CHAPTER 49: THE SECOND SUB-LAYER, THE CORRUPTED CITY

Sam quickly defeated the boss of the [Outskirts], reaching the [Main Area].

As he entered the second zone of the second layer, he pulled out the map and took another look.

The red flickering dot, marking the sub-layer’s location, was incredibly far from the normal route most people followed to reach the main boss.

’In a city this huge, finding the sub-layer without this map would’ve been impossible.’

Compared to the first layer’s sub-layer, which could be stumbled upon but locked you in, this one might’ve never even been discovered before. Not without this map.

Still, Sam had no time to waste.

Using the blue dot, himself, as a reference point, he carefully navigated through the corrupted streets, steadily making his way toward the sub-layer entrance, which lay all the way at the very edge of the second layer.

On the way, he made sure to kill every monster he came across, absorbing their cores and taking any useful items they dropped.

But as he moved farther and farther away from the usual route, he started noticing something strange.

The corruption on the monsters... it looked different.

The creatures were more deformed than usual, their movements twisted, their bodies darker, coated in that eerie aura, the same black, pulsing energy that surrounded the [Black Sun].

Even the streets and buildings around him had started to change.

The further he walked, the more warped the structures became. It was like the corruption had completely overtaken everything in this region.

After a few minutes, the entire section of the layer seemed swallowed in that corruption.

Sam could tell that just stepping into these areas would probably transform a normal awakener immediately.

But he didn’t have to worry about that.

He was immune.

Eventually, after walking through the twisted city for almost twenty minutes, Sam got closer to the red dot on the map.

And that’s when he saw it.

A massive dark wall standing in front of him like a barrier.

’The limit of the layer,’ he realized.

And right in front of it stood a dark, rune-covered door pulsing with deep violet aura.

As he got closer, something shifted.

An eerie eye appeared in the center of the door, an eye that looked almost identical to the one on the [Black Sun].

[You have come here, Primordial. Be ready.]

Sam didn’t answer.

He walked forward without saying a word, reached for the door, and pushed it open.

Beyond it, pure darkness.

The moment he saw it, that familiar sensation returned. The same one he’d felt when entering the first sub-layer. A cold, heavy pressure that weighed down on his very being.

[You have an extremely bad feeling about this.]

’Oh wow, it’s the worst one yet,’ Sam thought with a smile.

He remembered the past warnings.

First it had been "bad feeling," then "really bad feeling," and after that "very bad feeling."

Now?

"Extremely bad feeling."

If things kept escalating like this, soon his subconsciousness wouldn’t be the only one warning him. He’d probably start feeling that creeping dread directly himself.

But even so, he didn’t stop.

He looked up. The gaze of the [Black Sun] was on him, he could feel it.

And without waiting another second, he leapt into the void.

[You shouldn’t have done that, Primordial.]

[Now, you are trapped in here, and your death will come for sure.]

[Say your goodbyes to this world, you will never see the light of the real sun again.]

Those messages floated before his eyes as he fell, but Sam didn’t flinch.

His eyes burned with crimson determination, not even a flicker of hesitation present.

And then—

Fwish! Ding!

[You have entered the Sub-Layer.]

[Second Sub-Layer: "The Corrupted City"]

[Your death is nigh.]

Bam!

Sam landed, though this time the impact didn’t throw him off. He’d already experienced this once with the first sub-layer and was prepared for it now.

[You feel the corrupted energy swirling around you.]

He glanced around, taking in his surroundings.

He was on a rooftop.

There was no sky above, just endless darkness, and the rest of the world seemed to vanish into that void.

Beneath his feet, the floor was partially real, made of twisted steel and concrete. But even that had been overtaken by blackened tendrils of corruption.

As he looked into the distance, his gaze fixed on a massive beam of light piercing through the dark fog.

’That must be where the [Forsaken Lord] is,’ Sam narrowed his eyes. ’Here I come, [Black Sun].’

Without hesitation, he jumped from the rooftop and slammed into the corrupted ground below.

Right now, his top priority wasn’t reaching the boss. It was leveling up.

He needed to reach level 10. That’s when he’d receive his [Advancement Task].

Once he completed that task, he’d finally unlock the powerful ability linked to his [Chaos Affinity], the one that had been hinted to him when he made his choice back at level 5.1

He was excited to see what that "powerful" ability would be.

But before that... he had to level up.

And there was only one way to do that.

It was hunting time.

With crimson eyes glowing, Sam gripped his primordial sword tightly and took off, racing toward the beam of light in the distance.

But he didn’t get far before something stopped him.

Barely thirty seconds into his sprint, he sensed a presence up ahead.

He immediately halted.

And then—he saw it.

"Oh," Sam muttered. "I’m actually fucked."

He stood frozen for a second as the figure ahead slowly came into view.

This was...

---

[Black Sun Vessel]

[Level: 20]

[Description: A vessel the Black Sun uses to attack. It can summon dozens of them.]

[Hell-Mode Analysis: The most common enemy in this sub-layer. Same enemy you fought before.]

---

The same enemy he’d nearly died to before.

What he had thought was a boss... turned out to be nothing but a common enemy in this sub-layer.

And the moment he checked the status window, the vessel snapped its head in his direction.

Its body was still entirely black, corrupted with glowing veins, a giant mouth where its face should be, and two white horns extending from its head.

No time to waste. Sam dashed forward.

If this was the kind of enemy that would show up often, then he had to learn how to deal with them now, fast and efficiently.

Fwish! Slash!

He swung his primordial sword at full force.

But the vessel responded, swinging its giant bat and deflecting the strike.

Sam clenched his jaw.

He couldn’t let that happen.

If he couldn’t even take this thing down quickly, there was no chance he’d survive the encounter with the [Forsaken Lord].

So—

Abyssal Obliteration!

A shadowy portal opened above him.

Dark bullets fired out rapidly, raining down on the vessel.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Most were blocked—but not all.

While the creature was distracted, Sam activated [Void Rush], phasing into the corrupted ground.

And then—

Fwish!

He erupted from the side, sword swinging.

"Inevitable," the vessel whispered in a low, guttural tone as it twisted to block again.

But Sam didn’t slow down.

His eyes burned. His will was absolute.

He pushed forward—

Fwish! Slice!

With a powerful strike, he cleaved the bat in half, then cut through the vessel’s chest.

But he didn’t stop afterward, because now that it was defenseless, he slashed again, and again, until the monster collapsed in front of him.

’The primordial sword is the strongest weapon,’ he recalled. ’And it cannot be broken. That means I can go head-to-head with anything.’

Then he absorbed the monster’s core through the blade.

Ding!

[Congratulations to Sam Walker for leveling up to Level 6 of the Apprentice Rank!]

’Four more to go,’ Sam thought.

The monsters in here were strong enough that just a few could probably push most awakeners all the way to level 10.

But of course, none of them would survive that long.

And so, Sam kept moving forward.

For those that read ahead but are confused, please go back to Chapter 41 as I changed some stuff in it :)