Chapter 61: Without the System

Chapter 61: Chapter 61: Without the System

Arin gripped his sword. For the first time since awakening his Dungeon Master’s Mark, there wasn’t a System window before his eyes. The feeling inside of him was unnatural and silent..Authority One stood a few meters before him, observing.

"You seem... different."

Arin didn’t reply.

His grip slowly tightened around his weapon. The creature smiled. "Previously, you relied on a voice that resided in your mind." Arin’s eyes narrowed. "You were listening?" "I can sense the system." Authority One raised its hand. "It was once a part of me." The stone beneath Arin’s feet suddenly began to move. He jumped as a spike erupted from the chamber in the spot where he had previously stood.

Arin landed and immediately rolled to the side as another spike shot forward. He staggered as yet another one came. The chamber transformed into a series of pillars of stone. Arin quickly darted between them.

Without Arene warning him, he had to rely solely on his Dungeon Sense. He could still feel the dungeon. He didn’t need the system to tell him things. He could feel the movement of the stone before it happened and changed his trajectory accordingly.

A pillar of stone erupted behind him. Arin ducked underneath another before he suddenly heard footsteps. Authority One was coming. Arin turned just as the creature appeared before him. He gripped his weapon.

CLANG!

The force of the impact almost sent his weapon flying from his hands. Authority One followed up with another strike. Arin blocked once again, his arms shaking. The creature was incredibly powerful. Arin twisted his body and redirected the force before driving forward towards its ribs. The opponent blocked with their elbow and Arin’s sword scraped along their body. He took a step back. Authority One looked at him. "You are adapting."

"I have to."

"You should be afraid."

"I am."

That response seem to both surprise and annoy the creature. Arin wiped blood from the corner of his lips. "I’m just not going to stay standing still because I am." The creature watched him for a moment before suddenly laughing. "That sounds more like a Dungeon Master." It attacked. Arin barely avoided the first strike. The second one caught his shoulder. Arin cried in pain as he was thrown across the chamber, landing and rolling several times before finally stopping.

His shoulder was on fire. Arin pushed himself upright. The creature was already coming. Arin couldn’t rely on System calculations. He couldn’t ask Arene for any analysis. He couldn’t see his health. He didn’t even know how badly he was hurt. So, he focused on what he could still do. The dungeon. The creature. The distance between them. Authority One charged. Arin waited. The creature attacked again. He moved at the last second.

The fist passed by his face. Arin stepped inside their reach and drove his blade forwards. This time, the weapon found its mark in the creature’s abdomen. Authority One halted. Arin’s eyes widened. The creature looked down at Arin’s blade before slowly looking back at him. "You learned." Arin withdrew his weapon and stepped back.

"What?"

"You stopped trying to predict me."

The wound on the creature’s abdomen slowly began to close. "You started learning to read the battlefield." Arin frowned. He hadn’t realized it. But the creature was right. His Dungeon Sense had been growing more and more natural since the system awakened. Even without Arene, he could still feel the changes taking place within the dungeon. The difference now was that he had to interpret it for himself. Authority One raised its hand. Arin suddenly felt something change. Not the stone. The authority. The creature was no longer controlling the dungeon with it. It was reaching in deeper.

Arin’s Dungeon Master Mark burned with intensity.

He instinctively took a step back as a black symbol appeared beneath his feet. "What is that?" Authority One smiled. "Authority."

The symbol expanded. Arin suddenly felt his movement slowed. His sword felt impossibly heavy in his grip. He tried to move, but his legs barely responded. "You’re using authority directly."

"Of course."

Authority One walked towards him. "We were Dungeon Masters." It stopped several meters away. "We did not simply command monsters." The pressure on Arin increased.

"We commanded the dungeon." Arin gritted his teeth. His knees nearly buckled under the pressure. He forced himself to push upwards.

"So that’s what I’m supposed to become?"

"Perhaps."

The creature tilted its head. "Or, perhaps you will become something different." Arin’s eyes narrowed.

"What does that mean?"

"You have companions."

Authority One looked towards the stone wall separating Arin from the others. "You care for them." Arin’s expression darkened.

"Leave them out of this."

"Then you still haven’t understood."

Authority One raised its hand. The wall behind Arin suddenly cracked. Arin turned around. A huge stone spear shot from the wall at him. He leapt sideways and the weapon missed, embedding itself in the ground. Before Arin could recover, another one shot up from above. He rolled forward as it slammed into the ground behind him.

Arin breathed heavily. The creature wasn’t trying to kill him. It was forcing him to make choices.

Every single strike was making him adapt. Forcing him to make his own decisions.

Authority One was teaching him through its attacks. Arin suddenly understood. "You’re testing me." The creature’s expression became serious. "Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I want to know whether you deserve that authority."

