2026-07-18 09:19:17The night sky above the Aethelgard Magic Academy was no longer black. It had bruised—a swollen, throbbing purple that beat in sync with Aster’s heart, which felt ready to explode.
Aster ran. Their lungs burned like embers, their feet stumbling over magical tree roots protruding from the alleyways behind the academy. Behind them, deep in the old winery district, a pillar of violet light still pierced the clouds, swirling like a giant drill boring into reality. It wasn't fireworks. It wasn't a New Year's party. It was the Abyss Beacon.
And Aster Vale, a junk dealer who just wanted to sell some used toothpaste, was the one who had just triggered it.
"Pick up the pace, Master! The Magic Tower’s security perimeter will be active in three minutes!" Kaelen shouted from behind. The young man didn't sound tired at all. Instead of panic, Kaelen's voice vibrated with a tone suspiciously like... excitement?
"Don't... call... me Master!" Aster gasped, wiping away the cold sweat that stung their eyes. "And stop running like we’re out for a morning jog! We just triggered the apocalypse, Kaelen! The apocalypse!"
They took a sharp turn into a narrow alley between two abandoned dorm buildings, seeking cover from the aerial patrols that had undoubtedly already been deployed. Aster slumped against the damp stone wall, their legs feeling as though their bones had turned to jelly. They took a ragged breath, trying to calm a heartbeat that felt like the war drums of a barbarian tribe.
But calm was impossible. Because right before their eyes, a semitransparent blue screen—visible only to them—was glitching.
[SYSTEM ERROR: CRITICAL TIME ANOMALY DETECTED]
[CAUSALITY ANALYSIS: 'DRAGON WHITENING' TOOTHPASTE INTERACTED WITH ABYSS PARASITE HOST.]
[RESULT: TOTAL PURGE. PARASITE DEAD. HOST (VANCE) EXPERIENCING SPIRITUAL ANAPHYLACTIC SHOCK.]
[SIDE EFFECT: MANTIC PARASITE DEATH TRIGGERED EMERGENCY BEACON TO ORIGIN DIMENSION.]
Aster gulped, the taste bitter as bile. "Damn it, damn it, damn it," they muttered, clutching their own hair. "I just wanted to make Vance’s teeth white so he could give a sweet smile to the Board of Directors. Why is the side effect a longdistance call to hell?!"
The system screen flickered again, this time a painful, bloodred.
[WARNING: 'ABYSS WAVE' SCENARIO (CHAPTER 50 EVENT) HAS BEEN FORCIBLY TRIGGERED.]
[ESTIMATED ARRIVAL OF ABYSS FORCES: 71 HOURS 59 MINUTES 42 SECONDS.]
[WORLD STATUS: PANIC. WORLD LAWS ARE ATTEMPTING TO REPAIR BUG... FAILED. REPAIRING... FAILED.]
[SYSTEM SUGGESTION: RUN. OR WRITE A WILL.]
"Seventytwo hours..." Aster whispered, eyes wide as they stared at the digital numbers counting down in their vision. "Three days. I have three days before this world gets eaten by monsters from another dimension. Three days! I haven't even finished paying off the pressure cooker installments at the flea market!"
They imagined dying a ridiculous death, eaten by a multimouthed monster, while their debts were passed on to Toby, their roommate who couldn't even cook instant noodles without burning them.
"Master?"
Kaelen’s voice broke Aster’s panicked reverie. The young man stood at the mouth of the alley, back straight, his silhouette framed by the faint purple light from the sky. Kaelen wasn't looking at Aster hyperventilating in fear. Kaelen saw a man sitting in deep contemplation within the shadows, staring at his own hands with a vacant gaze—as if bearing the weight of a great sin for the sake of humanity's salvation.
"Do you see that, Kaelen?" Aster pointed at the purple sky with trembling hands. Their voice was raspy, broken by dehydration and pure terror. "The sky... it's broken. Everything is wrong. I... I didn't mean for it to happen this fast."
