"Urgh..."

Reiji groaned as he stood up. Everywhere was pitch black, and only the distant voice of Vel yelling could be heard.

"My Lord! My Lord!! I’m falling again!!"

Reiji quickly activated Soul Torture Flame.

The amber light shot out from his palm and illuminated the place.

Reiji was shocked by what he was seeing.

This place was far from what he had imagined.

’Where the hell am I?’

The place was double the size of the grand hall. Not only that, huge stone statues of people clad in armor lined the hall like pillars.

At the far end of the hall sat a huge stone statue of a man dressed in a long robe sitting on a throne. It was the only statue that wasn’t depicted wearing armor.

At the center of the room was a huge altar with runic markings carved along its surface.

Everything looked surreal.

"My Lord!!"

Vel’s scream suddenly snapped Reiji out of his daze.

He immediately turned toward the source of the voice.

"..."

Reiji blinked.

Vel wasn’t falling.

At least... not really.

The chubby cat was suspended in midair.

Beneath him was a strange circular object made of stone and covered in runes.

The object kept rotating slowly.

Every time it completed a rotation, space around Vel twisted.

For a brief moment, it looked as though the cat was falling into an endless abyss.

Then the space would snap back.

Then he would fall again.

And again.

"My Lord! Save me! I’m falling! My Lord, meow!!"

Reiji stared at him.

"You’re not falling."

"I am, meow!"

"No, you’re not."

"I can see the ground getting closer, meow!"

"Then why haven’t you hit it?"

Vel froze, the cat looked down, then up, then down again.

His eyes widened.

"Meow?"

The strange platform rotated once more, the space around him distorted.

"My Lord! I’m falling again, meow!!"

Reiji pinched the bridge of his nose.

"You idiot."

He walked over and grabbed Vel by the scruff of his neck.

The moment Vel left the platform, the strange distortion disappeared. The spinning stone disk slowly came to a stop.

Reiji stared at it. ’What the hell is this thing?’

The stone disk was covered in ancient runes similar to those carved into the altar.

It didn’t look like a trap, and at the same time it looked like some sort of device.

The more Reiji looked around, the more he felt something was definitely wrong with this place. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"My Lord, where are we, meow?"

"I don’t know..." Reiji admitted as he walked towards one of the statues.

"I think we should leave..."

"Agreed, meow."

Reiji looked around in confusion.

"Where is the door?"

’Come to think of it, we didn’t come in through a door but rather we were sucked in.’

He thought quietly.

’My Lord, I have a strange feeling...’

’You always feel strange.’

’No, this one is different.’

’So what is the strange feeling?’

’It’s about these statues, My Lord. It feels as if they are watching us. No, no, it feels as if they are alive.’

Reiji stared intently at the statues.

But he wasn’t having the same feeling as Vel.

’Relax, furball. It’s just your imagina-’

Ding!

[Welcome Host! To The Grand Hall which holds the Legend of Latum.]

[Host does not meet the minimum requirements.]

[Minimum Requirement: Level 30.]

[Do you wish to bypass the protocol and accept Quest? [Y/N]]

’Huh?’

Reiji stared at the system interface in front of him.

’The Grand Hall which holds the Legend of Latum?’

Reiji looked at the giant statues around the hall and suddenly a bad feeling crept over him.

’No.’

Reiji declined.

Even a normal person would know that a Level 8 or E-Rank attempting a Level 30 or A-Rank quest was more of a death wish than a quest.

Ding!

[You have withheld the current Quest.]

[Tch...]

’Huh?’

Reiji could have sworn he heard someone scoffing at him.

He looked at Vel, who was busy staring at the statues in fear, and knew it wasn’t from him.

’Maybe I’m imagining things.’

Ding!

[Opening the door. Please stand back, Host...]

’What? I didn’t tell you to bring the door...’

Ding!

[You rejected bypassing the protocol to proceed with the quest, thereby forfeiting it, so you can no longer remain here. ತ_ತ]

The black door materialized in front of them.

Vel saw this and breathed a sigh of relief.

He was finally getting out of this place.

’Wait, why can’t I?’

[Host does not meet the minimum requirements.]

[Minimum Requirement: Level 30.]

"..."

Reiji stared at the system with nothing to say.

’...The door is to take us back to my Palace Grand Hall or outside this place?’

Reiji asked as he walked forward.

Ding!

[Home.]

’Home?’

Reiji asked as he walked through the door.

