Fallen Lightbringers' Return

For some people that have not seen the knight, they may have underestimated its strength. How bad could it be if that young boy could beat it in 5 minutes? Maybe he was simply bluffing. But seeing the aftermath of this place, there was no one who'd dare question Lee Dojin anymore.

Hwa Endo gulped, then cautiously walked through the floor. As they had expected, there were no dolls here. But with everything that was going on, they didn't wish to risk it. Not many people used their skills, as for one they did not know what this unknown power was and how to control it, but even more so because the whole idea of supernatural powers in a civilized society was too surreal to handle.

Lee Dojin, in the meantime, read through his Arts. Though they were at quite the low degree currently, he had no worries of their strength rising with time. After all, compared to Skills that dealt with hidden missions and upgrading stones, these arts were a lot more straightforward to level up.

However, he knew that most of them, he'd not use often enough to master. The reason for that was because skills, compared to arts, would always be a lot better. None of these arts, no matter how good, won't compare to anything gained through the Affinity, which was specifically designed only for the owner to use.

An Art, you'd have to learn and use traditionally. Though the system noted them down in the status window, their activation and effects were entirely dependent on you. For example, the Seven Trumpets, Scorched Earth, required Lee Dojin to cross his arms in a prayer, then boil his blood to a degree that heats even his surroundings. It worked, because God had deemed it so, and thus, everyone that could follow its specific steps (and had a fitting constitution), could technically call upon the Days of Judgement too. But they could also always fail, as not even the creator of an Art could always promise the same results.

In comparison, the skills granted by the System only needed you to think or chant them out, and its effect will activate, the attributes of the ability always identical, no matter what. 

If learning an Art was like working daily to remember a topic, then learning a skill akin to having it downloaded directly into your brain. There was no need to memorize anything, you were already a master.

As such, even though Lee Dojin knew so many arts, he still decided to get an Affinity, as they were universally stronger and more efficient.

Hwa Endo arrived at the door to the outside. Kang Soomin and Zhen Yunhe stood right behind her, weapons in their hands. She grabbed the knob and shyly opened the door, letting a bit of sunshine peek through. The outside was oddly silent, all three of them realized.

There was neither the sound of a bustling tourist spot nor endless screaming of people running away from grotesque dolls, as they had expected. The other survivors waited with bated breaths. Hwa Endo resolved herself by shaking her head and swung the door open.

[Congratulations, you have left the confines of the Cafe.]

A slight breeze, followed by bright light engulfed Endo, causing her to back off for a second. And when she reopened her eyes, the woman's mouth came ajar, as she could not believe what she was saying. Kang Soomin, peeking over her shoulder, and she gasped audibly, her irises shaking. One by one, the survivors gathered, and they could not believe what met their eyes, the makeshift weapons in their hands falling to the ground.

MyeongDong, as a district in the modern metropolis of Seoul, was a technologically advanced place with many flashing lights, street lamps, wide streets, and cement houses. Upon your arrival, whether by foot a train, you'd be greeted by a wave of people, trying to get in or out. There'd be a streetfood stand trying to sell you delicious food, a small kid with a 10 feet ice cream, and posters of idols and celebrities promoting the newest skincare fad.

—So why did it now feel like they had jumped into a macabre renaissance painting? 

The malls that used to sell various products had turned into European baroque houses, full of theatrical effects, with windows tinted out and various segments missing. The billboards showed famous celebrities dressed in medieval outfits drinking from teacups over brunch. Soft orchestral music played from the stores, instead of the usual pop and hip hop.

There were still various Korean signs, some buildings that stayed the same, and the long roads indicating that this indeed was MyeongDong, it had just been fused with what looked like a 16th century France or Germany.

And there was not a single human to be found.

".. .What the hell is this?" Hwa Endo shuddered. She rubbed her whole face, disbelieving what she was seeing. "What?" She turned around, and her brows shot up again. The cafe that they had come from looked identical to these cheap dollhouses found in the kids' section of the mart.

