At first, I had simply stopped by a dungeon.
It was to measure Maru’s combat prowess.
But a very faint movement of mana caught in my senses.
That movement continuously kept its eyes on Maru and me.
*Isn’t this too blatant?*
It was too blatant to be called a simple coincidence.
From then on, I hid Maru’s full strength.
We had already hunted most of the orcs as well.
And if it was true that someone was watching me, there was no need to show all my cards.
*Ding—*
And just then, an alarm rang from my smartphone.
- You have successfully supported the dungeon ‘Temptation of Illusions.’
- You have succeeded in repelling the invaders.
- You have successfully completed the additional mission.
- You may purchase the Lich’s Advancement Special Package once.
- Azmo, the owner of the dungeon ‘Temptation of Illusions,’ offers his dungeon to you.
- You have become the first Ruler to simultaneously possess dungeons in two dimensions.
- You have acquired the Trait ‘True Lord of the Dungeon (EX).’
- Due to the trait, the following systems have been unlocked:
[Dungeon Monster Level-Up System] (Locked)
[Dungeon Monster Enhancement System] (Locked)
It seemed the Death Knight and Lich dispatched to the Incubus Dungeon had successfully completed their mission.
*Faster than I thought.*
I quickly scanned the alarms.
I had even gained the right to purchase the Lich-related Advancement Special Package by completing the additional mission.
Of course, what caught my attention more than that was—
*An EX rank?*
The trait’s name was ‘True Lord of the Dungeon.’
What was surprising was that its rank was written as EX.
A rank that the Hunter industry had merely speculated about and dismissed as a legend until now had appeared right before me.
*To think I’d obtain an off-the-charts rank.*
This trait had appeared because Azmo, the owner of the Incubus Dungeon, had offered his dungeon to me entirely.
*Two dimensions….*
Upon checking briefly, I found that Azmo’s dungeon was on Earth.
I hadn’t known because it had been marked as another dimension until now, but to think it was on Earth.
This wasn’t an issue to think about right now.
I wanted to open my status window immediately to check the description of what this trait was, but unfortunately, I couldn’t.
*…There’s no description?*
Had there ever been a trait without a description until now?
As far as I knew, all traits and skills definitely had descriptions.
But unlike the skills that had existed until now, this trait was an off-the-charts rank, not even S-rank, so on one hand, I could understand.
Just from the name, I could roughly feel what kind of trait it was.
The problem was that I only had a feeling.
*At this rate, I won’t be able to know exactly what ability it is.*
If only I had plenty of time, I would have liked to examine it in more detail.
I was curious about what the monster level-up system and enhancement system were, too.
But I couldn’t do that now.
Because of the beings still blatantly watching me even at this moment.
Catching the rats hiding in the distance came first.
“Let’s head out.”
Maru nodded at my words.
Since we had already caught most of the orcs, there were no monsters inside the dungeon to interfere.
Even the few remaining orcs didn’t try to approach me.
They must know that if they approached after witnessing Maru’s massacre, death was the only thing awaiting them.
Maru and I immediately left the Orc Dungeon.
But we didn’t go straight home; we moved toward another dungeon.
The F-rank Skeleton Dungeon.
*A Skeleton Dungeon should be free of variables.*
No matter how many orcs in the dungeon we had subdued, I couldn’t feel safe.
Orcs were beings with some intelligence that would attack me the moment I showed an unguarded opening.
Of course, I had no intention of losing.
Maru was by my side, and Maru was powerful enough to annihilate them all even if orcs swarmed in hordes.
*Still, I need to eliminate even the small variables.*
The problem lay not with me, but with the other party.
Seeing that those watching me weren’t acting rashly right now, it seemed they were probably worried about the orcs.
*Then their rank doesn’t seem to be that high.*
But it wasn’t good for them to remain still forever.
I needed to shake them off quickly so I could move freely.
That was why I had moved dungeons.
From the D-rank Orc Dungeon to the F-rank Skeleton Dungeon.
At this level, they would surely make a move.
And that thought was correct.
As soon as Maru and I left the Orc Dungeon, the other party naturally tailed me.
It continued until I entered the Skeleton Dungeon.
As soon as I entered the dungeon, I stationed Maru nearby.
And.
“Ha. You’re not even going to hide this time?”
I felt the mana I had sensed outside the dungeon since earlier fluctuating violently.
It meant the opponent had resolved to use their power in earnest.
Well, even if I wanted to think they were a hunter here to hunt skeletons, there was no need to bother thinking about it when they came out this blatantly.
In any case, in today’s world, you only needed to remember this one thing.
*If you don’t kill, you die.*
The moment you hesitate, you die immediately.
That was how to survive in today’s world.
A brief moment passed, and the opponent began to step inside the dungeon.
*Two in total.*
Judging by how the mana of the one in the lead fluctuated more strongly, their rank was likely higher, too.
It was a fortunate turn of events.
There was no better opportunity than having the strongest-looking of the two enter first.
I nodded slightly toward Maru and waited for the uninvited guests.
Finally, one of the uninvited guests made eye contact with me.
The opponent hesitated as if flustered, then soon raised their weapon.
But.
Their weapon never reached me.
Because Maru’s attack pierced the opponent’s side first.
“Kuk!”
The opponent began to voice his pain.
“I… absolutely… had no… intention… of harming… you….”
No, it wasn’t an appeal—it was bullshit.
If you had no intention of harming me, then why raise a weapon?
And his words continued.
To summarize, he had received a commission, and he begged that even if his own life was forfeit, his son’s life be spared.
“Hmm….”
