Journey to the South

For the next few months, everything was normal at first. Just like before, he returned the same way he went north, but this time he took different routes, and because of that, he encountered strange things. Now that he had a staff or spear with him, he was much safer and stronger—but there were still plenty of things far beyond his capabilities. One of them was a level 7 titan. No—an Ancient Titan.

He had the chance to see the Ancient Titan on the road—though of course, only from a great distance. Even so, it felt like a god had descended to Earth. And when he looked at it, it felt like it looked right back at him.

It was the size of a 15-story building—a massive, gray bird. Many of its feathers had been plucked out, and it had huge wounds. Its gaze was terrifying. It clung to the ceiling and fed on other titans that lived there. Yes—there were titans on the ceiling too. They typically didn't feed on each other but on crystals, and no dhunes ever lived up there. Sometimes they'd drop crystals while eating, which is how people on the ground could find them.

Even though the Ancient Titan was kilometers away, Yuel ran for his life. And that was the whole story. He had only seen it and could say no more. Probably because the titan had merely glanced his way, didn't consider him worth its time, and since they were so far apart, Yuel didn't experience any kind of mental attack. But anyone else known to have seen the titan refused to speak about it. Likely because, unlike Yuel, they had been much closer and suffered lasting mental damage.

But Yuel survived without harm—and he would be proud of that.

After months of travel, he finally returned home six months later. He hadn't done much during those six months, because Yuel, by nature, preferred avoiding battle over gaining strength. He wouldn't fight unless he was sure of victory, because his goal during the journey to the mountain range was clear: to go to the range, where there were no level 5 titans, and kill a level 4 titan to avoid risking others joining the fight. Then he would craft a weapon that was a mix of a spear and staff.

He didn't need to enter meaningless fights. If he won, he'd gain materials like bones and skin—but he didn't need them. If he lost, he might die. Why would he fight? He wouldn't—unless victory was guaranteed. Though it's true he killed hundreds of dhunes along the way. Sometimes they attacked in packs—it was terrifying. But he made it through.

In retrospect, going to the mountain range was a good decision. Dozens of level 4 titans lived there, and among them, he could find the one that best matched him in combat. Also, like he said, there was no risk of level 5 titans showing up.

While fighting "Bone," he realized just how perfect his previous fight with the level 4 titan known as "Nature"—the giant owl—had been. Since he was small, he could easily move between its legs. The owl had no solid weapon to attack with—only claws and a beak. He didn't count the vines since they were meant for immobilization. Also, because it was connected to nature, Luo's flames managed to daze it. And even with all that, the owl had underestimated Yuel and even spared him at one point. Later, Yuel had miraculously acted cleverly and turned his flask into a weapon. He couldn't have planned such a chain of lucky events.

Even after getting stronger, he couldn't defeat "Bone."

Yet Null was sure that Bone, just like the owl, was a perfect match for Yuel. Among all the level 4 titans in that part of the mountains closest to him, Bone was the nearest. And still, he couldn't kill it.

Not being able to capitalize on that stroke of luck was what upset him the most. After killing the owl, he never found its corpse. Within four years, all sorts of creatures had found and fed on it.

In the end, he was alive—and he had no regrets about that.

Moreover, during those six months, his memories slowly began returning—all 1544 loops—and the true events of that day… even the voice recordings he had made but refused to listen to later.

The memories of those loops were terrifying. Every day, the same thing repeated. Escaping was hard because it gradually erased his ability to think, and as days went by, he began to forget everything—until he died. If he had chosen to survive there forever instead of dying and resetting the loop, his mind would have been ruined, and he'd have become a puppet of that level 5 titan. If Luo hadn't blessed him before Yuel died, Yuel would've awakened in the body of one of those mushroom puppets. If he hadn't started the first recording before falling into that place, his mind would've shattered in the early loops, and he would've become a puppet in just a few days.

As for the loops themselves, the first and longest recording explained everything—and if he didn't exit the dream five minutes after listening, maddening whispers would drive him insane and kill him. Eventually, it became impossible to turn the recording off. Normally, after hearing it a few times, he should have figured out a way to escape—but once the Infection became aware of the recording, it managed to censor it somehow. Even so, two more recordings were made. Both were meant to help him quickly realize the power of the whispers, since early in the loops, his memory and thinking were still mostly intact. One time, when the owl's head appeared at the door, he immediately sensed something was wrong—and from there, a chain of events led to his escape.

As for what happened that day… he didn't even want to remember. The worst part was that the thing that destroyed both him and Luo and ruined their lives was only a level 4 titan—just another puppet of the Infection. In other words, the real being behind it hadn't even shown up. It was far stronger.

Yuel still had a long way to go for revenge—and he was only at Stage 6.

He was almost home now. But before going home, he wanted to visit Luo's grave.

He stopped by. He had actually found some water in the northern mountains and poured it on Luo's grave—not drinking a single drop himself. He could drink ink, but since Luo had never once tasted water in her life… Yuel thought she deserved it more.

