Reincarnated as an Apocalyptic Catalyst-Chapter 97: A Minor Setback

We ate in silence, though I doubt we would have had the energy to do much more than force down the stale, half-rancid rations we’d been hauling for days. I didn’t verbalize it, but it would have been amazing to bring someone with a bow as mentioned previously. To dive into certain death with a belly full of fresh meat would have been the way to go. Still, I wasn’t going to bring that conversation back to light.

Vance chewed with an intensity that made me believe he thought he might be able to extract mana from the dried rations of meat and somehow keep it within the scar. I didn’t blame him for his vigor... the man needed an outlet and if his jaws could produce that outlet, who was I to question him.

Nythera nibbled at her portion with the hesitance one would expect from a fledgeling adventurer, but still, I did anticipate a bit more umph behind her bites. She had joined us willingly, and part of that meant that she had resigned herself to certain death, so I could only wonder why she would bother savouring each bite when a speedy meal could mean we would be able to take on the next challenge sooner.

I took another bite of whatever this dried meat was supposed to be—beef? Probably not, as we hadn’t exactly sprung for top of the line rations before leaving, considering speed over luxury—and forced it down with a swig of water. "Y’know," I said, swallowing thickly. "This is probably gonna be the last good meal we have for a while." The words leaving my mouth before I had time to properly select them.

Vance stopped chewing long enough to shoot me a flat look. "If this is a ’good meal,’ I don’t want to know what a bad one looks like."

"Dungeon rations, my friend." I gestured vaguely at the abyss waiting for us. "These will be worth their weight in gold once we enter the actual dungeon," I added, "Who knows what kind of tasteless mushrooms and cave snail we will be forced to consume once we enter that mess..."

Nythera made a soft noise of dismay. "You’re joking."

I grinned, but didn’t confirm or deny. Let her wonder. I figured if I didn’t know what to expect, why bother trying to explain to anyone else what they might expect.

Vance wiped his mouth on his sleeve and sighed. "Alright. We’ve eaten. Now are we going into the cursed hole?"

I looked at the gaping black maw ahead of us, then at my mostly-finished meal, then back at the dungeon entrance. "...I could go for dessert."

Vance smacked the back of my head in an act that was far from acceptable. I hadn’t even had the chance to see how my comment impacted the rest of the group.

"We enter," Ronan said simply, already moving.

"Hold on, hold on," I said, scrambling to my feet. "We should at least confirm if there are any traps or—"

Ronan stepped across the threshold without hesitation. The moment he did, the air shimmered like heat rising off sand, rippling outward in waves. A deep, low hum reverberated through the Scar, shaking the ground beneath us, vibrating in my bones down to the core.

As Ronan pressed forward, we all stumbled upon his initiation of some kind of activated announcement. As the voice boomed both within and around us, we couldn’t find the courage to press forward, we had to deal with whatever bullshit was coming at us.

As the words forced their way into our heads, so did a display of text, interrupting our vision.

The glowing text emphasized the words that rang in our heads, the letters glittering before our very eyes.

ENTERING THE DUNGEON.

ALL ENTRANTS WILL BE RESET TO LEVEL 1.

ABILITIES REMAIN. EXPERIENCE GAINED MULTIPLIES BY PREVIOUS LEVELS.

DO YOU ACCEPT?

I stared at the words. The words stared back. We held that stare for a while, but I had no idea how long text could stare, so I gave in first.

"Ronan," I said, my voice coming out strangled. "Did you know about this?"

He turned his head slightly, revealing just a glimmer of a smirk, though I wasn’t sure I had even seen it as he responded. "No."

"Then why the hell did you just walk in?!" Vance barked.

Ronan tilted his head, as if confused by the question. "Because we must enter. There is no alternative."

Nythera was shaking. "This is insane. It’s forcing us back to level one? That’s—how are we supposed to survive in a place like this? What if—"

"The multiplier," I muttered, reading the words again. "We keep our abilities, but we start fresh. And any experience we earn gets scaled by how strong we were before."

Vance ran a hand through his hair, exhaling hard through his nose. "So, what, we’re babies with godlike potential?"

"You’re not wrong, essentially we will be toddlers with knives, and the means to use them," I said, rubbing my jaw. "Still, if we really do level faster because of our previous strength... it’s not the worst trade-off."

Nythera gaped at me. "Not the worst—?!" She caught herself, breathing fast, hands tightening at her sides. "You’re not scared?"

"Oh, I’m terrified," I admitted. "But we don’t have much choice."

Vance groaned. "So what, we just say ’yes’ and hope it doesn’t kill us?"

Ronan had already accepted. He stood ahead of us, waiting.

I exhaled sharply. "Yeah. Pretty much."

I reached out, hand brushing against the glowing words, and spoke the answer I already knew we couldn’t refuse.

"Yes."