So the one in the back was his son.
His face looked younger than I thought.
I looked at Maru.
Maru withdrew the blade and immediately rushed toward the son in the back.
Maru’s sword pierced the groin of the fellow the man had called his son.
His pants were stained red, of course, but he wasn’t dead yet.
I needed to extract information first, so killing him immediately was out of the question.
“Why….”
The man looked at his son and made a despairing expression.
I laughed once as I looked at the man’s face.
“Wow, you’re a really good actor.”
And I approached the man’s son.
In the son’s hand was a small throwing dagger.
But he would never get to throw that dagger.
Because the son was in no condition to do so due to the pain he was feeling right now.
This was the kind of world it was.
A world where everyone harbored poison inside.
A place where you might lose your own life over unnecessary sympathy.
I was reminded once again of what kind of world this was.
I looked at the writhing fellow and then stepped forward again.
“If you behave, I’ll let your son live.”
I raised one hand and continued.
“For what it’s worth, I have a healing skill, you know?”
One of my skills, Goddess’s Healing.
Although it was F-rank, Goddess’s Healing would show far better results than other healing skills.
That was what I had seen on the continent of Eldorad.
The opponent’s expression changed upon hearing my words that I had a healing skill.
“R-really? You really have a healing skill? No. I-if you do that, I’ll t-tell you everything!”
The opponent seemed to want to heal his son even a moment sooner and waited only for the question to come out of my mouth.
“First, tell me your name and affiliation.”
The opponent quickly answered my question.
“M-my name is Ji Tae-hoon. My guild affiliation is the Heugil Guild.”
Heugil Guild?
It was a name I was hearing for the first time.
When I made a briefly puzzled expression, Ji Tae-hoon explained to me.
“…….”
In short, they were a group like fixers, not a formal guild.
I understood that much.
And I moved on to the most important question.
“You said earlier that this was simply a commission. Who commissioned you?”
Ji Tae-hoon hesitated at this question for a moment, but when I looked at his son, he soon spat out the truth.
“Gang Jin-su! Yes, he works as a public official at the Awakener Center!”
A familiar name came out.
Gang Jin-su.
So the ill-fated relationship from the Academy extended this far.
But I was curious why Gang Jin-su had suddenly targeted me.
The Gang Jin-su I knew was definitely not someone who would stir up trouble like this on his own.
*I’ll have to look into this.*
I first asked several questions and listened to the man.
What compensation he had received for taking on this job, why he had brought his son along, and other trivial matters.
If there was one thing that caught my attention among them, it was the compensation.
He had been asked to film himself inflicting pain on me, and as I had suspected, this was absolutely not something Gang Jin-su did alone.
Even the claim that Gang Jin-su would raise Ji Tae-hoon’s son’s rank was even more unrealistic.
*There’s someone behind him.*
Could it be Kim Su-ho?
It was still only speculation.
If so, I would have to grow stronger quickly.
If I caught his eye, more things would happen from now on than currently.
As I briefly fell into thought, Ji Tae-hoon began to plead again.
“My son is truly obedient! He has a good heart. So please, at least spare my son….”
Hmm.
He had been holding a dagger in his hand just moments ago; I didn’t think he had a good heart at all.
“I’ll spare your son….”
I had already said with my own mouth earlier that I would spare him.
But there was a condition.
I took the dagger that Ji Tae-hoon’s son had been holding in my hand.
And I threw it in front of Ji Tae-hoon.
Maru stood guard beside him.
A warning not to do anything foolish.
Ji Tae-hoon, who couldn’t possibly fail to understand what that meant, sighed with a hollow expression.
“You’re really going to spare my son’s life, right?”
Ji Tae-hoon asked once more.
I nodded.
“I keep my promises.”
With those words, I approached his son.
The so-called son had already fainted, unable to endure the pain.
I immediately activated my healing skill.
Goddess’s Healing.
Light began to emanate from my hand.
That light gradually began to heal the wound.
Of course, since it was still an F-rank skill, complete healing was impossible.
Stopping the bleeding was the extent of it for now.
Needless to say, the place where the son had been pierced probably wouldn’t function normally from now on.
But even so, he had preserved his life for now.
He had tried to kill another person; this much could be considered mercy.
And more than anything, there was something I wanted to check.
*All this time, Celia offered sacrifices.*
The sacrifices Celia offered were used to obtain my traits or skills.
Or they were used to summon Maru or obtain the demonic sword Maru now wielded.
Then, conversely, could I offer sacrifices?
When I had tried to send Maru back, it had been impossible because the altar’s level was insufficient.
But what about humans? Would they be treated the same as monsters?
I intended to experiment on this fellow to satisfy that curiosity.
From a certain perspective, it might seem cruel, but for me now, it was a matter of survival.
I had to properly check what functions were available. I had to use them to grow stronger.
Before that, I wanted to wrap up the current matter first.
“This should be enough, right?”
At least I hadn’t killed the son.
On the contrary, I had shown mercy by even casting a healing skill on him.
Ji Tae-hoon realized my words were true and nodded. He then glanced at his fallen son and gripped the dagger.
What happened next was instantaneous.
“Kuk!”
The hand of Ji Tae-hoon holding the dagger immediately turned toward his own neck.
He had raised the dagger and stabbed his own neck.
Ji Tae-hoon’s body collapsed, making a gurgling sound from his throat.
At the same time, an alarm arose.
Not from my smartphone, but right before my eyes.
- The Trait ‘True Lord of the Dungeon’ has activated.
- Will you take this Hunter as a sacrifice for your dungeon?