I mean, I didn't mean to trigger the apocalypse this quickly! I need at least a month to save up for retirement and run to another continent!
However, to Kaelen’s ears, the sentence sounded different. Very different.
Kaelen stepped closer, his eyes shimmering with an intensity that made Aster shudder. For Kaelen, a Time Looper who had lived through 147 painful life cycles, seeing Aster Vale "regretful" was an alien concept. The Master never felt regret. The Master was only... calculating.
"Didn't mean for it to happen this fast?" Kaelen repeated Aster’s words, then gave a soft snort, a faint smile of admiration etched on his lips. "Of course. It’s too soon even by their standards. But that is the genius of it, isn't it?"
Aster blinked, confused. "Huh? What are you talking about? We're in huge trouble! Those rats... those monsters are coming!"
"Exactly!" Kaelen slapped his palm, his eyes burning with the fire of fanaticism. "Rats! Master, you truly see them. For hundreds of years—I mean, for all this time—the Abyss Sect has been hiding in the deepest holes of the Magic Tower. They are parasites that couldn't be touched because we didn't know who they were. Inquisitor Vance was only one of thousands."
Kaelen knelt before Aster, his voice dropping to an intense, conspiratorial whisper.
"If you had killed Vance quietly, the others would have run. They would have hidden again for another hundred years. But by triggering the Abyss Beacon now... in the middle of the city... in front of everyone’s eyes..." Kaelen let out a small, slightly manic laugh. "You just burned their house down! You forced every rat, every traitor, every cultist to crawl out of their nest in one sweep! They have no choice but to gather to welcome their 'master' descending from the sky!"
Aster stared at Kaelen, mouth agape. Their brain struggled to process the logic they had just heard.
Wait. What?
"You..." Aster gulped, trying to find words that made sense. "You think I... did this on purpose?"
"Don't be humble, Master," Kaelen cut in quickly, looking at Aster with profound respect. "This strategy is too cruel to be admitted openly. Baiting the enemy with the apocalypse? Using the threat of total destruction to purge the academy in one night? This isn't just a tactic. It’s a divine strategy. A Grand Design."
[SYSTEM NOTE: USER CHARISMA INCREASED ACCIDENTALLY. 'MYSTERIOUS AURA' EFFECT ACTIVE.]
Aster felt like crying. System, please turn off that effect. I’m not mysterious, I just have diarrhea because I ate cheap clams this afternoon!
"But Kaelen," Aster tried to argue, their voice sounding pathetic to their own ears. "72 hours. We only have 72 hours. That’s not enough time to... to prepare anything. We don't have an army. We don't have a fortress. We only have..." Aster reached into their pocket and pulled out the crumpled, nearly empty tube of toothpaste. "...this."
Kaelen stared at the toothpaste tube as if looking at the Holy Sword Excalibur.
"A weapon of mass destruction," Kaelen muttered in awe. "And you say it isn't enough? Of course it isn't enough for an ordinary person. But for you? 72 hours is a luxury. Just enough time to make them tear each other apart before you step in."
Kaelen stood up, glaring at the darkening sky with a challenging look.
"Let them come. Let the Magic Tower panic. Let the noble Valerius family tremble behind their castle walls. Because this time, Master... we won't be hiding. We will sit on the front lines, drink tea, and watch them crumble by your own design."
Aster looked at Kaelen’s broad, confident back. In their heart, two voices screamed.
The first was their survival instinct screaming: RUN TO A CAVE! SLEEP UNDERGROUND! SELL A KIDNEY FOR A BOAT TICKET!
The second was their economic logic: If I run now, my security deposit is gone. And if the apocalypse really happens, the gold coins under my mattress will be useless.
Aster let out a long sigh, a breath that sounded heavy and resigned to Kaelen, even though they were actually busy counting the remaining coins in their pocket.
