Duo Leveling LITRPG | Post Apocalyptic | SYSTEM-Chapter 90 – The Shape of What We Fear

Chapter 90 – The Shape of What We Fear

Before they knew it, the monsters had filled every gap around them, weaving a thick net that drew closer by the second.

At this rate, if they stayed put, they were going to be gobbled up without a fight. That much was certain.

"...Ms. Millie!"

"Yes!"

Still firing off magic bullets with quick, practiced hands, Millie slid over beside Jhin . Sweat poured down her brow, matting strands of hair and splattering little flecks of blood across her cheeks.

"Are you alright?"

"...Don’t worry about me."

Jhin gave her a firm nod, then glanced around. His eyes shimmered gold as he took in the battlefield. He could see it—the pulse and flow of the monsters, the rhythm in their movement.

And then... he spotted it.

"We’re breaking through. All at once. Get ready."

"...What?"

"Don’t fall behind."

Jhin gripped his sword tight and charged toward the weakest seam in the monster net. With his movement, a cold blade of frost shimmered behind him like a comet’s tail.

The monsters that had been creeping close began to falter, their movements slowing.

"Now!"

They burst through the wave of monsters like a ship punching through a storm.

KRRRAAAAH!

GRRRK... GRRR...

A jungle boat ride.

The party had taken cover in one of the ride’s boats, floating down a gentle, meandering stream. Quiet as shadows, they barely breathed.

Outside, the monsters prowled along the water’s edge, close enough to smell. Only once they passed, and the forest stilled again, did the group allow themselves a breath of relief.

Jhin scanned their surroundings with his Soft skills vision, his gaze sharp and searching.

"It’s quiet for now. I don’t sense anything nearby."

Nods of acknowledgment passed among the group, but no one spoke. A heavy silence settled in, as if everyone was too busy coming to terms with the chaos.

Understandable.

After all, Bey World—the familiar, joyful amusement park—had somehow become a full-blown monster den.

All it took was nightfall. And suddenly, the whole world had changed.

"It’s strange..." Jhin thought. "This feels more like real New Capital than the version we saw before. But..."

Maybe it was the glimpse of peace they’d had earlier that made everything now feel so... off.

Millie broke the silence.

"It was you, right? Back there?"

"...Yes."

"What the heck happened?"

Of all the monsters that had stormed the stage, the Nightmare Goblin—the Peculiar—had stood out like a black sun. Towering. Fearsome. Unmissable.

Too real to be a trick of the eye.

And that was the problem.

It didn’t just look like him.

Jhin ’s brow furrowed, and his eyes sharpened like knives.

"That thing was me."

Not just in appearance—it wore the same clothes, wielded the same weapons. A perfect copy.

Even Lykan had been fooled. He had bowed to it, believing it to be his King.

That’s how real it was.

"How is that even possible?" Millie asked.

Jhin bit his lip, then looked to the others and spoke calmly.

"...It might be because of that item."

"What item?"

"The strange flow of energy through the park—it’s all coming from the crystal the rabbit mask was holding. I could see it clearly once night fell. Everything starts there."

And Jhin knew exactly what it was.

All the clues had been there.

"It’s the Goblin Orb."

The Goblin Orb—crafted from goblin horns and said to manipulate souls.

That crystal... was the Goblin Orb.

But could a single item really affect an entire area like this? he wondered.

Still, nothing else made sense. This place wasn’t a normal dungeon, despite all the monsters.

There was no dungeon entry message this time, he realized.

Jhin ’s eyes narrowed.

"There’s only one way to fix this. We need to uncover the truth behind that Goblin Orb."

Which meant catching the rabbit mask.

That crystal had to be in their possession if they were going to learn what it really did.

He continued calmly.

"My guess is the monsters we’ve seen aren’t entirely real. They’re... illusions. But with form. Physical shadows."

"Shadows...?" someone asked.

"They were pulled from something—some influence. But they’re not true people or monsters."

Which is why that monster could look just like him.

Jhin tapped his temple.

"It might be tied to memories."

"...Memories?"

"I haven’t transformed into the Nightmare Goblin since the ghost train. Which means no one here should know what it looks like."

Unless...

Unless the item could use memories as fuel.

Jhin looked at the others.

"What do you all think of my Nightmare Goblin form?"

A simple question—but an important one.

Their answers trickled in.

"It was... awe-inspiring."

"...Incredible."

"Hmm..."

Most answers were in that vein. Awe, admiration, wonder.

Jhin slowly shook his head.

"That can’t be it. Wonder wouldn’t be enough to manifest a monster."

But there were monsters. Dozens. Dozens of different kinds.

Could they really all be pulled from someone’s memories?

At that moment, Millie spoke, her voice a little hesitant.

"To be honest... it was kind of scary."

"...What?"

"The way you were wrapped in ghosts, fighting like that—it gave me chills."

That single, honest answer lit up Jhin ’s mind like lightning.

Now he knew.

The keyword.

The one emotion that could make a monster come alive.

"...It’s fear."

The Goblin Orb didn’t just feed on memories.

It fed on fear—and only the things people truly feared could cross into reality.

That’s why the park had orcs, ogres, lizardmen—so many kinds.

Because everyone feared something different.

The same went for Peculiar.

Jhin thought of Lykan’s face, so full of terror at the sight of him.

"It’s showing us the monsters each of us fears most."

And just as he reached that conclusion...

A thought came.

A dreadful, skin-prickling thought.

What if the monster I fear most... appears?

Jhin bit his lip and swallowed hard.

Surely not. Surely it couldn’t go that far.

But he couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Because the one thing he feared most...

...was the creature sleeping in the S-class dungeon, Dragon’s Graveyard.