BOOM!

The door closed and vanished as if it had never existed.

The grand hall returned to its silence once more.

At that moment, a barely noticeable light flashed across the giant stone statue seated on the throne.

***

Reiji stepped through the door and felt the familiar sensation of space twisting around him.

The next moment, his feet touched solid ground.

The familiar sight of his bedroom entered his vision. His bed, his desk, the window, everything was exactly where it should be.

Beside him, Vel tumbled onto the floor.

"We’re back."

The chubby cat immediately hugged the floor.

Reiji ignored him.

His mind was still occupied by the strange hall, the giant statues, and the mysterious name.

Latum.

He had never heard of it before.

Not once.

Yet for some reason, the name lingered in his mind.

Ding!

A green screen suddenly appeared in front of him.

Reiji glanced at it.

Ding!

[Dominion Bond System is currently dissatisfied with Host.]

"..."

Reiji frowned.

"What?"

Ding!

[Host rejected a high-value quest.]

[Dominion Bond System is disappointed.]

"...What are you, my mother?"

Ding!

[No.]

[Mother would be far more disappointed.]

Reiji stared at the screen.

For some reason, he felt insulted.

Vel looked at him.

"Is anything the problem, My Lord, meow?"

"Nothing."

Ding!

[As punishment for Host’s cowardice...]

"Excuse me?"

[Daily Quest has been updated.]

A new screen appeared.

Ding!

_____

[Daily Quest: Training For Dominion]

[PUSH-UPS] – [0/100] {Incomplete}

[SQUATS] – [0/100] {Incomplete}

[SIT-UPS] – [0/100] {Incomplete}

[RUNNING] – [0/20KM] {Incomplete}

[Bonus Objective: Wear Mana Suppression Weights for 24 Hours.]

[Reward: +20 Xcoins, +10 Strength, +10 Stamina.]

[Failure: Soul Torture Chamber (SS+++)]

_____

Reiji’s eyelid twitched.

"What kind of punishment is this?"

Ding!

[Host should be grateful.]

[This system is helping Host become stronger.]

Ding!

[Unlike certain Hosts who reject rare opportunities.]

"Tch."

The requirement was Level 30, which was A-Rank, and Reiji was only at the peak of E-Rank.

So how was he supposed to complete a quest that might kill him?

Besides, the system never even stated the quest objectives.

Reiji suddenly felt something heavy appear around his wrists.

CLANK.

Then his ankles.

CLANK.

Reiji looked down.

Dark metallic weights had appeared around both his wrists and ankles.

His body immediately felt several times heavier.

Reiji instantly dropped to the floor. They didn’t feel like ordinary weights. It felt as if he was carrying a mountain. Not only that, he felt as though the flow of mana throughout his body was being restricted.

"System... What the hell is this?"

Ding!

[Mana Suppression Weights.]

[Courtesy of System.]

[You are welcome.]

Reiji slowly clenched his fist.

The weights weren’t simply heavy.

They were actively suppressing the flow of mana throughout his body.

"My Lord."

Vel stared at the weights.

"Did you get cursed, meow?"

Reiji glared at him.

"Do I look cursed?"

Vel looked at the weights.

Then at Reiji.

Then at the weights again.

"...A little, meow."

Reiji resisted the urge to kick him, but couldn’t because of the weight.

Even trying to get up was a problem.

Ding!

[Reminder.]

[Failure to complete the Daily Quest will result in Host spending an unknown amount of time in the SSS+++ Soul Torture Chamber.]

"Wait, wasn’t it SS+++ just now?!"

Ding!

[Good luck, Host.]

The screen vanished.

Silence returned to the room.

Reiji crawled over to the bed and climbed onto it. He just lay there staring at the ceiling. Then he let out a long sigh.

"...Fine."

The mysterious hall wasn’t going anywhere, the giant statues weren’t going anywhere, and whatever Latum was, it would still be there tomorrow.

For now, he had a stupid daily quest to complete. And apparently an even stupider system that had decided to hold a grudge.

_______

[Updated!]

Mass Release at the End of This Month!

A total of 15 Chapters will be released at month-end.

For every Super Gift, I’ll add 3 bonus Chapters to the release.

1 Super Gift → 18 Chapters total

3 Super Gifts → 25 Chapters total (+1)

10 Super Gifts → 50 Chapters total (+5)

The more Super Gifts received, the more Chapters you’ll get!

________

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