Azimuth: The Elden Throne (New Version)

Chapter 297 Depths of the Dungeon

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/Flash!/

"Urg… Dammit, where am I?" Dale asked as he looked around

'My entire body is worked up, this is by far the worst I've ever felt from all missions I've done so far…'

/Clang!/

"Huh?"

/CLANG!/

'Chains?... What's this supposed to mean?' 

In the middle of a wide and tall circular stone room, Dale could be seen trapped in place, chained by dozens of metallic chains wrapped around his legs, waist, arms, and neck.

They locked him in place with the help of seven pillars full of strange Runic Symbols and carvings, embedded deep into the solid stone ground.

/CLANG!/

"Shit… What type of setting is this?" He asked out loud as he tried to pull the chains apart, but they didn't budge an inch

He tried putting some force into his environment but that proved to be a futile endeavor as everything resisted his actions without even a single scratch.

The chains were simply binding him too tightly, he couldn't even raise his foot very well, much less stomp the ground.

But it was in this outburst that he quickly realized his own appearance, after all, it was the only thing he could do amidst this darkness.

The room around him was extremely dark and if not for the pillars releasing faint light he would barely be able to see anything.

The air was thick and heavy, as if he was constantly breathing in mist.

It was extremely gut-wrenching to be in such darkness and trapped, unable to protect himself or ensure his safety.

At the very least he was hanging in the air… Or had spikes going through his body…

'This is… I'm actually wearing the Southern Corps Armor? But I left it at Resko…'

'What is the setting of this mess?'

Dale decided to inspect his Status to get some information on his own body, but when he did so…

[Status Function is currently disabled]

'Shit… Of course it is.'

He tried to move his head around but he couldn't, the more he moved it, the tighter the chains around his neck became, and he didn't want to risk it.

These chains didn't seem like they would be breaking any time soon, and the last thing he wanted was to somehow strangle himself.

Not only that, but if all of this wasn't enough, Dale felt heavy… Weak even.

[DING]

[Raid, Start!] The System said out loud all of a sudden

"Raid… Start?"

"This notification…"

Fearing for a truth that started to form in his mind, Dale read the notification:

[Deep Underground where the sun cannot reach, Ancient beasts the world was not ready for were long sealed in the hopes that one day, a method to deal with them once and for all surfaces]

[Heroes of Legend succeeded each other, holding the key into this Abyss… Keeping it at bay under the light of the Divine]

[Bound by a vow, their bodies were used to fuel an Ancient Ritual suppressing the beasts from emerging from their cells, as even in death, their wish to protect their families and children would persist, for generations to come]

[Alone, they may be weak, nothing, insignificant to those beasts, but together, they were a Legion, together, they were an Idea, a hundred thousand hands pressing downward for the sake of a world that will never recognize them]

[However, centuries later, the line of succession has been broken and the Ritual has now long been neglected, running solely on the remnants of this Great Craft]

[Soon enough, the Ritual will lose its effects and those bound within will free themselves one by one, bringing with them doom to the surface above]

[But not all is lost, as with the passing of the ages, new Heroes emerge, following the beckoning of Fate to make wrong right and to carry on the torch of those that already fell]

[However, be warned, the slumbering beasts within won't wait forever]

[Feeling their upcoming freedom, they've gone Berserk, gnawing at their restraints, and soon enough, they'll break free]

[Cleanse the Dungeon and prevent their dwelers from setting the sky black!]

[Expected time until the First Floor's Dweller is freed: 10 Minutes]

[Expected time until the Second Floor's Dweller is freed: 25 Minutes]

[Expected time until the Third Floor's Dweller is freed: 60 Minutes]

[Expected time until the Fourth Floor's Dweller is freed: 100 Minutes]

[Expected time until the Fifth Floor's Dweller is freed: ???]

"..."

Flabbargersted, Dale's thoughts ran wild as that was the sole thing he could do.

'This description… Is a bit familiar, isn't it?'

'It's almost a one-to-one depiction of the Catacombs… Wait a minute…'

"You gotta be kidding me."