After pouring the water, he noticed something. The damned fungus had spread. He didn't know how, but he probably dropped some fragments of it in the forest while carrying Luo there. In the past six months, it had grown and completely taken over the road between his house and Luo's grave. And judging by the whispers, there were a few titans in the area that had been taken over by the Infection. Assuming he could sense within 60 meters, even that number was alarming. He had to leave quickly. Yuel poured the water on Luo's grave and hurried away.

Thanks to the damn Infection, he couldn't even have a proper moment at a grave. He would avenge all of this.

But for now, he wasn't strong enough.

Yuel fled and continued south. This time, his journey should take less than a month. That's because after escaping the orphanage, he'd found the safest place he could after just 2–3 weeks of travel. He hadn't cared how close it was to civilization, so in truth, he wasn't that far from humanity.

But Yuel wanted to see places he hadn't explored before—so instead of taking the known path, he went further west. And he actually found something.

At first, everything was normal. Walk, avoid dhune attacks, eat the dhune that just attacked you, continue, sleep. But there was a change in his routine. He found a church—or something that resembled one.

Some walls of the building in the middle of nowhere were broken, and the ceiling had partially collapsed. Honestly, he never expected to find one of those churches that worshiped ancient gods. There were three of them in Verdant Requiem, but this place wasn't Verdant Requiem. This was Inksworn Depths.

To explain the situation, we have to go back to the beginning.

Back when humanity first discovered the Undergarden, a race lived in Verdant Requiem—just like in the other regions. They were called the Wiwiel. A very small race, they resembled ants. They protected trees and built their homes around them. They had wooden mechas. Even though their actual size was just a few centimeters, the mechas they built were humanoid robots 3 meters tall. They could produce powerful poisons and healing agents. In general, they combined magic and technology perfectly.

When humanity arrived, most of them were wiped out. Today, it's known that only a single tribe survives in the far south of Verdant Requiem. The rest are extinct. After that, as you know, all other biomes were considered too dangerous to conquer, and humanity continues to work on understanding magic and integrating it into technology, hoping one day to conquer more.

Two things helped humanity survive. One was Bloodline Awakening. In the Undergarden, a person would awaken their bloodline during an emotional surge. After that, to progress, they'd have to kill a dhune or titan—preferably a titan—that matched the nature of their bloodline. Doing so would help them grow. But that's not the point here.

The second thing that helped was the System. Found in only 3 churches in Verdant Requiem, it granted users "key abilities" based on which church they entered. The three abilities were: Basic Healing, Fortification (temporarily strengthens weapons and armor), and Photosynthesis (turns light into nourishment; passive).

Among these, Basic Healing and Photosynthesis were the most sought after. Only those who had awakened their bloodline could enter the churches and receive the system, and the abilities granted resembled those of the local Wiwiel race.

So what kind of key ability would someone get from a church found in the Inksworn Depths? No one knew.

They were called "Key Abilities" because the system itself referred to them that way. All terms—stage, level, bloodline, biome—came from the system.

Yuel was thrilled. He would get a different ability than anyone else. What would it be?

"Yuel, are you serious? Are you actually thinking about this? Of course, it'll be something related to ink, that stuff you love so much and drink every day."

'Null, please. No rambling.'

He entered the church-like structure. It was huge and majestic. There were no carvings on the walls—no historical clues—except one. All the pews faced one direction. The wall motif showed a tree growing from the ceiling and floor, meeting in the middle. Around it were black humanoid figures with tails—clearly not human. Their blackness wasn't due to lack of color—they were from the Troth race. In place of a face, a giant white crystal grew from their foreheads.

"Hmm… Hey Yuel, I think that central thing symbolizes a god. Not just any god—the god of the Undergarden. The one that created it. That tree's more than a symbol, by the way."

'Null, what did I say just now? Shut up.'

Yuel walked toward the motif. As he passed the nearest pew, something happened. He trembled and felt sick. His eyes slowly closed...

When he opened them, he was lying on the ground in front of the motif—limbs spread wide, unconscious.

'Null, what happened while I was out?'

"Not much. You looked like you were possessed. Your mouth kept moving, saying weird magic words. Kind of like how you download stuff with your tech—think of it like that. You said the 'codes' out loud and downloaded the system in a compatible version. And if you're wondering whether I understood, of course I did. That thing was way beneath me. Don't get me wrong—it wasn't a god. Maybe something like an angel. I learned that word from your memories. I browse them sometimes, hope that's okay?"

'Whatever, just shut up. Now… system?'

"Hey!... Hey! System, open! Status window! Stats! Anything, please, just open!"

'Null, help. The system won't open.'

"I'll help—but you can never interrupt me again. You can't call me chatty or tell me to shut up. Agree to that, and I'll tell you. Also, remember—you inherited my bloodline. You have to obey me!"

'Fine, Null, I'm sorry. Don't raise your voice, please—your voice already sounds like a hundred whispers, and when you yell, it gets really scary. So... how do we open the system?'

"Ugh… just say what I tell you to."

"Unlock System."