The moment the word left my lips, a force I couldn’t see or fight against yanked me downward. It wasn’t like teleportation or falling—it was like being unmade and remade all at once. My breath was stolen from me, my stomach twisted in knots, and for a split second, I was weightless.

Then, reality snapped back into place as I was sucked into the dungeon. I didn’t really expect my verbal signal to initiate anything, it was more of a sarcastic remark to the bullshit I knew I was to expect, and still, I was dragged down. With everyone else, I was brought into the dungeon, and my levels reset. Everything was set back to level one, surrounded by darkness much like my initial birth into this world.

I hit the ground hard, knees buckling as I struggled to regain my bearings. My vision blurred, ears ringing like a live grenade had been dropped in my lap. I reached for something, anything to stabilize myself, but my fingers met only cold stone beneath me.

A heavy groan echoed nearby—Vance, struggling upright. "What in the fresh hell was that?" His voice was rough, like he’d just been through the worst hangover of his life.

I tried to respond, but my mouth felt like it had been stuffed with cotton. My entire body was fucked up–too light, too heavy, too off in every way.

Then, something inside me clicked.

Status Reset. Level 1. Experience Gained: x25 Multiplier.

I was mixed between the feeling of excitement and distress. I had felt weak before, but this—this was different. I didn’t just feel weak. I felt hollow. My body wasn’t responding the way it should, my instincts were sluggish, my strength felt like it had been dragged down into the forest and done away with like ol’ yeller.

I clenched my fists, testing my grip. At least my abilities were still intact—I could feel the remnants of my skills, my knowledge, my control. But they were just that—remnants. The sheer power I’d built up until now had been stripped away, leaving only a skeleton of what I once was.

Vance let out a low, humorless laugh. "Okay. Yeah. This is bullshit."

"Seconded," Nythera rasped, her hands pressed against her head like she was trying to keep her skull from splitting open. "I—I feel like I just ran a hundred miles and then got thrown off a cliff." free𝑤ebnovel.com

Ronan, of course, was perfectly fine. He stood a few feet ahead of us, staring down the corridor we had landed in, unbothered as ever.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and forced myself to my feet. "Everyone still breathing?"

"Unfortunately," Vance muttered, dusting himself off.

Nythera gave a shaky nod. "Yeah, but everything is off. I can feel the mana returning to my body, but my magic feels distant."

I frowned. That was concerning. If she couldn’t access her healing as quickly, we were in trouble.

"You still have it through, right?" I asked.

She hesitated, then exhaled slowly, holding up her hands. A faint golden light flickered to life in her palms—weak, but present.

"Not as strong as before," she admitted. "But I can still cast. It’s just harder. A lot like when I was first learning the abilities, but the essence is still there in my mind."

Vance groaned. "So our levels are gone, but our skills still work. Just... worse?"

"That’s what the text said," I said. "Our abilities are intact, but our power is throttled. We have to build it back up. Honestly, it’s not that bad, if Nythera can still heal, this puts us all leagues ahead of the first time we leveled up. It’s like a safety net, but with more danger involved."

Vance scowled, looking down at his hands. "I feel like I just got nerfed."

"Yeah," I muttered. "I mean, you did. We all did."

The air was cold, not freezing, but unnaturally chilled. The walls were stone, lined with faded carvings too worn to make out. The corridor stretched in both directions, vanishing into darkness. The only light came from eerie blue flames flickering in sconces along the walls—faint, ghostly, casting long, wavering shadows.

At our feet, the floor was covered in something peculiar. It looked like roots, but they weren’t plant-based. Twisting, writhing tendrils of dark matter slithered just beneath the surface, pulsing faintly with a sickly light. They weren’t moving, exactly—but they weren’t still, either.

Nythera sucked in a breath. "What is that?"

Vance crouched, hesitant, but didn’t touch it. "Doesn’t look natural."

"No shit," I muttered. I wanted to poke it. I really, really did. But considering my track record of touching things that shouldn’t be touched, I resisted the urge.

Ronan finally spoke. "We should move."

"No argument there," I said. "Which way?"

Ronan pointed toward the left corridor.

"Any particular reason?" Vance asked, crossing his arms.

Ronan turned his head slightly. "It is the correct path."

I stared at him. "Did you read a map or are you just guessing?"

"Yes."

"Yes? This isn’t a yes or no question!" I let out a long-suffering sigh. "You know what, forget it. Let’s go left."

Nythera hesitated. "Wait. What if there’s something down here? Shouldn’t we—"

A deep, guttural wail echoed through the corridor, cutting her off and causing my stomach to drop. It was distant, not distant enough though.

"Agreed," I said. "Ronan, lead the way. And if you see something that wants to eat us? Warn us first."

Ronan nodded once. "Understood."

And with that, we moved on. We didn’t speak, we didn’t acknowledge everything that was going on. We all kind of figured, whatever would happen would happen, and we were ready for it. If we had to be level one, we would be the best level ones in the dungeon!

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