My SSS-Rank Dungeon: Reborn In A Reverse World

Leon had lots of questions swirling in his mind. He wanted answers to them, but he knew he wouldn't get them anytime soon. He needed to find them himself.

Still, the fact that he could actually neutralize the Corruption had sent his mind spiraling. It was simply an impossible thing to be done, as even the world itself couldn't do it.

How did this Dungeon do it?

Leon was sure it was the Dungeon doing this work for him. It was already assimilated with him to a certain extent, so it wouldn't be a surprise if it could change his body in this way.

But it begged the question, what was the Dungeon, truly? And what connection did it share with the Corruption? How could it do something so impossible?

He might have considered that it was added later on in the game, but that was impossible, unless the new developers had actually tampered with his work.

After all, he had finally remembered something important he had written in an Artifact's description. It was that Corruption couldn't be destroyed.

It was a simple sentence that established the fact that Corruption couldn't be destroyed. But his body clearly did that, so it was going against what he had created.

It was the first time something like this was happening since everything else had followed the game or at least the rules set up in it.

'The Dungeon is still half-game. Maybe it's related to that. Whatever it is, I'll have to find the answers. Maybe when my assimilation with it grows, I'll have more clues.'

That was the only thing Leon could think as he ignored the terrible pain of his internal organs being damaged. They hurt, but certainly not as much as his head getting smashed like a tomato.

He continued the practice for a few more hours or maybe it was a few minutes. He didn't know. He was just enduring the disgusting feeling until someone put a hand on his shoulder.

The miasma around him separated from him, and he couldn't feel it anymore. He slowly opened his eyes and found Amber looking at him strangely.

"What happened?" he asked in confusion.

"How did you damage your internal organs while fending off the miasma? It doesn't make sense," Amber's voice carried genuine confusion.

"You were keeping an eye on everyone?" he asked, wondering if she had somehow sensed the battle raging inside his body between his warrior-like cells and the Corruption.

But then again, she wouldn't be having this mild reaction if that were the case.

"We are keeping everyone's health status in check," Amber said. "And it showed your condition. But since you weren't calling out for help or anything, I didn't disturb you."

Leon frowned and looked around, finding no one else in the plains of the training field. Where did the others go? Why was he alone here?

"You endured the Corruption the longest in the class," Amber said. "Everyone else already gave up. Some very early, some later. Some were persistent and even began showing alien features. I had to step in to stop them."

When one absorbed mana, that mana contained Corruption too. Along with that Corruption came the will, essence, and other lingering aspects of the creature it had resided in previously.

That was the reason when one's Corruption began to win, they would show alien features in their body. It was nearly impossible to remain completely human in the higher Tiers because of the sheer amount of Corruption inside them.

As the Corruption grew, the essence of many other creatures would begin to overwhelm them, which resulted in the alien features, as everyone called them.

Amber's fox ears were an example of this. There were also the bird limbs Wei Xue had, which just showed the condition of higher Tiers.

In the lower Tiers, one could suppress these features, but if the Corruption grew out of control, then more alien features would begin to show until they completely transformed into Abyssal Creatures.

Excessive alien features were the first sign of losing control. They were the most dangerous group of people.

The fact that some students had shown alien features meant they really pushed themselves beyond their limits and took the risk.

"Are they fine?" Leon asked.

"You really think I would let more of my students die meaninglessly?" Amber snorted and helped him stand up. "Still, you didn't tell me the reason for your condition."

"Secret," Leon shrugged.

Amber smacked his back and said, "I'm your teacher here, so you ain't keeping secrets from me. Out with it, because it endangers my students."

"I meant it's related to my secret," Leon said. "It was something even I couldn't predict, and I'm still not sure. So let me find the answers first."

Amber studied his face for a while before saying, "Alright. Come to me if you want some help. I might be able to assist in finding those answers."

"Sure," Leon agreed, even though he was certain no one could help him with this problem. "You don't look surprised that I lasted the longest?"

"You lasted against the core of that Dungeon, so this one was an easy ride for you. Or at least, that's what I expected but you're always full of surprises," Amber smiled and took out a healing potion.

"You do know that excessive healing potion use can also be dangerous?" Leon said, feeling he could go on without the potion.

It wasn't like his internal organs were destroyed. They were just damaged, and an Awakened had far better healing factors than normal humans. It wouldn't take long for him to heal.

Instead of answering, Amber threw the contents of the potion into his mouth and said, "It's already noon. Take some rest before we move to weapon practice."

Leon wiped his mouth and said, "That reminds me. I'm still having problems with that baseball bat technique. Can I ask for some help?"

"It's something I left for you to figure out," Amber said as she began walking away. "It's homework."

"Just say you don't know how to explain it yourself," Leon said, making Amber pause in her tracks for a second, which he definitely caught. "Knew it. Anyways, just show me once how you do it. That's all I ask."

Amber turned around and stretched her hand. "Gimme the bat."

Leon took out the baseball bat from his inventory and handed it over to her. The sudden appearance of the bat wasn't anything new, since dimensional bags were something students often carried.

The great professor played around with the bat a little and said with a smile, "No matter how many times I see this, it's still a wonderful piece of art. How did anyone even manage to create this?"

Then, she raised it and showed it to Leon. "Why don't you try touching it?"

Leon raised an eyebrow in suspicion as he stared at the bat. Everything looked normal, as if she was handing the bat back to him. There was no movement in her arms, no sign of energy, not even a shift in the weapon itself.

Everything looked peaceful.

He reached out toward the bat and touched it with his finger, though apprehension lingered in his eyes. In the next moment, his hand was thrown back as he felt a deep numbness, followed by sharp pain, spreading from his fingers to his wrist.

It was as if he had touched a high-voltage current, but there were no visible marks on his hand. Everything happened internally, within his nerves and flesh. And something even deeper.

"Damnation! Just how do you do this?" Leon cursed under his breath, clutching his wrist with his other hand.

"That's the tricky part. I don't know how to explain it, so you'll have to figure it out yourself," Amber shook her shoulders and tossed the bat back at him. "Continue practicing. You've made good progress, so I'm sure you'll figure it out someday."

Leon clicked his tongue and put the bat back in his inventory. He asked, "By the way, did you tell the class not to bother me?"

Apparently, everyone in the Academy had gotten the news of his mutated talent, so he had become the hot topic everyone wanted to discuss. Both students and professors were eager to meet him.

Everyone wanted to see the man with the highest-grade talent in the history of humanity.

Fortunately, Morgon, the vice headmistress, had given strict commands not to bother him when he wandered around the Academy.

But it was different in classes.

"Why would I do something like that?" Amber snorted and said. "Maybe my class actually has students with brains, so they aren't obsessed with you."

"Or maybe they're just too afraid of you to care about me," Leon said, looking around. "Where are the others, anyway?"

"Rest. Your friends are probably in the cafeteria, so you can go there. Come back in one hour. The second part of the training will begin for everyone."

"Understood!!"