Journey to Planar World

I Am Atomic was the culmination of Cid Kagenou’s research and training in magic. The functional principle behind it was simple: the accumulation and compression of an extraordinarily large amount of energy into a single focal point—in Charlie’s case, the Terminus Est sword—followed by the release of that concentrated energy in an instant.

The energy released by I Am Atomic was comparable to the devastating power of a nuclear fission or fusion chain reaction. That was why it glowed with an intense purple light, the same color as the plasma produced by fusion reactions. Its destructive force was capable of obliterating everything within its blast radius.

The reason Charlie was able to replicate the I Am Atomic technique wasn’t solely due to the use of Spirit Arts, although Spirit Arts served as the foundation. There were two additional crucial factors that allowed him to succeed.

First, his Six Eyes played an irreplaceable role in controlling the energy. It was important to remember that Cid Kagenou was an unparalleled individual in the world he reincarnated into when it came to precise energy control. With the Six Eyes, Charlie possessed a level of energy control equal to or even greater than Cid’s.

Second, the Infinite Essence skill. This skill ensured that Charlie would never run out of magical essence, no matter how much magic he consumed. And it was worth noting that the magical essence consumption for using I Am Atomic was truly beyond comprehension. Without Infinite Essence, even with the perfect control of the Six Eyes, Charlie would never be able to unleash the true power of I Am Atomic.

Spirit Arts + Six Eyes + Infinite Essence = I Am Atomic.

Losing even one of these three key elements would make it impossible for Charlie to manifest Cid’s true ultimate technique—I Am Atomic.

”So devastating... It even bored through the ground all the way down to the 38th Floor...”

Using Spirit Arts to generate a gust of wind, Charlie floated calmly in the air.

The ground where he had stood just moments ago had completely vanished; not just the soil, but the entire structure of the Colosseum had been annihilated without a trace, as if it had never existed. All that remained was a gaping hole leading down into the darkness below.

Witnessing the destructive damage produced by I Am Atomic, Charlie sighed in amazement.

”I must not use this technique carelessly. Uncontrolled use could endanger not only enemies but also allies and the surrounding environment. I must be more careful in the future.”

”Fortunately, the Dungeon has the ability to regenerate itself. So, I don’t have to worry about anyone demanding compensation for the damage I caused.”

”GROOOAAARRR!”

Just at that moment, a thunderous roar shattered the eerie silence in the Dungeon.

After the rumbling sound waves subsided, the entire floor became deathly quiet.

Both Charlie’s sixth sense, which he had painstakingly developed, and the animalistic instincts ingrained deep within him, screamed the same warning signal of danger.

”Onii-chan, something very dangerous is targeting you.” Est’s worried voice echoed anxiously in Charlie’s mind.

Without needing further prompting, Charlie already sensed the ominous aura that suddenly enveloped the area.

”Why do problems keep coming my way? Isn’t this supposed to be the routine experienced by protagonists? I was just on a normal expedition, so why do these abnormal situations keep befalling me?” Charlie grumbled irritably, his eyes warily scanning his surroundings.

The pressure he felt this time was vastly different from the ordinary monsters they had faced.

◆━⊰✧⊱━◆

Ouranos was one of the first gods to descend from heaven, and the first to bestow the Falna grace upon the residents of the lower world.

To maintain the balance of the world, he chose to reside in the Prayer Room located far beneath the Guild, using his immense divinity to prevent ferocious monsters from emerging from the depths of the Dungeon. He was an exceptionally steadfast and selfless deity, patiently overseeing and maintaining the Dungeon’s seal for 1000 years for the sake of peace in the surface world.

However, this time, Ouranos’s tranquility was disturbed. He suddenly rose from his cold stone throne, his usually tightly closed eyes snapping open.

”Ouranos, what is it?” Asked a voice muffled by the jet-black robe that completely concealed its figure.

The person was Fels, a mysterious individual who was always by Ouranos’s side.