"Alright," Aster said finally, standing up with legs still trembling slightly. They had to go back to the dorm. At least Toby was there, and Toby had a stash of instant noodles. If the world was going to end in 72 hours, Aster Vale wasn't going to die with an empty stomach. "We're going back to the dorm. I need to... pick up some things."
Junk. I have to grab all my junk. Maybe there's something I can use as a shield or at least sell to refugees later.
Kaelen nodded firmly, his eyes shining with meaning. "Retrieving war artifacts, I see. Understood. Your secret armory at the dorm must be ready."
"Not an armory..." Aster muttered while starting to walk again, dragging their feet. "Just a pile of trash under the bed."
"Humble to the end," Kaelen praised himself, walking behind Aster like a knight escorting his king to the battlefield. "Trash to the world, but a weapon to The Observer."
They moved through the shadows of the academy city, which was starting to descend into chaos. In the distance, the Magic Tower’s emergency bells began to toll, breaking the night’s silence with a deafening, panicked tone.
Aster stared at the system notification still blinking in the corner of their vision.
[COUNTDOWN: 71:45:10]
[SURVIVAL TIP: DON'T DIE.]
"Thanks for the tip, really helpful," Aster muttered sarcastically at the empty air.
They didn't know how they were going to survive an accelerated apocalypse with nothing but junk and a bodyguard who suffered from delusions of grandeur. But one thing was certain: Aster Vale had just become the most wanted person in the entire kingdom, and they didn't even know why.
"Kaelen," Aster called out softly without turning.
"Yes, Master?"
"If anyone asks later... we were just out for a night walk. Understand? Don't say anything about the toothpaste."
Kaelen smiled thinly, a smile full of secrets and blind loyalty. "Of course. The secrets of a divine strategy must be guarded. Let them think this is a natural disaster. They don't deserve to know that this is your work of art."
Aster could only close their eyes and pray that the gods governing this novel had a sense of humor. Because if not, Aster was certain that in 72 hours, they would be the most regretful ghost in existence.
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Chapter 131: Floor Three - The Bone Wastes and the First Encounter
Six hours ago, Aster Vale grumbled about the dungeon's construction quality while plucking lotuses at the edge of the glowing lake. Six hours ago, the world beneath the North Tower still had rules. It still had seals. It still had boundaries between what was locked away and what was free.Now, nothing was locked away.And Aster Vale was sneezing.The spiral staircase connecting Floor Two to Floor Three was still intact—unlike the staircase leading up, which had collapsed forty minutes ago. The stone steps creaked beneath Viktor's weight and the three burlap sacks now filled with lotuses, moss, and crystals. Darius walked behind Viktor, his dull scissors raised, trimming every shard of dry bone jutting from the stairwell walls. Seraphina took notes. Lyra recorded. Toby sniffed every step with his wet nose.And Aster sneezed every three steps."Dry air," he grumbled, his Tattered Cloth Mask tied tightly over his nose and mouth. "Bone dust. Calcium particles. If I don't wear a mask, my c
Chapter 130: The Exam Dungeon Becomes a Battlefield
Five hours ago, the Exam Dungeon was a structured place. Orderly. Controlled. Multi-layered security seals. Professor supervision through observation crystals. Clear boundaries between safe zones and danger zones. Five hours ago, this dungeon was an exam hall.Now, it was a hell that had lost its architect.Floor One was unrecognizable.The Crystal Forest, once shimmering with a soft blue light, now flickered red—the emergency glow of cracked seals emitting warnings no one listened to anymore. Crystal trees lay fallen in three places, their transparent trunks shattered into sharp shards scattered across the ground. Glowing moss was trampled underfoot, emitting a dying, blinking green light.And among the ruins, monsters roamed.No longer dog-sized living pebbles. No longer tiny creatures that could be avoided. Two-meter-tall beasts with claws that split stone. Multi-eyed creatures crawling across the ceiling. Creatures that should have been locked in containment zones and had never, i
Chapter 129: Helena Descends into the Dungeon
