't tell.

The sphere opened, revealing a single mechanical eye that locked onto the monsters.

Targeting bug. Commencing extermination.

FZZZACK.

A beam shot from the orb—

instantly obliterating one of Cerberus's heads.

The remaining heads retaliated, but more beams followed.

Cerberus's body was riddled with holes in an instant.

KEEIIIIHHH!!

Panicked, the gargoyle spread its wings and took to the sky—

but the orb pursued it and shot another beam.

FZZZK.

In just a few seconds, the fleeing gargoyle disintegrated into dust.

"…"

Then, without warning, the orb turned and floated right in front of Jhin.

It scanned him top to bottom.

User recognized: Player Kyle.

Insufficient data. Commencing data collection.

And then, as quickly as it had appeared—

it vanished.

Jhin stood frozen for a while, only lowering his guard when he was certain the orb had truly disappeared.

His legs gave out, and he collapsed to the ground.

Beside him, Aurora—still trembling—met his gaze.

"…What the hell… was that?"

No one could answer.

They had never seen anything like it.

But one thing was clear.

"…This isn't the world I used to know."

It had been less than one hour since Jhin had crossed into Exodia 1.