Arin stared at the creature. "You don’t get to decide that." Authority One smiled faintly.

"Then prove me wrong." It attacked. This time, Arin didn’t move back. He advanced.

The creature swung. Arin ducked. Another attack came from the side. He blocked with his sword, the force sending him backwards. He planted his foot in the ground and used the momentum to turn. His weapon swept across the opponent’s chest, opening a deep wound. Authority One staggered.

Arin immediately followed up and delivered another strike that the creature blocked. Arin kicked the opponent’s knee and they stumbled. He attacked their shoulder. The creature caught his wrist. Its grip was unfaltering. "You’ve improved." Authority One tossed Arin across the chamber. He landed hard, coughing and struggling to breathe. The creature approached. "Your strength is still insufficient." Arin pushed himself up. "I know."

"Your authority is incomplete."

"I know."

"Your understanding of the dungeon is shallow."

Arin wiped blood from his mouth. "I know that too." The creature stopped. "Then why do you continue?" Arin looked directly at the opposing creature. "Because I don’t have to be perfect yet." For the first time, Authority One said nothing. Arin slowly stood. "I just have to survive long enough to become better." The creature’s eyes narrowed. Then it smiled. "Good answer."

The pressure suddenly vanished from around Arin. He stumbled forwards. The black symbol beneath him disappeared. Authority One lowered its hand. "I have seen Dungeon Masters abandon their people because they believed authority made them superior." Its voice was quieter.

"I have seen others destroy their own dungeons because they feared losing control." It looked at Arin. "You haven’t done either." Arin kept his sword raised. "Is that why you attacked me?"

"Partly."

"What’s the other reason?"

Authority One looked towards the ceiling. "The System." Arin’s expression changed.

"What about it?" "You think that voice belongs to you." Arin frowned. "It does." "No." Authority One looked back at him. "It belongs to every Dungeon Master." The words hung heavy in the chamber. Arin stared. "What?" Authority One continued. "We all used it." "You mean Arene?" The creature’s expression changed slightly. "You know her name." "She guides me." "She guided us too." Arin’s grip tightened.

"Then who created her?" Authority One went silent. It didn’t respond for several seconds. Finally, it said: "I don’t know." Arin’s eyes narrowed. "You were a Dungeon Master." "So were the others."

"And none of you know?"

"No."

Authority One looked almost bitter. "We inherited the System." Arin’s breathing slowed. "Inherited?" "Every Dungeon Master before me received it from whatever came before." That answer only generated more questions. "Then where did it begin?" Authority One looked at him. "That is the question you should be asking." A sudden vibration travelled through the chamber. Authority One’s expression changed. Arin felt it too. The other authorities. Something was happening below them. Then, the stone wall separating Arin from the others shattered.

BOOM!

Arin immediately turned. Ayan was on the other side, his weapon drawn. Saira was beside him and Mira and the others were behind them. "Arin!" Ayan stepped forward.

"I’m fine." Ayan looked at Authority One.

"Clearly." Authority One stared at the dragon. "You have changed." Ayan’s expression hardened. "You know me?" "I know dragons." The creature looked back at Arin. "But I know something else now."

"What?"

Authority One’s body suddenly began to glow with dark energy. "The others have noticed you." Arin’s expression changed.

"All of them?"

"Yes."

The creature smiled. "And unlike me, they may not all want to test you." The chamber shook violently. Far below, another presence surged. Then another. Then another. Arin’s Dungeon Sense suddenly became flooded with foreign authority. He staggered and Ayan caught his shoulder.

What happened?" Arin looked towards the floor. "They’re moving."

"Who?"

"The others."

The dungeon trembled again. Authority One stepped back. Its body began to sink into the darkness. Arin raised his sword.

"Wait!"

The creature stopped.

"Why did you lock my System?"

Authority One looked at him.

"I didn’t."

Arin froze.

"What?"

The creature smiled.

"Someone else did."

Before Arin could respond, Authority One disappeared into the darkness. Arin stood completely still. Ayan stared at him. "Someone else?" Arin slowly lowered his sword. His mind was racing. The System had been locked. Arene was silent. Authority One had just claimed that it wasn’t responsible. Then the dungeon shook again. This time, the sound came from directly beneath them. A deep voice echoed through the stone.

Not Authority One.

Not Authority Four.

Not Authority Ten.

Someone else.

"Wake up."

Arin’s Dungeon Master’s Mark burned..A second voice followed. "Let the new Dungeon Master see what became of the old ones." The darkness beneath the chamber began to crack. Arin stared downward. Something was coming up.

And for the first time, he couldn’t use the System to tell him what it was.