Grand Inquisitor Helena stood in front of the gate, her hands clenched beneath her gold-and-white robe.She was not an examinee. She was not a student. She was not a professor. She was an official observer from the Church of the Holy Light, and an observer was not supposed to enter the dungeon. It was not in her mandate. It was not in her protocols. It had not been in her twenty-year career as an Inquisitor.But something was wrong.Helena had felt it an hour ago—a spiritual disturbance radiating from deep underground like a second heartbeat that shouldn't exist. It was not an ordinary mana fluctuation. It was not a construction tremor. It was something older. Deeper. Thirstier. And that disturbance grew stronger with every passing minute, as if something down there was awakening from a very long slumber.Behind her, two assistant inquisitors stood holding small wooden chests containing ritual equipment. Helena turned to them."You two stay in the control room with Professor Balthazar
Chapter 128: Security Seal Sabotage
Three hours after the stone gate swallowed the seven exam-taking teams, far below the deepest floor accessible to anyone registered as a student, a man stood inside a room that shouldn't have existed.The room wasn't on any map. Not on the academy's blueprints. Not in the construction archives. Not in the memory of any living professor. It lay beneath Floor Five—below the Dungeon Core—in a stone cavity reachable only through a tunnel dug non-stop for two weeks by twenty-one pairs of hands never recorded on the city's registry.General Kael jammed a torch into the stone wall. The firelight illuminated the narrow room, revealing three seal mechanisms embedded in the wall—three ancient runic circles, each a meter in diameter, glowing faint blue with a synchronized pulse like three hearts beating in unison.This was the beating heart of the Exam Dungeon's security. The point where all protective seals converged. A point that, according to the Valdris War Faction's secret archives, had bee
Chapter 127: Floor Two and the First "Customers"
Two hours after the stone gate swallowed them, Aster's team left the Crystal Forest behind and descended the spiral staircase toward Floor Two.The air changed.If Floor One felt dry and metallic like the inside of a giant bell, Floor Two felt damp and alive. Humidity instantly clung to their skin as the last foot stepped off the bottom stair. The scent of fresh water mingled with something sweet—like honey mixed with morning dew and a faint hint of ozone.The Mana Lake stretched before them.The water's surface was not blue, not green, not black. It shimmered. A bluish-white light pulsed from invisible depths, creating the illusion that the lake had a beating heart of its own. Atop the water, massive lotus flowers floated with wide-open petals. Each petal emitted a soft light that blinked in sync with the lake's pulse, creating a hypnotic visual rhythm.Around the lake, stalactites and stalagmites met to form calcite pillars dripping with glowing water. The drops fell onto the lake's
Chapter 126: Entering the Exam Dungeon
Afternoon at the Exam Dungeon gate felt like standing at the mouth of a sleeping giant.The gate towered seven meters high at the base of the North Tower, a black stone arch carved with ancient symbols worn smooth by three hundred years of age. The founders of Aethelgard Academy had built this structure in the academy's third year—an artificial dungeon designed specifically to test students' abilities under controlled conditions. Layered security seals were etched into every inch of the stone surface, glowing faint blue like held breath.Seven teams stood lined up in front of the gate. Most consisted of five students in standard combat gear, checking their weapons, ropes, and ingredient pouches one last time. But the last team—the team scheduled to enter dead last—had eight members. This was the maximum allowed by the committee this year, a consequence of an uneven enrollment count and one noble whom no other team would accept.The teams entered the dungeon in waves—one team every fiv
You may also like
My Sniper System
kuhaku_sora25.4K viewsBillionaire's Luck System
DarkGreey27.4K viewsThe Poor Owner of a Legacy System
Pein37.6K viewsSupreme Territory System
Vks_sh27.9K viewsSystem Criminal: The Capture Rewards
Zero One233 viewsThe Recycling System Built My City
Ivy B155 viewsMERIDIAN OF THE DAMNED
Xqingchen283 viewsSystem Delete Me
Kala288 views