'Are you telling me that… '

/CLANG!/

As the reality of the situation started to fall onto him, Dale struggled once more as he tried to free himself from the chains, only to once again tire himself out.

[DING]

And midway through his struggle, a notification came in with the last nail in the coffin:

[You've been given the role of Fifth Floor's Dweller!]

[Free yourself from the Sealing Chains that bind you before the Heroes arrive, or risk facing them with limited abilities]

[Each Pillar binding you by the time the Heroes arrive will deduct a portion of your abilities for the remainder of the Raid]

[Be careful, do not let yourself be consumed by the Darkness… Or the Light]

/THUM!/

"!?"

/ZAP!/

When he finished reading the notifications, the Seven Pillars immediately flared with energy as the runes carved on their surface burned in bright red light.

Soon after, Dale felt his entire body burn in excruciating pain!

But he couldn't scream, only twitch as his body trembled as if he was being electrocuted.

Thankfully, the pain did not last long as soon enough, nor did it hurt him in any way as he 'fell' limp, his body now dangling by the chains.

/Sszzz…/

"Huff… Huff… Shit."

'I didn't sign up to be tortured…'

[While under the effect of the Ritual, your total Level is decreased by 10 for each standing Pillar]

[While under the effect of the Ritual, your total HP will decrease by 0.01% every second for each standing Pillar]

[While under the effect of the Ritual, every 10 minutes, your mind may decay slightly]

[While under the effect of the Ritual, Guardians will manifest within the Catacombs, each guardian possesses the same Stats as yourself]

[While under the effect of the Ritual, your Skills will be locked until all of the Pillars are broken]

[While under the effect of the Ritual…]

…

[Until the Raid comes to an end, Status function is disabled]

[Until the Raid comes to an end, Inventory function is disabled]

[Until the Raid comes to an end, Ordinary System functions are disabled]

[Your Soul is bound to the land and in case of death, there shall be no return]

"... Huff… I'm in deep shit for once."

'If there are Seven Pillars… Each decreasing my Level by 10… Wouldn't my Level be -1 by now?'

'Well… I'll just take that I went back to being Level 0… Which isn't much better.'

"Let's see… There are many terrible effects going on… Even the System is completely shut down…"

"Wait, these are… The Seeds?!"

'Shit, is this mission using all of my Greater Seeds at once?!'

'I'll really die at this rate…'

'Open Inventory!'

[Inventory function has been disabled]

"Sigh… Of course, it has."

'Everything is either disabled or blocked.'

[Go forth, Challender; Persevere through the odds and ascend beyond your limitations]

[You've been given the Status of a Monster]

[Effect, World Boss has been applied]

[Effect, Variant has been applied] 

[Effect, Special has been applied]

[Due to the Suppression of the Ritual, all Effects are currently inactive]

"Huff… Great."

'I need to organize my thoughts.'

'Right now, I'm the final monster of the Dungeon and if I understand correctly, this is a time attack.'

'If everything works as I think it does, my opponents are likely a group of players, though I wouldn't be surprised if they were NPCs either.'

'All of my Status and Abilities are sealed and I can barely move, but the longer I struggle and the longer they take to reach this place, the more restrictions will be lifted from me if not all.'

'If I can fully free myself… There's nothing to fear.'

'Unless the players making their way here are a party composed of the top 10 Duelists from the Arena, there should be nothing to fear…'

'If I'm lucky, the other monsters within the Catacombs will be enough to deal with them, although given how weak I am, I don't really have any expectations…'

'Maybe I could free them?... That's an idea.'

'But first, I would need to get out of this mess.'

/Clang.../

"Yup... These Chains aren't going anywhere."

'From what I can see, every time I apply force, the Pillars glow momentarily.'

'This indicates there is a reaction, and given the description of this mission... The more force I apply, the more energy is spent.'

'And even if I grow tired, as my power recovers, my momentum will only increase.'

"Without Skills, items, or anything to my name, there's only one thing left for me to test…"

[Skill, Manifestation of the Perfect Self 1-??? has been activated]

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Notes