WorldCrafter - Building My Underground Kingdom

Ben groaned, rubbing his temples. "Okay, maybe it was a bad idea."

"Oh, you think?" the system snapped, voice crackling like static thunder. "Next time, why don't you eat poison? Or maybe another daemon while you're at it!"

"I mean… I think I'm immune to poison."

There was a pause. A long, disappointed pause. "Do you hear yourself? That's your takeaway? You're unbelievably reckless!

There are things in this world that make even a system worthless. This isn't some cheat code that guarantees victory. It's a crutch, an early boost, nothing more."

The knight's armor split further, cracks webbing down its limbs. Then, softer, it sighed. "I'll make this quick. I don't have much time before I return to slumber."

Ben perked up his ears making sure he won't miss any word. He could tell the sytem doesn't have long, and he's kinda the one that cause it.

"First," the system began, "you're only alive because of the aether I absorbed earlier. Without it, I wouldn't have had the strength to banish that fragment of a daemon."

Ben's brow furrowed. "That thing was only a fragment?"

"Yes. Its name was Jörmungandr. What you fought was barely one percent of its full power."

Ben gawked. "One percent?!"

"And you've only tapped five percent of your artifact's potential," the system added dryly.

"That doesn't make me feel any better."

"I'm not here to make you feel better. I'm here to keep you alive. Listen to me, host, your reckless move didn't just nearly kill you.

It lit a beacon. You've already skipped ahead of the expected progression. They've noticed. And now they'll come."

Ben's mouth tightened.

The knight's form flickered. Its voice was growing faint, distant. "Let me explain what your enemies really are. We were created to fight the daemons. But even our creators… couldn't truly defeat them. Even the Gods Failed…"

Ben frowned. "What do you mean?"

"The gods of this world couldn't stand against the daemons. When they rose in the third epoch… the gods had to intervene. And they died for it."

Ben went still. "Wait… this world had gods?"

"Had," the system confirmed. "They watched from afar, never interfering. But the daemons grew so strong they had no choice. They stepped in… and they fell."

Ben's throat felt dry. "But the daemons were sealed, right? Or wiped out?"

"Most were. Some were dissected, their parts used by fools trying to wield forbidden power. But one daemon survived. Or rather… escaped."

The knight's voice was barely a whisper now.

"The strongest of them all. It's been hiding. Waiting. Gathering strength. And when it returns… not one will be able to stop it."

The knight turned slightly, and Ben could see the cracks now reached its face. Its red eyes dimmed. "And you, host… are now on its radar."

Ben's eyes narrowed. This was bad, really bad. The strongest daemon hadn't been killed. It had been waiting.

If Elvira's timeline was right, that meant it had at least 156 years to recover, grow, evolve. Whatever wounds it once had were probably long gone. And now… it was preparing for revenge.

"So," Ben muttered, voice low, "what do you suggest?"

The knight's voice echoed faintly, already beginning to fade. "Become stronger. With the pickaxe current grade, you should be able to unlock up to sixty percent of its potential."

Ben's brows drew together. "That much? Than why don't get more skill?"

"Unfortunately," the system said, weariness seeping into its tone, "since I'm entering hibernation again… the interface won't work properly. No instant skill unlocks. No new functions. If you want power, you'll have to find it yourself."

Ben frowned, lips tightening. "You can't give me any guidance?"

The knight's broken frame tilted slightly. "Think about your ability, Blockify. Think about the form of your weapon. Everything you need is already in your hands. It's not that I'm trying to be cryptic… there's just not enough time left."

His body cracked one last time, fractures widening across every joint. Mana bled from the seams like starlight.

A final wisp of light drifted toward Ben. It hovered, then whispered its last words, "The Magus is still alive. Barely. You need to finish him. And I need more aether… a lot of it, if I'm ever going to wake up again."

And then the knight was gone.

The haze lifted. The battlefield faded, and Ben stood once more in his ruined base. Everything hit him at once, his aching limbs, the pulsing wound in his side, the taste of ash in his mouth. But more than pain, what welled inside him was frustration.

"I was just a damn construction worker…" he muttered, eyes narrowing. "And now I'm supposed to fight monsters that can kill gods? What kind of joke is this?"

He looked up, locking eyes with the Magus.

The bastard had reverted to his original body, frail, beaten, nearly hollowed out. But those eyes still burned with a fierce light.

Sparks of violet lightning crackling along his shoulders. His hand trembled as it gripped the relic-ring, the only thing keeping him alive.

Ben's teeth clenched. "This is all because of you," he growled. "You and your twisted experiments. You couldn't leave well enough alone, you had to play with daemon fire."

The ground trembled beneath them. More of the white lava seeped up through the cracks, hissing against the stone, heat warping the air.

The Magus didn't answer. His breath came ragged. But inside, he wasn't done.

He touched the ring. Desperation flared. 'If only the relic had been finished… 'If he had just a little more time, a little more power,this battle would've ended differently. He could've crushed the traveler, taken his essence, and returned in triumph.

He closed his eyes for a second.

A memory flashed. A soft voice. A laugh. A young girl's smile, the only family he had left. His sister, still waiting for him, believing in him. He couldn't die here. Not yet.

'No matter what.'

But Ben didn't know any of that. And even if he did, he wouldn't care.

"Do you think I asked for this?" he spat. "You think I wanted to be dragged into some cosmic war with your monsters and ancient relics? You think I wanted to carry all this?"