Chapter 4 Become The Dungeon Core
Vaelith’s POV
The glowing crimson words hovered before my eyes like a death sentence.
My breathing turned uneven.
“What…?”
The undead knight tightened its grip around its sword.
“They are getting closer.”
I barely heard him. My attention remained fixed on the system screen burning before my eyes.
Become the Dungeon Core? No. Absolutely not.
I looked up sharply. “What happens if I refuse?”
The knight’s crimson eyes settled on me silently.
“You die.”
Rage flickered inside my chest.
“Then stop this assimilation!”
“The process cannot be stopped.”
Another pulse of agony exploded through my body.
“AAARGH!”
I collapsed onto one knee again while crimson markings spread farther across my skin like veins of fire.
The system flashed.
[Integration: 47%]
[Human Vessel Nearing Collapse]
Blood dripped from my lips onto the stone floor.
Damn it…
I could feel my body changing.
Mana surged violently beneath my skin, burning through my veins like molten metal. Even my heartbeat sounded strange now. Slower. Heavier.
Not entirely human anymore.
The undead knight stepped toward me.
“If the integration remains incomplete, both you and the core will perish.”
I glared at him coldly. “You seem very eager to turn me into a monster.”
The knight stared at me for several seconds before speaking.
“Monsters.”
Its hollow voice echoed across the chamber.
“That is what humanity named us before slaughtering us.”
Silence followed. For some reason… I couldn’t answer. Because after what Seredin and the others had done…
Humans no longer sounded much better.
Another explosion thundered above us.
This time, I heard voices clearly.
“They came this way!”
“Search below!”
Gareth.
My grip tightened instinctively. The bastard came back. To make sure I was dead.
The undead knight turned toward the staircase leading upward.
“You no longer possess enough strength to fight them.”
“I know.”
Frustration burned through me.
If this had happened a day ago, Gareth alone wouldn’t have been enough to kill me.
But now?
My body was barely functioning.
The system flashed again.
[Host Vitality Falling]
[Warning: Death Probability Increasing]
I clenched my jaw.
Think. There had to be another way.
“There’s no alternative?” I asked sharply.
The knight shook its head slowly.
“The Dungeon Core requires a vessel.”
“And I’m somehow compatible.”
“You are more than compatible.”
Its crimson eyes locked onto mine.
“You carry the Monarch’s mark.”
Again with that damned mark.
“What does that even mean?”
The knight remained silent briefly before answering.
“The first Dungeon Monarch possessed the ability to create balance between surface and abyss. His bloodline vanished centuries ago after humanity destroyed the underground kingdoms.”
Its voice grew heavier.
“But fragments of that blood survived.”
Cold realization crept through me slowly.
“You think I’m his descendant.”
“No.”
The knight’s answer came immediately.
“We know.”
The chamber suddenly felt colder.
Impossible. I was human. I’d lived my entire life as one. Fought for humanity. Bled for humanity.
And now I was being told I belonged to the very race humanity feared most?
A bitter laugh escaped my lips.
“…What a joke.”
Maybe Seredin would’ve laughed too.
Maybe that was why the Holy Dominion feared me. Not because of my intelligence.
But because they already knew.
The system pulsed again.
[Integration: 61%]
Pain surged violently through my chest.
I gritted my teeth hard enough to nearly crack them.
“Make your decision,” the knight said quietly.
“They’re almost here.”
I stared at the massive crystal floating at the center of the chamber.
If I accepted… What would remain of me?
Would I still be Vaelith Drakar?
Or would I become another mindless creature buried beneath this dungeon?
And if I refused… I’d die. Just like Seredin intended. No revenge. No answers.
My hands slowly clenched into fists.
Damn them. Damn every single one of them. The nobles. The Holy Dominion. Seredin. Gareth.
I spent my entire life protecting people who threw me away the moment I became inconvenient.
And now they were coming back to erase every trace of my existence.
Rage twisted violently inside me.
The system flashed again.
[Accept Integration?]
[YES / NO]
Footsteps echoed from the staircase above. Then Gareth’s voice rang through the chamber.
“There!”
The bastard finally appeared at the entrance alongside several surviving adventurers.
The moment Gareth saw me kneeling before the massive crystal, his expression changed instantly.
“My gods…” one adventurer whispered.
“A Dungeon Core…”
Even Seredin stepped into the chamber moments later, his usually calm face finally revealing genuine surprise.
“So it was true,” he murmured.
Our eyes met across the chamber. For the first time since the betrayal… I saw unease in his expression.
Seredin slowly stepped forward. “Vaelith.”
I said nothing.
His gaze shifted toward the crystal behind me.
“You’ve exceeded my expectations once again.”
Gareth immediately raised his sword. “Forget talking! Kill him before he does something!”
“Wait,” Seredin ordered sharply.
The knight reluctantly stopped. Seredin’s attention returned to me calmly.
“You’re integrating with the core.”
Not a question. A realization.
I laughed weakly despite the pain tearing through my body.
“Looks like your execution failed.”
“For now.”
Golden mana slowly gathered around Seredin’s hand. The pressure alone made the chamber tremble faintly.
The undead knight stepped protectively in front of me immediately.
Seredin’s gaze narrowed slightly. “An Abyss Guardian…”
Then his expression darkened.
“So the prophecy was real after all.”
My eyes narrowed.
“Prophecy?”
“You were never meant to enter this dungeon by coincidence, Vaelith.” His voice became colder. “The Holy Dominion has searched for the last core for centuries.”
Cold realization hit me instantly. This raid… The betrayal… It was planned long before today.
“You used me,” I said quietly.
Seredin didn’t deny it.
“You were the only one intelligent enough to uncover the hidden chamber.”
Rage surged through me violently.
Gareth smirked. “Be useful one last time and die already.”
The system flashed again.
[Integration: 74%]
My vision blurred harder. I was running out of time.
Seredin raised his glowing hand slowly.
“Step away from the core, Vaelith.”
I stared at him coldly. “And let you destroy it?”
“Yes.”
The answer came without hesitation. The undead knight suddenly lifted its sword.
Crimson mana exploded through the chamber instantly.
The adventurers stumbled backward in fear. Seredin’s holy aura clashed violently against the crimson energy filling the room.
BOOOOOOM!
The entire chamber shook. The knight spoke coldly.
“The Monarch shall rise again.”
Gareth charged first.
“SHUT UP!”
His massive sword crashed downward toward the undead guardian.
CLANG!
The collision exploded with enough force to crack the floor. The chamber erupted into battle instantly.
Adventurers attacked the guardian while Seredin advanced directly toward me through the chaos. My body refused to move properly.
Damn it!
Seredin stopped only a few feet away.
Golden light illuminated his face.
“You still have a choice,” he said calmly.
“Join the Holy Dominion.”
I froze slightly.
What?
“You possess abilities too dangerous to waste.” His eyes narrowed. “Accept our control, and you may live.”
I almost laughed. Even now… He still wanted to control me.
“You murdered me already,” I said quietly.
Seredin’s expression remained emotionless.
“A necessary sacrifice.”
Something inside me finally snapped.
Pure hatred.
The system screen appeared again.
[Accept Integrat
ion?]
My silver eyes locked onto Seredin’s cold gaze. Then slowly… I smiled.
“Go to hell.”
Seredin’s expression changed instantly.
I selected…
[YES]
The Dungeon Core exploded with crimson light. And the moment the energy swallowed my body whole, I heard the system announce…
[Congratulations.]
[You Have Become The Last Dungeon Core.]
