The sudden scream of course startled Xylander. Without doing anything else, he immediately rushed out of his room.
For some reason, his steps spontaneously carried him out of the room to find out what was actually happening, as if he were acting on instinct.
Even though from the start, he had rebelled completely against being transported into the game, whose rules he clearly had yet to understand.
He didn't know why. What was clear, however, was that at that moment, Xylander felt his body move with a mind of its own, as if controlled by someone else.
Then, when he reached the balcony in the room, he could no longer hold back and widened his eyes. How could he not? Below, on the ground floor, monsters were fighting each other, some of which Xylander recognized as his own forces.
"God, who are they? How could they attack this castle? What's going on?" Xylander kept thinking over and over in his head.
Soon, he let out a quiet sigh. He started to feel uneasy, perhaps because he realized that this was no longer just a game. Who knew what would happen if he were truly killed here?
"I haven't even been here for a full day, and I'm already facing a life-threatening situation. How am I supposed to know what they want? I can't even access the previous owner's memories," Xylander complained. He kept pacing back and forth, occasionally biting his fingers while glancing anxiously at the battle below—the clanging of swords striking each other grating on his ears.
"Isn't this all pointless? I may be equipped with considerable power, but what good is it if I don't know anything!" Xylander grew frustrated.
So, without thinking further, he started walking down the stairs one by one. Whatever was on his mind, it was clear he was just following wherever his feet led him.
But at that exact moment, his movement stopped as he felt his hand being gripped by someone. When he turned around, he found Isaac holding his hand, seemingly preventing him from approaching the battlefield.
"My Lord, your current condition is still unstable. You should leave here and focus on your recovery. Do not worry, Isaac and the others will successfully defend Vermilion Spire," Isaac said.
The monster, taller than him by half a meter, looked at him anxiously. Though Isaac was not human—and his face was entirely a tree trunk with three eyes and a mouth—Xylander still understood his language, gestures, and body expressions.
Xylander even realized that Isaac was a male monster. Despite what everyone saw, Isaac clearly had no genitalia.
Ah, Xylander must be going crazy!
"Come on!"
Xylander snapped out of his daze when Isaac successfully pulled his hand back up to the upper floor. But throughout the journey, Xylander remained silent, trying to process everything. "Who are they? And why are they attacking our Dungeon?"
Alright, this time Xylander felt he was composed enough to act and speak as he should—the ruler of the Chaos Dungeon.
After all, the reality now was that he was the owner of this place. So it was only natural to get used to it, wasn't it?
At first, Isaac didn't respond. The monster continued leading Xylander to what seemed a safe place. When they reached a dark corridor, Isaac finally stopped.
With his branch-like hand, Isaac touched a wall in front of them—which turned out to be a door. Xylander was honestly surprised to see it. He had often encountered secret doors like this before.
But this time was different. Their positions were not the same either.
Starting with Isaac opening the door, and then the monster leading Xylander inside, after which the door closed again, blending seamlessly with the wall, Xylander could only watch every movement without daring to ask anything.
It was only when they arrived at a place with an altar in the center that Isaac finally stopped walking. He looked at Xylander with sincere eyes. "My Lord, we have arrived. Hide here, while I go down and take care of everything. I promise no one will dare to harm you."
After bidding farewell, Isaac turned to return to the battlefield. But before that, Xylander had already stopped one of Isaac's hands, causing the monster to halt and turn back.
"Who are they really? What mistake did I make for them to come and start a war?" Xylander asked Isaac seriously, hoping for the answer he wanted to hear.
Xylander was not lying when he said he had completed the game 117 times. But in all that time, he had never faced a Fire Golem like the one he had just seen.
Had he missed something? Or had the game already changed?
Or worse, could it be that this was only a similar game but not the same?
He didn't know. Xylander felt a headache thinking about all of it. He even felt he didn't have enough time to figure everything out. So he could only wait for Isaac's answer, who now stared at him with—pity?
Hey, wait! Why did Isaac have to look at him that way? Why did Isaac have to feel pity and sympathy for him?
"It seems you really have forgotten everything, My Lord," Isaac said with a sad expression and bowed head.
"Wait. How could he say that?" Xylander muttered in his mind while scrutinizing Isaac from head to toe. "Does he know I lost my memories? Or does he know that I am just a stranger who happened to occupy my Master's body?"
At first, Xylander's mind had been filled with fear and unease that was unproven. Then Isaac took a deep breath and gestured for Xylander to sit on a stone chair nearby.
"My Lord, we also didn't really know what happened to you before this. But some time ago, we found your body lying at the border of the Creation Dungeon. Your body was buried, and your breath was gone. We had almost lost hope for your recovery. But somehow, by some miracle, you suddenly regained consciousness," Isaac explained.
From his tone, Xylander found no trace of lies. Then he furrowed his brow as he realized something strange. "If I had been asleep for that long, why was your response so normal? And why was there no one beside me except you? Didn't they care about me? Or did they betray me?"
Isaac did not answer immediately. Sitting next to Xylander, he gazed at him with a deep look that could not be explained. "Because we had no choice."
"Huh?"
"When you were on the brink of life and death, your power remained intact. You were still our Master who had lived with us for thousands of years. But on the other hand, we did not want to see you just lying there helplessly in bed. We needed you to return and lead us, My Lord."