Fels sensed the gravity of the situation from the fact that it could compel the ancient god to rise from his seat. Under normal circumstances, Ouranos barely moved, let alone showed surprise.

”That thing has come out...”

”That thing? What do you mean? What are you saying, Ouranos?”

Fels’s voice sounded anxious in response to Ouranos’s strange behavior and cryptic words.

”...”

Ouranos did not answer directly. He directed his narrowed gaze towards the Dungeon that stretched out vast beneath his feet, as if he could see through layers of stone and darkness. While continuing to stare, he spoke solemnly towards the large crystal ball in front of him.

”The monster that destroyed the Astrea Familia five years ago...”

”?!”

Fels gasped. The terrifying memory of the tragedy that befell one of Orario’s top Familias was still fresh in his mind.

Ouranos continued to speak in a serious and foreboding tone to the stunned Fels.

”The disaster has begun again...”

Through the surface of the shimmering crystal ball, Ouranos saw a sight that should have been impossible.

He saw the figure of a white-haired youth floating in the air above a gaping hole that should not have existed on the 37th Floor, surrounded by incredible destruction.

”Did he alone cause such massive damage without external assistance?”

Ouranos did not recognize the white-haired youth, a fact that deeply troubled him. As the ruler of the Guild who had been overseeing Orario, he knew every Upper-Class Adventurer in the city. This figure was completely foreign to him.

”Five years ago, the Rudra Familia, which was an Evilus faction, clashed with the righteous Astrea Familia. They trapped the members of the Astrea Familia inside the Dungeon. Cruelly, the Rudra Familia gathered a large number of Inferno Stones...”

”They lured the Astrea Familia there and buried them alive, but the brave members of the Astrea Familia did not succumb to death. Instead, they fought back fiercely.”

”But then something happened that we did not anticipate at all.”

Ouranos fell silent for a moment, allowing the tragic memories of five years ago to fill the silent Prayer Room.

Five years ago, the Rudra Familia recklessly brought a large number of extremely dangerous Inferno Stones into the depths of the Dungeon. Their insane actions caused a series of devastating explosions that horribly shook one of the floors.

The damage was so extensive and catastrophic that the concept of a labyrinth on that floor lost all meaning.

”If they had only damaged the labyrinth’s structure, not much would have happened. The Dungeon would have repaired itself and regenerated. It possesses such immense power that children refer to it as an ’unlimited resource’...”

”But if the destructive behavior is so great, so excessive that regeneration cannot keep up... the Dungeon does not choose regeneration but eliminates the source of the damage.”

Ouranos refocused on the crystal ball in front of him, seeing the situation from five years ago repeating itself today, caused by the unknown youth.

When a foreign organism invades the human body internally, the immune system will act to kill the invading pathogens. It is a natural self-defense instinct of all living things.

The same applied to the Dungeon.

As adventurers often said, the Dungeon was alive.

When the Dungeon was attacked too severely, it activated its defense instincts and spawned a creature that functioned as its immune response.

The creature that killed these foreign organisms—in this case, the attacking adventurers could be considered apostles of the Dungeon. And it shook even the will of Ouranos, whose role was to restrain the Dungeon.

”Do you mean the same level of damage that occurred five years ago has happened once again?” Fels asked.

Ouranos nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving the crystal ball.

”It seems, that is the case. The Dungeon creature that appeared five years ago was an Irregular.”

Ouranos had not anticipated it, meaning it was neither an Astrea Familia nor a Rudra Familia member, it was a completely unknown monster.

The Loki Familia had never seen it, nor had the Freya Familia. Even the two strongest Familias of the past, the Zeus Familia and the Hera Familia, also had no records of such a creature. This meant that in the 1000 years since the gods descended to the lower world, the phenomenon had only been observed once until today.

Only Ouranos, who always prayed to the Dungeon for mercy and balance, realized the coming horror.