CHAPTER 10 — “What I Become” #3
“Johnson. The Crystal Prison ability. What happens if it tries to use it on something that’s already crystalline?”
I don’t— He pauses. You’re not thinking what I think you’re thinking.
“I’m absolutely thinking what you think I’m thinking.”
That’s insane.
“That’s the theme of today.”
I reach into my pouch and pull out the crystal shards I’ve been collecting all floor. Six of them, sharp and gleaming, humming with residual mana.
Then I start arranging them around my body.
Velthar, if this doesn’t work—
“Then I’ll be a very pretty statue. Now help me position these.”
The Core finishes its growth cycle.
It’s massive now—bigger than me, bigger than Johnson, a sphere of pure crystalline malevolence that fills the center of the room. Its colors have shifted to something darker, angrier. And its attention is fixed entirely on me.
I’m standing in the middle of the chamber, surrounded by a circle of crystal shards I’ve arranged in a very specific pattern. A pattern I remember from somewhere deep in my fragmented memories—a containment matrix, designed to redirect crystallization effects.
The Core charges its [Crystal Prison] ability.
I see the attack coming—a wave of crystalline energy, designed to encase me, trap me, turn me into a permanent part of this beautiful nightmare.
It hits.
The shards around me resonate.
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│ CONTAINMENT MATRIX --- ACTIVATED │├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤│ Effect: \[Crystal Prison\] redirected ││ New Target: Point of origin (Resonance Core) ││ ││ Feedback loop established.
││ Core attempting to crystallize self. ││ Structural integrity: FAILING ││ ││ "You just made the boss attack itself.
││ That's either genius or complete bullshit.
││ The System can't decide which." │└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
The Core screams.
It’s an awful sound—harmonics clashing, frequencies warping, a song that was once beautiful becoming discordant and wrong. The crystalline surface that was expanding is now contracting, collapsing, eating itself from the inside.
Cracks spread across its surface.
I watch, exhausted, as the Resonance Core—the boss that the System couldn’t figure out how to beat—destroys itself with its own power.
It takes thirty seconds.
When it’s done, there’s nothing left but a small, dark gem where the center of the Core used to be. And silence. Beautiful, perfect silence.
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│ FLOOR BOSS DEFEATED ││ \[Resonance Core\] --- Level 15 │├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤│ XP Gained: 800 ││ Bonus XP: Solo clear (+50%) ││ Bonus XP: Underleveled challenger (+150%) ││ Bonus XP: Creative solution (+100%) ││ Bonus XP: Used Architect authority (+50%) ││ Total XP: 2,800 ││ ││ LEVEL UP!
││ Level 12 → Level 15 ││ ││ HP: 200 → 260 (+60) ││ MP: 95 → 130 (+35) ││ STR: 22 → 28 (+6) ││ AGI: 24 → 30 (+6) ││ INT: 32 → 40 (+8) ││ WIS: 34 → 42 (+8) ││ DEX: 25 → 31 (+6) ││ LCK: 10 → 13 (+3) ││ ││ NEW SKILL UNLOCKED: \[Architect's Authority\] Lv.
1││ --- Command constructs within your dungeon ││ --- Reduce boss difficulty (limited uses) ││ --- Access sealed areas more easily ││ --- Cooldown: Varies by target ││ ││ CLASS EVOLUTION AVAILABLE ││ ││ TRAIT UPDATE: \[Fragmented Soul\] ││ --- Recovery rate: 7.
2% → 11.8% ││ --- Current recovered: 18.
6% ││ ││ ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: \[Dungeon Master\] ││ --- Cleared 5 floors of personal dungeon solo ││ --- Bonus: +5% XP in this dungeon permanently ││ ││ "Three levels.
A new skill. Another class ││ evolution option.
And you didn't die again. ││ At this point, the System is genuinely ││ impressed with your stubborn refusal to ││ accept probability.
" │└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Three levels.
Eighteen percent recovered.
And another class evolution.
I sink to the floor, legs finally giving out, and just… exist for a moment. The crystal walls shimmer around me. Johnson hops over, settles against my leg, and we sit in the ruins of a boss that was supposed to be unbeatable.
You did it, he says quietly. Five floors. Halfway to the vault.
“Halfway.”
The village is going to be safer. The spawn rate should drop significantly with five floors cleared.
“Good.”
You should feel good about that.
“I will. Later. Right now I’m too tired to feel anything.”
Johnson is quiet for a moment.
There’s another class evolution, he observes. That’s significant. You’ve crossed some kind of threshold.
“I noticed.”
Are you going to look at the options?
I should. I know I should. But my brain is mush, my body is broken, and the thought of making another life-altering decision right now makes me want to cry.
“Tomorrow.”
Tomorrow?
“I need to get back to the surface. Eat something. Sleep for about a week.” I force myself to my feet, swaying slightly. “The evolution can wait until I can think straight.”
That might be the first sensible thing you’ve said all day.
“Don’t get used to it.”
I pick up the dark gem from the Core’s remains—the System identifies it as a [Resonance Heart], extremely rare, capable of powering advanced magical constructs—and pocket it. Then I start the long walk back to the surface.