The Sealed Room in the Abyss

Hajime's journey through the Orcus Dungeon pressed on.

Since the tar-covered floor, he'd delved another 50 levels deeper. Without sunlight or any real way to measure time, Hajime had long since lost track of how many days had passed — but his progress was terrifyingly fast.

Every floor had been a battle for survival. With each level came stronger demons, deadlier traps, and more brutal trials.

One floor was shrouded in a thin, poisonous fog. A rainbow-colored frog over two meters tall spat toxic sputum, while a moth scattered paralyzing scales with each flap of its wings. Just breathing on that floor would've killed him if not for the "Potion" he had tucked in a hidden container behind his molars. Hajime was grateful for the foresight — he'd popped two doses just surviving that hell.

The frog's poison attacked the nerves, lighting his body up with waves of pain — eerily similar to when he first consumed demon meat. As for the moth? It tasted better than the frog, which irritated him more than it should've. Still, he survived, barely.

Another level resembled a dense, underground jungle — an ecosystem that defied logic. The air was stiflingly humid, the heat oppressive. Massive centipedes dropped from the canopy with zero warning, triggering full-body revulsion. Every segment of the creature's body fought back even when severed, like facing 30 monsters at once.

Donner roared as Hajime fired again and again, but there were too many. Reloading took too long. He switched to "Air Claws," even throwing panicked, untrained kicks just to survive. That day, as he washed the centipede's purple ichor from his body, Hajime made a decision — he'd train his reload speed and martial arts. No exceptions.

Then came the tree demons — Treants straight out of an RPG. Their roots burst from the earth like spears, their vines whipped with purpose. But their deadliest weapon? The crimson fruits they hurled when pressured.

Expecting poison, Hajime bit into one — and froze. It wasn't toxic.

It was delicious.

Juicy. Sweet. Like a watermelon, not an apple.

That fruit wiped away every miserable feeling he'd built up on that level. For the first time in what felt like weeks, he tasted something other than meat. Something good. He devoured those Treants until they were nearly extinct, red eyes gleaming with primal hunger.

And just like that, Hajime advanced 50 floors — but there was still no sign of an end.

Nagumo Hajime – Status

Age: 17

Gender: Male

Level: 49

Class: Transmutation Artist (Synergist)

Stats

Strength: 880

Vitality: 970

Resistance: 860

Agility: 1040

Magic: 760

Magic Resistance: 760

Skills

Transmutation, Mineral Appraisal, Precision Transmutation, Mineral Enquiry, Mineral Separation, Mineral Fusion, Replica Transmutation

Magic Manipulation, Iron Stomach, Lightning Clad, Divine Step, Air Walk, Flicker, Grand Legs, Air Claws

Night Vision, Far Vision, Perception, Magic Perception, Hide Presence

Poison Resist, Paralysis Resist, Petrification Resistance

Language Comprehension

Now, Hajime sat within the base he'd carved out on the 50th floor, refining his transmutation, firearms tech, and kicking skills. He'd already found the staircase to the next level — but he hadn't taken it.

Something else had caught his attention.

A foreign space. Eerie and silent.

At its end stood a majestic, 3-meter-tall double door, flanked by two upper-body statues of one-eyed giants embedded into the walls.

The moment Hajime stepped near it, a chill crawled up his spine. Something felt wrong.

He didn't back away.

Instead, he prepped his gear. Slowly, a strange change began to stir around the sealed door. Hajime didn't turn back. He stood before it, tension and curiosity coiling inside him.

"Like Pandora's Box… I wonder what's waiting inside."

He checked his equipment, each weapon, each tool, each technique — all tuned to perfection. He unholstered Donner and closed his eyes for a moment of silence.

"I will survive. I'll return to Japan. To home.And if anyone stands in my way—They die."

Opening his eyes, a devilish smile crept across his face.

Cautiously, he approached the sealed chamber.

The door was even more intricate up close — layers of fine etching, twin magical formations inlaid within circular recesses. Despite all his studies, Hajime couldn't recognize the formulas.

"An ancient system, maybe?"

Guessing wouldn't help. He ran tests. Pushed. Pulled. Nothing.

"Let's do this the usual way," he muttered, and placed his hand against the door to transmute it.

Crackle!

"Uwa—?!"

A surge of red electricity raced up his arm, burning his hand. Smoke billowed. Swearing, he quickly bit down on another Potion capsule.

Then — a deep roar echoed through the chamber.

Oooooooooooh!

Hajime sprang back, Donner in hand, ready to fire.

"Well, that's cliché as hell."

The statues began to move.

The stone cracked, skin turning dark green as the one-eyed giants peeled away from the wall. One drew a massive 4-meter blade from seemingly nowhere and locked eyes with Hajime.

Dopan!

A railgun-propelled bullet of Tauru ore ripped through the first cyclops' eye, liquefied its brain, and blasted a hole in the back wall. The body spasmed before slamming to the ground like a felled tree. Dust choked the air.

"Sorry, I'm not the type to wait for introductions."

The remaining cyclops froze, horror etched into its face.

Too late.

It stepped forward—And collapsed.

Legs paralyzed. Body shaking. Confused and furious.

Hajime's steps echoed across the chamber as he approached slowly, the sound like a ticking clock.

He pressed the muzzle of Donner to the cyclops' head.

Click.

Dopan!

A flash of light — the bullet was repelled.

"Mu."

Its body glowed. Some kind of defense magic. The skin had hardened too much.

Without hesitation, Hajime kicked it full-force.

Grand Kick.

The same savage strike that felled the berserker rabbit. The cyclops rolled onto its back, stunned. Hajime pressed Donner to its eye.

The cyclops almost looked like it was pleading—

Too late.

Dopan!

"Approximately 20 seconds… bit slow. Size might be a factor."

The cause of its collapse? A paralysis grenade made from moth scales, packed and weaponized. Hajime had lobbed it while the left cyclops was still in shock at its partner's death.

He harvested both magic stones without ceremony. The blood didn't faze him.

When he pressed the stones into the door's recesses, red light bloomed. Magic circuits ignited. The massive door groaned open.

Darkness lay beyond.

With "Night Vision," Hajime scanned the room. Marble pillars stretched toward the far wall. The room's grandeur reminded him of the summoning hall back in the capital. At the center stood a large, luminescent stone cube.

Something… was growing from it.

He opened the door further, watching the shadows carefully.

Then, a voice whispered.

"…Who?"

It was faint. Weak. Female.

Hajime's breath caught. A face peeked from the stone — long blonde hair, pale skin, piercing red eyes like twin moons behind strands of gold. She looked 12 or 13 at most. Frail, eerie… beautiful.

She was buried in the cube.

Only her face and hair were visible.

Hajime stared.

And finally muttered, under his breath:

"…I'm sorry. I was wrong."