Duo Leveling LITRPG | Post Apocalyptic | SYSTEM-Chapter 34 - Trigger

Chapter 34 - Trigger

He narrowly dodged the attack and moved closer to Grid.

A huge eye that had popped open on the creature’s forehead glared at him fiercely.

"You need to understand their desires when you deal with them. Like this guy here—if he grew an extra eye, it probably means he desperately wanted to see more," Jhin said calmly.

Probably, when this Grid was still human, he must have suffered deep trauma from losing his sight or being unable to see something important.

The massive eye, covering half his forehead, was proof of that.

’Maybe he couldn’t even see his family one last time before it was too late.’

"Ironically, Grid’s weakness is also his desire," Jhin added, smiling faintly.

Even in the middle of the battle, Jhin displayed an impressive trick—operating his smartphone with one hand.

He pulled down the status bar, turned on the flashlight, and a sharp beam of light flashed out.

In one smooth motion, he pressed the phone right against Grid’s massive eye.

Kiaaahh!!

The creature shrieked and rubbed at its burning eye desperately.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Jhin pulled out his longsword and drove it hard into Grid’s neck.

Blood spurted out like a fountain as the blade pierced clean through.

The giant eye on Grid’s forehead, unable to even blink, wept tears of blood as if in grievance.

"The key is reading their desires properly," Jhin said, still calmly.

He kept his longsword raised, aiming it at the Grid creatures surrounding them.

But Caleb and Luke, the ones who needed to hear it the most, weren’t even in a state to listen.

No wonder.

They were barely hanging on.

Their enemies were just too strong.

Their attacks didn’t even leave a scratch.

A graze could mean death!

In this desperate situation where counterattacking was almost impossible and even a single hit could be fatal, all they could do was dodge for dear life.

They had no other choice.

Their levels, stamina, and strength were all inferior—they simply had to survive by sheer will.

Breathing grew harder and harder.

The moment when even dodging became too much was fast approaching.

But Jhin didn’t seem worried at all.

"Just remember this. Every Grid has different weaknesses."

"Huff... What? Huff, huff..."

Caleb, gasping for air, instinctively threw himself forward.

Something sharp slashed just over his head.

In the next instant, Jhin charged in and cut Grid’s neck clean through.

Paga-gak!

But right then, cracks ran through his longsword.

As he half-severed Grid’s neck, the sword shattered completely.

Its durability had worn out.

Jhin furrowed his brows and flung the broken weapon aside without hesitation.

It flew straight and buried itself in the forehead of another Grid rushing toward them, knocking it flat.

"Looks like this is the limit for a tutorial-grade weapon," he muttered.

"Huff, huff... T-take my spear!" Caleb cried out.

"No, it’s fine. I have my own weapon."

The Wavecatcher’s Spear was a good weapon.

But Jhin already had something similar.

A weapon with far superior performance, even though it was shorter than a longsword and thus riskier to use.

’Let’s see how powerful it is.’

Ssshhk!

Jhin grabbed the Grid charging at him by the throat and slammed it hard into the ground.

There was a cracking sound as its head hit the floor, but it wasn’t enough to kill it.

Sharp claws swung toward him.

Jhin smoothly moved his hand, deflecting the attack, and immediately followed up with a clenched fist, driving it into the Grid’s face.

The effect was tremendous.

KWAANG!!

"Ooh, yeah... definitely a gear upgrade," Jhin grinned.

Even with the same strength, the output was multiple times greater than with the tutorial gear.

If he just stayed a little closer during fights to manage the risk, hunting would become much easier.

’Scarecrow’s Thorn Gauntlet.’

With this weapon, things might go even better than he thought.

Still, Jhin let out a bitter smile.

Nothing was certain yet.

He narrowed his eyes and looked beyond the tunnel.

The deeper they went, the more traces of the enemy’s mana were visible.

He activated ’Soft skills.’

’All this... it’s his mana.’

Thick red streams of mana flowed deeper into the tunnel.

From the moment Grid appeared, he had suspected, but now it was almost certain—the real enemy was that guy.

"From here on, be careful. We’re in his domain now."

"You mean... the one you mentioned before?" Luke asked.

"Yeah. There’s definitely a Trigger somewhere here."

The party stopped running and caught their breath.

Even the Grids that had been relentlessly chasing them halted at the edge of the Trigger’s domain, giving them a moment’s break.

Caleb asked cautiously, "So, all of this was because of that Trigger?"

"Yeah. There’s no other reason the Dungeon Sickness could have worsened so quickly without it. The Trigger must be nearby."

Trigger.

A monster that could be considered Stage 3.5, maybe even 4 of Dungeon Sickness.

"It’s like when the Dungeon Break at the collapsed school accelerated."

"...Dungeon Bloom?"

"Someone fed a Dungeon Bloom to a Dungeon Sickness patient and created a Trigger."

The Trigger then acted as an ignition point for nearby infected victims.

The spores already embedded in their bodies began to self-replicate rapidly, worsening the disease at an uncontrollable rate.

"If we can’t stop the Trigger, Dungeon Sickness will consume all of New Capital."

A pitch-black tunnel, not a single light in sight.

A man screamed in agony as a creature grabbed his leg.

"Uuaaaaargh!!"

In his eyes, he saw it.

A gaping mouth, wide open.

And inside it, someone’s head stuck in its throat.

That head still made faint noises.

"S-save me... please...!"

"Aaaaagh!!"

But the monster didn’t react to their cries.

It simply shoved the leg it was holding deeper into its mouth.

Its red eyes stayed cold and still as its throat bobbed up and down.

The poor soul who hadn’t been fully swallowed was slowly pulled deeper inside.

It was the man’s turn next.

His head pressed in.

Maybe he was lucky. Or maybe not.

"Aaaaa—!"

Crack.

His neck snapped, and his screams cut off instantly.

The silent tunnel was left with only the grisly sounds of the monster’s meal.

The creature muttered to itself.

"Heh... Bros... should I eat some more?"

What did the monster see with those eyes?

It swung its arms randomly at the empty air, then looked around.

The tunnel, now filled with nothing but blood and meat scraps, no longer offered what it craved.

Where had everyone gone?

The monster simply licked its lips.

"...Uh."

Drooling absentmindedly, it turned its head.

From the path it had come down, an unfamiliar, rich smell wafted through the darkness.

Its mouth watered instinctively.

"Subscribe... Like... Set Notifications..." it whispered like a madman.

And the monster started trudging back down the tunnel it had come from.