Kang Soomin fell to the ground, her knees scraping on the hard floor. She held her cheeks and shouted out loud.

Kim Jyejin walked outside. She glanced at the unmanned vendors by the streets. They had the same appearance as a horse-drawn carriage. The smell of cookies and fresh-baked bread wafted out from them. "Is this even real anymore?"

No one could answer the question. They could not, as they asked the exact same question in their minds.

Only Lee Dojin remained calm. He had seen this scene too many times to be surprised. This was what the Mirage referred to as the merging of worlds. In the future, with the appearance of even more dungeons, there'd be a lot more scenes, much more bizarre than these. No, he was actually thankful for what he saw, as it seemed that at least the physics of Earth stayed the same. If it was another world with much different physiology, things would have gotten a lot more complicated.

"Well, it is only a rank D dungeon after all." Lee Dojin rubbed his chin. Truthfully speaking, he did not know much about the World of Dolls, or what happened in MyeongDong in particular. After all, his very first dungeon was not here. He only chose this place this time as he believed there'd be the most people that need saving. As such, he had just about the same info as anyone else. "However, there were some rules that always stay the same."

The young girl appeared next to him, she grabbed his leg, while still holding Park Wonho. Lee Dojin placed his hand on her head without saying anything. It calmed her down a bit.

Park Hansoo only remained rooted to the ground, unable to process what was happening. The small hope of a normal world he had held on to had been ruthlessly shattered. by this confounding sight.

"Everybody, to the left," a man yelled loudly, catching everybody's attention. And it was a good thing he did so, as, from one of the malls, a horde of dolls walked out, rushing at the survivors.

The group quickly grabbed whatever they had and prepared for a fight. They were approximately 30 people, while the dolls outnumbered them, with a total number of around 50. They stood tight-knit in a group without a real strategy as they pushed into each other.

"Hey, stop shoving me!"

"Why do I have to stand at the front?"

Faced with such an overwhelming number, even if these dolls were just weak scraps, the people got intimidated. That was to be expected. They weren't soldiers after all. No, some of them probably hadn't ever gotten in a fight before. And this wasn't the small cafe anymore where they could freely gang up against the dolls.

The dolls rushed from all the sides, biting into the people at the front. Blood splattered everywhere, with various screams resounding throughout. Everyone swung without real purpose, sometimes even hitting a human instead of a doll.

Kim Jyejin ducked, almost getting hit by a pole. "Watch out," she screamed. Right after, someone pushed her from the left, making her fall. If Lee Dojin wasn't quick enough to help her out, she may have gotten trampled.

Park Hansoo was one of these people swinging with closed eyes. He didn't care what he hit, as long as the dolls couldn't bite a chunk off of him.

Wonho grabbed the child and quickly hid in the back. He ran through any doll that came close to him. It was interesting to see such a big man nimbly dodging any incoming attack. However, with every move, his shoulder ached in pain.

Dong Jowoon fought his way through the survivors, arriving at Lee Dojin with a tear-stained face. "Pl, please save me! Dojin," he yelled, and grabbed his leg, "I beg you, I don't want to die!"

Soon, the first few people in the front fell, some through the continuous onslaught of these lifeless puppets, others by the accidental sabotage from the humans. Either way, the dolls would lunge at them, and press them to the ground, and eating them alive. They, in turn, just like with the corpses in the cafe, would turn into dolls themselves. Slowly, the numbers of humans dwindled while those of the dolls rose.

And then, a few people started defecting, running away, and abandoning the group.

If there was one surprising positive, it was Zheng Yunhe. He, while protecting his wife, moved swiftly and destroyed the dolls with the leg of a chair. He had a kitchen knife first, but a blunt weapon worked a lot better against these monsters.

In-Su, the former barista, fell to the ground. He shuddered, while three dolls jumped on him with open mouths. However, as he already prepared his life goodbye, Lee Dojin phased in front of him, throwing out three small jabs and breaking three faces each.

He looked at the remaining survivors and shouted, "You have to use your skills from your Affinity to beat them!"