"But we were also powerless. We knew that when you regained full consciousness and recovered like this, half of your power would also vanish." He paused, staring directly into Xylander's blue and red eyes. "Including your memories."
"So when you woke up, I felt both relief and despair. I asked myself if you had forgotten me when you woke, and the answer was something I did not want to hear. You really had forgotten me, forgotten us. Though your body was here with us, we did not feel your soul was present, My Lord. I tried to deny it, thinking it must have been just a hallucination caused by my worry for you. But when I realized it was true, I did not know what to do. I did not even know how to react."
"Among all your subordinates, only I tried to stay by your side. Not because I was the most loyal, but because they believed I was the strongest to witness your worst condition."
Through that explanation, Xylander could feel the grief and loss Isaac had endured. This was just one person's pain—how much greater would it be if many others shared it?
And this time, Xylander could not speak. He was not sad, but he did not feel any other emotion either. Xylander felt empty, truly empty. He had never felt this before.
"So, how could I be at odds with the people outside? Could it have something to do with me being found at the border of the Creation Dungeon?"
There were so many questions in Xylander's mind that, in the end, only that sentence could escape his lips.
Isaac's gaze suddenly straightened forward. His eyes seemed empty, though Xylander was unsure if someone like Isaac could stare blankly like a human.
"At that time…"
80 years ago...
"You should try again next time, before deciding to face me, pathetic human!"
That sentence was spoken softly, without the slightest hint of a raised tone. Yet, that was exactly what made it sound terrifying and intimidating at the same time.
The voice came from a man with messy gray hair reaching his neck, and eyes completely black from edge to edge. Who else could it be but Xylander, the ruler of the Chaos Dungeon?
The man sat proudly upon his grand throne, whose very structure was irregular and chaotic. The throne itself floated in the air, along with other objects around it.
Meanwhile, before him knelt a warrior who looked to be in his early twenties. Yes, that young man was indeed a challenger—too young, perhaps—to have entered one of the seven Rank X Dungeons.
The young man did not kneel out of will. Rather, it was Xylander who had just defeated him with a power almost invincible to any challenger.
"Now go back and start your struggle from zero again. Once you are worthy, you may return here and fight once more to defeat me. Or at least, survive a single one of my attacks," Xylander said again.
His tone truly echoed. Yet, the young man knew he was not in an empty room that could reflect sound.
But somehow, Xylander's voice pierced through him sharply. And what made it worse—Xylander had never smiled or shown any expression at all. No challenger had ever succeeded in seeing even the slightest trace of emotion on his face.
"Cough! Cough!" The young man coughed as he tried to stand slowly.
Once he managed to rise, he looked up at Xylander, who was still floating in the air. "No. I won't leave. I haven't admitted defeat yet. And before that, I just want to show them that I can defeat you."
The atmosphere fell silent for a moment. No one dared to speak. Until Xylander finally broke the silence. "What do you want to prove? That you are stronger than me?"
The young man—whose name was Orion—shook his head firmly. Ignoring the pain that had been spreading throughout his body, he walked forward until he was nearly level with Xylander's throne above.
"I just want everyone to know that strength is never more important than intelligence."
"So, you think strength doesn't matter?"
Without waiting any longer, Xylander raised one of his hands forward and uttered, "Giant's Wrap!"
[- 50 MP]
A giant hand descended from the sky—its source unknown—and landed directly on Orion's body. His body, already weak, collapsed helplessly to the ground.
[Hit! 2,300 damage!]
The young man was almost out of breath. No, not almost—he could no longer draw oxygen at all. Within seconds, his body dissolved into tiny specks of light that merged with the wind and carried him away.
Seeing that, the corner of Xylander's lips lifted slightly. No one but himself would ever know that it was a smile.
Moments later, the throne that had been floating in the air slowly descended, returning to its original place. Even the objects that had been floating and displaced returned to their rightful positions, as if by magic.
In an instant, the vast and darkly majestic hall became tidy and elegant once more. As if nothing had ever changed.
But it only lasted briefly before the grand door of the hall was forcefully opened.
Seeing that, Xylander merely moved his fingers over the armrest of his throne. His face and posture remained calm, even as a giant man with bulging muscles and a bald head stood before him—staring at him in anger.
"Waiting for challengers to endure your attacks—isn't that too much? If your rules stay like that, it's impossible for any challenger to advance to the next Dungeon!"
There was no gentleness in his tone. Xylander wasn't gentle either, but at least he spoke calmly and softly. This man, however, spoke harshly and fiercely.
He truly reflected the appearance of a Fire Golem—only with far less fire than the real thing.
"This is my domain, which means these are my rules. Does that bother you?" Once again, Xylander remained calm. He ignored the man before him, whose face had been hostile since the moment he arrived.
The bald man clenched his fists tightly, making the flames within his body blaze even brighter. "Because of your unclear rules, all the Dungeons are falling into imbalance!"
"You are from the Dungeon of Destruction. Balance or order shouldn't be your concern. You and I are the same. Your purpose is to destroy, while mine is to cause chaos. So it would be better for you to stay on your own path—and not try to step out of it."
"Then let's duel. Whoever wins will set the rules for both Dungeons at once."
The movement of Xylander's fingers on his throne stopped. He straightened his posture, though his expression remained unchanged. "Are you challenging me truly for the sake of the other Dungeons, or merely for your own selfish reasons? Are you jealous of me just because I stand above you, even though our purposes both defy righteousness?"